The Only Democracy? » On The Ground Reports
Please Help the Enrichment Learning Program at the Cave Dwellers Village Umm-Fakra
Dear Friends, We are appealing to you to ask your assistance in operating a learning enrichment program for the children of the cave-dwellers’ community of Umm-Fakra. For the last two years we have assisted in conducting an enrichment programs for children in the Bedouin communities of Umm El-Kheir, bordering on the settlement of Carmel. In light of the positive experience with such programs, and in response to a local initiative – we would like to assist in opening yet another center of learning enrichment programs for children in South Mount Hebron, this time in the locality Umm-Fakra. The annual cost for the first pilot year is estimated at only $4,000 or 3,000 Euro. The Villages Group is able to offer tax-deductible donation via partners in the US and UK (see our donation link … Read entire article »
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Free documentary on Israeli women soldiers; UPDATED with disclaimer
Check out Link Tv’s Doc Debut feature,where you can watch the entire one hour film, To See if I am Smiling Israel is the only country in the world where 18-year-old girls are drafted for compulsory military service. In the award-winning documentary To See If I Am Smiling, the frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza and the West Bank pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty … Read entire article »
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Midnight raids continue, father of three taken from home.
From the Palestine Solidarity Project Early Thursday morning, at approximately 2:00am, Israeli forces from the Gush Etzion military base came to the homes of brothers and National Committee members Yousef and Mousa Abu Maria. Both are also co-founders of the Palestine Solidarity Project. Mousa, whose wife and baby girl–both Israeli citizens–were visiting family, was forced outside while his home was searched. 3 computers belonging to the Palestine Solidarity Project were taken. Yousef, father of 10 year-old Reem, … Read entire article »
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Wave of Israeli demolitions culminates in destroying a mosque: UPDATED with petition
Here is an al Jazeera video of Israel pulling down a mosque in the Jordan Valley village of Khirbat Yarza, Tubas, yesterday morning (deep inside the West Bank). Over 60% of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank is under “Israeli control”, though in practise, all of the Palestinian territories are. But in this case, it means, Palestinians cannot build … Read entire article »
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Pay cheap, buy local: Israeli farmers strike for more foreign workers
By Audrey Farber One great thing about Israel is that all the produce comes from nearby – whether Israeli territory or Palestinian territory or Syrian territory or Bedouin lands (I am trying very hard to abstain from political opining regarding where farmlands may or may not lie, but that is inherently impossible) – and I don’t have to worry about buying locally, something that concerns me greatly in the vast agro-industrial complex that characterizes the US. But this strike threatens that singular comfort I … Read entire article »
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Another Settler Arson of Salem’s Olive Trees
Uri Pinkerfeld, Villages Group coordinator for Salem and Deir El Hattab, reports: On Sunday November 14 2010, around 12 noon, smoke was seen rising from the olive orchards on the slopes of Jabal Kabeer above Salem. Several farmers went to locate the fire’s location, north of the settler bypass road, not far from the cistern. Two local teenagers who were shepherding nearby hurried to the location as well, and tried to put out the fire. They reported having seen two settlers run off towards the “Skali Farm” settler outpost. The farmers immediaterly called firefighters from Nablus and the officers of the District Coordination Office. The military allowed the fire truck to get to the orchards, but the road was too steep. Farmers eventually managed to put out the fire manually. Several dozen … Read entire article »
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Welcome to the Zoo
By Audrey Farber, crossposted at Mondoweiss.net My neighborhood doesn’t have street signs. And when it does, they don’t refer to names of streets anyone is familiar with. House numbers, too, are scarce. I didn’t know my own street address until yesterday – four and a half months after my arrival. My neighborhood doesn’t have the big plastic-and-glass street-side recycling cages that are conveniently placed around the rest of the city. Its streets are narrow and winding, … Read entire article »
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Budrus hero calls for Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s freedom
By Jesse Bacon I recently had the good fortune to attend a packed Monday night NYC screening sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. One issue raised by the extremely well-informed director was how similar protests in other villages have had difficulty duplicating Budrus’s success. A Budrus protest participant told me that even Budrus itself could see its victory threatened as Israel completes the building of the Wall. So it is … Read entire article »
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Hebrew Lessons at the Learning and Creativity Center in Susiya
Guest Post – Yael Arbel “You must come to see Susiya.” In all truth, I am fascinated by the stories I hear about Susya. I have not been there since the cold, muddy winter of 2002, when we trekked with Ta’ayush activists to bring blankets for those living there, only to be detained by the army. I don’t think I even got to see them at the end of that march. [editor comment: that particular march did … Read entire article »
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Premiere of a Film Documenting Relationships between Israelis and the People of Palestinian Susiya
Tuesday, September 28th, brought us at the Villages Group great satisfaction. On that day, we and many of our friends in Susiya had the pleasure of attending the world premiere of the film “The Human Turbine” at the Haifa International Film Festival. Over a period of two years from 2008 to 2010, a film crew headed by director Danny Verete and producer Yehuda Bitton documented the evolving ties between the people of Susiya and the Israelis … 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.