11 June 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Palestinian Injured In Hebron
IMEMC – [Tuesday June 11 2013] Palestinian medical sources have reported that a Palestinian man was shot by Israeli army fire, when Israeli soldiers attacks a funeral procession of a child in Beit Ummar town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. …
Child Kidnapped In Aida Refugee Camp
IMEMC – [Monday late at night June 10] Israeli soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian child and his father, from the Aida refugee camp, north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The child was released later on. …
Soldiers Kidnap Ten Palestinians In The West Bank
IMEMC – [Tuesday June 11 2013] Israeli soldiers invaded various districts in the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped nine Palestinians in Nablus and one in Hebron. …
Tel Aviv Sold Advanced Weapons To Four Arab Countries
IMEMC – The British Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has reported that Israel sold, over the past five years, military and security equipment for four Arab countries in addition to Pakistan. …
Alleged “Anti-Terror Bill” to Legalize Administrative Detention
IMEMC – The Israeli Government passed Sunday [June 9 2013] the “Anti-Terror Bill”, authorizing harsher punishment against individuals suspected or convicted of aiding armed groups in the country, and anywhere in the world. …
Settlement guard shoots, injures Palestinian worker
6/11/2013 – QALQILIYA (Ma’an) — A Palestinian worker was shot and injured by a settlement security guard in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, locals said. Witnesses told Ma’an that a security guard at the illegal Oranit settlement opened fire at a number of Palestinian laborers as they headed to work in Israel. Abdullah al-Birri,20, was shot in the leg and taken to….
Israeli forces detain 13 in West Bank arrest raids
6/11/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces arrested 13 Palestinians overnight Monday in the occupied West Bank, locals and Israel’s army said. Witnesses told Ma’an that Muntasir al-Safadi, 22, Asad Najem al-Din, 19, Amir al-Safadi, 19, Asad al-Safadi, 20, Hussam Abdul Fattah, 40, Abdul Latif Sabbah, 29, Sahib Sabbah, 19, and Luay Sabbah, 20, were detained in the Nablus village of Urif….
Israel tanks cross into central Gaza
6/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli military vehicles on Tuesday crossed 10 meters into the Gaza Strip east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Six military vehicles along with bulldozers started digging near the Palestinian city, while onlookers reported gunfire. There were no reports of injury. An Israeli army spokesman said there was “routine activity” in the area, without providing further….
Palestinian injured in intifada dies in Jordan
6/11/2013 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — A 27-year-old man who was shot in the head by Israeli forces during the second intifada died in Jordan on Tuesday. Khalid Jamal Kharboush was paralyzed by the shooting on April 4, 2004. He was treated in several hospitals in the Arab world, his family said. Hamas sent its condolences to Kharboush’s family, and said he had survived….
UN expert rejects calls to quit over Israel criticism
6/11/2013 – GENEVA (AFP) — An embattled UN rights expert who probes Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians on Tuesday rejected calls to step down, saying his opponents were trying to silence his criticism of Israel by labeling him anti-Semitic.”I don’t intend to resign, and there doesn’t seem to be any formal initiative that is seeking my dismissal,” Richard Falk told reporters, a….
PFLP leader calls for release of sick detainees
6/11/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Jailed PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat on Tuesday said that sick detainees must be given priority in any future prisoner release deals. The PFLP secretary-general said in a statement via his lawyer that there is an urgent need to free severely sick prisoners and those with cancer. [END]
Israel sentences 2 teens to 3 months
6/11/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) — An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced two Palestinian teenagers to three months in prison, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said. Ahmad Khalaf, 13, and Yasser Subih, 14, from Bruqin near Jenin were sentenced to three months and ordered to pay 2,000 shekels ($548) each in fines, the PPS said in a statement. 1 ) Carol Scheller / Switzerland 11/06/2013 20:22 What….
Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security
6/11/2013 – By Gunilla Carlsson – As I now return to Palestine and Israel, I do so with increasing frustration that the chance of a two-state solution risks being squandered. Developments on the ground speak for themselves. The illegal settlements are expanding and displacing Palestinians who are forced to endure daily harassment and blockades. Many people have to spend hours at checkpoints on their way to school or….
Zahhar: Hamas has never interfered in Egypt’s security
6/11/2013 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — Hamas has never interfered with Egypt’s security, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said Tuesday. Speaking to Al-Arabiya from Gaza City, Zahhar said that Hamas maintains constant contact with Egyptian intelligence services. The hard-line Hamas official slammed recent accusations by former Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy that the Islamist group took part in prison riots during Egypt’s revolution….
PA secures release of Palestinian teen
6/11/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Liaison Office reported Monday that its officers secured the release of a 15-year-old Palestinian who was arrested by Israel in the southern West Bank. Waseem Hreibat, 15, was detained in Beit Awwa village in the Hebron district. The office urged Palestinian parents to contact them whenever minors are detained. [END]
Group: Son of Hamas leader detained at Jordan border
6/11/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities on Monday detained the son of a prominent Hamas leader at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, a human rights groups said. Husan Harb, 24, was detained late Monday, said researcher Ahmad al-Bitawi of the Tadamun (“Solidarity”) Foundation for Human Rights. Husan’s father, Sheikh Hussam Harb, was detained days earlier in….
Austria to start Golan pullout Wednesday
6/11/2013 – VIENNA (AFP) — Austrian troops in a UN monitoring force will begin pulling out from the Golan Heights on Wednesday, the defense ministry said, just days after Vienna’s controversial decision to quit the mission. Austria, a cornerstone of the force which monitors a ceasefire between Syria and Israel, announced on Thursday it would withdraw its peacekeepers because of deteriorating security on the strategic plateau….
