Related
Sites..A-infos A multi-lingual news service by, for, and about anarchists, regularly posts reports by Israeli anarchists working in solidarity with the non-violent Palestinian resistance. All Nations Cafe The All Nations Café is first and foremost a strong team of Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, who work together, visit each other’s homes and see themselves as part of one family. Alternative Information Center The AIC is a Palestinian-Israeli organization which disseminates information, research and political analysis on Palestinian and Israeli societies as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while promoting cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social justice, solidarity and community involvement. Ariga Articles and extensive links to Israeli and Palestinian Human Rights & Peace groups Bat Shalom Israeli & Palestinian Women’s Peace Group - Bat Shalom is an Israeli national feminist grassroots organization of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli women working together for a genuine peace grounded in a just resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, respect for human rights, and an equal voice for Jewish and Arab women within Israeli society. Breaking The Silence Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the Second Intifadah. Bridges: Israeli-Palestinian Public Health Magazine bridges, the Israeli-Palestinian Public Health Magazine, is a unique publication conceived, written, edited, produced and managed jointly by Palestinian and Israeli academics and health professionals under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO). The magazine embodies the WHO paradigm of “Health as a Bridge for Peace”: the integration of peace-building concerns, strategies and practices with health care. Buddhist Peace Fellowship Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s open-hearted engagement with the world is expressed through expanding programs in the United States and Asia. Through BPF, Buddhists of many different traditions are developing individual and group responses to socially conditioned suffering. Campaign for Secure Dwellings A network of congregations in North America working to end the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Christian Peacemaker Teams, Campaign for Secure Dwellings, Palestinian Land Defense Committee, Rabbis for Human Rights, Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions. Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine Projects Since 1995 the CPT has maintained a continuing presence in the Hebron District (occupied West Bank). Team members stand with Palestinians and Israeli peace groups engaged in nonviolent opposition to Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation. Coalition of Women for Peace The Coalition of Women for Peace brings together independent Israeli women and 10 feminist peace organizations who work relentlessly for peace and justice. Founded in November 2000, after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, the Coalition today is a leading voice in the peace movement. Combatants for Peace We are a group of Israeli and Palestinian individuals who were actively involved in the cycle of violence in our area. The Israelis served as combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinians were involved in acts of violence in the name of Palestinian liberation. Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) Interfaith Peace Builders - Delegations to Palestine FOR’s interfaith Middle East program sends regular delegations to Israel/Palestine where participants live in Palestinian and Israeli homes, learn from peace activists on both sides of the conflict and experience the situation of Palestinians living under military occupation. Grassroots Jerusalem Grassroots Jerusalem sets out to provide an “Evolving Map” of the current grassroots activities and organizations working in the Jerusalem area. We provide a picture of what is currently happening on the ground, the pending urgent issues, the local solutions and where support is needed to further the work. HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual An Israeli human rights organization whose main objective is to assist Palestinians of the Occupied Territories whose rights are violated due to Israel’s policies. This site contains information relating to these human rights violations. Intercultural Encounter - International Centre of Bethlehem At the very heart of our mission is a commitment to promote cultural exchange between Palestine and the rest of the world, providing people from different cultures, contexts and backgrounds a forum to meet. Whether as volunteers-in-mission, youth exchanges, educational workshops, theological conferences, academic consultations or grass-roots encounters, these programs help build bridges of understanding and create communities of fellowship between peoples globally. International Solidarity Movement The International Solidarity Movement is a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian and International activists working to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli occupation. We utilize nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and policies. Israel Imperial News A magazine edited by Israeli dissidents. Against the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land by Jewish settlers. Against Israel’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians. And against Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing. Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information - IPCRI IPCRI, founded in Jerusalem in 1988, is the only joint Palestinian-Israeli public policy think-tank in the world. It is devoted to developing practical solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. IPCRI deals with the cardinal issues in the Israeli-Arab conflict - issues where the two sides find themselves at loggerheads, and where cooperation is necessary. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) is a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the Occupied Territories. Machsom Watch Machsom Watch was founded in January 2001 in response to repeated reports in the press about human rights abuses of Palestinians crossing army and border police checkpoints. It is a group of Israeli women conducting daily observations at military checkpoints to monitor human rights abuses. Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality - Dukium In 1997 a group of Arab and Jewish residents of the Negev (the southern part of Israel) established the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality. Its aim is to provide a framework for Jewish-Arab collaborative efforts, in the struggle for civil equality and the advancement of mutual tolerance and coexistence. Occupation Magazine The aim of this Israeli website is to provide information and alternative commentary on the ongoing developments in the Occupied Territories - the West Bank and the Gaza Strip - in Hebrew, English and Russian. Stop US Military Aid to Israel This website is a cooperative effort between Sami Abuhamdeh (US citizen of Palestinian descent) and Benjamin Balak (Israeli citizen and professor of economics in the US). The Other Israel The Other Israel, published bimonthly, aims to provide extensive coverage of the diverse struggles waged by the Israeli peace movement at large. Includes reports on undereported activities and commentaries on events in Israel and the Middle East from a perspective in which the interests of Israelis and Palestinians are ultimately reconcilable. http://members.tripod.com/~other_IsraelVisions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine Visions of Peace with Justice in Israel/Palestine (VOPJ) is an association of Jews in Greater Boston working to promote a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on mutual respect, justice, and equality. Yesh Din Israeli volunteers for human rights who have come together to take concrete action against the constant human rights abuses inflicted on the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Zochrot The activities of Zochrot include: organizing tours to villages destroyed by Israeli forces in the Nakba and in 1967, led by Palestinian refugees, posting signs at the remains of the destroyed villages, teaching the history and geography of the Nakba and translating these materials into Hebrew, maintaining a Hebrew-language database of maps and other information about the Nakba, developing educational materials, organizing demonstrations, and participating in the activities of refugees organizations. E-mail us a
link to your
favorite related site
Page
from brochure of Zochrot, an Israeli group that organizes tours to villages destroyed
by Israeli forces in the Nakba and in 1967, teaches the history and geography
of the Nakba, and translating these materials into Hebrew, (Zochrot)
The family of Ahmed al-Khatib, a 12 year old fatally shot last
week by Israeli troops who mistook his toy gun for a real rifle, have donated
his organs at a Haifa hospital "for the sake of peace between peoples."
His organs helped save the lives of six patients. His heart
was given to a 12-year-old girl; his liver was divided in two and given to two
patients, a six-month old baby and a 56-year-old woman; his kidneys were given
to a 5-year-old boy and his lungs were given to a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old
girl, Israel Radio reported.
The boy died of his wounds on Saturday.
Dr. Tzvi Ben-Yishai, a spokesman for Rambam Medical Center in
Haifa, where Khatib had been treated, said that the boy's parents decided to donate
his organs "to bring hearts closer and bring peace closer."
The boy's uncle, Jamal Khatib, confirmed that the family had
donated the organs.
"This is not a political issue, but a personal one,"
the boy's father told Channel Two news. "I had an older brother who suffered
from kidney failure and there were no transplants available. When the doctor told
me that my boy was clinically dead, I remembered my brother and thought of ways
to help."more..
Drumming
Circle, Jahalin Beduin Children near Ma'ale Adumim. The Israeli Committee Against
House Demolitions (ICAHD), in coordination with Bustan li Shalom and Rabbis for
Human Rights, sponsored cultural events to raise awareness and funds for the Jahalin
Beduin, who were were expelled from their traditional lands by Israel. (ICAHD)
Palestinians,
Israelis join together in Battle of Bilin
By Mark MacKinnon, International Solidarity Movement/Globe and Mail, January 7,
2006 BILIN, WEST BANK — Nimrod Eshel is shouting
out his disgust at the barrier his country is building through the West Bank when
the tear gas starts to fly.
The 24-year-old student from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
pants mildly as he dashes through an olive grove to find a safer vantage point.
The peaceful protest of a few minutes before is beginning to disintegrate; Palestinian
youths, their faces covered with bandanas to protect them from the effects of
the gas, hurl stones back at the helmeted Israeli troops, who respond with rubber
bullets and more tear gas.
“I think it’s really important for Israelis to see
this. It’s really sad what’s going on,” Mr. Eshel said, waving
his hand in an arc that included both the ongoing barrier construction and the
Israeli dispersal of the protest.
The Battle of Bilin, as the weekly anti-wall protest here
in this tiny West Bank community is known, begins every Friday after midday prayers.
Several dozen unarmed residents of the town, supplemented by foreign and Israeli
peace activists, meet each week outside the local mosque and march together toward
the bulldozers and front-end loaders that are preparing the ground for the next
growth spurt in the 685-kilometre-long separation barrier.more..
