6 nov 2019
Education Minister Rafi Peretz
Despite receiving much praise when videos were uploaded, the ministry has yet to give full answer as to when clips will return to website; some affiliated with project link move to pro-conversion therapy comments by Peretz
The Ministry of Education has removed two videos promoting LGBTQ and body image acceptance.
The videos were uploaded in July during a public storm a statement by Education Minister Rafi Peretz regarding conversion therapy. They were subsequently taken down following the minister's apology for the remarks.
Asked in a July interview with Channel 12 news if he favored and believed it was possible to convert people who have a homosexual “tendency”, the minister said: “I think it is possible. I respect every person, whoever they are."
"As a rabbi in Israel, I admit our Bible says other things (about homosexuality), but this doesn’t mean I’m giving them grades."
He then added, however: “I have a very deep understanding of education and have been involved in conversion therapy".
Widespread condemnation by lawmakers and social activists followed, resulting in the minister walking back his statements on the matter.
Some affiliated with the video project have tied the removal of the footage to the minister's controversial statements.
In response to an query by Ynet, the ministry said it would reupload the videos although no date was given.
The videos were part of a project named "Sexuality in Safe Spaces," which was created as a pilot for several Israeli schools by the Educaiton Ministry.
The project intended for students to have seven to eight hours of sex education, starting in sixth grade and to continue during middle and high school.
The project also included a series of videos explaining and talking about different subjects such as sexuality, gender and other intimate matters.
The ministry has also postponed the upload of the rest of the videos in the series for a year and a half, despite the fact that the two videos received much praise while they were online.
The video regarding LGBTQ acceptance stars Israeli fashionista Yoav Meir and reality star Leon Shneiderovsky and deals with a series of questions such as: "Should I tell my parents I'm gay?", "Who do I turn to if I feel stress or anxiety?" and, "If I dreamed of my female friend, does that mean I'm lesbian?"
The video dealing with positive body image includes questions such as, "I'm ashamed to go to the beach, what do I do?", "I want to take acne medication, but am afraid to tell my mom" and, "Will I mature like the rest of my female classmates?"
"We were shocked to discover the ministry had taken down the videos we worked so hard to produce, videos that are just promoting acceptance and understating for the LGBTQ community and for body image," said one of the project's affiliates.
"The money was already invested, and the videos were shot, so why wait a year and a half? Why were the (other) videos taken down after already being uploaded?"
The Education Ministry said in response: "The ministry was not the one to post the videos in the first place. It was done by the production company without our knowledge or approval.
"It should be emphasized that the ministry initiated a through and encompassing project on the matter for schools. The videos that were taken down, and the rest in the series, will be uploaded as soon as the proper arrangements are made with professional psychological counseling services."
A spokesperson for Peretz said that the decision to remove the videos had been taken before he took over at the ministry earlier this year.
"The decision whether to upload or take down the videos was made by professionals with no connection to the minister and done before his inauguration.
"Any attempt to connect him to the decision borders on provocation. Other professionals in the ministry oversee the content and the time of uploads for the videos."
Despite receiving much praise when videos were uploaded, the ministry has yet to give full answer as to when clips will return to website; some affiliated with project link move to pro-conversion therapy comments by Peretz
The Ministry of Education has removed two videos promoting LGBTQ and body image acceptance.
The videos were uploaded in July during a public storm a statement by Education Minister Rafi Peretz regarding conversion therapy. They were subsequently taken down following the minister's apology for the remarks.
Asked in a July interview with Channel 12 news if he favored and believed it was possible to convert people who have a homosexual “tendency”, the minister said: “I think it is possible. I respect every person, whoever they are."
"As a rabbi in Israel, I admit our Bible says other things (about homosexuality), but this doesn’t mean I’m giving them grades."
He then added, however: “I have a very deep understanding of education and have been involved in conversion therapy".
Widespread condemnation by lawmakers and social activists followed, resulting in the minister walking back his statements on the matter.
Some affiliated with the video project have tied the removal of the footage to the minister's controversial statements.
In response to an query by Ynet, the ministry said it would reupload the videos although no date was given.
The videos were part of a project named "Sexuality in Safe Spaces," which was created as a pilot for several Israeli schools by the Educaiton Ministry.
The project intended for students to have seven to eight hours of sex education, starting in sixth grade and to continue during middle and high school.
The project also included a series of videos explaining and talking about different subjects such as sexuality, gender and other intimate matters.
