text:
|They`re Palestinians, not `Israeli Arabs`
|Saree Makdisi - LA Times - In fact, to use the ethnic term "Arab" to describe the Palestinians inside Israel is to strip them of any national identity � not only the national identity that they themselves assert, but quite literally any national identity whatsoever, given that, according to a 2013 ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court, "Israeli" is not a national identity. [bz]
|UN Mideast envoy asks Security Council to lead on Israel
|Ass. Press - Ynet "The UN`s top Mideast envoy challenged the Security Council on Thursday to step up and lead the way to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the international community should seriously consider presenting a framework for negotiations that "may be the only way to preserve the goal of a two-state solution." ca
|I want my country back
|Philip Weiss - Mondoweiss "Israeli analysts are now suggesting that Mr. Obama and his aides might be overplaying their hand, inviting a backlash of sympathy for Mr. Netanyahu." ca
|The ire over Iran
|The Economist - "Although Barack Obama is right to chastise Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel�s prime minister has a point on Iran...Mr Netanyahu is wrong to reject any plausible deal with Iran. His confrontational tactics may do great damage to his country. Yet he is right on at least one point that Mr Obama is wilfully ignoring: Iran�s belligerent behaviour in the Middle East is an increasing menace." ca
|Naomi Klein: Let`s Kick Oil While the Price is Down
|VIDEO - "Climate change should be a catalyst for a major change, but we`re not treating it as a real emergency. Naomi Klein believes that capitalism is at war with the climate, but she says sometimes it gives us a gift � the sudden drop in oil prices. So let`s not blow what could be our best chance to prevent catastrophic global warming." ca
|Palestinian armed groups killed civilians on both sides in attacks amounting to war crimes
|Amnesty International - Report "�The international community must help prevent further violations by tackling entrenched impunity and by ending transfers to Palestinian armed groups and Israel of all arms and military equipment that could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,� said Philip Luther." ca
|Analysis: The rise of the Israeli far right and the future of the PA
|Ghassan Khatib - Ma`an News "The only way to explain this drift in the direction of increasingly rigid and extreme political positions is the absence of accountability. Israelis have been allowed to have their cake and eat it, too. They have been allowed to continue disregarding the expectations of their backers, particularly the US and Europe, and to continue expanding settlements while ignoring their friends` chiding remarks." ca
|West sees Palestinians as Israel`s problem
|Aviad Kleinberg - Ynet - "Europe and US allegedly oppose Israel`s settlement policy, but beyond paying lip service, West`s elites have supported occupation and avoided imposing any significant sanctions on Israel." id for rh
|Get Ready for the Third Intifada
|JOHN WIGHT - CounterPunch - "The so-called international community, consisting of Washington and its European allies, has failed the Palestinian people miserably over many years by now." - id
|Occupier`s democracy
|Adam Keller - Crzay Country - "On the one hand there is a multy-party parliamentary democracy in which the citizens of Israel � about eighty percent Jews and twenty percent Arabs � elect the government which governs them and the legislature which makes their laws; and on the other hand a military dictator called the Commanding General, IDF Central Command who is the almighty governor, legislator and judge who rules over the lives of millions of Palestinians." - id
|Netanyahu may have apologized, but the damage has been done
|Nahum Barnea - Ynet - "The impulsive, demagogic nature of Netanyahu`s moves succeeded in pulling the ethnic demon out of the bottle. It`s an interesting demon: Most of the time, it rests in the bottle without overly interfering in our lives. Every few years, on Election Day, it is pulled out." - id
|Obama: Dim hope for end to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
|DEB RIECHMANN - Yahoo News - "Obama`s comments at the White House did little to repair rocky U.S.-Israeli relations, which were aggravated by a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday alleging Israel spied on sensitive negotiations about Iran`s nuclear program." - id
|It`s time for a one-state solution
|Yonatan Amir - +972 - "The only way forward is to grant full equality to all." - id
|Israelis elected a non-democracy
|Mairav Zonszein - +972 - Obama must understand that these elections were more than just a referendum on Netanyahu � they were a referendum on Israel�s character, and Israelis did not vote for democratic ideals [ry]
|The End of the Liberal Zionist Fa�ade
|Neve Gordon - CounterPunch - �There is, however, one clear advantage to the election results: clarity. At least now there will be no liberal Zionist fa�ade, camouflaging Israel�s unwillingness to dismantle its colonial project� [ry]
|Israel is supposedly the only democracy in the Middle East, yet 4.5 million Palestinians under its control can`t vote
|Yara Hawari--A state that ignores the rights of its indigenous non-Jewish people is not a democracy Today Israeli citizens are going to vote for their next government in a country often labeled as "the only democracy in the Middle East". Ironically, they will be voting on ballot cards produced in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank by Palestinians, who will have no input in the political process. dn
|Netanyahu�`s victory � what is the cost?
|Robert Fantina--The victory of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel�fs election may have come at a surprisingly high cost. Mr. Netanyahu publicly proclaimed what every thinking person on the planet always knew, but which most global world leaders chose to ignore: he will never allow the establishment of a free and independent Palestinian state. Now, world leaders, especially those in the United States who have fostered the farce of negotiations between Israel and Palestine, must see two unpleasant facts: 1) the Prime Minister has lied to them for years, and never had any intention of seriously negotiating with the Palestinians, and 2) The problem of the Israeli occupation of Palestine needs to be resolved.dn
|Don`t be fooled by Netanyahu`s upcoming charm offensive
|Daoud Kuttab--Despite the expectations that the upcoming Israeli coalition government will increase its oppressive acts against Palestinians, my expectations are the exact opposite. But this should not allow anyone to be fooled. dn
|Netanyahu�s Win Is Good for Palestine
|YOUSEF MUNAYYER--WASHINGTON � IF anyone doubted where Benjamin Netanyahu stood on the question of peace, the Israeli prime minister made himself clear just before Tuesday�s election, proclaiming that there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch. Then he decided to engage in a bit of fear-mongering against Palestinian citizens of Israel in hopes of driving his supporters to the polls. �The right-wing government is in danger,� Mr. Netanyahu announced on Election Day. �Arab voters are heading to the polling stations in droves.� dn
|Israeli elections underscore the importance of JVP`s historic growth and strategy.
|Rebecca Vilkomerson--Yesterday�s election reaffirmed what Jewish Voice for Peace has been saying for quite some time: The only way to end Israel`s endless settlement expansion and separate and deeply unequal apartheid system is through external pressure. dn
|The messages from Israel`s election
|Ilan Pappe--Those of us who know the nature of the beast could not have been surprised by the results of the Israeli election. Like many of my friends, I was also relieved that a liberal Zionist government was not elected. It would have allowed the charade of the �peace process� and the illusion of the two-state solution to linger on while the suffering of the Palestinians continues.dn
|For Liberal Israelis, Netanyahu`s Win Is A Reality Check
|Daniel Estrin--TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) � Israeli liberals woke up after national elections with a demoralizing feeling: Most of the country, in a deep and possibly irreversible way, does not think like they do.dn
|Mr Obama, there is still time to remake the Middle East
|Afif Emile Safieh--In our unipolar world, non-alignment is no more the policy option of Third World countries who feared the collision or collusion of the two competing superpowers. Rather, it should be what characterises American foreign policy. Because if the US sides with one belligerent player in a regional conflict, not only does it unnecessarily alienate and antagonise all the other countries in the area but it also offends and ghettoises a domestic component of its own national and social fabric. A recent poll showed that 66 per cent of the American public wanted the US to be a neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.dn
|Netanyahu Tactics Anger Many U.S. Jews, Deepening a Divide
|LAURIE GOODSTEIN--Long before the latest election in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu was a polarizing figure among American Jews. But even many of his supporters said this week that they were appalled at his last-minute bid to mobilize Jewish voters by warning that Arabs were going to the polls in droves, and his renunciation of a two-state solution to the Palestinian crisis.dn
|Netanyahu sank into the moral gutter � and there will be consequences
|Jonathan Freedland--Israel�s prime minister won re-election with a combination of belligerence and bigotry. His opposition to a Palestinian state is a stance the world should not accept. dn
|I support the Israeli boycott - but which one?
|Liela Sansour--Debate rages over Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement - is it effective or just symbolic? dn
|U.S. Worried About Living Up To Netanyahu Campaign Promises
|The Onion - "said U.S. State Department spokesman Eric Patel, explaining that, realistically, the U.S. would likely have trouble following through on Netanyahu�s repeated vows on the campaign trail to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon at any cost and continuing to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state. �He made a bold personal pledge to every voter that Israel�s military capabilities would be considerably bolstered under his watch, which is going to be real tough for us to accomplish. I�m afraid we might end up having to eat his words.� ca
|Trouble Ahead for Bibi. Plus: Why Herzog Lost
|J.J. Goldberg - the Jewish Daily Forward "The bottom line: The center-left opposition had a stronger argument on security and peace than Netanyahu did, but it was afraid to make its case. Despite the unprecedented outpouring of anti-Netanyahu protest from retired defense and intelligence chiefs � including nearly every former head of the Mossad and Shin Bet and one-third of all living ex-generals � Herzog and his allies steered clear of them." ca
|Israel Election Result Complicates Life for Clinton
|JASON HOROWITZ - NYT "Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state who has long advocated a two-state solution and once took credit for starting what were then secret talks for an Iran nuclear deal that Mr. Netanyahu vehemently opposes, is now likely to be under increased pressure from her own party to speak up against a government that is openly hostile to Mr. Obama." ca
|For Obama and Israel, the party is over
|Alex Fishman - Ynet "Now that he is free of electoral pressures and has been challenged by Netanyahu, Obama is making it clear to Israel and its supporters that the presidential treatment of the Palestinian issue is about to take on a much more aggressive attitude." ca
|If Israelis want change, they`ll have to let go of fear
|Samah Salaime - +972 "These elections showed that Israelis are guided by their fears of another Holocaust, ISIS, Arab citizens or left-wing NGOs. Now is the time for it to move beyond the scars of the past and make real change, before it is too late."ca
|The Joint List: Palestinians in Israel come in from the cold?
|Al-Shabaka - "The Joint List launched on Feb. 14, 2015 by four political parties largely representing the Palestinian citizens of Israel may win enough seats to be the third largest party in the Israeli Knesset.But will this really challenge the second-class status of Palestinian citizens?" ca
|Netanyahu�s Win Is Good for Palestine
|YOUSEF MUNAYYERMARCH - NYT - "This might seem counterintuitive, but the political dynamics in Israel and internationally mean that another term with Mr. Netanyahu at the helm could actually hasten the end of Israel�s apartheid policies." - id for rh
|Netanyahu`s victory is the Israeli media`s failure
|Mazal Mualem - Al Monitor - "While the results are known, they leave one resounding question: How could the media have been so blind?" - id for rh
|It`s the dawn of an old day
|Sima Kadmon - Ynet - "Nine years of inaction, of international isolation, of serious state comptroller reports and of a feeling of alienation among the Israeli public were not enough for the Israelis to say: No more." - id for rh
|Bibi Will Make History
|Thomas L. Friedman - NYT - "It is stunning how much Bibi�s actions serve Tehran�s strategic interests."..."I just hope that � somehow � a Jewish democratic Israel survives his tenure." - id for rh
|How King Bibi survived
|Rachel Shabi - Al Jazeera - "Observers may have baulked, but Bibi knew what he was doing. Benjamin Netanyahu, incumbent Israeli prime minister, has spent the past few days making alarmingly racist and intransigent statements - and as an election tactic, it worked." - id for rh
|Bibi is a magician after all
|Nahum Barnea - Ynet - "Netanyahu didn`t steal the elections, he won them. The achievement is his, and only his." - id
|Zoabi seeks to force Israel to be a real Democracy
|Ray Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "Zoabi was kicked off the election ballot by the racist Israeli Central Election Committee which acts more like one of the White Southern segregationist Organizations of the American 1950s. But the Israeli Supreme Court eventually overturned the racist ruling which was driven by Israeli political hatred and apartheid practices in Israel." - id
|Redemption from the mouth of a leper
|Adam Keller - Crazy Country - "If a person who had shed a lot of blood and perpetrated many atrocities can at an advanced age become the standard bearer of the Peace Camp, I will not reject him." - id
|Red Rag column: Time to decide
|Gideon Spiro - I am faced with three choices: a blank ballot, as the Pirate Party suggests, Meretz, or the Joint List. I have friends in both lists, and I agree with the platforms of both.
|AT WHAT COST VICTORY? Bibi�s Ugly Win Will Harm Israel
|Jonathan Alter - The Daily Beast - "And Bibi and Likud might be in for a rude shock at the United Nations. On Tuesday, moderate Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN that it was �hard to imagine� there would be no consequences from Netanyahu�s new one-state views." - id
|The PM`s failures have caused damage on security, Iran, peace talks and the economy.
|Major General (ret.) Amnon Reshef - Ynet - As long as Israel refrains from initiating a serious move for regional peace, the current quiet will not last and harsh wars will follow. [bz]
|Arab Alliance Rises as Force in Israeli Elections
|Diaa Hadid - NYT - It was Mr. Lieberman himself who inadvertently helped set in motion a political awakening of Arabs in Israel this election year. Legislation he championed to raise the percentage of votes required to enter Parliament threatened the survival of four small Arab parties, so they decided to unite after years of refusing to do so. Now, polls cited by the Israeli media suggest the Arab alliance is likely to become the third-largest faction in Parliament with 13 of its 120 seats, potentially preventing Mr. Netanyahu from cobbling together the 61 seats he needs to form a coalition and stay in power. The same polls show that Mr. Lieberman may have more trouble getting his own Yisrael Beiteinu party across the 3.25 percent threshold he designed. [bz]
|Election preview: Netanyahu`s moment of truth
|Noam Sheizaf - +972 - The Israeli prime minister called elections hoping to strengthen his coalition, but he underestimated the personal resentment many Israelis feel toward him. One shouldn�t, however, confuse the fierce competition for power with a battle over ideas: even if Labor wins, the end of the occupation is not around the corner [ry]
|David Shulman`s new report from South Mt, Hebron
|David Shulman, The Villages Group Just when I come to the conclusion that the men with guns have resigned themselves to recalcitrant ovine reality and the danger has passed, they suddenly arrest two more shepherds: Majlis Salim and Jihad Salim. The arrests are swift and brutal, with much shoving and poking. We�re too far away to be of help, but I can�t bear watching this: despair again. Is it the good despair I�ve written about, the kind that makes you act and take risks and not think about results? I doubt it. It�s a black viscous feeling that goes well with the liquid gold washing over the hill.
|How many cars does it take for a Bedouin village to vote?
|Khalil Alamour and Amjad Iraqi--While the majority of Jewish Israelis will have no problem voting on election day, some Bedouin will be forced to travel up to 40 kilometers [almost 25 miles DN] simply to participate in Israel�s democracy.dn
|Binyamin Netanyahu has failed. There�s a better way to achieve security for Israel
|Avi Shlaim--Israeli voters have to choose between two radically different visions for the future of their country when they go to the polls on 17 March. The rightwing ruling Likud party faces a challenge from the Zionist Union, which was formed by a merger of the Labour party and a small centrist party. Isaac Herzog, the leader of the new party, is a moderate left-of-centre politician who prefers to focus on the socioeconomic issues that are high on the voters� agenda. His centre-right deputy, Tzipi Livni, was the minister of justice and chief negotiator with the Palestinians in the outgoing coalition government. Their new party is committed to negotiations with the Palestinian Authority with the aim of reaching agreement on a two-state solution to the conflict. Its platform also pledges to submit an Israeli peace initiative to the Arab League.dn
|Flagging as election looms, Netanyahu ramps up rhetoric
|Dan Williams--JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Flagging in opinion polls before Tuesday`s election in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally rightists by casting his center-left challengers as tools of a global campaign to usurp power. dn
|For whom to Vote?
|Uri Avnery--In Israel, elections are also secret. Therefore I shall not tell you for whom I shall vote. Certainly I shall not be so impertinent as to tell my readers how to vote. But I shall set out the reasoning that will guide me. dn
|Israel election: How Isaac Herzog now holds the key to the country`s future
|Ben Lynfield--His lacklustre tone betrays a distinguished political pedigree. And this scion of Zion, the son of a former president, may well see off Benjamin Netanyahu His manner is lacklustre, almost bureaucratic at times. Compared with Benjamin Netanyahu, the bullish Likud Party leader who has been Israel�s prime minister for the past six years, he is little known abroad; and at home, his background as a former lawyer and relatively low-key Knesset member from a celebrated Zionist family make him an unlikely revolutionary. dn
|She wished there were more Palestinians like me
|Amer Zahr--This past Monday night, I participated in a panel debate at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The panel consisted of five Jewish Americans and me, a Palestinian American. The audience was almost entirely Jewish, with a couple Palestinians. Somehow, my eyes found them immediately. Basically, it was about two hundred Jews and three of us. It reminded me of my numerous flights to Tel Aviv.dn
|A Modern Day Witchhunt
|Deborah Lipstadt and David Ellenson--Echoes of McCarthyism in Smear Campaign Against New Israel Fund Backers Do Creators of Attack Ads Have No Sense of Decency? Modern Day Witchhunt: Joseph McCarthy hounded honest Americans in misguided hunt for Communists. Are right wing Jews doing much the same to backers of the New Israel Fund? dn
|It`s the Palestinian Territories, stupid
|Eran Rolnik--On the eve of the elections to the 20th Knesset, the threat to Israeli democracy is no longer the polarization that reached its peak with the Rabin assassination; it is the obliviousness and self-righteousness that has gripped the country for the past two decades. What, indeed, is it to be an Israeli at this time, if not to dwell within a fragment of yourself, ensuring that the other parts of the picture don�t disturb you; to do whatever strikes your fancy and not understand �what�s wrong with that�? dn
|Final polls show Zionist Camp with biggest lead yet
|Edo Konrad - +972 - Herzog and Livni may have the upper hand over Netanyahu, but even if they win the election, they won�t have an easy time putting together a coalition. [bz]
|50,000 Israelis show up at the wrong protest
|Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man - +972 "If 50,000 Jewish Israelis marched on the Qalandia checkpoint demanding an end to the occupation even Netanyahu would take note, Herzog would change his messaging overnight, and the seeds of change just might have a chance of sprouting." ca
|Hamas and Iran: Rapprochement?
|Ahmed El-Sayed - Al-Ahram "...the London-based Raialyoum newspaper quoted unnamed Hamas sources as saying that the group is looking forward to new relations with Iran, especially after the war on Gaza. It is also hoping for renewed support for the resistance and its armed wing, including missiles and materiel that could be used in any future confrontation with Israel.However, it does not want this to come at the expense of the Qatar axis opposing the Al-Assad regime, which is Iran�s ally." ca
|The strange timing of generals` attack on Netanyahu
|Noah Klieger - Ynet - "If the Mossad and Shin Bet heads who served under the PM were so concerned by his `irresponsible conduct,` why didn`t they quit and warn us of this great danger earlier?" - id for rh
|Is It Sheldon Adelson�s World?
