News
International Middle East Media Center
Netanyahu To Attend Nuclear Summit in Washington, Will Not Meet Obama
IMEMC – Wednesday April 07, 2010 – 01:41, Israeli sources reported that Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will be attending the Nuclear Summit in the United States, but will not be holding a meeting with U.S. President, Barack Obama, who will also participate in the summit next week.
Youth Missing In Tunnel Collapse
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 23:32, Palestinian medical sources reported that resident Bilal Abu Taha, 17, who went missing in a tunnel collapse accident in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, was not found yet, while four other missing residents made it safely to t Egyptian side.
Boy reported dead in Gaza was found alive
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 19:43, Important Update:, Palestinian media sources reported that Mohammad Al-Faramawi, 16 who was reported dead during Land Day activities in the Gaza strip, on March 30, is still alive. Local sources reported that Al-Faramawi was detained by the Egyptian border police, who released him few days later.
Troops Detain Three Palestinians During Pre Dawn Invasions Targeting West Bank Communities
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 19:33, Israeli troops detained on Tuesday at dawn three Palestinian civilians during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Tunnel Collapse In Southern Gaza, Two Works Missing
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 18:44, Two Palestinian workers went missing as a tunnel at the southern Gaza Strip borders collapsed on them on Tuesday.
Qatar Conducting Efforts To Achieve Palestinian National Unity
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 12:55, Palestinian sources reported Tuesday that Qatar is conducting serious efforts to achieve reconciliation between the rival Hamas and Fateh movement, and to achieve a Palestinian National Unity deal.
Army: “Death Of Four Palestinians near Nablus in March Could Have Been Avoided”
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 11:20, Avi Mizrahi, head of the General Command of the Israeli army stated that the March fatal shooting of four Palestinians in two separate incidents near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, could have been avoided.
63-year-old Palestinian-French Man Dies At Al Hamra Roadblock
IMEMC – Tuesday April 06, 2010 – 08:14, Palestinian medical sources reported Tuesday that a 63-year-old Palestinian-French man died Sunday at the Al Hamra roadblock, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Soldiers prevented him from crossing for several hours; he had diabetes and high blood pressure.
Sheikh Jarrah: 2 Families handed eviction orders
4/6/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli settler organizations joined together on Tuesday to hand court-issued eviction notices to two Sheikh Jarrah families, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs Hatim Abdul Qader said. The notices gave the Dajani and Dahoodi families 30 days to evacuate their homes, Abdul Qader said, bringing the total number of families facing eviction to eight. The homes of the Al-Ghawi and Al-Kurd families were evacuated earlier this year and occupied by Israeli settler families.”The Dajani and Dahoodi families will not leave their homes,” Abdul Qader said. In early March, the Israeli Coalition Against Home Demolitions reported the first hearing of court cases launched by the Al-Kurd and Jaouni families. An ICHAD brief said the cases were launched by Nahalat Shimon International, the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesset Yisrael Committee to evict the families from their homes.
Abdul Qader: Sheikh Jarrah evictions based on forgeries
4/6/2010 – Jerusalem – Ma’an – The court-ordered eviction warrants handed down by the settler organization Nahalat Shimon International to two Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah on Tuesday were based on forged documents, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdul Qader said.” The Israeli High Court of Justice previously accredited forged documents issued by this [Nahalat Shimon International] society and approved its ownership of the lands the homes are built on,” Abdul Qader told Ma’an.” The society’s lawyer is sending out circular warrants to residents, ordering them to evacuate their homes,” he added, alleging that all the land ownership documents previously used by the organizations to evict other families in the neighborhood are counterfeit. The Fatah official said the latest families faced with eviction, the Dajani and Daoudi families, will file a petition at the High Court. . .
Israeli army admits mistakes in death of Nablus boys
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – More restrictive open-fire directives for Israeli soldiers faced with stone and Molotov cocktail throwing may soon be implemented, in the wake of the deaths of four Nablus residents 19 and under, reports said. An Israeli military statement, released to Ma’an on Monday, detailed the results of two investigations it said were carried out into the circumstances around the death of four Nablus residents, two men and two teenagers. In their weekly Protection of Civilians report, released on Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said reports indicated new rules would see Israeli soldiers use live fire only if a Molotov cocktail is thrown at a civilian car. Moreover, the report added, Israeli soldiers would need authorization from ranking officers to fire in the air. The findings of the OCHA report lined up with comments in the Israeli army statement,. . .
Israeli guards threaten striking prisoners
4/6/2010 – Salfit – Ma’an – Israel’s Ramon Prison service threatened to deprive striking Palestinian detainees of family visits in May if the current strike protesting the mistreatment of prisoners and visiting family members continues. Palestinian prisoners across 13 Israeli detention centers began a boycott of family visits on 1 April, and punctuated the start of the boycott with a day-long hunger strike. Prisoners say some are denied family visits, and at times family members at the prisons are mistreated, actions prisoners want to cease. A message from detainees in Ramon, delivered by a lawyer with the Palestinian Prisoners Society, said guards at the facility had told prisoners that if the boycott was not halted, privileges at the cantina – the prison shop where Palestinians must purchase items like soap and notebooks – will be revoked and family visits will be prohibited for the month of May.
Gaza protesters raise flags on no-go zone
4/6/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza residents marched toward Israel’s no-go zone on Tuesday, in protest of the confiscation of 20% of the Strip’s farming lands inside the buffer. Marchers proceeded from Al-Atatra, a Beit Lahiya neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, toward the bord
er area to plant flags on Palestinian lands. Popular Resistance Campaign coordinator Mahmoud Az-Ziq said hundreds of local men and international solidarity activists marched toward the no-go zone, raising Palestinian flags at the barbed-wire fence sectioning off the area. Dozens of Israeli soldiers, he said, fired warning shots in “all directions.””These rallies show how adamant we are to regain access to agricultural lands along the border area. Non-violent rallies will continue, no matter what danger we will face,” Az-Ziq added. Beit Hanoun Popular Initiative coordinator Sabir Za’nin said Israeli soldiers in black uniforms. . .
2 missing as smuggling tunnel collapses in Gaza
4/6/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Two Palestinian workers remain missing following the collapse of a subterranean smuggling tunnel under the Yebna refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza on Tuesday. A group of six workers was inside the tunnel when it collapsed, with four members turning up safely on the Egyptian side, said Adham Abu Selmieyah, a Gaza medical services coordinator. A search mission is ongoing by civil defense crews in an attempt to locate 17-year-old Belal Taha and another unamned worker on the Egyptian side, he added. Many Palestinians have died as a result of tunnel collapses, with human rights organizations calling for better protection and safety for workers involved in the industry. The underground tunnel complex was created along the Egypt-Gaza border in the wake of Israel’s lockdown of the coastal enclave in June 2007, following Hamas’ takeover of the Strip.