Fatah: Egypt, PA discuss Hamas prison break role
6/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority officials and Egyptian intelligence officials have held meetings to discuss Hamas’ alleged involvement in prison breaks during the Egyptian uprising in 2011, a Fatah official said Tuesday. Witnesses have given secret testimonies implicating Hamas militants in the storming of Wadi Natrun prison, says Yahya Rabah, a Fatah leader based in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Muhammad….
PA official warns of worsening financial crisis
6/11/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority deputy prime minister for economic affairs said Tuesday that the financial crisis is getting worse, as the new PA cabinet met for the first time.”There is a major financial crisis and the PA is $4. 2 billion in internal and external debt,” Muhammad Mustafa said during a news conference following the cabinet meeting.”We will start looking….
Toddler electrocuted in Gaza City
6/11/2013
– GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A toddler died on Tuesday after being electrocuted in Gaza City, medics said. Muhammad Hanina, 2, was pronounced dead on arrival at al-Shifa hospital, a medical official said. [END]
Israel court indicts man for murder of Jerusalem woman
6/11/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli court in Jerusalem on Tuesday filed a murder indictment against a 19-year-old man accused of killing a woman in East Jerusalem. A copy of the indictment seen by Ma’an also accused Mohammad Shweiki of perverting the course of justice and destroying evidence. On May 23, Israeli police arrested Shweiki on suspicion of murdering Minas Qasim, 21….
Group: 3 Palestinians killed in Syria clashes
6/11/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians have been killed during clashes in Syria’s ongoing internal conflict, the Damascus-based task-force for Palestinians in Syria said Tuesday. Khalid Ahmad al-Hussein was shot dead during clashes in Yarmouk refugee camp and Fatima Masriya was killed by a mortar shell fired at the camp, the group said. Abdullah Bassam al-Khatib, a doctor, died from gunshot wounds received….
Girl, 4, dies in Beit Ummar road accident
6/11/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A 4-year-old girl was run over by a bulldozer and killed on Tuesday in Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank, police said. Ibtisam al-Zaaqeeq was hit by the bulldozer while crossing the main road in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. She died at the scene. Police detained the driver and opened an investigation into the incident, police said in a statement. [END]
6 injured in Nablus road accident
6/11/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Six people were injured Tuesday when two cars collided on a road between Nablus and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. Medics rescued the passengers, who were trapped in the vehicles. They were taken to hospital with moderate and light injuries. [END]
Turkish riot police tear gas Taksim Square protest
6/11/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — Dozens of Turkish riot police on Tuesday moved into Istanbul’s Taksim Square, firing tear gas and water cannon into the heart of the anti-government protests which have spread across the country over 12 days. The police attacked the barricades erected by protesters on streets leading into the square where hundreds of demonstrators have been camping out, according to an AFP photographer….
2 killed in central Damascus bombings
6/11/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Two explosions rocked Marjeh square in central Damascus on Tuesday, killing at least two people and wounding around 20 others, state television and a watchdog said. Syrian state television said “terrorist suicide bombers” carried out a twin attack at the square and gave a toll of two dead and 26 injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blasts were caused by….
1,000 Iraqi Kurd troops desert army
6/11/2013 – KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — More than 1,000 Kurdish career soldiers in the Iraqi army have deserted and want to be integrated into forces loyal to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, officials said on Tuesday. The move comes after the Kurdish troops disobeyed orders to take part in an operation ordered by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad against a mainly Sunni Arab town. If their request….
Twin blasts kill at least 14 in central Damascus
6/11/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Twin suicide bombers targeted a Damascus police station on Tuesday killing at least 14 people, as the Syrian army launched multiple attacks on rebel positions in the northern province of Aleppo. The blasts wounded more than 30 people, state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said. They caused widespread damage in the capital’s central Marjeh neighborhood, with state….
UN in talks with Germany to take in 10,000 Syrians
6/11/2013 – GENEVA (AFP) — The UN refugee agency said Tuesday that it was in talks with Germany over the potential resettlement of 10,000 Syrians who have fled their war-torn homeland, and was probing the issue with other rich nations.”We are working with governments, including European governments, to examine ways in which further admission programs and or resettlement programs for Syrians could be successfully used,” said UNHCR….
Protesters pack Istanbul square as police stand by
6/11/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — Thousands of angry demonstrators descended on Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Tuesday where a heavy police presence reigned after a day of clashes between riot officers and protesters in a sharp escalation of nearly two weeks of anti-government unrest. Hundreds of police stormed the square, the epicenter of the nationwide protest movement, in the early morning, reclaiming the area after pulling out…. Related: Police tear gas thousands in Istanbul protest square
Police tear gas thousands in Istanbul protest square
6/11/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — Turkish police fired massive volleys of tear gas and jets of water to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Tuesday, after earlier apparently retreating, an AFP reporter saw. The gas sent the crowd scrambling, raising tensions on a 12th day of violence after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned he had “no more tolerance” for the mass demonstrations. [END]
President of Columbia Visits Palestine
Palestine News Network
Ahrar Slams Israeli Harsh Prison Sentences Against 5 Palestinians
Palestine News Network
BBC Director General Faces Claims that Political Pressure Led BBC to Drop Film on ‘Jewish Exile’
Palestine News Network
Discussion about the Kurdish and Palestinian Struggles
Palestine News Network
Palestinians Call for Right of Return at UNHRC
Palestine News Network
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi Serves on TAKREEM Jury Board
Palestine News Network
Campaign Issues Report on Israel’s Arbitrary Restrictions on Entry of Foreign Academics
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Worker Shot by Settlement Guard near Qalqiliya
Palestine News Network
Israeli Forces Arrest 14 Palestinians across West Bank, Including a Minor
Palestine News Network
Israel Issues Orders to Deport Eight Families from Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
Four Prisoners Launch Hunger Strike Protesting Administrative Detention
Palestine News Network
International Solidarity Movement
Journal: A word of caution from settlers to internationals in Hebron
6/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 11th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team, Hebron, Occupied Palestine – On the evening of Thursday, 6 June 2013, a fellow activist and I were walking home from an innocent venture to get a refrigerator door in the Prayers’ Road area of the H2 area of Hebron. My companion saw out of the corner of her eye one Palestinian youth throw one rock at….
