Category: Israel

How Israel occupied Itself: The Way the Crisis on the West Bank Came Home

A Netanyahu government unconstrained by the courts could engage in favoritism in contracts, licenses, and legislation of all sorts. The fear of such things has led 28% percent of Israelis, including a surprising number of young married professionals, to admit that they are at least considering leaving the country. Many claim they fear that “the government is going to take their money.” Although 600,000 to a million Israelis are typically out of the country at any time, studying or working elsewhere, they usually do come home sooner or later. Now, however, relocation agencies report that such returns are plummeting. There has also been a 20% drop in immigration to Israel this year and that shortfall would undoubtedly be even more serious were it not for the Russian Jews fleeing their ever more unstable, war-embroiled country. Reuters reports that investors in the usually vibrant Israeli high-tech sector that accounts for about 14% of the country’s $500 billion gross domestic product are now keeping about 80% of their new start-ups abroad. Many tech companies have also moved both their bank accounts and some of their assets out of the country.

Source: How Israel occupied Itself: The Way the Crisis on the West Bank Came Home

AS’AD AbuKHALIL: Arab Apathy on Israeli Protests

Arabs who are watching the protests could not but notice the peaceful and gentle treatment of protesters by Israeli police. They contrast to the live ammunition that has been deployed against Arab protesters in the “occupied territories” of 1967 and also inside what is called in Western media, “Israel proper.” The very racism of the state is exposed in the Israeli state management of the protests.

It is for those reasons that Arabs are not following the protests with any interest because they know that the Palestinians will be occupied, repressed, and murdered regardless of the outcome of the internal struggle in Israel.

Source: AS’AD AbuKHALIL: Arab Apathy on Israeli Protests

Israeli Reservists’ Revolt against Netanyahu’s assault on Courts imperils Cohesion of Military

Netanyahu wants a National Guard to defend itself against Iraeli citizens.

As protests continue against the judicial overhaul proposed by the Israeli government, the leadership of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fears an increase of discontent within its ranks as well as an increase in its lack of competence. The signs get worse every day, prompting army commanders to warn of weakness that will affect its readiness for war.

Source: Israeli Reservists’ Revolt against Netanyahu’s assault on Courts imperils Cohesion of Military

Israel and Australian law on sanctions. Will we act? – Pearls and Irritations

The imposition of sanctions on Israel by the Australian government is a logical step now that Foreign Minister Penny Wong has finally bowed to the inevitable in calling Israel’s West Bank settlements ‘illegal’. As Wong told the federal party caucus yesterday, it was time to “strengthen the government’s objection to settlements by affirming that they are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace”.

Given all this there cannot be a clearer case for the Albanese government to back up its commitment to finally recognising the illegality of the West Bank settlements by using its sanctions legislation against Israel. It cannot stand tall in remembering that this nation’s history in sanctioning one apartheid regime, South Africa, while sitting on its hands in relation to the latest manifestation of that odious practice in Israel.

If Senator Wong and her colleagues really do want to “strengthen the government’s objection to settlements”, to use her phrase, then sanctions are a must.

Source: Israel and Australian law on sanctions. Will we act? – Pearls and Irritations

Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – White Power nationalism in South Africa during the Apartheid period from the 1940s until the early 1990s demanded that the 20% of the population that was white control the lives of the 68% of the population that was Black. (Actually, during this era the whites declined to only 13% by 1990, and Blacks increased to 76%). Education was one way that Blacks were kept down. They were, or many were, offered an education, but only one that led to working class status. Maria Lizet Ocampo writes at a Stanford University page, ‘The Apartheid system created

here we have an exact parallel to the South African system. Extremist Bezalel Smotrich, minister of finance, has frozen $680 million in funding earmarked for the development of largely Palestinian East Jerusalem. A portion of this funding was to prepare Palestinian-Israeli students for entry into the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. So reports Gianluca Pacchiani at The Times of Israel.

Smotrich alleged that there was a problem of “Islamic radical cells” in Israeli colleges and universities. Smotrich’s office could not provide any evidence of such cells when the press asked about the issue. (That is because Smotrich made the whole thing up.)

Pacchiani writes, “Smotrich said that the sum will be earmarked for training East Jerusalem Arabs for ‘high-productivity’ professions instead of encouraging their integration into Israeli academia.”

Bingo. That is precisely the program of South African Apartheid in the second half of the twentieth century. Precisely. An exact parallel.

