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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Activism

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“We can only dismantle antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Black racism when we do it together.”Rabbi Alissa Wise - Jewish Voice for Peace - On Tuesday, I moderated a panel discussion with a group of progressive leaders about antisemitism and the collective work that is needed to dismantle it. For years, anti-Palestinian activists have attempted to falsely smear JVP and the movement for Palestinian rights as antisemitic in order to invalidate our work, while ignoring the growing white supremacist right and other very real threats to Jewish safety. Our opponents need this line of reasoning to defend an otherwise indefensible political goal: Israeli apartheid. That’s why this panel terrified them. Our panelists embodied an unequivocal commitment to stand against antisemitism – along with every form of oppression – as part of their work for Palestinian freedom. As Rep. Rashida Tlaib said: “We can only dismantle antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Black racism when we do it together.” [ak]23/12/2020
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The IHRA censors Palestinians by design, not by accidentBen White - A New Jewish Media - Last month, Palestinian and Arab scholars expressed profound concern at how a working definition of antisemitism (WDA) adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is being “applied, interpreted and deployed in several countries of Europe and North America”. Specifically, the signatories drew attention to what they argued is the use of the working definition to “delegitimise the Palestinian cause and silence defenders of Palestinian rights”. Others have expressed similar criticism; Americans for Peace Now recently rejected the IHRA citing its “imprecise, overreaching wording”, and in light of “how it is already being abused, indeed weaponized, to quash legitimate criticism and activism directed at Israeli government policies”. Foundation for Middle East Peace president Lara Friedman, meanwhile, sees the US government’s targeting of civil society groups as “an inevitable consequence…of the effort to enforce the IHRA’s politicised definition of antisemitism”, while the UK-based Pears Institute’s David Feldman has also warned of its“chilling impact” on campus free speech. For their part, advocates of the IHRA and its "Working Definition" rejected the accusation that they are applying censorship and also asserted that accusing them of applying censorship is itself a form of antisemitism which should be forbidden (sic!). [ak] 23/12/2020
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"You can`t go home, you are not allowed to enter Israel" - "but my home is not in Israel!" - "Nevertheless, you not allowed"Taayush - Annexation de-facto: Israeli soldiers detained Palestinian inhabitants of South Hebron Hills communities, who were on their way home from the town of Yatta, at a checkpoint on the road, proclaiming they were “blacklisted against entering Israel”; Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian at Qalandiya Checkpoint; At Farisiya, a settler set his dog against a Palestinian flock, several sheep were wounded – Israeli army and police arrived at the scene with the settlement’s security official, and chased away – the Palestinian shepherd and his flock; a protest demonstration was held in the Salfit district against demolition of a center for people with special needs, and the founding of a new settler outpost; another week of settlers and Israeli soldiers’ demolitions, confiscations and incursions into Palestinians’ grazing grounds, olive groves and fields.16/12/2020
Help the Machsom Watch women continue their Human Rights work 16/12/2020
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A country that oppresses millions of people cannot remain democratic.MachsomWatch - Freedom of movement, the right to earn a living, the right to own property and freedom of expression are basic human rights. We have seen that the denial of these rights in the Occupied Territories does not stem from the security needs of Israel, but rather from the desire to gain and maintain control of the lives and property of the Palestinians. The denial of rights and freedoms has crossed the Green Line and the weakening of democracy is becoming increasingly evident to the citizens of Israel. A country that oppresses millions of people cannot remain democratic. [ak]16/12/2020
A "cosmetic facelift" at the Qalandiya Checkpoint Machsom Watch (Women for human rights and against the occupation) - The Qalandiya Checkpoint is the main entrance to Jerusalem for residents of Ramallah and the northern West Bank. It is located in the separation wall, amidst Palestinian neighborhoods, far from the Green Line. We were there when it was established in 2001 as a temporary post. We regularly checked on Palestinians crossing to Jerusalem, the center of most of their activities. We monitor it now, as the renamed “Atarot Crossing," equipped with quick electronic identification devices, and many more checking terminals. The Qalandiya Checkpoint is a testimony to the fact that the occupation is adjusting and upgrading itself. But when the real objective is the more efficient control of the occupied population and keeping it out of Israel and away from areas it intends to annex, one can only make a “cosmetic facelift," and even this turns out not to be very successful. [ak] 16/12/2020
