Friday, May 26, 2017
American Jews protesting occupation getting ripped apart from their sit in by Israeli security #50yearstoomany #disruptJday pic.twitter.com/MJvNtCYpqb— Naomi Dann (@naomi_dann) May 24, 2017
— Naomi Dann (@naomi_dann) May 24, 2017
Jewish anti-occupation activists trying to block right wing extremists from entering the Muslim quarter #disruptJday #50yearstoomany pic.twitter.com/cATzQNoxzV— Naomi Dann (@naomi_dann) May 24, 2017
After violently dragging out anti-occupation Jewish activists, soldiers shake hands with right-wing Israelis #disruptJDay pic.twitter.com/dYrsqcNL0H— Naomi Dann (@naomi_dann) May 24, 2017
https://ifnotnowmovement.org/2017/05/24/several-israeli-and-international-jews-injured-%E2%80%8Bon-jerusalem-day-after-delaying-police-from-sterilizing-the-muslim-quarter-on-the-eve-of-the-50th-year-of-occupation/
More than 50 Jewish anti-Occupation activists from around the world joined with Israelis on Wednesday in a non-violent demonstration in opposition to the annual March of the Flags, a violent event that celebrates the Israeli capture and occupation of East Jerusalem following the Six-Day War in 1967. During the course of the protest, several Israeli and international Jews were injured — including at least one person who suffered a broken arm — after refusing to allow the police to force Palestinian shops in the Old City to close.
The activists intentionally formed a blockade as right-wing Israeli marchers began assaulting Palestinians outside the Damascus Gate. Once the blockade was formed, the protestors were stormed by a group of right-wing Israeli extremists. The Israeli authorities violently dispersed the activists. At least one American Jewish activist may have a broken arm and is en route to the hospital.
This year’s March of the Flags was especially symbolic, coming exactly 50 years after the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territories began and just one day after President Trump visited the region. The activists were members of IfNotNow, Free Jerusalem, and All That’s Left, different organizations that are part of the growing anti-Occupation movement in the Jewish community.
“Over the past 50 years, the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian territory has become more and more entrenched, making the daily existence of Palestinians harder and harder. Today we acted to urge our community back home to shake off its complacency and join Jews around the world calling for an end to the Occupation,” said Talia Kravitz, an IfNotNow member who lives in New York.
The demonstration started in the early afternoon as dozens of Jews joined together to shop in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, knowing that just hours later these same shops would be forced closed by the Israeli authorities in order to clear the path for the right-wing extremists later in the day. They wanted to put their money where their hearts were. In the weeks leading up to Jerusalem Day, they canvassed stores in West Jerusalem and got more than 20 to put up signs in their windows opposing the forced closure of Palestinian shops. Two Jewish-owned stores in West Jerusalem even went as far as to strike, closing their own shops in solidarity with their Palestinian counterparts.
Following this act of economic solidarity, the activists used their bodies to block Israeli security forces from entering the Old City via the Damascus Gate. The organizers intended to stop one of the clearest ways that the Israeli state uses violence against Palestinians in service of right-wing Jewish extremists — a trend seen across the Occupied Territories.
Before it was ripped from their hands, they held a banner that read “End the Occupation” in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. They also sang songs in Hebrew and chanted slogans like “Now, now is the time; Jews must stand with Palestine.”
“Trump’s supporters are eerily similar to the sort of right-wing Jewish extremists who march through the Old City every year, chanting ‘Death to the Arabs’ and assaulting any Palestinian that happens to be in the area. Our community has seen that sort of racism and nationalism before, and we know how devastating the costs can be.” said Zoe Rudow, an IfNotNow member from Oakland.
There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, and, according to the activists, the claim of a “unified” city hides the deep legal, economic, and political disparities between the Palestinian and Jewish residents of the city.
“For 50 years, Palestinians in Jerusalem have lived under an oppressive, unequal system. The illusion of ‘unification’ on Jerusalem Day makes the Palestinians living in the city invisible, and comes at the expense of their freedom of movement and livelihood,” said Uri Agnon, a member of Free Jerusalem and lifelong resident of Jerusalem.
More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners have been on hunger strike for
over a month in Israeli jails demanding improved prison conditions.
After 34 days of foodless strike, many of the prisoners are in a
dangerous medical condition. A delegation of Israeli activists arrived
for a solidarity visit in Hebron. The delegation, which was organized at
the initiative of the Hitabrut-Tarbut movement, arrived at the tent of
prisoners' families and heard about the prisoners' demands, which
included: installing a public telephone in the prison for talks with
family members, installing toilets for families waiting for a visit,
extending the visit from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, and allowing
academic studies (a right denied to Palestinian prisoners while Jewish
security prisoners enjoy it).
Hundreds of activists, organized by a coalition of Palestinian, Israeli
and International organizations joined the families of Sarura to rebuild
their village and create the "Sumud Freedom Camp."
The coalition
wants to show a grassroots counterpoint to the high-level political
process and Trump's visit to Israel/Palestine this week. They also want
to send a message to the Israeli authorities.
