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Israel contemplates a future without Netanyahu

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown in his lot with Trump and rising anti-liberal forces. (photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty)

As corruption allegations mount against the Prime Minister, his air of invincibility has been punctured.

By Ruth Margalit | The New Yorker | Mar 6, 2018

“It’s the Louis XIV syndrome. More than just saying that the state is him, his feeling and the feeling of those around him, is that the damage to the party and the country by his resigning would be so great that it’s worth doing things that would have been unthinkable were it anyone else.”
— Nahum Barnea, Israeli columnist for Yediot Ahronot

Israel is famously low on pomp and circumstance. Attend an Israeli wedding and guests are likely to appear in jeans, with sunglasses perched on their foreheads. When Donald Trump landed at Ben Gurion Airport last May, the Israeli government tried to keep it stately — red carpet, military orchestra — but it wasn’t long before a member of the ruling Likud Party whipped out his cell phone and snapped a selfie with the American President on the tarmac. So minimal is the ceremoniousness that, whenever it exists, it tends to take on outsized meaning.

One such ceremony took place on Monday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Trump in the Oval Office. Netanyahu tried to project an air of business as usual — the relationship between the United States and Israel “has never been better,” he gushed — even as Trump may have quickened the Israeli leader’s pulse by saying, nonchalantly, that “we have a shot” at “doing” peace with the Palestinians. But only one thing was on the mind of the travelling Israeli press corps. A reporter asked, “Prime Minister Netanyahu, would you like to comment about the latest news coming from Israel?”

“I will later,” Netanyahu replied quietly, maintaining a glued-on smile. Continue reading “Israel contemplates a future without Netanyahu”

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Israel passes law to strip residency of Jerusalem’s Palestinians

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Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri will now have the power to revoke residency of Palestinians in Jerusalem (photo: Ammar Awad / Reuters)

Palestinians slam new “breach of loyalty” legislation as “extremely racist” and a violation of international law.

By Al Jazeera | Mar 7, 2018

Despite Israel’s claims that occupied East Jerusalem is part of its “eternal, undivided” capital, the Palestinians who are born and live there do not hold Israeli citizenship, unlike their Jewish counterparts.

The Israeli parliament has passed a law that allows the minister of interior to revoke the residency rights of any Palestinian in Jerusalem on grounds of a “breach of loyalty” to Israel.

The bill, ratified on Wednesday, will also apply in cases where residency status was obtained on the basis of false information, and in cases where “an individual committed a criminal act” in the view of the interior ministry.

Under the new measure, Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox political party Shas, will be able to strip the residency documents of any Palestinian whom he deems a threat.

Continue reading “Israel passes law to strip residency of Jerusalem’s Palestinians”

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Film: 1948, Creation and Catastrophe (Friday)

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Pushing for Change: Mideast Focus Ministry Film Series V

Through riveting and moving personal recollections of Palestinians and Israelis, “1948” reveals the shocking events of the most pivotal year in the most controversial conflict in the world. Seen through the eyes of those who lived it, we see people pushing for change after suffering years of injustice and Holocaust.

Date: Friday, Mar 16, 2018
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Reception for the director: 6:15 – 7:00 pm
Location: Bloedel Hall
St. Mark’s Cathedral
1245 10th Ave E
Seattle, WA  98102
Information: Event website
Admission: Free
Alternate showing: Sat, Mar 17, 2018
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Edmonds United Methodist Church
828 Caspers St
Edmonds, WA  98020

Event Details

Our concern is to help balance the limited and confusing media coverage of the Holy Land. We use compelling films as an entry point for reflection and discussion. As Christians, we respond to Christ’s call to seek justice and love the oppressed. As Americans, we ask: Can we reconcile this calling with our government’s massive financial support of Israeli military operations? We hope the time will come when Jews, Muslims and Christians will again come together in harmony in the Holy Land.

