vjp-global

  http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/crowded-refugee-berkeley/ - respond   UC Berkeley School of Law on Thursday released a study that named Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank the most tear gassed community in the world. For anyone who has spent time in Aida, the findings are not so surprising.   While refugee camps across the occupied West Bank are inundated with Israeli raids and political violence, Aida is in a special position, as Israel's separation wall hems the northern edge of the camp… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/israel-arrests-three-leading-nonviolent-palestinian-activists/132003/ Israeli forces arrest Manal Tamimi, Jamil Barghouti, and Mundar Amira, three prominent activists in the nonviolent struggle against the occupation.. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.831586   …The event: An open discussion between longtime Palestinian diplomat Afif Safieh and the rising Palestinian star Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the Electronic Intifada website… it was an intra-Palestinian clash of ideas — for and against the Palestinian Authority; one state or two, boycotts. It was a personal clash and also a generational confrontation, just as transfixing. The debate raised issues long brewing in Palestinian circles, in the territories and even more so in the diaspora... Safieh is a senior Palestinian diplomat… Abunimah was born and lives in the United States...Twenty-one years separate them, years of frustration and despair...Abunimah said that if you move slowly you'll achieve nothing, while Safieh said that Israel is so strong that achieving great things is impossible, which is why one must be realistic and struggle for what one can... It was a confrontation between the realpolitik...

https://972mag.com/we-will-establish-a-nuclear-free-zone-in-the-middle-east-nobel-peace-prize/131901/ The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons won the Noble Peace Prize this year. Founder of the Israeli Disarmament Movement, one of hundreds of organizations that comprise the campaign, speaks about why nobody in Israel is talking about the prize, and what it will take to achieve disarmament in Israel and beyond…   Sharon Dolev helped establish the Israeli Disarmament Movement, one of hundreds of organizations in 100 countries that comprise ICAN, and happens to be one of the bravest and most determined activists I know. For years she has worked alongside a small group of dedicated activists on one of the issues about which Israel usually prefers to remain silent.The silence in Israel is even stranger considering the politicians and the media in Israel so-often seek out any Jewish or Israeli connection to Nobel laureates, and celebrate whenever a Jew is recogn...

https://electronicintifada.net/content/how-islamic-state-holds-gaza-hostage/22746 … The net effect means Sinai militants, many of whom have declared loyalty to the Islamic State, can hold two million Palestinians in Gaza hostage with its actions…Ashraf Issa, an officer in Gaza's Hamas-run internal security service, told The Electronic Intifada there are now 550 suspected Islamic State fighters in jail in Gaza.   But that in turn threatens some of Hamas' vital interests, not least supply lines through the Sinai, long used as a smuggling route for all kinds of goods and necessities, as well as weapons and munitions…Egypt – outside cooperation to quell the Sinai insurgency – has an interest in this, too. If done correctly, allowing travel through Rafah could boost Egypt's poorly performing economy by opening up a new market for Egyptian goods while providing a focus for the Sinai economy outside smuggling and tourism.   But spoilers lie everywhere, not least a...

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-train-station-israel-name-jerusalem-stop-after-president-thank-9948?utm_source=email&utm_medium=morning_brief&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=read_more&spMailingID=2715636&spUserID=MzQ4OTU0NTczNDUS1&spJobID=931235415&spReportId=OTMxMjM1NDE1S0 The Israeli government is to name a train station after President Donald Trump following his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel earlier this month.   The station will be built at the Western Wall, the site where Jews pray and believe to be a standing wall of the Second Temple, an ancient holy site revered in Judaism [and which is attached to Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, to Muslims and is the third-holiest site in Islam]… The U.N. General Assembly last week rejected Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reaffirming that the city's status should be agreed between Israelis and Palestinians through direct negotiatio...

https://www.counterpunch.org/2012/12/24/terror-in-a-christmas-tree/ …This issue first came to public attention two years ago when it was revealed that Shimon Gapso, the mayor of Upper Nazareth, had banned Christmas trees from all public buildings in his northern Israeli city…But what is clear is that there is plenty of religious intolerance verging on hatred being quietly exercised against non-Jews, mostly behind the scenes so as not to disturb Israel's "Jewish and democratic" image or outrage the millions of Christian tourists and pilgrims who visit Israel each year.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/12/22/how-trumps-jerusalem-decision-may-open-the-door-for-a-one-state-solution/?utm_term=.f05d99074406   …"But this is why such a framing of the conflict would be so powerful. The struggle for justice in the Holy Land is eminently moral — which is why many scoundrels on both sides hide behind it. Waging a nonviolent struggle for civil rights sidelines violent actors, activates more of our people and garners grass-roots international support. Importantly, it has a better chance of long-term success — history is full of defeated movements for national liberation, but there arguably hasn't been a single civil rights struggle that was permanently defeated."   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.829101 Threats follow beauty queen and her Israeli counterpart posting selfies together on Instagram, sending message of hope and peace   …"I want to stress that the purpose of the picture was only to express hope and desire for peace between the two countries," she wrote in the post. She said the photo does not signal support for the Israeli government and apologized if the photo was harmful to the Palestinian cause.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.830562   Danny Danon made a fiery speech before the General Assembly voted to reject Trump's Jerusalem decision, but most of his remarks did not reflect the reality on the ground …What he didn't do was address the text of the resolution that was before the General Assembly, or even make the case for how Trump's declaration on Jerusalem advanced the cause of peace. Danon's speech wasn't full of inaccuracies, but it did contain a number of misleading statements, and employed the rhetorical device of "whataboutism" that is so in vogue these days in many quarters…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/the-israeli-government-is-paying-for-anti-bds-journalism/131718/ The Israeli ministry tasked with fighting the BDS Movement is spending millions of shekels to place propaganda that looks like news in Israel's most prominent media outlets… The Israeli government paid the Yedioth Group, publisher of Israel's best-selling daily newspaper, hundreds of thousands of shekels to publish articles and interviews meant to influence readers to support a campaign Israel is waging against its critics. The Strategic Affairs Ministry, headed by Minister Gilad Erdan, purchased positive coverage and the distribution of that content on the Internet… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/un-to-vote-on-requiring-us-to-rescind-jerusalem-declaration/2017/12/18/78af41ec-e409-11e7-927a-e72eac1e73b6_story.html?utm_term=.ce2d214c6fb4   The United States on Monday vetoed a resolution supported by the 14 other U.N. Security Council members that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a vote that showed the depth of global opposition to the U.S. move. The United States was certain to veto the Egyptian-drafted resolution, but its Arab supporters wanted the vote to demonstrate that countries everywhere and even many U.S. allies such as Britain, France and Japan are against Trump's action…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/ibrahim-skirmishes-jerusalem/?mc_cid=50448b801f&mc_eid=c9acac3cf3 ... Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh, 29, was shot dead during skirmishes with the Israeli army east of the city...In a video clip two days before his death, Ibrahim said he had come to participate in the clashes in Nahal Oz (east of Gaza) because he wanted to cross the occupied land on the other side of the barbed wire border even once in his life. But his dream ended with a fatal shot…Since Trump has turned his back on decades of U.S. and international diplomacy by saying Jerusalem is the Israeli capital, the international community warned of uncontrollable reactions, and Hamas vowed to open "doors of hell" and called for a "new intifada." Demonstrations have swept the Palestinian territories. Eight Palestinians have died and hundreds have been injured in clashes with the Israeli army, while dozens have been arrested. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member ...

