The Only Democracy? » Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Israeli Army’s anonymous version of Jawaher’s death contradicted by everyone
By Jesse Bacon One of the proudest moments on this blog for me came when we were among the people covering the Rachel Corrie’s attempt to bring desperately needed supplies to Gaza in the aftermath of the 9 killings aboard the Mavi Marmara. Covering the event live on twitter as the Israeli army jammed all communications gave me a clear sense of who was trying to get the truth out as best we could, and who … Read entire article »
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Horrible start to a new year: Palestinian woman killed by tear gas at protest
from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, was evacuated to the Ramallah hospital yesterday after inhaling massive amounts of tear-gas during the weekly protest in Bil’in, and died of poisoning this morning. Abu Rahmah was the sister of Bassem Abu Rahmah who was also killed during a peaceful protest in Bil’in on April 17th, 2010. Doctors at the Ramallah hospital fought for Jawaher Abu Rahmah’s life all night at the Ramallah Hospital, but were … Read entire article »
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Four cases against Israeli democracy
By Jesse Bacon While I was away on vacation, four cases of the continuing slow death of Israeli democracy occurred. Taken together, they represent a good spectrum of the responses to democracy activists by Israel, all negative. First, Matan Cohen, Israeli-American activist, member of Young, Jewish, and Proud, and one of the people behind the push for divestment at Hampshire College. He attempted to return home as he often does. He was taken aside on December 17 … Read entire article »
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Letter from an Israeli military prison
from Abdallah Abu Rahmah. Ed’s Note: As I participated in the December 10th TIAA-CREF Day of Action on Human Rights Day, I felt I had gained a new holiday to my calendar. At the end of the day, as I was unwinding, I received this letter from imprisoned leader Abdallah Abu Rahmah over email, and saw it posted at sites such as Huffington Post. It is a common observation among those of us who work for … Read entire article »
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CWP Report: “All out War: Israel against democracy”
by the Coalition of Women for Peace Comprehensive Report on Intensifying Political Persecution in Israel CWP published a new report today, titled “All-Out War: Israel Against Democracy.” This comprehensive report documents the increasing political persecution of peace and human rights organizations and activists, and describes the connections between the assaults led by Israeli government officials, security forces, courts, journalists, and extreme-right organizations in this well-orchestrated offensive on democracy. The report was published in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and English. … Read entire article »
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In the name of the father: Israel arrests 16 year-old son of imprisoned protest organizer
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee In yet another nighttime raid on the village of Bil’in, soldiers stormed Adeeb Abu Rahmah’s house and arrested his sixteen year old son At 2:30 AM this morning Israeli forces entered the village of Bil’in in armored military jeeps and by foot, and proceeded to surround the home of jailed organizer, Adeeb Abu Rahmah. A group of masked soldiers forcefully entered the house without showing a warrant, and arrested Adeeb’s only son, 16 year old Mohammed. Since his father’s arrest 17 months ago Mohammed serves as the family’s sole provider. Soldiers escorting the bound and blinfolded Mohammed into a military jeep. Picture credit: Hamde Abu Rahmah During the raid, soldiers violently tried to prevent photographers from filming the raid, beating up local cameraman, Haitham Khatib and causing damage … Read entire article »
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What’s the point of a trial? Protest organizer detained indefinitely
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee: Military Judge Orders to Keep Bil’in Organizer Jailed Even After He Has Finished Serving His Sentence in Full Ed’s note: Not only is organizing popular protest apparently a crime, it is one deserving unending prison sentence. Since it is obvious Israel’s government has no intention of ending the theft of land that cause these protests in the first place, they must resort to locking up the organizer, or the messenger if … Read entire article »
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Abdallah Abu Rahmah gets one year in prison despite international outcry
from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Bil’in protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment today, for his involvement in his village’s unarmed struggle against the wall. Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced today to 12 months in prison, plus 6 months suspended sentence for 3 years and a fine of 5,000 NIS. In the sentencing, the judge cited the non-implementation of an Israeli High Court ruling which declared … Read entire article »
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No positive evidence supporting accusations against Ameer Makhoul
By Rela Mazali On May 8th, Jewish Peace News posted news of the arrest or, more precisely, abduction, of human rights defender Ameer Makhoul, “Director of Ittijah – The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations – … in the dead of night, while he and his family slept in their home in Haifa.” The arrest of this “Israeli citizen [and] … high-profile activist … [was] placed under a gag order … Israeli reporters, news … Read entire article »
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Demonstrating still a crime: Military night raids and arrests resume in Ni’ilin
from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Four people, 17 to 45 year-old, were arrested by the army in Ni’ilin tonight, in the first pre-dawn raid operation in months. The renewal of night raids and arrests may signal a return to their use as a scare tactic to quell demonstrations and the village’s struggle against the Wall and theft of their lands. Large military forces closed in on Ni’ilin at around 2 AM … 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.