The ministry has also postponed the upload of the rest of the videos in the series for a year and a half, despite the fact that the two videos received much praise while they were online.
The video regarding LGBTQ acceptance stars Israeli fashionista Yoav Meir and reality star Leon Shneiderovsky and deals with a series of questions such as: "Should I tell my parents I'm gay?", "Who do I turn to if I feel stress or anxiety?" and, "If I dreamed of my female friend, does that mean I'm lesbian?"
The video dealing with positive body image includes questions such as, "I'm ashamed to go to the beach, what do I do?", "I want to take acne medication, but am afraid to tell my mom" and, "Will I mature like the rest of my female classmates?"
"We were shocked to discover the ministry had taken down the videos we worked so hard to produce, videos that are just promoting acceptance and understating for the LGBTQ community and for body image," said one of the project's affiliates.
"The money was already invested, and the videos were shot, so why wait a year and a half? Why were the (other) videos taken down after already being uploaded?"
The Education Ministry said in response: "The ministry was not the one to post the videos in the first place. It was done by the production company without our knowledge or approval.
"It should be emphasized that the ministry initiated a through and encompassing project on the matter for schools. The videos that were taken down, and the rest in the series, will be uploaded as soon as the proper arrangements are made with professional psychological counseling services."
A spokesperson for Peretz said that the decision to remove the videos had been taken before he took over at the ministry earlier this year.
"The decision whether to upload or take down the videos was made by professionals with no connection to the minister and done before his inauguration.
"Any attempt to connect him to the decision borders on provocation. Other professionals in the ministry oversee the content and the time of uploads for the videos."
Israeli settlers are seen at an ancient historical site in the West Bank city of Nablus on 22 April 2019
Palestine is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of antiquities, competing with Egypt in the Arab world. At least 22 civilisations have left their mark on Palestine, the first of which were the Canaanites; their presence is still visible today.
Since 1948, successive Israeli governments have paid particular attention to the antiquities that have a distinct Arab and Palestinian identity. Committees of Israeli archaeologists were formed to research in every part of Palestine on which Israel was founded. The aim remains to create a fake historical narrative by Judaising Palestinian antiquities. Historical monuments in major Palestinian cities, such as Acre, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Tiberias, have not been spared from this process.
Moreover, Israel has used various institutions to Judaise Palestinian fashion through systematic cultural theft and forgery. Even local recipes are not spared. Israel has participated in international exhibitions to display Palestinian fashion and cuisine labelled as “Israeli”.
This is how Palestine’s heritage and history dating back thousands of years are being stolen by the Israeli occupation and the “mafias” selling invaluable antiquities. This is happening at a time when Palestinian parties are taking action and calling for the protection of their legacy, history and civilisation.
In this context, studies have indicated that there are over 3,300 archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank alone. A number of researchers confirm that, on average, there is an archaeological site every half a kilometre in Palestine which indicates the true identity and history of the land.
It is important here to mention the devastating effects of the Israeli separation wall on the future of Palestinian antiquities and monuments. The ongoing building of the wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank will ultimately lead to the annexation of over 50 per cent of the occupied territory. It will also include over 270 major archaeological sites, in addition to 2,000 archaeological and historical locations. Dozens of historically important sites and monuments have been destroyed in the course of the construction of the wall.
Specialised studies of Palestinian antiquities indicate that, since occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June, 1967, Israel has been able to steal and sell even more Palestinian artefacts from the West Bank. This phenomenon was exacerbated by the outbreak of the Aqsa Intifada at the end of September 2000.
The Palestinian Authority’s Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage has pointed out that more than 500 archaeological sites and more than 1,500 landmarks have been stolen and destroyed by Israeli thieves and the occupation. It is a simple fact that, as the work of Salman Abu Sitta has demonstrated, more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages have been destroyed and wiped off the map by Israel since 1948. The Department also confirmed that the cultural and economic resources of Palestine continue to be depleted by Israel.
Palestinian studies indicate that the reason for this ongoing Nakba is the collapse of any system to protect Palestinian areas due to Israeli control. Such protection falls under the direct management of the occupation, which basically means that the Israeli army is free to destroy cultural heritage sites, as has happened in Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, and other Palestinian cities, towns and villages.
Archaeological theft and the violation of Palestinian heritage sites is one of the biggest challenges facing Palestinians as they seek to preserve their culture and physical presence in their homeland, which is threatened by Judaisation and targeted by systematic Israeli policies. We need to raise awareness in Palestinian society to confront this new-old challenge imposed by Israel.