OCHA: Land requisitioned for new checkpoint on 443
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces will confiscate 173. 2 dunums of Palestinian land to construct a military checkpoint on highway 443,ordered open for Palestinian traffic by an Israeli court judge in December 2009. Previously a Jewish-only road, highway 443 extends 25 kilometers north from Jerusalem through the West Bank’s Ramallah district and exits the area south of Ni’lin. In the coming weeks, a report by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revealed, vehicles will be able to enter and exit the road after undergoing a military inspection, near Beit Sira and Beit Al-Fauqa. Palestinian vehicles will also be able to exit 443 in at Kharbatha Al-Misbah and At-Tireh, where the military point will be constructed. In its weekly Protection of Civilians report, OCHA noted that a security crossing will be built near Ofer military camp and prison, on lands from the towns of Beituniya and At-Tireh.
PA condemns new Israeli synagogue in East Jerusalem
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – “The Israeli government is preparing to build a new synagogue 200 meters away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Ramallah’s Ministry of the Interior announced on Sunday. In doing so, a PA statement said, Israel “continues the policy of annexation of Palestinian lands, especially in Jerusalem. . . considered the key to peace.” The move would mark the second synagogue to be opened in occupied Jerusalem by Israeli authorities in the past month. A rededication ceremony on 15 March amid heightened tensions in Jerusalem raised questions with international governments and rights organizations, who asked sides to quell rhetoric inflaming Palestinian concerns over Israeli actions in the ancient city. According to the PA statement, the latest announcement to open a synagogue 100 meters closer to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound than the first building, are “considered obvious challenges to all exerted peace efforts.”
Palm Sunday protester pays fine to release detained donkeys
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Ten days after the Palm Sunday rally, in which Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki and several others were detained, Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality ordered one of the detainees to pay bail for the release of his donkeys. Ibrahim Salah, 46, from Al-Khader, told officials at the Bethlehem governorate that he was horse-plowing an area of land near the main checkpoint separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem when he saw the approaching rally. Noticing that protesters were riding donkeys, in keeping with Christian tradition that describes Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem on a donkey, Salah decided to join the procession with his two donkeys and horse. Salah called taking part in the protest his “nationalist duty” against the Israeli occupation and settlements, noting that his land was also threatened with appropriation.
2 Gaza terminals partly open
4/6/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities opened both the Kerem Shalom and the Karni border crossings with Gaza on Tuesday, to allow limited quantities of humanitarian aid and fuel into the besieged Strip, liaison officials said. Palestinian border official Raed Fattouh said Gaza could expect between 92 and 102 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods permitted to enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, in addition to limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial diesel. Also at Kerem Shalom, the southernmost crossing on the Israeli border, Fattouh said two trucks of Gaza carnations would be permitted for export. A Dutch government program has seen 110 truckloads (77 of carnations and 33 of strawberries) of goods exit Gaza in an effort to support local farmers. Except for one-time exports of carnations out of Gaza on Valentines day 2007 and 2008, the 110 truckloads are the only exports permitted from the Strip.
PFLP in Lebanon: Abandon ‘illusion’ of negotiations
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Ahmad Murad, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it was clear that Palestinians should rely on the “illusion” of negotiations or the peace process. Speaking at a Land Day ceremony in southern Lebanon on Thursday, Murad linked his comments to the recent decisions spearheaded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlements, Jerusalem and aggression against Palestinian holy sites. Marking the Israeli crackdown on a Palestinian protest in 1976 that saw six killed defending their land, the PFLP said peace talks would only encourage the “Zionist campaign of murder, destruction and colonization taking place in Palestine.” Held alongside the Lebanese Communist Party and the People’s Movement, the PFLP hosted what turned into a widely political rally in the city of Adloun, Lebanon.
Saudi cleric to film talk show episode in Jerusalem
4/6/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – The next episode of renowned Saudi cleric Muhammad Al-Arifi’s TV talk show will be recorded in Jerusalem, the religious official announced Monday. The sheikh, who leads the show Da’ Basmatak (Have an Impact) on the Muslim theology-themed Iqra satellite channel, said he would travel to the city as part of a Muslim duty toward Palestine, and encouraged all other Muslims to follow in his footsteps and support the people of Jerusalem. During his Monday broadcast, Al-Arifi told his audience that the coming episodes would include “surprises” and visits to Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, and possibly the rest of the West Bank. The sheikh said he was concerned he may not be allowed to access the sites by Israeli officials, and told the faithful “We pray that God save and protect us.” Al-Arifi made no indication as to whether or not he had already arranged for a travel visa to Israel,. . .
Martin Luther King II
I to speak at nonviolence conference
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – Martin Luther King III will speak at an upcoming conference in Ramallah on StrengtheningNonviolence in Palestine, the conference’s host institutions announced Monday. The Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND) and The Center for Democracy and Community Development (CDCD), said King would deliver a speech at the conference, and discuss the role of nonviolence as a vehicle for ending of the occupation. The conference will focus on the use on nonviolence in forwarding the aim of creating an independent Palestinian state, organizers said in a statement. Non-violent and popular resistance activities have been supported recently by both Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials, with the five-year trend of weekly anti-wall protests spreading beyond the founding villages of Nil’in and Bil’in, to five villages protesting on a regular basis, and dozens of others holding rallies to mark significant occasions.
Inquiry clears Al-Husseini of corruption
4/6/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas informed his former chief of staff Rafiq Al-Husseini Monday that an inquiry had cleared him of charges of nepotism, blackmail, and corruption, but that he was dismissed for “tainting” his office with personal mistakes. The outcome of the inquiry was relayed to Al-Husseini in a letter, who released a statement saying detailing its contents.”I [Abbas] certify that your performance as a chief of staff was excellent and professional, and valuable accomplishments were achieved during your term,” Al-Hussein said the letter read. The official, caught on tape allegedly soliciting sex in return for political favors, applauded what he called Abbas’ commitment to transparency and accountability, referring to the president’s decision to set up an inquiry into the allegations. Al-Husseini said that despite being cleared of the charges, he was dismissed from. . .