Archives:
More about Israelis and Palestinians Working
Together
Israel tells schools not to teach nakba Uruknet August 21, 2010 - Government officials warned Israeli teachers last week not to cooperate with a civic group that seeks to educate Israelis about how the Palestinians view the loss of their homeland and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Israel’s education ministry issued the advisory after Zochrot – a Jewish group that seeks to raise... Netanyahu Running with Nowhere to Hide Palestine Chronicle: 16 Aug 2010 - By James Gundun, Washington D.C. Last week the US government and media lauded Israel’s decision to cooperate with a UN investigation into the Freedom Flotilla raid. Although Israeli opinion was more critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision, the general consensus realized he had no choice. Stonewall here and Israel would have absolutely nothing to stand on going into the pivotal month of September, when Israel’s settlement “freeze” in the West Bank expires and the UN will debate Palestinian statehood. "We thank both governments (Israeli and Turkish) for the constructive and cooperative spirit they have shown and the Secretary General for his leadership and determination," said Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN. Seven days later and no one is praising Ban Ki-moon anymore. Only hours after Netanyahu testified to the UN that Turkish decision-making was ultimately to blame, the UN Secretary-General “quashed what he called a rumor” that Israeli...more Report: Israel to end assistance to planned city 8/12/2010 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israel will stop any assistance offered to the Palestinian Authority to build a new city, Ar-Rawabi, in the West Bank, Israeli press reported Thursday. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak will inform the PA that assistance will be withdrawn, despite months of cooperation, because the construction does not.... Israel to cut funding for West Bank planned city Palestine Note 12 Aug 2010 - Washington – After months of cooperation and planning, Israeli authorities have decided to cut all funding to Rawabi, the first planned Palestinian city being built in the West Bank, Ma’an News Agency reported Thursday. The hills... Could Tourism Save The Jordan Valley? Palestine Monitor: 5 Aug 2010 - Without major re-development work, the Jordan Valley will face “a catastrophe within the next decade”, according to economic expert Saeb Bamya of the AIX group. With 30% unemployment, just 4% of land cultivated, and settlements and military training zones absorbing more of the area, local Palestinians face an uncertain future. Radical solutions are needed. The Dead Sea AIX, an Israeli/Palestinian think tank have focussed on promoting tourism as a tool of re-development. The unique religious and ecological significance of the Jordan Valley, combined with marquee destinations like Jericho and the Dead Sea, have enormous appeal to a wide range of tourists. These are already used in cross-border tours between Jordan and Israel, which could be expanded to take in the West Bank. “Mutual interest is the key, ” says Bamya, “ co-operation can reflect the interests of all parties”. “We look at tourism as a substitute for agriculture” , says Nader...more Obama's Costly Appeasement of Israelis Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jul 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh –Washington, D.C. It was a session replete with superlatives when the assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, Andrew J. Shapiro, spelled out in unprecedented detail the Obama administration’s approach to U.S.-Israel security cooperation, reassuring the Israelis of “preserving (their country’s) qualitative military edge.” The crowded event, held at the Brookings Saban Center founded by a wealthy Egyptian-Jew, seemed to serve as an obvious attempt by the administration to reassure Israelis that President Barack Obama, whose popularity in Israel is very low (about 10 percent), means well in his lethargic bid to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Shapiro, a onetime a senior research assistant at the pro-Israeli think-tank, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and for eight years a former foreign and defense adviser to Hillary Clinton before she was named secretary of state, reminded his audience of her “deep sense of pride in...more Off the Grid in the South Hebron Hills Iris Keltz, CounterPunch 7/16/2010 Down Highway 60 Bedouin villages in the South Hebron Hills are poised to skip the industrial age and take a leap from primitive to sustainable. They will never have to worry about reducing their carbon footprint– unlike those of us from affluent societies in the US or Israel. Renewable energy systems– wind turbines and solar panels are being built for the poorest and most marginalized communities in the occupied West Bank. This help is a matter of life-support. Environmental studies reveal their cisterns are toxic and they have been denied access to the electricity grid servicing nearby settlements. The project is a joint initiative of Israelis and Palestinian community workers who believe borders of fear and racism are best overcome by neighbors working together. I am traveling on Highway 60 with Ilan, cofounder of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who insist on telling their fellow citizens the price of occupation. Historically this road connected seven major cities: Nablus/Shchem, Genin, Tul-Karem, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Hebron/Halil and Be’ersheva. In 95-6 during the Oslo agreements, the road was shifted to lead ’around’ the Bethlehem area. The tunnels near Beit Jallah were dug, establishing the first "Israeli only roads", marking the beginning of "separate roads." Check Points were set up, not quite on the Green Line, shaving land away from Palestinians (as usual). Internationals are supposed to go through Bethlehem near Rachel’s Tomb Checkpoint, turning the Beit Jallah "tunnels" into a de-facto apartheid checkpoint. To pass through, one must have either a Blue ID- Israeli citizenship, or ’the Right of Return’. Neither of which I have, but Ilan does not seem worried. West Bank Palestinians are not aloud into Jerusalem without permits and green license plates are not aloud within Israeli ’67 lines. They are however allowed on Highway 60 if it is within the Occupied Territory. Jerusalem is effectively off from the the road as is historical continuity, the traditional economy and of course the people.more..e-mail Palestinian students, teachers condemn Italian university's normalization project Electronic Intifada: 7 Jul 2010 - The Italian Development Cooperation (DGCS), with the support of UNESCO, has engineered the partnership of three Israeli universities with that of Al-Quds University in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in a masters program that allows 20 Israeli and Palestinian students to participate in learning about "cooperation, humanitarianism, peace and cultural preservation." This act of normalization aims to blur the boundaries between oppressor and oppressed, colonizer and colonized, occupier and occupied, executioner and victim, and ultimately aims at whitewashing Israel's war crimes. Israeli intelligence services put pressure on Palestinian students Uruknet July 6, 2010 - Reports suggest that Palestinian medical students are being coerced into cooperating with Israeli intelligence services in return for permits to train in hospitals in occupied Jerusalem. Based on testimonies from students at the University of Abu Dis in Jerusalem, as well as the nature of complaints received by Physicians for Human Rights, it is claimed... Settlement workers concerned over livelihoods 7/5/2010 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Palestinians employed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank are worried about the political stance of the PA, and wondering if the rhetoric will cost them their livelihoods. The Workers Hotline in cooperation with the Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions released a report Monday, documenting recent actions taken by settlement employers seeking to.... Nocturnal Terror in Silwan Jesse Bacon, Israel: The Only Democracy in the Middle East? 7/3/2010 Another night sets in on Silwan. Just two days ago, hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators marched together along the narrow streets of the neighborhood, to support the local residents, facing the municipality’s plan to demolish 22 houses. But here, as anywhere in east Jerusalem, happenings do not cease for a moment. In previous weeks, more and more appeals to the solidarity activists of Sheikh Jarrah came in from the residents of Silwan. In view of our successful campaign, more and more Palestinians have been trying to find a way for Arab-Jewish cooperation. During recent tours in Silwan, we all had a sense of urgency and shared destiny. We must act, and act fast, before catastrophe hits us, before the abyss becomes too deep and wide to bridge. And we must act together, against all the risks and against all the suspicion which has built up here over the years. And now we are here, climbing up the narrow alleys, together with the locals. Just one hour ago, tens of private security guards, escorted by border policemen, entered Palestinian homes around “Beit Hadvash” (house of honey in Hebrew…) and “Beit Yehonatan”. The settlers have only managed to seize two houses in this area, but this is enough to bring the place to the brink of eruption. Nightly border police patrols, private security personnel, armed with guns, undercover policemen and “Mistaarvim” (Israeli soldiers disguised as Arabs) have turned the place into a war zone. This alley is narrow, dark. Tens of meters above us, shots are being fired and explosions can be heard. A helicopter is hovering above us, projecting rays of light onto alleys where the municipality has never thought of installing street lights. Twenty activists cling to the walls, and keep going forward. All of a sudden the alley comes to an end, and a battlefield lies ahead of us. The small street around Beit Hadvash is all strewn with rifle bullet casings, unexploded grenades and the parts of destroyed cars. The soldiers are standing in groups at the entrances to houses and on the balconies, shooting into the houses around them....more..e-mail When the Police Have an Illegal Headquarters David Cronin, Inter Press Service 6/30/2010 BRUSSELS - Talks aimed at reaching an intelligence-sharing agreement between the European Union and Israel have skirted around the location of Israel’s national police headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In 2005, the EU decided that Europol, its law enforcement office, should negotiate a formal cooperation agreement with Israel. Although Europol stated last year that a draft accord had been completed, it has now acknowledged that the question of Israeli police basing their headquarters on Palestinian land has not been properly addressed. "The negotiations so far have not touched upon the issue of the location of the main office of the Israeli police in East Jerusalem," a Europol spokesman told IPS. The issue is highly sensitive because the EU has never recognised Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, and has opposed Israel’s policy of evicting Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, the neighbourhood where Israel’s police and public security ministry are headquartered. A report by EU diplomats from March last year complained about a marked acceleration in the pace with which Israeli settlements are being built in East Jerusalem as part of a deliberate policy to sever it from the remainder of the West Bank. "Israel is, by practical means, actively pursuing the illegal annexation of East Jerusalem," the report said. Israel is one of several countries - including Russia, the U.S. and Canada - to have entered into talks on sharing information with Europol. As part of an eventual agreement, Europol would expect to have representatives stationed in Israel’s police headquarters. Such a move would involve a reversal of a decades-old EU policy as it would mean a de facto recognition of Israel’s takeover of East Jerusalem.more..e-mail Hamas: Jawwal undermining national plan 6/28/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - The largest Palestinian telecommunications provider, Jawwal, turned down a request to cooperate with the Gaza government plan to dissuade residents from becoming collaborators, a statement from Hamas officials said Sunday. De facto Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said the request was part of a national campaign to "confront Israeli efforts against the people.... We Are Everywhere: Sew Far Sew Good Palestine Monitor: 19 Jun 2010 - The old city market in Hebron has turned into a ghost town. Israeli settlers occupying the homes above the market, use the walkways below as their personal trash can and the constant harassment from Israeli soldiers has forced shopkeepers to move. But, there is a light of life in the old city market. It is here where you can find the Palestinian Women's Embroidery Co-operative. Most shops are closed in the old city. A net has been placed above the walkway to collect the garbage thrown down by Israeli settlers. The PWEC was created by Nawal Slemiah just over 6 years ago. Nawal started her embroidery business in the small village of Idna but struggled due to a lack of customers. One day, she heard on television that internationals frequently visited the Ibrahimi Mosque. With a mind for business, she left Idna to seek out the promising, new, international market.... We are Everywhere! Palestine Monitor: 19 Jun 2010 - The old city market in Hebron has turned into a ghost town. Israeli settlers occupying the homes above the market, use the walkways below as their personal trash can and the constant harassment from Israeli soldiers has forced shopkeepers to move. But, there is a light of life in the old city market. It is here where you can find the Palestinian Women's Embroidery Co-operative. Most shops are closed in the old city. A net has been placed above the walkway to collect the garbage thrown down by Israeli settlers. The PWEC was created by Nawal Slemiah just over 6 years ago. Nawal started her embroidery business in the small village of Idna but struggled due to a lack of customers. One day, she heard on television that internationals frequently visited the Ibrahimi Mosque. With a mind for business, she left Idna to seek out the promising, new, international market.... Two Italian Supermarkets Suspend Sales of Settlement Products Palestine Monitor: 23 May 2010 - COOP AND NORDICONAD SUPERMARKET CHAINS SUSPEND SALES OF PRODUCTS FROM SETTLEMENTS IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: An important success for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid May 22, 2010 - Following lobbying efforts by the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco, two major Italian supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, announced the suspension of sales of products from Agrexco, the principal exporter of produce from Israel and the illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Nordiconad director Mr. Covili announced that as of the end of April Agrexco products will no longer be found in their supermarkets. Nordiconad is a cooperative responsible for central purchasing and distribution operations for CONAD in northern Italy. COOP Italia, via quality assurance director Mr. Zucchi, instead confirmed that there is a problem with traceability, namely that the consumer is unable to verify whether or not the product in question comes from the... OECD Rewards Israel's Occupation Palestine Chronicle: 21 May 2010 - By Brian Napoletano – Paris The governments of the 31 member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) all agreed on May 10 that Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, its institutionalized discrimination against non-Jewish citizens, and its multiple alleged war crimes will not disqualify the state from joining the ranks of the world's strongest economic powers. The only reservations these issues raised among the member countries were those expressed by Switzerland, Ireland and Norway--who pointed out that some of Israel´s economic data was misleading because it aggregated statistics in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with its internal statistics. Once Israel agreed to provide disaggregated statistics, to allow the OECD to add a footnote to its reports "stating that the data are supplied by and under the responsibility of the Israeli authorities and that their use by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the...more The Ongoing Nakba Of Palestinians Palestine Monitor: 18 May 2010 - Demonstrations have been organised this week in all the occupied Palestinian territories, to commemorate the 62nd Anniversary of the Nabka, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their houses and driven out of their homeland. Palestine Monitor interviewed Palestinian singer Rim Banna. / Rim Banna Photo: Activestills Rim Banna sings the notes of