We also need to boost our capacity to fight Israel’s theft of our history at the local, regional and international levels. This may be reinforced through Palestine’s full membership in relevant international organisations, including UNESCO.
Cultural diversity in Palestine dates back thousands of years. It is shameful that we are allowing this to be whitewashed out of history as Israel seeks to “prove” its fake narrative of the “Jewish state”, to the exclusion of the indigenous people.
Palestine is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of antiquities, competing with Egypt in the Arab world. At least 22 civilisations have left their mark on Palestine, the first of which were the Canaanites; their presence is still visible today.
Since 1948, successive Israeli governments have paid particular attention to the antiquities that have a distinct Arab and Palestinian identity. Committees of Israeli archaeologists were formed to research in every part of Palestine on which Israel was founded. The aim remains to create a fake historical narrative by Judaising Palestinian antiquities. Historical monuments in major Palestinian cities, such as Acre, Jaffa, Jerusalem and Tiberias, have not been spared from this process.
Moreover, Israel has used various institutions to Judaise Palestinian fashion through systematic cultural theft and forgery. Even local recipes are not spared. Israel has participated in international exhibitions to display Palestinian fashion and cuisine labelled as “Israeli”.
This is how Palestine’s heritage and history dating back thousands of years are being stolen by the Israeli occupation and the “mafias” selling invaluable antiquities. This is happening at a time when Palestinian parties are taking action and calling for the protection of their legacy, history and civilisation.
In this context, studies have indicated that there are over 3,300 archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank alone. A number of researchers confirm that, on average, there is an archaeological site every half a kilometre in Palestine which indicates the true identity and history of the land.
It is important here to mention the devastating effects of the Israeli separation wall on the future of Palestinian antiquities and monuments. The ongoing building of the wall on Palestinian land in the West Bank will ultimately lead to the annexation of over 50 per cent of the occupied territory. It will also include over 270 major archaeological sites, in addition to 2,000 archaeological and historical locations. Dozens of historically important sites and monuments have been destroyed in the course of the construction of the wall.
Specialised studies of Palestinian antiquities indicate that, since occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip in June, 1967, Israel has been able to steal and sell even more Palestinian artefacts from the West Bank. This phenomenon was exacerbated by the outbreak of the Aqsa Intifada at the end of September 2000.
The Palestinian Authority’s Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage has pointed out that more than 500 archaeological sites and more than 1,500 landmarks have been stolen and destroyed by Israeli thieves and the occupation. It is a simple fact that, as the work of Salman Abu Sitta has demonstrated, more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages have been destroyed and wiped off the map by Israel since 1948. The Department also confirmed that the cultural and economic resources of Palestine continue to be depleted by Israel.
Palestinian studies indicate that the reason for this ongoing Nakba is the collapse of any system to protect Palestinian areas due to Israeli control. Such protection falls under the direct management of the occupation, which basically means that the Israeli army is free to destroy cultural heritage sites, as has happened in Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, and other Palestinian cities, towns and villages.
Archaeological theft and the violation of Palestinian heritage sites is one of the biggest challenges facing Palestinians as they seek to preserve their culture and physical presence in their homeland, which is threatened by Judaisation and targeted by systematic Israeli policies. We need to raise awareness in Palestinian society to confront this new-old challenge imposed by Israel.
We also need to boost our capacity to fight Israel’s theft of our history at the local, regional and international levels. This may be reinforced through Palestine’s full membership in relevant international organisations, including UNESCO.
Cultural diversity in Palestine dates back thousands of years. It is shameful that we are allowing this to be whitewashed out of history as Israel seeks to “prove” its fake narrative of the “Jewish state”, to the exclusion of the indigenous people.
The Israeli high court of justice on Tuesday approved the government’s decision to deport the local director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for allegedly supporting a boycott movement known as BDS.
Omar Shaker, a US citizen, was given 20 days to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories or he would face deportation, his lawyer said.
Shaker wrote on Twitter that if he was banished, Israel would join the ranks of Iran, North Korea and Egypt in blocking access to Human Rights Watch staff. “We won’t stop. And we won’t be the last,” he said.
HRW called the Israeli government’s attempts to deport Shaker, which have been going on for more than a year, a sign that Israel was seeking to suppress criticism.
“The supreme court has effectively declared that free expression in Israel does not include completely mainstream advocacy for Palestinian rights,” said Kenneth Roth, the group’s executive director.