Ministry: Stations must get permits or face closure
4/6/2010 – Ramallah – Ma’an – The Ramallah-based Telecommunications Ministry said Tuesday that local radio stations will be taken off the air if they fail to apply for the necessary license by the end of the amnesty period in April.”The ministry will stop all broadcasting on local stations working without licensing immediately after the end of the time granted to these stations by the minister of telecommunications,” said Ahmad Muneizal, general-director of the ministry’s licensing department.”Any station that fails to obtain such permits by 15 April 2010 at either the Ministries of Telecommunication, Interior or Information, will be stopped immediately,” he added. Muneizal called on station owners to speedily put forward all the necessary documentation at the three ministries to ensure radio stations do not face closure. In mid-March, the The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate (PJS) announced that. . .
Edward Said conservatory launches competition
4/6/2010 – Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music will launch its national music competition in Jerusalem between 8-20 April 2010 for the third year in a row. The competition will include all Palestinian areas, including West Bank, Gaza, Green Line areas and the occupied Golan Heights, a statement read. Musicians from all over Palestine will compete in all categories of music including voice. Beside a special prize Named after Marcel khalifeh for young composer. The competition will be judged by a jury of local and international musicians in different categories of music andcontestants will be divided into three age groups; Group I, below the age of 12; group II between ages 12 and 16; and group III, between ages 16 and 22. Music categories will include Arabic instruments, strings, brass and wind instruments, and guitar.
Conjoined twins travel to Saudi Arabia for treatment
4/6/2010 – Gaza – Ma’an – Conjoined twins born in Gaza last week left the Strip via the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, en route to Saudi Arabia where the infant girls will be treated, crossings officials announced. The Rafah crossing was “exceptionally opened for the twin Retal and Retaj Yaser Abu A’si to pass through, accompanied by a medical staff and their parents,” an official said. The twins, born on 30 March, will receive free medical care as a gift from Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Ramallah-based Minister of Health Fathi Abu Moghli said Sunday. Palestinian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jamal Ash-Shobaki and the Palestinian embassy in Egypt coordinated travel arrangements for the family, who will fly from Al-Arish to Saudi Arabia, officials said. Director-General of public relations with the ministry Omer An-Naser said the family would be able to leave Al-Arish on Sunday, where they will travel on a private Saudi plane.
Executions feared as Hamas clamps down in Gaza
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Eight people convicted of collaborating with Israel are the first slated to be executed.
The race is on for next IDF chief
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Barak: IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi’s term will not be extended for a fifth year.
Netanyahu to attend U.S. nuclear security summit
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Obama formally unveils new policy restricting U.S. use of nuclear arms, but not on Iran and North Korea.
Israeli Arab gets 5 years, 8 months for spying on IDF chief
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Rawi Sultani, 23, charged last year with collecting information on Ashkenazi to give to Hezbollah.
IDF probing heart attack death of Palestinian at checkpoint
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Palestinian-French citizen died after held up for hours at roadblock in northern West Bank.
Hamas releases footage of ‘Gaza clashes’
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Military wing of Hamas shows documentation of incident wherein two IDF soldiers were killed.
IDF denies killing Palestinian teen on Gaza border
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Army rebuffs Palestinian media claims that it killed 15-year-old as he tried to enter Israel.
Cancer patients on the rise in Gaza
Uruknet April 6, 2010 – Dr. Yousef Ibrahim, the head of the environment quality authority, said on Tuesday that the number of cancer and kidney failure patients in the Gaza Strip is on the rise as a result of the Israeli use of depleted uranium and phosphorus bombs in the war on Gaza last year. Ibrahim, in a statement to the…
Al-Haq Action Alert: Human Rights Defender Arbitrarily Detained and Tortured by Israeli Occupation Forces
Uruknet April 6, 2010 – On 15 March 2010, ‘Umar Mousa Muhammad ‘Ala’-al-Din, a 25 year old Palestinian student from the village of al-Ma
‘sara, near Bethlehem, was taken by Israeli Border Police and detained for seven days, until 22 March 2010. ‘Ala’-al-Din is a member of the Popular Resistance Committee of al-Ma’sara village and an organizer of non-violent protests against the…
Failure of attempts to discredit the Goldstone report and its authors
Uruknet April 6, 2010 – There has been a prolonged and concerted campaign to discredit anyone who is brave enough to speak out against the Zionist policies of Israel. The list of academics, lawyers, activists, politicians and private citizens who have been lambasted by Zionists for daring to speak out against Israel is absurdly long and is growing every day. It…
Palm Sunday protester pays fine to release detained donkeys
Uruknet April 6, 2010 -Ten days after the Palm Sunday rally, in which Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki and several others were detained, Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality ordered one of the detainees to pay bail for the release of his donkeys. Ibrahim Salah, 46, from Al-Khader, told officials at the Bethlehem governorate that he was horse-plowing an area of land near…
Sheikh Jarrah: 2 Families handed eviction orders
Uruknet April 6, 2010 – Israeli settler organizations joined together on Tuesday to hand court-issued eviction notices to two Sheikh Jarrah families, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs Hatim Abdul Qader said. The notices gave the Dajani and Dahoodi families 30 days to evacuate their homes, Abdul Qader said, bringing the total number of families facing eviction to eight…
PCDD: “340 Palestinian Children Still Imprisoned By Israel”
Uruknet April 5, 2010 – The Palestinian Center for Defending the Detainees (PCDD) issued a press release on Monday stating that Israel is holding captive nearly 340 Palestinian children, depriving them of their basic rights and subjecting them to ongoing violations. The center said that while the Palestinians mark the Palestinian Child day, detained children are still facing abuse and violations,…
Israel’s choice of lawlessness and defiance
Uruknet April 5, 2010 – …Justice demands that Israel and the United Nations address the enormous inequities that exist in Palestine. There is no justice if the division of the land remains 86 per cent to 14 per cent when both populations are of approximately equal size, especially if the right of return is acted upon according to international law. There…
Video – Jerusalem/Mamilla Cemetery: Victim of Israeli “tolerance”
Uruknet April 5, 2010 – In the name of tolerance, and human dignity, the Israeli regime is intent on razing the oldest cemetery in the Holy City of Jerusalem. The goal is clear: erase anything to do with the past and the identity of Jerusalem that does not conform with the Zionist vision. For decades, this regime has been implementing policies…
Hundreds of Children Light “Freedom Candles” in Gaza
Uruknet April 5, 2010- Hundreds of children marched on Monday evening towards the Unknown Soldier Square, west of Gaza City marking the Palestinian Child Day and lit candles demanding the release of their fathers imprisoned by Israel without any visitation rights. The procession was organized by the Popular Committee Against the Siege and the National Committee to Support the Detainees. The…
Two workers missing in tunnel collapse
6 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) A tunnel in Gaza- Egypt border collapsed today near Salah Al-Dain Gate in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, while six workers were inside it, Palestinian sources said. Four tunnel workers went out of the tunnel towards Egypt, while other two still missing, Palestinian medical sources said. The tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt…
Palestinian Authority destroys settlement products
6 Apr 2010 – Bethlehem, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) The Department of Consumer Protection in the Ministry of National Economy destroyed on Tuesday, large amounts of settlement products including agricultural products (dates, and mushrooms) as well as Dead Sea products and cosmetics, and food (milk, candy, yogurt, etc.), estimated at four tons Mohamed Arziqat, Head of Consumer Protection in the Ministry of National Economy,…
Erekat: U.S. bid to renew Mideast talks at dead-end
6 Apr 2010 – Ramallah, April 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said today that the United States has reached a dead end in its attempts to revive Middle East peace talks. The Palestinian Authority has demanded a full halt to Israeli settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank before any resumption of negotiations. The Palestinians wanted U.S….
