Kategorie: Innenpolitik Israel

EDITORIAL: +972

The magazine stands with Palestinian rights groups under attack

Israel’s labeling of six Palestinian NGOs as ‚terrorists‘ aims to suppress those exposing and challenging apartheid. International actors must intervene

+972 Magazine stands firmly in solidarity with the six Palestinian NGOs recently declared “terrorist organizations” by the Israeli government.

The targeted groups — Al-Haq, Addameer, Bisan Center, Defense For Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees — are civil society leaders who are deeply committed to protecting the human rights of Palestinian communities suffering the brunt of Israel’s apartheid policies, including children, women, prisoners, farmers, and other vulnerable groups.

Israel’s decision to officially label these organizations as “terrorists” — opening the door to more severe legal, financial, and violent retribution — is nothing less than an authoritarian move aimed at crushing Palestinians’ ability to resist their oppression. It amounts to a direct attack on all Palestinian human rights defenders, on the communities they represent, and on the local and international publics’ right to information about the reality in the occupied territories.

As journalists who regularly rely on the professional work of these organizations, we cannot imagine having to report on developments on the ground without the access, data, and analyses these groups provide.

+972 rejects the criminalization of the six Palestinian NGOs and fully intends to continue working with them. We call on the international community to intervene and protect the organizations from Israel’s attacks, along with all human rights defenders and journalists targeted by Israel.

Aus dem heutigen Editorial von Haaretz

There is a straight line from defining the nonviolent struggle against the occupation as “diplomatic terror” and designating human rights groups as terrorist organizations. The literal meaning is clear: All resistance to the occupation is terror. Israel is undermining the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate struggle.

This is a boon to terrorist organizations and the use of violence. If all forms of resistance constitute terror, how can one resist the occupation without being a terrorist? It’s not clear what Gantz was thinking when he signed the order.

Is he, like Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, flirting with an imaginary right-wing electorate, dreaming of the day he’ll be crowned to lead the right after Benjamin Netanyahu? Is it an attempt to counterbalance his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which gave him a leftist taint?

In any case, it’s indicative of complete confusion, which positions the so-called ‚change government‘ in the extreme right and turns the participation in it of leftist and centrist parties into a joke.

If this is the change the government is leading and these are its political colors, it’s not clear how its continued defense in the name of a fear of the alternative of another election can be justified. We can only hope that in the absence of internal resistance, the harsh U.S. reprimand and request for clarifications will end this shameful move.

Administrative Kriegsführung

Sechs palästinensische Menschenrechtsorganisationen per Verordnung zu terroristischen Organisationen erklärt

Benny Gantz, Verteidigungsminister der israelischen Regierung, die u.a. von Meretz, Labour und arabischen Parteien getragen wird, hat mit Wirkung vom 22. Oktober folgende sechs Organisationen

Defense for Children International-Palestine (statement):
Advocates for Palestinian children subject to a military court system with a 99.7% conviction rate & documents extrajudicial killings

Al Haq:
Leading human rights documentation and advocacy organization exposing Israel’s occupation since 1979

Addameer: Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association:
Supporting political prisoners, under occupation where about 1 in 5 people have been incarcerated

Union of Agricultural Work Committees:
Supports farmers resisting land grabs and other impacts of Israel’s settler colonialism on agriculture & livelihoods

Bisan Center for Research and Development:
Advocating for civil rights, human rights, and socio-economic rights.

Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees:
Feminist, progressive grassroots Palestinian organization.

nach israelischem Recht als terroristische Einrichtungen eingestuft. Danach steht auch die Werbung für solche Organistaionen unter Strafandrohung.

Aus dem US-amerikanischen Außenministerium heißt es:

„We’ll be engaging our Israelis partners for more information regarding the basis for these designations,“ State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said while noting that „the Israeli government did not give us advance warning.“

Hier erste Berichte: Human Rights Watch . The Nation . Haaretz (Paywall) . Times of Israel

5. Jahreskonferenz Mitvim

Future Pathways for Israel’s Foreign Policy

Join the 5th Annual Conference of the Mitvim Institute  
In cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Featuring experts, government officials and politicians.

25 October 2021, 16:30 Israel time (15:30 CET, 09:30 EDT) Via Zoom;

In Hebrew, with simultaneous translation into English | To register, click here

Im Gespräch: BTselem

Hagai El-Ad, Direktor von B’Tselem – Donnerstag, 4. November 2021, 19.30 MEZ

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84684947814?pwd=b3RHU0xpV1cweXJPdzJPV1VWb1hSdz09

Herzlich eingeladen von Dr. Tobias Kriener (Coordinator of Studies, Nes Ammim | diAk-Mitglied), der auch durch die englischsprachige Begegnung begleitet

Hat der Regierungswechsel in Israel zu einer Verbesserung der Menschenrechtssituation in den besetzten Gebieten geführt?

Die Ablösung von Benjamin Netanjahu als Israelischer Premierminister nach zwei quälenden Jahren mit vier Knessetwahlen hat bei vielen liberalen und linken Israelis Erleichterung ausgelöst. Die neue Regierung – vielfach als ‚Regierung des Wandels‘ bezeichnet – ist allerdings bekanntermaßen ideologisch äußerst gegensätzlich, so daß beispielsweise ein neuer Versuch zu einer Verhandlungslösung mit den Palästinensern nicht auf der Tagesordnung steht – so sagte es erst kürzlich ausdrücklich der neue Premierminister Naftali Bennet u.a. vor der Vollversammlung der VN.

Aber hat sich möglichweise in der Behandlung der Palästinenser in den besetzten Gebieten etwas geändert? Hat sich die Menschenrechtssituation verbessert?

Dazu wird der Direktor der bedeutendsten israelischen Menschenrechtsorganisation B’Tselem, Hagai El-Ad, referieren und ins Gespräch kommen.

Symbol E1

Peace Now und Ir Amim rufen im Vorfeld der Anhörung zur weiteren Planung und Ausbau des Siedlungsprojektes am 18. OKtober 2021 zum Protest auf.

Ausführliche Information findent sich unter anderem hier.

Emmy-Auszeichnung: Film über die Anwältin Lea Tsemel

Dokumentarfilm über die bekannte Menschenrechtsanwältin Tsemel in der Kategorie „Best Documentary“ mit einem „Emmy Award 2021“ ausgezeichnet

Der vom SWR koproduzierte, 90-minütige Dokumentarfilm „Lea Tsemel, Anwältin“ (OT: „Advocate“) ist beim „42. Annual News and Documentary Emmy Award“ als bester Dokumentarfilm („Best Documentary“) ausgezeichnet worden. Die Produktion war zudem für einen zweiten Emmy in der Kategorie „Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary“ nominiert. „Lea Tsemel, Anwältin“ erzählt die bemerkenswerte Geschichte einer israelischen Rechtsanwältin und ihres Kampfs für Gerechtigkeit – insbesondere für palästinensische Angeklagte, die in Israel vor Gericht stehen.

Anläßlich der Auszeichnung ist der Film ab 1. Oktober für drei Wochen in der ARD Mediathek zu sehen sein.

Webinar des Middle East Institute – Washington

Prisoner Politics: Palestinians in Israeli Jails

28. September 2021 – 16.00 Uhr Berliner Zeit – Anmeldung erforderlich


“The dramatic escape of six Palestinian prisoners from a high-security prison in Israel earlier this month has cast a bright light on the long-neglected and intensely polarizing issue of Palestinian political prisoners, their status in Palestinian society, and their treatment at the hands of Israel.
Although all six men have since been recaptured by Israeli authorities, their daring escape became a symbol of Palestinian defiance and hope for ordinary Palestinians and leaders alike. For Israelis, most of whom regard the men as little more than terrorists, the incident was seen as a major security failure and an embarrassment for Israel’s vaunted security establishment. Although the Biden administration did not weigh in on the incident, the issue of Palestinian prisoners remains the subject of intense focus and even congressional legislation in Washington.
What are the conditions of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails? Why does the issue generate such intense emotion among both Palestinians and Israelis as well as in Washington?