School’s out; harassment continues in Hebron
6/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 11th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Khalil Team, Hebron, Occupied Palestine – The Hebron street where the Israeli army and Police have recently been regularly intimidating schoolchildren and teachers was today the scene of harassment of a different nature. Tareq Bin Ziyad Street in Hebron was the scene of a mass arrest of schoolchildren earlier this year and intimidation continued until the end of the school….
The wave of night time invasions and arrests by the Israeli military continues in the village of Ni’lin
6/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 11th June 2013, Ni’lin Sons, Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine – A wave of night time invasions and arrests by the Israeli military continues in the village of Ni’lin. At 3am on the 10th of June Ahmad Daood, 26 years old, was arrested in his home. Six military jeeps and more than thirty soldiers invaded the village in the night and tore down….
World: Commission Implementing Decision of 11.6.2013 amending Commission Implementing Decision C(2012)9883 on the financing of humanitarian aid operational priorities from the 2013 general budget of the European Union (ECHO/WWD/BUD/2013/01000)
Relief Web 11 Jun 2013 – Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department Country: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan,…
Lebanon: Palestinian youth at training center in Lebanon
Relief Web 11 Jun 2013 – Source: American Near East Refugee Aid Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory “This degree has become really important for me. As a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, I feel protected by my qualifications”, explains Amjad Khamis, standing proudly in front of his…
Jordan: New wing at UNRWA school creates exciting opportunities
Relief Web 11 Jun 2013 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Jordan, occupied Palestinian territory Exciting news is coming out of UNRWA’s Baqaa Preparatory Girls’ School in Jordan, where visitors will immediately notice a new facility that…
occupied Palestinian territory: FAO-Italian Cooperation – Building resilient livelihoods through the value chain in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Relief Web 11 Jun 2013 – Source: Food and Agriculture Organization Country: Italy, occupied Palestinian territory In the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS), vulnerable families cannot access many basic needs owing to recurrent conflict and restrictions over movement, natural resources, markets and services. Their ability…
occupied Palestinian territory: Fragmented Lives: Humanitarian Overview 2012
Relief Web 11 Jun 2013 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: occupied
Palestinian territory This is the second year in which the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) has outlined the key humanitarian concerns in the occupied…
Chinese men arrested as part UAE police sting to crack Dh280m fake goods operation
The National 13 Jun 2013 – Two men alleged to have been involved in making and selling fake HP printers.
‘All options’ open for Egypt to confront Ethiopia dam project, says Morsi
The National 13 Jun 2013 – Speaking in a live televised speech before hundreds of supporters, Egypt’s president said he was not calling for war, but it is willing to confront any threats to its water security.
Make sure your passports are valid, Filipinos travelling to UAE told
The National 11 Jun 2013 – The Philippine consulate warned residents and tourists that immigration authorities would deny entry or exit to those whose passports have been tampered with or are defective.
One child in three is overweight or obese, UAE study shows
The National 11 Jun 2013 – Researchers studied 1,440 children and teenagers aged 6 to 19 and found 14.2 per cent were overweight and a further 19.8 per cent were obese.
UAE’s Sheikh Abdullah urges Austria to change stance on schengen visa
The National 11 Jun 2013 – Austria was one of four European countries opposed to a visa waiver for Emiratis proposed last year, along with Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
After facing police, protesters face Erdogan
The National 11 Jun 2013 – The premier again called on protesters to go home and hinted at possible police action against occupiers of Gezi Park next to Taksim, where the protests began and where hundreds of activists remain.
Families of Al Ain bus-crash victims still waiting for payout four months later
The National 11 Jun 2013 – The UAE courts and Government offered a year’s salary in compensation to the victims’ families back home, but that money has yet to be released.
Indians in Dubai issued 2-year passports ‘in error’
The National 11 Jun 2013 – The Indian ambassador said there was a ‘mistake’ in communication between the Indian consulate in Dubai and the external centre that handles applications.
Israeli group seeks to save 2,000 monkeys from medical experiments
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
High Court orders Ramat Gan mayor to explain his refusal to resign
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Shin Bet stops protecting Israeli athletes abroad due to Foreign Ministry strike
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
British diplomat asks for leading Belz rabbi’s blessing for fruitful Israeli-Palestinian talks
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Britain refused Israel military equipment for fear it would add to ‘internal repression’
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Survey: Despite Education Ministry orders, strongest math students get best teachers
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Israel’s top court rejects bid to speed up recognition of non-Orthodox Judaism
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Knesset chairman rebukes MKs after Yesh Atid member posts racy pic
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
State’s witness in Barnoar shooting: I knew about planned attack but police didn’t listen
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Israeli lawmakers blast Livni for rushing anti-terror bill through committee
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
‘Bourekas revolution’ regulates shapes of Israelis’ favorite pastry
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Austria begins withdrawing peacekeepers from Golan
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Embattled UN envoy for Palestinian territories vows to stay on, dismisses anti-Semitism charges
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Women to join committee for appointing Israel’s rabbinical judges
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Pakistan denies receiving military equipment from Israel
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
From Turkey reconciliation to Palestinian talks: How Netanyahu made the Foreign Ministry obsolete
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Epilepsy drug helps locate dirty drinking water, Israeli researchers learn
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2013
Artist Gershuni to receive honorary HU degree
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Hebrew University president calls Tel Aviv born artist, “one of the pillars of Israeli art.”
HU profs, students to get 6 Kaye science prizes
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – The Kaye Awards for Innovation will be presented next week during University’s annual board of governors meeting.
FM workers: Gov’t is using IDF to break strike
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – The Finance Ministry says to strikers that it is not a good time to demand a pay raise.
Formula 1 to make historic Jerusalem debut
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – “Peace Road Show” to traverse Old City and downtown streets.
Court lets defendant withdraw confession at sentencing
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Haifa court says high value must be placed on avoiding false convictions based on false confessions, said the court.
Danino puts moratorium on profiled press briefings
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Police will no longer hold press conferences or briefings on high-profile investigations that are under gag orders.
‘Russia concerned with stability, not keeping Assad’
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Local experts tell ‘Post’ in spite of Moscows’s interest in Syria, policy-makers consider Syrian president Assad dispensable.
Are gag orders obsolete?
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Due to the enforcement difficulties of imposing law’s authority in cyberspace, gag orders should be used selectively and only when needed.
Poll: Iranians mixed on role of religious figures
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Pew Research Center poll shows 40% of Iranians think religious figures should play large role in politics; majority back sharia.
Center Field: Samantha Power’s ‘tough love’
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – John Kerry’s address to AJC shows Obama’s transition from failed, first-term “Get Tough” on Israel campaign to new “Tough Love” approach.
Candidly Speaking: Israel and America’s global retreat
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – The US global decline is deeply disconcerting for Israel; It is paralleled by the increasing power of China.
Court gives order to fire Ramat Gan mayor Bar
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – High Court of Justice issues conditional order to fire Ramat Gan Mayor Zvi Bar over his indictment for bribery and fraud.
View from the Hills: The dancing queen of Judea
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Elazar resident, Yehudit Hirsch reaches out through dance to girls from a variety of backgrounds that might have been denied opportunities.
For Zion’s Sake: The secretary’s new clothes
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Kerry should concentrate his energy, US attention where they might do some good instead of compounding peace efforts with another US failure.
Turkish police battle protesters in Taksim Square
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Police use tear gas, water cannons as demonstrators renew protests in Istanbul, defying Erdogan’s demand they leave.
The EU shows it doesn’t understand the conflict
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Instead of acknowledging that Palestinian administrations leaders have never really been interested in peace, EU chooses to blame settlements.
Eritrean gives birth in X-ray room due to TB rules
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – An Eritrean refugee woman gave birth in X-ray room of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center to prevent spread of infection.
The effect of the Bar Noar killings
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – The murder at the Bar Noar shook the Israeli LGBTQ community in a way that can be felt even now, four years later.
PM offers counter-terrorism expertise to Colombia
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Netanyahu tells Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Israel has foiled five suicide attacks, 30 kidnapping attempts in past year.
PA: ‘Difficult’ financial crisis hits $4.2 b. debt
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – In first meeting of new government in Ramallah, deputy prime minister says total debts have reached $4.2 billion.
Bennett praises haredi civilian service enlistment
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Economy and Trade Minister addresses 63 new recruits amid controversy over new law for obligatory haredi service.
Video of semi-nude soldiers another blow to IDF
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Channel 2 releases footage of female soldiers dancing provocatively after IDF disciplines soldiers for racy photographs.
MK calls for ‘real integration’ of Ethiopian pupils
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Chairwoman of Knesset Committee on Rights of Child calls says schools do not have necessary tools to integrate Ethiopians.
Bezalel Academy unveils $100 m. downtown campus
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Academy of Arts reveals design for sprawling campus, receives $25 million infusion from Mandel Foundation for 2017 completion.
Google announces acquisition of Israeli app Waze
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Acquisition comes after speculation involving Facebook, Apple.
Leading Egyptian cleric slams Shi’ite foes in Syria
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Sunni leading voice, Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb condemns Hezbollah for straying from its “struggle against Israel.”
UN rights envoy vows to stay on following remarks
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Richard Falk: “Anti-Semitic card” played against Israel critics.
US sanctions four Hezbollah backers in W. Africa
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Men acting as “ambassadors” for group considered as terrorists by US “cut off from US financial system, dealings with US citizens.”
Peacekeeping through backpacking?
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem offers tours to West Bank.
Women added to rabbinical judge selection c’tee
Jerusalem Post 11 Jun 2013 – Bill to add women to committee that appoints judges to religious courts passes readings; Gal-On: New bill fixes twisted reality.
Inter-faith municipality urged for Jerusalem: From the archive, 11 June 1971
The Guardian 11 Jun 2013 – ‘History has placed our three communities here, and we have to find a spiritual as well as a physical way of coexistence’ A plan for making the Old City of Jerusalem into an “inter-faith municipality” was…
IDF Unit 8200 Cyberwar Veterans Developed NSA Snooping Technology
Uruknet
Unconstitutional US Data-Mining
Uruknet
Facebook and Google insist they did not know of Prism surveillance program
Uruknet
Making the hero pay: A Nation’s Betrayal
Uruknet
Pakistan Summons U.S. Envoy Over Drone Strike
Uruknet
How Many Iraqis Died in the Iraq War?
Uruknet
Dr. Aafia Siidiqui Assaulted in Prison to Point of Unconsciousness
Uruknet
Guantanamo Bay hunger strike grows; 41 now being force-fed
Uruknet
What was the Israeli involvement in collecting U.S. communications intel for NSA?
Uruknet
U.S. slaps sanctions on Hezbollah ‘agents’ in W. Africa
Daily Star 11 Jun 2013 The United States announced sanctions against four Lebanese supporters of Hezbollah Tuesday, alleging they were working to extend the group’s influence in West Africa.
Jordan jails three for Syria jihad aspirations
Daily Star 11 Jun 2013 A Jordanian military tribunal jailed Tuesday three men convicted of trying to join Syria’s jihadist Nusra Front and fight President Bashar Assad’s regime.
U.S. government weighs security damage from NSA disclosures
Daily Star 11 Jun 2013 The National Security Agency contractor who leaked top-secret details of U.S. surveillance programs remained out of sight on Tuesday as the Obama administration launched an internal review of the potential damage to national security by the…
UN official: 11 million in Sahel still face hunger
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – ….
Border Guard officers allegedly shot at in West Bank
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – ….
Soldier suspected of severe offenses escapes high-security prison
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – ….
ACLU sues over NSA phone records program
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – ….
Egypt’s opposition rejects call for unity talks
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – ….
The emperor has no clothes
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – Op-ed: At some point, Tzipi Livni will realize she can no longer be part of government’s fraud ….
We have the ability to change
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – Op-ed: Despite general atmosphere of despair, social protest and technological advancements prove Israel heading in the right direction ….
IOA transfers 12-year-old detainee to hospital
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) transferred a 12-year-old Palestinian child to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in Jerusalem only few hours after his arrest.
IOA not executing court order to return land to Palestinian owners
PIC – Land owners in Um Al-Arayes hamlet to the east of Yatta town in Al-Khalil said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) has not returned their land back as ordered by the higher court.
Netanyahu: Our settlement activities in W. Bank will not stop
PIC – Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his government’s refusal to halt settlement expansion activities and respond to Palestinian demands in this regard.
IOF kidnap 15 Palestinians in W. Bank
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Tuesday 15 Palestinians from different West Bank areas, most of them from Nablus.
Wadi Hilwa residents bar workmen from closing residential alley
PIC – The residents of Silwan district in east Jerusalem managed on Monday to prevent workmen sent by the Israeli antiquities authority from closing a residential alley in Wadi Hilwa neighborhood.
Resheq: Hamas did not ask Fatah to delay the formation of the
national gov’t
PIC – Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq denied claims made by Fatah faction that Mahmoud Abbas postponed the formation of an interim consensus government at the request of Hamas.
Demolition orders and arrests in Jerusalem
PIC – The Israeli Municipal authorities in Jerusalem have handed on Monday demolition orders against 4 buildings in Shuafat, Beit Hanina, and Silwan.
2 Palestinian prisoners continue their hunger strike since 19 days
PIC – The two Palestinian prisoners, Adel Aharibat and Ayman Atabich from Dura south of al-Khalil, still continue their open hunger strike for 19 days in a row.
Settlers start building a “Jewish Synagogue” in Al-Khader town
PIC – Ahmad Salah, coordinator of the popular committee against the wall and settlements, warned of the escalated Israeli construction of settlements and housing units in Al-Khader town.
2 Jordanian hunger strikers transferred to hospital
PIC – The health condition of two Jordanian hunger strikers in Israeli jails have sharply deteriorated where they were transferred on Monday from Ramle prison hospital to Soroka Hospital.
Child Beaten in Custody, Admitted to Hospital
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
FIFA’s Blatter to Visit Palestine in July
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
New Palestinian Government Holds Its First Meeting
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
Columbia’s President Arrives in Ramallah
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
Israel to Expel Bedouin Families from their Homes near Jerusalem
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
Ashrawi Serves on Takreem Jury Board
WAFA – 11 Jun 2013
Hezbollah Fund-Raisers Blacklisted by U.S.
New York Times 11 Jun 2013 – On Tuesday, the Treasury Department banned the organization from any dealings with Americans, citing its “alarming reach” and intervention in the Syrian civil war.
Suicide Bombers Attack in Central Damascus
New York Times 11 Jun 2013 – At least 14 people were killed on Tuesday after two bombs were detonated in a square in the Syrian capital, according to the state news agency.
Cabinet to lower gas export quota
Globes Energy & Water – On Sunday, the cabinet will reduce the amount of gas to be exported from 50% recommended by the Tzemach report to 45%.
Google confirms Waze acquisition
Globes Main News – Google VP Geo Brian McClendon: The Waze product development team will remain in Israel.
Teva CEO: We’re using crowdsourcing
Globes Main News – Jeremy Levin told the IATI-Biomed conference that crowdsourcing can help Teva bring 10 new products to market a year.
Tue: Dual-listed tech shares lead losses
Globes Main News – Mellanox and EZchip, which are being relegated from the Tel Aviv 25 Index next week, both continued to fall.
Waze exit to profit Israeli financial institutions
Globes Main News – Phoenix, Harel, Clal Insurance and Halman Aldubi have invested in Waze through Magma and Vertex.
Israel Corp. in talks to buy electricity from Palestinians report
Globes Main News – Israel Corp. unit IC Power is in talks to buy surplus electricity from a planned power station in Jenin, the “Financial Times” reports.
2013 budget has double planned increase
Globes Macro Economics – The 2014 budget will total NIS 320.3 billion, 3.35% more than the 2013 budget.
Lapid submits budget to Knesset
Globes Macro Economics – Finance Minister Yair Lapid says we must deal with the deficit or Israel’s credit rating will be cut again.
