20 April 2013 — VTJP
News
Israeli forces raid Jenin villages, no arrests
4/20/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Saturday morning raided residential communities in the Jenin district. No detentions were recorded, locals said. An Israeli military force raided Beit Qad, Dier Abu Daif, and Jalqamus villages east of Jenin. They also stationed at the western road of Jenin while other Israel patrols stationed at the entrance….
Settlers attack farmers north of Hebron
4/20/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Settlers attacked a group of farmers north of Hebron on Saturday, a local committee said. Committee spokesman Muhammad Ayad Awad told Ma’an that Hamad al-Sulaibi, 78, was working his land with his nephews when 13 settlers started throwing stones at them in an area known locally as Wadi Abu….
Israel police parade cuffed teenager to protesters
4/20/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli police paraded a cuffed Palestinian teenager to protesters in what a human rights group charged Saturday was abuse of a “human shield” but an Israeli spokesman said was a move to calm violence. Defense for Children International-Palestine posted a 76-second video clip on YouTube showing helmeted border policemen removing a young….
Egyptian security destroy ‘giant’ smuggling tunnel
4/20/2013 – EL-ARISH (Ma’an) – Egyptian border police have destroyed a giant smuggling tunnel under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, says the governor of northern Sinai. Abdul-Fattah Jarjour explained in a news conference Friday that the tunnel was used for smuggling big lorries. The tunnel, he added, was destroyed and security officers were….
Israel court suspends land confiscation in Beit Safafa
4/20/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – An Israeli central court in Jerusalem on Friday suspended a legal case by the Israeli municipal council of Jerusalem seeking to confiscate a private tract of land owned by Palestinian Salman family in Beit Safafa neighborhood, a lawyer says. Qays Yousif Nasser, who represents the Palestinian family, said in a statement….
Palestinian prisoner stabs Israeli warden with screw
4/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – A Palestinian political prisoner attacked an Israeli warden in Shikma prison with a screw, Israeli radio reported Saturday. The prisoner serving an 18-year sentence managed to wound the warden with a screw he managed to obtain and sharpen purposefully, according to the report. Other prison guards managed to subdue the….
Kerry to push US peace efforts at Abbas meeting
4/20/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet president Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul on Sunday, the State Department said, as a US-led peace push focusing on the Palestinian economy steps up. Kerry and Abbas, who have met several times recently, will “continue the conversation that they’ve been having for several weeks….
Hamas bloc to participate in Nablus student elections
4/20/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A Hamas-affiliated bloc will participate in student union elections at An-Najah university on Tuesday, for the first time in six years, a statement from the Islamist group said Saturday.” We have decided to resume student work and stand for elections after a six-year boycott, during which Hamas suffered from crackdowns and….
Fatah-Hamas animosity trumps calls for unity
4/20/2013 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — After Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad resigned, politicians immediately called for elections and a national unity government to reconcile bitter rivals Fatah and Hamas. But entrenched animosity between the two sides, stretching beyond disagreement over Fayyad, suggested that any thaw in relations between Fatah and Hamas, which control the West Bank and….
Gaza singer qualifies for Arab Idol final
4/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian singer Muhammad Assaf on Friday qualified for the final of MBC’s popular singing competition Arab Idol. Assaf, from Gaza City, sang popular Palestinian song ‘Ya Teir el-Tayir’, ‘Oh Flying Bird’, after the results were announced, bringing applause from the judges and audience. The Palestinian….
US set to boost ‘non-lethal’ military aid to Syria rebels
4/20/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — The United States is set to boost its support for Syria’s rebels at a meeting of the opposition’s main foreign backers Saturday and could for the first time agree to supply non-lethal military gear. But Washington is expected to stop short of agreeing to rebel demands for arms as….
Man stabs brother in Bethlehem market
4/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – A young man was moderately injured Saturday morning after his own brother stabbed him during a heated argument in Bethlehem, police says. Public relations officer of Bethlehem police Luay Zureiqat told Ma’an that heated argument erupted between two brothers in the farmers market in Bethlehem before one of them….
