The Only Democracy? » Entries tagged with "Israel"
Strengthening Those Who Belong to the Land: Mahmud from Susya, the Organic Farmer
(crossposted from The Villages Group Blog, where more pics can be found) Mahmud from Susya got up one day from his depression, and built a very basic green house. With simple tools and techniques he succeeded to surprise us with excellent organic vegetables. The vegetables are an essential addition to the family’s poor diet, based mainly on dairy products from the herd which is their main source of making a living. And while both herding and growing grains is restricted by the settlers/army, green-housing is a brilliant solution for growing food which does not require much land. One day Mahmud discovered a vegetable disease on the leaves of his tomatoes. We could not help with the disease, but by suggested to finance for him an agricultural course. When he returned from his two … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports, Victories for Democracy
…In Israel, it has been “Arizona” all along!
(by Assaf Oron, crossposted from his DailyKos diary) I am encouraged by the wave of justified indignation, and spontaneous boycott movement, against the new Arizona law. Indeed, requiring citizens and legal resident to carry proof of their status at all times, and encouraging police to profile passersby who “look suspicious”, runs counter to the soul of democracy. The bigots who put together the Arizona law should be made to pay. And hopefully it will be declared … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination, Featured
Haaretz Condemns Nakba Ban as “Mocking Democracy”
On May 15th, the day marking Independence Day for Israel, many Arabs within Israel and throughout the world commemorate the Nakba (the “catastrophe” in Arabic) when most of the Arab population living within the new-born state were forced to flee in 1948. Much of this population continues to live as refugees to this day, or as internally displaced persons within Israel. But public commemoration of Israel’s independence as a day of mourning could be penalized should a bill approved on Sunday by a ministerial panel be brought to the Knesset and cabinet for vote. In a scathing editorial, Haaretz laments this latest manifestation of the undemocratic agenda of the Netanyahu-Lieberman cabinet. The Knesset yesterday put Israeli democracy to shame when it passed the “Nakba Law” at first reading with a majority of 15 against … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discrimination
Villages Group: Yasmin Opens the Braille Little Oxford Dictionary
by Assaf Oron. Yasmin Gebara is a very special young woman from the village of Salem near Nablus. Yasmin is blind from birth. In September 2004, Yasmin’s father Saael, a taxi driver, was killed in cold blood by a settler who later managed to escape the country before going to prison. Last month as Yasmin graduated from Nablus University with an English major, we sent an email asking for donations of English literature CD’s, and possibly a … Read entire article »
Filed under: On The Ground Reports
Survey: Israel Increasingly Rejects Democracy
A survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute reveals that over half the Jewish population of Israel is opposed to full equal rights for Arab citizens and that Israel increasingly rejects democracy as the preferred form of government. The general conclusion of the survey, which is dubbed the “Israeli Democracy Survey” and will be conducted every year, is that Israel is basically a democracy in form more than in substance, and that it has yet to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
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.