Activism

Palestinian drivers challenge Israeli-only roads in the West Bank

YouTube: This video taken outside Jericho as Israeli Soldiers Banned Palestinians to drive their cars in the west banks with National flags attached atop of the cars.

YouTube: Israeli Occupation forces arrested Khaled Atallah Al-Tamimi (Nabi Saleh), Azmi Shyoukhi (Hebron), the young Omar Saleh Al-Tamimi (Nabi Saleh) and a Palestinian girl by the name of Anwar. Further the Israeli intelligence services demanded confiscated the id and car of Mahmoud Zwahre. When he managed to evade arrest, Israeli army called him telling him he would be put on wanted list if he does not turn himself in for arrest within 30mins. Mahmoud is now also arrested, 10mins ago, he was at the DCO in Jericho, to be taken to Ma’ale Adumim. In addition, the IOF apparently held the identity card of Naim Marar intending to force him to turn himself in to the occupation authorities. In addition, since last night, ITF imposed a tight security cordon on the village of Nabi Saleh… Many people joined to show their rights to pass the road freely at Jericho checkpoint today, israeli soldiers were not accept to go trough the road .

This Palestinian woman was arrested for driving on Israel’s apartheid roads today:

cararrest
(Photo: Haitham AlKhatib)

More pictures from the car protest can be found here.

Palestinian ‘car protest’ in West Bank challenges road segregation
Palestinians attempted to set out in a motorcade of about 50 cars from Jericho en route to Ramallah this morning, to protest and challenge the system of Israeli-only roads throughout the West Bank, according to Twitter updates over the last few hours with the hashtag #carprotest.
http://972mag.com/palestinian-car-protests-in-w-bank-challenge-road-segregation/32544/

Land, Property Theft & Destruction / Ethnic Cleansing / Apartheid

Israel breaking settlement records, says Peace Now (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel’s government broke all its settlement-building records in 2011, diminishing prospects for establishing a viable Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s anti-settlement activist group “Peace Now” said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120110/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_settlements

Peace Now: Israel began building 1,850 new houses in West Bank in 2011
Settlement watchdog says figures exclude East Jerusalem, which in 2011 witnessed the highest number of construction plans in a decade.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/peace-now-israel-began-building-1-850-new-houses-in-west-bank-in-2011-1.406473

Haridim planning new settlement east of Jerusalem
The ultraorthodox Jews, the Haridim, are planning to build a new settlement to the east of occupied Jerusalem, United Arab Emirates Al-Ittihad newspaper said on Sunday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7xvqgckdUPk4FmRGOPl%2bgMvugeL%2f1UUFNZWBa%2fWYUppopnYS%2boduTv1PnYXaFM38JoDf7mnVa8HNYrUxmQLwD%2fQZ%2faW%2bP0dLbIEtRm5tLNGU%3d

Israel to make 60 more Palestinians homeless
According to Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli authorities notified seven families in the Palestinian village of Umm al Khair yesterday that their houses will be demolished because they lack Israeli-issued building permits. 60 people will be left homeless. 
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/33-west-bank/4039-israel-to-make-60-more-palestinians-homeless

US millionaire Kenneth Abramowitz funds settlers linked to attacks on IDF, Alex Kane
The narrative that Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition is ”cracking down” on those wild West Bank settlersis falling apart with Haaretz’s revelation that the leader of Netanyahu’s political party passed on information about Israeli military movements to settlers seeking to block moves against outposts. What’s more is that a separate Haaretz investigation published over the weekend reveals that Kenneth Abramowitz, a New York-based millionaire and the national chairman of American Friends of Likud, founded an organization linked to recent settler attacks on the Israeli military. Abramowitz is also a board member for the major US fundraiser for the Israeli military, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. In addition, Abramowitz is a major donor to Likud Knesset members Yisrael Katz and Yuli Edelstein.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/us-millionaire-kenneth-abramowitz-funds-settlers-linked-to-attacks-on-idf.html

Palestine’s farmers: Refusing to Die in Silence
A new organization in the West Bank, Refusing to Die in Silence, offers support to the Palestinian farmers who face violent attacks from Jewish settlers as they attempt to harvest their olives.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/component/content/article/28-news/3862-palestines-farmers-refusing-to-die-in-silence

Municipality working illegally in East Jerusalem
According to residents of the East Jerusalem village of Issawiya, the Jerusalem municipality has begun working, illegally, in the village this morning.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/4043-breaking-news-municipality-begins-illegal-work-in-east-jerusalem

Violence and Aggression

JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces clashed with youth in a north Jenin village on Monday afternoon after military vehicles deployed to the area, locals told Ma’an. Israeli military jeeps spread out through Zububa village adjacent to the Salem checkpoint, and youth pelted stones and empty bottles at the forces, who returned tear gas and sound grenades, residents said.
 

