The Only Democracy? » Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
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 »
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Israeli Think Tank Drops “Sabotage” Language, But It Still Doesn’t Smell Like a Rose
“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare’s Juliet famously asks. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet …” A related observation can be made about the word-changing antics of Israel’s leading think tank, the Reut Institute, in their policy report, “The Deligitimization Challenge: Creating a Political Firewall”. “Sabotage” (of global human rights groups) by any other name still smells bad. Recently, Ali Abunimah spotted the covert revision on the Reut website: Israel’s leading think tank the Reut Institute recently recommended that Israel’s government and intelligence agencies “sabotage” and “attack” peace and justice groups around the world that have been critical of Israel, as EI [Electronic Intifada] reported in February Reut was obviously embarassed by the wide exposure its underhand, and possibly illegal recommendations generated, so it has cleaned up its website. … Read entire article »
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Entire Villages Declared “Closed Military Zones” for Protesting, UPDATED with Israeli Military Reaction
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. Israeli Army: Bil’in and Ni’ilin a Closed Military Zone for a Six Months Period Dozens of masked soldiers raided the West Bank villages of Bil’in and Ni’lin this morning to post decrees designating the village’s lands as a closed military zone on Fridays for a period of six months. One week after the head of the Israeli Shin Bet threatened to aggravate the repression of the Palestinian popular struggle, a large military … Read entire article »
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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 »
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Israel to Reinvestigate Police Shooting of U.S. Activist Tristan Anderson
By Henry Norr A year ago. Israeli Border Police shattered the skull of Tristan Anderson with a high-velocity tear gas canister as he stood unarmed following a weekly demonstration against Israel’s Separation Wall in the West Bank village of Nilin. Since then, his family, friends, and supporters around the world continue the struggle to hold Israel accountable. Anderson, a now-39-year-old resident of Oakland, California, still lies in the Tel Hashomer hospital outside Tel Aviv, where he was … Read entire article »
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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
Beit Sahour Professor Faces Arrest by Israeli Military for Nonviolent Protest
Mazin Qumsiyeh reports on his likely arrest next week by the Israeli military when he returns from a lecture tour in the U.S. to his village in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. His crime? Participation in nonviolent protests against the military takeover of the only remaining open land in Bethlehem, which the Jewish-Israeli settlers covet for themselves. Qumsiyeh is a U.S. citizen and professor who lived in America for 29 years before returning to Beit Sahour in 2008. He contrasts the freedoms … Read entire article »
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Jamal Juma Calls on Obama to Support Palestinian Struggle for “A Life Free From Racial Discrimination”
Jamal Juma is the coordinator of the Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall) since 2002. He was arrested in December 2009 by the Israeli military following a series of protests against the construction of the Wall in the West Bank. He was one of 89 Palestinian human rights activists arrested in 2009; scores more have been arrested this year. With the intervention of Amnesty International, and campaigns by peace and justice organizations around the world, including Jewish … Read entire article »
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Israeli Forces Invade Palestine Solidarity Project in Beit Ommar
The Palestine Solidarity Project reports on a March 8 raid by Israeli Forces on the Beit Ommar homes of the Project’s founders and family, and on the offices of the Project. This invasion comes one day after Beit Ommar residents blocked Routh 60 in southern Palestine, the main highway for travel between settlements in the area, in protest against Israel’s plan to annex religious sites as their national “heritage sites.” Bekah Wolfe, co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project with her husband Mousa Abu Maria, was … Read entire article »
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Tulkarem Radio Director Imprisoned
Ma’an, a leading Palestinian news source, reports that the director of a Tulkarem radio station was seized in his home last night, and later sentenced to 50 days in prison. The radio station is affliated with the Ma’an network. The Director has not been charged with any crime, and the reasons for his detention remain unclear. Ten other Palestinians were also seized the same night, and all were described as “wanted” by Israeli officials. . … 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.