In Arkansas, a newspaper publisher is in financial straits after refusing to sign an anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) pledge for Israel. He believes that political dissent is protected speech, and that the Arkansas law violates his constitutional rights and his journalistic ethics.
Belen Fernandez writes in the Jacobin that Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent pact with a far-right, anti-Arab party ahead of April’s elections is in keeping with a state that has racism and exclusion baked into its foundation.
Thousands of Sudanese asylum seekers – most have been in Israel for years – hold no-benefit visas and live in slums or detention centers. Interior Minister Arye Dery has decided to keep them that way, at least until after the elections in April.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein’s massacre of 29 Palestinians as they prayed. Israeli soldiers blocked Palestinians who tried to flee and who wanted to enter to help the victims. The repercussions of the attack are still felt by Palestinians in Hebron, who have seen their rights eroded and their formerly bustling city centre turn into a ghost town.
An “All Things Considered” reporter says the NPR report was “fair,” but in reality it reported only one side of the controversy and omitted significant information. The reporter’s email reveals a skewed perception of events. NPR has a history of such Israel-centric reporting…
Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian in the head, now has a paid position on the political campaign of an Israeli Prime Minister candidate.
Azaria served 14 months for the killing. He returned to Hebron a folk hero and celebrity.
Philip Weiss reports that writers try to blame Democratic support for Israel on evangelical Christians so they won’t be called antisemitic. However, if evangelicals were so influential, Democrats would have supported Kavenaugh, would be anti-abortion, etc. And regarding Republicans: Adelson’s money was a major influence in Trump’s decision to move the embassy…
The Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) has observed & documented Israeli violations of international law for 22 years. Netanyahu has cancelled their mandate following a leaked TIPH report of widespread Israeli abuse. Palestinians fear the worst without the watchful eye of TIPH; Israeli settlers say it will be “a breath of fresh air.”
In 2015, billionaire Sheldon Adelson hosted a summit to battle the nonviolent boycott movement for Palestinian rights (BDS). All participants in the event pledged at least $1 million to cover the costs of “demonizing the demonizers…” Participants, true to the maxim that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, declined to discuss any financial pledges….
With a 4% approval rate on building permit applications from Palestinians, and application costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, a large number of Palestinians make the risky decision to build without a permit. When Hassan Othman’s “illegal” home was discovered, he saved part of the $80 thousand demolition fee by hiring equipment to do it himself.
Israel has demolished over 48,000 Palestinian structures since 1967