Shaker will be removed under a contentious 2017 law that allows the government to block entry to people who support a boycott of Israel or Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The measure was designed to criminalize the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Rights groups say it tramples on free speech as the law has been deployed against critics and activists.
In its most high-profile use, Israel blocked in August two US congresswomen, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, from a planned trip to Palestine and Jerusalem.
Omar Shaker, a US citizen, was given 20 days to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories or he would face deportation, his lawyer said.
Shaker wrote on Twitter that if he was banished, Israel would join the ranks of Iran, North Korea and Egypt in blocking access to Human Rights Watch staff. “We won’t stop. And we won’t be the last,” he said.
HRW called the Israeli government’s attempts to deport Shaker, which have been going on for more than a year, a sign that Israel was seeking to suppress criticism.
“The supreme court has effectively declared that free expression in Israel does not include completely mainstream advocacy for Palestinian rights,” said Kenneth Roth, the group’s executive director.
Shaker will be removed under a contentious 2017 law that allows the government to block entry to people who support a boycott of Israel or Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The measure was designed to criminalize the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Rights groups say it tramples on free speech as the law has been deployed against critics and activists.
In its most high-profile use, Israel blocked in August two US congresswomen, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, from a planned trip to Palestine and Jerusalem.
Human Rights Watch/ Jerusalem/
The Israeli Supreme Court on November 5, 2019 upheld the Israeli government’s authority to deport Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch. The decision now shifts back to the Israeli government; if it proceeds with deportation, Shakir will have to leave Israel by November 25.
Human Rights Watch has been calling on businesses to stop operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of their duty to avoid complicity in human rights abuses. However, even though Human Rights Watch calls on businesses to comply with this duty in many other countries as well, the court found that applying this principle to ensure respect for Palestinians’ rights constitutes a call for boycott, based on a broad reading of a 2017 law that bars entry to people who advocate a boycott of Israel or its West Bank settlements.
“The Supreme Court has effectively declared that free expression in Israel does not include completely mainstream advocacy for Palestinian rights,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “If the government now deports Human Rights Watch’s researcher for asking businesses to respect rights as we do across the world, there’s no telling whom it will throw out next.”
The ruling [pdf] exhausts the ordinary legal appeals available to Human Rights Watch. However, given the ruling’s far-ranging implications for freedom of expression and for the ability of other advocacy organizations to work in Israel, Human Rights Watch may seek a hearing before an expanded panel of Supreme Court judges. Regardless of the court’s ruling, the decision whether to actually force Shakir to leave the country rests with the Israeli government.
The court based its ruling on a determination that Shakir had advocated a boycott of Israel not only in the distant past but also after he joined Human Rights Watch, which the organization vigorously contested. While employed by Human Rights Watch, Shakir never deviated from the policies and positions of the organization, which does not advocate a boycott of Israel but urges businesses to fulfill their human rights responsibilities by ending ties with illegal West Bank settlements.
According to the court, the Israeli government may, under the law, ban entry to those who call for boycotting West Bank settlements because such a call entails opposition to a general policy of the government of Israel regarding an area under its control and thus, the court held, “expresses negation of the legitimacy of the state” – even if settlements are widely viewed as illegal under international law.
The court also held that a call on businesses to refrain from activities in settlements constitutes a call for boycott under the law even if it is motivated by respect for international human rights and humanitarian law.
The court distinguished Human Rights Watch from Shakir by noting that the organization devoted only a small percentage of its time to Israel, while Shakir devoted all of his time to Israel and Palestine. By that logic, any foreign national whose professional role was to urge businesses to avoid complicity in human rights violations by ending ties with settlements would run afoul of the court’s ruling.
The court did not address Human Rights Watch’s challenge to the constitutionality of the 2017 amendment.
The court also rejected a request to pause proceedings until a new Israeli government has been formed following the September 17,2019 elections and could consider whether to proceed with seeking deportation.
Former senior Israeli diplomats had joined Human Rights Watch’s appeal, as did Amnesty International, which raised concern about the “wider chilling effect” on other human rights groups and the “increasing risk to their ability to continue operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Many others have criticized the deportation order, including 27 European states in a joint statement, 17 members of the United States Congress, the United Nations secretary general, 3 UN human rights special rapporteurs, and numerous independent groups and academic associations.
Neither Human Rights Watch nor Shakir as its representative has ever called for a boycott of Israel. As part of its global campaign to ensure that businesses uphold their human rights responsibilities to avoid contributing to abuses, Human Rights Watch has urged companies to stop working in or with settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international humanitarian law. The organization has never called for a consumer boycott of those companies.
