The Only Democracy? » Archive
Palestinian activist detained for daring to appeal his arrest.
By Jesse Bacon From to the list of Anarchists Against the Wall, Approximately a week ago, Adeeb Abu-Rahme was convicted in the military court for “incitement” and more. Yesterday, July 7, the military court sentenced Adeeb for a year in prison, and a year on parole. As already in custody for a year – he was supposed to be released yesterday. The military prosecution appealed against the “lenience” of the sentence and asked to keep Adeeb … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Interview with Silwan solidarity activist Daniel Dukarevich
By Jesse Bacon I spoke with Daniel Dukarevich on his way to Silwan to stay with Palestinian families facing eviction by settlers and police violence. As it turned out there was no attacks that night, but the activists expect more after Netanyahu returns from his visit with Obama. We will follow the story, in the meantime Daniel provides an excellent background to his work and the struggle for Silwan. Daniel’s life in West Jerusalem, and the difference just 20 min. away in Silwan. More about the demonstrations in East Jerusalem: organized by people, not organizations, Palestinian-led and what’s in it for Israelis. Why we need to act now, and more about recent events in Silwan. The response to events in Silwan; relationship between settlers and police.; links to Gaza flotilla. Conclusion: solidarity with Silwan and … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Happy 4th of July Weekend from the Only Democracy?
By Jesse Bacon As a rural-raised revolutionary, I love the 4th of July. It is a great time for community gathering, it celebrates a successful uprising against the largest empire in the world, and it involves staring up into the sky with wonder. Though I used to need hearing protectors as a fraidy-cat kid, and as an adolescent had to endure my aunt labelling the squiggly fireworks “Sperm!” I have remained a critically patriotic fan of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Nocturnal Terror in Silwan
Ed’s note: Here is a story that ran earleir this week in Just Jerusalem. We are reposting it here in advance of an interview with the author, Daniel Dukarevich with additional actions expected this weekend. You can follow live tweets by Daniel from Silwan at JVP’s twitter feed right now, Saturday July 3rd. Another night sets in on Silwan. Just two days ago, hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators marched together along the … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
“Play the game, change reality.”
By Jesse Bacon Anyone who is grew up shooting virtual Nazis as I did knows that video games can be addictive. They can also be a nice respite from a fairly dull existence. They can even be achingly, vacantly beautiful. But when I became an activist, I wondered where were the games that would teach us about social justice? I didn’t really have time to look anymore, what with the activism and all, but all I … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Susiya’s Second Summer Camp – A Call for Aid
(crossposted on the Villages Group Blog) Dear Friends and Supporters, I’m writing to you in the name of Fatima Nawajeh, the initiator and organizer of Susiya’s summer camp. Susiya is a Palestinian village in Southern West Bank, an area known as Massafar Yatta or South Hebron Hills. For many years the reality of a summer camp inside their community was an unattainable dream for the inhabitants and the children of Palestinian Susiya. Their cave-dwellers’ village was evacuated by the Israeli army in 1986. Once again in 2001, the occupation army expelled Susiya’s residents and destroyed the families’ scattered dwelling places built after the first evacuation. Meanwhile, the nearby settlers of the Jewish Sussya (built and subsidized by the Israeli government on expropriated land in the 1980’s) continue grabbing more and more agricultural … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Mud and Hope in South Hebron
June 26, 2010 Bi’r el-‘Id There’s a strange beauty in the viscous black mud that comes up from the depths of the earth, from the bottom, or somewhere near the bottom, of the well we are cleaning in Bi’r al-‘Id. Bucket after bucket of it, lifted by pulley from down below, straggles to the surface, where we unload it and pour it out on the rocky escarpment. Its texture changes remarkably over the long morning hours from a watery top layer to heavy, shiny dark loam to a granular, sticky brown. It has a strong smell, like the sulphurous mud from the Dead Sea (not very far away) that people smear over their bodies for healing. Yehuda says the Palestinians of Bi’r al-‘Id should bottle it and sell it at the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
Injured protester Emily Henochowicz’s artwork
By Jesse Bacon We covered the Israeli army’s shooting of Emiliy Henochowicz for protesting alongside Palestinians, causing her to lose her eye.I discovered she has a blog of her work, here are some of the photos you can view at the site. The works are powerful even when you are not thinking about what happened to her. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Stop the Bullets! Activism in the Buffer Zone
By Abu Waleed, Popular Campaign for Security in the Buffer Zone and Ellen Stark, International Solidarity Movement Stop the bullets! A call to stop the use of live ammunition by Israel against unarmed citizens in the Gaza ‘buffer zone’ The catastrophic Israeli attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which left 9 dead, has rightly horrified the international community. However, lethal force by the Israeli military is nothing new to Palestinians. In the Gaza ‘buffer zone’, live ammunition is routinely used against unarmed demonstrators and farmers. The ‘buffer zone’ is illegal The Israeli military violently enforces a zone of 300 meters to 2 kilometers along Gaza’s lengthy border with Israel, in direct violation of the Oslo Accords of the 1990’s. This zone claims 30% of Gaza’s farmland, and some of … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Civil Disobedience Is….A Fun Day Out in Tel Aviv
By the Coalition of Women for Peace The trip to the Betar crossing point passed in almost complete silence. When we approached the checkpoint, the red sign, the metal tower, the speed bumps, the concrete barriers, the soldiers’ position, I felt my legs shaking – and not because of the bumpy road. I took a deep breath, slowed down but didn’t stop, rolled down the window, gave the soldier a causal wave and he indifferently motioned for me to keep going. ‘We made it!’” (Ilana Hammerman, “If There Is a Heaven,” Ha’aretz, 7 May 2010) One spring morning, not so long ago, four women crossed the Betar Checkpoint: Ilana Hammerman, an Israeli translator and editor, and three Palestinian girls from a village in the West Bank. The girls, Aya, Lin and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, 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.