12 June 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
165 “Price Tag” Attacks Carried Out This Year
IMEMC – The Israeli Police revealed Wednesday [June 12 2013] that Israeli settlers carried out 165 Price Tag attacks against the Palestinians and their property, in the West Bank, and in the 1948 territories since the beginning of this year. …
Legislator Moved To Administrative Detention
IMEMC – On Wednesday [June 12 2013] an Israeli military court decided to imprison elected Palestinian Legislator, Abdul-Jabbar Foqaha, under arbitrary Administrative Detention, without charges, for six months. …
Israel Soldiers Breech Lebanon Border
IMEMC – Lebanese army sources reported Wednesday [June 12 2013] that a number of Israeli military vehicles advanced approximately 15 meters into Lebanese territory, and that Lebanon complained to the UNIFIL. …
Four Hunger Striking Detainees Forced Into Solitary Confinement
IMEMC – [Wednesday June 12] the Prison Administration of the Negev Detention Camp forced four hunger striking detainees into solitary confinement in an attempt to force them to quit their strike. …
Three Palestinians Kidnapped In Hebron
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers invaded on Wednesday [June 12 2013] Doura town, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, and kidnapped three Palestinians. …
Home, Shed, Demolished Near Jenin
IMEMC – Several armored Israeli military vehicles invaded on Wednesday morning [June 12 2013] Barta’a Ash-Sharqiyya village, in the Jenin district, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, and demolished a home and a shed. …
Report: Israel seeks to enlarge West Bank settlement
6/12/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Israeli government has advanced plans for of 550 residential units in a small settlement in the northern West Bank, Israeli media said Tuesday. The Hebrew-language Walla news site said that if granted final approval, the plans for Bruchin settlement would expand the formerly illegal outpost by five times its current capacity. The construction plans include sport centers and public facilities….
5 injured in Tubas clashes with Israel army
6/12/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Five Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets on Wednesday morning during clashes with Israeli forces in the Faraa refugee camp in the northern West Bank district of Tubas, locals said. The clashes were prompted by a military raid on the camp at 5 a. m. when 14 army jeeps entered the area, breaking into several homes and searching residents, locals said….
Committee: Israel soldiers force Muslim to drink wine at gunpoint
6/12/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli intelligence officers forced a Palestinian man from Beit Ummar to drink wine at gunpoint on Tuesday evening, a local committee spokesman said. An Israeli military patrol stopped Muhammad Khalil Abu Dayyah, 24, from the Safa neighborhood near Beit Ummar and forced him into a military tower at the entrance to Beit Ummar, said Muhammad Ayyad Awad, spokesman of Beit Ummar….
Israeli troops hand out demolition orders in Nablus
6/12/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) – Israeli forces handed seven demolition orders to residents in Sarra in Nablus on Monday, locals said. Soldiers gave the orders to Ahmad Turabi, Mazen Turabi, Zahi Turabi, Hussein Turabi, Hilmi Turabi and Muhammad Turabi, locals told Ma’an. [END]
Hamas hunger strikers moved to isolation cells
6/12/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — The Israeli Prison Service has moved four Hamas detainees to isolation cells after they went on hunger strike to protest their detention without charge, a prisoners center said Wednesday. Ahrar Center director Fuad al-Khuffash said the prisoners started refusing food on Monday in protest over their administrative detention, without charge or trial. Moayad Shurrab, from Awarta village, was arrested in November….
Report: Gunshots fired at Israeli military jeep near Qalqiliya
6/12/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli military jeep came under fire Tuesday night as it drove past the Qedumim settlement east of Qalqiliya in the northern West Bank, according to Israeli reports. The news website Walla reported in Hebrew that Israeli forces deployed heavily and scanned the area after soldiers reported they came under fire. Meanwhile, the Arutz Sheva news site said a speeding Palestinian….
Jerusalem court sentences 6 on ‘security charges’
6/12/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Six Palestinians from East Jerusalem were sentenced by Israeli courts Tuesday on a range of security charges, family members told Ma’an. Muhammad Obeid from Isawiya in East Jerusalem, was sentenced to 42 months in jail after an Israeli court found him guilty of illegal arms possession, affiliation to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and throwing stones….
Police: Israel detains 3 Palestinians in Dura
6/12/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians were detained on Wednesday after Israeli forces stormed the city of Dura in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, Palestinian Authority police said. Hebron police spokesman Ibrahimi al-Absi told Ma’an that several army vehicles raided Dura at dawn, ransacking three homes. Those detained were identified as Zaki al-Huroub, Mahmoud Darawish and Hasan Darawish, al-Absi said. 1….
Islamic Jihad ‘preparing next generation to resist’
6/12/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Islamic Jihad is preparing a generation of Palestinians ready to defend themselves and their people against Israeli attacks, a spokesman said Wednesday. As the movement completed a summer camp for 80 teenagers in the southern Gaza Strip, Daoud Shibab said Palestinian children needed to learn to defend themselves.”We need to prepare our children to defend themselves, and protect themselves….
Putin: Iran threats against Israel ‘unacceptable’
6/12/2013 – MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Iran had a right to a peaceful nuclear programme but slammed as “unacceptable” its threats against its regional nemesis Israel.”Iran is in a very difficult region,” Putin told a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow.”And when we hear threats from Iran against its neighbors, particularly Israel, when we hear from Iran that Israel must….
UN requests more time as Austria readies Golan pullout
6/12/2013 – VIENNA (AFP) — Austrian troops in the UN monitoring force on the Golan Heights will begin pulling out on Wednesday, the defense ministry said, as the UN appealed for more time to find a replacement for the departing soldiers.”Between 60 and 80 troops will return to Austria tomorrow afternoon,” defense ministry spokesman Andreas Strobl told AFP Tuesday.”This will be the first of several groups…. Related: Philippines seeks more security for Golan Heights troops
Netanyahu: Israel foils 5 suicide attacks this year
6/12/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel has foiled five suicide bombings and many other “terrorist” attacks since the start of the year. Shin Bet, the domestic security service, and the army had prevented the bombings and 30 attempted kidnappings of soldiers, Netanyahu told visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.”We have fought terrorism for many years. . . including this year when….
