vjp-global

https://972mag.com/a-bizarre-end-to-the-trial-of-palestinian-poet-dareen-tatour/133344/   …The defense insisted that the poem [Resist, My People] is a legitimate expression of protest, which speaks about the occupation's violence against innocent Palestinians. The defense based its arguments on specific events that were mentioned in the poem: the children who were burned; Hadeel, who was shot; the settler's robbery; and the violence of the army's special undercover units.   The prosecutor focused on what she thought was clear to every "average person"—the Israeli worldview that sees every Arab, and especially whoever opposes the occupation, as a dangerous terrorist…According to the prosecution, the publication of the photo "I am the next Martyr" was part of a systematic pattern of encouraging suicide attacks. The fact that the picture was first published in response to the burning of young Abu Khdeir, of course, should have been concl...

https://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-vice/23311   Hamas has given over control of crossings and administrative duties to the PA to no avail. There is little armed resistance left in Gaza, whatever the movement's rhetoric: bar a flurry of rockets after Trump made his Jerusalem announcement in early December, there has been nothing for Israel to worry about all of last year.   What the situation does offer is clarity: The US has given up on even a pretend peace process. And simply waiting for Trump to go away will not do: Israel has in effect been given a green light to take what it wants now, and it is considering its options .   Arab countries, meanwhile, may step in to avoid absolute catastrophe, but only at the last minute and only with the green light from Israel. Politically, there is neither           the    will nor the drive to help Palestinians achieve any of their minimal claims. … Further afield, a Saudi crown prince plots war with Iran that...

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-congress-members-to-trump-don-t-cut-funds-to-un-palestinian-agency-1.5805759 …In their letter, the members mentioned news reports indicating that Israel asked the Trump administration to reconsider cuts to UNRWA's budget. "The Israeli Government deems UNRWA's work providing basic services and education to Palestinian refugees so consequential for Israeli security that it has reportedly weighed in with your administration in support of maintaining U.S. contributions to the agency, despite frequent criticism of it," they wrote.  The members also mentioned an article that was published last month in Haaretz by "Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Peter Lerner," who wrote that "By weakening UNWRA and, consequentially, the Palestinian population even further, without a real administrative alternative, I believe that Palestinians will be even more susceptible to extr...

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5115295,00.html   In a special series of interviews, terrorists who were released in 2013 as part of an Israeli gesture to PA President Abbas tell Ynet about the murders they committed before the Oslo Agreements were signed, the 'Israelization' process they went through in jail and the impact of the second intifada…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/boomerang-effect-netanyahu-made-israel-american-issue-lost/   Despite massive sums of money spent to channel public opinion in the United States in favor of Israel, unmistakable trends in opinion polls are attesting to the changing dynamics of Israel's support among ordinary Americans.   Not only is Israel losing its support and overall appeal among large sections of American society, but among young American Jews, as well – a particularity worrying phenomena for the Israeli government.…Netanyahu has shoved Israel into the heart of polarizing American politics, and although he has achieved his short-term goals (for example, obtaining US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel) he has irrevocably damaged the decades-long consensus on Israel among Americans, and in that there is a great source of hope. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.newsweek.com/more-palestinians-are-dying-waiting-get-medical-treatment-because-israel-wont-807989   …At least 54 people died in 2017 while waiting for an Israeli travel permit to seek medical treatment outside of Gaza, according to a joint statement released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, among others.…Meanwhile, the percentage of travel permits Israel accepted for "exceptional humanitarian cases" dropped from 92 percent of all applications in 2012 to only 54 percent in 2017, according to the World Health Organization. Some advocates argue that these decisions constitute a violation of human rights that could cause the security situation in Gaza to unravel…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://972mag.com/take-a-look-around-this-is-what-annexation-looks-like/133172/   …It is hard to get too excited over small steps toward annexation, such as a law that moves a university from the jurisdiction of one council of higher education to another. The international community will not raise a storm. The UN Security Council will not hold an emergency session. The EU will not threaten sanctions. Yet this is precisely what the annexation of Palestine will look like. The Knesset on Monday passed a law that places Israeli universities in the occupied Palestinian territories under the aegis of the Israeli Council for Higher Education, a civilian body created by Israeli law to oversee universities and colleges in Israel…The prime minister openly and unabashedly describing how he plans to apply Israeli law to the Palestinian territories, however, is barely news anymore. It has fully penetrated the mainstream discourse… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member ...