In this series, we see how people pushed to bring about a safe country for the Jewish people, and how today others are still push- ing for safety and change. Do our efforts for change lead to peace and justice . . . or not?

More information here →

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New US embassy may be in Jerusalem — but not in Israel

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The former Diplomat Hotel, now part of the United States consular compound in Jerusalem, was built on disputed territory. (photo: Thomas Coex / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images)

The site of the US diplomatic compound is in occupied territory that has never been formally incorporated into Israel.

By Isabel Kershner | The New York Times | Mar 7, 2018

“Much more important than what the State Department says, it is what their actions say. You don’t build an embassy in territory that is not sovereign to Israel.”
— Eugene Kontorovich, director of international law at the conservative Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem

In two months, the United States plans to open a new embassy to fulfill President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

There’s just one problem: The embassy may be in Jerusalem, but it may not be fully in Israel.

The diplomatic compound that will serve as the American Embassy until a permanent site is found lies partly in a contested zone known as No Man’s Land.

No Man’s Land encompasses the area between the armistice lines drawn at the end of the 1948–49 war and was claimed by Jordan and Israel. Israel won full control of it in the 1967 war, so the United Nations and much of the world consider it occupied territory.

Continue reading “New US embassy may be in Jerusalem — but not in Israel”

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Gazans’ wounds bear witness to their living conditions

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15-month-old Shahed Abdel Rahman who suffered burns after tipping a teapot being heated over an open fire. (photo: Laurie Bonnaud / MSF)

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offers care  to almost 5,000 people suffering burns or traumatic injuries in Gaza. The wounds and accounts of the patients offer a window into their daily life.

By Médecins Sans Frontières | Feb 26, 2018

“When I don’t have enough money for food, I ask around. Sometimes my stepmother lends me 15 shekels. I feel so ashamed. But she says we’re family, that I’m like her son and we have to support each other.”
— Abdel Raheem, a 30-year-old patient

First off, Gaza means confinement. A strip of land 42 kilometres long and 12.5 kilometres at its widest, it takes just an hour and a half to drive from north to south.

Gaza is hemmed in by the sea to the west, a “security barrier” — a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire — to the east, while in the north a wall several meters high has been erected to prevent people from crossing the border. And yet another wall, this one underground, is under construction. This is home to close to two million people.

Many of Gaza’s inhabitants have never been able to leave, particularly since a blockade was imposed by Israel after Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2007.

“I’ve only ever left Gaza once. It was for an operation in Egypt when I was eight. I don’t remember a thing!” says 22-year-old Hassan, who was shot on the border in December.

Continue reading “Gazans’ wounds bear witness to their living conditions”

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AIPAC event spotlights settler alternatives to a two-state solution

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Attendees at an off-site conference on settlements and the West Bank during the AIPAC Strategy Conference. (photo: Adelle Nazarian / Breitbart News)

Speakers emphasize moving beyond the two-state solution.

By Adelle Nazarian | Breitbart News | Mar 6, 2018

“The time has come to embrace the 650,000 people who live in Judea and Samaria. The time has come to find an alternative to the two-state solution . . . we are not going to give away our land anymore. We don’t believe in land for peace. It’s been tested and it’s failed.”
— Yishai Fleisher, spokesman for the Jewish settlers in Hebron

Israeli and American leaders from the Jewish and Christian communities spoke at a packed event on Monday at the historic Sixth and I Synagogue in downtown DC, which focused on combating the de-legitimization of Israel through the embrace of Judea and Samaria.

Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesman for the Jewish community in Hebron, was the master of ceremonies for the event, which featured products that are affected by the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement including dates from the Jordan Valley, halva from Ariel, wines from Psagot and Shiloh, Carni Eldad’s book “Yesha is Fun,” and Saboneto soaps and Argon oil.

Partners for the event included the Jordan Valley Regional Council, Yesha Council, Binyamin Regional Council, Hebron, Ariel University, One Israel Fund, Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce, and of course the Ministry of Strategic Affairs.

