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Please Help Palestinian Community Organizer Follow His Dreams
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From David and Ehud at the Villages Group: Hi friends I am happy to tell you that Ibrahim Nawaja, who has run the Susiya creative and learning center, with great success , for almost a year (see also video below), has been accepted to Dar Al Kalima college (Arabic link) to study Documentary Film Making. This is a great opportunity for him. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1OoXxBrqA4&w=640&h=360] For those who know Ibrahim, you know what an exceptional, creative and sensitive person … Read entire article »
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Please Help Palestinian Community Organizer Follow His Dreams
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From David and Ehud at the Villages Group: Hi friends I am happy to tell you that Ibrahim Nawaja, … Read more »
UPDATED with Video and more Commentary: Israel Settlers Nearly Lynch Activists with Police Looking on.
I was waiting a few days as the disturbing emails piled my inbox, trying to wrap my head around them and think what angle to bring this story from. To Hell with my … Read more »
Palestinian Return, Jewish Return, and Insufferable Western Bias
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This text is cross-posted from Daily Kos, where it was part of an ongoing debate. First, we had … Read more »
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Bibi, Obama and Israel's A-Historical View of Itself
"It’s time to recognize this basic truth: Israel is not what’s wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what’s right about the Middle East." I'm guessing this Bibi gem won one of those … Read more »
Bibi, Obama and Israel's A-Historical View of Itself
"It’s time to recognize this basic truth: Israel is not what’s wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what’s right about the Middle East." I'm guessing this Bibi gem won one of those … Read more »
Bibi, Obama and Israel's A-Historical View of Itself
"It’s time to recognize this basic truth: Israel is not what’s wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what’s right about the Middle East." I'm guessing this Bibi gem won one of those … Read more »
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Israel’s Tahrir[3]: Ripple Effect on Politicians, Financiers Continues…
In late August, after first sending proxies to defame Israel’s social-justice protesters as “radical lefties” – a move that backfired spectacularly; then trying the silent treatment, hoping that the Israeli public known for its short attention span will lose interest – only to get served with repeated bouts of unprecedented nationwide protests; Prime minister “Bibi” Netanyahu tried a third trick: appoint a committee. The move won him a partial reprieve, mostly from the mainstream media. And using the quiet and the back-to-school period, local governments began dismantling the tent cities one by one. Now the committee, headed by Prof. Manuel Trachtenberg – a well-meaning, former-Argentine-radical, but nevertheless neoliberal economist – has submitted its conclusions. They include … Read entire article »
UPDATED with Video and more Commentary: Israel Settlers Nearly Lynch Activists with Police Looking on.
I was waiting a few days as the disturbing emails piled my inbox, trying to wrap my head around them and think what angle to bring this story from. To Hell with my angle. These are activists who’ve seen a lot over the years, staring down police brutality in Sheikh Jarrah (East Jerusalem), and enduring settler and military violence all across the West Bank. But this time, they say, was different. A palpable fear of death. So let’s hear it from them: (note: in Israeli discourse the word “lynch” has a different connotation, and denotes any violent mob assault) Were you ever at a lynching? Were you ever someplace where an unbridled mob was beating you and your … Read entire article »
Palestinian Return, Jewish Return, and Insufferable Western Bias
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This text is cross-posted from Daily Kos, where it was part of an ongoing debate. First, we had user “soysauce” in a brilliant rec-list diary, countering the Bibi government’s slogan that it isn’t enough for Palestinians to recognize Israel – they need to recognize it as a Jewish state. To my understanding, the 2 main reasons soysauce cited against doing this, … Read entire article »
Susya Elementary School – Second Year Opens
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The local school of Palestinian Susya, founded last year, has opened its second year of activity this month. On Thursday, September 22nd, we visited and met the school staff: Principal Muhammed, and the four teachers – Amjad, Nizar, Ahmad and Hima. Our expectations and hopes that the Susya school will be growing vigorously and that the number of classes will increase … Read entire article »
Israel’s Tahrir [2]: First effect on electoral politics – Labor Party Revived
Away from the drama in Georgia and at the UN, a potentially major electoral development took place in Israel yesterday. Knesset Member Shelly Yachimovich was elected Wednesday night to lead Israel’s Labor Party. In the final round she defeated her former political mentor, Amir Peretz (who led Labor to the 2006 elections) by 54% to 46%. Yachimovich is the second woman to lead Labor in the party’s century-long history. The first woman was world-famous, US-raised Golda Meir, party leader and Prime Minister from 1969 to 1974. But the two women are almost diametric opposites. Whereas Golda was a calcified, conservative, elitist nationalist and anti-feminist who rose within party ranks – Yachimovich is a fast-rising star, a … Read entire article »
Another Round of Israeli Military Vandalism at Umm-Al-Kheir
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Yesterday morning, Thursday September 8 2011, around 7 AM, the IDF military regime’s “Civil Administration” officials arrived at Umm-Al-Kheir, accompanied by a bulldozer and military forces, to destroy homes. The residents of Umm-Al-Kheir – situated in the West Bank, roughly 8km north of its southernmost border – are Bedouins, originally living on land that became part of Israel. They were driven … Read entire article »
Freedom Theatre attacked yet again
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Missed this item last week because of earthquake/hurricane, but the Freedom Theatre was attacked again on August 22nd: Freedom Theatre targeted again After the Israeli army targeted the theatre twice during the last month, arresting three of its members, today at approximately 02:00 in the morning of the 22nd August the Israeli army again surrounded The Freedom Theatre and the Nagnaghiya family … Read entire article »
Israel’s Tahrir [1]: Will the Revolution End “Bibinomics”?
Ok… a little bird told me there was this teeny, modest wavelet of demonstrations in Israel, so maybe it’s time I write something about it. (snark, snark; actually my mom, two of my siblings and a couple of nieces were among those 4-5% of Israel’s population, over 300,000 people, taking to the streets on Saturday night) There is so much to write, and things are moving so fast. Seemingly out of nowhere, this protest wave has snowballed, or – considering the season and physical location – sweatballed, right into prime minister Netanyahu’s (hereafter, “Bibi’s”) face. But of course, this is anything but “out of nowhere.” In an open-ended diary series, I will try to explore some key processes … Read entire article »
Report on Summer Camps at Susya and Umm-Al-Kheir
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The summer camps at Susya and Umm-Al-Kheir have just ended. Both camps are organized locally, and funded with the help of outside donors. Villages Group activists help arrange these funds, work with organizers to help meet their needs, and – most rewardingly – visit the camps to interact with the kids. ————————————- At Palestinian Susya, this has been the third consecutive year … Read entire article »