Letter to Golda: Black Israelites Would “Pollute” Israel
Tikun Olam – Golda Meir’s 1972 notes on the Black Israelites. Thanks to David Sheen, one of Israel’s foremost activists on behalf of the African refugee community. He’s dug up this amazing letter written to Golda Meir, when she was addressing a festering social issue concerning an influx of…
Gag Order Suppresses Coverage of Bar Noar Gay Murder Case
Tikun Olam – Suspect in the Bar Noar gay murders (likely one of the Felicians, a brother of the alleged victim) Tonight offers another bit of unintended hilarity that goes by the name of Israeli judicial hypocrisy. They say in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is…
Activists deliver petition to Alicia Keys’ Brooklyn charity asking her to cancel Israel show
Mondoweiss – Kadi outside the KCA office. (Photo: USACBI) A delegation of Palestinian-Americans, representing coalitions of over 500 US organizations, delivered a petition t
oday signed by over 12,000 people to the New York City office of Alicia Keys’ nonprofit fighting HIV/AIDS, Keep a Child Alive , calling on Keys to cancel her…
The MSM tries to distinguish between Manning and Snowden. Don’t let them
Mondoweiss – I’ve followed the Edward Snowden revelations with my jaw dropped. He is a hero in a great American pattern, an individualist who took on his government in the name of the people. How young he is! How intelligent! How self-possessed and articulate! How thrilling is his…
Approaching 60, Norman Finkelstein reflects
Mondoweiss – We Are Change Rotterdam posted this February 8 interview of Norman Finkelstein in Europe three months ago. We’ve kept meaning to post it because the longtime scholar of the Israel/Palestine conflict reflects so openly as he approaches his 60th birthday later this year. Finkelstein bluntly describes…
An Israeli veteran comes forward to decry ‘how shitty we are’ to Palestinians
Mondoweiss – The latest testimonies from the Israeli soldiers’ group Breaking the Silence are extremely powerful, but I haven’t seen these amazing women popping up yet in the American media. Soon I hope. As we all know, it seems to require Jewish voices to persuade American elites to…
I’ve got Mohammed Assaf fever
Mondoweiss – It’s easy to understand why everyone loves Mohammed Assaf — his gorgeous smile, honey voice and love for his country, Palestine. But the phenomenon of his popularity tells us as much about Palestinian society as it does about a young man who lives in a Gaza…
Howard Gutman, Controversial Jewish Envoy to Belgium, Denies Hooker Claim
The Foward Breaking News 11 Jun 2013 – The U.S. ambassador alleged in State Department memos to have solicited prostitutes, including minors, was embroiled two years ago in a controversy over Israel. Click here for the rest of the article…
Google Pays $1.3B for Israeli Mobile Startup Waze
The Foward Breaking News 11 Jun 2013 – It’s official, Google announced on Tuesday: The Internet search engine company is buying Waze, the Israeli mobile app navigation startup. Click here for the rest of the article…
Richard Falk Vows To Stay On in United Nations Post Despite Criticism
The Foward Breaking News 11 Jun 2013 – The United Nations human rights investigator for the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday he would not resign and accused critics of calling him anti-Semitic to divert attention from his scrutiny of Israeli policies. Click here for the rest of the article…
7% of Israeli Jews Are Reform or Conservative
The Foward Breaking News 11 Jun 2013 – Some 7.1 percent of Israeli Jews define themselves as Reform or Conservative, according to the soon-to-be-released Israeli Democracy Index for 2013. Click here for the rest of the article…
Should soccer boycott Israel’s European Championship?
Global BDS 11 Jun 2013 – (CNN) – Mahmoud Sarsak is twice the man he used to be. The diminutive Palestinian soccer player is sitting in a small cafe in central London, tired but otherwise surprisingly healthy for a man who had lost half his body weight during a hunger strike 12…
Major UK union votes against Trade Union Friends of Israel
Global BDS 11 Jun 2013 – LONDON – One of the UK’s largest trade unions is to ban its members from visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories on delegations organized by the Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI), a London-based organization supporting cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian workers. The GMB, which has…
Electronic Intifada coverage of Fourth National BDS Conference
Global BDS 10 Jun 2013 – The fourth BDS national conference.( Asa Winstanley / The Electronic Intifada ) Reports on Saturday’s fourth national Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference in Bethlehem tended to focus on the shaming of Palestinian Authority minister Jawad Naji (including my own initial one ). But the conference itself was a…
Reformist Aref quits Iran race
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – The sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election, Mohammad Reza Aref, has dropped out of the race, his website says.
Austria begins Golan UN withdrawal
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – Austria begins the withdrawal of its 377 soldiers monitoring the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, because of the increased fighting in Syria.
Bomb found under Italian embassy car
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – A bomb is found under an Italian embassy car in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, while the diplomats using it were shopping.
Twitter Action for CAT Shareholder Meeting June 12!