6-year-old girl killed in Yatta road accident
4/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A six-year-old girl was killed in a road accident in Yatta on Saturday, police said. A 17-year-old unlicensed driver ran over the girl while driving an unregistered vehicle, police said. She was killed instantly in the collision. [END]
4 injured in Bethlehem road accident
4/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Four people were injured in a road accident east of Bethlehem on Saturday, medics said. The driver of a private vehicle lost control and crashed into a truck, injuring four people. [END]
‘Qaeda’ gunmen kill Yemen intelligence officer
4/20/2013 – SANAA (AFP) — Suspected al-Qaeda militants shot dead a Yemeni intelligence officer overnight in Mukalla, capital of the southeastern Hadramawt province, a security official told AFP.” Al-Qaeda gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on the officer Ibrahim Bameshel as we was on his way back home, killing him immediately,” the official said, adding that the assailants….
US fears promise of Arab Spring may be lost
4/20/2013 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — Global hopes that democracy could replace dictatorships in Arab Spring nations risk being crushed by repressive regimes, the United States warned Friday in its annual human rights report. Two years after the first uprisings against iron-fisted rulers in the Middle East and North Africa, the countries that gave rise to the Arab Spring….
Brahimi urges UN action on Syria stalemate
4/20/2013 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Friday urged the Security Council to come together on Syria, venting frustration with all sides while denying rumors he plans to resign. Brahimi told the 15-member council that Syrian President Bashar Assad is “not in a mood for dialogue” and that the only hope for….
Egypt equips Sinai forces with heavier arms
4/20/2013 – El-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egypt’s interior ministry on Saturday gave police in the northern Sinai armored vehicles equipped with modern cameras to observe hostile targets from a distance, an official said. Maj. -Gen. Ali Azzazi, assistant director of north Sinai security, said four vehicles had arrived in el-Arish so far.”Targets will….
‘At least 82 hurt’ as Islamists, rivals clash in Cairo
4/20/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — At least 82 people were hurt in clashes after opposition activists marched on thousands of Islamists rallying outside a central Cairo court demanding judicial reform, an official said. The fighting erupted near the iconic Tahrir Square, roughly 0. 5 kilometers from where the Islamists had staged their rally, with each side throwing stones….
Dozens killed in battle near Damascus, watchdog says
4/20/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — At least 69 people, many of them rebels, have been killed in a four-day battle pitting Syrian insurgents against government forces in Jdaidet al-Fadl near Damascus, a monitoring group said on Saturday.” Regime troops are trying to seize total control of the town of Jdaidet al-Fadl” southwest of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for….
Emirati woman, 25, proof that cycle of being reliant on welfare can be broken
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Until two years ago she was one of the 15,000 Emiratis deemed capable of work yet dependent on benefits. Today she works as an administrator and commands a salary of Dh9,000 a month.
Al Qaeda loyalty pledge unsettles Nusra Front
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Members of Syrian rebel group fear surprise promise allegiance will create rift
with the western-backed Free Syrian Army.
Bafflement over Boston bombers’ motivation
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Friends and associates say ethnic Chechen brothers seemed well settled into American life.
‘People’s perceptions will change’, says UAE ambassador
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Azza Al Mughairy is the ambassador at the Monte Carlo Beach Club. The 26-year-old turned her back on a career in banking when the tourism and cultural authority offered her a job.
‘Who stays and helps the UAE grow? It’s us’
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Fatma Al Shabibi, 35, is the brand ambassador for the Kempinski Hotel at the Mall of the Emirates – the “lady in red”.
Nominations open for Abu Dhabi Awards
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Individuals will have six weeks to nominate a person or organisation of their choice and there is no limit on how many nominations any person can make.
Emiratis working to promote their country
The National 20 Apr 2013 – A programme that teaches Emiratis how to promote their country has seen a surge in applications since it was opened to the public last year.
F1 race not a political diversion, says Bahrain’s crown prince
The National 20 Apr 2013 – Prince Salman rebuffs accusations from the opposition and says issues in the country are being ‘solved through a political process’. Elizabeth Dickinson reports
Israeli government poised to approve Open Skies agreement
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
After storm, Israel to see more showers, low temperatures in last week of April
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
IDF Rabbinate shows non-Jews the door in mezuzah book ruling
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
PA President Abbas in no hurry to replace PM Fayyad
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
Israel Police probe reveals serious flaws in shooting of suicidal teenager
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
Hagel to land in Israel, will discuss Iran, Syria and arms sales
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
Israel expected to allow extension of terror suspects’ detention in their absence
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
Half of EU countries support labeling settlement goods from West Bank, East Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – 20 Apr 2013
Who’s responsible for protecting Israelis in an emergency?