Source: Israel to deny Palestinian-Israelis Preparation for University, in Exact Parallel to Apartheid South Africa

Israeli Minister wants to give “a medal” to Jewish Power Extremist who Allegedly shot to death an unarmed Palestinian Youth

The Israeli Jews are rejecting the creation of a unitary executive chosen by those in power. Goodbye to the Separation of Powers.

The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that on Friday evening, Israeli squatters in the Palestinian West Bank went wilding at a nearby Palestinian hamlet, Burqa, in the northwest of Nablus governorate, attacking the Palestinian inhabitants as Israeli troops gave them cover. We might note that the settling of Israelis in a militarily occupied territory is grossly illegal in international law and is the sort of thing Nazi Germany did to Poland, and that these squatters had no business being there at all, and certainly had no business rampaging into a Palestinian hamlet.

Source: Israeli Minister wants to give “a medal” to Jewish Power Extremist who Allegedly shot to death an unarmed Palestinian Youth

The Arabic media on Israel’s crisis: Don’t interfere with its implosion

Palestinian men read Al Quds Arabic newspaper in the West Bank city of Hebron, June 28, 2006. (Najeh Hashlamoun/Flash90)

It hardly speaks to the truth given the Australian ALP Government’s attitude to the current state of Israel. The Albanese government seems blind to the true face of Israel being revealed and this says a lot about us. There is a disjunct between what Australians believe and the government that represents us to the rest of the world. A government that no longer believes in the UN.

For months, Arabic media in the Middle East has been following the mass protests against the Israeli government and its judicial overhaul with great interest. Many Arab political commentators agree that they are witnessing a moment of unprecedented crisis and division in Israel; some believe that the rise of fascism there is an important development, as it puts the state on a path of self-destruction while revealing its true face to the world.

Source: The Arabic media on Israel’s crisis: Don’t interfere with its implosion

Ben-Gvir praises settlers who killed teen as “heroes” | The Electronic Intifada

The Israeli military claimed it found an M16 rifle in the car, to back up its assertion that this was a “terrorist cell” on its way to carry out an attack. However, it is unclear why a group of three Palestinian resistance fighters on their way to engage in an operation would be carrying only a single weapon between them.

Defense for Children International-Palestine reported on Sunday evening that the three included a child:

Source: Ben-Gvir praises settlers who killed teen as “heroes” | The Electronic Intifada

Israeli Extremists Shamefully propose “Puerto Rican” Model for Palestinians

Israeli MP calls for taking away the rights of its Palestinian citizens.

Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico can’t vote for national offices like president, senator or congressman. That is the point of the Jewish Power proposal– they want to rule over Palestinians but not let them have the vote. But note that Puerto Ricans do vote for a governor of the islands, who serves a four-year term, and a legislature. Again, I doubt Jewish Power would let Palestinians vote for a Palestinian Parliament and Palestinian governor.

Source: Israeli Extremists Shamefully propose “Puerto Rican” Model for Palestinians

Israel didn’t Place Palestinians in “Refugee,” but in Internment Camps

Israel doesn’t practice “do unto others as you would have others do unto you”  But “do to others what others did to you” The problem is the others in their case are the easiest target at hand that has anything of value and that’s land

During much of 1948, Palestinians driven from their homes by the violence of that terrible year took safety in what could reasonably be called refugee camps; camps for people who have fled ongoing violence or natural disaster and are unable or fearful to return. They ceased to be refugee camps by January, 1949.

Source: Israel didn’t Place Palestinians in “Refugee,” but in Internment Camps

What Will Happen to the Refuge That Is Israel? | The Smirking Chimp

 

These are Israelis who serve in the military and pay more taxes because they are employed. If more secular Jews flee Israel, who will be left to protect the Orthodox and fund Israel’s treasury?

Right-wingers really think ahead, eh?

It is cruel irony that Israelis are preparing to move to Germany or Poland where their parents or grandparents survived Hitler.

“They’re willing to accept a drop in their standard of living because they’re so worried that their freedom of movement will be curtailed,” Shay Obazanek told The New York Times. “…they’re scared of a dictatorship, and they worry that if they wait, it may be too late.”

Isn’t that what many Jews in Nazi Germany thought 80 or more years ago? Israel was established to serve in part as a refuge for any Jew who asks for it. As of last week, many Jews now think of their designated “refuge” as a potential gulag.