|Thomas L. Friedman - NYT - "No matter what his agenda, it is troubling that one man, with a willingness and ability to give away giant sums, can now tilt Israeli and American politics his way at the same time." - id for rh
|Bibi`s fantastic feats of flip-flopping
|Ben Caspit - Al Monitor - "...his campaign announced that his famous Bar Ilan speech, in which he recognized the two-state solution for the very first time, �is no longer relevant.�" - id
|For Obama and Israel, the party is over
|Alex Fishman - Ynet - "Dr. Malley .... believes that a dialogue with Hamas is crucial in order to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians." - id
|We`re not stuck with Palestinians, we`re stuck in our own fear
|Mairav Zonszein - +972 - "�With Bibi-Bennett, we�ll be stuck with the Palestinians forever.� I noticed a billboard carrying that slogan the other day and was immediately appalled. It is among the most offensive and racist I�ve seen in this campaign � and there is no lack of competition in that department." - id
|After the Elections the Deluge
|Adam Keller - Crazy Country - "He came. He saw. He made a speech � he made a speech indeed. Did he also win? That remains to be seen." - id
|Will Herzog compromise party values to join government?
|Akiva Eldar - Al Monitor/Israel Pulse - According to his own statements, his openness to the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders would prevent Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog from joining a Likud-led government after the elections. Herzog, as well as Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon and even Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman have been talking a lot in recent months about a regional arrangement that would include moderate Arab states in resolving the conflict. [bz]
|`Israel Hayom` and Netanyahu`s shared fear of Arab voters
|Oren Persico - The Seventh Eye/+972 - �Millions of shekels from overseas � to raise voter participation for the Left and the Arabs,� was the main headline last week on Israel Hayom, the newspaper funded by millions of shekels from overseas. [Persico also explains Israel Hayom`s practice of "apartheid polls"-bz]
|Netanyahu`s show in Congress: conservative, racist and oppressive
|Ravit Hecht - For several years now Netanyahu has been on tour with the schmaltz circus with which he intends to perpetuate his rule. Even though the interests are transparent, those present in the hall applauded with programmed fervour, which proved that his words had no meaning except as display. gm
|Netanyahu�s Iran Thing
|Roger Cohen--Let�s begin with Benjamin Netanyahu�s Iran logic. He portrays a rampaging Islamic Republic that �now dominates four Arab capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut and Sana,� a nation �gobbling� other countries on a �march of conquest, subjugation and terror.� Then, in the same speech, he describes Iran as �a very vulnerable regime� on the brink of folding. Well, which is it? dn
|Public transport as an instrument of apartheid
|Eli Aminov--Two researchers from the Sikui NGO, Samah al-Khatib-Ayyub and Abed Kan�aneh, claim in their article, �Arab women want to go to work, but they have no way to get there� (published in �The Marker�, 4/2/2015), that the State�s investment in developing infrastructure and employment in Arab society is inadequate. dn
|Israeli Veterans Break Their Silence on Life in the Occupied Territories
|Yehuda Shaul--But by the time I was finishing my life as a combat soldier�as a company sergeant in the infantry�I was questioning most of the military actions I had taken part in. The day I stopped thinking like a soldier I looked in the mirror and saw a different person. And it was terrifying. dn
|Christians Loving Jews
|Frank Bruni--HE was almost lost in the whirl of lawmakers, pundits, plutocrats and other boldface names who showed up for Benjamin Netanyahu�s speech to Congress last week. But the presence of Pat Boone was a key to understanding why John Boehner was playing a smart game of party politics to stand so solidly with the Israeli prime minister. dn
|Public transport as an instrument of apartheid
|Eli Aminov - Hagada Hasmalit - Public transport planning is used to isolate, disenfranchise and de-urbanize Palestinians in Israel as well as the Occupied Territories.
|Questioning our �Birthright�
|JULIA WEDGLE and Chase Carter--We write this op-ed as Jewish Tufts students who went on Taglit-Birthright Israel. In sharing some of our experiences, we hope other students may begin to question Birthright. Birthrightexposed us to the facts on the ground in Israel/Palestine and forced us to confront and reject the Zionist ideologies we grew up with. It showed us that Israel is doing the exact opposite of what our Jewish values teach us. Birthright led us to stand in solidarity with Palestine. dn
|Is the Oslo process really over?
|Daoud Kuttab - Al Monitor`s Palestine Pulse - Despite the many Palestinian skeptics, there is no doubt that a clear shift in Palestinian public opinion is being taken seriously by the leadership. While Abbas might try to pressure Israel before revealing when and how this decision will be implemented, it`s clear that he can no longer push this popular demand under the rug for too long. [bz]
|Options for a non-Zionist Israeli voter
|Ofra Yeshua Lyth �This is not something we should be discussing� is the limiting mantra that unites Israeli discourse across left and right, with the obedient complicity of the media. Debate about superfluous elections, corruption scandals, wars, verbal and personal brutality, the high cost of living and the housing crisis, extreme social gaps, the lack of compassion for the weak: all these can be understood easier when placed against the background and core principles of the Zionist state. All are linked, in one way or another, to that unique political innovation that charges a high price in return for the perks it claims to bestow on its chosen demographic. The one hundred and five Knesset seats [out of 120] reserved for the Jewish majority squabble furiously over the prime minister�s empty bottles, over the misery of incarcerated political refugees. They are, however, united � from the radical right all the way to the so-called radical left (and Zehava Galon is truly nice and sincere) � concerning the �existential� need to avoid pushing too hard for the over-democratic measures that may jeopardize the eternal existence of a secure �Jewish majority�.
|The speech
|Uri Avnery - Gush Shalom - If the worst comes to the worst, Iran will have its bomb in the end. So what? I may be an arrogant Israeli, but I refuse to be afraid. I live a mile from the Israeli army high command in the center of Tel Aviv, and in a nuclear exchange I would evaporate. Yet I feel quite safe. gm
|We, the people of Israel, will pay for Netanyahu`s arrogance
|Gershon Baskin - Jpost - It is a fantasy to imagine that anyone serious in the world will buy the Netanyahu-Bennett charade that Israel does not rule over the Palestinians because the PA is control of 98% of the Palestinian people in the West Bank. This is nothing more than a lie.
|The Joint List: The Israeli Left`s last hope?
|Louis Fishman - +972 - In light of the Joint List�s newfound strength, it might be high time for centrist and leftist parties to renegotiate their understanding of what it means to be Israeli. [bz]
|Obama needs to provide real answers to Netanyahu�s arguments
|By Editorial Board - Washington Post "Nevertheless, Mr. Netanyahu�s arguments deserve a serious response from the Obama administration � one it has yet to provide." ca
|With Netanyahu, confrontations are a feature, not a bug
|Noam Sheizaf - +972 "On foreign policy, Netanyahu is playing on the old �the entire world is against us� theme � focusing specifically on �Old Europe� and the �anti-Israeli� Obama administration, as they are commonly referred to in the pages of the free Israel Hayom...." ca
|Pelosi blasts Netanyahu speech as `insult to intelligence of U.S.`, Amanpour calls t `dark ,Strangelovian"
|Philip Weiss - Mondoweiss "But sanity is breaking through. Christiane Amanpour called the speech "dark Strangelovian" in its hysteria about Iran as Nazi Germany." ca
|Netanyahu�s Nuclear Deceptions
|GHOLAMALI KHOSHROO - NYT " In the address on Tuesday to the United States Congress by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, we witnessed a new peak in the long-running hype over Iran�s nuclear energy program. Yet all his predictions about how close Iran was to acquiring a nuclear bomb have proved baseless." ca
|Netanyahu Is �The Right Man� to Address the US Congress on Iran
|Prof. Yakov M. Rabkin - Global Research - The phenomenal growth of Daesh graphically shows what demodernization and the ensuing despair in that part of the world may entail. We need only to look at Iraq, Libya and Syria, all three subjected to outside military intervention, and at the subsequent emergence of Daesh, to understand that destabilizing a country or region has far-reaching sinister consequences. Israel�s Prime minister invokes the alleged Iranian threat in order to slow down or reverse Iran�s policies of modernization. The forced demodernization of Iraq, Syria and Libya, the most secular and educated countries in the Arab world, has certainly benefited Israel�s strategic position in the area. Mr. Netanyahu must now explain how exactly demodernization of Iran will benefit the United States. [bz]
|Noam Chomsky: Opposing Iran Nuclear Deal, Israel`s Goal Isn`t Survival -- It`s Regional Dominance
|Democracy Now video interview [bz]
|The Real Existential Threat Is Not Iran. It�s Bibi.
|Lisa Goldman - The Forward - More recently, the Israeli prime minister has amped up his fear message with his frequent insistence that the only safe place for Jews to live is the state of Israel. In reality, Israel is a far more dangerous place for a Jew to live � just look at the relative casualty counts. And Netanyahu has not only made Israel a more dangerous place for Jews, but he has made them more vulnerable in the Diaspora as well. [bz]
|Herzog must support the Joint List � and vice versa
|Ron Gerlitz and Nidal Othman - +972 - Before the 1992 election, Rabin apologized for the discrimination against Palestinian citizens, thus paving the way for a �golden age� in relations between the Arabs and the state. Twenty years later, the �Zionist Camp� and the Joint List can stand to learn a thing or two. [bz]
|Guarding Denmark�s Jewish Heritage
|BO LIDEGAARDFEB--COPENHAGEN � The attack on Copenhagen�s synagogue earlier this month that left a volunteer Jewish watchman dead is a tragedy for a society that, for more than two centuries, has insisted that there is no tension between being Jewish and being Danish. It was precisely this sense of national solidarity across religious lines that helped save Denmark�s Jews from the Nazis during World War II. And that�s why it rubbed many Danes the wrong way when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Danish Jews to �come home� to Israel after the attack. dn
|British Jews ever so carefully begin to criticize the occupation
|Daniella Peled--Earlier this month, Laurence Brass, treasurer of the Board of Deputies, Anglo-Jewry�s main umbrella organization, said he would stand down from its executive and not seek reelection. �I felt constrained not to have been able to speak out on subjects that are close to my heart, such as the treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and the discrimination still being suffered by Arab citizens of Israel,� he told a plenary. His speech was reportedly followed by a standing ovation. dn
|Israel is tearing Jewish communities apart
|Ilan Baron--When it comes to Israel, Diaspora Jews have to tread a difficult path. On the one hand, we are largely expected to support the world�s only Jewish state. Having our own state is something to be proud of, and it provides our people with an important voice in international affairs. On the other hand, Diaspora Jews find themselves wanting to speak up when Israel acts in ways they find morally questionable. It used to be that Diaspora Jews were expected to support Israel. There were the occasional critical voices that emphasized the cultural and ethical values of living in the Diaspora as opposed to having control over the apparatuses of violence and oppression that comes with nation-statehood, and there have always been Jewish critics of Zionism. Yet, in the last 20 to 30 years, something more dramatic has taken place that has built on a combination of historical debate and more recent Israeli policy.dn
|The US, Palestine and the pursuit of justice
|Daoud Kuttab--US court ruling against PLO and Palestinian Authority maybe the best thing that has happened to Palestinians in years. dn
|Netanyahu�s address to Congress will be most important speech of his life
|William Booth--On Tuesday morning, Netanyahu will confront an American president and insist that the future of the State of Israel, and the world, is imperiled by a pending �bad deal� with Iran on its nuclear program. Also hanging in the balance is Netanyahu�s own political future. Just two weeks after the speech, Netanyahu will either be reelected to a historic fourth term as prime minister or be out of a job. dn
|Interview With Adam Keller: Israeli Journalist, Dissident and Refusenik
|Paul Buhle - Truthout - "The settlers would rather destroy their own homes with their own hands than give Palestinians the vote." [bz]
|A parody - would be highly amusing were it not so sad
|A.J.E. - Our organization, All Jews Everywhere, wishes to voice our appreciation to Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of All Jews Everywhere, Inc., for speaking on behalf of the Chosen People before the Israel Funding Association (sometimes referred to as the U.S. Congress).
|Netanyahu dwells on Iran threat to win votes
|Ben Lynfield--Benjamin Netanyahu�s speech before Congress about the perceived Iranian threat to Israel�s existence is a trump card. It may divert attention from the economy and high cost of living issues that are the strength of his rivals in the Zionist Camp and enable him to pose as Israel�s security saviour. dn
|Israel`s democracy: `Theatre of the absurd`
|Waad Ghantous--Reputedly the "only democracy in the Middle East", Israel, according to the advocacy group Adalah Legal Centre, subjects an estimated 1.7 million Palestinian citizens to dozens of discriminatory laws that stifle their political expression and limit their access to state resources. dn
|`The media makes Israeli Jews ignorant of Arab society`
|Oren Persico - +972 "The head of the Mossawa Center, Jafar Farah, says Israelis have only their media to blame for their ignorance." ca
|An Expensive Speech
|Uri Avnery - Like Abraham, who was ready to slaughter his son to please God, Netanyahu is ready to sacrifice Israel`s most vital interests for election victory.
|A Partial Accounting of the Damage Netanyahu Is Doing to Israel
|Jeffrey Goldberg - The Atlantic - Ross, the former negotiator, believes that the near-term relationship between the United States and Israel depends almost entirely on the nature of the next Israeli government. �If we see a solely right-wing government, then we have a situation in which even if Bibi seeks to improve things, it will be difficult,� he said. �On traditional defense issues, the relations will be okay, but the impulse won�t be there on the part of the Obama administration to protect Israel on matters related to the delegitimization campaign.[bz]
|Red Rag column: Holocaust-denial, settler style
|Gideon Spiro - If Israeli human-rights organizations enjoy the support of Der St�rmer as the settlers claim, then they are presenting Nazi Germany in a new light: as a liberal and humane state that respects human rights activists. From there the path to Holocaust- denial is a short one, for it does not stand to reason that a tolerant state like Nazi Germany would commit genocide.
|Netanyahu insists on wrecking Israel`s ties with United States
|Editorial - Haaretz "It seems the Israeli prime minister, due primarily to electoral considerations, is determined to act like a wrecking ball. On the eve of Israel�s election, Netanyahu is insisting on damaging Israel�s most important relationship. His grip on power is shaky, and he�s acting like someone who has nothing to lose." ca
|Zoabi`s Case: An Injustice the Court Did Not Fix
|Adalah - The disqualification of Arab parties and candidates has become a predictable feature of every Israeli election for the past decade, and is part of the state`s wider attempts to repress political activism by Palestinian citizens. The CEC`s decision against MK Zoabi thus came as no surprise, nor did the committee members� constant heckling and incitement during her speech in defense of her right to represent the Palestinian minority in the Knesset.-rh
|Pro-Israel students launch hate campaign against Muslims, Arabs
|Ray Hanania - The Arab Daily News - "The racist nature of the extremist pro-Israel movement against BDS is widely known, but to be supported by pro-Israel professors and university administrators is an obnoxious escalation in fomenting hate crimes against Muslims." - id
|In this election, vote for coexistence
|Hazar Masri-Hussein - Ynet - "Despite the difficult summer the Israeli society experienced, our politicians are avoiding dealing with the issues of racism and Jewish-Arab relations." - id
|PA trapped by tax revenue freeze
|Adnan Abu Amer - Al Monitor - The Palestinian situation will remain subject to further economic crises while living conditions will continue to deteriorate until the formation of the next Israeli government early next May. No one can guarantee the repercussions of this long period on the Palestinian situation, which is suffering increasing economic hardships in all fields.
|No matter who wins the Israeli elections, Palestinians lose
|Jamie Stern-Weiner - Mondoweiss - The only actor capable of frustrating the above developments and forcing the two-state solution back on the table is a mass non-violent Palestinian movement. But don�t hold your breath for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pursue this approach. As the Zionist Union�s candidate for defense minister, Amos Yadlin, explains, �it is not at all clear that such a popular uprising would not be aimed first and foremost at the PA leadership itself�.-rh
|10-year-old boy attacked and arrested for playing in the snow
|International Solidarity Movement - The following day, at 2:40pm, Saleh was again playing in the snow on the hills of Tel Rumeida when he was kidnapped by soldiers and brought to the military base in the Tel Rumeida�s illegal settlement. The 10-year-old boy was kept for about 20 minutes before Israeli police took him to the DCO (District Coordinator Office). After that the boy was handed over to the Palestinian police who informed his father about his whereabouts.-rh
|Civil Administration dismantles, confiscates water pipes in Khirbet Yarza, Jordan Valley
|B`Tselem - The measures taken against the residents of Khirbet Yarza � disconnecting them from the water network, preventing vehicular access to the village, and demolishing their homes � are all part of Israeli authorities� efforts to relocate thousands of Palestinian scattered in small communities throughout Area C in the West Bank. Some 2,700 people currently live in some 20 shepherding communities in the Jordan Valley, and the Civil Administration is taking various steps to try and remove them from their homes. These steps include repeated demolition of their homes, evacuation of the residents for short periods to enable military training in the area, and confiscation of water tanks.-rh
|Mossad contradicted Netanyahu on Iran nuclear programme
|Will Jordan, Rahul Radhakrishnan - Aljazeera - Writing that Iran had not begun the work needed to build any kind of nuclear weapon, the Mossad cable said the Islamic Republic`s scientists are "working to close gaps in areas that appear legitimate such as enrichment reactors".-rh
|Israeli electric company begins West Bank power cuts over debt
|Reuters - The Daily Star - Israel`s state-owned electric company briefly cut power to two Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank Monday to press for payment of what it said was $492 million owed by the Palestinian government.-rh
|14-year-old Palestinian jailed for stone-throwing maintains innocence
|Peter Beaumont - The Guardian - At a reception last week to mark her return home to the West Bank village of Beitin, near Ramallah, Malak and her family continued to insist she was innocent and had only admitted to the charges of throwing stones and carrying a knife because she had felt intimidated during her time in custody.-rh
|Why scandals are good for Netanyahu
|Mazal Mualem - Al Monitor - Meanwhile, as incredible as this will sound, the prime minister actually profits from the public and media discourse surrounding his hedonistic lifestyle, his wife�s alleged tantrums and testimony regarding impropriety in his residence. Thus, all the substantive issues on which an election campaign should be based were left behind. These issues include Israel�s crumbling foreign relations, a destructive diplomatic stalemate with the Palestinians, the controversial results of the 2014 Protective Edge campaign and above all, the one issue that most bothers Israelis: housing and other costs of living that have increased a great deal in the six years of Netanyahu�s reign.-rh
|Election scandals and a very European week
|Adam Keller - Crazy Country - "However sharp and acrimonious the exchange of verbal blows, commentators (and ordinary people) are increasingly considering the possibility that within some two months we might be treated to the sight of Netanyahu, Herzog and Livni sitting together around a single cabinet table." - id
|Interview with Isaac Herzog: `Israelis Are Fed Up with Politics of Fear`
|Nicola Ab� and Juliane von Mittelstaedt - Spiegel International - Iran is a hateful regime that spreads hate. I think that the international community that is negotiating with Iran has to be stern. However, I think one needs to talk, in a quiet, professional manner, without any blame game, but with all options on the table. That is where I differ from Netanyahu.-rh
|An Israeli right-winger`s problem with Denmark
|Yossi Shain - Y-Net - A dinner at the home of a warm Danish Jewish family, some of them Holocaust survivors. The Danish infrastructure minister, a family friend, was also invited. When I said that my son was in the army, the minister�s wife`s asked: "And you allow it?" Of course, I replied. It`s part of our life in Israel. The tone immediately changed, and a heated argument developed over the "Israeli oppression policy." The Danish minister said some harsh words about the "chauvinistic nationalism" in Israel, and about the Israeli violence and injustice towards the Palestinians and about the destruction of the Israeli democracy. He even noted that Israel`s policy was affecting the security of Denmark`s Jews and said it could lead to anti-Semitism against them. [ak]
|White House Brainstorms Netanyahu Snubs: Will Administration Play Its Trumps?