Ha’aretz – 19 Apr 2013
Seculars make gains in the tug of war over Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – 19 Apr 2013
Strike grounds Israel’s commercial air fleet
Jerusalem Post 21 Apr 2013 – Airlines strike over gov’t decision to table approval of Open Skies Agreement with EU; Histadrut labor federation says agreement will cause mass layoffs, calls for state to fund all security costs of domestic airlines.
Justice Min. mulls closing Olmert Holyland case
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Official said at Israel Bar meeting that prosecutors are considering Olmert’s request to close corruption case.
Barkat wants 10 m. tourists in J’lem a year
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – At UJA Federation of NY conference on Mt. Hertzl, mayor says capital must compete with New York, Paris.
Legal debates about racism in Israel 2013
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Petitioners decry national phenomenon ‘ghettos,’ quotas for Sephardi haredim in Ashkenazi haredi schools.
‘Ariel unlikely to stand for chief rabbi’
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu and Hatnua have all publicly endorsed Rabbi David Stav who is loathed by the haredim.
Movement therapy improves psychiatric patients
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Patients are able to “connect to their healthy parts.” The therapy helps them to improve their mood and ability to communicate with others.
Things looking up for Down syndrome
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – While the number of children with an extra 21st chromosome has remained steady, they live longer and better than ever before.
Dangerous decoy: Ignoring human rights abuses
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – “Honor killings” – the barbaric murder of women who “shame” their families are the most egregious example of women’s oppression.
Outrage in Jordan
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Even the minimally fair-minded agree that the cold-blooded shooting of Israeli schoolgirls is as heinous a crime of hate as imaginable.
Ominous clouds hover once again over Europe
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – This speech was delivered on April 21, 2013, at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, marking the 68th anniversary of that concentration camp’s liberation.
Blaming the victim for anti-Semitism
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Whether or not the union feels it is being anti-Semitic is not relevant; anti-Semites rarely admit to their behavior.
Border Police denies using teen as human shield
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – NGO accuses Border Patrol officers of using Palestinian teen as a human shield in east Jerusalem.
Liberman vows to quit politics if convicted in trial
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Former FM Avigdor Liberman says once a verdict is reached in his corruption trial, if guilty, he has no “obsession to stay in politics.”
Air carriers to strike on Open Skies Agreement
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Israeli carriers set to stike over government decision to table approval of an Open Skies Agreement with the European Union.
US flags discrimination as human rights issue for Israel
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – US State Department releases 2012 report on human rights, lists terror attacks against civilians, social discrimination against Arab citizens and treatment of refugees as some of Israel’s greatest human rights challenges.
US report lists human rights issues for Israel
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – US State Department 2012 report on human rights, lists terror attacks against civilians, other Israeli human rights challenges.
Syrian rebel officer rules out talks with Assad
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Germany says Syrian opposition must distance itself from “terrorists”; rebel leader says conflict can only be settled by force.
New center promotes marriage for disabled people
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Ruderman Family Foundation and Feuerstein Institute launch center to provide disabled people with tools to start a family.
‘Israel usually Ground Zero for terror, not Boston’
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Former US ambassador to Israel Indyk says Internet facilitates extremism, describes Boston attack as “shock to the system.”
Tsarnaev’s mom: My son was under FBI surveillance
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – The mother of the Boston Marathon bomb suspects tells Russian media she’s convinced her sons are innocent and were set up.
Jordan police killed guarding Israelis fuels threats
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Violent reactions by members of the victim’s tribe feared, including threats of abducting or killing Israeli tourists.
Abbas asks Spain to push for settlement freeze
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – PA leader meets Spain’s FM, requests help in achieving release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, Spanish media reports.
Poll reveals anti-Semitism still rages in Poland
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Survey of Polish students commissioned by Jewish community shows 44 percent would “not be happy” to have a Jewish neighbor.
Media slammed for Boston coverage
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Traditional and new media outlets criticized for irresponsibly reporting rumors against falsely accused suspects.
Exhibit honors Muslims for saving Jews from Shoah
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – New London “Righteous Muslim” exhibition to showcase the role Muslims played in saving Jews during the Holocaust.
UK synagogue gives away Torah ahead of closure
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – A synagogue in Bradford gives away its Torah scrolls as it prepares to shutter due to dwindling numbers.
Vandals spray anti-Muslim slurs on UK mosque site
Jerusalem Post 20 Apr 2013 – Graffiti artists scrawl “terrorist scum” on site of planned £17.5 million mosque in Cambridge; police launch appeal for witnesses.