Source: What Will Happen to the Refuge That Is Israel? | The Smirking Chimp

Rights Groups Vow to Fight Israel’s ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Bedouin Village of Ras Jrabah

Israeli ethnic cleansing of Bedouin villages

“The forced displacement of Ras Jrabah’s residents to expand the Jewish city of Dimona… serves as clear evidence that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against its Palestinian citizens,” said one legal advocacy group.

Source: Rights Groups Vow to Fight Israel’s ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Bedouin Village of Ras Jrabah

The Other Sinead O’Connor, Pro-Palestinian Critic of Violent Israeli Extremist Ben-Gvir, and Muslim Convert

Tragically, Sinead O’Connor is dead at 56. Many of the obituaries of Irish protest singer have been oddly thin, and have ignored key moments in her life. One was her contretemps with Israeli extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, now the country’s Minister of National Security. She later became fiercely critical of the Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Another was her conversion to Islam in 2018.

Source: The Other Sinead O’Connor, Pro-Palestinian Critic of Violent Israeli Extremist Ben-Gvir, and Muslim Convert

Israeli Squatter-Settlers Rampage in Palestinian-Americans’ West Bank Hometown

Like many American-born Palestinians, Abu Awwad, a 38-year-old truck driver, planned to move his family to “our homeland” for two or three years, so his American-born children, aged three, 11 and 14, “could learn the language and the culture.” It’s what his father did with him when he was a kid growing up in the US.

He and his wife, Dina, who became a US citizen through marriage, shipped their furniture to a house that his father had built in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, next door to the house where Dina grew up.

Their plan went up in flames. Literally.

Source: Israeli Squatter-Settlers Rampage in Palestinian-Americans’ West Bank Hometown

Will the Triumph of the Messianic Israeli Far Right Destabilize the Country?

Israel could well be heading toward its own January 6. The parallels are real. Both the Republican Party and Likud have empowered and invested in their countries’ most extreme far right-wing ideologues, and seized upon opportunities and vulnerabilities to dismantle democratic guard rails that disrupt their agenda. While the U.S. has empowered Congressional Reps such as Marjorie Taylor Green, Tommy Turberville, and Lauren Boebert; Israel has elevated Bibi’s extremist henchmen Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to czar-like positions on the Cabinet, where they can pursue their worst draconian fantasies against both Palestinians and Israeli leftists and centrists, whom they dismiss as traitors and terrorists.

Source: Will the Triumph of the Messianic Israeli Far Right Destabilize the Country?

The Widening Breach, in Israel and in Israel-US Relations – CounterPunch.org

Image of Israeli flag.

Netanyahu put himself at the service of morally bankrupt and politically extremist cabinet members with radical goals: the removal of all Palestinians from Israel, the elimination of checks on the prime minister’s authority, resistance to US pressure, and declaration of Israel as a Jewish state.

Source: The Widening Breach, in Israel and in Israel-US Relations – CounterPunch.org

14-Year-Old Boy Killed by Israeli Occupation Forces During West Bank Raid

Fares Abu Samra funeral

Fares Abu Samra was the 37th Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces this year. Brett Wilkins Jul 27, 2023

Source: 14-Year-Old Boy Killed by Israeli Occupation Forces During West Bank Raid

With Israel in Turmoil, its “Lost Boys” are Stoking Extreme Nationalism

Put them in uniform and what you see is a parallel to Hitler Youth and the Nazi education programs

The national security minister himself — Itamar Ben-Gvir — is a settler with ties to youth in the West Bank, indicating the presence and radicalization of these young men is part of a larger strategy to conquer the land while feigning diplomacy. As more and more young men are brought to the region to attend these “rehabilitation centres” and then drafted into the army, Israel is preying on these traumatized youth to maintain strongholds in the West Bank. Rather than receiving counselling and home placements, these boys are encouraged to use their fundamentalist teachings to support the army and government’s goal, no matter the personal toll.The Conversation

Source: With Israel in Turmoil, its “Lost Boys” are Stoking Extreme Nationalism

Israel Is Bullying Progressives on Borrowed Time

Israel’s naked attempt to enforce an unflagging pro-Israel consensus, as it did in stoking backlash against Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s sensible recent comments that the country is a “racist state,” may work in the short-term. But the future belongs to Palestine.

