One Democratic Secular State for all its citizens in Israel and Palestine
Newsletter 8 uploaded
A dozen items of news, reflection, comments, quotes and resources including Israel’s new flagwaving Day, BDS campaigns and wins, Guide to using International Law, American student battlegrounds, how the Christians are dividing, and two upbeat views on how Hebrew Israelis might divide. See it in Newsletter
Newsletter 8
N E W P A L E S T I N E N E W S L E T T E R No.8
A dozen items of news, reflection, comments, quotes and resources including BDS (on Water and on Architects), using International Law, American student battlegrounds, how the Christians are dividing, and two upbeat views on how Hebrew Israelis might divide.
1. Another Day, another discriminatory nationalist shindig on the way
Israel’s warring Members of parliament, the Knesset, have all got together to produce yet another piece of discriminatory legislation, to establish a national holiday to recognize and celebrate immigration to Israel. Or rather, to celebrate Jewish immigration to Israel, summed up in the title “Aliyah Day”, that yet again promotes the 80% Jewish population and slaps the remaining 20% in the face.
Meanwhile, don’t mention the Nakba, especially not on May 15th while Hebrew Israel celebrates getting vacant possession of the country in 1948: another piece of Israel’s “democratic” legislation forbids mourning on this day. (more…)
Israel’s Bedouin evictions law to re-launch, as hundreds more homes bulldozed
Israel’s Bedouin evictions law to re-launch, as
hundreds more homes bulldozed
17 March, demonstration outside PM’s residence to protest accelerated demolitions. Despite official freeze of Prawer Plan of legally planned destruction and demolition, the government carries out the proposals in practice: every week there are two or more demolition deals that destroy at least five homes and sometimes more.
On 15th March 2014 Hilary and Philip wrote:
We have just returned from a week spent in Israel trying to find out the current position for the Bedouin in the Negev since the so-called “shelving” of the Prawer-Begin plan in December.
We are greatly concerned at what we have learned and it seems imperative at this stage to increase awareness of the situation (more…)
Worshipping the Golden Calf: how Israel destroys Judaism
Worshipping the Golden Calf: how Israel destroys Judaism
The Jewish petition against “Israel as the Jewish State”
A petition posted up by a member of the UK group Jews for Justice for Palestinians and titled Jews say No to ‘Israel as Jewish state’ has mined a rich seam of feelings from Jews (mainly in UK, USA and Canada) speaking in their own voices, about being handed a share of Israel.
Petition author Rachel Lever says “This is not a numerical poll, nor a questionnaire. It doesn’t calculate percentages of a sample or fit people into a pre-set choice of attitudes, but gives them a platform to speak for themselves, as Jews, to say how they feel about Israel’s claim to be “theirs”. (more…)
Palestine Freedom Song
Beautiful new Song for Palestine, to music inspired by anti-apartheid anthem Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, written in the hours of the night following the death of Nelson Mandela, this song and video are published by One Democracy.