Second Boston Marathon suspect in police custody
Jerusalem Post 19 Apr 2013 – Shortly after lifting the lockdown, police arrest second suspect, identified as Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19; Obama addresses crowd.
Analysis: Boston lockdown
Jerusalem Post 19 Apr 2013 – Millions of residents were ordered to stay in a “lockdown” on Friday as police hunted down the second Boston Marathon bomber.
Polish cities commemorate Warsaw ghetto uprising
Jerusalem Post 19 Apr 2013 – Warsaw holds ceremony, blares siren to mark 70 years anniversary of the failed armed rebellion against the Nazis.
The story of Every Friday in #Egypt : Protesters Vs. #MB
Uruknet
Jerusalem Palestinians Face Neglect, Displacement
Uruknet
The Locus of the Conflict in Palestine is in Washington DC Zionism and the United States Congress
Uruknet
Video: Israeli soldiers use handcuffed Palestinian teen as human shield as they fire at protestors
Uruknet
Arrest Bush, Impeach Obama The High Crime of Torture
Uruknet
Detained: Testimonies from Palestinian children imprisoned by Israel
Uruknet
Syria News – April 18 , 2013 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet
Egypt court cancels Mubarak detention in one case
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 An Egyptian court cancels a detention order against ousted President Hosni Mubarak pending a corruption trial but he will remain in custody on other charges, his lawyer says.
Rockets from Syria hit Lebanon’s Al-Qasr
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Three rockets from the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon fall on the outskirts of the northeast Hermel village of Al-Qasr leaving no casualties, security sources say.
Saudi king removes deputy defence minister in royal reshuffle
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Saudi King Abdullah has removed veteran Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan from his post, state media reports, the latest move in a reshuffle among princes holding government jobs in the kingdom.
Egypt police arrest 39 in Cairo clashes: judicial source
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Egyptian police make 39 arrests after clashes between Islamists and opponents that saw both sides use firearms in central Cairo, leaving more than 100 people injured, officials say.
Families reject Israeli-Turkish compensation talks
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Families of the victims of an Israeli raid on an aid flotilla are objecting to compensation talks between Turkey and Israel, saying the Jewish state must first fully lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Russia ‘out of step’ with history: Syrian opposition
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Syria’s main opposition National Coalition says that Russia is “out of step” with history for backing President Bashar Assad’s regime and is isolating itself on the international scene.
Bahrain protesters battle police into night before F1: activists
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Bahraini protesters clash with police into Saturday’s early hours a day ahead of a Formula One race that the island kingdom’s opposition hopes will draw attention to its campaign for democracy.
Lebanon beyond capacity to aid more refugees: Charbel
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel warns that Lebanon can no longer absorb the influx of Syrian refugees into the country and calls for help in shouldering the responsibility of assisting the displaced.
Heavy clashes in Syria near Lebanese border
Daily Star 20 Apr 2013 Syrian troops backed by pro-government gunmen fight fierce battles with rebels in a strategic area in Homs province near the Lebanese border, activists and state media report.
Palestine activists call on Netherlands prince to disassociate from JNF water project
Stop The Wall – Palestinian Grassroots Anti-apartheid Wall Campaign Sebastiya water waste II Palestinian boycott activists are calling on the Netherlands’ Prince Willem to reconsider his decision to lend his name to a water project undertaken by the Jewish National Fund Netherlands in the Naqab/Negev desert in the south of present-day Israel. The project…
Weekly Demonstrations: 15/4/13
Stop The Wall – Palestinian Grassroots Anti-apartheid Wall Campaign Israeli Tank at Weekly Protests Against Occupation Al-Ma’sara: Israeli occupation forces suppressed the weekly march against the separation wall in Ma’sara. The IOF intercepted the march and attacked demonstrators, beating them, preventing them from reaching the wall and injuring a number of them. Beit Ummar:…
Kerry says US to give Syrian opposition another $123 million
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – ….
Rocket lands near Eshkol community; no injuries
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – ….
Color red alert sounds in Eshkol Regional Council
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – ….
IMF calls for more action to spur global economic recovery
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – ….
Eini warns PM against ‘destructive decisions’
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – ….
Peres a blind optimist
YNet News, 20 Apr 2013 – Op-ed: President fails to understand that there will be no peace with Arabs, not in five years – and not in 15 ….