Philippines seeks more security for Golan Heights troops
6/12/2013 – MANILA (AFP) — Philippine President Benigno Aquino urged the United Nations Tuesday to provide more security to its depleted peacekeeping force in Syria’s Golan Heights so the Filipino contingent could stay. Aquino was meeting his top security advisers during the day to discuss a recommendation by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to bring the Filipino troops home soon, after some were briefly kidnapped by…. Related: UN requests more time as Austria readies Golan pullout
Egypt arrests 2 African migrants en route to Israel
6/12/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian border guards on Wednesday detained two African migrants trying to enter Israel via the Sinai peninsula, security officials said. The Eritrean men, both said to be in their twenties, were stopped two kilometers south of the Kerem Shalom crossing, Egyptian officials told Ma’an. Both men had visible burn marks from being tortured by human traffickers in Sinai….
Egypt deploys heavily at Rafah crossing
6/12/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian forces have been deployed along the Rafah crossing since Tuesday evening, after closing the pedestrian crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, a security source told Ma’an. Egyptian soldiers were deployed in a bid to crack down on the smuggling of Palestinians into Egypt through the underground tunnel, the source said. 1 ) wiper / Italy 12/06/2013….
Abbas rejects calls to fire official who praised settler’s killer
6/12/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority has rejected calls from a group of US congressmen to fire a Fatah official who praised the killer of an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank, an official said Wednesday. Five congressmen signed a letter condemning remarks by Fatah central committee member Sultan Abu al-Einein, who also serves as President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser on civil society….
Egypt seizes smuggled iron in Gaza tunnel area
6/12/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) – Egyptian military forces in Rafah raided the border area surrounding the Gaza Strip and seized control of four tunnels loaded with iron bound for the Gaza Strip. Security sources told Ma’an that the forces received information about 80 tons of iron and raided the al-Hilwat area, finding four tunnels loaded with five trucks on their way to the….
Hamdallah calls for timeframe to end occupation
6/12/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said Wednesday that the time has come to set a specific timeline for the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. At a celebration to mark Russia’s National Day at the Russian representative office in Ramallah, the newly-appointed premier reiterated that Palestinians remain committed to achieving their right to an independent state. Hamdallah…. Related: Palestinian boycott leaders say peace talks ‘useless’
Palestinian boycott leaders say peace talks ‘useless’
6/12/2013 – BETHLEHEM (AFP) — Leaders of a growing Palestinian movement to boycott Israel oppose any peace talks, even if they include a long-demanded freeze of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.”We have no faith. . . in the so-called negotiations,” said Omar Barghouti, head of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which lobbies worldwide for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. On the sidelines of the fourth…. Related: Hamdallah calls for timeframe to end occupation
Israel defense minister to visit Pentagon
6/12/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon leaves on Wednesday for talks with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, his first visit to Washington since taking office in March, the ministry said.”During the visit the two men are expected to discuss current security, diplomatic and regional issues,” it said. It added that he would also meet US politicians, Jewish community leaders and members of the….
Hamas says PA detained 6 affiliates
6/12/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority forces detained six party affiliates in the West Bank, a party statement read. Hamas said the detainees were arrested in Nablus and in the Jerusalem outskirts. [END]
Police fire tear gas at thousands of protesters in Ankara
6/12/2013 – ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish riot police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators in the capital Ankara late on Tuesday, as clashes also raged in the city of Istanbul on the worst night of violence in nearly two weeks of nationwide anti-government unrest. The police intervention in the capital came as some 5,000 people took to the streets in the city’….
Japan put paid to Iraq’s World Cup hopes
6/12/2013 – DOHA (AFP) — Iraq crashed out of the qualifying race for next year’s World Cup finals after suffering a 1-0 loss to Japan in their crucial group B qualifier at the Al Arabi Club in Doha on Tuesday. Iraq, who have been to the World Cup finals only once — in 1986 when they lost all three group matches — needed a win to keep….
Libya in deal to sell Tunisia 10 mn barrels of oil
6/12/2013 – TRIPOLI (AFP) — Libya will sell Tunisia 10 million barrels of oil from August until the end of 2014 at an undisclosed price under a deal signed on Tuesday, according to a transcript of the meeting. The crude would be delivered at the rate of 450,000 barrels a month through December and then at 650,000 barrels monthly next year, the document said. While no price was….
Syrian soap recreates Damascus in Gulf desert
6/12/2013 – ABU DHABI (AFP) — A traditional Damascene bath comes to life in the Emirates, as a team of Syrian actors bustle around in wooden clogs on a film set built far away from war-torn Syria.”Here’s the rose water bucket ready with a mix of ginger, cinnamon and lemon,” an actress in a traditional off-white dress and red headscarf tells Umm Sakher, wife of….
France says Syrian army must be stopped before Aleppo
6/12/2013 – PARIS (AFP) — France on Wednesday urged the international community to stop the progression of Syrian troops, backed by Hezbollah fighters and Iran, towards the strategic northern town of Aleppo. After winning a strategic victory by retaking Qusayr, an important town near the border with Lebanon, Syrian troops are now focusing their attention on Aleppo as they continue to gain ground against the rebels.”We must….
Kuwaitis boycott Iran goods, protest against Hezbollah
6/12/2013 – KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Several Kuwaiti supermarket chains have begun boycotting products from Iran for its support of the Syrian regime, while activists staged a demonstration against the involvement of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in the conflict. At least nine cooperative consumer societies out of 50 in the oil-rich Gulf state published announcements in the local media on Wednesday saying they have taken Iranian products off….
