Dan Cohen reports from the Jerusalem courthouse where the Abu Khdeir family is pushing for accountability in the brutal death of Mohammad Abu Khdeir, 16, who was kidnapped and burned alive by Israeli settlers in July.
Marc Ellis writes: “Reading Rabbi Rosen’s letter of resignation and the Tribune article I can’t help but think of the Biblical saga. Out of the blue the prophets arise, are shot down, then reappear. It hasn’t changed much in thousands of years. The prophetic is too deeply ingrained in Jewish life to pass quietly into our newly embraced colonial night. Apparently, synagogues are not for prophets. Those who practice the prophetic and attend synagogue, should take note. Your expulsion is inevitable.”
Palestine Solidarity Legal Support offers a roundup of summer incidents in which people lost their job, were investigated or otherwise sanctioned because they were critical of Israel’s policies, or merely expressed support for Palestinian rights. These incidents share much in common including that Israel advocacy groups frequently demand that individuals supporting Palestinian rights be investigated and punished relying on false accusations of anti-Semitism.
As you are surely aware, the gruesome murders of American journalists by the Islamic state…
Tzipi Livni is Israel’s Justice Minister. Five years ago she was afraid to travel because…
Sarah Algherbawi writes about life in Gaza for the survivors of ‘Operation Protective Edge’: “The war is over but to the survivors it has merely begun. I was jailed in my house for 50 days, it feels strange to deal with people again, to carry out the routine work we used to do…the simplest aspects of life are the most difficult now. I didn’t experience death. But now, I have the belief that many things can be more painful than death.”
A body of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has slapped harsh fines on three of its member clubs, because some fans flew Palestinian flags during their games. UEFA deems the flags to be “a political, ideological, religious or provocative nature.”
A letter from Jewish students, faculty, staff and alumni of the University of Illinois to Chancellor Phyllis Wise and members of the Board of Trustees in support of fired Professor Steven Salaita.
A settler group has posted a video of a bus filled with Palestinian man alongside a Jewish woman as a reason to segregate buses on the occupied West Bank for the security of Jews. Their flyer portrays integrated buses as a suicide bomb waiting to happen.
The Jewish Reconstruction Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois is looking for a new rabbi. Rabbi Brant Rosen is moving on. In a letter to the congregation Rosen wrote: “it has become clear that my [Israel/Palestine] activism has become a lightning rod for division at JRC. This crisis has taken an increasingly emotional toll on our community – and it has taken a considerable toll on my own well being as well. Given the current environment in our congregation, I believe my decision to resign is the healthiest one for all concerned.”