Israeli police fire live ammunition in Sheikh Jarrah
Israeli police and Border Guardes fired live shots in the air near Al-Sumoud camp in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on 7 January. Shots were fired in an attempt to intimidate local youth confronting vast numbers of Israeli troops and settlers. Camp residents stated that “flocks of settlers provoked young people who were playing outside a camp building. They cursed them, provoked one child to throw a stone at the settlers. When the settlers called the police, they appeared immediately, and began firing live ammunition as terrified masses of camp residents flocked onto the main road.

 

Violent clashes in Silwan
Undercover Israeli officers attempted to abduct a local youth from Silwan on 7 January, sparking violent clashes. Confrontations were concentrated in SamerSarhan Street, which runs between Al-Bustan and Wadi Hilweh districts. The clashes have been the most violent in recent weeks, with Israeli forces firing live ammunition, tear gas and sound bombs in the densely populated area. Clashes continued to spread throughout neighborhoods of Silwan.
http://silwanic.net/?p=23741

Military forces amass in Wadi Hilweh
Huge numbers of Israeli military forces amassed at the entrance to Wadi Hilweh outside the City of David settlement on the evening of 7 January, in what appeared to be preparation for a raid operation in Silwan. Israeli forces have been continually provoking Palestinian residents of Silwan in recent weeks, who fear a new crackdown of arrests. 
http://silwanic.net/?p=23738

Settlers protest removal of illegal outpost
A group of Israeli settlers gathered at the Beit El military base near Ramallah Sunday night to protest the planned removal of an illegal settlement outpost in the northern West Bank, but Israeli troops went ahead with the removal of the outpost on Monday morning.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62802

Detainees
Israeli Forces Raze Lands in Issawiya, Arrest 14 Citizens, West Bank
On Tuesday, the Israeli forces started to raze large areas of lands in al-Issawiya, Central of Jerusalem. They also arrested 14 Palestinians from Palestine’s governorates. Locals said that the Israeli forces arrested three citizens from Hwarah village in Nablus, five from Qalandiya village in Jerusalem, and four others from Tqou’ village in Bethlehem. Bulldozers and vehicles which belong to the Israeli authorities, started to raze large areas of the citizens’ lands in al-Issawyiah village, central Jerusalem, to build Talmud Parks after the decision that was issued to confiscate these lands.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php/politics/629-israeli-forces-raze-lands-in-issawiya-arrest-14-citizens-west-bank
 
Youth arrested in Silwan
Israeli forces arrested a young resident of Silwan on 7 January. Raoof Abu Nab, 19, was riding his motorbike in the neighborhood when, eyewitnesses state, he was surrounded by Israeli forces and hauled into a military jeep, then taken to the vicinity of City of David settlement in Wadi Hilweh. His current whereabouts are unknown. Israeli forces arrest a Silwan youth.
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a Palestinian woman at Beituniya crossing near Ramallah on Monday morning, after officials said they found a knife in her possession. An Israeli army spokeswoman said “border police uncovered a 30cm knife, which they confiscated and she was handed over to police.”
 
Gaza
Witnesses: Israel military vehicles enter Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli military vehicles entered the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, with witnesses reporting heavy gunfire in the area. Forces accompanied bulldozers around 300 meters inside the border near Jabalia to raze lands in the area, witnesses told Ma’an. No casualties were reported. An Israeli army spokesman said the incident was “routine activity.” Gunfire was also heard in the southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday, with locals saying Palestinian militants exchanged fire with an Israeli military post near the Kerem Shalom crossing. The military spokesman said he was not familiar with the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=451402

Child injured by abandoned explosive in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — An 8-year-old boy was moderately injured when an abandoned explosive device detonated near his home in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said. The child was evacuated to hospital after the ordnance exploded in al-Qarara, on the outskirts of Khan Younis, Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=451450
 

Lawmakers objecting to the bill say it is undemocratic, unconstitutional and runs contrary to Israel’s international obligations to human rights.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-passes-bill-that-could-put-asylum-seekers-in-jail-without-trial-1.406351?localLinksEnabled=false

Testimony: Army harms livelihood of farmers in Gaza who have land near the border with Israel, September 2011
I have two wives and 12 children, eight of whom are married. We all live together, about 900 meters from the border. Together with my sons and nephews, I have a 16-dunam (16,000 sq m) plot of land. In addition, we and a few other families rent about 70 dunams (70,000 sq m) of land, divided into several lots, along the border, east of Wadi a-Salqa. On that land, which has an irrigation system, we grew cauliflower, squash and other crops. This land provides a livelihood for some 45 persons. Sometimes, we hired people to help us work the land.
http://www.btselem.org/testimonies/20110922_abu_muhareb_farmer_near_israel_gaza_border

Pharmaceutical conference in Gaza later this month
The association of Palestinian pharmacists-Balsam said it would hold in cooperation with the health ministry a conference on pharmaceutical security in the besieged Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7PyISPnmD1TlXSYTYh5PZQyCIl%2bssJxswd2gQs9tIglEKF2gqN3YaHFj9FRBu7CeTP3vjBQpQTmddVfhFVNsT1nJeR1it029TsicbVMF%2fcHk%3d

Gaza father: I want to address soldier who killed teen daughter
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The family of a 16-year-old girl killed in Israel’s Operation Cast Lead remain plagued by questions three years after her death, as a criminal complaint to Israeli authorities goes unanswered. “Why my daughter? What were their motives? What were their reasons?” asks Ahmed Abu Oda.”The Israeli military say they are the most moral army in the world, but they killed my daughter, they didn’t respect her right to live.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=451455

10 January 2009: Wafa al-Radea
“When I left my children I was walking and my children had not seen my wounds. The most difficult moment was when I came back with only 1 leg and many injuries. I was a different Wafa. When I came back I was supposed to happy and the people were supposed to be happy for seeing me but everyone was crying.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2012/01/10-january-2009-wafa-al-radea/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
 

Racism / Discrimination / Sexism & others things you would read in the New York Times
 
Hate graffiti against Israelis of Ethiopian origin sprayed on several vehicles and walls in Kiryat Malakhi Sunday.
 
Ynet-Gesher survey shows more than half of population believes segregated bus lines may operate in haredi areas, while 47% of Israeli Jews view it as forbidden discrimination against women.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4171689,00.html

IAF rabbi remains in corps, resigns current position
Lieutenant-Colonel Moshe Raved, who resigned over IDF’s refusal to excuse religious troops from official events that feature women singing, will remain with Air Force until his contract expires.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4173764,00.html

 
Knesset backs ‘suspects’ names’ bill
Amendment to Courts Act saying suspects names must remain under embargo for 48 hours passes second, third House readings.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4173497,00.html
 
 
Solidarity / Activism / BDS 
 
New comprehensive BDS booklet
Corporate Watch has just published a new, comprehensive booklet for those who are partcipating in the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. Titled “Targeting Israeli Apartheid,” the publication details who is profiting from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories as well as Israel’s inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip. 
A personal appeal– PennBDS needs your help, Annie Robbins
Everyone who has ever met me can attest I am a totally cool, calm and collected person. Not! I am completelybeside myself about attending the PennBDS conference next month. I can’t wait and am counting the days. I registered and booked my plane ticket! The idea of being at the conference with so many of us together in one place; focused, directed and empowered by the growing global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, in solidarity, has me bursting at the seams in anticipation.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/a-personal-appeal-pennbds-needs-your-help.html

Activists respond to Sodastream’s defense of profiting off the occupation, Adam Horowitz

The following statement was just released by Stop Sodastream – Italy: The Stop Sodastream campaign received a response from Sodastream Italy, via the public relations agency Edelman, to the letter signed by over 1100 individuals and 30 groups calling on retailers and advertisers to terminate relations with the Israeli company due to its violations of international law.

http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/activists-respond-to-sodastreams-defense-of-profiting-off-the-occupation.html

Israel’s student debate champions are “hasbara” agents for the state, says their coach, Ali Abunimah
One of the main purposes of Israel’s international student debate team is hasbara – propaganda – for the state, explains the team’s coach after a recent victory.

AICafe 10.1.11: African Palestinians- identity and challenges
Please join us on January 10 at 8:00 pm as Yasser Qoz, a member of the African Committee in Jerusalem, discusses the identity, roles, and challenges of African Palestinians.