Jordanian dies after setting himself ablaze
6/12/2013 – AMMAN (AFP) — A young Jordanian man died in hospital on Wednesday after setting himself on fire outside the Ministry of Social Development last week in despair over failing to meet the minister.”Ahmad Robin, 23, died of severe burns that covered more than 90 percent of his body. We could not help him,” Issam Shraideh, director of Amman’s Bashir public hospital, told AFP….
Lebanon army warns will hit back against any Syria raids
6/12/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanon’s army said it will immediately respond to any further cross-border attacks by the Syrian military after a helicopter gunship attacked the eastern town of Arsal on Wednesday.”Army units deployed in the (Arsal) area took the necessary defensive measures to respond immediately to any similar violations,” a Lebanese army statement said, in a rare warning against the regime of Syrian….
Jordan online journalists protest ‘repressive’ law
6/12/2013 – AMMAN (AFP) — Jordanian journalists on Wednesday demonstrated near the royal palace in protest at a “repressive” government decision to block 290 unlicensed local news websites.”We gathered today to tell King Abdullah II that the government’s repressive decision violates the constitution,” Nasser Lafi, editor of Busala, or compass, news website, told AFP.”This move harms Jordan’s reputation.”On June 3, a….
Bedouin Family Evicted from Ramat Hasharon Residence
Palestine News Network
Under Threat…Israeli Officer Forces Palestinian to Drink Alcohol
Palestine News Network
Israeli Occupation Releases Prisoner after 10 Years Imprisonment
Palestine News Network
UN Rights Investigator Says He Will Not Resign, Despite Criticism
Palestine News Network
Dr. Ashrawi Meets with the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation
Palestine News Network
President of Colombia Visits Palestine
Palestine News Network
IOF Soldiers Arrest Four Palestinians from Hebron, Bethlehem
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Dies of Injuries Sustained by Israeli Forces 9 Years Ago
Palestine News Network
Israel Demolishes Two Homes, Barracks in Barta’a near Jenin
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
“Whatever you take from the sea, the sea takes back from you”
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
Note under a rock: ‘We’re stealing your land’
6/12/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 12th June 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team, Bruqin, Occupied Palestine – It was only days after it had been placed that a farmer accidentally found a piece of paper that stated he was no longer the owner of his own land. The undated paper, in Hebrew and Arabic, had been hidden under a rock in the farmer’s fields in the village of Bruqin….
occupied Palestinian territory: Communities in the Jerusalem periphery at risk of forcible transfer
Relief Web 12 Jun 2013 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: occupied Palestinian territory KEY FACTS Around 2,300 Palestinians, two thirds of them children, reside in about 20 small herding communities in the hills east of Jerusalem, in Area C. Over…
occupied Palestinian territory: FAO-European Union – A shared goal of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Relief Web 12 Jun 2013 – Source: Food and Agriculture Organization Country: occupied Palestinian territory Since the European Union (EU) became a member of FAO in 1991, the two institutions have built a strategic partnership contributing to the achievement of United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),…
UAE acknowledges labour challenges of Gulf region
The National 12 Jun 2013 – The UAE minister of labour tells the International Labour Organisation that policies are needed to create more jobs.
UAE recruiters welcome move to reduce orientation training for Filipino maids
The National 12 Jun 2013 – The Philippine government approves shorter pre-departure seminars for domestic workers to help clear the hiring backlog in the Middle East.
Volunteerism in sports events benefits the economy, UAE study shows
The National 12 Jun 2013 – A UAE study highlighting the social and economic impact of volunteerism in sports was released yesterday.
Ajman police bust prostitution ring in undercover sting
The National 12 Jun 2013 – Undercover officers arranged to “buy” Asian woman for two days in exchange for Dh4,500 in sting operation.
UAE and Greece forge closer ties
The National 12 Jun 2013 – UAE’s Foreign Minister and the Greek prime minister met to discuss trade and investment as well as EU visas for Emiratis.
US legislators mystified over the extent of NSA spying
The National 12 Jun 2013 – Combining the rapid advances in ‘big data’ analysis software with the capacities of ever-expanding super computers and storage facilities, the NSA is able to churn through the massive amounts of online data. Taimur Khan reports
Erdogan proposes vote on Istanbul park at centre of protests
The National 12 Jun 2013 – Prime minister makes proposal after four hourd of talks with members of the protest movement Thomas Seibert reports from Istanbul
Creative Community for Peace congratulates Alicia Keys for going forward with Tel Aviv concert
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Business as usual for Netanyahu on Poland trip: Diplomatic blunders and Iranian nukes
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
UN, Sweden in negotiations to expand peacekeeping force in Golan Heights
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Following Haaretz report, Israel denies selling arms to Pakistan
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Mossad chief made secret visit to Turkey, asked to meet Erdogan
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Netanyahu backtracks on joint statement with Poland on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Wealthier Israeli high school students study more advanced math, study shows
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Netanyahu forbids Likud ministers from attending launch of Knesset pro-settlement caucus
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Taxman accused of robbing money-changer
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2013
Likud set for June 30 election showdown
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – PM Binyamin Netanyahu faces steep opposition after being booed by his own party members at last year’s convention.
Pro-Beduin supporters fight Prawer-Begin plan
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Activists to protest in Beersheba against proposed law regulating communities, claim human rights violations.
Israeli charity picks up $1.5m. from Waze exit
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – ‘Tmura’ receives largest boost yet; The Israeli Public Service Venture Fund has raised nine million dollars over 11 years.
Erdogan’s party orders protesters to leave park
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – ‘Turkey as such has no place in Europe,’ head of European Parliament’s socialists says; Erdogan meets with protesters.
Stereotyping fest
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Judge Nissim Yeshaya certainly run afoul of political correctness when he opined in open court that “some girls enjoy being raped.”
Empowering centrists to ensure Israel’s survival
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Left and Right bashing have completely alienated many factions that need to be talking with one another.
Natural gas for domestic use and export
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Industrial sector is shifting quickly to utilize cheap gas, which provides advantage to exporters over their international competitors.
