20 mar 2014
By Rifat Odeh Kassis
Rifat Odeh Kassis is the general coordinator of the Palestinian-Christian activist group Kairos.
In any situation of oppression, some of the oppressed direct their anger toward the oppressors. But some do not. Instead, they channel their frustration toward their peers, their fellow oppressed.
They try to erase their past, hoping that the future will bring them a better lot in life, a new reality -- and often, in the process, becoming more racist than their most bigoted neighbors.
Nonetheless, history reminds us that these projections will never truly help the oppressed. Their oppressors will continue to see them as strangers -- or, at best, as a fifth column, a group used to undermine their own country without ever gaining the respect of those who seek to serve them.
On February 24 of this year, the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that creates a legal distinction between Christians and Muslims, categorizing Christians as non-Arabs. Israel actively seeks to make Palestinians forget that they share a history, a community, and a struggle, and is increasingly implementing legislation to make this aim a reality.
The international media, unfortunately, has aided in this process through their simplistic, biased, and at times outright untruthful coverage of the issues facing Christian Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.
Michele Chabin's article "Israeli Christians seek integration, including army service" published on Mar. 14, 2014 in USA Today, is a good example of this kind of coverage. The article focuses on certain Christians' decision to participate in activities run by the Israeli state, on different public responses to that decision, and on the Israeli government’s direct recruitment of Christians for the Israeli army and other bodies.
I stopped short at three points. Each point represents a major falsehood, misrepresentation, misunderstanding, or reduction; each point opens a door onto subjects unexplored in Chabin's article, subjects we must discuss in order to truly understand the reality of Christians in Israel and Palestine.
The first word that made me pause appears in the title: the integration in "Israeli Christians seek integration…" The use of this word makes me think of the many immigrants to Europe who struggle to understand their marginalization within their new social contexts and often blame themselves for it; what they don’t see are the policies and attitudes that prevent them from becoming an integral part of society.
In the case of Israel, some Christians fail to see the discriminatory policies, laws, and practices against non-Jewish citizens.The fundamental tension of the Israeli state itself -- its self-definition as both a democracy and a Jewish nation, its desire to serve as a model of democratic ideals and its simultaneous insistence on maintaining a Jewish majority -- is often referenced and crucial to remember here.
Victims of this systematic discrimination often vote for the most right-wing parties in their new host countries -- thinking, whether consciously or unconsciously, that becoming members of the hardline right will grant them the integration they yearn for. They try to become, in other words, more Catholic than the Pope.
And will this help them? Of course not: they will remain "outsiders" in the eyes of the majority, will remain unwanted, will remain the "other" that the right-wing wishes to exclude. This is the same fate that non-Jewish citizens suffer in the state of Israel, despite the fact that they are not immigrants (and that, indeed, their families have lived their for generations upon generations), and no matter what they do to prove the contrary.
The second point that struck me is the quote from a Palestinian Christian man who serves with the Israeli army in the city of Hebron -- I'll call him "the victim," because he has been damaged by the system that marginalizes him and yet brainwashes him into seeking this form of acceptance. This victim should accompany other victims, like the refuseniks (young Jewish Israeli citizens who refuse to fulfill their mandatory army service), who see, for example, the Jewish settlers in Hebron as the major threat to the Israeli state.
These settlers insist on living in the very heart of a Palestinian community, depriving Palestinians of water, use of the streets, access to schools and hospitals and places of worship; forbidding them from practicing normal life in scores of other ways; and often physically assaulting them.
They maintain that all these practices contribute to the security of the state of Israel, and they consider all non-Jews to be outsiders who should be evacuated from "their" country. The Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, committed in 1994 by American-born Israeli Baruch Goldstein, is just one example of this mentality.
The victim's decision to "serve" the settlers in Hebron, protecting them in their enclaves, will not change their opinion of him. Moreover, the Israeli decision to assign this and other victims to a military post in Hebron is a telling one. Israel didn't dispatch him to the state borders, or to Bethlehem or Ramallah, where he would have been in contact with his Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers living in these cities: stopping them at checkpoints, humiliating them at roadblocks, arresting their children in the middle of the night.
This contact could have awakened some uncomfortable, important feelings in him: feelings of confusion, feelings of connection with the people whose oppression he was sent to enact.
Rifat Odeh Kassis is the general coordinator of the Palestinian-Christian activist group Kairos.
In any situation of oppression, some of the oppressed direct their anger toward the oppressors. But some do not. Instead, they channel their frustration toward their peers, their fellow oppressed.
They try to erase their past, hoping that the future will bring them a better lot in life, a new reality -- and often, in the process, becoming more racist than their most bigoted neighbors.
Nonetheless, history reminds us that these projections will never truly help the oppressed. Their oppressors will continue to see them as strangers -- or, at best, as a fifth column, a group used to undermine their own country without ever gaining the respect of those who seek to serve them.
On February 24 of this year, the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that creates a legal distinction between Christians and Muslims, categorizing Christians as non-Arabs. Israel actively seeks to make Palestinians forget that they share a history, a community, and a struggle, and is increasingly implementing legislation to make this aim a reality.
The international media, unfortunately, has aided in this process through their simplistic, biased, and at times outright untruthful coverage of the issues facing Christian Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.
Michele Chabin's article "Israeli Christians seek integration, including army service" published on Mar. 14, 2014 in USA Today, is a good example of this kind of coverage. The article focuses on certain Christians' decision to participate in activities run by the Israeli state, on different public responses to that decision, and on the Israeli government’s direct recruitment of Christians for the Israeli army and other bodies.
I stopped short at three points. Each point represents a major falsehood, misrepresentation, misunderstanding, or reduction; each point opens a door onto subjects unexplored in Chabin's article, subjects we must discuss in order to truly understand the reality of Christians in Israel and Palestine.
The first word that made me pause appears in the title: the integration in "Israeli Christians seek integration…" The use of this word makes me think of the many immigrants to Europe who struggle to understand their marginalization within their new social contexts and often blame themselves for it; what they don’t see are the policies and attitudes that prevent them from becoming an integral part of society.
In the case of Israel, some Christians fail to see the discriminatory policies, laws, and practices against non-Jewish citizens.The fundamental tension of the Israeli state itself -- its self-definition as both a democracy and a Jewish nation, its desire to serve as a model of democratic ideals and its simultaneous insistence on maintaining a Jewish majority -- is often referenced and crucial to remember here.
Victims of this systematic discrimination often vote for the most right-wing parties in their new host countries -- thinking, whether consciously or unconsciously, that becoming members of the hardline right will grant them the integration they yearn for. They try to become, in other words, more Catholic than the Pope.
And will this help them? Of course not: they will remain "outsiders" in the eyes of the majority, will remain unwanted, will remain the "other" that the right-wing wishes to exclude. This is the same fate that non-Jewish citizens suffer in the state of Israel, despite the fact that they are not immigrants (and that, indeed, their families have lived their for generations upon generations), and no matter what they do to prove the contrary.
The second point that struck me is the quote from a Palestinian Christian man who serves with the Israeli army in the city of Hebron -- I'll call him "the victim," because he has been damaged by the system that marginalizes him and yet brainwashes him into seeking this form of acceptance. This victim should accompany other victims, like the refuseniks (young Jewish Israeli citizens who refuse to fulfill their mandatory army service), who see, for example, the Jewish settlers in Hebron as the major threat to the Israeli state.
These settlers insist on living in the very heart of a Palestinian community, depriving Palestinians of water, use of the streets, access to schools and hospitals and places of worship; forbidding them from practicing normal life in scores of other ways; and often physically assaulting them.
They maintain that all these practices contribute to the security of the state of Israel, and they consider all non-Jews to be outsiders who should be evacuated from "their" country. The Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, committed in 1994 by American-born Israeli Baruch Goldstein, is just one example of this mentality.
The victim's decision to "serve" the settlers in Hebron, protecting them in their enclaves, will not change their opinion of him. Moreover, the Israeli decision to assign this and other victims to a military post in Hebron is a telling one. Israel didn't dispatch him to the state borders, or to Bethlehem or Ramallah, where he would have been in contact with his Palestinian Christian sisters and brothers living in these cities: stopping them at checkpoints, humiliating them at roadblocks, arresting their children in the middle of the night.
This contact could have awakened some uncomfortable, important feelings in him: feelings of confusion, feelings of connection with the people whose oppression he was sent to enact.
Israel does not want this to happen: the idea is to sever those possible connections, to fragment communities, to quash empathy and solidarity where it might arise among Palestinians of any and all backgrounds.
These divisive tactics are appearing more and more in national legislation. The only way its victims can "protect" their country is by refusing to serve as another instrument of their own occupation and oppression.
The third and final point I must take issue with is a quote from the writer herself: "Indigenous Christians say they can trace their roots back 2,000 years to the time of Jesus. But they complain they feel sometimes like second-class citizens in the Jewish homeland and are denied top private-sector jobs and positions in government." They feel sometimes like second-class citizens? The author must know, as any halfway competent observer knows, that non-Jewish citizens of Israel rank as second- or third- or fourth-class citizens.
In the social hierarchy that is the Israeli state, Ashkenazi Jews are the privileged first class, followed by Sephardic Jews. (These two categories contain other sub-ranks and divisions, of course, but this is not the topic of my text.) The Druze, who have been serving in the army and "protecting" their country for the past 50 years rank third or fourth; despite their service, they are continually subjected to discrimination in many professional and social contexts and their cities are not allocated the budgets that Jewish ones are.
What about Christians, then? Will they become the equals of Israel's Jews? Will they be able to return to the villages they were expelled from in 1948 and many years thereafter?
Let us think of the village of Iqrit: in 1951, the Supreme Court ruled that the villagers could go back and inhabit their homes. But the military government found pretexts to refuse their return, and the Israeli army destroyed the entire village later that year.
Will Israel have a Christian prime minister soon? Or a president of the state? History, policy, and reality respond with an overwhelming "no." The population of Israel is 20 percent non-Jewish, in addition to thousands of Russians, Asians, and Africans, both Jews and non-Jews.
Yet the state discourse, policies, and practices insist on Israel's Jewishness above all else.
It is not interested in equality. It needs second-class citizens to be what it is.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
These divisive tactics are appearing more and more in national legislation. The only way its victims can "protect" their country is by refusing to serve as another instrument of their own occupation and oppression.
The third and final point I must take issue with is a quote from the writer herself: "Indigenous Christians say they can trace their roots back 2,000 years to the time of Jesus. But they complain they feel sometimes like second-class citizens in the Jewish homeland and are denied top private-sector jobs and positions in government." They feel sometimes like second-class citizens? The author must know, as any halfway competent observer knows, that non-Jewish citizens of Israel rank as second- or third- or fourth-class citizens.
In the social hierarchy that is the Israeli state, Ashkenazi Jews are the privileged first class, followed by Sephardic Jews. (These two categories contain other sub-ranks and divisions, of course, but this is not the topic of my text.) The Druze, who have been serving in the army and "protecting" their country for the past 50 years rank third or fourth; despite their service, they are continually subjected to discrimination in many professional and social contexts and their cities are not allocated the budgets that Jewish ones are.
What about Christians, then? Will they become the equals of Israel's Jews? Will they be able to return to the villages they were expelled from in 1948 and many years thereafter?
Let us think of the village of Iqrit: in 1951, the Supreme Court ruled that the villagers could go back and inhabit their homes. But the military government found pretexts to refuse their return, and the Israeli army destroyed the entire village later that year.
Will Israel have a Christian prime minister soon? Or a president of the state? History, policy, and reality respond with an overwhelming "no." The population of Israel is 20 percent non-Jewish, in addition to thousands of Russians, Asians, and Africans, both Jews and non-Jews.
Yet the state discourse, policies, and practices insist on Israel's Jewishness above all else.
It is not interested in equality. It needs second-class citizens to be what it is.
The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit expressed 'grave concern' about a law recently passed by the Israeli Knesset, on February 24, which defines the status of Palestinian Arab Christians in the state of Israel, said a statement issued on Tuesday.
Top officials of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land have said that this new law "introduces a distinction between Christian and Muslim Palestinians and states that Christian Palestinians are Christians and not Palestinians", WAFA reports.
Tveit called on "Israeli authorities to reverse this law to stop an injustice against the Christian citizens of Israel", encouraging WCC member churches to "raise this issue with representatives of Israel and with their own governments", and urging reversal of this law.
Tveit said that this law establishes a "legislative distinction between the indigenous Palestinian Arab Christians and Palestinian Arab Muslims, both of whom are citizens of the State of Israel". This distinction, he stressed, is an "unacceptable severing of entire communities from their cultural identity".
Tveit added that the "Knesset has transgressed all proper distinctions between state and religious authority by attempting to define the nature and character of Christian communities within Israel against their own will and self-understanding".
Warning of the adverse implications of this law, Tveit said that "rather than creating divisions among communities, the Knesset should pave the way for breaking down barriers that divide people according to ethnicity and religion".
Tveit echoed heads of the Catholic Church in Israel, who stressed that "it is not the right or the duty of the Israeli civil authorities to tell us who we are".
Catholic Church leaders have called this law part of a campaign which was aimed at drafting Christian Palestinians into the Israeli military. "This campaign clearly has as its aim to divide Christians from their Muslim compatriots. However, it is equally dangerous because it will divide Christians among themselves even further," they said.
The WCC has long affirmed the right of religious communities to define themselves, condemning the manipulation of religious identity for political gains.
Top officials of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land have said that this new law "introduces a distinction between Christian and Muslim Palestinians and states that Christian Palestinians are Christians and not Palestinians", WAFA reports.
Tveit called on "Israeli authorities to reverse this law to stop an injustice against the Christian citizens of Israel", encouraging WCC member churches to "raise this issue with representatives of Israel and with their own governments", and urging reversal of this law.
Tveit said that this law establishes a "legislative distinction between the indigenous Palestinian Arab Christians and Palestinian Arab Muslims, both of whom are citizens of the State of Israel". This distinction, he stressed, is an "unacceptable severing of entire communities from their cultural identity".
Tveit added that the "Knesset has transgressed all proper distinctions between state and religious authority by attempting to define the nature and character of Christian communities within Israel against their own will and self-understanding".
Warning of the adverse implications of this law, Tveit said that "rather than creating divisions among communities, the Knesset should pave the way for breaking down barriers that divide people according to ethnicity and religion".
Tveit echoed heads of the Catholic Church in Israel, who stressed that "it is not the right or the duty of the Israeli civil authorities to tell us who we are".
Catholic Church leaders have called this law part of a campaign which was aimed at drafting Christian Palestinians into the Israeli military. "This campaign clearly has as its aim to divide Christians from their Muslim compatriots. However, it is equally dangerous because it will divide Christians among themselves even further," they said.
The WCC has long affirmed the right of religious communities to define themselves, condemning the manipulation of religious identity for political gains.
Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that Egyptian army officers and officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Tel Aviv last week with the aim of strengthening cooperation between Israel and the new regime in Egypt. A senior Israeli official was quoted as saying that the delegation was in Tel Aviv for a week, holding meetings, hearing reviews of the security situation and even touring various areas.
The paper reported that the Israeli government urged the U.S. administration and senior Congressmen to supply the Egyptian army with ten advanced Apache combat helicopters
"Israel clarified that supplying the helicopters is crucial to Egypt’s fight against jihadist organizations in the Sinai, and will improve regional security", Haaretz stated.
The Israeli official told the newspaper that Israel’s ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer and other embassy diplomats talked about the matter with high-ranking U.S. officials in the past week.
He said "Israel is seeking to persuade the U.S. administration and senior Congressmen to reconsider an earlier decision to freeze aid to Egypt, including the sale of advanced Apache combat helicopters."
Relations of security cooperation between Cairo and Tel Aviv have seen a marked improvement following the Egyptian army's ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last July.
The paper reported that the Israeli government urged the U.S. administration and senior Congressmen to supply the Egyptian army with ten advanced Apache combat helicopters
"Israel clarified that supplying the helicopters is crucial to Egypt’s fight against jihadist organizations in the Sinai, and will improve regional security", Haaretz stated.
The Israeli official told the newspaper that Israel’s ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer and other embassy diplomats talked about the matter with high-ranking U.S. officials in the past week.
He said "Israel is seeking to persuade the U.S. administration and senior Congressmen to reconsider an earlier decision to freeze aid to Egypt, including the sale of advanced Apache combat helicopters."
Relations of security cooperation between Cairo and Tel Aviv have seen a marked improvement following the Egyptian army's ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last July.
By Patrick Mac Manus
It has been said “the story of Albania’s Muslims, and what they did during World War II, is one of the great untold stories of the world.” In recent years, these private heroisms have been revitalized through the lens of Jewish-American photographer Norman H. Gershman and his collected images and oral histories that make up the travelling portrait exhibit called Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II.
The story is quite an extraordinary one. When Hitler’s troops began invading the Balkan States in the early 1940s, Muslims across Albania took an estimated 2,000 Jewish refugees into their homes en masse and welcomed them not as refugees, but as guests.
They disguised these Jews as Muslims, took them to mosque, called them Muslim names, gave them Muslim passports, hid them when they needed to, and then ferried them to inaccessible mountain hamlets.
“In fact, Albania is the only Nazi-occupied country that sheltered Jews,” says Gershman. The Jewish population in Albania grew by ten-fold during World War II, and it became the only country in occupied Europe to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning. Records from the International School for Holocaust Studies show that not one Albanian Jew or any of the other thousands of refugees were given up to the Nazis by Albanian Muslims. “They did this in the name of their religion,” Gershman says. “They absolutely had no prejudice what so ever.”
That is because these Muslims held themselves accountable to what Albanians call Besa, which is still upheld as the highest ethical code in the country. “Besa is a code of honour deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims,” the gallery explained in the show’s press release. “It dictates a moral behaviour so absolute that non-adherence brings shame and dishonour to oneself and one’s family. Besa demands that one take responsibility for the lives of others in their time of need. This Islamic behaviour of compassion and mercy celebrates the sanctity of life and a view of the other- the stranger- as one’s own close family member.”
“Most remarkably, this was all done with the consent and support of the entire country. Thousands of Jews, hidden in plain sight- everyone knew- and no one told.”
Over a five-year period that began in 2002, Gershman travelled to Albania to document these surviving Muslim families and collect their stories, both through pictures and words. A man who worked for the Albania-Israel Friendship Society carried a small notebook with the names and addresses of these Muslim families, and with that, an interpreter, a driver and an assistant, Gershman crisscrossed the country, finding these families in cities, villages, even at the end of gravel roads. Yad Vashem knew of 63 families on record, but Gershman’s trek led him to more than 150. “I travelled all through Albania and Kosovo where I met the rescuer’s children, who are in their sixties or even older, the rescuers’ widows, and in some cases the rescuer himself.” He took their portraits and began with the same question: What is your story?
“I asked them, ‘Why did you do this? What was in the Quar’an that you did this?’ They would only smile. Some of them said: ‘We have saved lives to go to paradise.”
