9 sept 2017
According to Israeli media, over 200 Israelis marched from central Jerusalem to the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Friday, to protest the eviction of a Palestinian family from their homes. The demonstrators marched on West Jerusalem’s thoroughfare until they crossed over into the Palestinian neighborhood, where they were met by dozens of local Palestinian protesters.
On Friday, police took two residents of Sheikh Jarrah, who marched in the direction of the Israelis, into custody — one for waving a Palestinian flag, and the other — a minor — following settler complaints to the police. The minor was only detained for a short period of time, although his mother collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital upon his detention. Meanwhile, during the Israeli march toward Sheikh Jarrah, a passerby threw eggs at the demonstrators. Among the marchers were Joint List head Ayman Odeh and Yousef Jabareen, also of the Joint List, 972mag reported.
After the marchers arrived in the neighborhood, one of the Israeli protesters climbed the Shamasna family home and removed the Israeli flag hung by settlers who had commandeered the house. In response, the settlers attacked some of the protesters, throwing stones and pepper spraying them. Two Israeli marchers were arrested.
Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem performed Friday prayers in front of the Shamasna family home, in an act of protest against the family’s forced eviction.
Members of the Shamasna family participated in the prayers held outside their home, along with Palestinian Mayor of Jerusalem Adnan al-Husayni, Fatah’s Jerusalem Secretary Shadi Mtour, Fateh official Hattem Abd al-Qader, and other religious and national figures.
Sheikh Abdullah Alqam, who gave Friday’s Khutbah — Islamic sermon — condemned the expulsion of the Shamasna family from their home and said that the Israeli legal system was “biased” towards Israeli settlers.
Alqam said that, despite Israel’s relentless attempts to displace Palestinians from Jerusalem, Jerusalemites were determined to defend their rights and existence in the city.
Mohammed Shamasna, 45, and his son Dirar, 23, were released from Israeli jail on Thursday after being detained during the settler-driven eviction on Tuesday. While earlier reports noted that no release conditions were placed on the two, locals said on Friday that Mohammed was banned from entering Sheikh Jarrah for two weeks. It was unclear if this also applied to Dirar.
The Shamasna family was the latest Palestinian family to be evicted from the neighborhood since 2009 under an Israeli law that allows Jewish Israelis to claim ownership over properties that had once been owned by Jews before 1948, when thousands fled East Jerusalem during the Arab-Israeli war.
However, this law does not extend to Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of whom were displaced from their lands and homes in present-day Israel in 1948.
Sheikh Jarrah has become a central target for Jewish ownership claims, as the neighborhood was allegedly once the site of a 19th century Jewish community.
In 2009, the Um Kamel al-Kurd, Ghawi, and Hanoun families were completely evicted from their homes, while Israeli settlers partially took over the al-Kurd family home, who still live side-by-side years later. More than 60 Palestinians were displaced during the wave of evictions in 2009.
On Sunday, six more Palestinian families were handed eviction notices, ordering them to leave their homes within 30 days owing to Israeli settler claims on their properties.
The European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah released a joint statement on Friday condemning the eviction in Sheikh Jarrah.
“Further settlement plans foreseeing large scale construction and evictions in Sheikh Jarrah are being moved forward by the planning authorities. The EU has repeatedly called on the Israeli authorities to reconsider these decisions,” the statement read.
The statement reiterated the EU’s stance on the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and “its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context, including evictions and demolitions.”
“Settlement activity in East Jerusalem seriously jeopardizes the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both States,” the statement added.
Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Scott Anderson said in the statement on Wednesday that he was “appalled at the resumption of forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and particularly worried about the humanitarian impact on this refugee family (Shamasna).”
“Palestine refugees, who have already endured multiple episodes of displacement, should not be subjected to forced evictions,” Anderson said.
According to UN documentation, 180 Palestinian families — comprising of 818 individuals, 372 of whom are children — are at risk of forcible displacement in East Jerusalem owing to settler-driven evictions. UNRWA noted that in Sheikh Jarrah, 60 percent of those at risk of displacement are Palestinian refugees.
