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EU takes tougher stance on Israeli settlements

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Written by Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian
Published: 17 July 2013 17 July 2013


'Earthquake' directive will prohibit EU states from signing deals with Israel unless settlement exclusion clause is included

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 July 2013 08.50 EDT

The directive covers all areas of co-operation between the EU and Israel, including economics, science and culture, but excludes trade. Photograph: Reuters/Corbis
Future agreements between the European Union and Israel must include the explicit exclusion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem, according to a new EU directive described by an Israeli official as an "earthquake".

The EU guidelines, adopted on 30 June, will prohibit the issuing of grants, funding, prizes or scholarships unless a settlement exclusion clause is included. Israeli institutions and bodies situated across the pre-1967 Green Line will be automatically ineligible.

Read more: EU takes tougher stance on Israeli settlements

White House unsure plan to waive visas for Israelis will fly, Israel seeking new, unique "Major Stragetic Partner" status!

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Written by BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE
Published: 17 July 2013 17 July 2013

White House unsure plan to waive visas for Israelis will fly
Some lawmakers and administration officials concerned that Arab-Americans would still be barred from entering Israel

By BRADLEY KLAPPER and MATTHEW LEE

Times of Israel,   July 15, 2013
http://www.timesofisrael.com/white-house-unsure-plan-to-waive-visas-for-israelis-will-fly/
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation that would let Israelis visit the United States without visas but not demand full reciprocal treatment for all Americans wishing to travel to the Jewish state could put Congress and the Obama administration on a collision course in coming weeks.

Israel’s entry into the 37-nation US Visa Waiver Program is the most controversial element in a pair of broader US-Israel bills dealing with everything from improving cybersecurity to enhancing economic cooperation. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is hoping to get the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s approval before Congress’ August recess. A version by Senator Barbara Boxer is picking up support in the Senate.

Both would create a new category of US ally — “major strategic partner” — designating Israel as the only such nation. And they would call for the inclusion of Israel on a list of countries whose citizens can visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, granted they register electronically before boarding a flight.

The administration and some lawmakers are concerned the legislation doesn’t do enough to eliminate Israeli discrimination against Palestinians and Arab-Americans seeking to enter its borders. They also say Israel still fails to meet other legal requirements for the program.

Read more: White House unsure plan to waive visas for Israelis will fly, Israel seeking new, unique "Major...

Tell Nordstrom to stop Stealing Beauty: Stop selling Ahava

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Written by Stolen Beauty Stolen Beauty
Published: 13 July 2013 13 July 2013


Hey AUPHR Supporters,


Take action to tell Nordstrom to stop selling Ahava products. Ahava promises “Beauty Secrets from the Dead Sea” but the real secrets are an ugly truth—its products actually come from stolen Palestinian natural resources in the Occupied Territory of the Palestinian West Bank, and are produced in the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. There is a coalition effort to get stores across the country, including Nordstrom, to stop carrying the products. Costco has already dropped them! Ahava means "Love" in Hebrew, but there's nothing loving about occupation!

You can read more (www.stolenbeauty.org) and send Nordstrom an email yourself (http://bit.ly/Kh6T4W)!

Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) force-fed under standard Guantánamo Bay procedure – video

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Written by Source: Reprieve: Director Asif Kapadia; Yasiin Bey / Mos Def Source: Reprieve: Director Asif Kapadia; Yasiin Bey / Mos Def
Published: 08 July 2013 08 July 2013

[go to the Guardian's website for the video, this is what we are doing daily]

As Ramadan begins, more than 100 hunger-strikers in Guantánamo Bay continue their protest. More than 40 of them are being force-fed. A leaked document sets out the military instructions, or standard operating procedure, for force-feeding detainees. In this four-minute film made by Human Rights organisation Reprieve and Bafta award-winning director Asif Kapadia, US actor and rapper Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), experiences the procedure

Warning: some viewers may find these images distressing

African Americans Affirming the Jim Crow analogy in Palestine/Israel

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Written by Felicia Eaves and others Felicia Eaves and others
Published: 02 July 2013 02 July 2013

 

July 1st, 2013

On May 29th, novelist Alice Walker issued an open letter calling upon Alicia Keys to cancel her scheduled concert in Israel. The letter has created an immense stir, as those who wish to ignore the situation facing the Palestinians hasten to draw a false wall between the experiences of African Americans under Jim Crow and Palestinians today, attacking Alice Walker's person in the process, in major media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the Daily News and the New York Post. In signing this letter, we affirm the accuracy of parallels drawn between the experience of African Americans in the U.S. under Jim Crow and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
The reality of the Palestinian situation is nothing short of horrendous. Israel has refused to comply with United Nations resolutions calling for a withdrawal to the Green Line of 1967; no recognition has been given by Israel of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, in clear violation of international law and precedent; Palestinian land has been consistently seized by the Israeli government since 1948, often under the false pretense of security reasons; Palestinian citizens of Israel face de facto and de jure discrimination, including several dozen laws discriminating against them, and inferior education resources; a so-called separation wall has--again in violation of international law--been established through and around Palestinian lands.

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  5. Commentary: Portland Pro-Israel event draws politicians and protest
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