Israel opens fire on a peaceful demonstration
6 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli soldiers opened fire on a peaceful march, organized by the Popular Campaign against the security zone, in Atatra in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip; they marched to condemn the imposition of Israel’s security buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Zak, the coordinator of the campaign, said that hundreds…
Egypt intensifies work on “Steel Wall”
6 Apr 2010 – Gaza, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) Witnesses confirmed that the Egyptian authorities have intensified their work during the recent period to complete the construction of the “steel wall” on its border with the Gaza Strip, in order to tighten the control on the tunnels’ trade along the Egyptian Palestinian border. A security official source confirmed that the Egyptian authorities completed…
Israel expels four Jerusalemites
6 Apr 2010 – Jerusalem, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli police decided on Tuesday, to prevent four people working in the Old City in Jerusalem from entering the Old City for two weeks. The Israeli police have arrested those four citizens during a raid done by the special units in the area of the Old City in Jerusalem two days ago, when they attacked…
Israel hands Jerusalemites evacuation notifications
6 Apr 2010 – Jerusalem, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) The families of Dajani and Dahoudi in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, received on Tuesday, a notification from the Assembly of Jewish settlement called “Nehlat Shimon” to immediately evacuate their homes and to be completely gone by 30 days. Hatem Abdel Qader, from the Fatah movement, said that the notification asks the families to evac
uate their…
Gandhi: Jewish settlements obstruct establishment of Palestinian state
6 Apr 2010 – West Bank, April 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of late Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, said Monday that the Jewish settlements in the West Bank obstruct the establishment of the future Palestinian state. Gandhi, chairman of the Initiatives of Change International, an NGO working for peace, reconciliation and human security worldwide, toured Jerusalem, Hebron, Ramallah and…
Israel prevents prisoners from their visits
6 Apr 2010 – Ramallah, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) The department of Ramon prison informed the prisoners today that they will by depriving them from visits in the up-coming May, and would deprive them of canteen too if they continue to boycott family visits this month, and the strike that was decided by the Prisoners Movement, in protest against the practice of the prison’s…
Israel investigates army foul play
6 Apr 2010 – Nablus, April 6, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli occupation authorities conducted an investigation reviewing the IOF’s behavior and actions in two gun-shooting attacks which killed four young men in Nablus two weeks ago, the investigation inferred that it could have been prevented. The commander of the central region in the Israeli army, Major General Avi Mizrahi said, “Based on the results…
Lieberman warns Palestinians not to declare state
The National 6 Apr 2010 – Israel’s foreign minister warned Palestinians against plans to unilaterally declare independence next year, saying such a move could annul past peace agreements.
QATAR TAKES A SWING AT PALESTINIAN UNITY
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – ENGAGEMENT IS ON THE RISE, BUT THERE’S NO SIGN OF RECONCILIATION YET Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mash’al met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamed bin Khalifa al-Thani in Doha Monday, Ma’an News Agency reports. Hamas political…
‘Rhythms of resistance’: Songs of Palestine and the Occupation
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – Al-Jazeera English explores the role of Arab Israeli (Palestinians who live inside the “green line” demarcating Israel’s internationally recognized borders) singers and musicians in preserving Palestinian culture and resisting the Occupation in “Songs from a Lost…
Pictures: Orthodox Easter in Gaza
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – Ma’an News captured Palestinian Orthodox Christians in Gaza at Easter services Sunday April 4. Jerusalem Despite Israeli restrictions, Palestinian Christians from across the occupied territories “flocked to Jerusalem” at attend religious services at the Church of…
DC art exhibit Friday – ‘What Ham Saw: Drawings from Palestine’
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – Artist and social justice advocate Ellen O’Grady will share her artwork at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery (2425 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington DC) Friday April 9, 6-8pm. O’Grady says on her work from Palestine: “The drawings of…
WATCH: Documentary uncovers Arab ‘Schindlers’
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – Robert Satloff ‘s “Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands” searches for Arabs who aided Jews during the Holocaust, PBS reports. And Satloff found them. Satloff, director of the Washington Institute for…
Israelis detain donkeys, hold for bail
Palestine Note 6 Apr 2010 – Palm Sunday , March 28, Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki and several other protesters were arrested in Bethlehem . A more under-reported fact is that the donkeys present were detained as well, and now Israel’s Jerusalem municipality…
Al-Azhar Sheikh Stirs Anger with Anti-Shi’ite Comments
The Media Line 5 Apr 2010 – Less than a month in office, the newly-appointed prominent Sunni cleric is drawing criticism for being over politicized. Rachelle Kliger / The Media Line Shi’ite clerics are warning comments made by the new chief of the renowned…
Reports: Palestinian Groups to Halt Rockets into Israel
The Media Line 5 Apr 2010 – Reports coming from the Gaza Strip that four Palestinian factions have decided to end the firing of rockets into Israel are being disputed by some Islamic Jihad members according to the Palestine News Agency. But it…
Turkish Prime Minister Continues Verbal War Against Israel
The Media Line 5 Apr 2010 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left no doubt that his verbal war on Israel will continue when he used the launch of an Arabic-language television station to blast the Jewish state on Monday. Erdogan, who…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, On March 30, Palestinian Land Day, there will be a large rally of all the people who refuse the repression and threats from our government against the people who join the Boycott,…
Bili’in as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Bili’in and Na’alin as closed military zones for a period of six months (so far) has meaning that goes far beyond the weekly demonstrations held there for the…
Israel’s Inclusion in Economic Organization a Threat to Democracy
Alternative Information Center – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 of the wor
ld’s most developed countries, does not provide money or any special economic benefits. Yet it is easy…
Probe concludes IDF failures led to killings of 4 Palestinians
PNN – Tuesday, 06 April 2010
Israel ‘using Facebook to recruit Gaza collaborators’
PNN – Tuesday, 06 April 2010
Mimouna, Isru Hag see celebrations extended in J’lem
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Reveling in the afterglow of the holiday, hundreds of people descend on the capital’s Sacher Park.
