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Selectively Terrified

Mary Foster 13 January 2007


Throughout much of the Arab world, Hezbollah is being celebrated as the champion that was, at long last, able to establish a victory over invincible Israel and its omnipotent western backers. In the Middle East, Hezbollah’s victory has energized movements against imperialism and its system of client regimes. In Canada, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. It is thus illegal to “participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, any activity” of this Lebanese political party or even to urge anyone to act in a way that could be construed as benefiting Hezbollah. 

Suspected Citizens: Racial Profiling against Arab Passengers by Israeli Airports and Airlines

12 January 2007

The Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA) and the Center Against Racism (hereinafter “the investigating organizations”) have accumulated numerous complaints submitted by Arab citizens relating to discriminatory security inspections they have undergone at the hands of security personnel, despite the fact that they did not pose the slightest security risk to the other passengers. These travelers have never been suspected of security offenses and nothing in their past could justify such special treatment. 

The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel

12 January 2007


We are the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, the indigenous peoples, the residents of the States of Israel, and an integral part of the Palestinian People and the Arab and Muslim and human Nation. The war of 1948 resulted in the establishment of the Israeli state on a 78 percent of historical Palestine. We found ourselves, those who have remained in their homeland (approximately 160,000) within the borders of the Jewish state. Such reality has isolated us from the rest of the Palestinian People and the Arab world and we were forced to become citizens of Israel. This has transformed us into a minority living in our historic homeland. 

UN denies media reports of Israeli incursion

12 January 2007


The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon today denied media reports claiming that the Israeli military forces recently carried out an incursion over the Blue Line separating the two countries. “There was no violation of the Blue Line,” UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini said in a statement. “Members of the Israel Defence Forces were carrying out regular maintenance work on the technical fence near the village of Ayta Chaab. Throughout their maintenance work, they remained south of the Blue Line,” he added. 

Israel Looking for an Extreme Makeover

Bill Berkowitz 12 January 2007


OAKLAND, California (IPS) - It hasn’t been the easiest year for Israel. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s strongly criticised Israel in his new bestselling book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, and a recent international consumer survey found that Israel has the worst “brand name” of any country in the world. Finally, The Sunday Times of London reported this week that the Israeli Air Force may be preparing to use low grade, tactical nuclear weapons to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities. So perhaps it is not surprising that Israel — whose international image is of a country in continuous conflict — would engage in a serious long-term effort to reshape global perceptions of itself. 

Hard limits and long-observed taboos

Ali Abunimah 12 January 2007


With his new book, former President Jimmy Carter has been vilified by the pro-Israel lobbying industry in the United States with the frequent intimation that he is anti-Semitic. Yet even this furor demonstrates the hard limits which the debate still faces. In defending himself against such attacks, Carter has been careful to stress that he is only talking about the situation inside the territories occupied in 1967, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “I know that Israel is a wonderful democracy with equal treatment of all citizens whether Arab or Jew. And so I very carefully avoided talking about anything inside Israel,” he said. 

Israel destroys Negev Bedouin village for second time

11 January 2007


On Tuesday, January 9th, Israeli forces entered the Bedouin village of Twail Abu Jarwal in the Northern Negev for the fifth time, in order to demolish it. Large police forces, with the aid of special-task forces and with the aerial help of a helicopter and two bulldozers, demolished the entire village. Twenty-one homes, shacks, brick rooms, and tents were destroyed. During the last battle Israel waged against the residents of this village, on 6 December 2006, Israeli forces demolished 17 homes - more than half the village. But the villagers managed to rebuild roofs over their heads to protect them from the harsh Negev winter weather. 

Sole protester greets otherwise unchallenged Lieberman

Michael F. Brown 12 January 2007


Every once in a while I end up at precisely the right spot at precisely the right time. Sunday 10 December 2006 was one such instance. I raced over that morning to the Ritz-Carlton at 22nd and M Street in Washington, DC with the hope that Member of Knesset Avigdor Lieberman was indeed speaking at 8:30 am. I parked, charged up the stairs, and then calmly walked in. I was sporting my wedding suit and a classy yellow tie. Hair cut short. Other than the touch long beard and some scuffs on my black dress shoes, I very much looked as though I belonged. And, in fact, it’s a shame I was not invited to the Saban Forum 2006 on “America and Israel: Confronting a Middle East in Turmoil.” 

Videotaped Hebron settler violence just the tip of the iceberg

11 January 2007


The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem calls on Israeli authorities not to make the settler, Yifat Alkoby a scapegoat for law enforcement failures in the West Bank. Alkoby was summoned for questioning following the extensive airing of a B’Tselem video in which she is seen assaulting and swearing at women and girls from the Abu-‘Ayesha family, in Tel Rumeida, Hebron. The incident, as grave as it is, is only the tip of the iceberg of the daily violence committed by Hebron settlers, against their Palestinian neighbors, under the protection of the army. 

Palestine 2007: Genocide in Gaza, Ethnic Cleansing in the West Bank

Ilan Pappe 11 January 2007


On this stage, not so long ago,I claimed that Israel is conducting genocidal policies in the Gaza Strip. I hesitated a lot before using this very charged term and yet decided to adopt it. Indeed, the responses I received, including from some leading human rights activists, indicated a certain unease over the usage of such a term. I was inclined to rethink the term for a while, but came back to employing it today with even stronger conviction: it is the only appropriate way to describe what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip.