Despite the fact that a year has passed since the start of the Gaza military operation, the damage caused by three weeks of war and the near total closure preceding it has yet to be repaired. The reason: Israel’s ongoing policy blocking goods from entering the Gaza Strip, including a near total ban on reconstruction materials.
The Gisha site provides considerable detail on the facts of the situation, with links to ‘official’ spin.
Despite the fact that a year has passed since the start of the Gaza military operation, the damage caused by three weeks of war and the near total closure preceding it has yet to be repaired. The reason: Israel’s ongoing policy blocking goods from entering the Gaza Strip, including a near total ban on reconstruction materials.
The Gisha site provides considerable detail on the facts of the situation, with links to ‘official’ spin.
The infection of nationalism has long-affected the naming of places in Israel, with many Arab place names being changed to Hebraized versions after 1948. Of course, the spray-painting of signs in Arabic is a not unfamiliar site in Jerusalem.
The infection of nationalism has long-affected the naming of places in Israel, with many Arab place names being changed to Hebraized versions after 1948. Of course, the spray-painting of signs in Arabic is a not unfamiliar site in Jerusalem.
As usual, the Newsletter is jam-packed with commenty and opinion, including:
-A critical view of the latest Australian anti-Semitism report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, by Sol Salbe
-Opinions on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Campaign
– Ten Reasons to send more (US) troops to Afghanistan, Arthur Washkow
Dafna Golan on Israeli Denialism and the Goldstone Report.
I have been through there a couple of times, and that’s enough. It’s disgusting and degrading, even having an Australian passport doesn’t stop the dirty looks and ritualized humiliation.But let a Palestinian speak for her frequent experience.
Qalandiya’s Horrors By Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
December 23, 2009
Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate to cross Qalandiya checkpoint.
Denis Altman delivered a powerful address at the AJDS dinner on December
13 2009, which addressed issues of not just gay and Jewish identify, but
the politics of Diaspora communities, and a new role for Australia in
working with its Muslim neighbours to break down anti-Semitism.
Denis is a thought leader in both Australia and the US, and his speech covered many issues of concern to progressive Jews. His remarks suggest a new role for Australians in working with neighbouring Muslim countries.
Due to a bug, the Youtube video won’t screen on this page, but use the links below
. Please note, there are 5 videos in sequence, with a slight overlap between each (total about 45 minutes).
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
This letter, slightly edited appeared in the Melbourne Age.
THE success of the referendum in Switzerland to ban minarets on new mosques (The Age, 1/12) fills us with disquiet. This concern arises whenever laws are enacted that target a minority community, whether limiting the display of religious symbols in France, quarantining welfare payments to Aborigines in the Northern Territory or restrictions on Muslim places of worship.
Many people within the Jewish community, whose support for Israel is not in question, have watched and noted the way in which the occupation of Palestinian land has had a corrupting influence on Israel’s soul. Many Jewish Israelis are blind to the indignity and abuse on a daily basis accorded to ordinary Palestinians passing through Israeli checkpoints. They are insulated from feeling the deprivation, frustration and powerlessness in the lives of people under occupation behind a wall and out of view.
A letter in the Melbourne Age, 18 Nov 2009
THE Australian Jewish Democratic Society concurs with your editorial’s conclusion that ”the only way that Israel can avoid having to choose between its Jewish identity and democracy is to keep the two-state solution alive”. A settlement freeze is the essential precondition to any credible negotiations.