“There was no government conspiracy, no underground railroad, no organized resistance of any kind-” Gershman said, “only individual Albanians, acting alone, to save the lives of people whose lives were in immediate danger. My portraits of these people, and their stories, are meant to reflect their humanity, their dignity, their religious and moral convictions, and their quiet courage.”
Source: Occupied Palestine
It has been said “the story of Albania’s Muslims, and what they did during World War II, is one of the great untold stories of the world.” In recent years, these private heroisms have been revitalized through the lens of Jewish-American photographer Norman H. Gershman and his collected images and oral histories that make up the travelling portrait exhibit called Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II.
The story is quite an extraordinary one. When Hitler’s troops began invading the Balkan States in the early 1940s, Muslims across Albania took an estimated 2,000 Jewish refugees into their homes en masse and welcomed them not as refugees, but as guests.
They disguised these Jews as Muslims, took them to mosque, called them Muslim names, gave them Muslim passports, hid them when they needed to, and then ferried them to inaccessible mountain hamlets.
“In fact, Albania is the only Nazi-occupied country that sheltered Jews,” says Gershman. The Jewish population in Albania grew by ten-fold during World War II, and it became the only country in occupied Europe to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning. Records from the International School for Holocaust Studies show that not one Albanian Jew or any of the other thousands of refugees were given up to the Nazis by Albanian Muslims. “They did this in the name of their religion,” Gershman says. “They absolutely had no prejudice what so ever.”
That is because these Muslims held themselves accountable to what Albanians call Besa, which is still upheld as the highest ethical code in the country. “Besa is a code of honour deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims,” the gallery explained in the show’s press release. “It dictates a moral behaviour so absolute that non-adherence brings shame and dishonour to oneself and one’s family. Besa demands that one take responsibility for the lives of others in their time of need. This Islamic behaviour of compassion and mercy celebrates the sanctity of life and a view of the other- the stranger- as one’s own close family member.”
“Most remarkably, this was all done with the consent and support of the entire country. Thousands of Jews, hidden in plain sight- everyone knew- and no one told.”
Over a five-year period that began in 2002, Gershman travelled to Albania to document these surviving Muslim families and collect their stories, both through pictures and words. A man who worked for the Albania-Israel Friendship Society carried a small notebook with the names and addresses of these Muslim families, and with that, an interpreter, a driver and an assistant, Gershman crisscrossed the country, finding these families in cities, villages, even at the end of gravel roads. Yad Vashem knew of 63 families on record, but Gershman’s trek led him to more than 150. “I travelled all through Albania and Kosovo where I met the rescuer’s children, who are in their sixties or even older, the rescuers’ widows, and in some cases the rescuer himself.” He took their portraits and began with the same question: What is your story?
“I asked them, ‘Why did you do this? What was in the Quar’an that you did this?’ They would only smile. Some of them said: ‘We have saved lives to go to paradise.”
“There was no government conspiracy, no underground railroad, no organized resistance of any kind-” Gershman said, “only individual Albanians, acting alone, to save the lives of people whose lives were in immediate danger. My portraits of these people, and their stories, are meant to reflect their humanity, their dignity, their religious and moral convictions, and their quiet courage.”
Source: Occupied Palestine
19 mar 2014
It is expected that the Israeli Knesset will approve on Wednesday the extension of a law prohibits the Palestinian families reunification for another year. Haaretz daily newspaper said, this law prohibits the Palestinians reunification claiming that it (reunification) constitutes a security risk.
The Israeli government will hold a meeting today to take a decision that will be then presented to the Knesset for ratification.
Tomorrow will be a holiday for the Knesset and the previous extension of the law will expire at the end of this month, that is the reason that pushed the Israeli occupation to present the decision in a rush.
The Israeli government will hold a meeting today to take a decision that will be then presented to the Knesset for ratification.
Tomorrow will be a holiday for the Knesset and the previous extension of the law will expire at the end of this month, that is the reason that pushed the Israeli occupation to present the decision in a rush.
A Jerusalemite initiative under the name “ Worship is my right” started on Wednesday aiming to expose Israel’s policies and violent practices against Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, in Jerusalem in order to get thousands of signatures enough to sue Israel in the international courts . Israeli forces impose severe restrictions on the entry of people of Jerusalem and pre-1948 Palestine to al-Aqsa mosque and also prevent the people of the Gaza Strip and West Bank from reaching it.
They erected a number of checkpoints at the entrances of the holy city, hindering the movement of the West Bank citizens .
The Israeli occupation deprived also Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by not giving them permits specially during holidays.
The owner of the initiative Amid Barahma said that it does not belong to any party but targets all the people of Palestine in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank to highlight the Israeli unfair and repressive measures against Muslims and Christians and the restriction on the freedom of movement through checkpoints.
He indicated that several youth volunteers participated in the initiative and they will exert their efforts to accomplish success.
They erected a number of checkpoints at the entrances of the holy city, hindering the movement of the West Bank citizens .
The Israeli occupation deprived also Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by not giving them permits specially during holidays.
The owner of the initiative Amid Barahma said that it does not belong to any party but targets all the people of Palestine in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank to highlight the Israeli unfair and repressive measures against Muslims and Christians and the restriction on the freedom of movement through checkpoints.
He indicated that several youth volunteers participated in the initiative and they will exert their efforts to accomplish success.
Moshe Ya'alon looks into Syria on tour of Golan Heights
By MICHAEL WILNER
WASHINGTON -- The United States is using unprecedented language to condemn Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon after he continued weeks of criticism of US President Barack Obama, and members of his foreign policy team, on Tuesday.
“We were shocked by Moshe Ya’alon’s comments, which seriously call into question his commitment to Israel’s relationship with the United States," a senior administration official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday night. "Moreover, this is part of a disturbing pattern in which the Defense Minister disparages the US Administration, and insults its most senior officials."
Ya'alon said on Tuesday that, in light of developments on crises in the Middle East, relations with China and with Russia over the annexation of Crimea, Obama's "image in the world is feebleness."
Ya'alon sensed "disappointment" in the world community, he said at Tel Aviv University.
"Given the unprecedented commitment that this administration has made to Israel’s security, we are mystified why the Defense Minister seems intent on undermining the relationship," the official continued.
The defense minister also implied that US policy on Iran was pushing Israel to plan for war, should talks over its nuclear program fail in Vienna.
"At some stage the United States entered into negotiations with [the Iranians], and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better," Ya'alon said.
Ya'alon's criticism of the US administration was extensive: he suggested the White House "come to its senses," or else risk new terrorist threats from around the world.