CEPR calls for prohibiting entry of settlers into Europe
PIC – The Council for European-Palestinian Relations (CEPR) hailed on Saturday the European Union’s “advanced” attitudes regarding the Palestinian issue.
IOF soldiers serve summons in Bethlehem village, close main road in Al-Khalil
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) served a summons to a young man in Husan village, Bethlehem province, on Saturday after storming and searching his family home.
European study condemns UN inaction regarding condition of Palestinians in Syria
PIC – A European legal study called for providing security, legal and relief protection for Palestinian refugees inside the camps in Syria and on its borders with Lebanon and Jordan.
Hamas MP warns of new Israeli war on Gaza with American blessing
PIC – A Hamas MP has warned of an American green light to Israel to launch a new war on the Gaza Strip in light of recent Israeli fiery remarks.
General Palestinian rejection to allow Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque
PIC – Islamic Endowment, Higher Islamic Authority and the Council of Endowments condemned the Likud MK Miri Regev’s announcement of her intention to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian prisoner suffers speaking difficulty after wrong injection
PIC – A Palestinian captive in the Israeli occupation jails, sentenced to life imprisonment, is suffering from a serious health status after his jailers gave him wrong injections.
IOF declares village closed military zone
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) declared Kufr Qaddoum village, east of Qalqilia city, a closed military zone on Saturday morning and prohibited entry into it.
IOF soldiers break into villages in Jenin
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed at dawn Saturday the town of Rummaneh western Jenin and closed its entrance for hours.
IOF soldiers quell protest marches near Al-Khalil
PIC – Israeli occupation forces quelled a peaceful march south of Al-Khalil on Friday demanding reopening of the southern entrance to the province that had been closed by the IOF for the past 13 years.
Abbas Discusses Political Process with Spanish Minister
WAFA – 20 Apr 2013
Kerry Says U.S. to Double Aid to the Opposition in Syria
New York Times 20 Apr 2013 – Secretary of State John Kerry said the $123 million in new aid will be used to provide “nonlethal” supplies to the military wing of the Syrian opposition.
Relatives of Flotilla Raid Victims Reject Israeli Compensation
New York Times 20 Apr 2013 – The relatives of the nine people killed in Israel’s raid on a Turkish-led flotilla to Gaza in 2010 also said that they would not drop their lawsuits against those involved in the raid.
Iraq’s First Vote Since U.S. Exit Is Mostly Calm
New York Times 20 Apr 2013 – Limiting violence is one gauge of success, but observers are also waiting to see whether the results will embolden the prime minister to expand power along sectarian lines.
Tensions High After Riot at Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan
New York Times 20 Apr 2013 – Ten Jordanian security officers were injured by stone-throwing protesters in the camp of 120,000 Syrian refugees.
Boston Marathon Suspect Wounded, Arrested
Tikun Olam – Medic tending to wounded Boston terror suspect after his apprehension The worst appears over for the city of Boston as police arrested their final second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. He is 19 year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, a U.S. citizen of Chechen heritage. He’d taken…
Boston’s interfaith memorial deflection
Mondoweiss – Marc H. Ellis- With Boston’s lock-down over and the city picking up the pieces of its collective psyche, my thoughts return to the interfaith memorial service held there a few days ago. Private mourning and collective mourning are different. Public memorial services are scripted and function in certain ways. They need to be analyzed….
Double standard on killing collaborators
Mondoweiss – Yesterday we pointed out Yale scholar Marci Shore’s piece on the Times op-ed page about the Warsaw Ghetto resistance of the 1940s, and the ways in which this Jewish resistance was memorialized by Zionists as a foundational myth for the Jewish state. Shore cited an often-overlooked…
Israeli college with gov’t backing uses keffiyeh to promote itself as a global brand
Mondoweiss – Ramallah Friends School, where Nour Joudah taught until the Israeli version of BDS sanctioned her , used to be an international school until 1967, when Israel took control of the West Bank and made it difficult for international students to attend . Even so, it has…
The Palestinian narrating, and the Jew listening — a new film about the Nakba
Mondoweiss – Alice Rothchild has been preparing a documentary about raising Jewish consciousness of the Nakba, called Voices Across the Divide. She is raising money for the project at Indiegogo . This is her description of the film. In this 57 minute film, interviews with Palestinians are woven together…
Orthodox Face of Women of the Wall
The Foward Breaking News 20 Apr 2013 – Women of the Wall is by no means made up entirely of Reform Jews. It has many Conservative — and Orthodox — activists and supporters. Click here for the rest of the article…
US steps up aid to Syria opposition
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – Secretary of State John Kerry steps up US aid to Syria’s rebels and tells a Friends of Syria meeting there must be a peaceful transition in the country.