BGU students design race car for ‘Peace Road Show’
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Formula 1 race car built by students to be featured among vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes and Audi, scheduled to traverse the capital’s streets.
Perspectives: DSM-5 and fallacy of biblical analogy
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – No matter what we choose as our bible, our “clinical canon” – including DSM-5 and CSM-7 – will never match that divine text for us.
Several Jerusalem streets to close for Formula 1 show
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Traffic and parking arrangements to change Thursday and Friday as race cars hit capital.
British MP apologizes for ‘bloody Jew’ comment
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Patrick Mercer, who was filmed referring to IDF soldier as “bloody Jew,” says he’ll write apology to UK Chief Rabbi Sacks.
Media Comment: The self-perception of ‘Haaretz’
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Its professional shortcomings, such as its publisher’s narrow focus and the clique-like character of the editorial staff, have turned Haaretz into an organ injurious to free, open and pluralistic thinking.
Washington Watch: What does aid to Egypt get us?
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Peace with Israel is the locomotive that pulls aid to Egypt through the Congress, but there are other cars on the train.
Encountering Peace: Moving from despair to hope
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – On the battlefield for peace those on the front line confront a combined force made up of cynicism, hate, fear, anger, and a lot of despair.
Analysis: New urgency for Obama’s choices on Syria
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Forewarnings of an assault by Assad on Aleppo echo the daunting days before Libya’s Col. Muammar Gaddafi prepared to descend on Benghazi in 2011.
Animix festival honors Yaakov Kirschen
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Beloved longtime cartoonist for the ‘Post’ was honored last week with a medal for lifetime achievement at the Animix Festival in Arad
Pray and go: Highway synagogue opens on Route 6
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman has successfully established a highway synagogue for religious commuters.
IDF advanced plans for 1,225 new settler homes
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – If plans approved, W. Bank settlements Itamar, Bruchin would grow drastically; approval would authorize 137 illegal homes.
Amar bill buried by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s opposition
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Shas spiritual leader supported Amar serving extra term as Sephardi chief rabbi, but opposed Stav for Ashkenazi chief rabbi.
Hamas to execute 2 Palestinians for working with Israel
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Men to be hanged before end of month, or as early as next week.
Hamas to execute 2 Palestinians linked with Israel
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – The two Gazan men are to be hanged before the end of the month, or as early as next week, senior Hamas official confirms.
Israel’s Teva to pay $1.6b for patent infringement
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Teva Pharmaceuticals will compensate Pfizer and Takeda for infringing the patent on reflux treatment Protonix.
Gaza farmers: Exports to Israel could improve ties
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – “We are not political people; we are economic people,” a Gazan farmer tells the ‘Post’; “We are neighbors,” says another.
UN: Israel-Syria peace in danger, add Golan peacekeepers
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Ban Ki-moon recommends that UN Security Council increase UNDOF peacekeeping force and enhance its self-defense capabilities; UN official says sufficient offers have been made from countries to replace Austrian peacekeepers.
Ministry to reexamine alcohol prices after tax hike
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – In June, Finance Minister Lapid approved order to implement new tax, raising alcohol prices from NIS 84 to NIS 105 per liter.
Syrian sent to Israeli hospital with note attached
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – A Syrian civilian seriously wounded in war transferred to Safed Hospital with doctor’s note pinned to clothing describing condition.
Eltroxin scandal lessons made Health Ministry rules
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Pharmaceutical companies obligated to report on drugs’ alterations after change in medication’s formula caused serious side effects.
Syrian helicopter fires on Lebanese town, 2 hurt
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – Incident takes place in mainly Sunni Muslim town of Arsal, whose residents strongly support the rebellion against Assad.
Palestinian charged with killing Israeli at Tapuah Junction
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – IDF court charges Salam Zagal with murder of Evyatar Borovsky.
Google deal yields irresistible Waze to make puns
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2013 – “Congratulations, you’ve reached your destination,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in congratulating Israeli start-up.
Middle East peace talks must succeed to avoid despair, says UK minister
The Guardian 12 Jun 2013 – Alistair Burt acknowledges expectations are low, but says of John Kerry’s mission: ‘the best chance for a generation’ “Darkness and despair” was the alternative to John Kerry succeeding in his mission to revive moribund Middle East…
Scales Tip Towards Women in Jewish Religious Rights Struggle
IPS Ultra-Orthodox worshipper Jenny Menashe argues with Rabbi Nahum Weiss. Credit: Pierre Klochendler/IPS The struggle for gender equality and Jewish pluralism took a highly symbolic turn on Sunday at the Western Wall, Judaism’s most revered site and emblem of unity, as a group of women known as “Women of the Wall”…
Cairo’s Poor Convert Kitchen Waste Into Fuel Savings
IPS In Egypt, some families are turning to bio-gas digesters that convert organic waste into methane for fuel. Credit: Cam McGrath/IPS The bio-gas digester on the roof of Hussein Farag’s apartment in one of Cairo’s poorest districts provides a daily supply of cooking gas produced from the kitchen waste his family…
Israeli Involvement in NSA Spying
Uruknet
Lawyers Challenge Legal Basis of UK Drone Strikes
Uruknet
The return to Iqrit
Uruknet
Haaretz Reveals African Nations Israel Secretly Approached to Accept Expelled Refugees
Uruknet
The doom of free speech in Lebanon
Uruknet
Anti-Hezbollah protester killed outside Iranian embassy in Beirut
Uruknet
Are Palestinian Industrial Parks Illusion or Real Development?
Uruknet
Bradley Manning’s Trial, NSA Leaks & the Ever-Increasing Secrecy of the National Security State
Uruknet
The Judicial Lynching of Bradley Manning
Uruknet
Kuwaiti PM visits Iraq to strengthen relations
Daily Star 12 Jun 2013 Kuwait’s prime minister discussed ties with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad Wednesday, signaling improving relations between neighbors still working to overcome the more than two-decade legacy of war.