"Look what's happening in Ukraine, where the United States is demonstrating weakness, unfortunately," he continued.
The comments come just weeks after Ya'alon was criticized for calling US Secretary of State John Kerry "messianic" for his fervent pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The State Department demanded an apology for those comments, which he delivered at the time at the insistence of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
Source: THE JERUSALEM POST
By MICHAEL WILNER
WASHINGTON -- The United States is using unprecedented language to condemn Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon after he continued weeks of criticism of US President Barack Obama, and members of his foreign policy team, on Tuesday.
“We were shocked by Moshe Ya’alon’s comments, which seriously call into question his commitment to Israel’s relationship with the United States," a senior administration official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday night. "Moreover, this is part of a disturbing pattern in which the Defense Minister disparages the US Administration, and insults its most senior officials."
Ya'alon said on Tuesday that, in light of developments on crises in the Middle East, relations with China and with Russia over the annexation of Crimea, Obama's "image in the world is feebleness."
Ya'alon sensed "disappointment" in the world community, he said at Tel Aviv University.
"Given the unprecedented commitment that this administration has made to Israel’s security, we are mystified why the Defense Minister seems intent on undermining the relationship," the official continued.
The defense minister also implied that US policy on Iran was pushing Israel to plan for war, should talks over its nuclear program fail in Vienna.
"At some stage the United States entered into negotiations with [the Iranians], and unhappily, when it comes to negotiating at a Persian bazaar, the Iranians were better," Ya'alon said.
Ya'alon's criticism of the US administration was extensive: he suggested the White House "come to its senses," or else risk new terrorist threats from around the world.
"Look what's happening in Ukraine, where the United States is demonstrating weakness, unfortunately," he continued.
The comments come just weeks after Ya'alon was criticized for calling US Secretary of State John Kerry "messianic" for his fervent pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The State Department demanded an apology for those comments, which he delivered at the time at the insistence of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
Source: THE JERUSALEM POST
18 mar 2014
An Israeli army officer speaks to a soldier who was wounded during an explosion as he is evacuated to hospital, in the northern city of Haifa March 18, 2014
A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a presence.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed the strategic plateau in a move the world has not recognised.
Violence in Syria has spilled over the Golan frontline in the past but Tuesday's casualties were the worst Israel has suffered in there since the Syrian uprising began three years ago, army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Noticing suspicious movement near the Golan separation fence, the soldiers left their patrol vehicle to inspect it on foot and were hit by an explosion, Lerner said. One was seriously hurt and the others had moderate to light injuries.
Israeli artillery shelled Syrian army positions on the far side of the fence in retaliation, Lerner said.
"We see the Syrian army as responsible, and that is indicated by our response to the attack," he said.
His language suggested Israel was blaming Damascus because it had formal authority over the Syrian-held side of the Golan.
Lerner declined to be drawn on whether Israel knew who specifically had planted the bomb. Two weeks ago, Israel said it foiled a similar attack when its forces shot two Hezbollah men near the Golan fence. Hezbollah has fighters in Syria helping Assad combat a rebellion led by Sunni Islamist insurgents.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Syrian-held side of the Golan was "filled" with al Qaeda-linked rebels and Hezbollah guerrillas who, while at each other's throats in Syria, shared deep enmity for the Jewish state.
"This presents a new challenge for the State of Israel," Netanyahu told his Likud faction.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of setting up positions on the other side of the boundary fence. On Friday, an explosive device was detonated against Israeli soldiers patrolling the nearby border with Lebanon, causing no injuries, the army said.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on one of its bases on the Lebanon-Syria border last month and vowed to respond. Israel said it would hold the Beirut government responsible if Hezbollah attacked it from Lebanese territory.
A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a presence.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed the strategic plateau in a move the world has not recognised.
Violence in Syria has spilled over the Golan frontline in the past but Tuesday's casualties were the worst Israel has suffered in there since the Syrian uprising began three years ago, army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner said.
Noticing suspicious movement near the Golan separation fence, the soldiers left their patrol vehicle to inspect it on foot and were hit by an explosion, Lerner said. One was seriously hurt and the others had moderate to light injuries.
Israeli artillery shelled Syrian army positions on the far side of the fence in retaliation, Lerner said.
"We see the Syrian army as responsible, and that is indicated by our response to the attack," he said.
His language suggested Israel was blaming Damascus because it had formal authority over the Syrian-held side of the Golan.
Lerner declined to be drawn on whether Israel knew who specifically had planted the bomb. Two weeks ago, Israel said it foiled a similar attack when its forces shot two Hezbollah men near the Golan fence. Hezbollah has fighters in Syria helping Assad combat a rebellion led by Sunni Islamist insurgents.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the Syrian-held side of the Golan was "filled" with al Qaeda-linked rebels and Hezbollah guerrillas who, while at each other's throats in Syria, shared deep enmity for the Jewish state.
"This presents a new challenge for the State of Israel," Netanyahu told his Likud faction.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of setting up positions on the other side of the boundary fence. On Friday, an explosive device was detonated against Israeli soldiers patrolling the nearby border with Lebanon, causing no injuries, the army said.
Hezbollah accused Israel of carrying out an air strike on one of its bases on the Lebanon-Syria border last month and vowed to respond. Israel said it would hold the Beirut government responsible if Hezbollah attacked it from Lebanese territory.
(AP) — Israel cannot depend on the United States to lead any action against Iran's nuclear program and can only rely on itself, the country's defense minister said in remarks published Tuesday. The comments by Moshe Yaalon came as world powers and Iran were about to start a new round of talks over Iran's contested nuclear program.
The West fears the program could be used to make a nuclear weapon and seeks to scale it back. Tehran denies the program has a military dimension and insists it is for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation. If a deal with world powers is reached, sanctions imposed on Iran over the nuclear program could be lifted.
Israel has criticized the ongoing talks with Tehran, saying an interim nuclear deal, struck last November, has left Iran's military nuclear capabilities largely intact while giving it relief from some economic sanctions.
At the same time, Israel's strongest piece of leverage, the threat of a military strike on Iran, has taken a back stage to the talks despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence it remains on the table.
Yaalon's remarks seemed to underscore that insistence.
"We thought that the one who needs to lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S.," Yaalon was quoted by the daily Haaretz as saying during a lecture at Tel Aviv University on Monday.
Instead, Yaalon said, the U.S. began negotiations with Iran and Iran gained the upper hand in the talks.