https://israelpalestinenews.org/take-action-palestinian-nonviolent-leaders-son-abdul-khalik-burnat-abducted-israeli-occupation-forces/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=527b7659   On Dec. 10th Israeli soldiers kidnapped, beat, and detained the teenaged son of Palestinian nonviolence leader Iyad Burnat and two friends. The boys, who had gone out for pizza, are being held in Ofer Prison. A hearing will be held Dec. 14th to determine possible charges.   Israeli forces have frequently targeted the Burnat family because of their nonviolent resistance to Israel's confiscation of farmland in the Palestinian village of Bil'in, depicted in the Oscar-nominated documentary " Five Broken Cameras ."   Israel has detained and imprisoned at least 230 Palestinians since President Trump's Jerusalem announcement last week. Dozens of them have been children (see this  and this .)   Please take the actions below on behalf of these boys and the numerous other Palesti...

https://israelpalestinenews.org/watch-israeli-troops-beat-handcuffed-palestinian-hebron/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=527b7659-279f-4ca7-bc1d-141a765f3b23   …The man was arrested  during a Palestinian "Day of Rage," across cities in the West Bank and Gaza, in response to Trump's declaration, leading to the death of two Palestinians who were shot dead by Israeli security forces. Hundreds of others were wounded by live fire, rubber bullets, and tear gas across the occupied territories…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-represses-internet-palestine/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=527b7659-279f-4ca7-bc1d-141a765f3b23   …Published by the United Nations, the  ICT Development Index  ranks countries based on various information and communication technology indicators. For the 2016 year, Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza) ranked 123 out of 176. Israel, on the other hand, is up at the top at number 23. East Timor ranked 122, even though Palestine's GDP is at least double its size, and the average Palestinian has completed twice the number of years of schooling as the typical person in East Timor.   This anomaly is a direct result of Israel's occupation and control of Palestinians, and the severe technological gap is just another example of how Israel dominates and restricts almost all aspects of Palestinian life… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42313727 The EU's foreign policy chief says there is "full EU unity" in support of Jerusalem becoming the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state.    Federica Mogherini said the bloc's member states would not recognise the city as Israel's capital before a final status peace agreement.    She spoke after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants the EU to follow the US in doing so. .. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://forward.com/scribe/389795/why-are-democratic-senators-enabling-one-of-trumps-worst-decisions/ President Trump's announcement stating that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and directing the State Department to begin moving the embassy sparked anger and protests across the world.   One would think that Democrats would be be jumping at the chance to hammer Trump for his reckless plans that violate international law and needlessly add more fuel to the fires raging in the Middle East…On the Senate side, Senators Bernie Sanders and Dianne Feinstein put out strong statements of opposition. Senators Warren, Brown and Murphy showed mild opposition, saying that diplomacy should determine the final status of the city, but agreeing that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Senators Durbin, Booker and Blumenthal expressed concern that the move would cause violence but none of them put out statements of condemnation afterwards….The vast majority of the nation's 535...

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/12/11/bulldozing-the-peace-process-in-israel/   On December 6, while President Trump was announcing his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, several Palestinian communities on the occupied West Bank and in the Jordan Valley were awaiting the army bulldozers coming to destroy their villages. There is an intimate and sinister link between these two concurrent events…. Israel does not have the internal resources to extricate itself from its own repugnant mythology, though it is not impossible that it will free itself, relatively soon, from the catastrophic grip of Netanyahu and his cronies…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-survey-finds-deep-divisions-displeasure-with-leaders/2017/12/12/3e228256-df17-11e7-b2e9-8c636f076c76_story.html?utm_term=.27b40b1e0a5c With the prime minister facing a slew of corruption allegations, the peace process at a standstill and the government moving to stifle critics, it is no secret that Israel is a deeply polarized nation. But a new survey released on Tuesday shows just how divided the country has become.   The annual Israeli Democracy Index found that 45 percent, or just under half of Israelis, believe the country's democratic system of government is in serious danger. But the survey found very different sentiment among different parts of the population.   Just 23 percent of Jewish right-wing and religious voters, the base of support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, fear that Israel's democracy is in danger. Yet among Jewish left-wing voters found in the opposition that nu...