Israel PM red-faced over ‘anti-settlements’ statement
Daily Star 12 Jun 2013 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced Wednesday to recall an official statement on the peace process which appeared to admit Israel’s settlement building was unhelpful in reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Obama aides split on arming rebels
Daily Star 12 Jun 2013 President Barack Obama’s top national security advisers are meeting Wednesday to air their reservations about arming Syria’s rebels, with officials saying the growing alarm over the Assad regime’s.
Britain, Saudi discuss military ties: agency
Daily Star 12 Jun 2013 British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond discussed strengthening military and security ties with Saudi Arabia with top defence officials in the kingdom on Wednesday, the state-run SPA news agency reported.
Turkish ruling party orders protesters from Istanbul park
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – ….
Iran denies foreign minister called for talks with US
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – ….
Syrian extremist rebels raid Shiite village
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – ….
CIA deputy director resigns
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – ….
US looking at options to help Syrian opposition, Kerry says
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – ….
Let them kill themselves quietly
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Op-ed: We shouldn’t give Arabs a reason to unite around their only common denominator– hatred towards Israel ….
In Israel, no such thing as a civil marriage
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Hundreds of thousands of Israelis ineligible to wed. ‘Getting married is a basic right that every citizen should have,’ says non-Jewish woman who immigrated to Israel from Ukraine ….
Amendment: Prison term for women’s humiliation
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – New Justice Ministry amendment places criminal responsibility, sanctions not only on public officials but also on private individuals for discrimination or humiliation ….
Prison Four chief’s next post secure despite inmate’s escape
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Col. Omer Sobol to be relieved of his duties after inmate flees military prison’s high-security wing for second time; but his next position secure ….
Gaza kids play ‘kidnap Israeli soldier’ in summer camp
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Islamic Jihad invites thousands of children to pick up AK-47, fight summer ennui in activities ranging from shooting practice, fire jumping, and IDF outpost attack ….
Wounded Syrian arrives in Israel with note from doctor
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Syrian hospitalized in Safed brings note in Arabic from physicians who treated him before his transfer to Israel. ‘Patient was hit by bullet that penetrated his chest and caused a fracture in the lungs. Please do what is needed. Thank you in advance,’ note reads ….
Syria rebels kill 60 Shiites; missiles hit Lebanon
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Fighting crosses border into rebel-sympathizing Lebanese town; Following Qusair victory, regime offensive in high gear, rebel, civilian casualties mount ….
Israeli summer… in photos
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Ynet photographers sweat it out to capture the hottest season in Israel ….
Turkish PM to meet Istanbul park protesters
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Erdogan scheduled to meet with activists protesting over re-development of an Istanbul park after clashes between police, protesters lasted into early morning hours ….
Alone in the fight
YNet News, 12 Jun 2013 – Op-ed: Settlers chose an easy target – the general who protects Jewish communities in the West Bank ….
Police crush barricades in Istanbul square
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – Officers fire tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons in clashes with protestors in Taksim Square; Turkish PM Erdogan: No more tolerance, none will get away ….
Russian gay rights activists detained after ‘kissing protest’
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – Bill passed banning gay ‘propaganda’ – pride parades, kissing near minors to draw heavy fines. Protestors outside parliament attacked, arrested ….
Bombs hit square in Syrian capital, 14 killed
YNet News, 11 Jun 2013 – State TV says suicide bombers behind explosions at Damascus’ Marjeh Square; airs footage showing broken shop facades, mangled cars ….
Jewish settlers use knives in assaulting Jerusalemite old woman, young man
PIC – Jewish settlers attacked two Jerusalemites, including a 60-year-old woman and a young man, while walking opposite the Maghareba gate in Silwan.
IOF soldiers detain four Palestinians
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up four Palestinian citizens in Al-Khalil and Bethlehem at dawn Wednesday.
Health of Abdullah al-Barghouthi deteriorates further at Afula hospital
PIC – The heath condition of the prisoner of Abdullah al-Barghouthi, held at Afula hospital under harsh conditions, has seriously deteriorated where he refused to have medical tests or to take vitamins.
Hamas accuses PA forces of thwarting reconciliation efforts
PIC – The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, accused the PA security services of thwarting Palestinian reconciliation, through escalating political arrests.
Israeli scheme to expand 9 settlements in WB
PIC – Israeli government has approved a plan to expand 9 settlements in the West Bank, most notably Borjan west of Salfit northern West Bank.
IOF demolishes two houses, farm building in Jenin
PIC – Israeli bulldozers demolished on Wednesday two homes, a livestock farm building and a room under construction in the village of Barta’a, south if Jenin.
Violent clashes in Far’a refugee camp in Tubas
PIC – Violent clashes between IOF troops and local residents erupted in Far’a refugee camp east of Tubas on Wednesday, leading to the injury of 5 Palestinians with rubber bullets and suffocation cases.
IOA orders eviction of Bedouin families
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) ordered members of the Ka’abna tribe to leave their Bedouin homes near Beit Hanina village in occupied Jerusalem.
Israel Arrests Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Abbas Grants Paris Mayor Honorary Citizenship
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Israeli Officer Forces Palestinian to Drink Alcohol
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Newspapers Review: First Cabinet Meeting Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Palestinians Injured during Confrontations South of Tubas
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Israelis Demolish Palestinian Property near Jenin
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Israeli Flares Set Fire to Agricultural Land in Tubas
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Weather Forecast: Hot and Dry
WAFA – 12 Jun 2013
Turkish protesters defy warning, battle police in Taksim Square
LA Times 11 Jun 2013 – Angered by what they see as Prime Minister Erdogan’s heavy hand, ousted crowds spill into the streets, adding supporters as they fight to return to the square. ISTANBUL, Turkey — Protesters defying a blunt warning from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan engaged in running…
Dozens of Shiites Reported Killed in Raid by Syria Rebels
New York Times 12 Jun 2013 – Battalions of Sunni fighters stormed a village in eastern Syria, reportedly killing at least 30 people, in a reprisal raid that underscored the sectarian tone of the war.