https://www.chicagomaroon.com/article/2018/2/11/student-mission-halt-demolitions/   …Continued advocacy is all the more important now, because the situation in Susya has only become more urgent. On February 1, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to allow immediate demolition of seven structures in the village, home to over 40 people. This past week,  Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9) publicly stated her opposition to these pending demolitions .  In order to halt these demolitions, students who support a two-state solution must be loud enough to make our representatives listen. Those who support a peaceful future for both Israelis and Palestinians must continue to stand with Susya and other villages under threat of demolition.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/achieve-one-state-palestinians-must-also-work-two/ Is the two-state solution really doomed, and is it time to move to a struggle for a single state? This commentary will argue that either state outcome can be made to achieve Palestinian aspirations and rights, and that, moreover, fulfilling Palestinian rights requires some of the sources of power associated with the state system. It will also urge that time and energy be spent on clarifying Palestinian goals and understanding why they have not yet been achieved, and then zeroing in on the sources of power needed to achieve them. The final section will discuss one of those sources of power in detail, that of the Palestinian narrative, and will call for a reframing of that narrative, including the narrative around BDS ( Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions )...   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20180211/library-presents-dialogue-on-jerusalem   In a mostly civilized and scholarly conversation two men, representing the viewpoint of the Israeli and the Palestinian people, talked about the current climate, including the politics of of our own current administration, at Portsmouth Library.   Among the topics discussed Sunday were overviews of how things are with each people, and whether a two-state solution is possible. They also briefly discussed President Donald Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his plans to move the United States embassy there…   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/justice-minister-israel-s-jewish-majority-trumps-than-human-rights-1.5811106   ...Minister Ayelet Shaked addressed the proposed nation-state law, contending that Israel as a Jewish state must administer equal civil but not national rights .  On the coalition's intent to keep the word "equality" out of the nation-state bill, Shaked said: "Israel is a Jewish state. It isn't a state of all its nations. That is, equal rights to all citizens but not equal national rights." Shaked said the word "equality" was very general and the court could take it "very far," adding, "There are places where the character of the State of Israel as a Jewish state must be maintained and this sometimes comes at the expense of equality."... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-congress-members-to-trump-don-t-cut-funds-to-un-palestinian-agency-1.5805759 …In their letter, the members mentioned news reports indicating that Israel asked the Trump administration to reconsider cuts to UNRWA's budget. "The Israeli Government deems UNRWA's work providing basic services and education to Palestinian refugees so consequential for Israeli security that it has reportedly weighed in with your administration in support of maintaining U.S. contributions to the agency, despite frequent criticism of it," they wrote.  The members also mentioned an article that was published last month in Haaretz by "Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) Peter Lerner," who wrote that "By weakening UNWRA and, consequentially, the Palestinian population even further, without a real administrative alternative, I believe that Palestinians will be even more susceptible to extr...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-palestinian-authority-abbas.html   …A debate raged in Israel this past week, which sees the possibility of war both to its north and south , between military leaders warning about the looming crisis in Gaza and politicians questioning just how much and how soon the situation there would threaten national security.   Such a conflicted view has characterized Israeli policy ever since the blockade was imposed, analysts say, as the country sought to protect itself by cordoning off the strip. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/israel-demands-payment-jeep-killed-palestinian-180203140156676.html   …Meanwhile, Israel has passed legislation and introduced restrictions that broaden the legal definition of what constitutes a "warfare activity". The moves have rendered the chances of Palestinians getting compensation virtually nonexistent.   A March 2017 B'Tselem report showed a drop of nearly 95 percent of new lawsuits filed by Palestinian victims from 2012 to 2016, compared with those filed between 2002 and 2006. The report went on to say that "Israel has lowered the price to be paid for harm to Palestinians while maintaining a false show of a functioning justice system."… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2018/02/describing-missing-palestini In her New York Times oped "How Did Israel Become A Place of No Refuge? " [Rabbi] Susan Silverman asks a rhetorical question. But it has a ready answer...A nation that is built on an ethnic definition of nationality and arose on the ashes of another people's existence in the land is actually just the sort of country to deport refugees.  When one's primary concern is to preserve ethnic purity and sovereignty, any admission of "others" – especially non-European others – is bound to be seen as dangerous contamination and to be avoided at all costs.  So that's why I answer her rhetorical question with: "It's the Nakba, Stupid!" Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://mondoweiss.net/2018/01/narratives-palestinian-dispossession/   [a review of J.M.N. Jeffries, Palestine The Reality: The Inside Story of the Balfour Declaration 1917-1938 ] … As we see from his vantage point so clearly, the land of Palestine was stolen from its people by a major world power and given to another group of people who had no claim to it whatsoever. That last quote from Jeffries near the end of the book says it all. Of course there is now a Jewish community in Palestine that cannot be ignored or just sent back to where they came from, so one cannot undo the original sin. But so long as we don't properly acknowledge that original sin – and this is what Jeffries's book helps us do so well – I don't see that genuine peace with justice is possible.   Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member  