 

Developments / Diplomacy & other news

Abbas calls Jordan talks with Israel ‘important’ (AP)
AP – The Palestinian president says talks between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in Jordan provide an “important opportunity” for reviving full peace negotiations.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120110/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
 
Reuters – The coming rise of Islamism in the Arab world will strengthen support for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which will not give up its armed confrontation with Israel, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar said Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120109/wl_nm/us_palestinians_hamas

‘French woman converts’ at Haniyeh Tunisia summit
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A French woman converted to Islam at a summit addressed by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Tunisia on Sunday, according to a video distributed by ruling party Ennahda. The video shows Haniyeh presenting the woman with a Quran at the event in Sfax city sports stadium in the north African country’s south. Moderate Islamist party Ennahda won an October vote in the country that threw out strongman Zine el Abidine Ben a year ago, sparking popular protests against autocratic rule across the region.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=451107

Israel to increase defence budget by $700m
Prime minister to boost spending due to “abundant challenges and threats”, despite previously saying he would make cuts.

IDF updates abduction alert to include navy
Military expands efforts to prevent possible abduction of troops, introduces ‘Hannibal Protocol’ to navy in case of maritime attack on IDF vessels.

ANALYSIS: Visions for a healthier West Bank economy
RAMALLAH 09 January 2012 (IRIN) – Izz Tawil draws a black circle on the flip-chart in his office in Ramallah, capital of the West Bank in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=94606

 

Other Mideast News

Iraq: Bombs kill 2 state workers, wound 3 boys (AP)

AP – Officials say two Iraqi government employees have been killed and three boys wounded in the latest in a wave of bomb attacks to hit the country.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120110/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
 
Iraq: Sectarian Attacks Leave 28 Dead, Dozens Wounded
Attacks on Arbaeen pilgrims continued today, presaging what could be a particularly violent week. At least 28 Iraqis were killed in the both sectarian and other attacks. Another 82 were wounded, along with 16 pilgrims from Afghanistan.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2012/01/09/iraq-sectarian-attacks-leave-28-dead-dozens-wounded/

 
Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraq Sunni Vice President, Demanded Back By Shiite Government
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Shiite-led government on Sunday demanded that authorities in the semiautonomous Kurdish region hand over the country’s top Sunni official to face terrorism charges, turning up the heat in a political crisis that is stoking sectarian tensions. Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi traveled to the Kurdish north in December just as the last American troops were leaving the country and charges against him were being drawn up.

Saudi: ‘Internal’ matter if Japan buys Iran oil (AP)
AP – A Saudi oil official said that whether Japan or other countries continue to buy Iranian oil was an “internal matter,” reflecting the unease in many nations after the latest U.S. sanctions on Tehran and Iran’s threats to choke off the Strait of Hormuz in response.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120109/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_mideast_japan_oil

 

Ex-Bahrain MP tweets for killing of protesters
Former Bahraini MP Sheikh Mohammed Khalid publicly called for the killing of protesters via Twitter on Monday, lambasting them as “traitors.” Khalid, one of Bahrain’s most controversial Sunni Islamists, urged authorities to crush protesters in a sign of growing discord between loyalists to the Sunni monarchy and Shia-led protesters. “If you see a traitor crossing the road, you must run them over and keep going because you are in a country where the law allows you to strike and crush them,” Khalid tweeted.

Bahrain: Leading human rights activist describes riot police attack
A prominent Bahraini human rights activist has told Amnesty International how he was injured when security forces attacked peaceful protesters in Manama on Friday evening. Nabeel Rajab, the director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was hospitalized after a group of police punched him and used truncheons to beat him in the face, back and elsewhere. The attack happened near Rajab’s car after riot police had fired tear gas at protesters marching along Manama’s Bab al-Bahrain Street to call for the release of political prisoners.
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has agreed to hold a Jewish-Muslim dialogue in Bahrain later this year. Iran is a common threat to Bahrain, Israel and the US, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by a Jewish official on Sunday. Rabbi Marc Schneier, vice president of the World Jewish Congress, said the king told him he was alarmed by the Islamic Republic during a 45- minute meeting held in the capital city of Manama late last month. “I made a point how it’s ironic how we share a common enemy and he acknowledged that Iran has been a threat,” said Schneier, who gave the king a hanukkia at the end of their conversation.
 
Blasphemy trial for Egypt tycoon
Egyptian Christian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is to face a blasphemy trial over a tweet of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in conservative Islamic dress.
 

Thomas Friedman in Cairo
Osman sent me this: “Thomas Friedman was given difficult questions at the American University in Cairo, follow it on twitter #AUC. Some of the questioned reported on twitter: Studenr : why is the american attacking nuclearization of iran yet support israel Friedman: u support israel, do u think u would be welcomed here to preach us on democracy?. Audience applauded!”