Syrian Rebel Attack Kills 60 Shiites, Activists Say
New York Times 12 Jun 2013 – Syrian rebels have attacked a village in the country’s east, killing dozens of Shiites, mostly pro-government fighters, activists said Wednesday.
Al Fujayrah Journal: In the Crash of Bull Horns, Echoes of a Desert Land of Old
New York Times 12 Jun 2013 – A competition called “bull butting” by some in the United Arab Emirates has entertained crowds and given bragging rights to bull owners for as long as people there can remember.
Treasury: Tax breaks equal deficit
Globes Main News – If all tax exemptions were cancelled, VAT could be cut to 16%, and income tax and the companies tax could be slashed.
Fischer: We’ll have secular minority within decades
Globes Main News – Stanley Fischer said that the haredim and Arabs probably aren’t responsible for the increase in labor force participation.
Who will be the next Waze?
Globes Main News – “Globes” selects some of Israel’s most promising start up candidates for the next big exit.
Wed: Mellanox still falling as TASE stays flat
Globes Main News – Mellanox continues to lose ground ahead of its delisting while Gazit-Globe sank following a failed offering.
Teva to pay $1.6b for patent infringement
Globes Main News – Teva will compensate Pfizer and Takeda for infringing the patent on reflux treatment Protonix.
Rabbis impose boycott over modesty at Jerusalem mall
Globes Macro Economics – Ten local rabbis have signed a petition calling for a boycott of the Ramot Mall, while secular residents are demonstrating in support of it.
Terrorism, not war concerns security forces most
Globes Aerospace & Defense – 250 Israeli and foreign companies displayed their homeland security wares at the ISFED exhibition in Tel Aviv.
Golda Meir Was First Israeli Leader to Expel African-(American) Refugees
Tikun Olam – 1971 letter to Golda Meir applauding her expulsion of Black Israelites . The current furor in Israel about the “epidemic” of African refugees “flooding” the country is unfortunately not new. Nor is the plan by the Netanyahu government to throw them into concentration camps or expel them. …
U.S. gov’t sides with ‘UN Watch’ and lobby and against Richard Falk
Mondoweiss – Poor Samantha Power. The post of UN ambassador will be a glittering decoration on her resume, but the amount of her working hours she spends cosseting the Israel lobby is about to soar, with the result that she will sacrifice even more of her reputation as…
The kids are back, and it’s not alright
Mondoweiss – Last month we did a post on a group of Jewish kids declaring they won’t be ethnically cleansed from their “native land.” And though they live in California, they weren’t talking about California: but Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Within hours of our post, the…
Report from Hassan Karajah’s latest military court hearing
Mondoweiss – Tuesday, June 4th was the latest hearing in the case of the detained human rights defender Hassan Karajah . Before the hearing I met with Hassan’s fiancé Sundos who told me about Hassan and his case. Sundos and Hassan were engaged in December 2012, just one month…
Former Yale official accuses Yale ‘unequivocally’ of anti-Semitism
Mondoweiss – Two years ago Yale closed down the Yale Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism because its purpose was too frankly political: to support Israel. Ehud Barak was on the outfit’s board . And at a conference, it hosted settler leader Itamar Marcus, Elliott Abrams, Islam-basher Steve…
Birthright Women Marry Later, Tend To Wed Jews
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2013 – Women who went on Birthright trips to Israel tend to marry later than other Jews and are more likely to marry within the faith, a new study shows. Click here for the rest of the article…
Spiralling Syria Violence Could Suck In Israel, U.N. Chief Warns
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2013 – Escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is jeopardizing a four-decade old ceasefire between Israel and Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. Click here for the rest of the article…
Scantily Clad Israeli Female Soldiers Pole Dance Video Goes Viral
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2013 – A video of female Israeli soldiers’ sexy pole dance has hit the internet just days after a scandal erupted over half-naked Facebook photos. WATCH the video. Click here for the rest of the article…
What Israel Should Learn From Nelson Mandela
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2013 – The first and clearest lesson one can learn from Mandela is that peace is only achievable if the putative peacemakers believe in it. Click here for the rest of the article…
Did Satmars Bite Hand That Feeds Them With Anti-Israel Message at Draft Rally?
The Forward New 12 Jun 2013 – Hasidic Jews held a huge rally against Israeli efforts to draft the ultra-Orthodox. Will their anti-Zionist views damage ties to mainstream Jewish groups that are addressing poverty? Click here for the rest of the article…
Tunisia: Nation Requests Red Cross to Negotiate With Syria Fate of Tunisian Detainees – Jerandi
allAfrica.com 12 Jun 2013 – [Tunis Afrique Presse]Tunis -The International Red Cross is currently negotiating with the Syrian authorities, at the request of Tunisia, the fate of Tunisian detainees in Syria, in the presence of a delegation of the civil society, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Othman Jerandi.
CAT Free @ UW Commencement
Rachel Corrie Foundation 12 Jun 2013 – JOIN SUPER-UW AT COMMENCEMENT THIS YEAR! Invite Friends on Facebook Here! This year, the University of Washington Commencement speaker is Jon Huntsman. Best known these days for being a Republican presidential hopeful in the 2012 elections, he also holds a prominent position as a board member…
A Letter to Jon Huntsman and the UW Class of 2013
Rachel Corrie Foundation 12 Jun 2013 – Dear Graduates of 2013 and Mr. Jon Huntsman, Congratulations to the UW graduating class of 2013! We – your fellow students, faculty, alumni, and members of the greater Seattle community – write to recognize your achievement but, also, to share with you and with commencement speaker,…
Palestine solidarity activists take over G4S meeting, catch occupation profiteer by surprise
Global BDS 9 Jun 2013 – Campaigners protest G4S Annual General Meeting ( War on Want ) Palestine solidarity activists, Stop G4S campaigners and a Danish member of parliament combined to take over the annual general meeting of G4S in London Thursday afternoon and focused the spotlight on the security company’s complicity in human…
Syria rebels ‘kill Shia villagers’
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Rebels have attacked a village in eastern Syria, killing dozens of Shia Muslims, most of them pro-government fighters, activists say.