Jordan in the Eye of the Syrian Storm
Al-Akhbar Opinion 20 Apr 2013 – Media reports about Jordanian involvement in the Syrian crisis have increased over the past few months. However, reports that the US is training Syrian opposition fighters in Jordan have been repeatedly met with denials from government officials in Amman. read more
Jordan police injured in clashes with Syrian refugees
Al-Akhbar News 20 Apr 2013 – Ten policemen were injured in a clash with demonstrators in the Syrian refugee camp of Zaatari in northern Jordan, a security official said on Saturday. The source, declining to be named, said two of the policemen were in serious condition after the clash on Friday night….
Bahrain intensifies crackdown ahead of F1 race
Al-Akhbar News 20 Apr 2013 – A Bahraini medic treats a protester wounded by riot police following an anti-government protest on 13 April 2013 in the village of Sanabis against the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. (Photo: AFP – Mohammed al-Shaikh) Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across Bahrain to…
Iraq votes in provincial elections
Al-Akhbar News 20 Apr 2013 – An Iraqi woman votes at a polling station during provincial elections on 20 April 2013 in Baghdad. (Photo: AFP – Ali al-Saadi) Iraqis voted on Saturday in the country’s first polls since 2010, a key test of its stability in the face of a spike in…
Syria: Qamishli’s Kurds Fight Two Enemies at Once
Al-Akhbar Politics 19 Apr 2013 – A Syrian Kurdish refugee from the majority-Kurdish Sheikh Maqsud district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, prepares a tea in a yard next a school used as a refugee camp in northern city of Afrin on 9 April 2013. (Photo: AFP – Dimitar Dilkoff) A…
Iraq in first vote since US pullout
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – Iraqis have voted in their first election since the departure of US troops in late 2011, amid an upsurge in violence across the country.
US steps up aid to Syria opposition
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – Secretary of State John Kerry steps up US aid to Syria’s rebels and tells a Friends of Syria meeting there must be a peaceful transition in the country.
Bahrain country profile
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – Provides an overview of Bahrain, including key events and facts about this oil-rich state which has become a financial services centre
VIDEO: Controversial Abu Dhabi property plan
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – Thousands of Dubai’s residents commute to Abu Dhabi for work, but from August government workers will have to move to the emirate or lose their housing allowance.
VIDEO: Economic ties that bind UK and UAE
BBC 20 Apr 2013 – The UK has long-established ties with many Gulf states, but never has the economic link been them been so important.
Articles
Senior EU officials: ’Oslo process has nothing more to offer’
Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine 4/20/2013
An unprecedented letter by former European leaders and peace process veterans recognizes Western support for the occupation and calls for immediate steps that will bring an end to it. 13 European states support labeling products from Israeli settlements.
A group of senior former European officials, including former prime ministers, foreign ministers and diplomats, is urging the European Union to abandon the Oslo process and come up with new urgent measures that will put an end to the occupation, Ali Gharib reports for Open Zion. In a letter addressed to the Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union, Catherine Ashton, the former officials write:
“We are […] appealing to you, and through you to the members of the Council of Ministers, to recognize that the Peace Process as conceived in the Oslo Agreements has nothing more to offer. Yet the present political stalemate, while the situation deteriorates on the ground, is unsustainable.”
Perhaps the letter’s greatest novelty is a recognition that the West is contributing to the occupation. ”It is time to give a stark warning that the Occupation is actually being entrenched by the present Western policy,” wrote the former officials.
Among the signatories to the letter are Guiliano Amato, Former Prime Minister of Italy Lionel Jospin, Former Prime Minister of France Miguel Moratinos, Former Foreign Minister of Spain and Javier Solana, as well as the Former High Representative and Former NATO Secretary-General. Solana was also the EU’s representative in the Quartet who was supposed to lead the peace process. more.. e-mail
‘Don’t serve in Israel’s military,’ refusenik urges compatriots
Sawsan Khalife, Electronic Intifada 4/19/2013
Natan Blanc, a 19-year-old from Haifa, has spent more than 120 days in prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli military.