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/01/thomas-friedman-in-cairo.html

Thomas Friedman in Cairo: Take Two
“During a question-and-answer session, Friedman faced the ire of Youssef El-Korma, a member of AUC’s student leftist movement. “You can’t come here with a smile and preach to us on democracy when you’ve been demeaning Arabs and supporting war crimes in Gaza and Iraq,” said El-Korma. “We don’t welcome you here.”  El-Korma’s assertions were met with applause by the audience but failed to draw a response from Friedman, who replied to another student critic earlier by saying that, “In the Middle East everybody wants to own you, and if they can’t, they will try to destroy you.”

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/01/thomas-friedman.html

Syrian leader attacks ‘foreign interference’
Assad criticises Arab League’s role but says Syria will not “close doors” to a solution if sovereignty is respected.

Syria head to make public speech
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is to deliver a rare public address amid ongoing unrest and criticism of the Arab League mission in the country. 
Russian warships dock at Syria port; Arab observers stay put
Russian warships led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov docked in the Syrian port of Tartous on Sunday, in what Syria’s official news agency, SANA, considered a “show of solidarity” with the regime. Syrian Defense Minister Dawood Rajiha boarded the aircraft carrier, and lauded Russia’s stance on the Syrian crisis that has largely been supportive of ally President Bashar Assad, SANA reported. Both Russian and Syrian officials said the naval visit will strengthen ties between the two nations.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/russian-warships-dock-syria-port-arab-observers-stay-put?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Syrian defectors ‘buying weapons from army’
In exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera, Free Syrian Army say their former comrades are selling them arms.
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/01/20121993012520680.html

Israel “preparing” to accept Syrian Alawite refugees
Israel is making preparations to house refugees from Syrian President Bashar Assad’s minority Alawite sect should his government fall, Israel’s military chief told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. “On the day that the regime falls, it is expected to result in a blow to the Alawite sect. We are preparing to take in Alawite refugees on the Golan Heights,” a committee spokesman quoted Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz as saying.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israel-preparing-accept-syrian-alawite-refugees?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Panetta: U.S. will not allow Iran to develop nuclear bomb, block Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Defense Secretary says Iran laying groundwork for making nuclear weapons, but is not yet building bomb; army chief Dempsey says U.S. would take military action to reopen waterway if Iran closes it.
Panetta admits Iran not developing nukes
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta let slip on Sunday the big open secret that Washington war hawks don’t want widely known: Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday, Panetta admitted that despite all the rhetoric, Iran is not pursuing the ability to split atoms with weapons, saying it is instead pursuing “a nuclear capability.” That “capability” falls in line with what Iran has said for years: that it is developing nuclear energy facilities, not nuclear weapons.
 
Report: Israel preparing for nuclear Iran
London Times quotes Institute for National Security Studies as saying Israel believes Iran may become full-fledged nuclear power in one year’s time.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4173561,00.html

US citizen sentenced to death in Iran
Amir Hekmati, a former US military translator of Iranian origin, convicted of spying for the CIA by an Iranian court.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/01/20121911832710932.html

Tunisia’s Islamist party slams anti-Semitic chants (AP)
AP – The head of Tunisia’s moderate Islamic party condemned anti-Semitic slogans chanted Monday by a handful of ultraconservative Muslims during the arrival of a top Hamas official that have alarmed the local Jewish community.

 

Mideast governments fail to see scale of change: Amnesty (Reuters)
Reuters – Most Middle Eastern governments are failing to recognize the significance of the Arab Spring and are responding with repression or merely cosmetic change, Amnesty International said Monday.

 
Analysis / Op-ed
 

Are Obama supporters playing up Jewish religion of new White House chief to appease pro-Israel groups?, Ali Abunimah
Under attack from Republicans for supposedly not being pro-Israel enough, US President Barack Obama has been doing all he can to prove that he is indeed the most pro-Israel president in history.

