Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Maryland

Why is Israel scared of accusations of apartheid? By: Nathan Feldman               Recently, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) released a human rights report on Israeli practices that concluded, from Reuters, that “Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole”. This report, published by Richard Falk, is the first of its kind originating from the UN. Soon after, the Israeli government, the Trump administration, and the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pressured Rima Khalaf, the head of ESCWA, to rescind the report. She refused and instead resigned in protest through a series of actions thoroughly outlined by Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept (article linked at bottom).               Now, my personal view is that this report is both accurate and long overdue, and it was a pleasant surprise that a UN age...

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8390717.stm?ad=1 Jerusalem residency losses rise Israel stripped a record number of Palestinians of their right to live in East Jerusalem last year, an Israeli rights group has said. Some 4,570 people had their residency rights removed, more than a third of the total number since Israel took control of East Jerusalem in 1967. Palestinians fear an attempt to reduce their presence in Jerusalem, which both they and Israel claim as their capital. Israel says most of those stripped of their rights were living abroad. Palestinians living in East Jerusalem were offered Israeli citizenship after Israel occupied the area in 1967 and later annexed it. Many refused, not wanting to recognise Israeli sovereignty, and were instead given residency. But, according to the Israeli rights organisation Hamoked, if these Palestinians live abroad for seven years, or gain citizenship or residency elsewhere, they lose their Israe...

Finally! A step in the right direction! From AlJazeera - Rights council adopts Gaza report At least 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during Israel's three-week war on Gaza [EPA] The UN human rights council has endorsed the Goldstone report on Israel's war on Gaza, which accuses the military of using disproportionate force as well as laying charges of war crimes on Israeli occupation forces and Hamas. The council's resolution adopting the report was passed in Geneva by 25 votes to six with 11 countries abstaining and five declining to vote. The inquiry, lead by Justice Richard Goldstone, calls on Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, to monitor whether Israel and Hamas conduct credible investigations into the conflict which took place last winter. Should the two sides fail to do so, it calls on the UN Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court. Hamas 'thankful' The Palestinian Authority had initially agreed to defer a...

From CNN Israel out of NATO event because of Gaza, Turkish official says ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Turkey excluded Israel from a planned NATO military exercise partly because of Turkey's criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive nearly a year ago, Turkey's foreign minister told CNN on Sunday. The Turkish government decided to change the list of participating countries and exclude Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. As a result, the NATO exercise was effectively scrapped, although a U.S. embassy representative said it was only postponed. Asked why Turkey excluded Israel from the exercise, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, "We hope that the situation in Gaza will be improved, that the situation will be back to the diplomatic track. And that will create a new atmosphere in Turkish-Israeli relations as well. But in the existing situation, of course, we are criticizing this approach, [the] Israeli approach." Earlier, the Turkish foreign ministry said "a...

From BBC Goldstone fall-out plagues Abbas By Heather Sharp BBC News, Jerusalem Palestinians sometimes joke about the fact that, when written in Arabic, "Palestinian National Authority" looks the same as "Palestinian National Salad". Some Gazans threw shoes at posters branding Abbas a traitor And to many here, the PA's handling of Richard Goldstone's UN report on the conflict in Gaza has been mixed up and limp. What began as the publication of a damning report on Israel's military conduct -...

If you haven't heard already Students for Justice in Palestine @ UMD will be having an absolutely fascinating event tomorrow! Here are more details and we hope to see you all there!! Jewish Voices For Peace : Israelis and Jews Striving for Justice in Palestine Jimenez Building Room 0220 University of Maryland @ 6 p.m. Featuring speakers: Jesse Hochheiser, a member of Ta'ayush (Life in Common) a Jewish-Arab partnership, and Shelley Fudge of Jewish Voices for Peace and CodePink will be coming to UMD to share their experiences and reflections as Jews who are taking action against the occupation and the injustice the Palestinian people face. This event is sponsored by: UMD Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, CODEPINK Women for Peace, Organization of Arab Students, Muslim Students Association, Muslim Women of Maryland, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146293649800&index=1

Here is a statement below from the Jewish Anti-Zionist Network outlining their support for the Palestinian general strike, which you can read more about here. International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network-LaborOctober 1, 2009 In the proud tradition of Jewish working class support for liberation struggles, IJAN-Labor stands in solidarity with the High Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens of Israel, the National Committee of Local Authorities, and all parties, movements and institutions of civil society of the Palestinian people in Israel, who have called a general strike for today, October 1, 2009. This strike marks the ninth anniversary of the Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Day in October 2000 when Israeli authorities massacred 13 Palestinian protesters. The killers have never been brought to justice. IJAN-Labor also welcomes the Trades Union Congress (U.K.) resolution of 17 September, which endorses the growing movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid, an...

From Al Jazeera Arab officials condemn Aqsa raid Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and stun grenades, wounding many Palestinian worshippers [AFP] Jordanian and Palestinian officials have condemned the Israeli security forces for storming Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Sunday during clashes that left many Palestinian worshippers wounded. Deploring the Israeli action, the officials said it amounted to a "violation of the mosque's sanctity". Trouble had broken out after a group of about 150 Israelis turned up and entered the mosque compound, reportedly under the guard of local authorities, on the occasion of Yom Kippur, the Jewish holy day. Speaking to the JNA state news agency on Monday, Nabil al-Sharif, the Jordanian media affairs minister, said Amman viewed the Israeli action as a "provocative act". "Both international law and relevant conventions and resolutions call for protection of places of worship against any violations", he said. "We ...

