The Only Democracy? » On The Ground Reports
“We will not be citizens of a fascist state purporting to be Israel” say hundreds of Israeli academics and public figures.
From Gush Shalom October 10, 2010 A protest rally against the government’s “Loyalty Oath Bill” was held outside the Tel Aviv house where Ben-Gurion read the 1948 the Declaration of Independence. There, today, the “Declaration of Independence from Fascism” was signed. “We are citizens of the Israel which was depicted in the Declaration of Independence, a peace-seeking country based on the principles of equality and civil liberties. We do not intend to be the citizens of a state purporting to be Israel which stops being democratic and enbarks on becoming a fascist state,” proclaimed intellectuals, public figures, and Israel Prize laureates who gathered this afternoon for a protest rally against the “Loyalty Oath Bill” approved by the government. A protest rally was held on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard, in front of the museum … Read entire article »
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Yonatan Shapira’s testimony from the Jewish Boat to Gaza
From Occupation Magazine Journal of a voyage, by Yonatan Shapira 26 September 2010 The course is 120. Another 200 miles to the port in Cyprus and the automatic pilot in the boat, which is supposed to maintain the course, refuses to work and leaves me with the unending task of maintaining the course on a turbulent sea with no sign of land from horizon to horizon. In another half hour, Itamar, my brother, who is also a “refusenik,” … Read entire article »
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Something new is happening in Palestine
An-Nabi Salih, September 25, 2010 Something new is happening in Palestine. I saw and heard things today that are relatively rare in my experience. I saw conflict erupt in the village between those who wanted to throw stones at the Israeli soldiers and generate more violence, as in the past, and the no less passionate people who intervened fiercely to prevent this from happening. I heard tough words of peace and hope. I saw the most dignified and brave demonstration I’ve ever seen. I also saw the army react with its usual foolishness, which I’ll describe, and I saw the soldiers hold back when they could easily have started shooting. It wasn’t an easy day by any means, but it was good. An-Nabi Salih is a hard place. When Ezra heard me … Read entire article »
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Trying to visit the Tamimi Family in the West Bank
by Amir Terkel, Saturday, September 25, 2010 This morning we went to visit our friends the Tamimi Family and their kids in Nabi Saleh, in the west bank about 40 minutes from Tel Aviv. As it turns out this weekend village residents and Israeli peace activists had planned on marking International Day of Peace (Sept 21 actually, but hey, we do things fashionably late around here…). The event was supposed to include whitewashing walls in the … Read entire article »
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Sheikh Jarrah Sukkot
September 22, 2010 It may sound unlikely, but we’re in ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan Street in Sheikh Jarrah and, together with Salah and other Palestinian friends from the neighborhood, we’re building a sukkah. The Sukkot holiday, my favorite, starts tonight. Religious Jews build little booths covered with palm fronds and eat and sleep in them for seven nights, a memory of the forty years of wandering in the desert and a reminder of the precariousness of all that exists, all that we value and love. You’re supposed to be able to see the stars through the fronds that provide a make-shift roof; honored guests, beginning with the Patriarchs and ending on day seven with King David, are invited to visit each day. But why build one in Sheikh Jarrah, in the street where … Read entire article »
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Salem Music Center: 3-Year Plan
The Salem Music Center is a venture developing gradually thanks to the ongoing cooperation between its local Palestinian initiators, from the village of Salem near Nablus, the Israeli volunteers of the Villages Group, and donors from Israel and abroad (especially from Australia and the U.S). The first stage of this project, based on a proposal submitted last year, started on March 2010. The center’s founding team includes the project initiator Mr. Jubier Ihstayya (who serves … Read entire article »
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New Israel Fund issues the guidelines: grantees must support Jewish self-determination
By Jesse Bacon We reported on Richard Silverstein’s initial fears of New Israel Fund’s new guidelines, that they would bar funding to those who opposed Israel as a Jewish state. Then it looked like compromise language was in the works. Finally, the guidelines are out, and they call instead for grantees to support Jewish self-determination within the state of Israel. The JTA reports, Groups that work to “deny the right of the Jewish people to sovereign self-determination … Read entire article »
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Video: Gaza, Bethlehem, and rememberance (Yizkor) for Bassem
A friend of The Only Democracy? wanted to share the following videos. Here is a recent one made by someone who spent years trying to visit Gaza. and here is an older piece, made by residents of Aida refugee camp and Anne who made the first film. It is about the Checkpoint from Bethlehem to what Israel illegally declared Jerusalem (in fact, it stands in the middle of Bethlehem and separates one area of the city from the other, I still have a friend living on the other side who is considered resident of Bethlehem). The video shows how the few Palestinian workers who are allowed by Israel to cross to the “Jerusalem” side for work get in line every work day at 3h or 4h … Read entire article »
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Israel tries to lock up Abu Rahmah for two years for disturbing the “peace”
The trial of Bil’in protest organizer, Abdallah Abu Rahmah will renew this Wednesday, after his conviction of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations was harshly criticized by the EU, the Spanish Parliament and human rights organizations. Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s trial will resume on Wednesday, as it will enter the sentencing phase, in which the prosecution will argue its case for a harsh sentencing, and is expected to ask for a sentence … Read entire article »
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Israel demolishes entire village for fifth time, immediately after holiday; UPDATED with video
From the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, all photos by Oren Ziv of activestills.org The Bedouin unrecognized village of Al Arakib was demolished this morning for the 5th time,immediately after Eid Al-Fitr (one of the most important Muslim holidays marking the end of Ramadan). The village is located 7 kilometers north of the city of Be’er Sheva, in the Israeli Negev Desert. Dozens of policemen came to the village before dawn to secure the bulldozers … Read entire article »
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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.