Recently, Israeli authorities have denied entry to a number of other international rights advocates, maligned Israeli rights advocates, imposed burdensome financial reporting requirements on them, and raided the offices of, and arrested, Palestinian rights defenders. In October, Israeli authorities prevented an Amnesty International staff member from traveling out of the Occupied West Bank for undisclosed “security reasons.”
The Supreme Court ruling upholds an April Jerusalem District Court decision that found legally valid the May 7, 2018 explusion order by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri against Shakir. This is the first time the government has used the 2017 law to try to deport someone who is lawfully inside the country and the first time Israel has ordered a Human Rights Watch staff member to leave Israel since the organization began monitoring events on the ground three decades ago.
Deri said in his May 2018 order that the decision “does not constitute a principled or sweeping refusal for the organization to employ a foreign expert,” and noted that “no information has surfaced” regarding Shakir promoting boycotts during his time at Human Rights Watch. Yet in court, the government stated that it considers the work of Human Rights Watch itself to constitute boycott activity.
Human Rights Watch is an independent, international, nongovernmental organization that promotes respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. It monitors rights violations in 100 counties across the world, including all 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Headquartered in New York City, Human Rights Watch has registered offices in 24 countries around the world, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Tunisia in the region. Human Rights Watch shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
To accomplish its mission, Human Rights Watch relies on professional researchers on the ground. They regularly engage with government officials as well as with others with first-hand information. Human Rights Watch maintains direct access to the vast majority of countries it reports on. Cuba, Egypt, North Korea, Sudan, and Venezuela are among the handful of countries that have blocked access for Human Rights Watch staff members.
As part of its mandate, Human Rights Watch conducts research and advocacy that exposes and challenges violations by all actors in the region, including the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas authorities in Gaza. In 2019, in addition to documenting abuses by Israeli forces, Human Rights Watch published research on systematic arbitrary arrests and torture of critics and opponents by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and on unlawful rocket attacks by armed Palestinian groups.
The Israeli court’s decision marks the culmination of a multi-year effort to muzzle Human Rights Watch. In February 2017, the Interior Ministry denied Human Rights Watch a permit to hire a foreign employee, before reversing course and issuing the permit two months later. Shakir obtained his work visa under this permit in April 2017, but the government revoked it in May 2018 and ordered Shakir deported. Human Rights Watch filed suit that month to challenge that order.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision puts the imprimatur of Israeli law on the Netanyahu government’s efforts to censor mainstream, legitimate human rights advocacy,” Roth said. “Despite the Israeli government’s effort to silence the messenger rather than change its illegal conduct, Human Rights Watch will continue to document human rights abuses by all parties in Israel and Palestine.”
The Israeli Supreme Court on November 5, 2019 upheld the Israeli government’s authority to deport Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch. The decision now shifts back to the Israeli government; if it proceeds with deportation, Shakir will have to leave Israel by November 25.
Human Rights Watch has been calling on businesses to stop operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of their duty to avoid complicity in human rights abuses. However, even though Human Rights Watch calls on businesses to comply with this duty in many other countries as well, the court found that applying this principle to ensure respect for Palestinians’ rights constitutes a call for boycott, based on a broad reading of a 2017 law that bars entry to people who advocate a boycott of Israel or its West Bank settlements.
“The Supreme Court has effectively declared that free expression in Israel does not include completely mainstream advocacy for Palestinian rights,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “If the government now deports Human Rights Watch’s researcher for asking businesses to respect rights as we do across the world, there’s no telling whom it will throw out next.”
The ruling [pdf] exhausts the ordinary legal appeals available to Human Rights Watch. However, given the ruling’s far-ranging implications for freedom of expression and for the ability of other advocacy organizations to work in Israel, Human Rights Watch may seek a hearing before an expanded panel of Supreme Court judges. Regardless of the court’s ruling, the decision whether to actually force Shakir to leave the country rests with the Israeli government.
The court based its ruling on a determination that Shakir had advocated a boycott of Israel not only in the distant past but also after he joined Human Rights Watch, which the organization vigorously contested. While employed by Human Rights Watch, Shakir never deviated from the policies and positions of the organization, which does not advocate a boycott of Israel but urges businesses to fulfill their human rights responsibilities by ending ties with illegal West Bank settlements.
