vjp-global

  http://www.newsweek.com/israel-palestinians-war-occupation-gaza-west-bank-trump-kushner-abbas-two-656304?spMailingID=2213863&spUserID=MzQ4OTU0NTczNDUS1&spJobID=851272223&spReportId=ODUxMjcyMjIzS0   …The Palestinians have little to offer their allies. After 50 years of occupation, their aid-dependent economy produces almost nothing of value. They would be of little help against the Islamic State militant group, or in the regional cold war with Iran. Western policymakers once promoted a theory of "linkage," the idea that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would bring peace to the Middle East. No one believes that anymore, not with the entire region in flames. Quite the opposite: Even Arab states, from Egypt to the Gulf, are eager to establish closer ties with Israel, which they see as a useful partner in the fight against both terrorism and Iran. Israeli politicians like to criticize Qatar because the tiny Gulf emirate hosts the leadershi...

http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/article169228897.html ...Even more troubling, although courts have held that boycott is a protected form of political speech, this bill, if passed, would criminalize support for boycott with prison terms of up to 20 years, along with civil penalties of up to $1 million. Apparently, boycott is protected speech, except when it comes to Israel... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=778684   Israeli forces demolished housing donated by the European Union (EU) in a Bedouin village in the southern occupied West Bank on Monday morning, locals told Ma'an. .. Khashem al-Daraj and Umm al-Kheir are among dozens of small communities located in the Masafer Yatta area -- also known as the South Hebron Hills -- which falls within Israel's "Firing Zone 918," and inside the occupied West Bank's Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control.   Palestinians are prohibited from entering firing zones without rarely granted permission from Israeli authorities.. Masafer Yatta residents were expelled at the time of the establishment of the firing zone in the 1970s and were eventually allowed back following a long court battle, but are under the constant threat of being expelled or seeing their homes demolished…   Posted by Judith Ferster, ...

http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=778706   Earlier this month , the Hamas movement announced its readiness to do away with its administrative committee in Gaza, should the PA retract all punitive measures imposed on the besieged coastal enclave in recent months.   However, Abbas has repeatedly maintained that the PA would continue to reduce financial support to the Gaza Strip as long as the Hamas movement did not stick to the PA-mandated terms of reconciliation. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/israeli-activists-demand-government-publish-bds-blacklists/129225/ Israeli human rights activists file an appeal to force the Israeli government to come clean on its so-called blacklists of foreign nationals who support the boycott movement. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

  https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/04/bds-human-rights-and-jewish-morality/   …However, the logic of the situation does make one thing literally true, and that is that the Zionist ideology, as it has evolved in practice, is a dangerous enemy of Jewish morality. As long as Zionism stands against human rights while at the same time insisting that Israel stands in for the Jews, it must be the enemy. Ignorance of this logic is also an enemy. Therefore, it is time to  heed the call  of Rebecca Vilkomerson, head of  Jewish Voice for Peace : "Seventy years into the ongoing dispossession and displacement of Palestinians, fifty years into Israel's military occupation, and ten years into the siege of Gaza, we think it is time for American Jewish communities [and those in the rest of the world as well] to have some really uncomfortable conversations."   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/middle_east/trapped-between-israel-and-hamas-gazas-wasted-generation-is-going-nowhere/2017/08/06/47b8bf42-5c18-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html   They are the Hamas generation, raised under the firm hand of an Islamist militant movement. They are the survivors of three wars with Israel and a siege who find themselves as young adults going absolutely nowhere.    In many circles in Gaza, it is hard to find anyone in their 20s with real employment, with a monthly salary.   They call themselves a wasted generation.   Ten years after Hamas seized control of Gaza, the economy in the seaside strip of 2 million has been strangled by incompetence, war and blockade.   Gaza today lives off its wits and the recycled scraps donated by foreign governments. Seven in 10 people rely on humanitarian aid... The literacy rate in Gaza is 96.8 percent , higher than in the West Bank. The "Palestinian engineer" was once the gold standard...

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/surge-israeli-attacks-journalists During the two weeks of sustained Palestinian protests in occupied East Jerusalem over Israel's attempts to tighten control over the al-Aqsa mosque compound , press groups monitored a surge in violations against journalists.   The Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) recorded dozens of violations committed by Israeli occupation forces, who reportedly attacked, arrested and threatened journalists covering Palestinian protests in the city.   Israeli police barred journalists from entering the Old City of Jerusalem, while Israeli settlers and tourists entered freely… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/charlotte-silver/israel-revokes-citizenship-palestinian-disloyalty In an unprecedented step, an Israeli court has revoked the citizenship of 23-year-old Alaa Zayoud for "breach of loyalty."   The human rights groups that will appeal the decision to Israel's high court warn the move is a violation of international law.   In June 2016, Zayoud, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for four counts of attempted murder, for driving a car into a soldier and then stabbing three civilians in October 2015, causing them light to moderate injuries…In 2008, Israel amended its law to allow courts to approve such requests for "breach of loyalty."   Zayoud's case is the first time the 2008 law has been applied…. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/demographic-hysteria-leaves-jerusalemites-by-the-wayside/129071/ For 50 years, the Israeli government has treated Jerusalem as a national symbol instead of as a city. Its residents, both Palestinians and Jews, are paying the price.     Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.ips-dc.org/im-a-jewish-american-who-wanted-to-visit-israel-i-got-as-far-as-the-airport/   A new Israeli law bans travel by anyone who supports a nonviolent boycott for Palestinian rights — including Jews who break with the government's right-wing line.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://fpif.org/nearly-50-senators-want-to-make-it-a-felony-to-boycott-israel/ The goal is to frighten people from engaging in the completely legal act of living out their values... In response, the ACLU issued a letter urging members of the Senate to oppose the bill based on its "direct violation of the First Amendment." ... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/01/jared-kushner-leaked-speech-middle-east-215445 The president's son in law thinks he knows better than the peace processors who came before him. He's about to get a rude awakening…The only three Americans to ever succeed in Arab-Israeli peacemaking—Kissinger, Carter and Baker—all operated off a pro-Israeli script. But they also were prepared to push the Israelis along with the Arabs…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME memb