Source: Israel Is Bullying Progressives on Borrowed Time

Israel protests: doctors strike, army reservists ask to stand down amid fury over judiciary changes

Riot police tries to clear demonstrators with a water cannon during a protest against plans by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu promised “In the future he will do things differently and look for a measure consensus”. Yes,at one and the same time he passed a Bill to form a Specialist Domestic National Guard to deal with domestic situations just like this, and in particular any Israeli or Palestinian protest. A specialist SS force, is his wants rather than an ineffective police force. Doesn’t it remind you of another place and another time in history where a force of head kickers was established?

Key points Prime Minister Netanyahu faces his biggest domestic crisis. Medics are on strike, and all-black ads cover newspapers. Two reservists have been punished for not heeding the training call-up. An officer has warned that absent reservists could damage military readiness. Netanyahu says he will seek political consensus in the future. Advertisement Jerusalem: Israeli doctors declared a strike and more army reservists have asked to halt service in a public backlash over the hard-right government’s ratification of the first stage of a judicial overhaul that critics say endangers democracy.

Source: Israel protests: doctors strike, army reservists ask to stand down amid fury over judiciary changes

Chaos as Israel departs the Ranks of Democracies, Adopting the Hungarian Model of Elective Dictatorship

Elective Dictatorship? Is this by way of a polite description and calling Israel a state bordering on Apartheid and  Fascism in fear of being accused of being antisemitic? Jews in and out of Israel are protesting while Netanyahu is in the process of creating a unitary executive and doing away with the separation of powers. The Knesset has said yes to a specialized Domestic National Guard trained to focus on Israeli Palestinians and anti-government protestors, an SS force. Compared with Israel Palestine is UNITED nation.

The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that on Monday, the Israeli parliament or Knesset passed the article removing the power of review from Israeli courts on grounds of “reasonability” in light of the country’s basic laws. The measure passed 64-0 in the 120-seat body, with the far right wing coalition of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu unanimously in favor and the opposition having left the chamber in protest. The country was thrown into chaos.

Source: Chaos as Israel departs the Ranks of Democracies, Adopting the Hungarian Model of Elective Dictatorship

Military Protests against Neutering of Courts threaten Israel’s Security, Say Officials

Despite the protest, the Bill was passed but now Israel has an internal problem

The reservists wrote in their letter: “Legislation that allows the government to act in an extremely unreasonable manner will harm the security of the State of Israel, will cause a loss of trust and violate my consent to continue risking my life – and will lead, with deep sorrow and no choice, to a suspension of my volunteer reserve duty.”

Source: Military Protests against Neutering of Courts threaten Israel’s Security, Say Officials

Israel’s New National Guard: A Tool for Palestinian Erasure

Is this the creation of the Israeli SS. An internal specialist domestic security force to be used on Palestinian Israeli’s and their sympathisers? YES

In March 2023, after months of protests over Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul, Israel gave far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir the go-ahead to establish a national guard. The force, to be composed of an initial 1,800 officers and with an operating budget of one billion NIS ($273 million), will primarily assist Israeli police during “security” emergencies. Approval of the national guard has stirred wide-ranging opposition, from a former Israeli police chief to Palestinian human rights organizations.1

Unlike other Israeli forces, the national guard is designed primarily to target Palestinian citizens of Israel. This policy memo examines the emergence of the national guard in order to understand its implications for Palestinian citizens of Israel. It proposes recommendations to relevant stakeholders for how to challenge the new force and protect Palestinians.

Source: Israel’s New National Guard: A Tool for Palestinian Erasure

‘We are winning’: Are US Jews who oppose Israeli settlements finally getting somewhere? | New York | The Guardian

Demonstrators march in support of Palestine in New York City on 20 July 2023.

Is this Anti Semitism? Israel would like us to believe it is

American Jews are growing sceptical of Israeli policies towards Palestinians and want limits on aid to prevent settlement growth

Source: ‘We are winning’: Are US Jews who oppose Israeli settlements finally getting somewhere? | New York | The Guardian

The “Destruction of the Third Temple”? Israel’s Apocalyptic Civil War Weakens State, Military

Israel’s Netanyahu Government wants the application of “Unitary Executive Theory” and do away with the “Separation of Powers”. In simple terms establish a Fascist State disguised as a  Democracy in name only. Simply because it will still have  ” show elections”. Guess Russia is a Democracy in the eyes of Netanyahu. A unitary executive would also keep him from being jailed for corruption.

The country does not have a formal constitution, but some laws, on human rights issues, have been taken as the basis for overturning subsequent legislation that contradicts the basic laws. Removing the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review would make Israel an elective dictatorship, where the ruling party can pass retrograde laws permitting discrimination against women, Christians, Muslims, secularists and gays, in accordance with the principles of the Israeli Religious Right.

