The Only Democracy? » Archive
Hebron From All Angles
For the past three Saturdays I have attended the new wave of weekly Hebron protests in the Casbah (Old City). The protests are intended to disrupt army-accompanied settler tours that pass through the Casbah each week, and demand the re-opening of Shuhada Street and an end to the occupation of the city. Although for the past two weeks the settlers have changed the time of their tour to avoid encountering our protest, we decided to … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Four Beaten and Arrested at Al-Walaje Sit-In
by Mazin Qumsiyeh Our ten hour ordeal with the occupation forces started at 8:30 AM as we gathered in the small village of Al-Walaje. A tiny store with an elderly women who insisted on making me coffee and not charging me. Idyllic setting except for the heavy bulldozers now carving the hills to separate the remaining people from their lands via an apartheid wall that is planned to completely ring the village. This … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs, On The Ground Reports
Israel Arrests its Own Citizen, a Human Rights Director
Ittijah General Director Ameer Makhoul Arrested by Israeli Authorities Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Condemn Arrest as Arbitrary and Seek Immediate International Intervention [Ramallah, 6 May 2010] This morning at 3:10 a.m., Israeli Security Agency (GSS) agents accompanied by Israeli police raided Ameer Makhoul’s family home in Haifa and arrested him. Mr. Makhoul is a human rights defender and serves as the general director of Ittijah – The Union of Arab Community-Based Associations and as the Chairman of … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Two More Arrests of Activists, One is a Teenager.
From the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Two residents of Ni’lin were arrested by the Israeli Army tonight, during a night-time raid on the village. Their arrest follows the two similar arrests last week, and may signal a renewed increase of anti-Wall arrests. A large military force, including a plain-clothed snatch squad, raided the village of Ni’lin at 2:30am tonight, arresting Sa’id Amirah and 17 year old Mohanned Srour, two anti-Wall activists … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Another Day, Another Arrest of Human Rights Worker
From The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief. Israeli authorities have taken Izzet Sahin, the representative and founder of IHH (The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief)’s Office in West Bank, into custody on the 27th of April. Izzet Sahin have been taken into custody by the Israeli military while he was passing through the checkpoint in Bethlehem. Sahin was transferred to Ashkelon prison following … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Villages Group: First Biodigester Unit at Work in Susiya
(crossposted from the Villages Group Blog) Following the success of the Villages Group’s first environmental initiative – the renewable energy project, which has been now running independently for about a year under the banner Comet-ME – the Villages Group is now launching a second environmental initiative: Biodigester units for shepherd families’ use. These systems turn the family herd’s manure into bio-gas for the family’s cooking needs. As mentioned in our previous post, a month … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Another Palestinian Protest Leader Jailed But Not Silenced
From Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bil’in. Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 Iyad Burnat, a leader in the popular struggle against the Israeli wall, was banned by Israel’s military from crossing the West Bank borders into Jordan on Saturday. Burnat is head of the local committee against the wall and settlement in the central West Bank village of Bil’in. The villagers of Bil’in have been organizing weekly anti wall protest for five years. “This is just another episode … Read entire article »
Filed under: Human Rights Activists in the Crosshairs
Rethink This Veto! Ibrahim Shikaki at Berkeley Divestment Vote
Please note: corrections and amendments to this post are in italics below. Our apologies for the errors! By Ibrahim Shikaki Speech of Ibrahim Shikaki, the last speaker at the hearing on the Berkeley divestment bill on March 28th. Ibrahim is a resident of Ramallah and an visiting scholar at Berkeley. The speech as it was delivered was previously published by USACBI. Dear Senators, my name is Ibrahim Shikaki. I’m a visiting student from Palestine. I want to talk to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Israeli Democracy: Bubble about to Burst?
By Inna Michaeli, Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel) “Uh-oh, we’re in trouble Something’s come along and it’s burst our bubble” – Shampoo, “Trouble” Just last Wednesday a new poll was published, solicited by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, indicating that a vast majority of Jewish Israelis think that human rights organizations that expose immoral conduct by Israel should not be allowed to operate freely. Most of the respondents also stated that Israeli citizens who support international … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Gil Scott-Heron boycotts Tel Aviv, sends powerful message to Israelis
By Noam Sheizaf, reprinted from his Promised Land blog This is a translation of my article regarding the cancellation of spoken words artist Gil-Scott Heron’s gig in Tel Aviv. His show was scheduled for late May, but it was later removed from Scot-Heron’s site and though there was no official statement yet, it seems to have been canceled for political reasons. The original Hebrew version of the article was posted Wednesday on the … Read entire article »
Filed under: 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.