|Robert Naiman - Truthout - AP reports that the White House is now brainstorming more ways that they could undercut Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s planned speech to Congress on March 3, in which Netanyahu is expected to attack President Obama and US-European efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement with Iran. [ak]
|Oslo `Ring of Peace` organizers slammed for Palestine solidarity
|Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills - +972 - �Maybe when people see that the same people who have such strong opinions about Israel also support Norwegian Jews, then that will make an impact,� said Qeaam Ibn Malik, another of the event�s organizers. �More will understand that it is a system that we are fighting, not people of another faith.� [bz]
|Netanyahu does not speak for all American Jews (COMMENTARY)
|Rebecca Vilkomerson--Netanyahu, in defending the visit, has indicated that he is coming to Congress to speak as the representative of the �entire Jewish people.� American Jews are largely appalled by the notion that Netanyahu, or any other Israeli politician � one that we did not elect and do not choose to be represented by � claims to speak for us. dn
|Israel Has Neutralized The PA: Hanan Ashrawi
|David Hearst Interviews-- Israel has systematically targeted Jerusalemites, putting them under a triple siege, and matters in the city have now come to a head, Hanan Ashrawi, the veteran Palestinian negotiator told MEE in an exclusive interview. Among a wide range of issues concerning Palestine, Dr Ashrawi talked of the fundamental flaws of the Oslo Accords, the Jewish state, the UN role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Palestine`s unity government. dn
|21 years after Goldstein massacre, once-thriving Hebron is a mere memory
|Amira Hass-February 25 marks the 21st anniversary of the Goldstein massacre in Hebron, when Dr. Baruch Goldstein entered the Tomb of the Patriarchs and gunned down and murdered 29 Muslims [and injured scores more. dn} kneeling in prayer at the Ibrahimi mosque. This is a chance to examine the routine established since then. dn
|Uri Avnery: Anti-What?
|Uri Avnery--ANTI-SEMITISM is on the rise. All over Europe it is raising its ugly head. Jews are in danger everywhere. They must make haste and come home to Israel before it is too late. True? Untrue? dn
|The U.S.-Israel divide on Iran
|Dennis Ross--The controversy over Republican House Speaker John Boehner�s invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress has had the ironic effect of diverting attention from the very topic the Israeli prime minister wants to discuss: the problems with a potential deal on the Iranian nuclear program. Although everyone debates the propriety of the Israeli prime minister challenging President Obama�s policy in such a setting, the partisan nature of the invitation and the timing of the speech � just two weeks before an Israeli election � the substance of the issue has been pushed aside. Why is there such a divide between the United States� and Israel�s positions, and can they be bridged? [Why anyone would believe that the Iranians are stupid enough to attack a country having 200-400 nuclear warheads puzzles me. dn]
|A glimmer of hope against incitement and racism
|Samah Salaime Egbariya (translated by Sol Salbe)--Jamal Zahalka promises that the Joint List will remain together for a long time, Dov Khenin tugs at our heart strings, the head of the Islamic Movement speaks of the men and women who make history, and Ayman Odeh, who heads the slate, calls on Arabs members of the Zionist parties to come back home. dn
|Poll predicts rise in Arab turnout for Israeli election and opportunities for the centre-left
|Ben Lynfield--With Israel�s election less than a month away, a new poll is predicting an increase in voter turnout among the country�s Arab minority, something that boosts chances for the centre-left bloc to upset right-wing hardliner Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. dn
|Anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism
|Alan Hart - Al-Ahram Weekly "In my view, Sacks and Miller and all who think like them are in complete denial of the link between Israel�s actions, which sometimes amount to state terrorism, and the transformation of anti-Israelism into anti-Semitism. What this link is was put into words more than a quarter of a century ago by Yehoshafat Harkabi, a long-serving director of Israeli military intelligence...Harkabi calls for Israel to withdraw from the Occupied Territories. He argues that the biggest real threat to Israel is its self-righteousness." ca
|Why Palestinians should unite to support Naqab protests
|Budour Youssef Hassan - Electronic Intifada "To understand the latest events in Rahat, one cannot view them separately from the wider context of land expropriations, home demolitions and the ongoing persecution of the Naqab�s Palestinians. The protests were not simply isolated responses to police killings. Rather, they were the result of accumulated grievances." ca
|The extremist who could bring Kahanism back to the Knesset
|Raphael Ahren - Them Times of Israel "Having survived a bid to bar him, Boston-born ultra-nationalist Baruch Marzel is set to become an MK, though his dreams of expelling Israel�s Arabs are seen more as empty threats than actual danger." ca
|Analysis: Hamas quietly returns to the Axis of Resistance
|Ramzy Baroud - Ma`an News Agency "Jointly isolated by Israel and other Arab parties, unaided by the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, the Islamic Resistance Movement is once again facing difficult choices, and it seems to be choosing a cautious return to its old camp of Iran and Hezbollah. The maneuver this time is particularly risky." ca
|Settlers� video accuses B�Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Peace Now and New Israel Fund of collaborating with Nazi anti-Semites
|Philip Weiss - Mondoweiss - This shocking cartoon, �The Eternal Jew,� was produced by a settlers� group in the West Bank. It says that several Israeli human rights groups are collaborating with Nazis by reporting on Israeli human rights abuses and in doing so, parodies Nazi propaganda about Jews.-rh
|Q&A: Hanin Zoabi - Israel`s `bad Arab`
|Patrick Strickland - Aljazeera - An estimated 1.7 million Palestinians live in communities in cities, towns and villages across the country and carry Israeli citizenship. According to the Haifa-based Adalah Legal Centre, they face more than 50 discriminatory laws that limit their access to state resources and muzzle their political expression.-rh
|Checkpoint mornings
|Giedre Steikunaite - New Internationalist - It�s 2.30 am. �Where else in the world have you seen people leaving for work in the middle of the night?� asks a middle-aged man, without requiring an answer. �This is the most racist state in the world,� he comments and rushes off. His hurry is justified: the queue is already forming inside the terminal and he needs to take his place.-rh
|American Officials Silent on Israeli Abuse of Palestinian Children
|MATT PEPPE - Counterpunch - Six weeks after being abducted on her way home from school in the occupied West Bank, 14-year-old Malak al-Khatib was released on Friday from the jail where she was being imprisoned by Israeli occupation forces. The youngest Palestinian girl ever to be incarcerated, Malak is one of hundreds of children to be prosecuted through the Israeli military court system each year.-rh
|Talking to Isis Could Lead to Peace
|Robert Fisk - Information Clearing House - And research by the Queen Mary University of London School of Law and the Berghof Foundation in Berlin strongly suggests that the �listing� of armed groups by governments � often for clear political reasons � prevents what the writers call �peace building�, hindering the host of NGOs, academics, lawyers and others who are trying to explain the benefits of human rights and political moderation to armed groups whose brutal methods have never been challenged.-rh
|Netanyahu called me an ISIS collaborator
|Captain (res.) R. - Ynet - "You and your panic are nothing more than a passing episode. The Jewish hope for a better future is 2,000 years old." - id
|Bibi`s speech to Congress could tip electoral scale
|Ben Caspit - Al Monitor - "Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Camp Chair Isaac Herzog are practically in a tie, according to polls, but Netanyahu might tilt the balance with a charismatic speech to Congress." - id
|No parity between Zoabi`s democracy and Kahane`s racism
|Orly Noy - +972 - The constant worshiping of �balance� in the name of some imagined national sanity brought Zoabi � who represented the only party that calls for full equality in Israel � to the same defendant�s chair as the heir to Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose party was disqualified from the Knesset 27 years ago for its outright racism.rh
|Netanyahu: the King of Chutzpah - Bibi`s Bizarre Call for Jews to Flee Europe for Israel
|BARRY LANDO - Counterpunch - "Why Chutzpah? Because one of the major causes for the upsurge in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe over the past several years have been the actions of Israel�under Netanyahu." - id
|Interview with Isaac Herzog: `Israelis Are Fed Up with Politics of Fear`
|Nicola Abe and Juliane von Mittelstaedt - Spiegel Internationao - Israelis really don`t take that nonsense anymore. They understand that Netanyahu is fooling them with a combination of fear and diversion from the real issues. The taxi driver who just drove me said: "Please make sure, that there is no war anymore. The Likud messed up our lives." These guys used to vote for Likud!-rh
|Leaders reject Netanyahu calls for Jewish mass migration to Israel
|Peter Beaumont - The Guardian - But the French prime minister, Manuel Valls � who was speaking after several hundred Jewish headstones were vandalised at a cemetery in eastern France � said that he regretted Netanyahu�s call, noting that the Israeli prime minister was �in the midst of a general election campaign�.-rh
|Israel uses water to blackmail Palestinians
|Nasouh Nazzal - Gulf News - Despite approval by the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank, the Israeli National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalon has refused to connect the newly built Palestinian Rawabi city near Ramallah to the water network.-rh
|Odeh: racist Israeli laws to benefit joint Arab list
|Daoud Kuttab - Al Monitor - The unified Arab list is expected to see success in the next Knesset elections as a result of discriminatory Israeli laws, according to the head of the joint list of all Arab parties.-rh
|A campaign promise Netamyahu can keep: The next four years will be worse than the last.