US Campaign to End the Occupation 11 Jun 2013 – Caterpillar will be conducting its 2013 annual meeting of stockholders on Wednesday, June 12 at 8am EDT in Greensboro, North Carolina. A number of groups are planning actions around the meeting and you can get involved as well by tweeting during the meeting about CAT selling…
The National Security State
Al-Akhbar Blogs 11 Jun 2013 – Related Articles: CIA Wining and Dining Lebanese Students in US Stratfor: Inside the World of a Private CIA read more
Lebanon: West Presses for Elections in Response to Qusayr
Al-Akhbar Opinion 11 Jun 2013 – They calculate that elections are likely to produce a majority for March 14, which would take a much harder line on Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria than the current Najib Mikati government. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) They calculate that elections are likely to produce a majority for March…
Putin: Iran’s nuclear program peac
eful
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks during his visit to the new studio complex of the state-owned English-language Russia Today television network in Moscow on 11 June 2013. (Photo: AFP – Yuri Kochetkov) Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he has no doubt that Iran is…
Right-wing European delegation in Syria “fact-finding” mission
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – A delegation of ultra right-wing European politicians began a previously unannounced “fact-finding” mission in Syria on Tuesday to assess the presence of foreign fighters in the war ravaged country, a spokesperson for a British MEP said. Nick Griffin, Member of the European Parliament from the British…
UN Palestine monitor Richard Falk rejects calls to step down
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – An embattled UN rights expert who probes Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians on Tuesday rejected calls to step down, saying his opponents were trying to silence his criticism of the Jewish state by labeling him anti-Semitic. “I don’t intend to resign, and there doesn’t seem to be…
After One Year, Al-Mayadeen Never Forgets Palestine
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – With an office in Palestine and reporters scattered throughout various Palestinian cities, al-Mayadeen coverage of the Palestinian cause is not seasonal. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) With an office in Palestine and reporters scattered throughout various Palestinian cities, al-Mayadeen coverage of the Palestinian cause is not seasonal. (Photo:…
Survivors of Qusayr: We Lost Because of “Advanced Weapons”
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – A picture taken on 8 June 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers patroling a street in the village of Buweida, north of Qusayr, in Syria’s central Homs province. (Photo: AFP – STR) A picture taken on 8 June 2013 shows Syrian army soldiers patroling a street in…
Pressure builds over Egypt-Ethiopia dam dispute
Al-Akhbar News 11 Jun 2013 – A handout picture released by the Egyptian presidency shows Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi speaking during a conference on protecting the country’s water crisis and Ethiopia’s dam project on the Blue Nile in Cairo on 10 June 2013. (Photo: AFP – HO / Egyptian Presidency) Egyptian President Mohammed…
Damascus hit by double bombings
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – Two suicide bombers blow themselves up in the centre of the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing 14 people and injuring many others, state media say.
Reformist Aref quits Iran race
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – The sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election, Mohammad Reza Aref, has dropped out of the race, his website says.
Austria begins Golan UN withdrawal
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – Austria begins the withdrawal of its 377 soldiers monitoring the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights, because of the increased fighting in Syria.
Google seals Waze sat-nav takeover
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – In a bid to outsmart traffic, Google has bought the crowd-sourced navigation app Waze, a Tel Aviv-based start-up.
Bomb found under Italian embassy car
BBC 11 Jun 2013 – A bomb is found under an Italian embassy car in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, while the diplomats using it were shopping.
Articles
The soldiers’ stories that Israel lacks the courage to hear
Larry Derfner, +972 Magazine 6/11/2013
Testimonies from former Israeli soldiers have failed to touch the Israeli public or change the state’s policies. The IDF gives an ‘explanation’ for why it ignores these and all other occupation stories told by the men and women of Breaking the Silence.
I used to think that Breaking the Silence, which publishes testimonies of IDF soldiers about what they see and do on occupation duty, would really strike a blow against the empire. Who could doubt the word of soldiers – by now over 900 – coming forward to, essentially, confess; who wouldn’t at least show them respect and give them a hearing?
Once again, I was naïve; Breaking the Silence, God bless it, is keeping the truth alive. It’s telling that truth to masses of individuals, most importantly to draft-age Israelis. But the horror stories from the field told by the soldiers – this week by four young women who served in the West Bank and on the Gazan border – just slide off the back of this country’s body politic. They don’t make the slightest dent in Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza.
In 2009, after the organization published over 100 pages of testimony (PDF) from 26 soldiers about what happened in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead – the free-fire atmosphere, the awesome destruction, the bloodthirsty pep talks from IDF rabbis, the white phosphorus, etc. – Netanyahu expressed his opinion of its work. From Haaretz:
“They are breaking their silence about the only democracy in the Middle East that has an independent legal system and an investigative press that does not cease dealing with these issues,” Netanyahu told reporters shortly after his meeting Tuesday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose government is one of the group’s donors.
“There is no silence to break,” the prime minister said angrily. “What are they talking about?”
Netanyahu, NGO Monitor, Im Tirtzu, CAMERA and the entire right-wing enforcement squad did a very good job of distracting mainstream Israel’s attention from the soldiers’ stories…. more.. e-mail
Is a binational identity possible in Israel?
Jeremiah Haber, +972 Magazine 6/11/2013
Two academics get into a public intellectual debate over secular national identity and the characteristics of binationalism in the future of Israel or binational state. Despite their bitter assaults against one another’s ideas, they are far closer than they realize.
It’s open season on Prof. Shlomo Sand of Tel Aviv University in the pages of Haaretz, following the publication of his latest book, How and Why I Stopped Being a Jew. The thesis of the book is that there is no such thing as secular Jewish experience (although he grants that there are people who have fashioned for themselves a secular Jewish identity), that being Jewish is fundamentally and foundationally a religious category. He certainly is right about that in the case of Israel, where the secular founders insisted on preserving a religious criterion for determining who is a Jew, and hence who is a member of the nation represented by the state. In the eyes of Israeli law, one can only become a member of the Jewish people through birth or through religious conversion, and this has practical implications, such as the pressure placed on the religious courts to facilitate the conversion of Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union, so that they can be members of the Jewish nation and hence the recipients of rights and privileges accorded in Israel to Jews alone. Of course, saying that Jewish people is exclusively a religious category does not imply that only religious Jews are Jewish. Pork-eating atheists are considered Jews even by the orthodox, but only if they became a Jew through birth or through religious conversion.