Israeli rights group Ir Amim has noted that Israeli settler plans have focused on taking control of the entire neighborhood and then demolishing it to establish a massive Jewish settlement there.
The settlement would be called Shimon HaTzadik, named after the tomb of the biblical figure Simeon the Just, which is believed by Jews to be located in the neighborhood, and which the 19th century Jewish community had also allegedly once been called.
On Friday, police took two residents of Sheikh Jarrah, who marched in the direction of the Israelis, into custody — one for waving a Palestinian flag, and the other — a minor — following settler complaints to the police. The minor was only detained for a short period of time, although his mother collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital upon his detention. Meanwhile, during the Israeli march toward Sheikh Jarrah, a passerby threw eggs at the demonstrators. Among the marchers were Joint List head Ayman Odeh and Yousef Jabareen, also of the Joint List, 972mag reported.
After the marchers arrived in the neighborhood, one of the Israeli protesters climbed the Shamasna family home and removed the Israeli flag hung by settlers who had commandeered the house. In response, the settlers attacked some of the protesters, throwing stones and pepper spraying them. Two Israeli marchers were arrested.
Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem performed Friday prayers in front of the Shamasna family home, in an act of protest against the family’s forced eviction.
Members of the Shamasna family participated in the prayers held outside their home, along with Palestinian Mayor of Jerusalem Adnan al-Husayni, Fatah’s Jerusalem Secretary Shadi Mtour, Fateh official Hattem Abd al-Qader, and other religious and national figures.
Sheikh Abdullah Alqam, who gave Friday’s Khutbah — Islamic sermon — condemned the expulsion of the Shamasna family from their home and said that the Israeli legal system was “biased” towards Israeli settlers.
Alqam said that, despite Israel’s relentless attempts to displace Palestinians from Jerusalem, Jerusalemites were determined to defend their rights and existence in the city.
Mohammed Shamasna, 45, and his son Dirar, 23, were released from Israeli jail on Thursday after being detained during the settler-driven eviction on Tuesday. While earlier reports noted that no release conditions were placed on the two, locals said on Friday that Mohammed was banned from entering Sheikh Jarrah for two weeks. It was unclear if this also applied to Dirar.
The Shamasna family was the latest Palestinian family to be evicted from the neighborhood since 2009 under an Israeli law that allows Jewish Israelis to claim ownership over properties that had once been owned by Jews before 1948, when thousands fled East Jerusalem during the Arab-Israeli war.
However, this law does not extend to Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of whom were displaced from their lands and homes in present-day Israel in 1948.
Sheikh Jarrah has become a central target for Jewish ownership claims, as the neighborhood was allegedly once the site of a 19th century Jewish community.
In 2009, the Um Kamel al-Kurd, Ghawi, and Hanoun families were completely evicted from their homes, while Israeli settlers partially took over the al-Kurd family home, who still live side-by-side years later. More than 60 Palestinians were displaced during the wave of evictions in 2009.
On Sunday, six more Palestinian families were handed eviction notices, ordering them to leave their homes within 30 days owing to Israeli settler claims on their properties.
The European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah released a joint statement on Friday condemning the eviction in Sheikh Jarrah.
“Further settlement plans foreseeing large scale construction and evictions in Sheikh Jarrah are being moved forward by the planning authorities. The EU has repeatedly called on the Israeli authorities to reconsider these decisions,” the statement read.
The statement reiterated the EU’s stance on the illegality of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and “its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context, including evictions and demolitions.”
“Settlement activity in East Jerusalem seriously jeopardizes the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both States,” the statement added.
Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Scott Anderson said in the statement on Wednesday that he was “appalled at the resumption of forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and particularly worried about the humanitarian impact on this refugee family (Shamasna).”
“Palestine refugees, who have already endured multiple episodes of displacement, should not be subjected to forced evictions,” Anderson said.