Speakers:
Jawad Boulus

Jawad Boulus is a renowned Palestinian human rights lawyer, political commentator, and author. Boulus was born into a Christian family in the small Arab Galilee village of Kafr Yaseef in 1956, and graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1980. As a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, Boulus has been deeply involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the fight for Palestinian human rights for over 40 years. He currently publishes a notable weekly opinion column in Arabic which is circulated in numerous local and international printed newspapers and online magazines. He is the Director of the Legal Unit of the Palestinian Prisoners‘ Club in Ramallah. He serves as Co-Chair on the Board of Directors to ‘Hand in Hand,’ a network of integrated bilingual schools for Jewish and Arab children in Israel. Boulus also serves as Secretary to the Mahmoud Darwish Association for Innovation. His own law firm is based in Jerusalem, where he resides with his wife Jumana.

Lara Friedman

Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. With more than 25 years working in the Middle East foreign policy arena, Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress. Prior to joining FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. She tweets @LaraFriedmanDC

Sahar Francis

Sahar Francis is the General Director of Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Ramallah-based Palestinian NGO that provides legal and advocacy support to Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. An attorney by training, she joined Addameer in 1998, first as a human rights lawyer, then as head of the Legal Unit. With over sixteen years of human rights experience including legal counseling and representation, Francis is a leader of prisoners rights advocacy. She has also represented Addameer at the UN Human Rights Council, sits on the Board of Defense for Children International-Palestine Section, and was recently appointed to be on the technical committee for the Palestinian National Committee for the follow-up of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Francis earned her law degree from the University of Haifa in 1994, entered the Israeli Bar Association in February 1996, and earned her master’s degree in International Studies from Birzeit University in 2006.

Khaled Elgindy, moderator

is senior fellow and director of the Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs at the Middle East Institute. He is the author of Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, published by Brookings Institution Press in April 2019. Elgindy previously served as a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution from 2010 through 2018. Prior to arriving at Brookings, he served as an adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, and was a key participant in the Annapolis negotiations of 2007-08. Elgindy is also an adjunct instructor in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He tweets @elgindy_“

Torat Tzedek zu 5782

Rabbiner Ashermans Reflektion zum Feiertag: Religion im Angesicht der Wirklichkeit

Nitzavim, Rosh HaShanah and Palestinians Picnicking in a Settler Picnic Spot

Und ein Beitrag in der Times of Israel

Republik Haifa

Im vergangenen Jahr legte der israelische Philosoph und an der New School For Social Research lehrende Professor Omri Boehm in „Israel – eine Utopie“ sein Modell eines gemeinsamen politischen Systems von Israelis und Palästinensern vor, und zwar zuerst in deutscher Sprache in Deutschland. In Interviews erklärte er seinerzeit seine „Utopie“ und die Notwendigkeit, eine Regelung jenseits der längst nicht mehr offenen zwei-Staaten-Option zu suchen.

Nun erschien Boehms Buch in englischer Sprache unter dem Titel “Haifa Republic: A Democratic Future for Israel” in den USA und wird in der Tageszeitung Haaretz rezipiert. Und wieder zeigt sich: ein enorm wichtiges Buch zur rechten Zeit.

In Haaretz (Premiumausgabe) schreibt Abe Silberstein über das Buch:

„The book is an effort to reconcile Zionism with the diminishing prospects of a two-state solution. For decades, the Zionist left in Israel and its supporters in the Jewish Diaspora focused on the two-state solution as the only way to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. Israel’s current government, however, has no intention to advance that solution, as Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recently reminded the European Union’s foreign ministers.“
…
„Boehm’s vision 
So what specifically does he propose? First, Boehm seeks to maintain the territorial unity of historic Israel/Palestine; all Israelis and Palestinians will enjoy freedom of movement, residence and work across the entire territory – a single federation in which two non-sovereign states operate along the pre-1967 lines so that each people can enjoy “cultural and national self-determination.”

Hier noch einmal ein Link zu einem längeren Gespräch mit Omri Boehm.