The Delusions of ‘Liberal’ Zionism,  Roger Sheety
The most recent diatribe by Israeli writer A. B. Yehoshua published by Haaretz represents the latest nail in the ideological coffin of so-called liberal Zionism.  Writing out of his comfortable home in Haifa, a city that was ethnically cleansed of most of its original Palestinian residents by the end of 1948 through multiple terror campaigns and massacres, Yehoshua spends an entire article at once fuming over what he calls Palestinian “passivity” in the face of daily Israeli brutality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and simultaneously dreading what he believes is the inevitable forthcoming bi-national state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17373

Propaganda and Coverage of Syria,  Asad AbuKhalil
After months of intense and feverish coverage of Syria, it is high time that we ask: how bad has the coverage been? How much have we been served as readers by the coverage? To what extent has the Arab (Saudi and Qatari) media converged with Western media? And why do Western media toss out all token adherence to minimum standards of professional journalism when the coverage targets an enemy of the US (and Israel)? I keep waiting for an article in the Columbia Journalism Review to no avail.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/propaganda-and-coverage-syria?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

The Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to receive wide coverage was Occupy Wall Street in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, which began on September 17, 2011. It was noticed that many of the participants in the movement were pro-Palestinian, and took to the streets holding banners that read “Occupy Wall Street Not Palestine”. The movement received support and solidarity from The BDS National Committee and the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/gaza-students-discuss-occupy-wall-street.html

Israel: Still not doing Gandhi very well, Nima Shirazi
That Israel would erect a statue in honor of the great indigenous nationalist, anti-colonialist, and practitioner of non-violence speaks to either its complete lack of self-awareness and blindness to the appalling irony of its proposal or to its profound sense of humor.  Recall not only what Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at the Israel Ministry of Defense, Major General Amos Gilad, told U.S. officials that “we don’t do Gandhi very well” when discussing peaceful West Bank demonstrations and anti-occupation protests, but also what Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi himself had to say in 1938 (in part) about the imposition of Zionist colonization of Palestine.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/israel-still-not-doing-gandhi-very-well.html

‘Day of reckoning’ settlers who attacked IDF base have friends in gov’t, Annie Robbins
What started out as a brazen attack by extreme rightwing Jewish zealots on a military base last month is turning into a full-on extravaganza. Going well beyond the ‘hilltop youth’, it now involves the government. There are reports of the infiltration of Israeli military intelligence, the tracking of Israeli army movements via intelligence contacts, and the possible involvement of at least two Israeli MK’s.
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/01/day-of-reckoning-settlers-who-attacked-idf-base-have-friends-in-high-places.html

The Bouazizi Spark: The Beginning of a Long Revolutionary Process, Gilbert Achcar
It is great honor for me to join you in celebrating this first anniversary of the beginning of the Tunisian revolution in this very city of Sidi Bouzid, the city of Mohamed Bouazizi, from where the first spark of the revolution was ignited that spread like a wildfire throughout the Arab world, wonderfully illustrating the famous Chinese saying, “a single spark can start a prairie fire.”
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bouazizi-spark-beginning-long-revolutionary-process?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Israeli Security Think Tank Simulates Iranian Nuclear Test, Richard Silverstein
Sheera Frenkel has published a story in the Times of London (article accessible only to subscribers) about a simulation conducted by the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv University affiliated think tank with close ties to Israeli military and intelligence elements.  Among those who participated were a variety of figures from Israeli diplomatic, intelligence and political echelons including Giora Eiland, Bibi Netanyahu’s former National Security advisor and Alon Liel, former Director General of the Foreign Ministry during Ehud Barak’s prime ministership.  Though I’m not clear on the political affiliations of all the players, it appears they made an attempt to include a cross-section of views from hawkish to pragmatic/liberal.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/01/10/israeli-security-think-tank-simulates-iranian-nuclear-test/

www.TheHeadlines.Org

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Mass civil disobedience is the way forward.
Israel is facing so many challenges that are beyond the capacity of its current system.

This gentleman in a brown, leather jacket ,in a top video, is SO right.
He tells those brainwashed soldiers a simple Truth.
How many of them are willing to listen to it??
This video should be copied and sent all over, for the WHOLE WORLD to see.

Well done, mass protest is the way forward. The idiotic look on the IDF kids’ faces is priceless, as they are told some humiliating home truths. Good questions are asked, to which they are dumb. Keep it up. So can we drop the fiction that the usual suspects tell us, that they are no apartheid roads in Israel? What a mess of a state, with no answers to that man’s simple question: “What are you doing here?”

How remarkable the courage of those challenging the status quo over something so many of us take for granted (i.e. driving on non-segregated roads). I imagine the headaches for those now on the IDF radar with their IDs (or vehicles) confiscated has only just begun.

It seems like only yesterday that I was branded an anti-Semite on the LA Jewish Journal forum for even claiming that such a thing as a “Jews only” road actually existed (their argument being that approved Westerner non-Jews could also drive it).

Presumably Israel confiscates the cars in the name of tikkun olam.