The Only Democracy? » On The Ground Reports
A Rabbi Reports from Rachel Corrie’s Day in Court
By Rabbi Brian Walt, reprinted from his blog with permission. On Tuesday this week, exactly seven years ago, Rachel Corrie, an ideallistic young woman and human rights activist from Olympia, Washington, was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer as she tried to protect the home of Dr. Nasrallah, a pharmacist, and his family in Rafah, Gaza, from demolition. Yesterday, I spent the morning in a small courtroom in the District Court in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, On The Ground Reports
Surviving Israel’s Military with Solar Power: Imperfect Life in South Hebron Hills
By David Shulman. January 16, 2010 Mufagara, Bir el-‘Id, Tuba (ed’s note:report was delayed so the Israeli army wouldn’t wreck the project.) Ziad Muhammad Yusuf Muhamra, from Bir el-‘Id: sun-dried face, deep scars, lively eyes. It is hard for me to understand his Arabic, not only because it’s fast, slurred, and in South Hebron dialect. He was shot in the throat by a soldier in 1986 while he, Ziad, was sitting on the ground; … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
More Context on Sheikh Jarrah and the “New” Israeli Left
The reflection from Rebecca Kirzner, below, puts the large demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah last weekend in context—both politically, and by reminding us that it was just one demonstration among many. Much of the coverage of the protest spoke of the rise of a “new Israeli left” that had “never been seen before.” This is not quite true, and dismisses the ongoing and super-important contributions of groups like Ta’ayush, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Rabbis for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
Shooting Back – Palestinian Videographers (VIDEO)
By Amir Terkel. Palestinian videographers, both professional and amateur, sometimes pay a heavy price trying to document daily life and protests with soldiers and settlers. Their dramatic footage has more than once been the basis for legal as well as international intervention. 3 Minute Video Produced and Directed by Haggai Matar, Edited by Eitan Dorfman and filmed by Amir Terkel … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, On The Ground Reports
Three Protesters and Journalist Arrested During Beit Ommar Demonstration
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Beit Ummar demonstrators were attacked by dozens of tear-gas and stun grenades this morning as they approached Road 60 near their village. In response, the road was blocked by protesters for nearly an hour. Soldiers made four arrests, including that of an AP cameraman and a local leader. Dozens of residents of Beit Ummar, accompanied by Israeli and international supporters, marched from the center of the village towards Road 60 that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, On The Ground Reports
New Profile, European Union Urge UN to Hold Israel Accountable
By Rela Mazali. On January 28th 2010, New Profile, a feminist movement working to demilitarize society and state in Israel, dispatched a letter to a list of top U.N. officials urging the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council to intervene to ensure implementation of the recommendations made by the U.N. Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. “If the United Nations and wider international community are to meet their responsibilities in upholding the rule of … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Photo Quiz: Can you identify the military prison?
Last week as I drove to Ofer Military Prison in the West Bank to attend a hearing of Abdallah Abu Rahma from Bili’in, it struck me that most people driving past these huge walls on their commute to Jerusalem don’t realize they are driving past a prison. That’s actually not surprising considering the concrete landscape of the west bank. Take the quiz for yourself and see how you do: Which of these photos is the a Military Prison in the Occupied Territories? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, On The Ground Reports
Hebron Women Take On Netanyahu
From International Indymedia. On March 3rd, over a hundred Palestinian women marched Hebron’s streets to resist Ibrahim’s mosque becoming an Israeli Heritage Site. The Women’s Empowerment Project gathered women from Hebron to march from Hebron’s Muncipality Office down to the mosque. The exclusively female crowd chanted and held banners while peacefully, but decisively, demonstrating. At the checkpoint, the women had to wait for approximately 20 minutes before being allowed entrance into the mosque. An overall elated … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
A Day in the Life of an Israeli Rabbi for Human Rights
Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights reports on witnessing the army uproot olive trees in Beit Jala, calling for supporters to demonstrate with the farmers and help plant new trees, and then moving on to Jerusalem to demonstrate against Ezra Nawi’s conviction order and to be present at court proceedings for the appeal of that conviction: I am returning now from Beit Jala, where yesterday the army started cutting down/uprooting olive trees on both sides of the tunnel road, apparently for the extention of the Separation Barrier. It is hard to describe the stumps of ancient trees screaming to the heavens, or what is happening to the garden of one family, that will have the Barrier come within a meter of their house. The army eventually declared the area a closed military area … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
“Sleepless in Gaza and Jerusalem”: YouTube Series on Palestinian Women
PINA TV Production and Radiant Circle Productions announce the March 1st opening of the premier episode of a 90-part series, “Sleepless in Gaza…and Jerusalem”, that will be launched on YouTube. It will be a video diary about four young Palestinian women, Muslim and Christian, two living in Gaza and two in Arab Jerusalem/West Bank. The series will follow Ashira Ramadan, a broadcast journalist based in Jerusalem; Ashira’s friend in Gaza, the documentary film maker Nagham Mohanna; Donna Maria Mattas, a 17 year-old student at the Holy Family school in Gaza who dreams of growing up to be a journalist, and Ala’ Khayo Mkari who works with Caritas in Jerusalem. The intention of this series is neither rant nor rhetoric. It is rather an opportunity for all of us, who do not live in Gaza, occupied … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
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.