"If we wished others would do the work for us, it wouldn't be done soon, and therefore in this matter, we have to behave as if we can only rely on ourselves," Yaalon said.
Yaalon's office confirmed his remarks but refused to comment whether he was advocating an Israeli strike on Iran. Netanyahu's office also declined to comment.
Yaalon criticized the West, saying its leaders prefer to avoid confrontation with Iran. As for the U.S., the defense minister alleged American influence is waning in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine over the crisis there.
"Weakness certainly does not pay in the world," he said. "No one can replace the U.S. as the world's policeman. I hope the U.S. will come to its senses."
Yaalon has made controversial comments about Washington in the past. In January, he was quoted as saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was "obsessive" and "messianic" over his Mideast peace efforts. The comments triggered an angry response from the U.S., Israel's most important ally.
The West fears the program could be used to make a nuclear weapon and seeks to scale it back. Tehran denies the program has a military dimension and insists it is for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation. If a deal with world powers is reached, sanctions imposed on Iran over the nuclear program could be lifted.
Israel has criticized the ongoing talks with Tehran, saying an interim nuclear deal, struck last November, has left Iran's military nuclear capabilities largely intact while giving it relief from some economic sanctions.
At the same time, Israel's strongest piece of leverage, the threat of a military strike on Iran, has taken a back stage to the talks despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence it remains on the table.
Yaalon's remarks seemed to underscore that insistence.
"We thought that the one who needs to lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S.," Yaalon was quoted by the daily Haaretz as saying during a lecture at Tel Aviv University on Monday.
Instead, Yaalon said, the U.S. began negotiations with Iran and Iran gained the upper hand in the talks.
"If we wished others would do the work for us, it wouldn't be done soon, and therefore in this matter, we have to behave as if we can only rely on ourselves," Yaalon said.
Yaalon's office confirmed his remarks but refused to comment whether he was advocating an Israeli strike on Iran. Netanyahu's office also declined to comment.
Yaalon criticized the West, saying its leaders prefer to avoid confrontation with Iran. As for the U.S., the defense minister alleged American influence is waning in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine over the crisis there.
"Weakness certainly does not pay in the world," he said. "No one can replace the U.S. as the world's policeman. I hope the U.S. will come to its senses."
Yaalon has made controversial comments about Washington in the past. In January, he was quoted as saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was "obsessive" and "messianic" over his Mideast peace efforts. The comments triggered an angry response from the U.S., Israel's most important ally.
16 mar 2014
An Israeli soldier said that three unknown assailants tried to kidnap him near the Hamra junction in northern Israel, Israeli media said.
Israeli news website Ynet reported that the soldier, who was from the Druze village of Beit Jann, said that he was attacked in the Lower Galilee but managed to evade capture by assailants.
The attempted kidnapping reportedly took place between Dier Hana and Maghar, as the soldier was traveling en route to the Golani junction.
Tiberias police had set up checkpoints throughout the area to search for the assailants, Ynet reported.
Israeli news website Ynet reported that the soldier, who was from the Druze village of Beit Jann, said that he was attacked in the Lower Galilee but managed to evade capture by assailants.
The attempted kidnapping reportedly took place between Dier Hana and Maghar, as the soldier was traveling en route to the Golani junction.
Tiberias police had set up checkpoints throughout the area to search for the assailants, Ynet reported.
15 mar 2014
1,218 new immigrants arrived in the 1948 occupied Palestinian lands in January 2014, compared to 1,141 a year earlier, according to data collected by the (Israel)'s Central Bureau of Statistics. 'israelhayom.com' reported that January 2014 saw a 6.7 percent rise in the number of new immigrants to (Israel) compared to the same month in 2013, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.
A total of 1,218 immigrants arrived in Israel in January 2014, compared to 1,141 a year previously, it added.
According to the CBS statistics, the January 2014 numbers indicate an immigration rate of 20,500 for 2014, compared to 19,200 in 2013 and 18,900 in 2012.
The Israeli media outlet said if the trend continues, immigration to (Israel) could top 20,000 by end of the year.
Jewish immigration to Palestine originally started in 1898, when the First Zionist Congress convened with planning to an annual two hundreds of settlers to Palestine.
Israel has been long working to preserve a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine. That was though laws encouraging immigration (Aliyah) to Palestine like law of return and through ethnic cleansing.
In May 1948, the Jews in Palestine numbered 649,600 people. Fast-forward to 1971, the number reached 2,662,000 Jews. In 1985, there were 3,517,200 Jews, while in 200, the Jewish population reached 5,025,010.
In 1948, Zionist militias and terrorist gangs forced out around 750,000 Palestinians, 80% of whom were driven to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while the remaining fled to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq.
A total of 1,218 immigrants arrived in Israel in January 2014, compared to 1,141 a year previously, it added.
According to the CBS statistics, the January 2014 numbers indicate an immigration rate of 20,500 for 2014, compared to 19,200 in 2013 and 18,900 in 2012.
The Israeli media outlet said if the trend continues, immigration to (Israel) could top 20,000 by end of the year.
Jewish immigration to Palestine originally started in 1898, when the First Zionist Congress convened with planning to an annual two hundreds of settlers to Palestine.
Israel has been long working to preserve a Jewish demographic majority in Palestine. That was though laws encouraging immigration (Aliyah) to Palestine like law of return and through ethnic cleansing.
In May 1948, the Jews in Palestine numbered 649,600 people. Fast-forward to 1971, the number reached 2,662,000 Jews. In 1985, there were 3,517,200 Jews, while in 200, the Jewish population reached 5,025,010.
In 1948, Zionist militias and terrorist gangs forced out around 750,000 Palestinians, 80% of whom were driven to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while the remaining fled to neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq.
12 mar 2014
The wife of a man who was killed by Israeli forces at Allenby Bridge on Monday will file a lawsuit against Israel if its allegations were untrue, her lawyer said.
Murad Mfarre, the Palestinian-Israeli lawyer of Raed Zeiter's widow, relayed her message that Zeiter “was well-known and law-abiding, and it is hard to imagine that he would try to snatch the weapon of the Israeli soldier.”
Mfarre said that she thinks the evidence and witness accounts contradict the Israeli account.
Mfarre told Ma’an that “There was a normal argument that turned into shooting. There are witnesses that we will reach, and we will demand that Israel show us security camera footage so we can figure out what happened.”
“If we make sure that the Israeli account is untrue, we will file a lawsuit against the State of Israel.”