|Bradley Burston - Haaretz -
|The 24 Democrats Who Have Refused to Attend Netanyahu`s Speech to Congress
|Zaid Jilani--When House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) decided to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a Joint Session of Congress on Iran in early March, he probably thought it`d go a lot like it did in 2011. That year, Netanyahu received 29 standing ovations � more than President Obama got during his State of the Union that year. dn
|Lieberman`s peace plan is a subversive, dangerous scheme
|Yuli Tamir--A few weeks ago, Avigdor Lieberman presented his peace plan (once again), which in a nutshell comes down to: �Ariel for Israel, Umm al-Fahm for Palestine.� At the same time, he began to hint that he was involved in a process aimed at ultimately securing a comprehensive regional accord. In response, political pundits and analysts have been trying to decide whether the foreign minister and head of Yisrael Beiteinu is veering rightward or leftward; if he is for or against a regional agreement; and if he embraces or rejects the two-states-for-two-peoples concept. Lieberman is indeed hard to pin down in terms of the familiar parameters for defining right and left, but in any event his plan � even if it is ultimately rejected � is beset by serious problems and could undermine the political situation in ways that, for now, remain unseen. dn
|Against Amnesia: The Cultural Boycott of Israel Matters
|MTL Collective--We write today from a place of love, as well as hurt, for an art world to which we in part belong. We write for and with our community of friends, colleagues, and mentors � as a Palestinian artist and activist, a British-Jewish Asian professor, and an Indian artist and PhD student, who have been actively involved in two widely reported cultural boycotts. dn
|Letter: Over 100 artists announce a cultural boycott of Israel
|Letter--Along with more than 600 other fellow artists, we are announcing today that we will not engage in business-as-usual cultural relations with Israel. We will accept neither professional invitations to Israel, nor funding, from any institutions linked to its government. Since the summer war on Gaza, Palestinians have enjoyed no respite from Israel�s unrelenting attack on their land, their livelihood, their right to political existence. �2014,� says the Israeli human rights organisation B�Tselem, was �one of the cruellest and deadliest in the history of the occupation.� The Palestinian catastrophe goes on.dn
|AIPAC gnashing their teeth
|Adam Keller--The invitation to Congress which Netanyahu arranged for himself, behind the back of the White House, brought to the surface the growing gap between Israel and the American Jewish community. The overwhelming majority of American Jews tend to the liberal side of the political spectrum. Several generations of American Jews at the same time tended to render a deep emotional support to Israel, which also expressed their feeling of guilt for not having done enough to prevent to save European Jews.dn
|Managing the conflict the wrong way
|Giora Eiland - Ynet - The construction of Jewish homes and institutions in the heart of crowded [Jerusalem] Arab neighborhoods; the halting transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority; the offensive Israeli comments against American and European officials are some of the examples of what this Major-General (res.) and former head of Israel`s National Security Council considers poor management. [bz]
|My fellow Muslim-Americans, in the wake of Chapel Hill
|Samah Assad--This letter is a token of faith to all of you � if you have been discriminated against for your beliefs before or after Feb. 10, and if you have been, or are, scared to leave your home today. dn
|The rising tide of BDS on California`s campuses
|Omer Shubert--Stanford isn�t just a super prestigious university, with many graduates working in Silicon Valley. It�s also considered liberal and not too political. The event in the small Hispanic center tells part of the story. The organization is one of 18 campus groups that got together to promote Stanford Out of Occupied Palestine, which aims to counter the school�s alleged contribution to the Israeli occupation. In addition to groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Awareness Network, the coalition includes the Black Student Union, two Asian student groups, and even Stanford Students for Queer Liberation. dn
|Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel lends support to Netanyahu`s Congress speech
|Will Dunham and Doina Chiacu - Haaretz "Wiesel, 86, who has written extensively of his imprisonment in Nazi camps, is the latest to join a fray that has exposed deep divisions among American Jews over the policy and propriety behind a speech in which Netanyahu is expected to criticize Obama`s effort to forge an international nuclear deal with Iran." ca
|Peretz: Netanyahu speech won`t stop agreement with Iran
|Mazal Mualem - Al-Monitor "Obama is undoubtedly the American president who has done more for the security of the State of Israel than all of his predecessors. The Israeli public doesn�t know that, because there is an entire network operating here, which is trying to portray him as an enemy of Israel,� said former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, No. 8 on the Zionist Camp Knesset slate." ca
|2 Black Lawmakers Will Skip Benjamin Netanyahu Speech Amid Growing Storm
|Ron Kampeas - The Jewish Daily Forward - U.S. Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) on Thursday slammed Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the speaker of the House of Representatives, for inviting Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House or Democrats.-rh
|When the Other Isn�t Perceived as Human Everything is Possible
|Tamar Fleishman - The Palestine Chronicle - For six hours the ambulance had waited on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint for someone to solve the bureaucratic mess. But apparently no one thought it to be an urgent matter. No one on the other side of the rifle or of the computer or of the phone thought that letting a person suffer like that for six hours was terrible.-rh
|Netanyahu�s Speech and the Politics of Iran Policy
|Gareth Porter - Information Clearing House - The current tensions over the Netanyahu speech is just the latest chapter in a long-running drama involving an Israeli strategy to use its political power in the US Congress to tilt US Iran policy in the direction Israel desires. But in the past, that Israeli advantage has been combined with a strategy of trying to get the United States to take care of Iran�s nuclear problem by suggesting that, otherwise Israel might have to use force itself.-rh
|Killing by another means : Israeli policies and unhealthy environment to blame for premature mortality of Palestinians.
|Charlotte Silver - Aljazeera - Looking at the grim findings in the report we learn that infant mortality among Palestinian children is five times higher than that of Israeli children; Palestinian life expectancy is, on average, 10 years less than Israelis (a gap that appears to be growing); and Palestinian women die in childbirth - in cases that are nearly all preventable - at a rate that is four times greater than Israeli women.-rh ,
|In the Grey Zone : Slavoj Zizek on responses to the Paris killings
|Slavoj Zizek- London Review of Books - What this also means is that, when approaching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we should stick to ruthless and cold standards: we should unconditionally resist the temptation to �understand� Arabic anti-Semitism (where we really encounter it) as a �natural� reaction to the sad plight of the Palestinians, or to �understand� Israeli measures as a �natural� reaction to the memory of the Holocaust. There should be no �understanding� for the fact that in many Arab countries Hitler is still considered a hero, and children at primary school are taught anti- Semitic myths, such as that Jews use the blood of children for sacrificial purposes.-rh
|How Dare Netanyahu Speak in the Name of America`s Jews?
|Bradley Burston - Information Clearing House - How dare Benjamin Netanyahu pose as a representative of the Jewish people in America and elsewhere, when he does everything in his power to undermine, humiliate, and implicitly demonize as anti-Israel a man whom seven of every ten American Jewish voters chose to represent them.-rh
|Anti-Arab racism becomes tool in Israeli elections
|Mazal Mualem - Al-Monitor - 2015 Bennett is a totally different person. Championing an aggressive and nationalistic campaign, he relates not only to the diplomatic context vis-a-vis the Palestinians, but also to the issue of Arab Israelis. To date, this issue has been more associated with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, the chairman of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. Bennett�s Feb. 8 �thieves speech� at Tel Aviv University and the subsequent uproar it sparked is another expression of the nationalistic hallmarks of HaBayit HaYehudi�s current election campaign.-rh
|Bibi-Obama duel continues
|Ben Caspit - Al Monitor - "US and Israeli experts say that an agreement with Iran is not imminent, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on going ahead with his planned Congress speech, while damaging Israel`s strategic relations with the United States." - id
|Netanyahu is losing it
|Edo Konrad - +972 - "A Haaretz report published on Monday revealed that the prime minister uncharacteristically intervened, allegedly for political reasons, in the nominations of three would-be judges for the Israel Prize selection committee." - id
|Yet another casino
|Adam Keller - Crazy Country - ""Israel Hayom" strongly condemned "Yediot Ahronot" and declared its rival to be "The Pillar of the Leftist Media"." - id
|Future of Middle East: Between a rock and a hard place
|Jafar Ramini - The Arab Daily News - "No my friends and compatriots. Now that I have laid my soul bare I see that in no way am I giving up. Despite the fact that there is no pot of gold for Palestine at the end of this particular rainbow I just can�t give up" - id.