Onadikum, the notorious ballad of the Palestinian folkloristic tradition, whilst behind the scenery of the stage the Israeli Army is patrolling the entrance of Al- Masara. This West Bank village lies 13 km from Bethlehem and, like the 8 other villages in the area, is completely encircled by the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat (part of the Gush Etzion block). In Al-Masara on Friday the internationally-known Palestinian singer openedthe rallies commemorating the Nakba, an event organised by the local committee with the support of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee, and in cooperation with the Minister... ‘I will not cooperate with any Israeli institution while Palestinians are denied basic human rights’ Mondoweiss - Two friends of mine, both professors at prestigious universities, have refused to review research proposals for the BSF (United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation), a high level grant-awarding institution, established by the governments of the United States and Israel in 1972, to support cooperative research projects of... Bending the Rules for Israel Nadia Hijab, CounterPunch 5/11/2010 Welcome to the Club Israel’s inexorable accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development country club -- is set to be confirmed this month barring last-minute hitches. Although several OECD members have doubts about Israel’s qualifications both on technical grounds and lack of shared values, no state has dared publicly oppose. Instead, public opposition has been left to a loose and unusual network of Palestinian and Jewish organizations that have been hard at work lobbying European countries, Turkey, the United States, and other members. It has also provided a rare point for common action between Palestinian official and civil society organizations. The "technical issues" that worried the OECD include corruption, particularly in the arms industry; intellectual property rights, particularly in the drugs industry; and the occupation. More specifically about the occupation, Israel included data covering its illegal settlements and annexed territories in its economic report, according to a leaked OECD document cited by 18 Irish parliamentarians who called on their government to oppose Israel’s membership. The OECD has apparently resolved this issue by inserting a disclaimer. It will use Israeli data without prejudice to the status of the occupied territories, as Avi Shlaim and Simon Mohun wrote in their Guardian comment calling for OECD conditions on Israeli membership. However, prominent legal experts have raised serious problems regarding state obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention if OECD member states pursue this planned course of action. And this may still throw up a last-minute hurdle.more..e-mail How the US and Israel Draw Ever Closer Together Brian Cloughley, CounterPunch 5/7/2010 Cementing Relationships Following Israel’s deliberate insult to the United States of America on March 9 some people thought there would be action taken by Washington to make it clear that in future it would be unwise to make a fool of the US Vice President. No chance. You can humiliate the Vice President of the United States of America any time you want – if you’re the Israeli government. To recap on what happened : in March Vice President Biden went to Israel, supposedly in an attempt to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to at least begin to start to engage in talks. He didn’t have a hope of succeeding, but he did what vice presidents are designed for : he sought to convey the impression that the US Administration is serious about an international problem that it has no intention of fixing. And while he was in Tel Aviv the Israelis announced that they were going to build yet more settlements on Arab lands, in defiance of international law, human decency, and everything else associated with civilized behavior. Nothing new about that – but it does raise the matter of a calculated insult to the United States, because Israel yet again defied a Security Council ruling that the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land is illegal. The official policy of the United States is to encourage adherence to UN Security Council resolutions. Washington, after all, refers to them repeatedly in regard to alleged violations by North Korea and Iran. So perish the thought that the President of the United States should deem some resolutions less relevant or operative than others.more..e-mail Public Figures Call For Delay In OECD Vote On Israeli Entry Palestine Monitor: 9 May 2010 - Public figures launched an urgent appeal to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, which are due to vote on Israel's accession to the group on Monday. In a Sunday statement, signtories such as 1976 Northern Ireland Nobel Prize for Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire, former South African Special Rapporteur of UN on Palestine John Dugard and former Italian vice-President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini, are calling for a delay in the process until Israel fulfills its obligations toward the Palestinians under international law and abides fully with OECD principles and benchmarks. "OECD's mission includes promotion of world trade and economic development," the statement said, noting that "Israel allows only 81 items into Gaza, while Palestinians are not allowed to export their produce." The document said the "inhumane policy defies logic, not to mention basic moral principles, and makes us wonder how an organization like OECD would find... A different type of Memorial Day Palestine Note 8 May 2010 - EILOT REGION, South Israel - For The Arava Institute-a college for environmental studies in the south of Israel where Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and Americans study together-these recent weeks have posed unique challenges. This period included Holocaust... Will Turkey veto Israel’s OECD membership? Alaa Tarti, Ma’an News Agency 5/8/2010 Israel starts its countdown to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and to prove to the international community that it is a "civilized" country that respects human rights and democracy, that it deserves to be in the most developed countries’ club, and it deserve to be the 31st member of the OECD. This might be great news and a dream to be fulfilled for the "admission engineer," Stanley Fischer, the governor of the Bank of Israel. However, is it good news for the OECD itself to accept the membership of a country that violates the fundamental values of the OECD? Is it good news for the peace process in the Middle East where the international community may legalize the Israeli occupation in the West Bank? Is it good news for the Palestinian state’s formation process that is supposed to be announced next year? And will Turkey, represented by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, show again its commitment to stand with the oppressed people in the occupied Palestinian territories, and veto the Israeli membership in the OECD? After his visit to Israel in January 2010, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria stated, "We are probably going to complete (the membership process) in 2010, that’s when it was scheduled for." This statement was declared after three years of the issuance of the Road Map for the Accession of Israel to the OECD Convention. However, such a statement arguably ignores the fundamental values of the OECD, ignores the facts on the ground, and only adds more darkness and disappointment to the peace process. As the Road Map document itself states on its second page, these fundamental values that Israel must comply with include "a commitment to pluralist democracy based on the rule of law and the respect of human rights, adherence to open and transparent market economy principles and a shared goal of sustainable development."....more..e-mail Israeli jailers starve Palestinian prisoner to press him to work as informer Uruknet May 5, 2010 - The Palestinian prisoner society said that Israeli interrogators in the Ashkelon prison starved a 19-year-old prisoner and told him he would remain without food until he cooperates with them and work as an informer. The society said that the interrogators took advantage of the prisoner’s illiteracy and forced him to place thumbprints on papers he did... South African policy revised for Palestine? Iqbal Jassat, Ma’an News Agency 5/3/2010 South African Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Ebrahim Ebrahim’s visit to Gaza will undoubtedly be characterized with the usual denunciations of Israeli policies. That this is to be expected is in line with foreign policy imperatives in a post-apartheid era, though many would argue that such pronouncements – necessary as they are – fall short of action. Since the period of the apartheid regime’s close alliance with Israel witnessed overt and covert collaboration in the perpetration of some of the most gruesome oppression in both pariah states, it remains an unfulfilled yearning of many pro-Palestinian activists to have these links severed, which unfortunately continue to this day. Though the argument for democratic South Africa to ditch ties with Israel is also made by leading political figures from the country’s major labor movement COSATU, it remains an embarrassing fact that the ruling African National Congress keeps finding dubious reasons to justify the presence of an Israeli mission in Pretoria. Does it reflect a dire lack of transformation in foreign policy? Or worse, does it reflect a betrayal of solidarity with Palestine? Or is it a combination of both? Is it not the case that historic ties with the Palestinian freedom struggle ought to be the principal guide in determining the basis for any engagement with a colonial entity that was equally responsible in sustaining the oppression and denial of fundamental human rights of the majority during apartheid? The fact is that South Africa has entered her sixteenth year of democracy, while the Palestinian vision of a free, independent and democratic state remains an illusion.more..e-mail Fair Trade and the Palestinian Context Shadi Mahmoud, This Week in Palestine 4/29/2010 Although Palestine is the most active country in fair trade in the whole Arab region and Middle East, as demonstrated through its prominent role in the First Arab Fair Trade Forum held by the Palestinian Fair Trade Network (PFTN)* in Amman in December 2009, the term “fair trade” is still unfamiliar to many Palestinians. According to the World Fair Trade Organization (the WFTO), fair trade is “a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It also contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South.” Given that we Palestinians have been suffering from brutal occupation for almost 62 years, the concept of fair trade comes naturally to Palestinians, by instinct; it was neither a foreign concept learned abroad nor was it imported or imposed from the outside. The fair trade movement in Palestine started as a spontaneous relief intervention during the first Intifada (1987-1993), at a time when Israeli-imposed curfews, mass arrests, and widespread unemployment caused extreme economic hardship for many Palestinians. During that period, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) started to support and spread the concept of household economies and rural productive cooperatives. PARC began a “Home Garden” programme that distributed seedlings, seeds, and sheep to thousands of poor and marginalised rural families who were living under the Israeli-imposed siege and curfew. Then it started to assist those co-operatives in selling their produce in Palestinian cities. During that time, fair trade in Palestine was relief work. Today, however, fair trade has grown tremendously to become an important means for achieving sustainable development. It has become a culture that helps the poor avoid humanitarian aid and earn a living in dignity. In 1993, PARC established a separate fair trade department in order to better organise the Palestinian fair trade movement and to expand the movement’s reach into international fair trade markets for the benefit of thousands of disadvantaged small-scale farmers and women in rural areas of Palestine....more..e-mail BNC Calls On Trade Unions To Urgently Intervene With Their Government To Stop Israel From Joining The OECD Palestine Monitor: 26 Apr 2010 - Occupied Palestine, 22 April 2010 – In a few days Trade Unions will commemorate the achievements of the labor movement. The origins of the International Worker's Day date back to the 1886 Chicago protests where police killed several workers marching to demand their rights. Every week, Palestinian human rights defenders march in their villages protesting Israel's encroachment of their land. The Israeli army also greets them with live ammunition, indiscriminately killing many. Despite these crimes, Israel continues to be rewarded by the international community, this time with the prospects of membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls on Trade Unions to use the significance of May Day to intervene with their governments to block Israel's membership to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) until it complies with international law and OECD standards. It is expected... Richard Falk: 'I believe that Hamas should be treated as a political actor' Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 4/9/2010 Richard Falk is the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. In 2001 Falk served on a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Inquiry Commission for the Palestinian territories with John Duggard. He is also an American Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University with a long and distinguished career in academics, politics and law. He recently gave this exclusive and revealing interview to the Middle East Monitor’s Dr Hanan Chehata. HC: Following your appointment as UN Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2008 you traveled to Israel in order to begin your investigations. Can you tell us a little more about how you were received by Israel? RF: I was denied entry and expelled at Ben Gurion Airport when I tried to enter Israel for the purpose of carrying out my duties as UN Special Rapporteur. These duties consist mainly of reporting on Israeli compliance with human rights obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and include duties of compliance with respect to international humanitarian law. Israeli authorities confined me for more than 15 hours in a detention cell with five other detainees before putting me on a plane. I was given no explanation beyond that my expulsion order came from the Israeli Foreign Ministry that had objected to my appointment from the outset. As my itinerary on the West Bank had been previously submitted to the Israeli embassy in Geneva, and as visas had been granted to the two UN employees assisting me on the mission, it seems clear that Israel wanted to have the incident at the airport rather than tell me in advance that I would be denied entry. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN officials did object to the Israeli refusal to allow me to do my job as Special Rapporteur. It should be pointed out that the UN Charter in Article 2(2) requires Members to cooperate with the UN in carrying out its functions, and that this duty is reinforced by an international treaty outlining this duty of cooperation. HC: You were denied entry into the OPT. Have you been allowed at any point to enter the territory? If not, how have you been able to do your job?....more..e-mail Fayyad’s big gamble Uri Avnery, Ma’an News Agency 4/11/2010 I met Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, two weeks ago, and was again impressed by the calm and modesty he radiates. Generally, I meet him at demonstrations, such as those at the Bi’lin fence. This time, too, there was no opportunity for more than a perfunctory handshake and a few polite words. We appeared together at the Land Day event in a small village near Qalqiliya, whose name is known only to a few: Izbat Al-Tabib. The village was established in 1920, and the occupation authorities do not recognize its existence. They want to demolish it and transfer its extensive lands to the nearby Alfei Menashe settlement. We were surrounded by a large group of respectable personalities – the heads of neighboring villages and officials of the parties that belong to the PLO – as well as the inhabitants of the village. I could speak to him only from the rostrum. I entreated him to strengthen the cooperation between the Palestinian leadership and the Israeli peace camp, a cooperation that has weakened since the assassinations of Yasser Arafat and Faisal Husseini. It is impossible not to like Fayyad. He radiates decency, seriousness and a sense of responsibility. He invites trust. None of the filth of corruption has stuck to him. He is no party functionary. Only after much hesitation did he join a small party (the Third Way). In the confrontation between Fatah and Hamas, he does not belong to either of the two rival blocs. He looks like a bank manager – and that is what he indeed was: a senior official of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The 58-year old Fayyad is the very opposite of Arafat, who first appointed him as finance minister. The Ra’is (Arabic for head or chief) radiated authority, the prime minister radiates diffidence. Arafat was an extrovert, Fayyad is an introvert. Arafat was a man of dramatic gestures, Fayyad does not know what a gesture is.more..e-mail Netanyahu's Days May Be Numbered Palestine Chronicle: 31 Mar 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C. Believe it or not, Benjamin Netanyahu may be coming back to Washington next weekend. The Israeli prime minister has apparently wiped the spit – – not rain – – off his head, which he earned after his stressful encounter with President Barack Obama last month on ending illegal Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land, especially in East Jerusalem where the Palestinians hope to establish their capital. But whether he will have his tail tucked between his legs remains to be seen. The Israeli prime minister will be one of 40 world leaders expected to participate in the April 12-13 nuclear security summit conference, sponsored by President Obama, “to enhance international cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism.” What he may have to say here will be eagerly watched by all those who are eagerly awaiting any revelation about Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Whatever, the serious...more Military investigator testifies that head of IDF Southern Command instructed bulldozer operator not to cooperate with investigation 3/30/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Rachel Corrie Foundation, 29 March 2010 -- Monday, March 22 and Wednesday March 24, 2010 the Haifa District Court saw the fifth and sixth days of testimony in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie's family against the State of Israel for her unlawful killing in Rafah, Gaza. Rachel Corrie, an American human rights defender from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death on March 16, 2003 by a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer. She had been nonviolently demonstrating against Palestinian home demolitions with fellow members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land using nonviolent, direct action methods and principles. An Israeli military police investigator, who was part of the team that investigated Rachel's killing, completed his testimony on March 22. Palestinian Land Day: The Non-Violent Struggle Continues Palestine Monitor: 30 Mar 2010 - In the occasion of the Palestinian Land day several non-violent demonstrations will be held during the week: March 30, 2010: Land Day: Qarawet Bani Zeid Friday March 2, 2010: Bilin, Nilin, Ma'sara, Nebi Saleh, Sheikh Jarrah The non-violent struggle in West Bank: Since the construction of the separation and Apartheid Wall began on June 16th 2002, Palestinian villages across the West Bank have cooperated in non-violent resistance. The communities of Qalqiliya, Jayyous, Budrus, Bil'in, Ni'lin and Al Masara and Umm Salamonah have all non-violently resisted the Wall being built around them. Weekly non-vio-lent demonstrations against the Wall are held in several villages, which bring together Palestinians and Israelis, as well international activists. Weekly Non- Violent Demonstrations Week from 22.3.10 to 28.3.10 BI'LIN Palestinian, Israeli and international activists braved foul weather conditions to demonstrate in West Bank village of Bi'lin on Friday. Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National... Israel, Hamas urged to cooperate with UN inquiry 3/27/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Amnesty International has called on the Israeli government and Hamas to cooperate fully with the committee of independent experts which the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish on 25 March. The committee's task will involve monitoring domestic investigations into war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law alleged to have occurred during the 22-day conflict in Gaza and southern Israel between 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009. "The committee's assessment of the Israeli and Palestinian investigations should be made available to the UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly and Security Council in the coming months," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. "A comprehensive assessment of the domestic investigations could provide a solid basis for decisions on. . . Coordination: PA, Israel team up to fight mixed marriage 3/25/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - It wasn't the first time Israelis and Palestinians joined together in an attempt to break up a Jewish-Muslim couple, only the most recent. Years after authorities ended a similar relationship in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, they're at it again. First it was phone calls from the woman's "family. ""Hello, we represent Sima's family and we come in the name of. . . . organization. We ask you to return the girl to her parents. ""Hello, we represent Sima's father. He came to us as a clan and we demand that you return the girl. ""Hello, I'm Rabbi. . . . Tell your husband that we are ready to pay him half a million shekels if he returns you to your parents. " These were just a fraction of the phone calls that continued as the weeks and months went on since Muhammad Hamamra, from the Husan village west of Bethlehem, fell in love with a Jewish woman, Sima, from the neighboring settlement. Hamas report: IOF and Abbas’s militias killed last year 1,090 Palestinians PIC 9 Mar 2010 - Hamas said that the Israeli occupation forces and Mahmoud Abbas’s militias killed during 2009 a total of 1,090 Palestinians and kidnapped 3,665 others in the context of their security cooperation. Is Europe Planning Seal of Approval for Israeli Settlers?Israel Set to Join Club of Richest Nations Uruknet March 8, 2010 - An exclusive club of the world’s most developed countries is poised to admit Israel as a member even though, a confidential internal document indicates, doing so will amount to endorsing Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories. Israel has been told that its accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is all... Is Europe planning seal of approval for Israeli settlers? Jonathan Cook, Dissident Voice 3/8/2010 Israel Set to Join Club of Richest Nations An exclusive club of the world’s most developed countries is poised to admit Israel as a member even though, a confidential internal document indicates, doing so will amount to endorsing Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories. Israel has been told that its accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is all but assured when the 30 member states meet in May. But a draft OECD report concedes that Israel has breached one of the organisation’s key requirements on providing accurate and transparent data on its economic activity. The information supplied by Israel, the report notes, includes not only the economic activity of its citizens inside its recognised borders but also Jewish settlers who live in the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan in violation of international law. Israel’s accession to the OECD on such terms threatens to severely embarrass many of the organisation’s member states, especially those in the European Union that are publicly committed to avoiding collusion with the occupation. The OECD report proposes that these legal difficulties may be circumvented by asking Israel to produce new statistics within a year of its accession excluding the settler population – even though, an OECD official has admitted, Israel would have the power to veto such a demand after it becomes a member. “The OECD seems to be so determined to get Israel through its door that it is prepared to cover up the crimes of the occupation,” said Shir Hever, a Jerusalem-based economist.more..e-mail Beit Ummar rally teargassed by Israeli forces 3/6/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an -Dozens of Beit Ummar residents joined in protest at the eastern entrance of the village on Saturday, calling for an end to land confiscations and closed zones that prevent farmers from accessing agricultural lands. Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Ayad Awad said the group was met with tear gas when they reached the gate of the village. "Israeli soldiers fired soundand gas bombs on the rally, organized by the national committee against the wall in cooperation with the Palestinian solidarity project," Awad said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said a group of "60 rioters, not just Palestinians, were hurling rocks and blocking the main road in the Judea and Samaria region [the West Bank]," and that Israeli forces responded with "riot dispersal methods. "The incident continued for nearly an hour, as residents refused to leave the area and demanded their right to protest. Za’noon appointed speaker of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union 3/3/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian National Council (PNC) speaker Salim Za'noon was appointed the head of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Unionon Tuesday, replacing Sheikh Ahmad Al-Esa'y. The appointment came during the opening session of the union's 16th conference, held in the headquarters of the Egyptian parliament, attended by speakers of Arab parliaments, national parties, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and NGOs. Za'noon delivered a speech applauding Egypt for hosting the conference, pinpointing the importance of the role of the AIPU and calling for more cooperation in order to maintain it. Furthermore, the new AIPU head urged the union to play a more significant role in countering the threats encompassing Palestine, particularly the recent Israeli decision to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and Rachel's Tomb, both in the West Bank, and the walls of occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, on a list of Israeli heritage sites. PA security forces arrest PFLP comrades in Nablus Uruknet February 25, 2010 - Palestinian Authority security forces arrested a group of comrades in Nablus today, February 25, 2010, as part of their "security cooperation" with the Israeli occupation. Comrade Khalida Jarrar, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, strongly denounced the arrests, saying that this action serves only the interests of the... Listen to the Heroes of Israel John Pilger, Antiwar.com 2/25/2010 "Our children," said Nurit at a rally last December to mark the anniversary of the Israeli assault on Gaza, "have learned this year that all the disgusting qualities which anti-Semites attribute to Jews are actually manifested among our leaders: deceit, greed, and the murder of children … " I phoned Rami Elhanan the other day. We had not spoken for six years and much has happened in Israel and Palestine. Rami is an Israeli graphic designer who lives with his family in Jerusalem. His father survived Auschwitz. His grandparents and six aunts and uncles perished in the Holocaust. Whenever I am asked about heroes, I say Rami and his wife Nurit without hesitation. Soon after when we met, Rami gave me a home videotape that was difficult to watch. It shows his daughter Smadar, aged 14, throwing her head back, laughing and playing the piano. "She loved to dance," he said. On the afternoon of 4 September, 1997, Smadar and her best friend, Sivane, had auditions for admission to a dance school. She had argued that morning with her mother, who was anxious about her going to the centre of Jerusalem. "I didn’t want to row," said Nurit, "so I let her go." Rami was in his car when he turned on the radio to catch the three o’clock news. There had been a suicide bombing in Ben Yehuda shopping precinct. More than 200 hundred people were injured and several were dead. Within minutes, his mobile phone rang. It was Nurit, crying. They searched the hospitals in vain, then the morgue; and so began, as Rami describes it, their "descent into darkness." Rami and Nurit are two of the founders of the Parents Circle, or Bereaved Families Forum, which brings together Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones. "It’s painful to acknowledge," he said. "but there is no basic moral difference between the [Israeli] soldier at the checkpoint who prevents a woman who is having a baby from going through, causing her to lose the baby, and the man who killed my daughter. And just as my daughter was a victim [of the occupation], so was he."....more..e-mail Israel: PA thwarts West Bank projectile fire 2/22/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority cooperated with the Israeli military in foiling the planned launch of a homemade rocket-like projectile from the West Bank into Israel, Israel said on Monday. In a statement the military hailed the effort as an example of "successful cooperation between the IDF, the Civil Administration and the Palestinian Security Forces. "According to the military, the alleged projectile was of the same type fired into Israel from Gaza. The so-called "Qassam" rockets are usually metal pipes packed with explosives. The rockets are unguided and militarily ineffective. Israel waged a three-week war on the Gaza Strip last year with the stated aim of stopping such projectiles. An account published in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv revealed more details of the alleged operation. The newspaper said PA forces received information on a group affiliated to Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, operating in the villages of Beit Surik and Beit Liqya, near Ramallah. Israel is accused of waging covert war across the Middle East Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem, Axis of Logic 2/21/2010 Israel is waging a covert assassination campaign across the Middle East in an effort to stop its key enemies co-ordinating their activities. Israeli agents have been targeting meetings between members of Hamas and the leadership of the militant Hezbollah group, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. They are also suspected of recent killings in Dubai, Damascus and Beirut. While Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been suspected of staging assassinations across the world since the 1970s, it does not officially acknowledge or admit its activities. The current spate of killings began in December when a "tourist bus" carrying Iranian officials and Hamas members exploded outside Damascus. The official report by Syria claimed that a tyre had exploded but photographs surfaced showing the charred remains of the vehicle — prompting speculation that a much larger explosion had taken place. Several weeks later a meeting between members of Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their counterparts from Hezbollah in its southern Beirut stronghold in Lebanon was also attacked, resulting in several deaths. Hamas had sought to cover up the incidents because it was embarrassed, a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told The Times. "There has been growing co-operation between Gaza and Iran. Israel can read the writing on the wall and they know that with the help of Iran, the Hamas Government in Gaza will become stronger and will fight better...."more..e-mail One Gaza crossing opened for limited export 2/21/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing into the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, said to Palestinian border crossings official Raed Fattouh. Between 77 and 87 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods were schedelued for transfer into Gaza through Kerem Shalom, as well as limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial fuel, he said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, despite an increase in the import of cooking gas into the coastal enclave, this represents only 49 percent of the weekly needs of gas (1,400 tones), as estimated by the Gas Station Owners Association. "Since November 2009, quantities of gas available at the Palestinian General Petroleum Cooperation (PPC) are being distributed to bakeries and hospitals first, as a priority, due to ongoing shortfalls," OCHA said. Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began. Bil'in: 5 years of anti-Wall struggle Palestine Monitor: 18 Feb 2010 - This Friday, Palestinians, Israelis and internationals will together celebrate five years of anti-Wall protest in Bil'in. The anniversary takes place only one week after court ordered work to reroute the Wall began. PA begins enforcing ban on settlement goods 2/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hundreds of turkeys smuggled from Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank were seized en route to Bethlehem on Tuesday, a Palestinian Authority official said. Bethlehem Governor Abdul Fattah Hamayil said a truck driver transporting the poultry claimed it came from Jenin, however, investigators discovered it was smuggled from Israeli settlements. Hamayil said the poultry was seized as a result of cooperation between PA preventative security services in Bethlehem and Jenin, customs agents, the Bethlehem governorate and its municipal council. The poultry was confiscated, he added. "After the birds were examined and proved fit [for consumption], authorities decided to slaughter them and distribute the meat to charities working for the disabled, elderly people, and children," he said, vowing to crack down on the smuggling of settlement products. Arab 'terrorism' vs Jewish Eternal 'victimization' Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD, Desert Peace 2/13/2010 We have been extremely busy here.The presence of soldiers in Beit Sahour gave us ample time to talk to them on Thursday and on Friday; we spent the morning planting trees in threatened private lands. We were proud of young and old, internationals and Palestinians, working together, some 150 people in all.Even a bus of elderly from the elderly home in Beit Sahour showed up to help.My 77 year old mother was among them.It was such a meaningful thing.The day before was meaningful in a different way.The hours we spent talking to soldiers on Thursday was important too we believe. Foot soldiers in an army of occupation know so little other than what their government tells them.They tell them lies about Arabs “terrorism”, Jewish eternal “victimization”,the need to be strong to “defend” a country created so that they could simply live alone away from the anti-Semites (who are essentially all the Christians and the Muslims).They tell them that it is an unexplainable phenomenon this hatred of the Jews and it has nothing to do with what Jews do or did. It is almost a genetic thing. A friend wrote to me that: ”My visit to Yad Vashem in 2006, during the war with Lebanon, was a painful lesson. The museum of the Shoah is being used to indoctrinate young Israelis, esp. the military, that the whole world is and always has been against the Jews, and that the only solution is for Israelis to be firm and resolute against the whole world, even if it means being inhuman to the Palestinians.The “righteous among the nations” are cited as flukes, as anomalies, with no explanations offered for their sacrifices because for the Israelis though these people did something good, their motivations MUST remain in the shadows (e.g. Christian faith; social justice; their own experiences of oppression, etc.) so that the survival of the State of Israel can remain the one and only center stage concern.... Related: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemetery -- See also: Mamilla Campaign and VIDEO - Palestinian Families Appeal to UN Over Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on Jerusalem’s Historic Mamilla Cemeterymore..e-mail Fayyad: PA committed to settlement produce ban 2/13/2010 - Tulkarem - Ma'an -Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke of the Palestinian Authority (PA)'s enforcement of a ban on settlement goods in the Palestinian market during an opening speech at a conference on the settlement issue in Tulkarem. The Saturday conference, hosted by Al-Quds Open University, was titled "Settlements: Either bridges of peace and economic development or the destruction of people and the environment. "The Ramallah-based government is following up with countries committed to the Hague's decision on the illegality of Israeli settlements in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention, Fayyad told conference goers, adding that the PA placed great importance on working to replace settlement goods in the global market. Fayyad further said the PA is strengthening cooperation and partnership in the private sector to advance Palestinian economy. Al-Aqsa TV yet to air PA sex scandal tape 2/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV has yet to air a videotape Israeli Channel 10 TV released Tuesday, which allegedly reveals Palestinian Authority corruption in a sex scandal tape. On Thursday, Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem affairs Hatim Abdul Qader was quoted praising de facto government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh for his decision not to air the videotape, though it was not clear whether the decision to avoid airing the clip came directly from the Hamas leader. Israel News One said the alleged ban was a result of Hamas officials trying to avoid the appearance of cooperating with Israeli media. The clip reportedly shows a PA sting operation where head of the president's office Rafik Al-Husseini propositions a job applicant for sex in a Ramallah hotel room. The footage was provided by Fahmi Shabana, the former head of the PA's anti-corruption department. Students find school vandalized after settler visit 2/12/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Students at the Ma'zuz Al-Masri Girls School found the building vandalized by what officials say was settler mischief during an army-organized visit to a nearby religious site in Nablus on Thursday morning. The Israeli military, however, said it was their soldiers who damaged the building "in order to secure" a visit to Joseph's Tomb by approximately 500 settlers the night before. An Israeli military spokesman explained: "While entering, minor damage was caused to the school. The IDF took note of the damage and is cooperating with the Palestinian authorities in order to fix the damage. "When teachers and students arrived at the school they found it had been broken into, with several windows smashed and garbage thrown in the school water reserves, school officials reported. The Nablus municipality said its health crews examined the water and found it had been contaminated by trash. The reserve had to be emptied, disinfected and re-filled, officials said. Israeli forces demolish wells, sheds near Hebron 2/11/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers demolished five water wells and three small storerooms, confiscated electric generators and water pumps in Idhna, a town west of Hebron. Abdullah Al-Asoud, whose irrigation systems were destroyed in the demolition raid, said the area affected was in agricultural lands near the separation wall. The farmer noted that the other residents whose wells were affected, had filed petitions with the Israeli court challenging the demolition notices. Since the suits were in progress, Al-Asoud said, farmers were surprised to see demolition crews Thursday morning. Al-Asoud noted that while the wells and irrigation systems were ripped up, fields planted with crops were destroyed. The mayor of Idhna, Jamal At-Tamzi, said that the municipality will work in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority to reconstruct the agricultural projects and the wells in the area. Pro-boycott protesters: Don’t help ’occupier’s economy’ 2/11/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Thirty young men and women and number of members of the Palestine People's Party took to the streets of Nablus on Thursday, marching through the city center while carrying banners calling for boycotting Israeli goods. The protesters were urging locals not to help "the occupier's economy. "Kahled Mansur, a member of the PPP politburo office and coordinator of the popular campaign to boycott Israeli goods, said the "PPP is carrying out a campaign to boycott Israeli goods as a form of popular resistance, a kind of resistance the party is working to enforce to spread it all parts of Palestine as a tool to end occupation and achieve legitimate Palestinian goals. " Naser Abu Jeish, PPP secretary and member of its central committee said that "we will work in cooperation with organizations and unions to expand the campaign and to intensify its activities. . . " Hamas raps Fayyad over attending Israeli conference PNN 3 Feb 2010 - Hamas has denounced the Palestinian Authority for the participation of the caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in an Israeli conference. Fayyad addressed Israel's 10th annual Herzilya conference on Tuesday, following remarks by Tel Aviv's Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel reached a political level and this is a serious indicator that this national side has connected its projects... Hamas criticizes Fayyad’s participation in Herzilya conference 2/2/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri condemned caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's participation in a Herzilya conference which began on Tuesday. "The Palestinian Authority's cooperation with Israel reached a political level and this is a serious indicator that this national side has connected its projects with Israeli interests and policies," the spokesman said in a statement. The conference, organized by the Strategic Studies Institute, is held annually in Israel and contributes to decisions on Israeli policy and strategy relating to security and politics. [end] Call for International Day of Action to re-open Shuhada Street to Palestinians 1/29/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Open Shuhada Street - On 25 February 2010 activists and organizations from around the world will join together in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Hebron, through local protests, and petitions to the Israeli Government. We will be calling to re-open Shuhada Street to all Palestinians, bring life back into the city of Hebron, and to end the Occupation. Our demands: Open Shuhada Street to Palestinian movement and commerce, Full civil and human rights for all Israelis and Palestinians, End the occupation. Shuhada Street used to be the principal street for Palestinians residents, businesses and a very active market place in the Palestinian city of Hebron. Today, because Shuhada Street runs through the Jewish settlement of Hebron, the street is closed to Palestinian movement and looks like a virtual ghost street which only Israelis and tourists are allowed to access. Soldiers ’attack’ journalists near Nablus 1/29/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - A group of Palestinian photojournalists documenting tree-planting near Nablus on Thursday afternoon said they were accosted by Israeli forces, who declared the area a closed military zone. The tree-planting, on the edges of Burin village, was set to see 250 olive saplings dug into the soil under a new "Green Palestine" project in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture. Journalists, including Ma'an photographer Rami Swidan, said soldiers descended on the group, insisting that because they were in a closed military zone, no photographs could be taken in the area. Swidan said soldiers approached the group and ordered them to stop filming, but that they refused. He said a soldier hit him on his chest and tried to take the camera by force. Several journalists reportedly interfered and separated the two. MADA condemns Malsin deportation 1/28/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemned Israel's deportation of Ma'an News Agency's chief English editor last week. In a statement issued the day after Jared Malsin's expulsion last Wednesday, MADA said it considered "this act as a serious breach" in freedom of expression, and called on the International Federation of Journalists to intervene. Malsin was detained at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on 12 January 2010. He was interrogated for eight hours in a detention hall during which time he had no access to a lawyer or to his consulate. He was denied entry into the country for "failing to cooperate" with Israeli security personnel, and because he had authored news stories "inside the territories" and articles "criticizing the State of Israel. " Israeli soldiers 'attack' journalists near Nablus Uruknet January 28, 2010 - A group of Palestinian photojournalists documenting tree-planting near Nablus on Thursday afternoon said they were accosted by Israeli forces, who declared the area a closed military zone. The tree-planting, on the edges of Burin village, was set to see 250 olive saplings dug into the soil under a new "Green Palestine" project in cooperation with the... Israel To Demolish 11 Homes, Cooperative Society and A Clinic In Hebron IMEMC 28 Jan 2010 - Thursday January 28, 2010 - 00:37, The Israeli Authorities decided to demolish eleven Palestinian homes, a Cooperative Society and a Clinic in the Al Baq’a area, and in Ithna town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Israel To Demolish 11 Homes, Cooperative Society and A Clinic In Hebron Uruknet January 27, 2010- The Israeli Authorities decided to demolish eleven Palestinian homes, a Cooperative Society and a Clinic in the Al Baq’a area, and in Ithna town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources in Ithna reported that the army handed seven orders for demolition of their homes in the town...The orders are illegal as those areas... Israeli tourism minister invited to Iran -- or not 1/22/2010 - Freedom Syndicate - Israel is participating in Madrid's FITUR, the largest tourism fair for the Spanish-speaking and the Latin American market, and is showcasing airlines, hotels and travel agencies in the Israeli exhibit in order to encourage tourism to the nation. The delegation, headed by Israel's tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov, is also interested in increasing cooperation in this field with other nations, including those in its own region. The Israelis visited the exhibits of Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, and Misezhnikov also exchanged warm greetings with the director-general of the Palestinian tourism minister, expressing hope for successful cooperation. The Syrians ignored the Israeli delegation. But a pleasant surprise awaited the Israelis upon arrival at the Iranian exhibit, according to the Israeli tourism ministry. Hesitating at first, the Iranian representative presented the exhibit of Iran's. . . . Qaraqi: Case of Palestinian prisoners to be taken to the Hague 1/20/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Minister of Prisoners and ex-Detainees' Affairs Issa Qaraqi announced on Wednesday that a professional committee has been established to prepare the case of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to be taken to the International Criminal Court at the Hague. The file in question relates to Palestinian prisoners considered Prisoners of War under the Third Geneva Convention. Qaraqi made the announcement during a meeting with the UN Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories Eva Tomitch at the UN headquarters, where he and a delegation from the Ministry discussed the legal mechanism to employ within the UN's framework. Recently, a delegation of lawyers visited Cairo and met with committees in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to construct a case for the Hague, in cooperation with Arab League, which has endorsed the move. Jordan to UN: Restore Dead Sea Scrolls to rightful owner 1/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Jordan submitted an official complaint to the United Nations last week, asking the body to intervene and return the Dead Sea Scrolls to the country. The scrolls were seized from a museum by Israel following the 1967 war. The complaint, filed with UNESCO, followed Canada's refusal to hold the scrolls, which were on exhibit in Toronto in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities. Jordan asked Canada to take care of the historical artifacts until a court could decide who their rightful owner was. "The kingdom has filed a complaint to UNESCO that the scrolls belong to Jordan," Rafea Harahsheh of the country's antiquities department said in a statement quoted by the AP, noting "the government has legal documents that prove Jordan owns the scrolls. " The scrolls were found between 1948 and 1957 by Jordanian archaeologists following the first find by Palestinian Bedouins in 1947. UNESCO urges ’Malsin’s immediate and unconditional release’ 1/15/2010 - Subject: Detention of Ma'an News Agency's Chief English EditorUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO and the office in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza strip is expressing deep concern about the detention of the Chief English Editor of the Ma'an News Agency, Mr. Jared Malsin, a U. S. citizen by the Israeli authorities at the Ben Gurion International airport on 12 January, 2010 and the plans to deport him. Ma'an is editorially independent and pluralistic Palestinian news agency, based in Bethlehem. During the past five years, UNESCO has worked together with Ma'an to supported several initiatives and projects in cooperation with Ma'an that promote freedom of expression, access to information and development of the Palestinian society. "We urge the Israeli authorities to consider Mr. Malsin's immediate and unconditional release. . . " Hamas: Blame blockade for tunnel industry 1/15/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Deputy Prime Minister in Gaza aide Ziad Ath-Thatha called on Arab and Islamic nations to deal directly with the Palestiniansrather than with Israeli authorities over the opening of the Rafah crossing. Ath-Thatha made the comments Thursday at the Gaza City Ministry of Information offices, and stressed the role of Egypt and the necessity of direct communication to ensure full cooperation and the realization of rights for Palestinians in Gaza. "The amounts of industrial fuel allowed into Gaza for the power generator, [amounts of] and cooking gas do not cover half of what Gazans need," he said, and urged Egypt to look for a way to ensure Rafah was able to transport goods and fuel into the Strip. Israel has created a prison in Gaza, Ath-Thatha said, adding that the population of that prison was made up of more than 50% children. Egyptian media to broadcast Ma’an Hebrew press review 1/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Palestinian weekly program, hosted by Nasser Laham, is to be broadcast on Egyptian television, Ma'an revealed on Wednesday. Following a meeting with Abdul Latif Al-Menyawi, general manager for Egyptian TV's news department signed a contract with the Ma'an Network on whereby the Nile Channel will broadcast A Review of the Hebrew Press, presented by Nasser Laham, editor in chief of the Ma'an News Agency. The program, which specializes in Israeli affairs, has been broadcast for the past ten years on local Palestinian television by Ma'an, and weekly on Palestine TV for the past two years. "This is the first time that a Palestinian program is being purchased by a significant station like the Nile Channel. This is just the beginning of Arab media cooperation with the Ma'an Network," said Laham. Pa May Reconsider Security Relations With Israel