Iran candidates in final election push
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Iran’s six presidential hopefuls are wrapping up their final day of campaigning ahead of Friday’s elections.
Jordan passes Abu Qatada treaty
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Jordan’s parliament approves treaty with UK designed to lead to deportation of radical cleric Abu Qatada from UK
University of Washington Community to Graduation Speaker: Stop Bulldozer Sales to Israel
US Campaign to End the Occupation 12 Jun 2013 – Press release from our member groups Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights- University of Washington and The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice . You can read the open letter to Jon Huntsman signed by more than 100 groups here . Republican presidential hopeful, governor of Utah,…
On how Israel Does its Best to Justify Occupation
US Campaign to End the Occupation 12 Jun 2013 – Israeli authorities claimed recently that labeling products made in Israel would harm Palestinians . This happens…
Why Washington Fears Iran
Al-Akhbar Blogs 12 Jun 2013 – “Tehran has developed technical expertise in a number of areas – including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles – from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons,” reads Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper’s April 2013 report to the…
Traditions Showcased, Not Lived, By Bedouins of Wadi Rum
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – Photo Blog by Lea Najjar Once an unpopulated nomadic outpost, the village of Wadi Rum is now home to 1,200 Bedouin residents. Lying 60 kilometers east of the Red Sea resort of Aqaba, it is the largest wadi, or valley, in Jordan. In the guides’ concrete-floored…
Egypt: Contempt of Religion Cases on the Rise
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – An Egyptian artist plays the Oud as demonstrators perform a sit-in at the office of culture minister, Alaa Abdelfattah, in Cairo on 6 June 2013, calling for his resignation. (Photo: AFP – Khaled Desouki) An Egyptian artist plays the Oud as demonstrators perform a sit-in at…
Lebanon: Economic Committees’ Neutrality Cracks Under Pressure
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – Another politically noteworthy speech came from Pierre Ashkar, head of the Hotel Owners Association in Lebanon. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Another politically noteworthy speech came from Pierre Ashkar, head of the Hotel Owners Association in Lebanon. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) On Tuesday, the Economic Committees, a group that…
Israeli officer forces Palestinian Muslim to drink wine at gunpoint
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – An Israeli soldier confronts Palestinians during a protest in which they try to set up a tent on 8 June 2013 near the settlement of Bat Ayin and the West Bank village of Surif, west of Hebron. (Photo: AFP – Hazem Bader) Israeli soldiers arrested a…
Ex-Gaddafi premier tried for murder and corruption
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – Slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s last premier Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi (C) arrives at the court for his trial in the capital, Tripoli on 12 June 2013. (Photo: AFP – Mahmud Turkia) A Libyan court on Wednesday adjourned until August the murder and corruption trial of Muammar Gaddafi’s…
Kuwaiti supermarket chains boycott Iranian goods
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2013 – Kuwaiti minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah (C), speaks during the higher joint committee meeting at Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry in Kuwait City on 3 June 2013. (Photo: AFP – Yasser al-Zayyat) Several Kuwaiti supermarket chains have begun boycotting products from Iran due to the…
Survivors of Qusayr: We Lost Because of “Advanced Weapons”
Al-Akhbar Politics 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…
Syria rebels ‘kill Shia villagers’
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Rebels have attacked a village in eastern Syria, killing dozens of Shia Muslims, most of them pro-government fighters, activists say.
Iran candidates in final election push
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Iran’s six presidential hopefuls are wrapping up their final day of campaigning ahead of Friday’s elections.
Jordan passes Abu Qatada treaty
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – Jordan’s parliament approves treaty with UK designed to lead to deportation of radical cleric Abu Qatada from UK
TV images show recovering Bouteflika
BBC 12 Jun 2013 – The first images of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika since he went to Paris in April to be treated for a mini-stroke are broadcast on TV.
Articles
Marching for dignity: Thousands take action against the occupation of Palestine
Sarah Marusek, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 6/12/2013
Activists in Palestine took part in the Global March to Jerusalem, along with activists from dozens of countries.
Gaza – 46 years ago this month, Israel seized East Jerusalem, the home of many significant holy sites for Muslims, Christians and Jews, as well as the proposed capital for any future Palestinian state. Since then, Israel has increasingly undertaken measures – the placing of restrictions on Palestinian movement, the construction of a separation wall, the confiscation of Palestinian land, and the building of Jewish-only settlements – that are threatening to push out the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem entirely.
Indeed, according to a report issued last December by the International Crisis Group, Jerusalem “no longer is the city it was” even “in 2000, when Israelis and Palestinians first negotiated its fate.” And this was the case despite the fact that many countries and international institutions have frequently criticized the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, and the UN has deemed some of the above measures against international law.
In the absence of any international effort to really try to stop Israel’s attempt to “change facts on the ground” in the holy city, many thousands of Palestinians mobilized on Friday, June 7 in a Global March to Jerusalem (GMJ) to draw attention to the continued violations against East Jerusalem and its people. This action is part of a process of Palestinians once again increasingly mobilizing through non-violent political actions, such as the recent mass prisoner hunger strikes, weekly demonstrations against the separation wall, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
Palestinians held a peaceful mass rally in Beit Hanoun, the location closest to Jerusalem in Gaza, however Israeli police violently suppressed demonstrations in Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank. Peaceful mass demonstrations also took place in the neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt, as well as in Tunis, Mauritania, Morocco, Yemen, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey. more.. e-mail
ADL Spies
Jeffrey Blankfort, CounterPunch 6/12/2013
The Strange History of the Anti-Defamation League
“[T]he Anti-Defamation League for many years has maintained a very important, confidential investigative coverage of Arab activities and propaganda….Our information, in addition to being essential for our own operations, has been of great value and service to both the United States State Department and the Israeli government. All data have been made available to both countries with full knowledge to each that we were the source.” – Letter from Benjamin R. Epstein, National Director, Anti-Defamation League to Saul Joftes, Executive Secretary, B’nai B’rith, July 7, 1961.