|No Voice: Hopes for Israeli elections from those who cannot vote
|Bassam Almohor - +972 - The argument heats up at one of the tables in this men-only caf� in a Palestinian city. (...) A loud shaved-headed man argues that we need the Right � or even the far-right � to win. They are extreme, and with their measures against the Palestinians, their indifference to international resolutions and their violations of human rights and war crimes against the occupied people � they will lose in the international arena. The Palestinians would gain more support in international institutions, which in turn would create major pressure on Israel to give up. [bz]
|The Palestinian economy: Israel`s control over Area C comes at a price
|Danny Rubinstein - Ynet - The Palestinian economy needs to exploit the potential for economic development, but Israel thwarts any attempt. [bz]
|Over Bottled
|Uri Avnery - Gush Shalom - �For weeks now, this is the hottest topic in Israel. Bibi-haters, with which the country abounds, are happy. This will surely hurt Netanyahu and the Likud grievously. Does it? As of now, not at all. On the contrary, after several days in which the �Zionist Camp� (a.k.a. Labor Party) overtook the Likud in the polls by one or two seats, the Likud has rebounded and taken the lead by two or three seats� [ry]
|Fighting for Palestine
|Hatem Bazian--Arian`s deportation brings an end to a painful and torturous episode in the life of one of the most active Palestinian civil rights advocates. Sami bode farewell to the US after a plea bargain agreement, admitting in it to "one of the charges in exchange for a promise that after a maximum of incarceration of 57 months, he would be allowed to leave the country by April 2007". dn
|Israelis have a chance to dump Netanyahu. I fear they won�t seize it
|Jonathan Freedland--Bibi has lost allies abroad and alienated the electorate at home. But unless his opponents raise their game, he�s likely to win the election next month. dn
|Abe Foxman Calls on Benjamin Netanyahu To Scrap Speech to GOP Congress
|Nathan Guttman--Washington D.C. � As the controversy surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu speech to Congress reaches new heights, one of the Jewish community�s top leaders is calling on the Israeli prime minister to stay home. Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League said that the political uproar ignited by Netanyahu�s invitation to speak to a joint meeting of Congress makes such a move unhelpful and therefore it should be scrapped. dn
|Pro-Israel campus activists acting as agents of state propaganda and intimidation
|Tyler Levitan--In May 2006, I went to Israel for the first time on a subsidized trip called Hasbara Fellowships. Having been raised with a traditional Jewish upbringing, I was very excited to go to Israel and experience the reality behind all of the hype I had been exposed to since kindergarten. The "Birthright" trips had filled up for that summer, so I was encouraged by my local chapter of Hillel at Queen`s University to attend a different subsidized trip. I was enticed by the prospect of extending the trip and having the opportunity to travel throughout the region. My best friend agreed to come with me, so I made the decision to go. dn
|Israel-US: an alliance of shared values
|Shmuel Amir - Hagada Hasmalit - Is there not a danger or chance (depends on who�s looking) that an independent Palestine will join the global front of states that are fighting US imperialism? Concern for the security of Israel, therefore, also includes concern for the continuation of the Occupation. And without US support, there is no Occupation. gm
|Herzog to PM: Cancel US speech for the sake of Israel`s security
|Moran Azulay--After Biden announces he will not attend Netanyahu`s planned address, Zionist Camp leader Herzog calls on PM to call off trip: `The speech, which was born as part of a production for his campaign, endangers the security of the residents of Israel`. dn
|Patriotism according to Netanyahu
|Tami Arad - Ynet - "As far as Israel`s prime minister is concerned, there is no such thing as a political center: If you are a leftist, you are no patriot; and if you claim to be a centrist, you are an leftist in disguise." - id for ca
|Palestinians hope for change but secretly root for Netanyahu
|Elior Levy - Ynet - "While many believe the Palestinian Authority wants Netanyahu out of power, some officials admit rightwing rule helps Palestinians portray Israel as an obstacle to peace; �even his Congress speech helps us,� PA official says." - id for ca
|Netanyahu calls Saban and Adelson
|Marwan Bishara - Al Jazeera - "Big money to the rescue�" - id for ca
|Israel tries to tilt the US� Iran policy
|Gareth Porter - El-Ahram - "Netanyahu�s approaching speech to the US Congress is a sign of Israel�s increasingly open interference in US politics." - id for ca
|How students are resisting efforts to normalize Israeli apartheid
|Tareq Radi - The Electronic Intifada - "While the Israel lobby feverishly attempts to silence dissent on campuses in the United States, Palestinians and international solidarity networks continue to forge creative ways to expose the daily mechanisms of oppression. Such groups are making it increasingly difficult for Israel�s backers to justify the state�s apartheid policies." - id for rh
|A Bad Mistake
|Thomas L. Friedman - NYT - " For Israel�s leader to so obviously throw his lot in with the Republicans against a Democratic president is reckless." - id for rh
|Fate of Gazans is in Hamas` hands
|Shlomi Eldar - Al Monitor - "The sooner Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas` political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal and Hamas senior Moussa Abu Marzouk realize the serious situation their movement is in, the better it would be for the Gaza Strip residents." - id
|Just another exclusionary democracy in the Mideast
|Samah Salaime Egbariya - +972 - "If there is such a thing as Israeli society, it�s in deep trouble. Especially if you think it has anything to do with the term �democracy.� - id
|The week that the Third Lebanon War did not break out
|Adam Keller - Crazy Country - "Very few in Israel heard of the Syrian village which existed there, at the foot of Mount Hermon, until 1967. A village which was completely razed by Israel`s bulldozers. The facilities of the beautiful Mount Hermon Resort were built on its site." - id
|Netanyahu calls Schumer / The saga continues; the plot thickens.
|Marwan Bishara - Al Jazeera - Increasingly isolated, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turns to US Senator Chuck Schumer, Israel`s leading friend, to enlist the support of this Democrat against President Barack Obama. Bishara describes how the conversation may have been. [bz]
|Can the Unspeakable be Spoken? The Problem of Israel in the Modern World
|Michael Welton � CounterPunch � �When I think about Israel now, and the Diary of Anne Frank, I realize the power of Edward Said�s remark that Israel�s `other`, the Palestinians, have never had permission to possess their own narrative. It is not that Anne Frank�s diary ought not to be read. But the fact that we keep telling, and re-telling this story and its variants, leaves little room for other narratives� [ry]
|Red Rag column: terrorist judges; lynching in Jerusalem
|Gideon Spiro - I am writing this letter on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and I am reminded of the words of the late Professor Yeshayahu Liebowitz who pointed out that Eichmann too acted within the law. That was also the claim of the Nazi German judges who were tried at the Nuremberg Tribunal. It was not their fault, they said, that those were the laws according to which they had to judge. To which the Allied judges replied that their willingness to judge according to the criminal laws that Germany had legislated did not absolve them of their responsibility. They were partners in crime and in evil, and for that they had to face justice. gm
|What do you call a politician who promises more war?
|Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man - +972 - Election season is a time when most people expect to be presented with a hopeful vision for the future. In Israel, every single leading political figure is promising more of the same [ry]
|After Congress speech scandal, Netanyahu is toast at White House
|Barak Ravid--The �Clich� Collection� was very useful this week in a statement U.S. President Barack Obama made on CNN about the approaching visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. Obama said he wouldn�t meet Netanyahu during his visit because such a meeting, two weeks before the Israeli elections, would be �inappropriate.� When Obama�s words are translated in the spirit of the clich� collection, �inappropriate� really means �the man really gets on my nerves and I hope you get the hint.� Similarly, �two weeks before the elections� means �even two weeks after the elections I won�t want to see Netanyahu, but now I�ve got a great excuse.� dn
|To fight police violence, address their racism
|Kher Albaz--The killing of a young Bedouin man from Rahat and the death of another during the funeral have deepened the city�s lack of faith in the authorities. Only anti-racism education for police and young people alike can stop the landslide. dn
|Rising Anti-Semitism: Increasing Numbers of French Jews Moving to Israel
|Nicola Ab� and Julia Amalia Heyer--Following the recent terror attacks in France, more French Jews than ever before are planning on emigrating to Israel. Life there is expensive and far from perfect, but anti-Semitism in Europe, say many, is becoming intolerable. dn
|Meet the Muslim man who is a member of a Synagogue Council
|Oscar Quine--While relations between Jews and Muslims may be tense in other corners of the world, Bradford�s Synagogue Council has just appointed Jani Rashid as its first Muslim member. dn
|Pelosi vs. Netanyahu`s Congress speech: If he wants to talk Iran, he can go on TV
|Barak Ravid--Criticism in the Democratic Party over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s planned Congress address is refusing to die down. Despite marathon phone calls between Netanyahu and senior Democrats in an effort to convince them to tone down their objections to the speech, the underlying message relayed by the Democratic representatives in the House and the Senate is that Netanyahu ought to cancel it. The most direct statement yet was issued by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Friday, who did not rule out the possibility that many Democratic lawmakers would boycott Netanyahu`s speech on March 3. dn
|Zionism and its Discontents � Book Review
|Ludwig Watzal--Nationalist narratives and political movements have dominated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for a long time. They all ended up in a dead end. This insight has led Ran Greenstein, Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, not to look at history in retrospect, knowing the outcome, but rather from a contemporaneous perspective of the actors. None of the anti-Zionist actors, discussed in the book, achieved their goals, but they all made valuable contributions, which can serve as a starting point for new actions. dn
|The Real Debate Over Israel`s �Jewish Nation-State� Bill
|Hassan Jabareen--It�s not about whether systematic discrimination against Arab citizens should continue�it�s about whether it should be codified in explicitly racist legislation. dn
|Articles Archive
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text:
The Riding Sport™ Merino Wool Ladies' Crew Neck features breathable, mid-weight interlock 230 gram merino wool. This long sleeve ladies' top is soft and lightweight, with natural thermo-regulation and moisture management properties. Great worn alone or with outer layers!
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kukla's Korner Hockey
Lindback's Goal Is To Win The Cup
by Paul on 06/18/12 at 01:34 PM ET
Comments (0)
from Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times,
"I haven't been a starter in the NHL, so I can't just anticipate I'm just going to come in and play," said Lindback, acquired with center Kyle Wilson and a 2012 seventh-round pick for two '12 second-round picks, a '13 third-rounder and goalie Sebastien Caron. "I've got to work hard and prove myself. My goal is I want to win and play games and win the Cup. That's why I play."
Lindback played 38 games over two seasons in Nashville with a 2.53 goals against average and a 16-13-2 record. He'll battle with returning Tampa Bay goalie Mathieu Garon, who was one of the first to send Lindback a text welcoming him to the club.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, Lindback's former teammate on Sweden's world junior team, believes his buddy has the talent and "killer instinct" to be a No. 1 goalie.
"He's a great goaltender," Hedman said. "He's a big guy with ability, he's a modern goalie. He's very fast, he's flexible, and his mobility is unbelievable. He's ready to come into Tampa, and get the opportunity. It's going to be a challenge for him, but he's ready for it."
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Proponents of a controversial off-road park in Forest County have unveiled the details of their proposal.
A planning committee has selected a location north of Laona, near the intersections of county highways G and O. It includes a stretch of the Peshtigo River.
The group Wisconsin Off-Road Vehicle Park Incorporated wants Forest County to purchase the 10-thousand acre site over a series of several years and phases. The land is currently held by private companies Crandon Timber and Plum Creek.
The town of Argonne is planning to remediate the site of its former elementary school. And a new grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will cover a quarter of the expected cost.
Town clerk Don Gordon says the 3-acre site next to the town hall is currently a vacant and overgrown lot.
"There is extensive cleanup that has to be done – there's a lot of bricks and trees and what have you, that all have to be leveled, cleaned and taken away."
A plan for a Scenic Byway in Forest County is just one step away from becoming a reality.
The Wolf River Heritage Corridor would follow Highway 55, north from Langlade to Nelma near Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The more than one hundred mile route bisects the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Community. It also includes a loop near Three Lakes.
Forest County Economic Development Director Jim Schuessler says getting the scenic byway designation is a rigorous process.