IMEMC
3 Jan 2010 - Saturday January 02, 2010 - 10:55, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinian Authority may reconsider its security cooperation with Israel, after Israeli military forces assassinated three Fatah activists in Nablus on December 26 of last year, Palestinian media sources reported. Abbas mulls cutting security ties over Nablus deaths 1/2/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority may consider re-thinking its security ties with Israel in light of the assassination of three Palestinians by Israeli forces on 26 December, President Mahmoud Abbas told Palestine TV during a Friday interview. The comment followed calls by several Palestinian parties to stop security cooperation with Israel in the wake of an invasion of Nablus by the Israeli army, and testimony from family members that three Fatah supporters were executed in their homes, in one case a man was in bed beside is seven-month-pregnant wife. Because Nablus is an area under complete Palestinian security control, Israeli military operations involve a degree of communication with the PA security services. Local officers generally have to clear the streets and retreat when Israeli forces enter the area. Abbas Threatens to Stop Security Liaison with Israel 2 Jan 2010 - Ramallah, January 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to stop the progress of security liaison with Israel following the December 26 Israeli raid in Nablus. The Israeli troops killed three Palestinians who were members of Fatah in the West Bank. "The coordination and cooperation with Israel aims at protecting the Palestinian interest," Abbas said in... Report: Israel ready to respond to UN on Gaza findings 12/28/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli news outlet reported on Monday that the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed its response to a UN report alleging war crimes in Gaza. Israel refused to cooperate with South African Jurist Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission into last winter's Gaza war. In November the UN General Assembly asked Israel and Palestinian authorities to carry out their own investigations of the allegations in Goldstone's 575-page report on the Gaza war. The website of Israel's Reshet Bet radio station reported that Israel will soon deliver its response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after Israel's political and military leaders debate whether to make public their findings. The news site also said that Israel's response was the result of months of deliberations involving the Prime Minister's Office, the Justice Ministry, the National Security Council, and the Foreign Ministry. P.A Complains To The US Over Nablus Assassinations
IMEMC
27 Dec 2009 - Sunday December 27, 2009 - 09:50, The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank filed a complaint to the United States after the Israeli army invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and executed three Palestinians on Saturday at dawn. The United States only demanded ‘explanations’ and called on both parties to continue their cooperation. Report: US seeks clarification about Nablus killing 12/27/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The US President Barack Obama's administration asked Israel to explain a raid on Nablus in which special forces killed three Palestinian men, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday. The daily newspaper Haaretz said Israel's National Security Adviser Uzi Arad shared intelligence with the US officials reportedly linking the men to the fatal shooting of a settler on Thursday. Unnamed Israeli sources told the newspaper that the Obama administration did not formally protest or complain about the incident, but only sought clarifications, passing on a complaint from the Palestinian Authority. A senior US official quoted in the article said the United States sought to calm the situation and "encouraged both sides to continue their security cooperation. "The PA complained to the US on Saturday that Israel had violated agreements by invading Area A of the West Bank, which is supposed to be under full Palestinian control. Israel Menaces all-out War on Gaza 24 Dec 2009 - Palestine, December 24, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Israel has threatened another massive war against the Gaza Strip as the impoverished enclave continues to suffer in the aftermath of the devastating January offensive. Israeli planes have been dropping thousands of leaflets across Gaza, warning Palestinians against cooperating with the resistance fighters based in the coastal sliver. The leaflets also threaten Gazans with... Settlement goods confiscated in Jericho 12/16/2009 - Jericho - Ma'an - Large quantities of settlement-bought products were confiscated and destroyed on Wednesday in Jericho, following a market inspection undertaken by customs officers, the Palestinian ministries of health and economy, in cooperation with the PA preventative security. The ministries said in a statement that the confiscated illegal settlement goods amounted to approximately 50,000 US Dollars, adding that a prior market inspection in the north of the West Bank led to the seizure of further settlement goods estimated at 148, 248 Israeli Shekels. The items seized included cosmetics such as make up and body lotion, children's toys and expired food which were all additionally deemed unfit for human use or consumption, having exceeded their expiration date, the statement added. Additionally, in Nablus, customs officials confiscated large quantities of sweets bought from the nearby Barkan settlement. [uruknet.info] LRC: "14 Homes Demolished In Jerusalem In November" Uruknet December 08, 2009 - The Land Research Center (LRC) of the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem reported that the Israeli authorities conducted 187 against Jerusalem in November, and demolished 14 Palestinians homes in addition to issuing orders to demolish 170 homes. The center prepares and publishes its reports in cooperation with the Civil Coalition to Defend Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem.... Qalqiliya strawberry farm backed by Israeli NGO 12/5/2009 - Qalqiliya - Ma'an - The Peres Center for Peace cooperated with Palestinian farmers in Qalqiliya to boost strawberry farming in the area, according to Israeli media on Saturday. During the past months Israeli experts have trained Palestinian farmers in the particulars of strawberry farming, as well as provided the necessary equipment to export the crops, according to a report on Israel's Channel Two broadcast this week. The project, Strawberry Fields for Peace, aims to "encourage dialogue and positive interaction between Palestinians and Israelis while fostering an environment in which innovation and inventiveness flourish. This collaboration and the mutual exchange of skills and ideas furthers the goals of peace and prosperity for both Palestinians and Israelis,"¯ according to the Peres Center. "I was the initiator for the strawberry cultivation,"¯ said Ahmad Salmi Zaid, who has planted more than five dunums of strawberries. Haniyeh receives Syrian soap stars in Gaza 11/23/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an -De facto government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh received a delegation of Arab actors visiting the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday. During a reception held for the delegation of actors at the de facto government offices in Gaza City, Haniyeh asserted that Hamas was willing to reach a reconciliation agreement and had undertaken great efforts to cooperate with Arab countries. "We are an inseparable part of Levant, and we feel close to the people and the leadership of Syria. The Palestinian people always watch Syrian TV productions which are always committed to the Arab causes in general and the Palestinian cause in particular. The latest popular soap Bab Al-Hara symbolized the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip,"¯Haniyah said, addressing the delegation of Syrian actors in Gaza. Haniyeh added that, "Inter-Palestinian rivalry is an exception, and we want real Palestinian. . .
Israelis ’putting politics aside’
Alex Sehmer in Ramle, Al Jazeera 2/9/2009
Israeli citizens may be divided politically, but differences between the country’s Palestinian-Israelis and its Jewish population are left to one side on a daily basis in the interest of co-existence. In the town of Ramle, just outside Tel Aviv, Palestinian-Israeli stallholders work side-by-side with their Jewish counterparts. A local taxi firm is jointly owned by a Palestinian-Israeli and his Jewish business partners and is staffed by both Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli drivers. Behind the market, a mosque and a synagogue sit opposite each other in the same street. Yoel Lavi, Ramle’s mayor, said his town was a "model" of multiculturalism, but admitted it was not without its problems. " On the individual level people are living together and having a good relationship … they are sharing the same jobs on the land or the supermarket, or it doesn’t matter which company," he told Al Jazeera. more..e-mailIsraeli teenage refuseniks speak to Palestinians in Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 2/9/2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Five young Israelis who refused military service defied a ban on Israelis entering Palestinian Authority territory on Saturday evening to share their tales of prison, isolation, and struggle with an audience outside the West Bank city of Bethlehem. They were four women and one man. All but one have already been to prison for their objection to serving in the occupying army. They slipped into Bethlehem in order to bring the message of the refusal movement to the Palestinians who face the guns wielded by their teenage peers every day. “These soldiers don’t have to be bad people. They’re very ordinary people, but they’re doing these things. They are responsible,” said Sahar Vardi, 18, from Jerusalem,On Tuesday Israelis are expected to elect the most right-wing government in recent memory, but these five, represent a countervailing. . . more..e-mailJews and Palestinians unite in basketball ’peace league’
Steve Klein, Ha’aretz 2/6/2009
Scores of teenage boys Thursday - Israeli and Palestinian -helped kick off the second season of the Jerusalem Peace Basketball League, a joint initiative of the Jerusalem municipality and PeacePlayers International - Middle East. The league is comprised of six integrated teams of Arab and Jewish youth, who participate in the Twinned Basketball Clubs program, and four other teams from across Jerusalem and a West Bank town. The league is actually in its second incarnation, according to Michael Cherubin, the organization’s operations manager and co-director of the league. The first, he explained Thursday, ran about six years before falling apart in the early days of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Cherubin noted that the involvement of Americans helped to bring this league to fruition in a city entrenched in the heart of the conflict. more..e-mailAUDIO - Processing peace: the Jaffa Photography Project
Haroon Siddique, The Guardian 2/4/2009
Based in the Israeli city, the Jaffa Photography Project teaches photography to Arab and Jewish teenagers, allowing them to document their homes, lives and communities for themselves, and aiming to lay a foundation for future peace. Haroon Siddique talks to founder Leila Segal and 19-year-old Sama Shakra about the pictures taken by the group [end] -- See also: Palestinian heritage being stripped from JaffaNobelists lead flock behind Barenboim’s message for justice
Daily Star 2/2/2009
Petition - Almost a month ago, Daniel Barenboim wrote a short statement about peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In a period of two weeks, artists and thinkers from all over the world gave their support by signing the statement. The famous pianist and conductor who created in 1999, together with his late friend Edward W. Said, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra composed of Palestinian and Israeli musicians, manifests in the text his disapproval of the use of force and calls for equal rights for both peoples. To be published in the New York Review of Books today, this humanistic message is signed by 10 Nobel laureates in literature including J. M G Le CLezio, Russel Banks, J. M Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk and Kenzaburo Oe, and more than 130 other eminent personalities, such as Desmond Tutu, Oscar Niemeyer, Alfred Brendel, Yo-Yo Ma, Pierre Boulez, Placido Domingo, William Christie, Zubin Mehta,. . . -- See also: 'Please Listen, Before It Is Too Late'more..e-mail’Please Listen, Before It Is Too Late’
Daniel Barenboim and various undersigned, New York Review of Books 2/26/2009
To the Editors: Your readers may be interested in the following statement by Daniel Barenboim and the list of those who have supported it. -- For the last forty years, history has proven that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict cannot be settled by force. Every effort, every possible means and resource of imagination and reflection should now be brought into play to find a new way forward. A new initiative which allays fear and suffering, acknowledges the injustice done, and leads to the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike. An initiative which demands of all sides a common responsibility: to ensure equal rights and dignity to both peoples, and to ensure the right of each person to transcend the past and aspire to a future. more..e-mailVictims forever
Akiva Eldar, Ha’aretz 1/29/2009
A new study of Jewish Israelis shows that most accept the ’official version’ of the history of the conflict with the Palestinians. Is it any wonder, then, that the same public also buys the establishment explanation of the operation in Gaza? A pioneering research study dealing with Israeli Jews’ memory of the conflict with the Arabs, from its inception to the present, came into the world together with the war in Gaza. The sweeping support for Operation Cast Lead confirmed the main diagnosis that arises from the study, conducted by Daniel Bar-Tal, one of the world’s leading political psychologists, and Rafi Nets-Zehngut, a doctoral student: Israeli Jews’ consciousness is characterized by a sense of victimization, a siege mentality, blind patriotism, belligerence, self-righteousness, dehumanization of the Palestinians and insensitivity to their suffering. more..e-mailArab-Israeli orchestra cancels concerts in Qatar, Egypt amid security concerns
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 1/7/2009
BERLIN - Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and his orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians have canceled performances in the Middle East this weekend because of fighting between Israel and Hamas, he said yesterday. Instead, they will play in the German capital. Two concerts were scheduled for this weekend - one each in Doha, Qatar and Cairo - but Barenboim said organizers in those countries called off the shows amid security concerns. "Officially, the concerts are postponed and we hope to reschedule," Barenboim said. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra will perform works by Beethoven and Brahms at the Staatsoper on Monday, and the remainder of the group’s 10th anniversary tour of other cities - including Moscow, Vienna and Milan - will continue. Argentinean-born Barenboim has advocated peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and heavily criticized a military solution. more..e-mailConductor Barenboim urges Mideast peace
Pierre Feuilly - VIENNA, Middle East Online 1/2/2009
The Gaza conflict cast a shadow over the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s concert, as Israeli-Argentinian conductor Daniel Barenboim Thursday urged Israel to excercise caution after six days of punishing airstrikes.