Friday, May 19, 2017
Israel/Palestine News
Clashes broke out between protesters and soldiers from the Israeli
forces in the West Bank city of Hebron, Friday, during a rally in
support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails
entitled ‘Day of Rage’.
The residents of Ma'lul who were expelled from it in 1948 are part of
the 300,000 internally displaced persons living in Israel, and it is
unclear to them why they are not being allowed to return to their lands.
They celebrated Easter at the church in Ma'alul, one of the few
buildings that survived the ruins of the army.
An alternative torchlighting ceremony took place on the eve of Yom Ha'atzmaut, parallel to the official ceremony held on Mount Herzl. This
year's ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of the occupation, calling
for an immediate end to the oppression and violence in the occupied
Palestinian territories, for redressing the injustices we cause, for
correcting the attitude towards the weak among us, for promoting
workers' rights and for the hope of peace with all our neighbors.
Some protesters faced off with security forces after one person was
killed and a few people were injured in the clashes erupted between a
group of Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers in the village of
Nabi Saleh, West Bank on Friday. The group walked through the village to
express solidarity with the 1,300 Palestinians, kept in the Israeli
prisons.
Playback Theater is not conventional and predictable, it depends on the
cooperation between the audience and the actors. From the audience comes
a story and the actors reflect it in an abstract and personal way. This
festival hosted People with Disabilities, Refugees, Members of the LGBT
Community, Immigrants, etc. The festival is therefore called 'The Quiet
Voices Receive a Stage'.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Mohammed Matry, a former political prisoner, talking during the march of
return on the land of the village of al-Kabri, about the prisoners'
strike in which he participated in the 1980s, the lethal tactics of
forced feeding, and the basic demands of Palestinian prisoners today. In
contrast to the government's propaganda, the prisoners do not demand to
be released from prison or seek excessive rights. They require the
installation of public telephones in prisons (where all the
conversations are recorded) so that they can speak with their families,
they demand the right to relatives visits , the right to study and basic
human conditions.
Eritrea is one of the countries that produces more refugees in the
world. More than 8.500 asylum seekers managed to arrive to Israel, but
for women, life is even more difficult. They usually can not take the
way to Europe because it's a more dangerous trip by the sea, so usually
the risk their lives crossing the Sinai, where most of them end up in
torture camps, raped and tortured by the smugglers.
Najah a-Rajabi, also known as Um Nasser, lives in Batan al-Hawa, a
neighborhood in Silwan, East Jerusalem. She is 62 years old and has nine
children. Twelve years ago settlers took over the building that adjoins
hers, and have made her life a misery ever since. She recently
received, as did most local residents, eviction claims from the Ateret
Cohanim settler association. Backed by authorities, it is part of the
most extensive dispossession proceedings underway in recent years in
East Jerusalem. Settlers are already living in a few neighborhood
buildings, and they were joined by official and private security
personnel funded by the Ministry of Housing. They regularly use violence
against Palestinian residents, including the use of live fire and crowd
control measures, threats, arresting minors and disrupting the fabric
of life.
Batan al-Hawa, a neighborhood in the heart of Silwan, is the setting for
the most extensive expulsion scheme in recent years in East Jerusalem.
The Ateret Cohanim settler association, backed by the Jerusalem
Municipality and the courts, has been trying to evict 81 neighborhood
families and take over their homes. It has already taken over six
buildings. The presence of settlers is attended by official and private
security personnel who regularly use violence against residents,
disrupting daily life.
Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Mandela Square in Ramallah on
Wednesday to support the more than 1,000 Palestinian political prisoners
who have been on hunger strike for 17 days in Israeli jails.
Demonstrators took to the street while Mahmoud Abbas was meeting with
U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Haaretz, the Trump
administration has asked Abbas to end government payments to the
families of prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinians will strongly
disapprove if Mahmoud Abbas concedes to Trump's request. Ahmad Al Akra, a
demonstrator in Ramallah, said, “[Abbas] has been compromising more of
our freedom and so far nothing has been accomplished. And I think this
might be the final straw."
Friday, May 5, 2017
Two Israeli men with serious mental health conditions who crossed
separately from Israel into the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015 have
apparently been held by the Hamas military wing, Human Rights Watch said
today. Avera Mangistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who both have histories of
wandering far on foot, including across borders without authorization,
have not been heard from since they entered Gaza.
Hamas
authorities have indirectly acknowledged in media statements holding the
two men, but say they will divulge nothing about them – not even to
confirm their detention – until Israel frees a group of detained Hamas
members. Hamas authorities refer to the men as soldiers, but a Human
Rights Watch investigation indicates that the Israeli men were not
combatants or affiliated with the Israeli government when they entered
Gaza.
People living in occupied east Jerusalem are contesting a bill to impose
limitations on the Muslim call to prayer. The legislation is currently
making its way through Israel's parliament. But the people living in
Issawiya have literally built their opposition to the bill. TRT World's
Andre Pierre du Plessis reports.
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