But that’s not what I wish to talk about in this post. Rather I wish to discuss the recent exchange in Haaretz by Dimitri Shumsky and Shlomo Sand, in which the former argues for a Jewish/Palestinian binational state, and the latter for a civic Israeli nationalism. Both Shumsky and Sand go at each other with the passion of Leninists and Trotskyites, but lost in the battle is how much they share in common. Neither Shumsky’s Jewish-Palestinian binationalism nor Sand’s Israeli nationalism is palatable to the old guard of Jewish nationalist/liberal Zionists in Haaretz’s’ stable, like Shlomo Avineri, Alexander Yakobson or Yehuda Bauer. more.. e-mail
A strange architecture of time in the Middle East
Sergio Yahni, Alternative Information Center 6/9/2013
Israel does not distinguish amongst the Arab regimes, regarding them all as a threat. This insensitivity to regional political developments undermines US interests in the region. Israel further believ
es it has no interest in furthering the peace process, which could destabilise an already shaky government coalition. The architecture of time as seen by Israel is radically different to that perceived by Washington, Riyadh and Ramallah.
Netanyahu sees no reason to move the peace process forward, or to halt settlement construction (Photo: Cherie Cullen, US Department of Defence)
The Jewish Daily Forward of June 3 reports that in a passionate appeal for supporting his Middle East peace effort, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that time is running out on a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kerry was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee. In his speech he called on American Jews to support his effort and to provide political backing for leaders willing to take risks for peace.
In April Kerry persuaded the Arab League to re-launch, with slight changes meant to entice the Israelis, its peace initiative of March 2002.
The initiative was first launched at the Beirut Summit of the Arab League by then-Crown Prince King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and re-endorsed at the 2007 Riyadh Summit. It attempts to end the Arab–Israeli conflict, which means normalising relations between Israel and the entire Arab region, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian and Syrian territories occupied in 1967, and an agreed settlement of the Palestinian refugee crisis based on UN Resolution 194.
In April 2013 the Arab League changed its stance and agreed to an exchange of territories in the framework of the agreement.more.. e-mail
Leaders must seize opportunity for peace and security
Gunilla Carlsson, Ma’an News Agency 6/11/2013
As I now return to Palestine and Israel, I do so with increasing frustration that the chance of a two-state solution risks being squandered.
Developments on the ground speak for themselves. The illegal settlements are expanding and displacing Palestinians who are forced to endure daily harassment and blockades. Many people have to spend hours at checkpoints on their way to school or work. Some are plagued by the fear of being thrown out of house and home. In Gaza, almost total isolation continues.
Every year, the Palestinians’ internal political divisions are growing, as is the violence. And on the other side of the barbed wire, the Israelis are living in growing insecurity and isolation, in a region in a process of rapid change.
There is a risk that this frustration will grow and that the world will turn its back on the Israelis and Palestinians. We have a joint responsibility for, and self-interest in, continuing to fight for peace in the Middle East. Twenty years after the Oslo Accords there is still a chance to reach a two-state solution. The United States is currently making significant efforts to enable the parties to return to the negotiating table. The EU is ready to support these negotiations.
The Arab League’s peace initiative has regained relevance. The initial position between the parties is bleak, but the status quo is not an alternative. The Israelis and the Palestinians must now seize what is perhaps the last opportunity to create peace and security. Time is running out, and it is not a day too early.
Despite continued occupation and a lack of political progress, Palestinian state-building has advanced…. more.. e-mail
Mass protest aims to focus attention on Jerusalem
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jun 2013 – Settlers and soldiers have invaded holy sites, sparking international outrage.more
The Palestinian struggle is a black struggle
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jun 2013 – Reciprocal solidarity means we should seek our natural allies among the “wretched of the earth,” says Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa.more
State of Denial: Occupation? What Occupation?
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jun 2013 – By Uri Avnery Every person is endowed with a certain denial mechanism they can use to avoid the shame, fear, guilt and pain involved in coping with their improper actions. Instead of facing their failure, accepting reality and dealing with it, they simply enter a state of denial. But denial extracts a heavy price from the denier. The mental effort involved in self-deception causes serious mental harm. Someone who denies facts is declaring that he has a mental problem. He needs treatment. For 46 years we have been in this situation. We are denying one of the most significant phenomenon of our national ex
istence, if not the most central one: the occupation. We can use the well-worn metaphor of the huge elephant in the room, whose presence we deny. Elephant? What elephant? Here? We tiptoe around the elephant and avert our gaze so we won’t have to look at it….more
Sectarianism and the Irrational New Discourse: Why Arabs Must Worry
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jun 2013 – By Ramzy Baroud My friend Hanna is Syrian and also happens to be Christian. The latter fact was rarely of consequence, except whenever he wished to boast about the contributions of Arab Christians to Middle Eastern cultures. Of course, he is right. The modern Arab identity has been formulated through a fascinating mix of religions, sects and races. Christianity, as well as Islam, is deeply-rooted in many aspects of Arab life. Needless to say, the bond between Islam and Christianity is simply unbreakable. “I am Christian, but, in terms of culture, I am equally a Muslim,” he told me by way of introduction to a daunting realization. “But now, I am very worried.” Hanna’s list of worries is long. Lead amongst them is the fact that Christian Arabs in some Arab societies are increasingly viewed as ‘foreigners’ or ‘guests’ in their own countries. At times, as was the case in…more
Turkey’s Tree Revolution
Dissident Voice: 11 Jun 2013 – A new vision has dawned in Turkey. ‘The protection of the human rights of all citizens and the active participation of the people in politics and civic life’ are the driving tenets of any democracy. It is only fair for citizens to demand dignity and respect if their voices are not heard. What began as a clash between environmentalist and police over plans to cut down trees in a park on Istanbul’s Taksim Square to make room for a shopping mall has now resulted in one of the biggest anti-government rallies in decades. In the crackdown, which was ordered by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, three people have died, hundreds have been injured and more than 1,000 have been arrested. Several debates cloud the search for answers about this upheaval. Many claim that Taksim Square is for Turkey what Tahir Square is for Egypt and that Erdogan’s style has…more
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