While recognizing Israel’s legitimate right to self-defence, Barenboim -- who also holds honourary Palestinian citizenship -- questioned in a statement whether the Jewish state should "punish all Palestinians" for the actions of the militant group Hamas.
And as he offered his New Year’s greetings at the magnificent Musikverein hall, the 66-year-old conductor expressed hope that 2009 would be a "year of peace in the world and of human justice in the Middle East. "
The concert marked Barenboim’s debut conducting the traditional January 1 concert that featured another first: a piece by Austrian composer Josef Haydn -- Symphony No. more..e-mailVIDEO - NBA’s finest train female basketball hopefuls in Palestinian East Jerusalem
Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 9/1/2008
Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for August 31, 2008.
A basketball court in Jabel Mukaber was the site of an unlikely encounter last week between two very disparate demographics. Palestinian girls from the East Jerusalem neighborhood trained with basketball coaches from the NBA, who visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories in order to give children an opportunity made rare by political and cultural restrictions. However, as is so often the case for girls from traditional backgrounds, visible participation in physical activity generally reserved for their male peers rubs many in the community the wrong way. Related articles:NBA’s only Jew visits Israel to instruct Jewish, Arab children Palestinians and Israelis come together to lose weight, make peaceFrom Australia to Israel, on a footballing peace mission Also on Haaretz. more..e-mailLeo Kramer: Israeli, Palestinian Doctors Affect Change on Ground
Leo Kramer Middle East Times, Palestine Media Center 7/24/2008
Last week, Prof. Marc Gopin wrote an article titled, "Leo the Healer: an untold story of Jewish/Palestinian medical partnership. "The first responses have been positive and encouraging.
The article asks what we can do to help Israelis and Palestinians live in peace with justice. Prof. Gopin examined one of the foremost difficulties existing between the two sides: the border closing problems between Israel and The West Bank/Gaza, and the daily struggle of medical practitioners to save lives when political issues interfere.
How can people who care deal with these issues? Writing about them publicizes an unspoken reality, which lends support to those working to find solutions; conferences bring together those who want to help.
These efforts, however, must also be directed toward achieving results on the ground. more..e-mailPalestinians and Israelis come together to lose weight, make peace
Reuters, Ha’aretz 5/23/2008
A Slim Peace - There’s the weekly weigh-in, the tips on healthy snacking and the chit-chat between women about unruly kids or errant husbands. But this is a slimming group with a difference: half its members are Palestinian, half are Israeli and the aim is to foster dialogue, through a common battle with weight. "I never felt good about myself and my body, and that’s something that women all over the world struggle with," said Yael Luttwak, an American-born Israeli who started the groups. "I thought this would be a great way to bring together women who wouldn’t normally meet each other." Israelis and Palestinians around Jerusalem are separated by the West Bank barrier and a network of army-guarded checkpoints. Decades of conflict have entrenched mutual suspicion and ordinary people from across the divide rarely get the chance to sit down and swap stories, let alone form friendships. more..e-mailBarenboim to lead concert for peace in Jerusalem
Donald Macintyre, The Independent 3/28/2008
Daniel Barenboim, the Israeli conductor and, since January this year, honorary Palestinian citizen, will lead 33 young Israeli and Palestinian musicians in a special "concert for two peoples" in Jerusalem today. Barenboim said the musicians, some of whom have not played together in public before, will take part in two performances of what he called a concert "against ignorance and lack of curiosity" among the peoples on both sides of the conflict. The Argentinia-born maestro, champion of Palestinian rights and friend of the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, said he would not be taking part in celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Israel’s foundation as a state. He said of the anniversary, which to Palestinians is that of the nakba, when hundreds of thousands of refugees fled or were driven from their homes: "It is 60 years of Israel’s independence, which also means that it is 60 years of suffering of the people who were here. " more..e-mailDaniel Barenboim shuns Israel’s 60th anniversary
Associated Press, YNetNews 3/27/2008
Controversial conductor to lead orchestra of Israeli, Palestinian youths in concert ’against ignorance’ in Jerusalem, says he will not partake in upcoming festivities marking Israel’s independence out of respect for Palestinian suffering - Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead an orchestra of 33 young Israeli and Palestinians in Jerusalem Friday in what he called a concert ’’against ignorance and lack of curiosity’’ on both sides of the conflict. At a news conference Thursday in the concert hall of the YMCA on the Jewish side of the city, Barenboim said Friday’s two performances, entitled ’’A concert for two peoples,’’ will be the first time the young musicians have played together in public. Barenboim, who was born in Buenos Aires and grew up in Israel, has drawn much criticism for his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his decision to perform the works of Hitler’s favorite composer, Wagner. more..e-mailIsraeli, Arab musicians to play Wagner in Berlin fundraiser for Ramallah
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 3/14/2008
The orchestra is scheduled to perform Wagner’s "Die Walkuere" on August 23 at Berlin’s Waldbuehne - an arena built as part of the complex for the 1936 Olympics by the Nazis. Barenboim said that "Hitler and Wagner would be turning in their graves" if they found out about the concert. He denied, however, that his group had grand political ambitions. "The only thing we say is that we do not believe there is a military solution to the conflict in Palestine," he said. "People need to learn how to live with each other and listen to each other. That’s what we do as musicians every day." He said a concert hall in Ramallah would go far in improving the daily lives of Palestinians. "Political negotiations are important, but everyday life is even more important," he said. more..Down by the riverside, in Tul Karm and Emek Hefer
Zafrir Rinat, Ha’aretz 2/25/2008
Israelis and Palestinians are working to build a Peace Park that would improve the environmenton both sides of the Green Line.
Many cities throughout the world, including in Israel, have recently declared their commitment to preserve the environment, and some have started projects aimed at saving energy and establishing ecological neighborhoods. It is relatively easy for a prosperous city in western Europe or a flourishing town in Israel such as Kfar Sava to devote more attention to environmental awareness. But what about cities that are struggling, isolated and closed off, such as the Palestinian town of Tul Karm, located less than half an hour’s drive from Kfar Sava? It turns out that even there, Israelis and Palestinians have been working together to improve the environmental situation. Recently, they have been trying to advance a project to set up the Alexander-Zemer Peace Park. more..Increase in Palestinian population living under occupation
Middle East Online 2/10/2008
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza and Arab east Jerusalem has risen to 3,761,646, according to the preliminary results of a Palestinian Authority census published on Saturday. Most Palestinians, 2,345,107, live in the West Bank, an increase of 30 percent in 10 years. In the Gaza Strip, the census put the population at 1,416,539, a 39-percent increase, with east Jerusalem at 362,502, a 10-percent rise, Loai Shabana, director of the Palestinian central statistic bureau, told reporters. Final results of the census, carried out every 10 years, would be made public in the coming weeks, the director said. He also condemned the refusal of Israeli authorities to cooperate in the census in Arab east Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Israelis in 1967 and illegally annexed later. more..Barenboim becomes first to hold Israeli and Palestinian passports
Kate Connolly in Berlin, The Guardian 1/15/2008
The Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been granted Palestinian citizenship for his work in promoting cultural exchange between young people in Israel and the Arab world. The Argentine-born musician is believed to be the first person in the world to possess both Israeli and Palestinian passports after receiving his new documentation at the end of a piano recital in Ramallah in the West Bank at the weekend. "Under the most difficult circumstances he has shown solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian MP and presidential candidate, said at the recital held to raise money for medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim, 65, who is musical director of the Staatsoper in Berlin and Milan’s La Scala opera house, established his West-Eastern Divan orchestra with the American-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said in 1999 following a workshop in Germany. more..Israeli Pianist Daniel Barenboim Takes Palestinian Citizenship
Palestine Chronicle 1/15/2008
"It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians." I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first." Advertisement "The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. Former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi, who helped organize Saturday’s concert, said the passport had been approved by the previous government of which he was a member and which was replaced in June. The passport had actually been issued about six weeks ago, he added. more..Israeli musician gets Palestinian passport
Kate Connolly in Berlin, The Guardian 1/14/2008
The Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been granted Palestinian citizenship in recognition of his work in promoting cultural exchange between young people in Israel and the Arab world. The Argentine-born musician is believed to be the first person in the world to possess both passports after receiving his new documentation at the end of a piano concert of Ludwig van Beethoven sonatas, which he performed in Ramallah in the West Bank at the weekend. "Under the most difficult circumstances he has shown solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, the Palestinian MP and presidential candidate said at the charity concert to raise money for medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim, 65, who is musical director of the Staatsoper in Berlin and Milan’s La Scala opera house, established his West-Eastern Divan orchestra with the American-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said in 1999 following a workshop in Germany. more..Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
Daniel Barenboim, the world renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has taken Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples. "It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians. "I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first." "The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. more..Controversy, from Wagner to occupation
Noam Ben Ze'ev, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
The encore for Daniel Barenboim’s 1998 recital at the Jerusalem Sherover Theater was dedicated to a Palestinian friend of his from Ramallah who attended the concert. Barenboim told the crowd that Tania Nassir, wife of the president of Bir Zeit University, had been barred from entering the city for many year by the Israeli authorities. That was the year that the world-famous pianist began forging friendships and work-related ties with Palestinian musicians and scholars - primarily with the late Palestinian-American intellectual Prof. Edward Said, from Columbia University. Said and Barenboim went on to coauthor "Parallels and Paradoxes" (Random House Books, 2004). Said also became Barenboim’s partner in the Diwan East-West Orchestra, which aimed to bring Palestinian and Jewish musicians together. Barenboim has since often performed in Ramallah, where he founded a music education network. more..From now on, it’s Barenboim, the Israeli-Palestinian pianist
Reuters, Ha’aretz 1/14/2008
RAMALLAH - Daniel Barenboim, the world-renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has taken Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples. "It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in this West Bank city, where he has been active for years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians. "I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first. The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible." Former Palestinian information minister Mustafa Barghouti, who helped organize Saturday’s concert, said... more..Bridging the Arab-Israeli divide through music
Film tells story of West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by Edward, Daily Star 11/8/2007
Special to The Daily Star Thursday, November 08, 2007 REVIEW BEIRUT: Is it possible to dissolve political conflict within the crucible of cultural exchange? The question has considerable currency these days. It also has a success story of sorts in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by the late literary and cultural critic Edward Said and piano virtuoso and symphony conductor Daniel Barenboim. The two men met in the early 1990s and, at first glance, the Palestinian-American critic of Israeli policy and the Israeli Jew seemed unlikely friends. They formed a warm relationship, though, based on their mutual love of music and shared vision of a peaceful Middle East. The story of the Arab-Israeli musical ensemble born out of Said and Barenboim’s friendship is the subject of "Knowledge is the Beginning: the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra," an award-winning documentary by Paul Smaczny. more..Barenboim: New Wagner staging would make Hitler ’turn in grave’
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 10/17/2007
An opera by Richard Wagner - whose music and anti-Semitic writings influenced Adolf Hitler - will be performed at an open-air theater built under the Nazi regime by an orchestra made up of Israeli and Arab musicians and conducted by a Jew. Star conductor Daniel Barenboim told Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper that the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he co-founded, plans next year to perform the first act of Wagner’s Die Walkuere at Berlin’s Waldbuehne - an arena built as part of the complex for the 1936 Olympics by the Nazis. "Can you imagine that? " Barenboim was quoted as saying in the interview, released Wednesday. "The Waldbuehne was built by Hitler. The music is Wagner. Played by us! Hitler and Wagner would turn in their graves." Barenboim said the Divan Orchestra, made up of young musicians from Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries, is clearly the most important musical project of his life. more..At Davos, Palestinian and Israeli youths tell Abbas, Livni and Peres, ’Enough!’