The Supreme Court has also branded some squatter-settlements by Israelis on Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank as illegal, and extremists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir want to prevent the court from so ruling in the future.

Source: The “Destruction of the Third Temple”? Israel’s Apocalyptic Civil War Weakens State, Military

Massive Crowds of Israelis Are Protesting Netanyahu’s Supreme Court Power Play, Again – Mother Jones

Fascism is the application of ” Unitary Executive Theory” and a negation of the “Separation of Powers” Netanyahu, Trump along with current and would be dictators all want to action it.

Tens of thousands of Israelis marched into Jerusalem on Saturday, completing a four-day hike from Tel Aviv to the ancient capital city to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed effort to increase his control over Israel’s Supreme Court.

Source: Massive Crowds of Israelis Are Protesting Netanyahu’s Supreme Court Power Play, Again – Mother Jones

‘Unprecedented’: Over 1,000 Israeli Air Force Reservists Threaten to Quit Over Judicial Coup

Israeli Air Force F-15s

“For decades, we left everything behind and came forward resolutely to defend Israel, and now we find ourselves fighting for democracy.” Brett Wilkins Jul 21, 2023 1

Source: ‘Unprecedented’: Over 1,000 Israeli Air Force Reservists Threaten to Quit Over Judicial Coup

After Israel’s Jenin Attack, It’s Time to Strengthen the BDS Movement

Israel’s rulers use culture as a propaganda tool while waging war on the cultural life of Palestinian society. The best way to challenge the normalization of Israeli apartheid on every front, including the cultural one, is through boycotts, divestment, and sanctions.

Source: After Israel’s Jenin Attack, It’s Time to Strengthen the BDS Movement

Former PM Olmert calls on Biden to Boycott this Extremist Israeli Government, as Generals and Nat’l Union Also Shun It

Biden hosted Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday. Herzog is addressing a joint session of Congress today, which a handful of progressive Democrats are boycotting. The same members of Congress also boycotted the address of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a far right Hindu nationalist who is implicated in an anti-Muslim pogrom.

Source: Former PM Olmert calls on Biden to Boycott this Extremist Israeli Government, as Generals and Nat’l Union Also Shun It

Israeli Travel Restrictions and Blockade on Gaza Mean that 50% of Palestinian Cancer Patients do not get Treatment

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday that 50 per cent of cancer patients do not receive treatment due to the strict Israeli blockade imposed on the enclave.

Source: Israeli Travel Restrictions and Blockade on Gaza Mean that 50% of Palestinian Cancer Patients do not get Treatment

Yes, Israel Is an Apartheid State. That Means It’s A Racist One, Too.

Yes, Israel Is an Apartheid State. That Means It’s A Racist One, Too.

Source: Yes, Israel Is an Apartheid State. That Means It’s A Racist One, Too.

58% Depressed: The Racism of Israel’s Apartheid Regime toward Palestinians Shows in their Mental Health

While the Democrats in Washington, D.C. conduct a bizarre debate about whether Israel is a racist state, The World Bank has released some findings from its The Palestinian Psychological Conditions Survey (PPCS). They are summarized by Alia Aghajanian, Arden Finn, Gianluca Mele, and Nadir Mohammed.

In a survey of 5,876 Palestinians in the Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip during 2022, the researchers found that over all, 58% of adult Palestinians report symptoms that are categorized as indicating depression as it is defined by the World Health Orgaization’s wellbeing index.

Source: 58% Depressed: The Racism of Israel’s Apartheid Regime toward Palestinians Shows in their Mental Health

Israel Moves toward “Dictatorship” and Polarization, as one Likud Activist lauds the Targeting of Ashkenazi Jews in the Holocaust

On the eve of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s controversial visit to the United States, which several members of Congress say they will boycott, Israeli society is coming apart at the seams. The presidency in Israel is a purely symbolic post. Power resides with the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and his extremist cabinet, which comprises open racists and fascists. His government’s expansion of Israeli squatter-settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank has drawn a rebuke from President Joe Biden, who says he’s never seen such a far-right government in Israel in all his years in office (which is a lot of years).

Source: Israel Moves toward “Dictatorship” and Polarization, as one Likud Activist lauds the Targeting of Ashkenazi Jews in the Holocaust

When does criticism of Zionism and Israel lapse into antisemitism? – Pearls and Irritations

Unknown woman holding David Star. Israel, Judaism, Holocaust, Zionism concept.