From BBc Israel 'understated' Gaza deaths A new report says more civilians were killed in Gaza than Israel admits An Israeli human rights group says many more Palestinian civilians were killed in the Israeli military's campaign in Gaza than the army admits. B'Tselem said detailed research with careful cross-checking showed 1,387 Palestinians died, over half of them civilians and 252 of them children. This contradicts an Israeli army report stating fewer than 300 civilians died in fighting in December and January. Israel launched the assault to halt rocket attacks from Hamas-run Gaza. The overall B'Tselem total broadly tallies with the official Palestinian death toll and the findings of other non-governmental organisations, although the proportion of civilians it identifies is lower. ...

Absolutely beautiful story! From ElectronicIntifada - - Eman Mohammed writing from the occupied Gaza Strip, Live from Palestine, 17 August 2009 Newlyweds Rana and Mahmoud al-Zourby at their home in the Gaza Strip. (Eman Mohammed) They say that all is fair in love and war. In Gaza, love and war have come together in a bittersweet union. Rana, 26, like many women around the world, dreamed of walking down the aisle in a white dress and veil. But her marriage to Mahmoud is extraordinary in many ways as life is these days in Gaza. On the rehearsal morning about a week before their planned wedding, Mahmoud, 21, got dressed with the help of his younger brother, then sat smiling in the corner as he waited for Rana to come visit to write out invitation cards. Before Israel's winter invasion of Gaza, it was easy for Mahmoud to recognize Rana from the mere...

Great News!! from PACBI - - PALESTINIAN CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL (PACBI) & NEW YORK CAMPAIGN FOR THE BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL (NYCBI) Amnesty International Withdraws from Leonard Cohen’s Israel Concert Fund Media Contacts: pacbi@pacbi.org , inf o@boycottisraelnyc.org New York , NY , August 18 – Amnesty International has announced today that it will abstain from any involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert in Tel Aviv and will not be party to any fund that benefits from the concert‘s proceeds. A number of media accounts had reported that Amnesty International was to manage or otherwise partner in a fund created from the proceeds of Cohen’s concert in Israel that would be used to benefit Israeli and Palestinian groups. Amnesty International’s announcement today followed an international outcry over the human rights organization’s reported involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert fund, and an earlier international call for Cohen to boyc...

From Counterpunch By HELENA COBBAN I've never met Dov Yermiya, a Jewish Israeli peace activist who is now 94 years old. But I read of course the book he published in 1983 in which he wrote with anguish about the torture and other gross mistreatment of civilians he witnessed directly during Israel's invasion of Lebanon the year before. I have it in my hand now. I just learned, from an open letter published by Uri Avnery, that Yermiya, recently renounced the ideology and practice of Zionism with these stirring words: “I, a 95 year old Sabra (native born Israeli Jew), who has plowed its fields, planted trees, built a house and fathered sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, and also shed his blood in the battle for the founding of the State of Israel, “Declare herewith that I renounce my belief in the Zionism which has failed, that I shall not be loyal to the Jewish fascist state and its mad visions, that I shall not sing anymore its nationalist...

Join Naomi Klein, Neve Gordon, Noam Chomsky and thousands of others and tell Israel not to jail Ezra Nawi , one of Israel’s most courageous human rights activists. His crime? He tried to stop a military bulldozer from destroying the homes of Palestinian Bedouins in the South Hebron region. Nawi, a Jewish Israeli of Iraqi descent, is a threat to the settlers and the Israeli government because he has brought international attention to efforts to illegally remove Palestinians from the Hebron region. Ezra Nawi will be sentenced August 16th. We will bring thousands of signatures of support to the court house. Send the email below and be counted! The New York Times has taken notice and written this profile of Nawi and his activism . (Watch the remarkable video of Nawi trying to stop the home demolition and his subsequent arrest.) http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/t/9462/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27357

New Report - "Red Lines Crossed: Destruction of Gaza''s Infrastructure" The report describes how Israel deliberately brought Gaza's humanitarian infrastructure to the brink of collapse in advance of Operation Cast Lead via its policy of closure and limitations on the entrance of inputs for the water, sewage and electricity systems. From Gisha : an Israeli not-for-profit organization, founded in 2005, whose goal is to protect the freedom of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents. Gisha promotes rights guaranteed by international and Israeli law.

Bil’in village will hold a mass demonstration against the ongoing Israeli arrest and intimidation campaign 14 August 2009 For Immediate Release: Bil’in village will hold a mass demonstration against the ongoing Israeli arrest and intimidation campaign on Friday, 14 August 2009 at one PM. Bil’in residents along with Israeli and international supporters will attempt to march to the village land beyond the Apartheid Wall. At 2 AM on the 10 August 2009, Israeli forces raided the home of a jailed member of the Bil’in popular committee, Mohammad Khatib. The heavily armed solders, their faces daubed with black paint, entered and “searched” the home now occupied by Mohammad’s wife, Lamya, and their small children. The soldiers then ordered Lamya to take them to the house of Khatib’s elderly father, Abdel Karim. Lamya repeatedly refused to cooperate. The soldiers proceeded to raid Mohammad’s father’s home and summoned him to appear for interrogation with the Israeli secret service (...