Ma’an News Agency 1/26/2007
Ordinary young Palestinian and Israeli citizens were given an unprecedented opportunity on Thursday 25 January. At the World Economic Forum, held in the Swiss resort of Davos, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni listened to video statements from youths in Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. These youths, mobilized by the youth movement, OneVoice, had had "Enough!" They had one question for their leaders – and for everyone else attending the conference or watching live online – ’What Are You Willing to Do to End the Conflict? ’ On a large screen behind the podium, Nisreen Shaheen, the Executive Director of OneVoice Palestine, appeared to give a statement by video from Al Qasaba, the largest hall in the West Bank city of Ramallah. more..Emma Thompson bids for Palestinian Rights
Electronic Intifada/Enough! 1/27/2007
Broadbased coalition in support of an end to Israeli occupation set for launch -- Record-breaking actor Emma Thompson revealed today why she is helping to make political history by supporting Britain’s first broad-based alliance for a just peace in the Middle East. Ms Thompson earned her Oscars for best actress in Howard’s End and for best-adapted screenplay for adapting Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility. The only person ever to have won film Oscars for acting and writing is backing a new historic drive for a just settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. The ENOUGH! coalition, representing over three million people in charities, trade unions, faith and campaign groups has come together to mark this year’s 40th anniversary of the Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem. more..Israeli, Palestinian DJs plan joint performance in London
Ha’aretz 11/28/2006
Two disk jockeys, one Israeli and one Palestinian, are planning put on a joint performance in London on December 21. Israeli Srulik Einhorn and Palestinian Khalil Kamal have performed together in the past, along with Jordanian DJ Kalis, at the Ha’Oman 17 Club in Jerusalem, despite initial attempts by the Interior Ministry to block Kalis’s entry into Israel. The London party, titled "Bridge of Peace," is being organized by Einhorn along with the World Zionist Organization. Einhorn invited Kalis to perform at the London party as well, but Kalis refused, because it was being organized by the WZO." WZO officials approached us after they read about the Jerusalem party on the Internet and invited us to come and perform in a party that would show young Jews in London that cooperation between Jews and Arabs is possible," said Einhorn. more..Haredi settlement donates medical supplies to Palestinians
YNet News 10/26/2006
Residents of Modeiin Elite donate NIS 30,000 in medical equipment to neighboring Palestinian village. Residents of both celebrate in ceremony in Modeiin Elite -- Is there a chance for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence in the West Bank? Thursday, residents of the Modeiin Elite settlement donated NIS 30,000 worth of medical equipment to an ambulance from the neighboring Palestinian village of Naleen. The ambulance itself was purchased by village residents, but they didn’t have enough money for equipment inside the ambulance. Resident Husseini Nafar said that they originally appealed to Palestinian Authority sources, who told them to "find another donor". Their next appeal was made to head of Modeiin Elite’s security Shuky Guterman, who remains in constant contact with village residents. more..VIDEO - Occupied Minds
LinkTV 7/26/2006
Broadcast Schedule - July 26, 8 PM -- Occupied Minds is the story of two journalists, Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian-American and David Michaelis, an Israeli citizen, who journey to Jerusalem, their mutual birthplace, to explore new solutions and offer unique insights into the divisive Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The film takes viewers on an emotional and intensely personal odyssey through the streets of one of the world’s most volatile regions. Dajani and Michaelis grew up in Jerusalem just a few miles apart from one another—but in reality, worlds apart. Both have extensive and complex ties to their homeland. Jamal traces his family history in Jerusalem back to the 7th century, while David was born in Jerusalem to parents who had immigrated from Germany in the 1920’s to escape growing anti-Semitism. -- Video: View a 9-minute trailer in streaming formatmore..Collect ID cards from all of them - the Jews, too'
Ha'aretz 4/17/2006
The ugly reality only penetrated the pleasant bubble that surrounded the bus passengers as they returned to central Jerusalem on Friday last week. About 30 adolescents and several adults, Jewish and Arab residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area, had participated in the tour. Most of the Jewish teens were observant members of the Conservative Movement and the Movement for Progressive Judaism. The Arab teens were Muslims and Christians. Some of the Arabs were Israeli citizens and others were residents of the Old City and Palestinian neighborhoods beyond the Green Line. The tour, organized by the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), was the culminating experience of a year-long educational process for 12th graders - six of them Jews and six of them Arabs, both boys and girls more..Cleaning campaign in Hebron
Ma'an News 3/1/2006
Hebron- Maan- More than thirty Palestinian, Israeli and foreign volunteers participated in a voluntarily work day in Tel Rumaidah in Hebron city Wednesday. They clean the areas closed to the settlement of Ramat Shai, these areas are used by the Israeli settlers also who do not care about its cleanness. The citizens of the area participated with the volunteers in the area cleaning and expressed gratitude to them. [end] more..Muslims, Jews unite in quest for peace
YNetNews 2/22/2006
Breaking the Ice organization set to send delegation of men, women from Israel, PA, Iran on journey to Sahara desert, Libya. Objective: To prove cooperation, dialogue possible in face of challenges. Ynet will be there with them -- At the beginning of March, ten men and women from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United States will set out on a journey in the Sahara desert. The group will departure from Jerusalem, and arrive in Tripoli, Libya, 5,500 kilometers later. They will pass through Ramallah, Jericho, Beit Shean, Amman, and the Suez Canal. The Breaking the Ice organization, based in Berlin, is behind the initiative, and succeeded two years ago in uniting Israelis and Palestinians on a joint journey to Antarctica. more..Muslims, Jews unite in quest for peace
YNetNews 2/22/2006
Breaking the Ice organization set to send delegation of men, women from Israel, PA, Iran on journey to Sahara desert, Libya. Objective: To prove cooperation, dialogue possible in face of challenges. Ynet will be there with them -- At the beginning of March, ten men and women from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United States will set out on a journey in the Sahara desert. The group will departure from Jerusalem, and arrive in Tripoli, Libya, 5,500 kilometers later. They will pass through Ramallah, Jericho, Beit Shean, Amman, and the Suez Canal. The Breaking the Ice organization, based in Berlin, is behind the initiative, and succeeded two years ago in uniting Israelis and Palestinians on a joint journey to Antarctica. more..Conference Discusses Coexistence in Holy Places in Israeli-Palestinian Context
Palestine Media Center/Jerusalem Post 1/4/2006
A two-day international conference is bringing more than two dozen Israeli, Palestinian and international experts together to highlight examples of coexistence and confrontation in holy places related to the Israeli-Palestinian reality. The "International Conference on Confrontation and Coexistence in Holy Places: Religious and Legal Aspects in the Israeli-Palestinian Context" begins today at Haifa University and continues Wednesday at the Al-Qasemi Academy in the Arab village of Baka al-Gharbiya. more..Three-story home in Baka al-Garbiyeh for sale; Jews encouraged to apply
Ha'aretz 1/4/2006
A well-tended three-story home in the center of Baka al-Garbiyeh, with a garden and a two-car parking space is about to go on the market. The sellers, Iman and A'adal Ka'adan, are asking $200,000. They buyers, they say, will be Jewish. "I am completely serious," A'adal Ka'adan said Tuesday. "I am hereby declaring that the person who will live in my house, near my brothers, will be a Jew. ".... "And when Jews buy my house I'll prove that Arabs can live with Jews and that Jews can live with Arabs. " more..Hebrew University poll: Half of Israelis favor talks with Hamas
Ha'aretz 12/21/2005
Half of Israelis would favor peace talks with Hamas, despite the Islamic movement's calls to destroy the country, a poll published Wednesday showed. Fifty percent of Israelis polled in mid-December by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem would support talks with Hamas if this was necessary to reach a peace deal, while 47 percent would be opposed, said Yaacov Shamir, who conducted the survey. Shamir said Israelis had not grown more accepting of Hamas, but understood that the movement's popularity among Palestinians was growing. more..Arab students attend West Bank college
YNetNews 12/5/2005
Politics don't dissuade Palestinians, Israeli Arabs from studying in Ariel, one of Israel's largest West Bank settlement -- Every day, Nida Hussein takes a trip that for most Palestinians would be unthinkable - a two-hour bus ride from Jerusalem to the College of Judea and Samaria in Ariel, one of the largest West Bank settlement. Hussein, an 18-year-old from eastern Jerusalem, is one of more than 300 Arab students, many of them Israeli citizens, enrolled at the college built on land the Palestinians claim belong to them. more..Israeli and Palestinian players buoyed by Barca peace match
Ha'aretz 12/1/2005
Israeli and Palestinian soccer players returned home on Wednesday from a friendly match against Barcelona to promote Middle East peace, saying the objective had been achieved in style. The "Peace Team," which included Israeli internationals and Palestinians from the West Bank, lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the Nou Camp stadium. "I feel the message from this excellent trip has got through. We all understand we can live side-by-side. We all know peace is not so difficult to attain," Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielder Yossi Abuksis said on return to Israel. more..
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