According to the court, the Israeli government may, under the law, ban entry to those who call for boycotting West Bank settlements because such a call entails opposition to a general policy of the government of Israel regarding an area under its control and thus, the court held, “expresses negation of the legitimacy of the state” – even if settlements are widely viewed as illegal under international law.
The court also held that a call on businesses to refrain from activities in settlements constitutes a call for boycott under the law even if it is motivated by respect for international human rights and humanitarian law.
The court distinguished Human Rights Watch from Shakir by noting that the organization devoted only a small percentage of its time to Israel, while Shakir devoted all of his time to Israel and Palestine. By that logic, any foreign national whose professional role was to urge businesses to avoid complicity in human rights violations by ending ties with settlements would run afoul of the court’s ruling.
The court did not address Human Rights Watch’s challenge to the constitutionality of the 2017 amendment.
The court also rejected a request to pause proceedings until a new Israeli government has been formed following the September 17,2019 elections and could consider whether to proceed with seeking deportation.
Former senior Israeli diplomats had joined Human Rights Watch’s appeal, as did Amnesty International, which raised concern about the “wider chilling effect” on other human rights groups and the “increasing risk to their ability to continue operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” Many others have criticized the deportation order, including 27 European states in a joint statement, 17 members of the United States Congress, the United Nations secretary general, 3 UN human rights special rapporteurs, and numerous independent groups and academic associations.
Neither Human Rights Watch nor Shakir as its representative has ever called for a boycott of Israel. As part of its global campaign to ensure that businesses uphold their human rights responsibilities to avoid contributing to abuses, Human Rights Watch has urged companies to stop working in or with settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international humanitarian law. The organization has never called for a consumer boycott of those companies.
Recently, Israeli authorities have denied entry to a number of other international rights advocates, maligned Israeli rights advocates, imposed burdensome financial reporting requirements on them, and raided the offices of, and arrested, Palestinian rights defenders. In October, Israeli authorities prevented an Amnesty International staff member from traveling out of the Occupied West Bank for undisclosed “security reasons.”
The Supreme Court ruling upholds an April Jerusalem District Court decision that found legally valid the May 7, 2018 explusion order by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri against Shakir. This is the first time the government has used the 2017 law to try to deport someone who is lawfully inside the country and the first time Israel has ordered a Human Rights Watch staff member to leave Israel since the organization began monitoring events on the ground three decades ago.
Deri said in his May 2018 order that the decision “does not constitute a principled or sweeping refusal for the organization to employ a foreign expert,” and noted that “no information has surfaced” regarding Shakir promoting boycotts during his time at Human Rights Watch. Yet in court, the government stated that it considers the work of Human Rights Watch itself to constitute boycott activity.
Human Rights Watch is an independent, international, nongovernmental organization that promotes respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. It monitors rights violations in 100 counties across the world, including all 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Headquartered in New York City, Human Rights Watch has registered offices in 24 countries around the world, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Tunisia in the region. Human Rights Watch shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 as a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
To accomplish its mission, Human Rights Watch relies on professional researchers on the ground. They regularly engage with government officials as well as with others with first-hand information. Human Rights Watch maintains direct access to the vast majority of countries it reports on. Cuba, Egypt, North Korea, Sudan, and Venezuela are among the handful of countries that have blocked access for Human Rights Watch staff members.
As part of its mandate, Human Rights Watch conducts research and advocacy that exposes and challenges violations by all actors in the region, including the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas authorities in Gaza. In 2019, in addition to documenting abuses by Israeli forces, Human Rights Watch published research on systematic arbitrary arrests and torture of critics and opponents by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and on unlawful rocket attacks by armed Palestinian groups.
The Israeli court’s decision marks the culmination of a multi-year effort to muzzle Human Rights Watch. In February 2017, the Interior Ministry denied Human Rights Watch a permit to hire a foreign employee, before reversing course and issuing the permit two months later. Shakir obtained his work visa under this permit in April 2017, but the government revoked it in May 2018 and ordered Shakir deported. Human Rights Watch filed suit that month to challenge that order.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision puts the imprimatur of Israeli law on the Netanyahu government’s efforts to censor mainstream, legitimate human rights advocacy,” Roth said. “Despite the Israeli government’s effort to silence the messenger rather than change its illegal conduct, Human Rights Watch will continue to document human rights abuses by all parties in Israel and Palestine.”
4 nov 2019
Likud MK Sharren Haskel
Sharren Heskel's bill, if implemented, would bring the Jordan Valley territory under full Israeli sovereignty, permit Palestinians living in area to apply for Israeli citizenship within decade, provided they meet certain criteria
A Likud MK is pushign legislation to hold Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyhau to a campaign pledge to annex parts of the West Bank.