According to UN documentation, 180 Palestinian families — comprising of 818 individuals, 372 of whom are children — are at risk of forcible displacement in East Jerusalem owing to settler-driven evictions. UNRWA noted that in Sheikh Jarrah, 60 percent of those at risk of displacement are Palestinian refugees.
Israeli rights group Ir Amim has noted that Israeli settler plans have focused on taking control of the entire neighborhood and then demolishing it to establish a massive Jewish settlement there.
The settlement would be called Shimon HaTzadik, named after the tomb of the biblical figure Simeon the Just, which is believed by Jews to be located in the neighborhood, and which the 19th century Jewish community had also allegedly once been called.
19 mar 2017
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“They’re trying to conflate [BDS] with terrorism and antisemitism,” he concluded, “because they realise that it is a real threat.”
Born into a renowned Zionist family and raised on the Zionist ideal of a Jewish state, American-Israeli author Miko Peled’s family life took him on a journey that transformed him into a Palestinian human rights activist and an advocate of a one democratic state where Palestinians and Israelis would live as equal citizens. His father, Matti Peled, was a fervent Zionist ideologue and military man turned leading peace activist. Growing up in Jerusalem as the son of a prominent major general in the Israeli army was a big deal for Peled. “It was something that I would hear constantly: Oh, you’re Matti Peled’s son!” Peled told MEMO. “Many times it was positive but many times it was very negative.” When he retired, Matti Peled began meeting with members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and was one of the earliest proponents of the two-state solution. “That’s when being the son of Matti Peled suddenly became a bad thing,” he continued, “because he was ‘an Arab lover’.” Though his father spent his life promoting the idea of a two state-solution and convincing the PLO to give up the armed struggle and accept the two-state-solution, Peled’s journey led him to believe that this was not viable or just. “In hindsight, that was catastrophic for the Palestinians, because a lot of it has to do with why we are here today – the fact that they dropped the struggle.” “I think that he [Matti Peled] and his group were naive. They believed that you can restrain this settler colonialist project, but you cannot restrain colonialism. You can only overpower it with more power.” Peled relates his journey of transformation in his book, “The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine”, which he published in 2012. “Geographically it’s a very short journey because Israel is Palestine, which many people don’t realise,” Peled told MEMO, “but the journey from the sphere of the privileged, the sphere where everything is clean and safe and the roads are paved, and you have plenty of water, and your rights are secure and you have no worries to the journey of the oppressed, the journey of the occupied, the journey of the dispossessed is an enormous journey – mentally, emotionally, politically.” Peled made the transition from being a “coloniser” to being “an immigrant” in Palestine. Coming as a coloniser gives you a sense of being better than the indigenous population and having rights, whereas coming as an immigrant makes you appreciate the land that you’ve come to, he explained. The longer the journey continues – and it still continues – the more I discover, the more I learn, the more I…gain understanding and appreciation for the Palestinian experience, for the Palestinian reality, for Palestine itself as a country, as a nation, as a culture. Settlements and the One State reality Peled says he finds the international community’s response to the settlements, reflected in the anti-settlement UN Security Council Resolution 2334 adopted last December and mounting calls by political leaders to stop settlement expansion, to be “the height of hypocrisy”. “Settlements didn’t begin yesterday,” he said. “Settlements in Palestine on stolen Palestinian land began in 1948.” “The settler-colonial project which is the State of Israel has been going on for seven decades, and now suddenly the international community discovers that there’s a problem?” he exclaimed. Peled is of the opinion that the widespread construction of Israeli settlements across what is known as the Occupied West Bank has in fact created a reality on the ground of a single state, particularly since Israel completed the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967. That is the reality today, so is it one state or two states? The sheer stupidity of this argument – of this conversation – is sometimes shocking because it has been a single state; it’s been an apartheid state from the very beginning. “There is no West Bank,” he emphasised. “Everybody who is aware of the situation in Palestine knows that there hasn’t been a West Bank in a long time.” Peled argues that Israel began integrating the West Bank to the rest of the country – the land of Israel – before the 1967 war was even over. “Entire villages, entire towns, entire communities were destroyed by Israeli bulldozers and massive building began for Jews only in the West Bank just like everywhere else.” |
Apartheid State
“It has been a one state since then governed by a single government which is the State of Israel, albeit by dividing the population by different sets of laws,” Peled said.