Those were the days when snooping usually meant digging through garbage cans, checking other people’s mailboxes, and primitive phone tapping. How the Anti-Defamation League is doing it today one can only imagine.
Over the last three days of April, the ADL celebrated its 100th anniversary in Washington DC in high style with Vice President Joe Biden the featured speaker at its Centennial Gala dinner on April 30 and Attorney General Eric Holder doing the obligatory genuflecting the day before.
Standing next to the ADL’s ubiquitous current national director, Abe Foxman, Biden told the one thousand paying guests, “You have become the conscience of this country, no matter what the issue. You have been a pillar of the Jewish community, but you reach out and you have reached out your embrace for all communities.”
For hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals the ADL’s embrace has been too close for comfort and “unconscionable” would be a term more befitting the organization’s activities. What is definitely in order is a reminder that this year also marks the 20th anniversary of the exposure of a nation-wide spying operation run by the ADL that went back at least five decades. more.. e-mail
The Palestinian struggle is a black struggle
Susan Abulhawa, Electronic Intifada 6/11/2013
Who are the Palestinians’ natural allies?
One of the pillars of my trip to Gaza with the Palestine Literature Festival turned out to be an ongoing discussion regarding the essential blackness of the Palestinian struggle and the need to form greater ties with our “natural allies” from Africa and South America in particular.
At one event, a man in the audience questioned the usefulness of seeking alliances or help from Africa, where, he said, people are “hungry and poor and in need of help themselves.”
I pointed out that the image he holds of African peoples was planted in his mind by those who also plant the same image of us around the world. We, too, are viewed as helpless, hungry and needy. We, too, are seen as less human somehow, as savages, terrorists. The various layers and tempers of our and their intellectual, cultural, social and historical lives are ignored, or worse, intentionally obscured. Instead, the challenges of our societies are highlighted as all-encompassing truths.
But a better answer came from Ayman, a gentle soul who is trying to start up a film program in Gaza to help children cope with the violent realities of their lives. He said, simply, “So what? What does hunger and poverty have to do with dignity, anyway?”
Sameeha, a brilliant Palestinian writer in Gaza, noted that such reductive stereotypes are precisely the things that hinder badly-needed alliances among oppressed peoples. She, along with Rana, the indefatigable, ever-smiling and warm organizer of PalFest in Gaza, also pointed out that too often, when we speak of engaging “the world,” what we mean is Europe and the US, because someone convinced us somewhere along the line that these were the only places that mattered. That somehow our freedom can only come from the same nations that facilitated and cheered on the destruction of our society. more.. e-mail
Mongolia, Canada, Israel & the United States
Macdonald Stainsby, CounterPunch 6/12/2013
Colonialism, Mining and Oil Shale: Don’t Let the Genie Out of the Bottle
“These open Zionists and militarists have made clear their goal is to make Israel an oil superpower…”
Ulan Bator: When you get out of the plane and enter the Chinngis Khan Airport just outside of Ulan Bator, you quickly realize that Mongolia is a former Soviet Republic. An incredibly drab and oddly out of date international airport, the walls of the customs area have peeling paint and general disorganization as you struggle to figure out where any line up for customs begins and ends. You can see the stone faced bureaucrats and soldiers in seemingly dated uniforms standing around while you’re getting ready to show off the required prearranged visa. After you stumble your way through that mess, you get to the conveyor belt that jams with luggage bags that are apparently much larger now on average than when it was first constructed. The feeling of being in a time warp lasts– right up until you step outside for the first time.
Immediately upon getting outside, in the dark and on a chilly night reminiscent of northern Canada despite the date being in the middle of May, I was confronted by a man from my home province of British Columbia, Canada. Skipping the usual opening conversation about the ongoing hockey playoffs I normally attempt with ex-pats carrying the same passport as I, he told me immediately that he was working for one of the large mining companies.
“Eight weeks on, two weeks off,” he explained. I thought I was talking to a tar sands employee from Newfoundland in a weird shock to my senses. “I don’t care much about being here, it’s all about the money.” This would essentially set the tone of how I would interact with Canadians and Australians who cover the city of UB, many but certainly not all working at the simply giant Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine. In the days since I returned from Mongolia, the mine has been given the go-ahead for full operations– on a mine site roughly the size of Manhattan.
What isn’t the size of Manhattan is Ulan Bator, the capital city and home to over half the population of the vast territory of Mongolia. It’s population is officially slightly more than 1.7 million, out of less than 3 million in the entire country…. more.. e-mail
‘Made in Gaza’: Breaking the Siege
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Jun 2013 – By Eric Walberg The builders of Gaza’s Ark hope to bring Gazan goods to the world. The latest plan to try to break the illegal siege of Gaza, according to organizer Michael Coleman at Sunday’s press conference in the port of Gaza, is to refurbish their very second-hand fishing boat, fill it with Gazan products (date products, embroidery, craft items and more) and sail to another Mediterranean port, like any normal exporter. Though this would hardly be earth-shattering news in any other coastal area, it is hoped that this time Israel will blink, and not scuttle this modest attempt to help beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza stand on their own feet. “Israel always claimed that the blockade was meant to prevent the smuggling of illegal weapons into Gaza. In that case, it should have no problem with a boat leaving the Gaza Strip,” said Mahfouz Kabariti, head of Gaza’s fishing and…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
To subscribe, please write to OccupationNews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visithttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/OccupationNews/join
The New Dark Age 