The Only Democracy? » Archive
On February 25th, World Says Open Shuhada Street
By Rebecca Kirzner Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” – Robert Kennedy, address delivered at the University of Capetown, South Africa, June 6, 1966. What will be the history of this generation, and which small acts carried out by which individuals, groups, governments, and campaigns … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Israeli Activist Reacts to UC Irvine Protest
By Ofer Neiman. Today I read the following article by University of California-Irvine professor Marc LeVine, about the events surrounding Michael Oren’s speech there two weeks ago, which you can watch here. Here’s a key quote from LeVine : “Ambassador Oren’s appearance at UCI was part of an extremely sophisticated, well funded and self-described “propaganda” campaign–known by the Hebrew term “hasbara”–directed by the Israeli government and major American Jewish organizations with the goal of presenting Israel in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Burston: Israel is De-legitimizing Itself
Bradley Burston was never one of the Ha’aretz columnist I read regularly, like Gideon Levy, Akiva Eldar, or Amira Hass. I certainly did not expect to be featuring his work on this blog. But I noticed that his recent column was circulating widely among my friends, including those who care about Israel but are not involved in opposing Israel’s policy. I can see why this column, about envying the people who “hate Israel.” touched a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
People Are Talking About BDS
People are talking about Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). People should be talking about BDS. If you’re not talking about BDS in the context of Israel\Palestine, you should be thinking about it. And here is why. When I was a little girl, I sent my allowance to the Jewish National Fund to plant trees in Israel in the name of family members. I was told and passed on stories about an underdog that after centuries of … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Response from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel
I wrote Physicians for Human Rights-Israel about the case of Maria Amen we covered previously and the issue of Palestinians getting access to medical treatment. Here is their response, reprinted with permission. Dear Jesse, Thanks for approaching us on the issue of the Israeli policy at Erez Crossing. Unfortunately, Maria Amn’s case about which you wrote was one of the very few cases of Palestinians who were accidentally injured during Israeli attacks and were eventually recognized … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
UN: Israel’s “Heritage Sites” Are On Palestinian Land
Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Sunday that the biblical Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarch in Hebron would be added to the list of Israel’s “Heritage sites”, a chorus of officials condemned the plans as confiscatory, and derailing peace efforts. United Nations top Mideast Envoy, Robert Serry, said: Those sites are in Palestinian territory and bear an importance not only in Judaism but in Islam as well…Implementation of the government’s decision could harm trust between the two sides and hurt the efforts to renew talks PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Ekekat issued a statement saying: The unilateral decision to make Palestinian sites in Hebron and Bethlehem part of Israel shows there is no genuine partner for peace, but an occupying power intent on consolidating Palestinian land …Netanyahu is actively working to sabotage the two-state … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Wrong man for the job? Some quotes from Israel’s Education Ministry’s Chief Scientist
Some quotes from the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Education Ministry Gavriel Avital has the Israeli scientific community irate. Quotes like”I don’t recycle, I put plastic in the trash. The earth will not be harmed, God promised us,” “Man does not cause global warming.” Not surprisingly he’s not a big supporter of the theory of Evolution either. If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
New Struggle in Beit Sahour
The New Statesman reports on a budding protest movement in one of the historic centers of Palestinian protest, Beit Sahour. Like many of the campaigns we follow here, it is resistance to an attempted takeover by settlers. Ush al Ghrab (‘Crow’s Nest’) is a small piece of land being targeted by a group of Jewish settlers and their allies. The area had previously served as a military base, before being evacuated in 2006. Since then, local … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
A Personal Report: Bil’in Marks 5 Years of Struggle, UPDATED with Video
Amir Terkel, is a longtime JVP member who now lives in Ramat Gan, Israel with his wife and 2 children. After attending the Bil’in 5th anniversary demonstration on Friday, he sent this message: An Uplifting Day An account of the March in Bili’in marking 5 years of joint struggle. I’ll admit things were not looking (or smelling) so hot when we were being sprayed by the Skunk Canon, an indescribably nauseating combination of liquid smelling like a cross between raw sewage and decomposing animals that almost instantly induces your vomit instinct; this immediately followed by barrages of aluminum tear gas canisters fired 40 or 60 at a time. Having these burning hot projectiles rain down on you while you are temporarily blinded and choking from the tear gas was quite terrifying for me. one of many … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, On The Ground Reports
Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s Letter from Ofer Jail
The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee released this letter from Bil’in protest leader Abdallah Abu Rahmah. This letter from Abu Rahmah was conveyed from his prison cell by his lawyers. For information on his case and actions to take for his release see here Dear Friends and Supporters, It has been two months now since I was handcuffed, blindfolded and taken from my home. Today news has reached Ofer Military Prison that the … 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.