“Whereas the laws that govern my life when I’m there are the laws of a liberal democracy as a Jew,” he explained, “the laws that govern the life of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens are a certain set of apartheid racist laws.”
“Jews in the West Bank – or what used to be the West Bank – are governed by the laws of Israel, civil law,” he continued, adding that Palestinians in the West Bank on the other hand are governed by military law, with subdivisions of Areas A, B and C.
As for Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, often referred to as Israeli Arabs, Peled says that as far as Israel is concerned they “have no part in this vision of the land of Israel, of the State of Israel, the Jewish State. They have no distinct identity; they have no distinct connection to the land or anything like that.”
“Then sometimes it’s kind of quaint to say: Well, we have minorities,” he added, indicating that they are treated as second class citizens. As an example, Peled drew a contrast between the way in which the state deals with demolition orders, describing how the army would come in immediately and demolish Arab structures built without permits.
“Half…the people I know have homes and extensions to their homes which were done without permits,” he said. “It’s a reality because the bureaucracy is so complicated, but you wouldn’t dream of…armed guards coming in fully armed like combat soldiers and demolishing homes in a Jewish town.”
“It will take years through the courts before anybody even imagines to give me an order to take it down.”
In the case of Gaza, Peled says that Israel is faced with two choices; “Fix the problem, allow the refugees to return, rebuild or kill.” That is why, he says, from time to time Israel “has to escalate” and attack Gaza.
“There is a threat to Israel from Gaza,” he explained further, “but it’s not a military threat, it’s a threat to Israel’s legitimacy because this humanitarian disaster is a direct result of the creation of the State of Israel.”
“Israel can’t allow that,” he continued, voicing his frustration with the international community’s response.
I don’t know how the world, how anybody can be so gullible, so stupid to accept this massacre of innocent, unarmed, harmless civilians can be called self-defence.
Peled says that Israelis avoid any acknowledgment of Palestinian rights and claim to the land. To Israeli society, Israel in 1967 “completed the conquest or the return of our land to proper ownership, the Jews, and that’s the end of the story.”
“There is no Palestine; there are no Palestinians in Israeli consciousness. It’s the land of Israel,” he stressed. “As long as we kill more of them than they kill of us, we’re going to be fine. There is no vision beyond that.”
BDS ‘is how you bring about change’
A staunch supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Peled believes that it is going to be remembered as “one of the major forces that eventually [led to the liberation] of Palestine.”
“No racist regime has ever voluntarily gone up and left,” he argued, “and without consequences for their actions, they’re not going to change.”
Imposing boycott, divestment and sanctions on the State of Israel is morally the right thing to do…It is how you bring about change.
Recently, Israel’s parliament approved a controversial law banning anyone found to support the BDS movement from entering the country. “This shows how this regime is completely undemocratic,” Peled argued.
“It is like all other undemocratic regimes that spend their resources on the survival of the regime – not the rights and wellbeing of the people and not democracy,” he added, pointing out that the government now must investigate every person coming in, including Jewish visitors who until now were considered “safe” and were only subjected to limited questioning.
“They’re trying to conflate [BDS] with terrorism and antisemitism,” he concluded, “because they realise that it is a real threat.”
“That is of course nonsense,” he maintained, adding that the demands of BDS are “completely reasonable”. “The return of the refugees which the international community already accepted, the end of the military regime in the West Bank and Gaza and equal rights for the Palestinians who are, you know, [living within the Israeli borders of] 1948. What could be more reasonable than that?”
“Just like in the 60s people were judged by…Vietnam, and civil rights and then apartheid and so forth in the 80s,” Peled believes that “this entire generation that is alive today will be judged by our stance on Palestine.”
“I think we’ll all want to be in a place where when our children and our grandchildren ask us where we stood, we can say we stood on the side of justice.”
The transformation of a racist, colonialist, apartheid regime into a democracy is doable, and it is doable within a relatively short timeframe. We just need to act.
“It has been a one state since then governed by a single government which is the State of Israel, albeit by dividing the population by different sets of laws,” Peled said.
“Whereas the laws that govern my life when I’m there are the laws of a liberal democracy as a Jew,” he explained, “the laws that govern the life of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens are a certain set of apartheid racist laws.”
“Jews in the West Bank – or what used to be the West Bank – are governed by the laws of Israel, civil law,” he continued, adding that Palestinians in the West Bank on the other hand are governed by military law, with subdivisions of Areas A, B and C.
As for Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, often referred to as Israeli Arabs, Peled says that as far as Israel is concerned they “have no part in this vision of the land of Israel, of the State of Israel, the Jewish State. They have no distinct identity; they have no distinct connection to the land or anything like that.”
“Then sometimes it’s kind of quaint to say: Well, we have minorities,” he added, indicating that they are treated as second class citizens. As an example, Peled drew a contrast between the way in which the state deals with demolition orders, describing how the army would come in immediately and demolish Arab structures built without permits.
“Half…the people I know have homes and extensions to their homes which were done without permits,” he said. “It’s a reality because the bureaucracy is so complicated, but you wouldn’t dream of…armed guards coming in fully armed like combat soldiers and demolishing homes in a Jewish town.”
“It will take years through the courts before anybody even imagines to give me an order to take it down.”
In the case of Gaza, Peled says that Israel is faced with two choices; “Fix the problem, allow the refugees to return, rebuild or kill.” That is why, he says, from time to time Israel “has to escalate” and attack Gaza.
“There is a threat to Israel from Gaza,” he explained further, “but it’s not a military threat, it’s a threat to Israel’s legitimacy because this humanitarian disaster is a direct result of the creation of the State of Israel.”
“Israel can’t allow that,” he continued, voicing his frustration with the international community’s response.
I don’t know how the world, how anybody can be so gullible, so stupid to accept this massacre of innocent, unarmed, harmless civilians can be called self-defence.
Peled says that Israelis avoid any acknowledgment of Palestinian rights and claim to the land. To Israeli society, Israel in 1967 “completed the conquest or the return of our land to proper ownership, the Jews, and that’s the end of the story.”
“There is no Palestine; there are no Palestinians in Israeli consciousness. It’s the land of Israel,” he stressed. “As long as we kill more of them than they kill of us, we’re going to be fine. There is no vision beyond that.”
BDS ‘is how you bring about change’
A staunch supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Peled believes that it is going to be remembered as “one of the major forces that eventually [led to the liberation] of Palestine.”
“No racist regime has ever voluntarily gone up and left,” he argued, “and without consequences for their actions, they’re not going to change.”
Imposing boycott, divestment and sanctions on the State of Israel is morally the right thing to do…It is how you bring about change.
Recently, Israel’s parliament approved a controversial law banning anyone found to support the BDS movement from entering the country. “This shows how this regime is completely undemocratic,” Peled argued.
“It is like all other undemocratic regimes that spend their resources on the survival of the regime – not the rights and wellbeing of the people and not democracy,” he added, pointing out that the government now must investigate every person coming in, including Jewish visitors who until now were considered “safe” and were only subjected to limited questioning.
“They’re trying to conflate [BDS] with terrorism and antisemitism,” he concluded, “because they realise that it is a real threat.”
“That is of course nonsense,” he maintained, adding that the demands of BDS are “completely reasonable”. “The return of the refugees which the international community already accepted, the end of the military regime in the West Bank and Gaza and equal rights for the Palestinians who are, you know, [living within the Israeli borders of] 1948. What could be more reasonable than that?”
