Friday, August 31, 2018
Earlier this month, Israeli forces bombed the Said Mish'al Center for
Culture and Science in Gaza to the ground, claiming it was being used by
Hamas for military operations. The center was beloved among Gazans and
was celebrated as a place where people could express their pain, grief,
happiness, and perseverance through song, dance, and theater. Thousands
of Palestinians in Gaza mourned the destruction of the center, which had
survived three Israeli offensives over the past decade. Aside from
being a place where people could go to to escape their hardships for a
moment, the center was also a space where, according to the director,
the people of Gaza resisted the occupation by preserving the Palestinian
culture and passing it on to future generations.
Friday, August 24, 2018
At ~8:00 A.M. today (Wed., 15 August 2018), Jerusalem Municipality
personnel came with Border Police and a bulldozer to al-‘Esawiyah and
demolished a duplex under construction. The 240-sqm house was meant for a
family of six, including a 12-year-old. By not drawing up detailed
urban building plans, which are key to issuing building permits, for the
Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, the municipality leaves
residents no choice but to overcome the dearth of homes, public
buildings, infrastructure and trade and recreation services by building
without permits.
Friday, August 17, 2018
Israel/Palestine News
Shir Hever discusses the Intercept report, revealing that the Israeli
military used an armed drone to kill four children playing football and
injure four others. The Israeli investigation of the killing is exposed
as a sham.
The re-opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing today points to a new stage
developing in the relationship between Israel and Hamas. The possibility
that these steps could be part of a more extended truce deal was
strengthened by news of a secret meeting in May between Prime Minister
Netanyahu and Egypt's President el-Sisi. El-Sisi is apparently
insisting to eventually push Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority to
return to Gaza. That idea has been criticized by hardliners in
Netanyahu's coalition, who instead want a stronger military response
against Hamas. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Relik Shafir analyzes.
In South Tel Aviv (22/7/2018) a demonstration was held by the
transgender community against the physical violence, discrimination and
exclusion that the community members undergo in their daily life. Why
did they choose to demonstrate in the southern part of the city, rather
than on the main stage in Rabin Square, even though they could have
received a higher exposure to their struggle?
"With blood and with spirit, we will liberate Palestine," some Israeli-Arabs chanted in a Nation-State Law protest in Tel Aviv. The country's prime minister had a harsh criticism for many of the protesters. Human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky and Israel Communist Youth League member Omri Evron debate.
Jamaican-Israeli reggae artist Tony Ray came from Kingston to Tel Aviv,
not realizing the city was in Israel. After disliking the country's
culture at first, Ray found something that caused a change of heart.
Now, he's one of the pioneers of Israeli reggae music and his latest
single brings the struggle of black people in Israel to stand up to
racism. Ray discusses his experience and new hit
In the last few months, not a day goes by without an IDF announcement
of Palestinian suspects rounded up the previous night. Will there be an
Israel-West Bank truce in the near future? Former IDF foreign press
spokesman Lt. Col. (Res.) Peter Lerner and senior fellow of Washington
Institute Ghaith Al-Omari analyze.
The IDF's Eyes and Ears Behind Enemy Lines
The IDF's first and only combat intelligence unit, completely made up of
reserve soldiers from various field units, held its first large scale
exercise this week, in a mock-up village, to simulate enemy territory.
2 part video. UK Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is accused of presiding over a surge
of anti-Semitism inside the Labour Party. Author Norman Finkelstein and
British scholar Jamie Stern-Weiner say that Corbyn's foes have cynically
concocted a fake scandal to sabotage his progressive agenda and support
for Palestinian rights
Yesterday, 7 Aug. 2018, at about 8:00
A.M., Jerusalem Municipality personnel, accompanied by Border Police
officers and equipped with a bulldozer, came to the Shu’fat neighborhood
of East Jerusalem. The forces demolished the top story in a five-story
family home. The story included two housing units with an area of around
100 sq.m. each, which were completed approximately three months ago and
were intended for two young men from the family.
Several buildings were also demolished in the Jabal al-Mukabber
neighborhood yesterday. One family demolished by itself a housing unit
with an area of around 100 sq.m. it constructed some four months ago as
an additional story in its home, after the Municipality issued a
demolition order against the unit in April 2018. Municipality personnel
later came to the neighborhood, accompanied by Border Police officers
and equipped with a bulldozer, and demolished a storeroom and two
containers belonging to a supermarket that were installed in 2011, with a
total area of around 700 sq.m.
The Jerusalem Municipality deliberately avoids preparing detailed urban
building plans (UBPs), which are the only avenue for obtaining building
permits, for the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. The result
is a severe shortage of homes, public buildings, infrastructure and
leisure and commercial facilities. This has left the residents no choice
but to build without permits and risk demolition.
Friday, August 10, 2018
In just over two months, from the beginning of May to 7 July 2018,
B’Tselem documented 10 instances in which settlers destroyed a total of
more than 2,000 trees and grapevines and burned down a barley field and
bales of hay. In some places, the settlers left behind them graffiti
slogans in Hebrew, reading “No to farmer terrorism” and “We’ll reach
every spot”. Some of the farmers had already suffered settler violence
in recent years.
While this high incidence of the assaults is unusual, the phenomenon
itself has long since become routine in the West Bank. Settler violence
and vandalism takes place with full backing by the Israeli authorities.
Sometimes soldiers take part in the assault; at other times, they stand
idly by. The police makes no substantial effort to investigate the
incidents, nor takes measures to prevent them or stop them in real time.
On June 21st, Razan a-Najar was killed while performing her duties as a
paramedic in the Palestinian Medical Relief Society during the Gaza
Great March. a-Najar's family was expelled from the village of Salame
during the Nakba. On July 3rd, a solidarity demonstration was held in
her memory, near the building of Abu Nabut, on the road that connects
Jaffa to the village of Salame, where she hoped to return.
The Trump administration is set to unveil the peace plan for the MiddleEast, which will include several moving parts. The toughest part: getting the #Palestinians and Israelis onboard. Ellie Hochenberg has the story.
Not only is Israel's new Nation-State Law coming under fire in Israel,
but also in the United States, home to the largest Jewish community in
the world. Prominent members have expressed concern about the
legislation and its effects on the relationship between diaspora Jews
and Israel. Bianca Zanini has the story.
Friday, August 3, 2018
A demonstration in Tel Aviv protesting the demolition of houses in Khan
al-Akhmar and the evacuation of the community in favor of expanding the
settlements. A representative of Combatants for Peace, Tully Flint, said
at the rally that several European countries had declared that they
would impose sanctions on Israel if the residents of Khan al-Khmer
continued to be abused.
Among those opposing the nation-state law in its present form are three lawmakers from the Druze community, all veterans of the IDF, all serving in Jewsh-Zionist parties, who have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court against what they cite as an "extremist'' law that discriminates against Israel's minorities. Parliament member Akram Hasson of the Kulanu party gives his stance.
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