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Physicians For Human Rights return to the Gaza Strip Salah Haj Yahya - Physicians For Human Rights - This month, a PHRI delegation entered the Gaza Strip for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis. The situation in Gaza is dire — The Gazan health care system, which was at the brink of collapse even prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, is experiencing severe shortages and is at maximum capacity. Many of the chronically ill patients we treated during our visit stated that they had to forego treatment, as the healthcare system’s efforts have been focused on fighting the coronavirus. To make matters worse, many are disobeying the government’s directives by going to work so they could feed their families.[ak]16/12/2020
Report on the week that passed and call for further actionTaayush - Soldiers shot to death a boy from Mughayar village who participated in a demonstration protesting the building of a new settler outpost near his village; settlers from `Maskiyot` in the Palestinian Jordan Valley attacked Palestinian shepherds from En Al Hilwa and injured their flocks; invasions by settlers from outposts of Palestinian privately-owned land and Waqf ground in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, the West Bank hill range and South Hebron Hills are expanding, backed up by the Israeli army and the Civil Administration that - at the same time - continues to demolish Palestinian homes and damage their property, there and in Jerusalem. [bz]9/12/2020
A new website tracks all US legislative efforts to silence the movement for Palestinian freedom Meera Shah - Palestine Legal - “The sheer number of repressive bills introduced is a testament to the power of the movement for Palestinian rights,” said attorney Meera Shah. “The Israeli government, pro-Israel advocacy groups, and lawmakers would rather censor a human rights movement than engage with its demands for freedom, justice, and equality for all." Legislative measures included defunding universities to punish or deter their support for academic boycott of Israeli institutions; prohibiting state contracts and state investments with entities that support BDS; and legislation aiming to redefine antisemitism in order to include criticism of Israel. The comprehensive new website illustrates the widespread legislative assault on Palestine dvocacy. However, it also shows that only a fraction of the hundreds of bills lawmakers introduced in various US states have become law, in part because of strong grassroots and civil liberties opposition. [ak] 3/12/2020
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Supporting Palestinian rights is not antisemitism - the IHRA definition is wrong The Guardian - Antisemitism must be debunked and combated. Regardless of pretence, no expression of hatred for Jews as Jews should be tolerated anywhere in the world. Antisemitism manifests itself in sweeping generalisations and stereotypes about Jews, regarding power and money in particular, along with conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. We regard as legitimate and necessary the fight against such attitudes. We also believe that the lessons of the Holocaust as well as those of other genocides of modern times must be part of the education of new generations against all forms of racial prejudice and hatred. The fight against antisemitism must, however, be approached in a principled manner, lest it defeat its purpose. The definition of antisemitism offered by IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) conflates Judaism with Zionism in assuming that all Jews are Zionists, and that the state of Israel in its current reality embodies the self- determination of all Jews. We profoundly disagree with this. The fight against antisemitism should not be turned into a stratagem to delegitimise the fight against the oppression of the Palestinians, the denial of their rights and the continued occupation of their land. (Signed by 122 Palestinian and Arab academics, journalists and intellectuals). [ak] 3/12/2020
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A demolition rampage and water cut of for the Massafer Yatta villages in the South Hebron Hills - and much more...Ta`ayush weekly report - Large scale demolition in the South Hebron Hills / Much ado in the Jordan Valley / Protesting the Heidelberg Cement quarry in occupied territory / East Jerusalem, court rulings in favor of the settler association. [bz]3/12/2020
Khan Al Ahmar is facing demolition. You can help! 3/12/2020
Khan Al Ahmar is facing demolition. You can help!Angela, Fakhri and Dani - Jahalin Solidarity - This week, the Israeli High Court heard a petition filed by far-right NGO Regavim, calling for immediate demolition of Al Khan al Ahmar village and its iconic “car tyres” school. The court ruled to give the State a four- month period of delay for the demolition, but since it did not issue an injunction against the demolition orders, the bulldozers may move in at any moment. Due to this emergency, international support has been requested by the Bedouin; their lawyer, Adv. Tawfiq Jabareen, called for the international community to work to save the village and the two state solution. Jahalin Solidarity has been working on the issue widely, including with its network of powerholders and lobbyists in various capitals.[ak]3/12/2020
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