The Only Democracy? » Discrimination
UN: Israel’s “Heritage Sites” Are On Palestinian Land
Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Sunday that the biblical Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarch in Hebron would be added to the list of Israel’s “Heritage sites”, a chorus of officials condemned the plans as confiscatory, and derailing peace efforts. United Nations top Mideast Envoy, Robert Serry, said: Those sites are in Palestinian territory and bear an importance not only in Judaism but in Islam as well…Implementation of the government’s decision could harm trust between the two sides and hurt the efforts to renew talks PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Ekekat issued a statement saying: The unilateral decision to make Palestinian sites in Hebron and Bethlehem part of Israel shows there is no genuine partner for peace, but an occupying power intent on consolidating Palestinian land …Netanyahu is actively working to sabotage the two-state … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Wrong man for the job? Some quotes from Israel’s Education Ministry’s Chief Scientist
Some quotes from the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Education Ministry Gavriel Avital has the Israeli scientific community irate. Quotes like”I don’t recycle, I put plastic in the trash. The earth will not be harmed, God promised us,” “Man does not cause global warming.” Not surprisingly he’s not a big supporter of the theory of Evolution either. If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
New Struggle in Beit Sahour
The New Statesman reports on a budding protest movement in one of the historic centers of Palestinian protest, Beit Sahour. Like many of the campaigns we follow here, it is resistance to an attempted takeover by settlers. Ush al Ghrab (‘Crow’s Nest’) is a small piece of land being targeted by a group of Jewish settlers and their allies. The area had previously served as a military base, before being evacuated in 2006. Since then, local … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Gaza girl paralyzed in strike can’t stay in Israel
YNet has this sad story: Will eight-year-old Maria Amen, who lost five of her family members when an Israeli missile hit her home in the Gaza Strip in May 2006 get a house of her own three-and-a-half years later? The eight-year-old lost her mother, two of her brothers, her aunt and her grandmother in the strike, and was also hit herself. She was left almost completely paralyzed to this day, and currently resides at a rehabilitation hospital … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Featured
Time Magazine Weighs Risks of Israel’s Comfort with Status Quo
Time Magazine provides an in-depth analysis by Tony Karon of the dangers inherent in Israel’s failure to move forward on a two-state solution, the apartheid nature of the current status quo, the growing influence of Israel’s settlement movement, and the need for a change in strategy by Obama and his international allies. Another sign of mainstream media’s shift toward more honest discourse on these issues! For Palestinians, the status quo is desperate: living under siege in Gaza or walled up in the West Bank as more and more of their land is gobbled up by Jewish Settlements. For Israelis, the status quo is comfortable indeed: a booming economy, a vibrant westernized culture, and the Palestinian people out of sight and out of mind. So why should Israelis care about changing the status quo? The Time article … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Ajami update: Protests Begin
The prospect of a Jewish-Only building in the heart of an Arab neighborhood in Jaffa made famous by Israel’s Best Foreign Film nominee has, as promised, sparked protests, at first with graffiti (you can see a picture at Ynet’s article.) “Local Arab residents were apparently behind the spray-painting of graffiti slogans [in Hebrew] such as “Jaffa is not Hebron,” “Jaffa for Jaffa residents,” “settlers be gone,” and “enough with settlers.” And there is more to come. Neighborhood … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Featured
Washington Post covers East Jerusalem
One of our goals here at The Only Democracy? is to pressure the U.S. mainstream media to cover the stories we follow, mostly through Israeli or Palestinian activists or news outlets. It is great to see the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan conflicts turning up in the Washington Post! The article is the kind of historical context that U.S. news rarely delivers. The small Palestinian community in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem began as an … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Amira Hass: “Giving In To Settlers” in Beit Sahour
Amira Hass traces the nibbling away of much of the land of the West Bank town of Beit Sahour for Jerusalem municipality and settlement expansion; the abandonment of an Israeli military base in 2007 opening the door for construction of a playground and hospital for Beit Sahour residents; and recent military orders declaring the area once again a closed military zone, and allowing construction of a guard tower there. Both the settlers and Beit Sahour … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Military Recruiter in Ha’aretz: “Draft Dodgers Bring Crime.”
Nice to know that both military recruiters and motivational speakers are horrifying the world over. This article shows the techniques Yom Kippur War hero General Avigdor Kahalani uses to deepen young people’s knowledge of the region’s military history and to motivate them.” First up, sexism! You know those girls who go around saying they’re religious like that singer with her boobs hanging out? If you pretend you’re religious, I’ll take one of you and deal with her … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Court Orders Sealing of Settler House, Jerusalem Mayor Promises Home Demolitions
Israel’s State Prosecutor Moshe Lador ordered the sealing off of an illegal house built by Jewish settlers in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem. “In a letter sent to Barkat Sunday, Moshe Lador praised Barkat for saying that he would implement the long-standing court order to evacuate and seal off Beit Yonatan, a seven-story building in Silwan built without a permit five years ago by the right-wing group Ateret Cohanim.” Great news! Although I have trouble imagining … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, 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.