text:
Tech Helproom
It's free to register, to post a question or to start / join a discussion
No drivers after clean install Samsung NC110
Likes # 0
Posted March 18, 2013 at 9:33PM
Samsung NC110 Windows 7 Starter
Hi, I've just replaced my HDD after breaking the old one. I've reinstalled Windows 7 Starter using a USB and ei.cfg remover as I didn't have the original disk but had the product key.
The computer switches on now and boots ok but I don't have any internet access. I think this is because I don't have any drivers installed. What drivers do I need to install and in what order? I will be installing them from downloading via another PC onto USB.
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Posted March 18, 2013 at 9:33PM
Likes # 1
Posted March 18, 2013 at 9:46PM
Go to Samsungs support page on another computer and select your model. All the drivers are there to download.
If you open up Cointrol Panel/Device Manager you bwill be able to see what devices do not have a suitable driver.
Likes # 0
Posted March 19, 2013 at 10:47AM
thba is a spammer
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Posted March 19, 2013 at 11:09AM
Thanks, I'll not open the post from thba
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Posted March 19, 2013 at 4:32PM
All your drivers are here. Samsung. windows 7 will have installed quite a few by I suspect you will need the LAN driver which will get you connected to the internet.
Once connected if you go here Samsung Update. You can download Samsung update Plus which is a simple way of keeping your drivers up to date.
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"Making the dream of affordable homeownership a reality."
CLT Property - Accepting Applications Now
1200 sq ft., 3 bedrooms / 2 baths
609 South Ruby St.
View floor plan
Donate $50 or more to receive a complementary jar opener, or $100 or more to receive a t-shirt!
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Structural Supporters ~ Up to $1,000
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Thank you!
What is the Kittitas Yakima Valley CLT?
The Kittitas Yakima Valley Community Land Trust is a non-profit organization that provides home ownership opportunites to individuals who may not otherwise qualify for traditional loans. This is done by following the Communtiy Land Trust model of home ownership. More information on this model can be found here.
Mission Statement
The Kittitas Yakima Valley Community Land Trust acquires and maintains land for the benefit of first time home buyers below the Area Median Income with preference given to those at the lower end of the scale. It provides secure, affordable access to land and housing for those unable to qualify for home ownership in the current market.
What is "home"?
Home is more than just a residence.
Home is the rich bed by which we plant and sow the garden of our hopes and aspirations. A place of our own. A structural and emotional extension of what our lives are, what our lives have been and what our lives might yet become. Our home is an extension of who we are, painted rooms in just the perfect hue, pictures gracing the walls, the familiar setting for countless photo albums, framing our best days in vitality and love.
Home provides us a space to live and love and laugh and dance, without fear of judgment or reprisal. Our home stands as a quiet, gentle sentinel of contentment and security, holding warm vigil over that which we find most precious, our loved ones.
A home gives comfort to our deepest sorrows and plays venue to our greatest joys.
Simply put, home is where our heart lives.


text: Designed by award- winning architect Larry Booth this home is exceptional. Offering a wide open floor plan, soaring ceilings, spacious cook's kitchen and two lofts in addition to the large en suite bedrooms. Every room includes nature. Trees and gardens pour in. New walk out LL and a three car garage offer even more space on this gorgeous half-acre lot. Tucked away in one of Southeast Hinsdale's most coveted locations.


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Public Interest Lawyers is an extraordinary firm of solicitors, who must be certainly should be the pride of the legal profession. Through their tenacity, quality and sheer hard work often from unpromising beginnings and in dark times for public funding they have single-handedly been responsible for shining the torchlight of legal accountability in a range of new areas. The work continues unabated. No barrister or judge, here or in Strasbourg, could have come to deal with the sorts of human rights issues which PIL continues to raise, but for their principled and brave pursuit of justice.
PIL demonstrates three further important things. First, how positive and constructive can be the use of public funding in public law cases, in the public interest. It has been hard. But PIL and the LSC have forged a partnership which is second to none, as to the importance of the cases that are brought, their success and their wider impact. Secondly, PIL demonstrates that London does not always lead, and a London-centric focus is neither helpful nor fair. This firm, from what are still sometimes thought of as the provinces, is the nations leader for human rights application in challenging cases. That PIL is looking, as a Birmingham-based firm. How refreshing for it to be that way.Thirdly, let it not be forgotten that PIL was set up as a new firm of solicitors. This is not the further and continued work of an established firm, set up long ago when times were different. This was an innovation; a leap of faith in the rule of law. It was a boat launched in a sea of uncertainty, which has turned out to be the flagship for public law accountability under the rule of law.
In March 2010 the Secretary of State for Defence (SSD) established the Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) to deal with all killings and torture cases involving UK personnel in Iraq. In November 2011 the Iraqi claimants represented by Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) succeeded in the Court of Appeal in establishing that IHAT was not independent as many of their staff were Royal Military Police (RMP) and the RMP were intrinsically bound up with the cases IHAT was tasked to investigate. In March 2012 the SSD responded to the Court of Appeal judgment by replacing the RMP staff with civilian contractors and five Royal Naval Police personnel. The Iraqi claimants continued to argue in fresh proceedings, now the subject of this judgment, that the IHAT process did not comply with all the requirements of various European Court of Human Rights Cases on what a European state must do to comply with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (The Right to Life) and Article 3 ECHR (The Prohibition on Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment). The requirements of the European Court cases are not limited to the views of its judges alone. They are reflected in domestic and international case law from around the world that in the last 30 years have established minimum requirements for investigating credible allegations of unlawful killing and other torture or ill-treatment.
The claimants were concerned that IHATs approach to unlawful killings (including various deaths in custody) was inadequate: issues of delay, lack of any prosecutions, the lack of involvement of relatives, the lack of any public participation, the complete failure to examine issues of the planning and preparation for the relevant military operations, and the failure to deal with systemic issues in the public domain. On the torture cases the Iraqi claimants had broadly the same concerns compounded by a decision of the Director of Services Prosecutions (DSP) in one lead torture case that no British interrogators could be prosecuted as they were merely following their training from the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre at Chicksands and thus their defence to any prosecutions would be that they were following orders.
The High Court has today ruled as follows:-
1. That all deaths cases should now be subject to a public inquisitorial process and that the establishment of IHAT and the arrangements associated with it are not sufficient to discharge the duty imposed on the state (para 179);
2. That was is required in all deaths cases pursuant to Article 2 ECHR is a full, fair and fearless investigation accessible to the victims families and to the public into each death, which must look into and consider the immediate and surrounding circumstances in which each of the deaths occurred (para 148);
3. That in two deaths cases where there have already been decisions not to prosecute any UK personnel there is no impediment to starting the public inquisitorial process now (paras 154-157);
4. That in all other cases an order should now be made that the Secretary of State should state either through an official or the Head of IHAT within six weeks:
i. What further progress has been made in investigating the deaths of each of those who fall in this category;
ii. When a decision will be made as to whether a prosecution will be brought in respect of each of these cases (paras 164 and 167);
5. That in all cases the subject of this inquisitorial process new guidelines as to how these public enquiries might be conducted are the subject of the courts guidelines (paras 213 225) upon which both the SSDs lawyers and the claimants lawyers are invited to make submissions (para 233);
6. That in all torture and CIDT cases the DSP should be properly involved now and that it must surely be possible to make a realistic appraisal in a number of cases whether prosecution is a realistic possibility and use that as a basis for future decision-making, given the volume of cases that arise (para 228);
7. That in all torture and inhuman and degrading treatment cases once it is determined that there are cases in which there will be no prosecution, the procedure for Article 3 cases should be reviewed by the Secretary of State in the light of the experience in the Article 2 cases; it may well be possible to conduct the inquisitorial enquiry into these cases by taking a sample of the more serious cases (para 230). Further if the procedure cannot be agreed, then the court will have to consider these issues further under the provision we propose making in the formal order of the court (para 231), that is, the court will maintain a supervisory role going forward in all of the torture and CIDT cases.
The court have decided that IHAT does not lack independence (para 232). Thus it may continue its work but only subject to three major limitations.
1. All death cases must now be the subject of this new inquisitorial process. The court found as follows:- we have reached the conclusion in relation to cases where deaths have occurred that the establishment of IHAT and the arrangements associated with it are not sufficient to discharge the duty imposed on the state (para 179).
2. IHAT is neither charged, nor structured nor staffed to consider and report publically on all the systemic issues arising from these one thousand or so cases and the court found that the SSDs system of dealing with systemic issues in private is not lawful. In particular it found that The absence of this capability is particularly significant because in this case the case for public investigation becomes greater where there is an accumulation of identical or analogous breaches which are sufficiently numerous and inter-connected to amount not merely to isolated incidents or exceptions but a pattern or system (paras 192 194).
3. The Court therefore found that the steps taken in the Ministry of Defence to deal with wider and systemic issues are not public or subject to independent scrutiny (para 195).
On the torture and inhuman and degrading treatment cases IHAT may continue to investigate subject to the courts urging that it must now make decisions quickly with the DSP as to whether there should be prosecutions. In all torture and CIDT cases where there are not to be prosecutions there must be an inquisitorial process (paras 228 231).
Thus, after ten years or more since the first of these deaths and other cases, these one thousand or so unlawful killings and torture/ill-treatment cases must now be the subject of a public inquisitorial process to examine in public all the circumstances of each case and for there to be a public process of reporting and recommendations as to reform.
Phil Shiner of Public Interest Lawyers said today: The court has expressed its very serious concerns about allegations in these cases of the most serious kind involving murder, manslaughter, the wilful infliction of serious bodily injury, sexual indignities and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. It has found that the Ministry of Defence have not complied with international and domestic law requiring there to be proper public scrutiny of these cases and the systemic issues arising from them. My clients welcome the public inquisitorial process that will now follow. I trust that the various and troubling systemic issues emerging from these cases will lead to further reforms following the Baha Mousa Inquiry report of September 2011. The Secretary of State must ensure that UK Forces abroad respect and apply the rule of law.
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