https://israelpalestinenews.org/house-passes-bill-taylor-force-ignores-34-americans-killed-israel/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=a7c19df5-cb2a-4a1d-ab19-76cad320c0e8   ...The Taylor Force Act, allegedly on behalf of an American killed by a Palestinian, is designed to pressure the PA into "de-incentivizing terrorism" – even though Israel kills far more civilians. Congress and others do not show similar concern for 34 American servicemen killed by Israel [crew members of the USS Liberty, attacked by Israel]. I n fact, since January of 2009 , Palestinians have killed 168 Israelis, while Israelis have killed 18 times more Palestinians—a total of 3,143 . In 2016 , the year of Taylor Force's untimely death,  16 Israelis died at the hands of Palestinians and 110 Palestinians—many posing no threat whatsoever—died at the hands of Israelis. If any group has a "grotesque practice" of killing, perhaps it is not the Palestinians… Most of the world has ...

https://israelpalestinenews.org/three-articles-background-trumps-jerusalem-adelson-connection/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=a7c19df5-cb2a-4a1d-ab19-76cad320c0e8   …The move [of the American Embassy to Jerusalen] goes toward fulfilling  his campaign promise , during a speech to the  American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) , to move the embassy to Jerusalem…but the pressure on Trump goes deeper than a promise to voters. His biggest campaign contributor, billionaire casino magnate  Sheldon Adelson , is showing growing impatience with Trump's slowness in moving the embassy, which would be a provocation to Palestinians who claim Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. For this reason, past presidents have refused to move the embassy on grounds that it would upset potential talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators...Adelson and his wife Miriam spent more than $80 million on Republicans in 2016, and he gave $5 million to Trump's ...

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=20513%27%20style=%27color:%20-%20000http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=20513%27%20style=%27color:#000   The Trump administration's threat to close the PLO mission in Washington, DC is part of a wider US-Israel-Saudi effort to assert regional dominance, says Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/east-jerusalem-activists-respond-to-trumps-declaration/131304/ Palestinian activists from across East Jerusalem react to Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Will it lead to tangible change? Will there be an uprising? What should the Palestinian leadership do? [conversations with leaders]   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

UN security council to meet to discuss US decision amid widespread international condemnation and violence in occupied territories. .. Clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops have taken place in cities across the occupied West Bank as anger over Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital spilled on to the streets.   The most violent confrontations occurred in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, where Israeli security forces fired teargas and plastic-coated rounds as hundreds of protesters threw stones and set alight barricades.   In the Gaza Strip, dozens of protesters gathered near the border fence with Israel and threw rocks at soldiers on the other side. Two protesters were wounded by live fire, with one reported to be in a critical condition… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/watch-trump-playing-fire-jerusalemhttps://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/watch-trump-playing-fire-jerusalem   …Trump's announcement will end decades of US policy that recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital could come only after the status of the city is settled in negotiations…Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its "united and eternal" capital…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.826990 Senior U.S. officials say Trump is likely to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital Wednesday and delay embassy relocation for another six months, yet begin planning the move immediately...In the West Bank, the Fatah movement has begun preparations for marches and rallies following Trump's announcement. Heads of Palestinians factions in the West Bank are slated to hold a meeting later Tuesday evening to coordinate protest moves... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/28/the-inevitable-apartheid-nation-where-is-zionism-taking-us/   We know where Zionism has taken Israel. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 led the way. In that imperial and colonial document, the British promised the World Zionist Organization a "Jewish National Home" in Palestine...Right from the start the Zionists understood "national home" to mean an eventual Jewish state. Actualizing that assumption has had enormous implications not only for the Palestinians but also for the Jews...Zionism can be seen as a strange twist on the Spanish philosopher George Santayana's warning that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The Zionists certainly remember the persecutions suffered by European Jews. But they forget that this mistreatment was most often organized by racist states that sought to ethnically cleanse the Jews. Having forgotten about this state-based aspect of their o...