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The Only Democracy? » Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs

Israel at Abdallah Abu Rahma’s trial: .22 bullets are ok for crowd control

Israel at Abdallah Abu Rahma’s trial: .22 bullets are ok for crowd control

From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. September 16th, 2010. Military Prosecution Demands More Than Two Years Imprisonment for Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah Military prosecutor said harsh sentence should serve as a deterrent to other protesters. Despite military orders to the contrary, army officer said 0.22″ caliber bullets are considered crowd control measures. Abdallah Abu Rhamah at court yesterday. Picture credit: Oren Ziv/Active Stills* The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, … Read entire article »

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Audrey Farber, intern, from Mada Al-Carmel on New Israel Fund and Democracy

Audrey Farber, intern, from Mada Al-Carmel on New Israel Fund and Democracy

By Audrey Farber Speculation has run wild on the as-yet-unreleased updated New Israel Fund funding guidelines. Here’s Richard Silverstein, “My source tells me the proposed guidelines will include a provision acknowledging Israel as a Jewish homeland. But the language will also affirm that Israel is: ‘…A democracy dedicated to the full equality of all its citizens and communities.’” Silverstein argues that “full equality” juxtaposed with the “provision acknowledging… a Jewish homeland” sustains a system of inequality. His explanation: “If…you’ve … Read entire article »

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Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah Cleared of Stone-Throwing; Convicted of Incitement

Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah Cleared of Stone-Throwing; Convicted of Incitement

From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. Protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rahmah from Bil’in was convicted of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations today, after an eight months long military trial, during which he was kept behind bars. He was acquitted of a stone-throwing charge and a vindictive arms-possession charge. Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s verdict was read today in a packed military court room, concluding an eight months long politically motivated show-trial. Diplomats from … Read entire article »

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Hudson’s co-founder, the Israeli academic purge and the subversion of US Middle East policy

Hudson’s co-founder, the Israeli academic purge and the subversion of US Middle East policy

Reposted from Didi Remez’s Coteret blog. Evidence is mounting that the Institute for Zionist Strategies (IZS) — an Israeli NGO at the forefront of an ongoing campaign to purge Israeli Universities of faculty and programs deemed “left-wing” — is a creature of  The Hudson Institute, a major Washington based neoconservative think-tank, which played an active role in shaping the Bush administration’s Middle East policies. Hudson is the primary financial backer of the IZS, providing at least … Read entire article »

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It’s getting deep in here…

It’s getting deep in here…

Last month a post appeared on the Jewish Daily Forward’s blog “the sisterhood: where jewish women converse” entitled “Code Pink: Slinging Mud and Hate at Ahava,” which got the target of CODEPINK’s boycott campaign correct, but not much more. Debra Nussbaum Cohen’s blog presented a falsely black-and-white portrayal of the campaign, declaring it “anti-Israel”. Cohen singled me out as a Jewish woman in support of the boycott, which was “most distressing” to her … Read entire article »

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Israeli and Palestinian Women Find New Way to Challenge The Occupation

Israeli and Palestinian Women Find New Way to Challenge The Occupation

I will forgo my tendency for long introductions, and start with the actual news. We Do Not Obey More women follow Ilana Hammerman`s footsteps: we shall not obey illegal and immoral laws. (posted as a paid advertisement in Hebrew on Haaretz, August 6) On Friday, July 23, we went on a trip – a dozen Jewish-Israeli women with a dozen West-Bank Palestinian women and four of their children, one of them a baby. We drove through the interior hill … Read entire article »

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Palestinian activist detained for daring to appeal his arrest.

Palestinian activist detained for daring to appeal his arrest.

By Jesse Bacon From to the list of Anarchists Against the Wall, Approximately a week ago, Adeeb Abu-Rahme was convicted in the military court for “incitement” and more. Yesterday, July 7, the military court sentenced Adeeb for a year in prison, and a year on parole. As already in custody for a year – he was supposed to be released yesterday. The military prosecution appealed against the “lenience” of the sentence and asked to keep Adeeb … Read entire article »

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Injured protester Emily Henochowicz’s artwork

Injured protester Emily Henochowicz’s artwork

By Jesse Bacon We covered the Israeli army’s shooting of Emiliy Henochowicz for protesting alongside Palestinians, causing her to lose her eye.I discovered she has a blog of her work, here are some of the photos you can view at the site. The works are powerful even when you are not thinking about what happened to her. … Read entire article »

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Civil Disobedience Is….A Fun Day Out in Tel Aviv

By the Coalition of Women for Peace The trip to the Betar crossing point passed in almost complete silence. When we approached the checkpoint, the red sign, the metal tower, the speed bumps, the concrete barriers, the soldiers’ position, I felt my legs shaking – and not because of the bumpy road. I took a deep breath, slowed down but didn’t stop, rolled down the window, gave the soldier a causal wave and he indifferently motioned for me to keep going. ‘We made it!’” (Ilana Hammerman, “If There Is a Heaven,” Ha’aretz, 7 May 2010) One spring morning, not so long ago, four women crossed the Betar Checkpoint: Ilana Hammerman, an Israeli translator and editor, and three Palestinian girls from a village in the West Bank. The girls, Aya, Lin and … Read entire article »

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The Minister of Education rides again

The Minister of Education rides again

By Rela Mazali The ongoing militarization of state (read: Jewish, non-orthodox) education in Israel has been among the major civic issues addressed by New Profile from the outset. Israel’s current minister of education, Gideon Sa’ar, provides an extremely blatant example of this ongoing process. Not hesitating in the least to openly defy democratic principles such as freedom of speech, he banned New Profile speakers from schools several months ago. This is and was part of his … Read entire article »

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