Arab jailed for spying on IDF chief
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Sultani, who attended Ashkenazi’s gym, gave info to Hizbullah, gets 68 months.
A fatal blow to peace
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Pursuing Israeli evacuation from Jewish J’lem areas isn’t pursuing peace.
How about some compassion
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Israel should start acting like the Jewish state it claims to be.
FADC to press Russia on Iran
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Hanegbi-led team heads to Moscow for talks; Erdogan: New sanctions won’t work.
Obama warns Iran must be stopped
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Tells ‘NY Times’ “current course” would give Teheran nuclear capabilities.
‘We’ll strike Israel if attacked’
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Iran warns of “dust rising” in TA; Teheran “expects” Russia to supply S-300.
Ashkenazi’s term won’t be extended
Jeruslalem Post 6 Apr 2010 – Barak says decision supported by Netanyahu; IDF chief to complete tenure in Feb. 2011.
HRW Calls on Hamas not to Resume Executions
WAFA 6 Apr 2010 – JERUSALEM, April 6, 2010 (WAFA)- Hamas authorities should rescind a recent announcement that they intend to resume application of the death penalty in Gaza, which has not been carried out there since
Palestinian Child Day: Israeli Violates Children’s Rights
WAFA 6 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, April 6, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Child Day comes on 5 April of each year. On this day, the Palestinian community celebrates children, who represent the present and the future of society.
PCBS: Improvement in Economic Conditions last Year
WAFA 6 Apr 2010 – RAMALLAH, April 6, 2010 (WAFA)- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said Tuesday that economic conditions in the Palestinian Territory improved in 2009 due to economic stability in the
EU Helps PA by 21 Million to Maintain Regular Payment of Salaries
WAFA 6 Apr 2010 – JERUSALEM, April 6, 2010 (WAFA) – The European Union (EU) made its fourth contribution for Palestinian Authority (PA) by NIS 104,021,753 (21 million) to maintain basic services through regular
Israeli Army Probing Death of French citizen at Checkpoint
WAFA 6 Apr 2010 – TEL AVIV, April 6, 201 0(WAFA)-The Israel Army is investigating the death of a Palestinian-French citizen who died last Saturday, at the Al-Hamra checkpoint, North West Bank, daily Haaretz
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
On the Occasion of World Press Freedom Day, PCHR and OHCHR in the OPT Organize “Creative Media Professionals” Ceremony
PCHR 5 Apr 2010 – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and the United Nations Offices of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) have continued their preparation to organize “Creative Media Professionals” ceremony on the World Press Freedom Day on 03 May. The ceremony aims at honoring Palestinian journalists and media professionals working for local and international….
Memo to Obama: Two little Hebrew words make all the difference
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – With the high priority Obama gives the Mideast conflict, he may do well to put his rhetorical skills on the line.
Netanyahu to attend U.S. nuclear security summit
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Obama formally unveils new policy restricting U.S. use of nuclear arms, but not on Iran and North Korea.
Iran vows to strike Israel immediately if attacked
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Turkey PM to his ‘dear friend’ Ahmadinejad: Keep Mideast nukes-free; Israel: Erdogan hurting ties.
Conjoined Gaza twins arrive in Saudi Arabia for separation surgery
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Saudi King Abdullah said he will cover cost of surgery for first-known pair of Palestinian conjoined twins.
Palestinian official: U.S. bid to revive Mideast talks at dead-end
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Lieberman warns Palestinians: Declare state unilaterally and Israel will withdraw from commitments.
Turkish PM: New Iran sanctions won’t work
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Erdogan to challenge French President Sarkozy’s support for fresh sanctions over Iran’s nuclear work.
Egypt police violently disperse pro-reform protest
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Plainclothes officers drag demonstrators into trucks; Demonstrations illegal in Egypt.
Brown calls British national election for May 6
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Brown met with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, marking the start of a bitterly contested race.
Jordan King: Israel’s long-term future is in jeop
ardy
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – In interview with Wall Street Journal, Abdullah warns against ‘wasting too much time’ in solving conflict.
Israel: Turkey aligning with Muslim world at our expense
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Foreign Min. responds after Erdogan slams Israel, says Arabs and Turks are brothers who share values.
