The Only Democracy? » Archive
Our 2 Op-Eds in the Israeli Press about Israel’s Future (2)
My last diary was my translation of an op-ed Ofer Neiman, a fellow Israeli activist, and myself wrote together back in April at Ynet, a mainstream Israeli news site. That article argued that the self-reinforcing siege mentality is gradually taking the taste and meaning out of collective life in Israel. Last week we continued analyzing fundamental issues in Israel’s dealing with the world. The article appeared in Ha’aretz in an online-only, Hebrew-only format. Moreover, while the Ynet article was published pretty much with the same 575 words we wrote, Ha’aretz demanded only 450, and then were arrogant enough to further cut it to 400, change the title and much of the text. Below I translate the original with commentary. In a way, our message is a progressive Israeli response to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Villages Group: Some Creative Ways to Counter the Occupation
(crossposted from the Villages Group blog, where more pics can be found) The text below, beautifully written by David, can be seen embedded in the images by clicking on this sentence (pdf) The desire for a permanent house is a most conventional desire in our society. A house is usually conceived as a structure of four walls, a floor below and a roof above, and the desire for such a house is mostly fulfilled using the mortgage system. But what seems to be such a conventional desire in many societies may prove rather unconventional in a society living under the conditions of prolonged Occupation. In fact, in the small Bedouin community of Umm al-Kheir, among the families who live close to the settlement of Carmel, such a basic desire for a four walls’ … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Our 2 Op-Eds in the Israeli Press about Israel’s Future (1)
(crossposted on Daily Kos) In April, in anticipation of Israel’s independence day, fellow Israeli activist Ofer Neiman sent us an op-ed for feedback. I ended up co-signing the article. It appeared on Ynet, the website of Israel’s largest daily. I planned to translate it to English but was too busy. A couple of weeks ago, as the Gaza flotilla was cruising towards its tragic end, I thought up another article – a sequel if you will. This time it was Ofer who joined me as a co-author, and the article appeared in Haaretz – but wasn’t translated on their English mirror. Both articles deal with Israel’s existential problems rather than focus on current events. The Ynet article reminds Israelis, that the deteriorating quality of our public life bears a direct impact upon the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Bibi, Stop Racist Talk against Turks and Release All Footage!
(expanded version of Occupation Magazine post) Today (Saturday), Israeli PM `Bibi` again claimed, in rather crude terms, that the reason why the IDF killed 9 activists on Monday but today boarded the MV Rachel Corrie peacefully, is because of “…the difference between a ship of peace activists, with whom we don’t agree but respect their right to a different opinion from ours, and between a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists…” This continues a race-baiting campaign against the Turkish ship and IHH, which started well before Monday’s attack. As CindyCasella’s excellent diary shows, just like in previous controversies the Israeli PR machine churns mostly lies. They are already backtracking from a claim IHH has Al Qaeda ties. But they’re still at it. Call Bibi’s racist bluff: demand that Israel release all … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Israel to World: Screw You, We will Continue to Block Gaza
It all happened before. A ship sailing to Palestine. Its organizers care not so much about the ship’s arrival. They want to bring world attention to the injustices in Palestine. Live broadcasts from aboard the ship excite and inspire supporters on the shores. The power controlling Palestine in a non-democratic manner, responds in form. It sends soldiers to storm the ship at sea some 20 miles out of Gaza. Passengers fight back using non-lethal means. Troops open fire killing 3, then force the ship to another port, arrest the passengers and deport them. The battle is won, but the campaign is lost. World opinion, and other world powers, turn against the controlling power. Within a few months it decides to cede control of Palestine. The ship’s name was “Europe Exodus 1947″, or in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Israeli Govt. Criminalizes Its Arab-Citizen Leaders: May 14 Update
(crossposted on Daily Kos) On Monday I reported here the arrest of two prominent Palestinian citizens of Israel – Dr. Omar Saeed and Ameer Makhoul – at a time when these news still banned from publication in Israel. The ban was partially lifted a few hours later, crumbling under the pressure of both the Israeli-Palestinian public openly protesting the arrests, and the Israeli blogosphere ignoring the gag. I suggested that the arrests signify a step up in the ongoing government campaign to criminalize politically legitimate activities of Israeli-Palestinians. Shin Bet secret-police chief Yuval Diskin has repeatedly expressed his eagerness to do this, with respect to leaders supporting the one-state concept (such as the above two). Since Monday, Palestinian and Israeli commentators voiced concerns similar to mine; most prominently perhaps Gideon Levy, whose … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
About the Secret Empire that has decided to Criminalize Minority Dissent in Israel
No, this story does not come from the Occupied Territories, where residents are under a 43-year military rule and where wee-hour arrest raids are a routine occurrence. This comes from right inside Israel. Dr. Omar Sa’id, A Palestinian citizen of Israel and resident of Kafr Kana near Nazareth, was arrested by Israel’s secret police (known in English as Shin Bet and in Israel as Shabaak) two weeks ago. He is still in custody without access to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Villages Group: First Biodigester Unit at Work in Susiya
(crossposted from the Villages Group Blog) Following the success of the Villages Group’s first environmental initiative – the renewable energy project, which has been now running independently for about a year under the banner Comet-ME – the Villages Group is now launching a second environmental initiative: Biodigester units for shepherd families’ use. These systems turn the family herd’s manure into bio-gas for the family’s cooking needs. As mentioned in our previous post, a month … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Strengthening Those Who Belong to the Land: Mahmud from Susya, the Organic Farmer
(crossposted from The Villages Group Blog, where more pics can be found) Mahmud from Susya got up one day from his depression, and built a very basic green house. With simple tools and techniques he succeeded to surprise us with excellent organic vegetables. The vegetables are an essential addition to the family’s poor diet, based mainly on dairy products from the herd which is their main source of making a living. And while both herding and growing grains is restricted by the settlers/army, green-housing is a brilliant solution for growing food which does not require much land. One day Mahmud discovered a vegetable disease on the leaves of his tomatoes. We could not help with the disease, but by suggested to finance for him an agricultural course. When he returned from his two … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports, Victories for Democracy
Interactive Video
“You have a choice! Israeli Anti-Militarists Speak”
Four Israelis—Dorothy Naor, Sergeiy Sander and Eli Fabrikant, and Ofer Golani—talking about their personal histories, political views and activism in 132 short films.