An exchange between Larry Stillman, Harold Zwier and Chandra Muzaffar on the question: When does criticism of Zionism and Israel lapse into antisemitism?

Source: When does criticism of Zionism and Israel lapse into antisemitism? – Pearls and Irritations

America First Crowd Applauds As Fuentes Says Jews Must Die | Crooks and Liars

America First Crowd Applauds As Fuentes Says Jews Must Die

The REAL face of Anti-semitism- in America

I’m gonna go out on a limb here to suggest that he might be the problem. Not Jews.

Source: America First Crowd Applauds As Fuentes Says Jews Must Die | Crooks and Liars

Jenin attack created 4,000 new refugees, part of the endless cycle of Palestinian displacement since 1948 – Pearls and Irritations

Israel and Palestine war crisis, political conflict, economy.

Unfortunately, Israel has assisted in the rise of global anti-semitism along with inceasing Jews against Israel so much so chaos and ignorance are reflected in the hatred shown in our schools. The ALP needs to take a stand against all fascist and apartheid states Israel is the current stand-out example.

The Israeli army’s recent attack on Jenin refugee camp resulted in 13 deaths (12 Palestinians, including four children, and one Israeli soldier killed by suspected friendly fire). An additional 143 Palestinians were injured, with 20 in critical condition, and up to 4,000 displaced.

Source: Jenin attack created 4,000 new refugees, part of the endless cycle of Palestinian displacement since 1948 – Pearls and Irritations

Albanese: Time to dismantle Israel’s “carceral regime” – Pearls and Irritations

“Over 56 years, Israel has governed the occupied Palestinian territory through stifling criminalisation of basic rights and mass incarcerations,” said Albanese in a report to the UN Human Rights Council on 10 July.

Unfortunately it was not Australia’s Prime Minister who said this

Israel’s military occupation has morphed the entire occupied Palestinian territory into an open-air prison, where Palestinians are constantly confined, surveilled and disciplined,” a UN expert said today.

“Over 56 years, Israel has governed the occupied Palestinian territory through stifling criminalisation of basic rights and mass incarcerations,” said Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, in a new report to the Human Rights Council.

Source: Albanese: Time to dismantle Israel’s “carceral regime” – Pearls and Irritations

An Israeli activist was thrown in jail for a week — over a hat

Police arrest Gil Hammerschlag at a protest in Sheikh Jarrah, occupied East Jerusalem, April 2, 2023. (Shai Kendler/Megaphone News)

“I do not sign restrictive conditions of release,” Hammerschlag told +972 upon his release. “I was wearing a hat with a photo of 47-year-old Atef Hanaysha, who was shot in the head during a demonstration in Beit Dajan. If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is the Israeli army and Israel itself.”

Source: An Israeli activist was thrown in jail for a week — over a hat

Palestinians are in Israel’s crosshairs because they are not Jews | The Electronic Intifada

People praying at the Western Wall

“God promised us this land” Doesn’t cut it

If Israel were stripped of its endlessly elaborate narrative, all that would be left would be the violent replacement of a native population with an imported Jewish “tribe.”

Source: Palestinians are in Israel’s crosshairs because they are not Jews | The Electronic Intifada

The Israeli Far Right’s Alliance with PM Netanyahu is Leading the Mideast into Madness

Once again, the extreme religious right in Israel demonstrates its never-ending racism, violence and inhumanity towards the Palestinian people. Once again, the current Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrates that it is the direct political expression of the madness of religious extremism, which considers settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank an existential issue, and promotes criminal practices, the essence of which is the expulsion of Palestinians from their cities and towns and depriving them of their basic rights as a policy that serves Greater Israel.

Source: The Israeli Far Right’s Alliance with PM Netanyahu is Leading the Mideast into Madness

10 Questions We Must Ask About Continued US Support for Israeli Apartheid | The Smirking Chimp

In the wake of the largest Israeli military assault in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years, escalating a horrific year of violence against Palestinians, it’s time to ask what is the end game for Israel’s most extremist far right government, and its most important patron, the United States.

Source: 10 Questions We Must Ask About Continued US Support for Israeli Apartheid | The Smirking Chimp

Israeli Protests Reignite As Netanyahu Pushes New Justice Bill | HuffPost Latest News

Israelis against their Government

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s business hub Tel Aviv saw the biggest anti-government protest in weeks on Saturday against a renewed push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right coalition to overhaul the justice system.