Small comfort for traders as Gaza blockade loosened
The Guardian 6 Apr 2010 – Israel allows in clothes for the first time in three years but Palestinians say storage has ruined garments Israeli authorities have allowed shoes and clothes into the Gaza Strip for the first time in three years…
Israelis must integrate to survive | Aluf Benn
The Guardian 6 Apr 2010 – The increase in ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs is a social timebomb that threatens the Jewish state’s long-term survival If you’re interested in Israel’s future, all you need to know is one statistic: among Israeli kids in…
The case we’re forbidden to report on
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – The president of the Israel Press Council, retired Supreme Court justice Dalia Dorner, has said in a radio interview that it is “regrettable” that a court gag order on a certain security case remains in force, even though the foreign news media has reported on it in detail. Along with the regret over the government’s stupidity in not quickly asking for the gag order to be lifted, the silence that the court has imposed on the Israeli media is ludicrous. It infringes on the right of the Israeli public to know, a right acknowledged in the Freedom of Information Law. It feeds the rumors that are floating around under judicial auspices, and it makes a mockery of Israeli democracy. …
Ex-justice denounces gag order on Israeli media
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Press Council President Dalia Dorner lashed out yesterday against a gag order barring the Israeli media from reporting on a legal case related to media and security, saying the Press Council may join the appeal against the order. …
Settlers push to evict two more Sheikh Jarrah families
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Settler groups are pushing to evict two more Palestinian families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, part of a wider program to demolish Palestinian homes in the area to make way for 200 housing units designated solely for Jews. …
Netanyahu ‘respects decision’ not to extend IDF chief`s term
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday issued a statement about the announcement that Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi would not remain in his post for a fifth year, saying he respects the decision. …
PM to Deputy Health Minister: Ashkelon ER won’t be relocated
Ha’aretz 6 Apr 2010 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday told Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman that he opposes relocating a planned bomb-proof emergency room for the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, due to ultra-Orthodox objections after burial grounds were discovered under the original site. …
After probe, father says son was executed
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – After IDF rules killing of two Palestinians shot dead near Nablus could have been avoided, residents of their village want to bring shooters to justice, ‘They went looking for scrap iron to make a living and were shot point blank,’ father says adding will take case to international courts if necessary
Aides: Barak did not mean to humiliate Ashkenazi
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – Following stormy responses to Barak’s decision not to extend chief of staff’s tenure for fifth year, defense minister’s office expresses esteem for Ashkenazi. Netanyahu party to decision, adds his praise
Palestinian women outraged over Turkish TV series
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – Television series which sparked diplomatic crisis between Ankara, Jerusalem sparks uproar among female Palestinian prisoners who claim scene in which inmate being raped offends Palestinian women’s honor
Race is on for next IDF chief
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – Deputy Chief of Staff Gantz, Southern Command Chief Galant are leading candidates to replace IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi’s term as IDF chief won’t be extended
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi to end tenure as chief of staff in February 2011 after a four-year stint. Defense minister to start reviewing candidates for post in coming months. Following Barak’s announcement, Ashkenazi issued statement saying, ‘I never asked for additional year in office’
US updates Israel on nuclear policy
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – US under secretary of state informs deputy foreign minister of Obama’s new nuclear proliferation plans stressing Washington will adopt ‘calculated ambiguity’ policy towards non-threatening nations. Meanwhile, PM scheduled to visit US next week to attend NPT conference
Dozens beaten, arrested in protests against Mubarak
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – Hundreds of riot police deployed in Cairo during rare pro-reform demonstration in lead-up to Egypt elections
Conjoined Gaza twins arrive in Saudi for surgery
YNet News 6 Apr 2010 – First known pair of Palestinian conjoined twins arrives in Saudi Arabia for separation surgery 10 days after birth. Operation to be funded by Saud King Abdullah
Baghdad blasts kill 35 people, destroy seven buildings
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 BAGHDAD: Coordinated bombings across Baghdad destroyed seven buildings and killed at least 35 people on Tuesday, authorities said, fuelling fears of a surge in violence after inconclusive general elections.More than 100 people have died around the capital in the last five days but, almost a month after parliamentary elections, a new cabinet could be
Israeli Arab receives 6-year jail sentence for spying on army chief for Hizbullah
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: A young Israeli Arab on Tuesday was sentenced to almost six years in jail for spying on Israel’s armed forces chief for Lebanon’s Hizbullah at the gym where they both worked out. Rawi Fuad Sultani, 23, passed on information on Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, to foreign agents, according to a plea bargain agreement between
British parties launch month of electioneering
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday launched a month-long election campaign likely to be dominated by the economy and shaping up as the most unpredictable contest since 1992.Standing outside his Downing Street residence in the sunshine, with his cabinet arrayed behind him, Brown ended weeks of shadow boxing by confirming
Iran urges Russia to resist Western pressure on missile sales
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 TEHRAN: Iran urged Russia on Tuesday not to bow to Western pressure over the sale of a Russian missile defense system to the Islamic Republic which could protect its nuclear facilities from air strikes. A cleric in the Revolutionary Guards again warned Iran would hit back with missiles fired at “the heart of Tel Aviv” if it were attacked by
Jerusalem central in the Mideast question
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 If international law matters to any American president, it ought to be President Barack Obama who has taught constitutional law. Israel’s supporters are wrong to downplay the significance of illegal settlement activity as innocuous building in “Jewish neighborhoods” of Jerusalem. Contrary to Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that “building in Jerusalem
Israeli foreign minister warns Palestinians not to declare state
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel’s hardline foreign minister warned Palestinians against plans to unilaterally declare independence next year, saying in an interview Tuesday that such a move could prompt Israel to annex parts of the West Bank and annul past peace agreements. Avigdor Lieberman also made harsh comments about Turkey, Israel’s increasingly
Political parties forge alliances as deadline passes for candidacy in municipal polls
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 BEIRUT: Political alliances in the upcoming municipal polls were being mapped out over the past few days as the Interior Ministry announced Tuesday April 4, 2010, as a deadline for presenting candidacies for the Mount Lebanon district. Following Monday’s announcement of an agreement between Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, the
Leading US investment firm urges Arab states to bank on management talent
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 BEIRUT: The president of a leading US investment group urged Arab countries to invest more in management talent. Speaking at a lecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB), the president of Blackstone Group Hamilton E. “Tony” James said he would be reluctant to invest in the Middle East because it is “abundant in capital, yet short on readily available management talent
Officials demand firm action over bid to import spoiled pharmaceuticals
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 BEIRUT: A cargo of spoiled medicine has been quarantined in one of Beirut Port’s containers since early March, well informed sources from the Lebanese Customs told As-Safir newspaper on Tuesday. The sources added that a previous attempt to bring the same cargo manufactured by a Pakistani company into the Lebanese market was thwarted by
The US must put bite into its position
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 The open disagreement and tough words exchanged in public by the United States and Israel a few weeks ago on Washington’s demand that Israel freeze all new settlements in occupied Arab East Jerusalem has now entered Phase Two. Now, both sides are working quietly behind the scenes to harness their political resources, gauge the other side’s
Tribunal preparing for trial within a year
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 Editor’s note: The following are excerpts of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s annual report, which was released Saturday. The Daily Star is publishing excerpts of the report until Wednesday.PART II – MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE TRIBUNAL BETWEEN MARCH 2009 AND FEBRUARY 2010 A. Chambers 1. Introduction 95. The Tribunal’s Chambers are
Czech ambassador to Lebanon hosts reception in Yarze
Daily Star 6 Apr 2010 BAABDA: On the occasion of the arrival in Beirut of the Delegation of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of the Senate of the Czech Republic, on March 17 his Excellency Jan Cizek, the country’s ambassador in Lebanon, hosted a cocktail reception at his residence in Yarze. An intimate group of up to 50 souls is said to have attended this exclusive event
Palestinian Information Center
Khaled Amayreh: A dangerous juncture in Palestinian history
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Silvia Cattori has interviewed one of the leading intellectuals in Palestine: Khalid Amayreh. According to him, the Western countries are in deep denial over the colonial reality of Palestine.