“Just like in the 60s people were judged by…Vietnam, and civil rights and then apartheid and so forth in the 80s,” Peled believes that “this entire generation that is alive today will be judged by our stance on Palestine.”
“I think we’ll all want to be in a place where when our children and our grandchildren ask us where we stood, we can say we stood on the side of justice.”
The transformation of a racist, colonialist, apartheid regime into a democracy is doable, and it is doable within a relatively short timeframe. We just need to act.
27 feb 2017
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Gerald Kaufman, the Father of the British House of Commons and the longest-serving British MP who was known as a scathing critic of Israel, died on Monday at the age of 86, according to his family.
Kaufman, who is Jewish from Polish origins, served 47 years in the British Parliament as an MP of the Labor Party. He attacked the Israeli "Nazi policy", which put him among the top British figures targeted by the Israeli government and media. Since he was elected MP for Manchester city, north of Britain, Kaufman was known for his hardline positions toward the issues of Labor, wealth and social justice in his circle, as well as his hostility to Israel on the foreign political level. One of Kaufman's most famous stands was launching a campaign in 2002 |
against an Israeli military operation against the Gaza Strip, and calling for ending the war. He described Israel as "a rogue state" and accused the Israel's then-Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon on the BBC of allowing his soldiers to use "brutal methods against Palestinians," and "staining the star of David with Palestinians' blood."
Kaufman served as shadow foreign secretary from 1987 to 1992 in the labor government and maintained his support for Palestinians and all just cases.
In 2004, he published a strongly-worded article in the Guardian newspaper calling for imposing international sanctions on Israel similar to the sanctions that were imposed on South Africa during the Apartheid era.
He accused Israel in 2009 of exploiting the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust in Europe in the forties of the past century to justify the Israeli army's crimes in the Operation Cast Lead waged against the Gaza Strip.
In another earth-shaking article, the British MP accused Israel of committing war crimes and accused the Israeli voters of being involved in these crimes.
Kaufman served as shadow foreign secretary from 1987 to 1992 in the labor government and maintained his support for Palestinians and all just cases.
In 2004, he published a strongly-worded article in the Guardian newspaper calling for imposing international sanctions on Israel similar to the sanctions that were imposed on South Africa during the Apartheid era.
He accused Israel in 2009 of exploiting the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust in Europe in the forties of the past century to justify the Israeli army's crimes in the Operation Cast Lead waged against the Gaza Strip.
In another earth-shaking article, the British MP accused Israel of committing war crimes and accused the Israeli voters of being involved in these crimes.
8 feb 2017
Palestinian and Jewish activists have filed a lawsuit with a US court against Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials over war crimes they committed against Palestinian citizens.
According to Maariv newspaper on Tuesday, 35 Palestinian and Jewish activists, all American citizens, are suing Netanyahu, his war minister Avigdor Lieberman and former foreign minister of Israel Tzipi Livni.
The legal complaint accuses the three Israeli officials of committing war crimes against the Palestinians and funding illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.
The lawsuit also names David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador-designate to Israel, and his charity, American Friends of Beit El Yeshiva Center, as being a major fundraiser for illegal Israeli settlements.
The complaint was prepared by noted attorney in Washington Martin McMahon, who has filed three other lawsuits that are currently before US courts and aim to cut off the stream of funding from the US to Israeli colonialism.
According to Maariv newspaper on Tuesday, 35 Palestinian and Jewish activists, all American citizens, are suing Netanyahu, his war minister Avigdor Lieberman and former foreign minister of Israel Tzipi Livni.
The legal complaint accuses the three Israeli officials of committing war crimes against the Palestinians and funding illegal settlement construction in the West Bank.
The lawsuit also names David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador-designate to Israel, and his charity, American Friends of Beit El Yeshiva Center, as being a major fundraiser for illegal Israeli settlements.
The complaint was prepared by noted attorney in Washington Martin McMahon, who has filed three other lawsuits that are currently before US courts and aim to cut off the stream of funding from the US to Israeli colonialism.