Source: Israeli Protests Reignite As Netanyahu Pushes New Justice Bill | HuffPost Latest News

Israel’s attack on Jenin Created 4,000 New Refugees; Palestinians have been endlessly Displaced since 1948

The Israeli army’s recent attack on Jenin refugee camp resulted in 13 deaths (12 Palestinians, including four children, and one Israeli soldier killed by suspected friendly fire). An additional 143 Palestinians were injured, with 20 in critical condition, and up to 4,000 displaced. While this mass displacement has received less media attention than other aspects of the Israeli operation, it is central to understanding the region’s politics. Forced migration has always been core to the dynamics of modern Palestine and Israel. Most Palestinians are refugees, and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is organised around control of movement. While often framed as a fight over religion and ideology, this is ultimately a struggle around demographics, displacement and mobility.

Source: Israel’s attack on Jenin Created 4,000 New Refugees; Palestinians have been endlessly Displaced since 1948

Jenin and Sharpeville: Systemic Colonial Violence in Apartheid Israel and South Africa

 Such vague, equivocating and context-free reporting on violent incidents is always a sign that we are in the presence of propaganda.

The relationship of the Jewish-dominated Israeli state to the Muslim and Christian Palestinians of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been characterized in many ways. Israeli sources depict the Palestinians as irrationally violent, as inveterate “terrorists,” and characterize Israeli military operations in these territories as counter-terrorism. This is the frame almost universally adopted by European and American “news” broadcasts about the violence. Indeed, to listen to most of these reports, the Palestinians are besieging the Israelis rather than the other way around, and the Israeli actions are defensive or a matter of “clashes” between “two sides.”

Source: Jenin and Sharpeville: Systemic Colonial Violence in Apartheid Israel and South Africa

Mexico Has Fully Recognized the State of Palestine

 

Jews fled to Mexico post WW2

In fealty to US foreign policy, Mexico has long refused to recognize Palestinian statehood. Last week, that finally changed, with AMLO’s government officially acknowledging Palestinian statehood and establishing a full embassy in Mexico City.

Source: Mexico Has Fully Recognized the State of Palestine

Netanyahu’s Remarks should Prompt a major Paradigm Shift in Occupied Palestine

While Netanyahu’s disturbing but honest language is likely to invite yet more Israeli violence and Palestinian resistance, it should also bring about greater clarity by shelving, once and for all, the fraudulent discourse of “security”, “stability” and the moribund “peace process”.

Source: Netanyahu’s Remarks should Prompt a major Paradigm Shift in Occupied Palestine

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Palestinian Resistance Will Not Be Snuffed Out by Israel

This week’s Israeli incursion into Jenin showed the violence of occupation and blatant disregard for Palestinian rights. At least 133 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the start of this year alone.

Source: Palestinian Resistance Will Not Be Snuffed Out by Israel

Silence and the horror of Jenin – Pearls and Irritations

Panorama of Jenin in Palestine, West Bank.

 

Why hasn’t the devastation of almost an entire people been called out for what it is?

Where’s the outrage of what is happening in Jenin, Palestinian Territory? One of Australia’s foremost newspapers had an article today on whether it’s best to drink soy, almond or oat milk. Really? Who could have imagined that in 2023 Israel is allowed to get away with settler-colonialism as they imprison millions of people and subjugate them in such dire conditions while Australia frets about which ‘milk’ to put in their coffee.

Source: Silence and the horror of Jenin – Pearls and Irritations

Palestinians battle for their homes in East Jerusalem

The Ghaith family, living in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter since 1945, has been fighting forced eviction from their home for four decades. Israeli settler organizations persist in their efforts to displace them and seize their home for Jewish settlement. The recent court ruling favored the settler group and left the family unprotected.

Source: Palestinians battle for their homes in East Jerusalem

Israeli Officials Now Promoting Impunity for Settler-Colonial Violence

Israeli settlers use guns, fire bombs and don’t simply throw rocks. Their aim is to kill with intent, destroy property and drive Palestinian villagers from their homes and territory. All this in the West Bank Palestinian land. Their intent is to take over every inch of Palestine

If Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, can find excuses for the hilltop youth’s colonial violence, how much more is the concept of settler-colonial presence as a form of violence normalised?

Source: Israeli Officials Now Promoting Impunity for Settler-Colonial Violence