Israel, meanwhile, expressed regret over the fatal shooting .
"Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday (Monday) at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
The shooting, which took place on Monday morning, sparked the fury of both Jordan and the Palestinians, with protesters in Amman demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the abrogation of the two countries' 1994 peace treaty.
The statement said Israel had shared the results of a preliminary inquiry with Amman, and had "agreed to a Jordanian request to establish a joint Israeli-Jordanian team to complete the investigation."
A preliminary investigation by the army published on Tuesday claimed that Zeiter had charged at soldiers with a metal pole, prompting troops to open fire at his legs.
He had then started strangling a soldier, so they opened fire again, it said. He died shortly after.
The joint investigative team was to start its work "promptly,' the statement said, without giving further details.
Zeiter was buried in his home city of Nablus in the northern West Bank earlier on Tuesday, with Jordan calling for the Israeli soldiers who shot him to be punished.
Murad Mfarre, the Palestinian-Israeli lawyer of Raed Zeiter's widow, relayed her message that Zeiter “was well-known and law-abiding, and it is hard to imagine that he would try to snatch the weapon of the Israeli soldier.”
Mfarre said that she thinks the evidence and witness accounts contradict the Israeli account.
Mfarre told Ma’an that “There was a normal argument that turned into shooting. There are witnesses that we will reach, and we will demand that Israel show us security camera footage so we can figure out what happened.”
“If we make sure that the Israeli account is untrue, we will file a lawsuit against the State of Israel.”
Israel, meanwhile, expressed regret over the fatal shooting .
"Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday (Monday) at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
The shooting, which took place on Monday morning, sparked the fury of both Jordan and the Palestinians, with protesters in Amman demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and the abrogation of the two countries' 1994 peace treaty.
The statement said Israel had shared the results of a preliminary inquiry with Amman, and had "agreed to a Jordanian request to establish a joint Israeli-Jordanian team to complete the investigation."
A preliminary investigation by the army published on Tuesday claimed that Zeiter had charged at soldiers with a metal pole, prompting troops to open fire at his legs.
He had then started strangling a soldier, so they opened fire again, it said. He died shortly after.
The joint investigative team was to start its work "promptly,' the statement said, without giving further details.
Zeiter was buried in his home city of Nablus in the northern West Bank earlier on Tuesday, with Jordan calling for the Israeli soldiers who shot him to be punished.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold a mass prayer vigil in Jerusalem on March 2, 2014 in protest at plans to conscript young ultra-Orthodox men for Israeli military or civilian service
Israeli MPs on Wednesday voted through a law which will compel ultra-Orthodox Jews to either serve in the military or perform national civilian service.
The bill was voted through by 65 to 1 in a poll broadcast on Israel's parliamentary television channel.
The lone dissenting vote was cast by an MP from the far-right Jewish Home who broke coalition discipline to oppose the law. Opposition parties within the 120-seat parliament had earlier announced they would not participate in the vote.
The cabinet last year agreed to end a practice under which tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox were exempted from military service if they were in full-time study at a Jewish seminary, or yeshiva.
The new legislation stipulates that ultra-Orthodox men must either join the army or perform civilian service, in a law which will go into force in 2017.
The law also includes a clause stipulating sanctions against draft dodgers -- including imprisonment -- in a move which has enraged the ultra-Orthodox leadership who said it would be tantamount to jailing people for practicing their faith.
Military service is compulsory in Israel, with men serving three years and women two.
Earlier this month, more than 300,000 ultra-Orthodox took to the streets of Jerusalem in a mass prayer vigil to protest against the impending legislation.
The new law is seen by many Israelis as amending the historic injustice of an exemption handed to the ultra-Orthodox in 1948, when Israel was created. At that time they were a small segment of society.
Because of their high birth rate, the ultra-Orthodox community has since swelled to make up roughly 10 percent of the country's population of just over eight million, and continues to be the fastest-growing sector in Israel.
Israeli MPs on Wednesday voted through a law which will compel ultra-Orthodox Jews to either serve in the military or perform national civilian service.
The bill was voted through by 65 to 1 in a poll broadcast on Israel's parliamentary television channel.
The lone dissenting vote was cast by an MP from the far-right Jewish Home who broke coalition discipline to oppose the law. Opposition parties within the 120-seat parliament had earlier announced they would not participate in the vote.
The cabinet last year agreed to end a practice under which tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox were exempted from military service if they were in full-time study at a Jewish seminary, or yeshiva.
The new legislation stipulates that ultra-Orthodox men must either join the army or perform civilian service, in a law which will go into force in 2017.
The law also includes a clause stipulating sanctions against draft dodgers -- including imprisonment -- in a move which has enraged the ultra-Orthodox leadership who said it would be tantamount to jailing people for practicing their faith.
Military service is compulsory in Israel, with men serving three years and women two.
Earlier this month, more than 300,000 ultra-Orthodox took to the streets of Jerusalem in a mass prayer vigil to protest against the impending legislation.
The new law is seen by many Israelis as amending the historic injustice of an exemption handed to the ultra-Orthodox in 1948, when Israel was created. At that time they were a small segment of society.
Because of their high birth rate, the ultra-Orthodox community has since swelled to make up roughly 10 percent of the country's population of just over eight million, and continues to be the fastest-growing sector in Israel.
11 mar 2014
An unmanned aircraft of the sort Israel uses for missile strikes and spy missions in Gaza crashed in the south of the territory early on Tuesday, sources on both sides said.
"A Sky Rider drone crashed in the southern Gaza Strip due to a technical malfunction," an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP. "An investigation is under way."
The Al-Rai news agency, run by the territory's Islamist rulers, Hamas, said the drone came down east of the city of Rafah, on Gaza's border with Egypt.
Palestinian fighters recovered the aircraft, a witness told AFP.
"A Sky Rider drone crashed in the southern Gaza Strip due to a technical malfunction," an Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP. "An investigation is under way."
The Al-Rai news agency, run by the territory's Islamist rulers, Hamas, said the drone came down east of the city of Rafah, on Gaza's border with Egypt.
Palestinian fighters recovered the aircraft, a witness told AFP.
10 mar 2014
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews staged a mass prayer in New York City, to protest Israel's proposal to draft ultra-Orthodox citizens into its army.
(Haaretz) Sunday's gathering in Manhattan brought together a community of New York's most Orthodox Jews who are based in Brooklyn and in the village of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, north of the city.
