NEWS: News Updates

International letter to Obama: give money to Israel only if it obeys law

January 13th, 2013

Jewish Voice for Peace has initiated a public letter to President Obama asking him to act on an obvious principle: Israel should not receive state money from the US (or any country) if it does not comply with national and international laws. This follows a letter from 15 Christian leaders saying 'unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to this deterioration (of peace prospects)'. JfJfP endorses the public letter to Obama. To sign, click on link in posting. The letter will be delivered on Inauguration Day, January 21.

UPDATE: Illegal night-time eviction of village outpost set up on E1

January 13th, 2013

A group of Palestinians has created the first new Palestinian village since 1967 - by erecting tents in the E1 area. They eat and drink, talk and tweet and pray together. Underneath a Palestinian flag. Their message is "Palestinians are no longer content with policies of occupation and settlement." The Civil Administration has ordered their eviction, the High Court has stayed the order. Hundreds of Palestinians have come to support the protest camp, initiated by Palestinian Popular Committees. UPDATE: illegal eviction begins at 3 a.m.

Fear drives Israel further and further to the right

January 13th, 2013 

From the early optimism and secular liberalism (albeit racially-exclusive) of Israel in which left-wing parties got the majority of votes the same country now has a solidly right-wing majority. In a pre-election article Harriet Sherwood asks Israeli voters to account for the shift. She finds the predominant feeling is a defensive fear which makes voting for the left like "committing suicide".

No limits for settlement employers

January 11th, 2013 

Around 37000 Palestiians work in settlement enterprises, 10,000 of them without work permits. They have no unions and most are paid below the minimum wage in sweatshop conditions. Four fifths of them would like to work elsewhere but there is nowhere else. Ideal for companies looking to make a quick profit with little hassle. This new report from Who Profits is more polemic than detailed analysis - its purpose is to counter the argument made by companies benefitting fom this labour regime that they provide work for Palestinians.

Sweetening us in Sderot with blood

January 10th, 2013 

Nomika Zion, a resident of a kibbutz in Sderot, the town bordering Gaza which has been on the receiving end of many rockets, addresses PM Netanyahu with an eloquent lament: his lethal attacks on Gaza, delivered in the name of protecting habitations like Sderot, only fill her soul with fear and grief. She is one more Jew who cries 'Israel, not in my name.'

78:22 – the formula which could have resolved the tragic clash of two impotent peoples

January 10th, 2013 

The heritage of those in Israel/Palestine cannot be traced through time on the land; it comes direct from European antisemitism and imperialism leading to 'this tragic historical clash'. Tony Klug pinpoints the moment in 1988 when Palestinians accepted a two-state solution and the clash could have been disarmed. Disastrously for themselves, Israelis act as though this never happened. 2nd, MJ Rosenberg has pointed out the significance of the Palestinian acceptance of 78:22. Religious readers will know the Biblical 78:22 (Psalms) cries: 'Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:' Perhaps 'they' had more sense than today's religious zealots.

NGO Monitor remains silent on where its funds come from

January 9th, 2013 

Gerald Steinberg, vigorous persecutor of pro-Palestinian NGOs, who lost the case he brought to the European Court of Justice on transparency funding for such NGOs, remains tight-lipped on where he is finding the funds for his legal costs. Ali Abuminah reports.

Get stuck in: planting olive trees in Palestine

January 9th, 2013 

Tu Bishvat, the new year of the tree, is January 26 this year. Thousands of new olive tree saplings have to be planted every year to replace those uprooted or broken by settlers and IDF (3). Rabbis for Human Rights calls for volunteer planters, and the Joint Advocacy Initiative wants sponsors (2). Last, links to the petition to Stop Uprooting Palestinian Trees.

A party for Arabs and Jews offers new hope to the left

January 9th, 2013 

The only parties to vote for are those shared by Arabs and Jews says Noam Sheizaf. That means Hadash, Da’am or Balad 1) . Da'am Workers' Party is the new one, led by Asma Aghbarieh-Zahalka, an anti-capitalist who was previously active in the social protest movement. Avner Cohen waxes lyrical about this new hope for the left 2). Da'am's statement of its principles is third.

Staying under idiots’ rule – or the courage to make our own peace

January 8th, 2013 

In the second part of his essay Faysal Mikdadi puts forward his modest proposal for peace. It begins with both Palestinians and Israelis accepting that the other is not going to go away. It means having the courage to make yourself by forgetting. And then the details of what sort of state, what sort of right of return, might work so as to end over 60 years of misery. Unless both Palestinians and Israelis prefer the status quo.

Gung-ho militarists use antisemitic smear to block Obama’s choices

January 8th, 2013

When President Obama first mooted the name of Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel as his next Secretary of Defense, it unleashed charges of antisemitism against the senator. It was notable how quickly these were scotched by many influential Americans (2). Perhaps learning how flimsy such accusations are, Obama has now gone ahead and nominated him. Might this spell the beginning of the end for using antisemitism as a cheap smear (1) to upset a gullible public and reveal the real political reasons for opposing Obama's decisions (3 and 1)?

Zoabi: ‘I am a democrat and they are a rabble’.

January 8th, 2013 

From this interview with Haneen Zoabi: On the hysterical hatred of her: "I am fighting for equality between the country’s Jewish and Arab citizens according to the letter of the law, and that infuriates many people." Obliterating the heritage of MidEast Jews: "That is the Zionist project, which was out to create a new artificial Jew". On Palestinians: "We are a passive society...We are among the most quiescent minorities in the world." Read on...

UK embeds a hub and an envoy in Israeli enterprise

January 7th, 2013 

We have been remiss in following the new Conservative policy of a uniquely intimate relationship with Israel's hi-tech industries - the 'focal point of the bolstered relationship'. It has been assiduously pursued by David Cameron, the Conservative Friends of Israel, the FCO and, most of all, Britain's ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould. So here's a bumper catch-up pack. (Yes, a few do mention boycott)

Why Jewish Home is making a splash – although Bibi is home and dry

January 7th, 2013 

Unlike everyone else, Mitchell Plitnick does find some energy in the Israeli election in the form of Naftali Bennett, zionist millionaire, although Bennett's 'Israeli Stability Inititative' sums up in name the theme of the election. The fresh voice of Jewish Home (HaBayit HaYehudi) suggests annexing Area C is feasible, will safeguard Israel's water supply and cement Israel's stability. It is currently 3rd in the polls. 2nd, Gil Troy on Bibi as the 'status quo king'. UPDATE Jonathan Freedland on the shock to the diaspora of the ultra-ultra-right-wing move, 3).

Polls find no sign of life in Israeli politics

January 7th, 2013 

Countless polls, countless results, same contradiction: Voters want vigorous economic life and peace with Palestinians. They will vote for parties and leaders who offer neither, speak of neither. Why? Adam Keller, 1) and Uri Avnery 2) offer their interpretations of a country so paralysed by the thought of disturbing its peace (sic) that preserving the status quo is the only option. Only outside action can effect change.