UNESCO recognises PA as state in charge of Bethlehem’s ancient sites
July 1st, 2012
UNESCO's World Heritage committee has agreed to accept the
PA's request for the Church of the Nativity and Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem to be accepted, as an emergency,
onto the list of sites in danger. This will facilitate rapid restoration work.
The PA's bid was opposed by Israel
and the USA,
whose spokesman misrepresented the judgment of an expert committee.(link to
this in post). Haaretz and NY Times.
Religious Zionists need not attach special meaning to Israel
June 29th, 2012
Jerry Haber has been pondering the often-linked tenets of
Orthodox Judaism and Zionism. He finds adherents do not have to see special
meaning in the State of Israel nor tolerate indifference or oblivion towards
Palestinians and their history.
Hard times for Caterpillar and Veolia
June 29th, 2012
US pension fund divests from Caterpillar because of
'controversy [about] the occupied Palestinian territories” - despite denials by
pro-Israel advocates reports Richard Silverstein; Veolia has lost its tender
for a Dutch public transport contract (Al Haq); and is engaged in a strategy of
divestment and global shrinkage.
Six political prisoners of PA on protest hunger strike
June 29th, 2012
If the principal aim of the PA is to be Israel's 'partner for peace',
speaking for all Palestinians, then it follows they will crush articulate or
organised dissenting voices. Chief dissenter is Hamas, many of whose members
were arrested in a 2010 crackdown by the PA's security service.. Now six of
those detained - whose release was ordered by the Palestinian High Court - are
on hunger strike. Occupied Palestine,
PCHR and background article.
How Israel put Palestinian leadership into a deep freeze
June 28th, 2012
1st, Ramzy Baroud says the claim that the freezing of Gaza is a response to Hamas -who took control of Gaza in 2007 - is belied
by historical evidence. 2nd, from the 2004 archives, a long interview with Dov
Weisglass, Ariel Sharon's fixer, on how Israel put relations with
Palestinians into 'formaldehyde', making them of no account. 7 months later, Israel withdrew from Gaza,
8 months after that Sharon
fell into a deep coma.
G4S boasts of doing great business in Middle East
June 28th, 2012
G4S and Israel
seem made for each other, having in common a paramount concern with security.
More surprising might be the contracts the company is winning in Arab
countries, despite the official position of many on the oPt. Rather, says Al
Akhbar, it is Europeans who are leading moves to question and boycott the
company. JfJfP is at the forefront of the campaign to stop G4S winning
contracts in the UK.
Wealth Israel gains by occupation: Palestine’s water, minerals, land, labour
June 27th, 2012
For protesting middle-class youth priced out of the housing
market, the answer lay in the high cost of the occupation, sucking state funds
into the military and subsidies to settlements. This is denial, writes Noam
Sheizaf; Israel
profits financially from the land and resources it controls through occupation.
Ami Kaufman and Emily L. Hauser join in the discussion.
Tight-lipped Putin pressed to bring Iran, Syria to order, but warm words for Abbas
June 27th, 2012
President Vladimir Putin visited Israel
and the West Bank on Monday and Tuesday. He
was warmly received by both governments who see him as able to move parts other
leaders can't reach. He gave nothing away in public on Iran and Syria, but let it be known that he
praised Mahmoud Abbas for taking a 'responsible' position. NY Times and AP.
Settlements and treatment of Palestinians making two states impossible says EU
June 27th, 2012
A meeting of the EU Council in May affirmed that EU policy
was for security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and an agreement on two
states. But settlements, pushing Arabs out of East
Jerusalem, undermining the PA and more are making this impossible.
Ireland's
Foreign Minister concludes that the EU should impose a ban on the entry to the
EU of all settlement products - and of violent settlers.
Lawyers’ report indicts Israel over treatment of child prisoners
June 27th, 2012
A team of lawyers funded by the UK Foreign Office has found
that Israel's
military authorities breach many articles of international law - some amounting
to torture and cruelty - in their arrest and imprisonment of Palestinian
minors. News report of Children in Military Custody from the Independent,
Executive Summary of the report and link to full report.
Board of Deputies launches attack on Christian churches’ programme
June 26th, 2012
The Board of Deputies, the 'establishment' body of British
Jews, has launched an attack on the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, a World Council of Churches
initiative which supports Palestinians under attack. The sudden move seems to
be a response to growing public antagonism to the Occupation, as is a petition
against the Co-op's boycott decision from 'We Believe in Israel'. JfJfP
issues a statement supporting EAPPI and criticising the Board of Deputies for
its misleading attack.
Summer protest 2012: more angry, more political
June 26th, 2012
When Daphni Leef pitched her tent in Rothschild Boulevard last summer,
sparking the J14 protest, it was regarded with sympathy, a quixotic and girlish
act of defiance. This year, on Friday, she was roughly arrested, as were over
85 more protesters the next day. The protesters are angrier, they mention the
Occupation, the mainstream media turn their backs. Outsiders +972, Tikkun Daily
and Maki report.
Shock at fate of black refugees to Israel
June 26th, 2012
The flight of people from east Africa in particular has
caused problems for African and European countries - but none has reacted with
such rejection as Israel,
people and government. Donald Macintyre reports, 1. Political black Americans
have taken up their plight, connecting it to US-Israel colonialism (2) - which
may cement the pro-Israel fervour of tea-party Christians. The official
solution to the racism is the vast prison compound being built in the Negev, 3.
‘The war has started. Pay the price!’
June 25th, 2012
Another settler attack on a mosque - fire and bellicose
graffiti; it's no longer news. News: a synagogue in Moshav Maor has 'allahu
akbar' sprayed on it.
Romney woos tea-party Christians by promising uncritical support for Israel
June 25th, 2012
More evidence that it's right-wing Christians who provide
the popular support for Israel,
especially its military hardware, in the US. A week after Mitt Romney
promised the Faith and Freedom Coalition (4, 5) to do the opposite of whatever
Obama did towards Israel
(1), the Republican Jewish Coalition has seized on the issue to win Jewish
support for Romney, hoping fealty to Israel will be their trump card
(3). Mitt proves it (2).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Say what is on your mind, but observe the rules of debate. No foul language is allowed, no matter how anger-evoking the posted article may be.
Thank you,
TruthSeeker