Israel bars Gandhi’s grandson from entering Gaza
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday barred Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, from entering Gaza Strip.
Cancer patients on the rise in Gaza
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Dr. Yousef Ibrahim, the head of the environment quality authority, said on Tuesday that the number of cancer and kidney failure patients in the Gaza Strip is on the rise.
Setters demand eviction of two Palestinian families from their OJ homes
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Lawyers of Jewish settlement societies sent a memo to the Israeli Magistrates Court demanding the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah ne
ighborhood.
Hamdona: Prioritize the issue of sick prisoners
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – The director of the prisoners center for studies, Ra’fat Hamdona, has called for prioritizing the issue of sick prisoners in Israeli occupation jails since a number of them were in serious condition.
Khudari: Israel is lying about its intention to allow cement into Gaza
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – MP Jamal Al-Khudari affirmed that the news reports about an Israeli intention to allow quantities of cement into the Gaza Strip are mere statements aimed at burnishing the image of Israel.
Israel: The killing of four Palestinians in March in Nablus was avoidable
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Israel said that the incident of killing four Palestinians last month in the village of Irak Burin and Awarta, south of Nablus, resulted from avoidable mistakes committed by its troops.
Activist: The PA started to curb the peaceful resistance against the wall
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Coordinator of the popular campaign against the wall Jamal Jum’ah said that the PA is trying to customize the peaceful resistance against the segregation wall according to its own vision.
Israeli minister: Ma’aleh Adumim to remain part of Israel
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli minister of education, has said that the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim would remain part of Israel in any future political settlement with the Palestinians.
Israel still barring entry of construction material into Gaza
PIC 6 Apr 2010 – Ra’ed Fattuh, the head of the committee coordinating entry of goods into Gaza Strip, has denied that Israel had informed his committee of its intent to allow entry of construction material into Gaza.
Checkpoints
Palestine Monitor – 17 Dec 2010 – “The right to freedom of movement provides that people are entitled to move freely within the borders of the state, to leave any country and to return to their country.” Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 12 of the International Covenant…
Tariq Ali is coming to NY to speak about Obama’s War’
Mondoweiss – 6 Apr 2010 – This is an important event. Tariq Ali, the Pakistani-English novelist and critic, long associated with the New Left Review and LRB, who has done as much as anyone to educate the west about the follies of the war on terror, is coming to New York in…
CSM runs piece bluntly describing Jim Crow in Israel
Mondoweiss – 6 Apr 2010 – Some day kids will go to the Nakba Museum in Washington and ask, Where were American Jews when Jim Crow happened in Israel? And where was the American mainstream press when the Palestinian children were being locked up? Why did we have to read about the…
Israeli gag order
Mondoweiss – 6 Apr 2010 – NYT has a story on the Anat Kamm/Uri Blau Haaretz crackdown , curiously unbylined and undatelined. Credit given to Richard Silverstein!
What would Foxman and the NYT say if a prominent media figure went around proudly calling Axelrod a Jewboy’?
Mondoweiss – 6 Apr 2010 – My wife likes to say, It’s actually true that you can’t buy respect. It’s a rule that still works. Marty Peretz at TNR has demolished whatever respect many writers in his community once had for him, but who is picking up on this? (And we’re not…
Land Day Commemorations in France in Support of BDS
Alternative Information Center – 6 Apr 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, On March 30, Palestinian Land Day, there will be a large rally of all the people who refuse the repression and threats from our government against the people who join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign. In less than three weeks,…
Bili’in as an Allegory: The Party is Over, Declares Netanyahu
Alternative Information Center – 6 Apr 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, The decision to declare Bili’in and Na’alin as closed military zones for a period of six months (so far) has meaning that goes far beyond the weekly demonstrations held there for the past five years already. “The party is over” that…
Israel’s Inclusion in Economic Organization a Threat to Democracy
Alternative Information Center – 6 Apr 2010 – Sunday, 28 March 2010, Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 of the world’s most developed countries, does not provide money or any special economic benefits. Yet it is easy to see why the Israeli government attributes great importance to…
Articles
On ‘dual loyalty’
Stephen M. Walt, Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development4/2/2010
Last week, the online journal Politico published a story by reporter Laura Rozen on certain divisions within the Obama administration on Middle East policy. What made the story especially explosive was a quotation from an unnamed administration source describing senior White House aide Dennis Ross as being “far more sensitive to Netanyahu’s coalition politics than to U.S. interests.”
As one might expect, this statement raised the old specter of “dual loyalty,” and from several directions. Critics of Ross suggested that he was guilty of it, whi
le defenders complained that he was being tarred with a familiar anti-Semitic slur. Indeed, Rozen subsequently updated her story with a statement by NSC chief of staff Denis McDonough defending Ross and underscoring “his commitment to this country and to our vital interests,” an obvious attempt by the administration to head off the issue before it gained traction.
How should we think about the “dual loyalty” question, either in this context or in many others? To me this is a tricky issue that ought to be handled with some delicacy, and we ought to employ a different vocabulary to discuss it.
One might start by remembering that the phrase “dual loyalty” has a regrettable and sordid history, given its origins as a nasty anti-Semitic canard in old Europe. Accusing anyone — and especially someone who is Jewish — of “dual loyalty” is bound to trigger a heated reaction, and for good reason. Furthermore many people believe patriotism (i.e., love of one’s country) is a profoundly important value, so any behavior that seems to be at odds with that principle carries powerful negative connotations. In a world where nationalism remains a potent doctrine, casting doubt on anyone’s loyalty is a serious charge.more..e-mail
Palestinian minority denied Israeli nationality
Jonathan Cook, Ma’an News Agency4/6/2010
Nazareth – A group of Jews and Palestinians are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognised as “Israelis,” a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state.
Israel refused to recognise an Israeli nationality at the country’s establishment in 1948, making an unusual distinction between citizenship and nationality. Although all Israelis qualify as “citizens of Israel,” the state is defined as belonging to the “Jewish nation,” meaning not only the 5.6 million Israeli Jews but also more than seven million Jews in the diaspora.
Critics say the special status of Jewish nationality has been a way to undermine the citizenship rights of non-Jews in Israel, especially the fifth of the population who are Palestinian. Some 30 laws in Israel specifically privilege Jews, including in the areas of immigration rights, naturalisation, access to land and employment.