He began thinking about resisting conscription during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s three-week offensive against Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
Israel’s Defense Service Law — introduced in 1949 — gave the Israeli military the authority to enroll any Israeli citizen who turns 18. After finishing a mandatory service of one year, Israelis remain in a reserve unit in the army. This requires Israelis to spend one month in the army each year until the age of 40.
Conscientious objection to military service is considered a felony in Israel. It is usually punished by imprisonment for a few weeks — during which pressure is put on an objector to change his or her mind. Following that spell in jail, the objector is summoned again to a military recruitment committee. Continued refusal to serve can lead to further imprisonment.
In total, Blanc has been summoned to a recruitment committee eight times. On each occasion, he has been sent to jail. He is scheduled for release in three weeks’ time.
Recently released for two days for good behavior, Blanc spoke to The Electronic Intifada contributor Sawsan Khalife’.
Sawsan Khalife’: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Natan Blanc: I’m 19 years old, from Haifa. I studied cinema in high school. When I turned 18, there was a one-year education program with 12 places in Jerusalem, after which we were supposed to serve in the Israeli military.more.. e-mail
Re-turning rights
Joseph Massad, Al Jazeera.com 4/20/2013
Like everything else with Zionism and Israel, their conception of rights is never universal but always particular.
Since its inception, the Zionist project was clear in its goals and the strategy required to achieve them. In order for Jews to colonise the lands of the Palestinians and establish an exclusivist Jewish state, Zionist strategists insisted, the natives must be driven out of the country. For Zionism, colonisation and expulsion were to be simultaneous processes that could not be decoupled from one another: indeed, they would become the very same process.
Colonisation as expulsion
At the same time, Zionism insisted, following Millenarian Protestant Restorationist claims, that European Jews, rather than being descendants of European converts to Judaism, were actually descendants of the ancient Hebrews who had been allegedly exiled by the Romans in the 1st century AD. Based on this double fiction, Zionism claimed that European Jews were in fact “returning” to Palestine in order to colonise it, indeed that European Jews had the “right” to return to their original “homeland”. Thus Jewish colonisation was one and the same as Jewish “return” to Palestine, just as it was one and the same as the Jewish expulsion of the Palestinians from the country.
Once Zionism had political control of Palestine, it followed two policies to ensure that its colonial project continued unhindered. On the one hand, it insisted that the Palestinians it expelled had no right of return to Palestine and that it would prevent their attempt to return by military means while expelling as many as possible of those who remained; on the other hand, it decreed in 1950 a “Law of Return” for Jews, endowing them with the right to colonise Palestine, which it presented as a right to recolonise it…. more.. e-mail
When Zionism needs anti-Semitism
Rudolf Bkouche, Alternative Information Center 4/7/2013
Today, when in the West movements are arising that attempt to renounce the dark side of colonialism and occupation, Zionism attempts, in the name of defending Jews, to leave the Jews in the darkness. This is the survival response of Zionism, which understands that in a climate of violence that it encouraged in Palestine since establishment of the state of Israel, its continued existence is dependent on the the control it has over a majority of world Jewry, and on the other support of the West. From here is it understandable how Zionism, which was founded at the end of the 19th century as a response to European anti-Semitism, today needs anti-Semitism in order to survive.
On the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, the European Jewish Congress and Tel Aviv University published statistics showing a “substantial increase” in the number of violent anti-Semitic attacks throughout the world in 2012. In response, the AIC is republishing the article below, written in January 2009 at the height of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip. Why Zionism needs anti-Semitism.
Since the beginning of the current acts of butchery by the Israeli army, we are witness to an increase in the number of anti-Semitic acts[1], ranging from graffiti to burning synagogues and the attack of a Jewish school girl. We were warned of transferring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into Paris, and the danger of an uncontrolled decline of the demonstrations (pro-Palestinian, of course, because the demonstrations in support of Israel were discussed significantly less), which represent provocation at a time when the Israeli army is destroying Gaza.
How can one support the Israeli barbarity? Answering this question will allow us to understand – not to justify, but to understand – the anti-Semitic acts of several who believe that through them they are expressing their support of the Palestinians. more.. e-mail
When Israeli denial of Palestinian existence becomes genocidal
Electronic Intifada: 20 Apr 2013 – Official re-selling of the landless people mythology exposes Zionist leaders’ cognitive dissonance.more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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The New Dark Age 
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