Protester Yitz Farkas, an American citizen, said that religious Jews should not be forced to join a secular army. Protesters also said they are against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and that they believe Israel should exist only after the Messiah arrives.
On Sunday, organizers said that they would honor their tradition of separating men from women at religious events by doing the same at the rally.
(Haaretz) Sunday's gathering in Manhattan brought together a community of New York's most Orthodox Jews who are based in Brooklyn and in the village of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, north of the city.
Protester Yitz Farkas, an American citizen, said that religious Jews should not be forced to join a secular army. Protesters also said they are against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and that they believe Israel should exist only after the Messiah arrives.
On Sunday, organizers said that they would honor their tradition of separating men from women at religious events by doing the same at the rally.
Israeli Apartheid Week, the IAW has kicked off in the besieged Gaza Strip. Local and international activists have attended.
The event focuses on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israeli products, cultural and academic activities worldwide.
The Israeli Apartheid Week aims to draw attention to Tel Aviv’s aggressions against Palestinians in the past six decades.
The international event also sheds light on the similarities between the Palestinian struggle and that of the sovereignty struggle in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement. Videos depicting Israeli apartheid policies were played.
Also, video messages were shown from international activists who were unable to attend the event in Gaza due to Israel’s blockade of the territory.
Israeli officials have described the BDS movement as a great threat to Tel Aviv, as the campaign is expanding worldwide. The BDS movement started nearly nine years ago, with the stated goal of bringing an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The event focuses on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israeli products, cultural and academic activities worldwide.
The Israeli Apartheid Week aims to draw attention to Tel Aviv’s aggressions against Palestinians in the past six decades.
The international event also sheds light on the similarities between the Palestinian struggle and that of the sovereignty struggle in South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement. Videos depicting Israeli apartheid policies were played.
Also, video messages were shown from international activists who were unable to attend the event in Gaza due to Israel’s blockade of the territory.
Israeli officials have described the BDS movement as a great threat to Tel Aviv, as the campaign is expanding worldwide. The BDS movement started nearly nine years ago, with the stated goal of bringing an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The racially segregated roads and housing in Israel was a reminder of the conditions experienced in South Africa during apartheid, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Monday said.
“I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.”
With the South African leg of the 10th international Israeli Apartheid Week beginning today, Tutu associated himself with the objectives of the movement.
“In South Africa, we could not have achieved our democracy without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the apartheid regime,” he said.
“The same issues of inequality and injustice today motivate the divestment movement trying to end Israel’s decades long occupation of Palestinian territory and the unfair and prejudicial treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government ruling over them.”
He said people who were denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings.
“Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” Tutu said.
“It doesn’t matter where we worship or live. We are members of one family, the human family, God’s family.”
Source: City Press
“I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.”
With the South African leg of the 10th international Israeli Apartheid Week beginning today, Tutu associated himself with the objectives of the movement.
“In South Africa, we could not have achieved our democracy without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the apartheid regime,” he said.
“The same issues of inequality and injustice today motivate the divestment movement trying to end Israel’s decades long occupation of Palestinian territory and the unfair and prejudicial treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government ruling over them.”
He said people who were denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings.
“Those who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” Tutu said.
“It doesn’t matter where we worship or live. We are members of one family, the human family, God’s family.”
Source: City Press
9 mar 2014
A group of Israeli teenagers have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they will refuse to serve in the military because of its role in the occupation of Palestinian land.
"The main reason for our refusal is our opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the army," about 50 youths wrote in a letter to Netanyahu, published on Saturday by an Israeli pacifist group.
The group referred to "human rights violations" in the West Bank, including "executions, settlement construction, administrative detention, torture, collective punishment and unfair distribution of water and electricity".
"Any military service perpetuates the current situation, and therefore we cannot take part in a system that carries out these deeds," read the letter posted on the Facebook page of Yesh Gvul.
Haaretz reported that Yesh Gvul, which advocates conscientious objection, said on Saturday evening in response to the letter’s publication that "refusal is a personal decision by every person in a democratic society".
According to Haaretz, Yesh Gvul added: "We support anyone whose democratic and humanist values drove him to refuse to take part in occupation and repression of the Palestinian people."
Yesh Gvul (There is a limit) describes itself as a "peace group campaigning against the occupation by backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature".
No construction freeze
Military service is compulsory in Israel, with men serving three years and women two.
Earlier this month, members of the Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel protested against a new law which would mean they too were subject to the draft.
It comes as Netanyahu said on Sunday he is opposed to freezing construction in settlements as a means to extend US-sponsored peace talks with Palestinians.
Such a freeze "would serve nothing," Netanyahu told public radio.
"We imposed one in the past and it brought no results," the premier said of the 10-month construction moratorium he issued during the last round of peace talks with Palestinians that ended in 2010.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been struggling to get Israel and the Palestinians to agree a framework for extending direct peace talks, launched in July, beyond an April 29 deadline.
ٍSource: ALJAZEERA
"The main reason for our refusal is our opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the army," about 50 youths wrote in a letter to Netanyahu, published on Saturday by an Israeli pacifist group.
The group referred to "human rights violations" in the West Bank, including "executions, settlement construction, administrative detention, torture, collective punishment and unfair distribution of water and electricity".
"Any military service perpetuates the current situation, and therefore we cannot take part in a system that carries out these deeds," read the letter posted on the Facebook page of Yesh Gvul.
Haaretz reported that Yesh Gvul, which advocates conscientious objection, said on Saturday evening in response to the letter’s publication that "refusal is a personal decision by every person in a democratic society".
According to Haaretz, Yesh Gvul added: "We support anyone whose democratic and humanist values drove him to refuse to take part in occupation and repression of the Palestinian people."
Yesh Gvul (There is a limit) describes itself as a "peace group campaigning against the occupation by backing soldiers who refuse duties of a repressive or aggressive nature".
No construction freeze
Military service is compulsory in Israel, with men serving three years and women two.
Earlier this month, members of the Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel protested against a new law which would mean they too were subject to the draft.
It comes as Netanyahu said on Sunday he is opposed to freezing construction in settlements as a means to extend US-sponsored peace talks with Palestinians.
Such a freeze "would serve nothing," Netanyahu told public radio.
"We imposed one in the past and it brought no results," the premier said of the 10-month construction moratorium he issued during the last round of peace talks with Palestinians that ended in 2010.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has been struggling to get Israel and the Palestinians to agree a framework for extending direct peace talks, launched in July, beyond an April 29 deadline.
ٍSource: ALJAZEERA