Today is Israeli Independence Day, the 58th anniversary of the declaration of the independence of the state of Israeli in 1948 by Ben-Gurion. Via Engage, Hillel Schenker talks about attending a memorial service for the Israelis who have died in Israel’s wars since 1948, and marking Independence Day: ‘So we sat together, Israelis and Palestinians [...]
It’s extraordinary how little attention the situation in the OT is getting just now. The Guardian carried a story entitled Gaza on the Brink of Implosion yesterday, but overall no-one seems to know or care what is going on as Israel, the US, and the EU impose a harsh collective punishment on the Palestinians because [...]
Gush Shalom have issued a “Call to Europe” to stop the blockade on the Palestinian government. And European Jews for a Just Peace have written to the European Union: President Jose Manuel Barroso European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels Belgium Amsterdam, April 10 2006 Dear President Barroso, It is with great dismay, [...]
Amira Hass writes in Ha’aretz about the end result of imprisoning an entire people behind walls, fences and checkpoints: The convergence plan, which coagulates the violence of occupation in densely populated Palestinian areas, will bring forth and intensify three types of Palestinian rage: national rage due to the sabotage of the Palestinian project for a [...]
Ismail Haniyeh, the new Palestinian Prime Minister and a Hamas leader, discusses the demand on Hamas to recognise Israel in today’s Guardian. The US and EU have been calling for Hamas to disarm and recognise the state of Israel, or lose foreign aide, since Hamas was elected in the Palestinian elections in January. However, Haniyeh [...]
As expected, Kadima won the elections yesterday, making Olmert the new Prime Minister. The margin of victory was less than predicted, however, with Kadima winning only 28 of 120 seats (99% of votes have been counted) and the turnout of 63.2% was the lowest in Israel’s history. Yesterday, the Palestinians also voted to confirm Ismail [...]
Thanks Abigael, There is also a link to Glasgow University, so I will be watching it here. Ruth Sirton
As I am sure you have all heard already, Palestinian elections took place on Wednesday: Hamas won 74 seats, and Fatah won 45. Despite global surprise at the results and the initial message from many governments that this result marks a death in the peace process, I think there is reason for optimism here. Firstly, [...]
Today is Holocaust memorial day, the anniversary of liberation from Auschwitz-Birkenau. Throughout my childhood, the phrases repeated on Holocaust memorial (or its equivalent, Yom HaShoah) were one person can make a difference, and we will never forget. Too often the Holocaust is presented as a Jewish issue. It is imperative that we not forget that [...]
Yonatan Ben-Artzi, the nephew of Benjamin Netanyahu, is a conscientious objector from the IDF. A military court of appeals ruled the he would serve a two month jail sentence and pay a fine for refusing to be drafted since 2001. Here’s the full story.
Check out this excellent Haaretz editorial which condemns the Israeli apathy towards Palestinians’ human rights. ‘Cases of abuse of Palestinians, whether by soldiers or by settlers, have stopped making headlines in the press or eliciting shock. Nor do investigations of these incidents appear to be serious, and complaints are ignored until the story is either [...]
The EU has decided not to publish a report on East Jerusalem because of the Israeli elections coming up. ‘Based on information provided by European envoys in the Middle East, it contained “very unpleasant language” about Israel and the security barrier without referring to terrorist activities Israel invokes as the reason for its construction, said [...]
I’m a great believer in visual aids. take a look at this map, created by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on October 18, 2005. The map shows closures and checkpoints in the West Bank, the Green Line, the wall, and settlements.
Last Wednesday, the Edinburgh Univeristy Students’ Association passed a motion at its annual general meeting twinning UofE with Birzeit University. The motion condemns attacks on Palestinian education, and affiliates UofE to the Right to Education campaing at Birzeit. In practical terms, the motion aims to raise awareness of the difficulties facing Palestinian students and teachers [...]
I went to a meeting yesterday organised by the Scottish PSC as part of its launch promotion of a book called “Zionism: the Real Enemy of the Jews”. It was written by Alan Hart, who was famous as a television journalist in the sixties and seventies. The book is a history of Zionism, the first [...]
Professor Jacqueline Rose was Colin Mackay’s guest on this week’s edition of A Life in Question, in which she discussed her interest in Zionism, psychoanalysis and feminism. Identifying with the dissenting tradition within Zionism, exemplified by intellectuals such as Ahad Ha’am, Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt, she argues that their alternative vision of Zionism holds [...]
According to a new report published by B’Tselem and HaMoked, Israel’s policy of “strangulation” has effectively cut the Gaza Strip off from the rest of the world. The report, which documents the grave and prolonged violation of human rights resulting from Israel’s control of the movement of people and goods between Gaza and the rest [...]
Gush Shalom ad published in Ha’aretz, April 1 , 2005: As if… Sharon seems to obey the Supreme Court of Israel. The path of the Separation Wall seems to have been moved to the vicinity of the Green Line. But now it becomes clear that he is building more walls, under the guise of “protecting [...]
The news from Palestine this week seems to be all about Hamas and what is sometimes described as “the decision by Mahmoud Abbas to integrate Hamas into Palestinian politics” and sometimes as “Hamas’s historic compromise”. Which is it, and does it matter? Hamas’s stated objective is to establish an Islamic state in historic Palestine. It [...]
Gush Shalom ad published in Ha’aretz, April 1 , 2005: Great show The Gush Katif settlers who are willing to leave are unable to do so. Why? Because as of now – 115 days before the date set for the withdrawal – there is yet no one to decide upon their compensations, and no one [...]