Sharren Haskel was to set propose a bill on Monday that would calls for the eastern side of the Jordan Valley to be brought under full Israeli sovereignty.
Several days before the election campaigns officially kicked off, Netanyahu called a press conference at which he stated that when re-elected, he would work to implement full sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, citing security concerns.
Blue and White officials scoffed at the statement, saying: "The citizens of the Jordan Valley are not props for Netanyahu's propaganda."
The party added: "Blue and White already stated that the Jordan Valley is eternal part of Israel. Netanyahu was the person behind a plan to hand over the territory (to the Palestinians) back in 2014."
Haskel's bill proposal would permit Palestinian residents in the territory to apply for Israeli citizenship within ten years of its implementation, provided they were not charged in the past with any security offenses and have not publicly called for a boycott against Israel.
"It's time to make the residents of the Jordan Valley legal Israeli citizens, thus kick-starting the development and prosperity of the region," said Haskel on Sunday.
"The communities of the Jordan Valley and their residents are a strategic resource of the highest order for Israel," she said.
"There is a wide consensus today about the region, following the long-awaited U.S. president's recognition of the Golan Heights as under Israeli sovereignty. It is time to do the same with the Jordan Valley.
"After Blue and White leader Benny Gantz proposed to do the same, I call upon him and my fellow party members to support my proposal."
New Right MK Ayelet Shaked proposed a similar bill Sunday, regarding the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements and Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank.
"We have in our hands a diplomatic window of opportunity and the support of the U.S. for such an action, an opportunity that will not last for long. We must not hesitate or delay," said Shaked on Sunday.
Sharren Heskel's bill, if implemented, would bring the Jordan Valley territory under full Israeli sovereignty, permit Palestinians living in area to apply for Israeli citizenship within decade, provided they meet certain criteria
A Likud MK is pushign legislation to hold Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyhau to a campaign pledge to annex parts of the West Bank.
Sharren Haskel was to set propose a bill on Monday that would calls for the eastern side of the Jordan Valley to be brought under full Israeli sovereignty.
Several days before the election campaigns officially kicked off, Netanyahu called a press conference at which he stated that when re-elected, he would work to implement full sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, citing security concerns.
Blue and White officials scoffed at the statement, saying: "The citizens of the Jordan Valley are not props for Netanyahu's propaganda."
The party added: "Blue and White already stated that the Jordan Valley is eternal part of Israel. Netanyahu was the person behind a plan to hand over the territory (to the Palestinians) back in 2014."
Haskel's bill proposal would permit Palestinian residents in the territory to apply for Israeli citizenship within ten years of its implementation, provided they were not charged in the past with any security offenses and have not publicly called for a boycott against Israel.
"It's time to make the residents of the Jordan Valley legal Israeli citizens, thus kick-starting the development and prosperity of the region," said Haskel on Sunday.
"The communities of the Jordan Valley and their residents are a strategic resource of the highest order for Israel," she said.
"There is a wide consensus today about the region, following the long-awaited U.S. president's recognition of the Golan Heights as under Israeli sovereignty. It is time to do the same with the Jordan Valley.
"After Blue and White leader Benny Gantz proposed to do the same, I call upon him and my fellow party members to support my proposal."
New Right MK Ayelet Shaked proposed a similar bill Sunday, regarding the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements and Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank.
"We have in our hands a diplomatic window of opportunity and the support of the U.S. for such an action, an opportunity that will not last for long. We must not hesitate or delay," said Shaked on Sunday.
3 nov 2019
While sending tens of billions in aid to Israel, the US watches its own citizens struggle to access healthcare and education
by Morgan Strong
Israel is around the same size as New Jersey, one of the smallest US states and which contributes nearly $30bn to the US federal budget - very little of which is returned through federal programmes.
A portion of that money ends up in Israel. Indeed, all 50 states rely on some return of their federal taxes for infrastructure, highways, healthcare, education and other programmes. When a portion of that money is used for other purposes - such as aid to Israel - the citizens suffer the consequences.
Military aid
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs estimates US direct aid to Israel at more than $130bn. Unlike other recipients of US military aid, Israel has in the past been allowed to spend more than a quarter of its annual military aid in Israel, rather than in the US, resulting in an increasingly sophisticated and competitive Israeli defence industry.