Palestinian leaders have also long complained that indications of “Arab” nationality on ID cards make it easy for police and government officials to target such citizens for harsher treatment.
The Interior Ministry has adopted more than 130 possible nationalities for Israeli citizens, most of them defined in religious or ethnic terms, with “Jewish” and “Arab” being the main categories.
The group’s legal case is being heard by the supreme court after a district judge rejected their petition two years ago, backing the state’s position that there is no Israeli nation.
The head of the campaign for Israeli nationality, Uzi Ornan, a retired linguistics professor, said “it is absurd that Israel, which recognises dozens of different nationalities, refuses to recognise the one nationality it is supposed to represent.”more..e-mail
Peace for Israelis and Palestinians? Not without America’s tough love
Jonathan Ben-Artzi, Christian Science Monitor4/1/2010
An Israeli student – and nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu – explains why the US should act on moral outrage over Israel’s discriminatory policies before it’s too late.
More than 20 years ago, many Americans decided they could no longer watch as racial segregation divided South Africa. Compelled by an injustice thousands of miles away, they demanded that their communities, their colleges, their municipalities, and their government take a stand.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Today, a similar discussion is taking place on campuses across the United States. Increasingly, students are questioning the morality of the ties US institutions have with the unjust practices being carried out in Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories. Students are seeing that these practices are often more than merely “unjust.” They are racist. Humiliating. Inhumane. Savage.
Sometimes it takes a good friend to tell you when enough is enough. As they did with South Africa two decades ago, concerned citizens across the US can make a difference by encouraging Washington to get the message to Israel that this cannot continue.
A legitimate question is, Why should I care? Americans are heavily involved in the conflict: from funding (the US provides Israel with roughly $3 billion annually in military aid) to corporate investments (Microsoft has one of its major facilities in Israel) to diplomatic support (the US has vetoed 32 United Nations Security Council resolutions unsavory to Israel between 1982 and 2006).more..e-mail
Lawsuit challenges Israel’s discriminatory citizenship definition
Electronic Intifada: 6 Apr 2010 – A group of Jews and Arabs are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognized as “Israelis,” a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state. Jonathan Cook reports.
Gaza students to Margaret Atwood: reject Tel Aviv U. prize
Electronic Intifada: 6 Apr 2010 – Students in the Gaza Strip urge Canadian author Margaret Atwood to support the Palestinian campaign for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and reject a prize at Tel Aviv University that would be an “inadvertent nod to Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide” and help cover up the university’s role in Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.
Bringing Palestine to the US Social Forum
Electronic Intifada: 6 Apr 2010 – While existing conditions have fueled the grassroots movement aimed at delegitimizing racist policies and shattering Israeli impunity in order to realize Palestinian freedom and dignity, they have yet to establish Palestine as an integral component of the social justice movement’s agenda in the US. Doing so requires that the pro-Palestinian movement build meaningful alliances with other organizations, communities, movements and individuals that are also struggling to achieve social justice. Andrew Dalack comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Under the beautiful valley
Electronic Intifada: 6 Apr 2010 – While the world’s eyes are riveted to the diplomatic arguments over Israel’s settlement facts on the ground, Israel is covertly tightening its grip on Wadi Hilweh and al-Bustan neighborhoods in Silwan in a literally underground fashion. Danny Felsteiner writes from occupied East Jerusalem.
Gandhi’s grandson applauds non-violent protest
Palestine Monitor: 6 Apr 2010 – Gandhi applauded what he described as Bil’in’s “modern struggle,” adding that “the whole world knows of Bil’in’s activists, and it is a model for modern popular resistance. There will come a day when the Israelis learn that their settlements and separation wall vanish and will be destroyed as a result of the injustice and tyranny they practice.” He added that “It is our duty to awaken the international community, and to call attention to what is going on in Palestine, and seek support for the Palestinian people and their just cause.” Received by members of the local village council and the Popular Committee Against the Wall, Gandhi and his delegation heard committee member Muhammad Al-Khatib speak of Bil’in’s form of non-violent resistance during the past five years, highlighting its achievements and the participation of international activists and sympathizers who “played a major part in this resistance.” The popular committee screened…
Financial Times: Israel knows Apartheid Has No Future
Palestine Monitor: 6 Apr 2010 – After decades of military rule over Palestinians and theft of our land, Israeli leaders are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall. They are at least acknowledging reality, if not yet grappling with the consequences. In 2007, Ehud Olmert, then prime minister, declared: “If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights (also for the Palestinians in the territories), then, as soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished.” More recently, making a similar point, Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, said “as long as between the Jordan and the sea there is only one political entity, named Israel, it will end up being either non-Jewish or non-democratic . . . If the Palestinians vote in elections, it is a bi-national state, and if they don’t, it is an apartheid state.” But when do the “ifs” of Mr Olmert and Mr…
Why There Are No ‘Israelis’ in the Jewish State
Palestine Chronicle: 6 Apr 2010 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth A group of Jews and Arabs are fighting in the Israeli courts to be recognised as ‘Israelis’, a nationality currently denied them, in a case that officials fear may threaten the country’s self-declared status as a Jewish state. Israel refused to recognise an Israeli nationality at the country’s establishment in 1948, making an unusual distinction between “citizenship” and “nationality”. Although all Israelis qualify as “citizens of Israel”, the state is defined as belonging to the “Jewish nation”, meaning not only the 5.6 million Israeli Jews but also more than seven million Jews in the diaspora. Critics say the special status of Jewish nationality has been a way to undermine the citizenship rights of non-Jews in Israel, especially the fifth of the population who are Arab. Some 30 laws in Israel specifically privilege Jews, including in the areas of immigration rights, naturalisation, access to land and…more
Palestine/Israel: Rule by Law or Defiance
Palestine Chronicle: 6 Apr 2010 – By William A. Cook ‘Unauthorized statements have been made to the effect that the purpose in view is to create a wholly Jewish Palestine His Majesty’s Government regard any such expectation as impracticable and have no such aim in view. Nor have they at any time contemplated the disappearance or the subordination of the Arabic population, language or culture in Palestine. They would draw attention to the fact that the terms of the (Balfour) Declaration referred to do not contemplate that Palestine as a whole should be converted into a Jewish National Home, but that such a Home should be founded IN PALESTINE His Majesty’s Government therefore now declare unequivocally that it is not part of their policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State.’ — (Command Paper 1922, from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School, 19962000). The above statement was approved by the Council of the…more
The New Dark Age 
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