http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/stephens-falsehood-jerusalem/   …The point is that when governments "recognize" they are not merely acknowledging facts, they are in an important sense creating them.  What Trump did was to put the US seal of approval on the Israeli annexation, and that goes far beyond merely recognizing what happen to be the undisputed facts of the matter.  While Trump may not himself understand the difference, I find it hard to believe Stephens doesn't, which makes his argument extremely disingenuous… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://imemc.org/article/bds-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize-in-2018/ Bjørnar Moxnes, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, has nominated the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for this year's Nobel Prize. .. A press release about the nomination read: This nomination reflects the growing international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for justice, dignity and freedom from the Israeli occupation. The BDS Campaign is a Palestinian-led, international non-violent movement for freedom, equality and a just peace for the Palestinian people... Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member  

https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-much-aid-does-the-us-give-palestinians-and-whats-it-for/ The United States is by far the largest donor of financial aid to the Palestinians [and  UNRWA, over $5 billion in USAID funds since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1994], with this assistance touching nearly every aspect of life in the Palestinian Authority. But US President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday  to end this aid to the Palestinians, angered by Ramallah's refusal to cooperate with the US's efforts to jump-start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after he declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel in December. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/german-fm-is-israel-prepared-to-pay-price-of-perpetual-occupation-1 .   … Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel pointed to a changing geopolitical landscape and a shift in U.S. priorities…Addressing Israeli academics, politicians and policy experts about Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, Gabriel said "as a friend and close ally, we need to know if Israel is not supporting a negotiated solution to this conflict anymore."… Are you prepared to pay the price of perpetual occupation and dconflict - a price that will continue to grow if there is no hope for self-determination on the Palestinian side? Are you willing to bear the consequences of fully fledged annexation - a one-state reality of unequal rights? Or are you ready to accept a single democratic state between the sea ...

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/german-fm-is-israel-prepared-to-pay-price-of-perpetual-occupation-1   … Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv following a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel pointed to a changing geopolitical landscape and a shift in U.S. priorities…Addressing Israeli academics, politicians and policy experts about Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, Gabriel said "as a friend and close ally, we need to know if Israel is not supporting a negotiated solution to this conflict anymore."… Are you prepared to pay the price of perpetual occupation and conflict - a price that will continue to grow if there is no hope for self-determination on the Palestinian side? Are you willing to bear the consequences of fully fledged annexation - a one-state reality of unequal rights? Or are you ready to accept a single democratic state between the sea and...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/01/israel-settlements-jerusalem-tourism-un Israel is developing archaeological and tourism sites to legitimise illegal settlements in Palestinian neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, European Union diplomats in the city have warned. A leaked report acquired by the Guardian cited projects in parts of East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since 1967 – that are being used "as a political tool to modify the historical narrative and to support, legitimise and expand settlements" [and marginalise] the continuity of other religions and cultures in the region]. The report identified settler-run excavation sites in the heart of majority-Arab districts, a proposed cable car project with stops on confiscated land and the designation of built-up urban areas as national parks… The document, a report written annually by the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem, presented a bleak picture, saying the overall situation in the city and the prospect...

https://972mag.com/one-state-or-two-states-youre-asking-the-wrong-question/132753/ What we desperately need now is to go back to the basics and recognize that guaranteeing Palestinians' rights is the  foundation for any political solution. …A new poll reveals that following Trump's Jerusalem declaration there has been a drop in support for the two-state solution among both Israeli Jews and Palestinians in the occupied territories – with both communities dipping below the 50 percent level. Only Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who live inside the Green Line show overwhelming support for this solution… Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member