Continue reading “AIPAC event spotlights settler alternatives to a two-state solution”

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Announcing the launch of One State Foundation

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A new Palestinian-Israeli initiative to grow debate and support for a one state solution.

By Jonathan Ofir | Mondoweiss | Mar 1, 2018

“Can we make people see, emotionally feel and rationally understand that a shared future in equality is in the end beneficial for all? That is the challenge we are taking on.”
— Angélique Eijpe, co-founder and board member of One State Foundation

We are still in times where speaking about a single democratic and secular state in Israel-Palestine is considered contentious. Just look how former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg was received at a liberal synagogue in NY, when he spoke about this concept — Rabbi Matalon called him a “troublemaker,” and rabbi Cohen said he “pushed all the buttons.”

But today, a new foundation is officially launching — the One State Foundation, which boldly and clearly promotes this concept and goal.

Continue reading “Announcing the launch of One State Foundation”

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ACLU says revised anti-BDS bill remains unconstitutional

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BDS rally in Washington, DC. (photo: Elvert Barnes / Flickr)

The opinion is a blow to pro-Israel groups who had hoped revisions would soften the constitutional issues.

By Middle East Monitor | Mar 7, 2018

“This bill is unconstitutional because it seeks to impose the government’s political views on Americans who choose to express themselves through boycotts.”
— Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized a revised version of draft legislation intended to target the growing Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, saying that the latest version of the bill remains unconstitutional.

The ACLU had voiced objections to the original bill in Jul 2017 on First Amendment grounds, and in response to such criticisms, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH) released a revised version over the weekend.

But in a Mar 6 press release, the ACLU revealed that it had written to senators informing them of the veteran civil liberties group’s opposition to the revised bill, in what is a blow to pro-Israel groups who are hoping that the bill will become law. [The letter can be viewed here.]

Continue reading “ACLU says revised anti-BDS bill remains unconstitutional”

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Israel approves law to criminalize criticism of the Israeli Army

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An Israeli soldier fires on Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against Jewish settlement near Tubas, in the occupied West Bank. (photo: Reuters)

“The only way to stop us is to end the occupation,” said the group being targeted, Breaking the Silence.

By Telesur | Feb 27, 2018

The bill is just one among many recently passed by the Israeli Knesset to crush dissent. In November, lawmakers introduced a bill to criminalize those that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The Israeli Knesset approved the first reading of a bill that would prohibit organizations from being critical of the Israeli Army Monday.

The bill, which passed by 35-23 votes, was proposed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett. Bennett is the chairman of the right-wing Jewish Home party, a party seeking to criminalize any criticisms of the Israeli occupation.

The principal target of the bill is the group Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran Israelis who expose the brutal nature of the occupation.

Continue reading “Israel approves law to criminalize criticism of the Israeli Army”

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Evangelicals deeply concerned about US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel

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The Old City of Jerusalem. (photo: G Adventures)

Multiple Christian organizations express their opposition to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Press Release|Religion News Service | Feb 22, 2018

Given the rich heritage of this city and its spiritual significance to the Jews, Christians, and Muslims of the Holy Land, we hope that Jerusalem will be able to serve as the capital for both Israel and Palestine.

As followers of Christ, we share a hope that the Holy Land — the birthplace of our Lord and Savior and the Promised Land of the Israelite Patriarchs — will be a land of peace where divine justice, as expressed through the Jewish prophets, can reign. We recognize the historical significance of this land to the Jewish people, who after generations in exile looked to return to the land to secure their physical safety and spiritual redemption. We also affirm the presence of an indigenous Arabic speaking community in the land that has been present since the time of Pentecost (Acts 2:11).

It is therefore with the deepest concern that we are witnessing unprecedented actions by the United States government that — while supported by many good-meaning people within the Church — may inadvertently jeopardize the lives and future security of the peoples of the Holy Land. We therefore cannot support President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel absent a comprehensive peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Continue reading “Evangelicals deeply concerned about US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel”