A Message From Abdullah Abu Rahmah on International Human Rights Day -
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- Written by Abdullah Abu Rahmah from prison Abdullah Abu Rahmah from prison
- Published: 13 December 2010 13 December 2010
- Hits: 3774 3774
A Message From Abdullah Abu Rahmah on International Human Rights Day - PLEASE READ
To: International Solidarity Movement <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Subject: A Message From Abdullah Abu Rahmah on International Human Rights Day
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A year ago tonight, on International Human Rights Day, our apartment in Ramallah was broken into by the Israeli military in the middle of the night and I was torn away from my wife Majida, my daughters Luma and Layan, and my son Laith, who at the time was only nine months old.
As the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements I was convicted of "organizing illegal demonstrations" and "incitement." The "illegal demonstrations" refer to the nonviolent resistance campaign that my village has been waging for the last six years against Israel's Apartheid Wall that is being built on our land.
I find it strange that the military judges could call our demonstrations illegal and charge me for participating in and organizing them after the world's highest legal body, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, has ruled that Israel's wall within the occupied territories is illegal and must be dismantled. Even the Israeli supreme court ruled that the Wall's route in Bil'in is illegal.
I have been accused of inciting violence: this charge is also puzzling. If the check points, closures, ongoing land theft, wall and settlements, night raids into our homes and violent oppression of our protests does not incite violence, what does?
Read more: A Message From Abdullah Abu Rahmah on International Human Rights Day -
Where Exactly can we Live?
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- Written by Joharah Baker for MIFTAH Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
- Published: 10 December 2010 10 December 2010
- Hits: 4343 4343
Let's presume the majority of Israel's government and people are not of the opinion of some other more radical elements in that society who call for the transfer of Palestinians outside the country [preferably to Jordan]. Let's say the majority of Israelis still believe in "peace" – and I use this word loosely, and a settlement – even more loosely – with the Palestinians. If this majority believes the Palestinians should be able to live on land it can call its own, then the question that arises in light of circumstances that point to the contrary, is where exactly are these Palestinians allowed to live?
I know this sounds simplistic and perhaps a bit sarcastic, which it admittedly is. But it is a valid question considering Israel's increasingly intransigent positions towards facilitating such a settlement. Will Palestinians live in Jerusalem? Well, no, at least not in a Jerusalem that is part of their future state of Palestine. Jerusalem, if you recall, is the "undivided, eternal capital of Israel." Israel has made it quite clear over the years it is not about to relinquish that self-granted, so-called God-given right.
Ok, then if not in Jerusalem, where else can the Palestinians live comfortably and freely? Let's see, in the occupied territories. Yes, even international law insists that land captured by Israel in the 1967 War is occupied land. The borders of the West Bank and Gaza [and east Jerusalem for that matter] are the internationally accepted perimeters for a final settlement between the two states. It only makes sense that Israel withdraw from the areas it is militarily controlling – and please, no one dare try and say it is not controlling the major Palestinian cities, because this is not the funny pages. That way, it can remain on the land it "acquired" [I'm being nice here with my choice of words] in the 1948 War and we can finally live as any other nation in our rightful homeland.
Former European leaders: Sanction Israel over settlement building
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- Written by Akiva Eldar Akiva Eldar
- Published: 10 December 2010 10 December 2010
- Hits: 3959 3959
26 former top EU officials, including ex EU chief Solana and former German President Richard von Weizsacker, urge world powers to confront Jerusalem over its refusal to obey international law.
A group of 26 senior former European leaders who held power during the past decade are calling for strong measures against Israel in response to its settlement policy and refusal to abide by international law.
Settlements - AP - Sept 27, 2010
In an unusual letter sent Thursday to the leadership of the European Union and the governments of the EU's 27 member states, the signatories, including former heads of state, ministers and heads of European organizations, criticize Israel's policies.
Among those signing the letter are the former European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, former German President Richard von Weizsacker, former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales, former president of the EU Commission and former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.
The group drew up a series of recommendations to the current EU leadership during a meeting in London in mid-November.
Read more: Former European leaders: Sanction Israel over settlement building
New Report “All-Out War: Israel Against Democracy”
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- Written by The Coalition of Women for Peace The Coalition of Women for Peace
- Published: 09 December 2010 09 December 2010
- Hits: 4488 4488
The Coalition of Women for Peace, one of the leading groups currently active in resisting Israel's entrenched occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as its internal oppression of marginalized groups, has just issued a milestone report. The report provides an insightful, highly instructive and carefully researched analysis of the accelerated anti-democratic thrust of Israel's current regime, shored up by its civil society henchmen. It presents detailed documentation of the various strands of this process, while enabling an understanding of their overall cohesion in an unprecedented assault on the vestiges of democracy in Israel.
A must read, in my view, for anyone who cares about either democracy or Palestine/Israel.
Rela Mazali
Read more: New Report “All-Out War: Israel Against Democracy”
Support grows for Israeli rabbis' 'racist' letter
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- Written by Marius Schattner Marius Schattner
- Published: 09 December 2010 09 December 2010
- Hits: 4147 4147
[PHOTO: An Israeli soldier inspects graffiti, in Hebrew, believed to have been written by Israeli Jewish settlers on a mosque wall in the West Bank city of Qalqilia] December 4, 2008. MaanImages/Khaleel Reash
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Scores more Israeli rabbis have added their names to a document calling on Jews to avoid renting or selling property to non-Jews, despite an outpouring of criticism, media reported on Thursday. Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported that some 300 religious figures had signed the public statement, which warns that "it is forbidden in the Torah to sell a house or a field in the land of Israel to a foreigner." The document first emerged on Tuesday, and was swiftly condemned by figures across Israeli society, from rabbinical groups and rights organisations to politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The statement calls for those who rent or sell property to non-Jews to be ostracised by the larger community.
"After someone sells or rents just one flat, the value of all the neighbouring flats drops ... He who sells or rents (to non-Jews) causes his neighbours a big loss and his sin is great," it says.
"Anyone who sells (property to a non-Jew) must be cut off!!"
The manifesto quotes extensively from Jewish writings, including from the Bible. It cites Exodus 23:33, which reads: "Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."
The document initially garnered the signatures of some 50 rabbis, most of them employed by the state and minister to Jewish communities across Israel.
Read more: Support grows for Israeli rabbis' 'racist' letter