vjp-global

https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/sam-bahour/resetting-palestine%27s-political-system Today, Palestinian political strategy is being driven in the total absence of a functioning political system. Israel's forced fragmentation of our geographic reality mixed with internal political party divisions, disgust, despair and incompetence, the status quo tears apart Palestine's societal fabric. If it remains on its current course, the train of national liberation is bound to derail, resulting in serious, if not permanent, damage to our bid for freedom and independence  Repairing the Palestinian political system cannot wait any longer… [Here's how:] Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.timesofisrael.com/committee-permits-likud-ad-linking-left-islamic-state/ Judge says he doesn't have jurisdiction to ban campaign spots, 'even if they leave one feeling uncomfortable.' Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.643912   The group Peace Now reported that Israel set a 10-year record last year for the number of tenders it issued for settlement construction. In a report published as Benjamin Netanyahu is running a close race for re-election on March 17, Peace Now blamed Israel's settlement housing plans for scuttling U.S.-brokered peace talks that collapsed in April.   The report said the invitations to bid for building contracts in the settlements had tripled since 2013 on average compared to the 2009-2013 period of Netanyahu's previous administration…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member  

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/23/leaked-spy-cables-netanyahu-iran-bomb-mossad   Netanyahu's dramatic declaration to world leaders in 2012 that Iran was about a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his own secret service, according to a top-secret Mossad document. Gulf between Israeli secret service and PM revealed in documents shared with the Guardian along with other secrets including CIA bids to contact Hamas Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://forward.com/articles/214682/is-stav-shaffir-israels-youngest-lawmaker-ready-fo/?p=all#ixzz3S8ev8tHO …In her speech, Shaffir described her crusade to reveal secret budget transfers that she contends benefit West Bank settlers at the expense of the poor on Israel's periphery. The practice, she said, is an affront to Israel's founding principles. "Don't argue with us about Zionism," she continued. "Because real Zionism, my friends, is to distribute the budget equally between all citizens. Real Zionism is to be concerned with the weakest members of society. Real Zionism is solidarity. Not only in war but in the day to day, to keep each other safe." Shaffir's campaign for budgetary transparency is an esoteric one, particularly in a country where security concerns dominate headlines and dinner table conversation. Nonetheless, the Knesset's youngest lawmaker has managed to spark a national discussion about budget priorities…

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/world/middleeast/desperation-drives-gazans-over-a-fence-and-into-israeli-prisons.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 ...Some said they fantasized about finding work in Israel. Even the all-but-inevitable time behind bars is alluring — safe, three meals a day, and the monthly stipend the Palestinian Authority pays all its prisoners. Compared with Gaza, "the prison in Israel is like a five-star hotel," said Youssef Abbas, 21, who did stints there after crossing the border in 2010 and 2008. He said he had headed toward the fence twice more in September but had been turned back, once by Gaza security forces and once by a call from his fiancée. "I was thinking of two choices: death or prison," Mr. Abbas said. "Because there were so many problems in my life, I was so tired, I had this idea."   Posted by J

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/02/israeli-extremist-settlement?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=173eba3a4a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=em   Israeli police seized weapons and other gear from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar on Tuesday. Yitzhar has been a flash point for violence over the years and is home to some of the so-called "hilltop youth" responsible for vandalism of Palestinian property. The Israeli news site Times of Israel reported that among other things found during the raid, police found knives, saws, flammable liquids, tear gas canisters, face masks. The police believe that the arms would have been used against Palestinians as well as Israeli security forces…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/02/benjamin-netanyahu-guiding?utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=173eba3a4a-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b86bace129-173eba3a4a-398495333   …Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America suggests that American politicians who stand with Obama instead of Netanyahu and refuse to attend the speech are… anti-American…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://972mag.com/knesset-candidates-plant-olive-trees-with-palestinian-farmers/102283/ Over 100 Israeli activists, among them four Knesset candidates in the upcoming elections, joined Palestinian farmers in from the West Bank village of Kfar Yassuf to plant olive saplings to mark the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat. The activists planted the trees near the Israeli settlement of Tapuach, an area where olive trees have been uprooted time and again, allegedly by settlers. Israeli soldiers prevented the farmers and activists from reaching the area in which they had planned to carry out the action. The action was planned by the "Olive Harvest Coalition" and Rabbis for Human Rights. Also taking part were Hadash members MK Dov Khenin, head of the Arab Joint List Iman Odeh and Aida Touma-Suliman, as well as Meretz candidate and former MK Mosi Raz… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME Member

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/israeli-consul-supporters_b_6625260.html   …Politico   reports  that the "consensus among Democrats in Washington" is that Israeli Ambassador Dermer and Netanyahu "have to cancel or reschedule the speech."  Politico  says that dozens of Democrats are threatening a boycott if the speech if it is not cancelled, that seven Jewish Democrats explicitly threatened the Israeli ambassador that they would boycott, and that Vice-President Biden, who would normally attend such a speech in his role as president of the Senate, may join the boycott.  AP   reports  that Rep. John Lewis and CBC chair G.K. Butterfield will not attend the speech: Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, a hero of the civil rights movement, and Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said they won't attend Netanyahu's March 3 speech… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca/2015/02/04/HAS-THE-MAINSTREAM-MEDIA-BOYCOTTED-THE-JEFF-HALPER-TOUR/   …If the mainstream media is reluctant to publish views critical of Israel, perhaps it makes sense to focus our attention on those media that are open to hearing alternative views on this important topic.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

Full article: http://www.technicianonline.com/news/article_15ade6e6-ab65-11e4-a445-63770ffe3025.html From Introduction:     About 150 people gathered Monday evening in Withers Hall to listen to Bill Corcoran, president and CEO of American Near East Refugee Aid discuss humanitarian efforts      in the Gaza Strip and Lebanese refugee camps and give insights regarding the future of the region.     Organized by NC State students and the Coalition for Peace with Justice , the event centered on refugee     families living in Gaza and the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.     The event began with Corcoran describing what ANERA does and the severity of problems Palestinians face. Posted by Sam Bryan, AIME member

Full article: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.640491 Snippet:      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the committee appointed by United Nations Human Rights Council to shelve its report into the summer 2014 Gaza conflict, following Canadian academic   William Schabas' resignation   Monday night.     Schabas said he would resign after Israeli allegations of bias due to consultancy work he did for the Palestine Liberation Organization. Posted by Sam Bryan, AIME member

http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-palestinian-teen-beaten-by-police-cleared-of-wrongdoing/ …The US State Department confirmed to the Council on American-Islamic [R]elations that all charges against 15-year-old Florida resident Tariq Abu Khdeir for his alleged participation in a July riot had been dropped, according to Tampa television station WFLA. Abu Khdeir was visiting family in Jerusalem last July when his cousin Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burned to death by Jewish extremists. The murder, in retaliation for the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish teens a month before [helped to trigger Israel's 2014 July attack on Gaza]. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member