As a result, the Congressional Research Service reported that between 2004 and 2011, Israel was the eighth-largest arms exporter, with sales of $12.9bn.
In contrast with other countries receiving US military aid, which must purchase through the Department of Defense (DOD), Israel deals directly with US companies and is exempt from DOD review.
Israel is ranked 22nd on the UN Human Development Index, compared to the US at 13th. Despite a lagging GDP, Israel is nonetheless considered a wealthy country, with universal healthcare, affordable higher education and a higher life expectancy than the US.
All Israeli residents are entitled to basic healthcare as a fundamental right, compared to the US, which has one of the most underperforming healthcare systems among developed nations, despite massive spending of $3.5 trillion annually.
On the education front, the annual cost of tuition at an Israeli university, set by the government, is around $3,000, compared with around $10,000 for US residents at state universities.
Tax exemptions
US intelligence officials take an active interest in friends as well as foes, with counterintelligence operations “strategically focused against [the] priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel”.
The latter is a US ally, but has a history of espionage attempts against the US; Israel has also consistently deceived the US as to the existence of its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile systems.
At the same time, an investigation several years ago by the Forward, which focused on the US Jewish community’s network of charity organisations, “uncovered a tax-exempt Jewish communal apparatus that operates on the scale of a Fortune 500 company and focuses the largest share of its donor dollars on Israel”.
Great largesse
Indeed, in addition to federal budget allocations, there are private charities, local and state governments, and corporations that contribute additional billions to Israel.
US taxpayers unwittingly exercise great largesse towards the people of Israel, at great detriment to themselves.
Millions of Americans are without basic healthcare because they cannot afford it. Millions of US university students are deeply in debt from student loans taken to finance their education - all while the US underwrites Israel’s economy.
Morgan Strong
Morgan Strong is a former professor of Middle Eastern History, and was an advisor on the Middle East to CBS News, 60 Minutes.
by Morgan Strong
Israel is around the same size as New Jersey, one of the smallest US states and which contributes nearly $30bn to the US federal budget - very little of which is returned through federal programmes.
A portion of that money ends up in Israel. Indeed, all 50 states rely on some return of their federal taxes for infrastructure, highways, healthcare, education and other programmes. When a portion of that money is used for other purposes - such as aid to Israel - the citizens suffer the consequences.
Military aid
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs estimates US direct aid to Israel at more than $130bn. Unlike other recipients of US military aid, Israel has in the past been allowed to spend more than a quarter of its annual military aid in Israel, rather than in the US, resulting in an increasingly sophisticated and competitive Israeli defence industry.
As a result, the Congressional Research Service reported that between 2004 and 2011, Israel was the eighth-largest arms exporter, with sales of $12.9bn.
In contrast with other countries receiving US military aid, which must purchase through the Department of Defense (DOD), Israel deals directly with US companies and is exempt from DOD review.
Israel is ranked 22nd on the UN Human Development Index, compared to the US at 13th. Despite a lagging GDP, Israel is nonetheless considered a wealthy country, with universal healthcare, affordable higher education and a higher life expectancy than the US.
All Israeli residents are entitled to basic healthcare as a fundamental right, compared to the US, which has one of the most underperforming healthcare systems among developed nations, despite massive spending of $3.5 trillion annually.
On the education front, the annual cost of tuition at an Israeli university, set by the government, is around $3,000, compared with around $10,000 for US residents at state universities.
Tax exemptions
US intelligence officials take an active interest in friends as well as foes, with counterintelligence operations “strategically focused against [the] priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel”.
The latter is a US ally, but has a history of espionage attempts against the US; Israel has also consistently deceived the US as to the existence of its nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile systems.
At the same time, an investigation several years ago by the Forward, which focused on the US Jewish community’s network of charity organisations, “uncovered a tax-exempt Jewish communal apparatus that operates on the scale of a Fortune 500 company and focuses the largest share of its donor dollars on Israel”.
Great largesse
Indeed, in addition to federal budget allocations, there are private charities, local and state governments, and corporations that contribute additional billions to Israel.
US taxpayers unwittingly exercise great largesse towards the people of Israel, at great detriment to themselves.
Millions of Americans are without basic healthcare because they cannot afford it. Millions of US university students are deeply in debt from student loans taken to finance their education - all while the US underwrites Israel’s economy.
Morgan Strong
Morgan Strong is a former professor of Middle Eastern History, and was an advisor on the Middle East to CBS News, 60 Minutes.
Page: 36 - 35 - 34 - 33 - 32 - 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15
