Akiva Eldar in Haaretz: The entire world, with our American friends at the forefront, insists that the beefing up of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem cannot be reconciled with the “two states for two peoples” solution. How can the Palestinian leadership be expected to stand by idly while 25,000 Palestinian workers put…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
Why can’t Israel just talk about its wonderful environmental developments?
These days, any attempt by the Zionist community to present “vibrant, democratic Israel” should be met like this: Local activists protested the so-called “Israeli Innovation Weekend” (IIW) at the Museum of Science in Boston through multiple, disparate actions on Sunday. IIW’s sponsors, including the Consulate General of Israel to New England, were left flummoxed by…
A government that shuns asylum seekers deserves sanction
Last weekend Australia’s leading unions sent a letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd demanding a more humane response to refugees (the story is covered in today’s Sydney Morning Herald): Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to express our concern at the growing stance of indifference towards and demonisation of asylum seekers from both sides of…
Asylum seekers in the pursuit of humanity
I went to this yesterday in Sydney. The Australian government (and dog-whistling Opposition) will not get away with demonising refugees in the pursuit of power: Onlookers stared and tourists took photographs as protesters formed a giant ring representing a lifebuoy on Bondi Beach yesterday to send a political message about the treatment of asylum seekers.…
Staying silent while Sri Lanka burns isn’t an option
As writers, we have a duty to question our own people and their actions. It is a responsibility. A fellow advisor on the UK-based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, Roma Tearne writes in the Independent on the pain of Sri Lanka and why we should all raise our voices: On the island of…
It’s a good time to be in the detention centre business. Just ask Serco
My following article appears in today’s edition of Crikey: The Australian government’s decision to re-open the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia has attracted predictable outrage from previous detainees and refugee groups but missing from the media coverage was any mention of who will run the facility. British multinational Serco is in charge of the…
Goldstone reminds Jews that Israel is no different to any other state
Justice Richard Goldstone addressed South African Jewish leaders at at a meeting on the 3rd of May: I welcome this opportunity of meeting with you this afternoon. At the outset let me say that I have taken no pleasure in seeing people around the world criticize the South African Jewish community and I commend the…
Refugees won’t be demonised without a serious fight
How many of us feel in Australia these days after the government once again treats asylum seekers as criminals rather than a handful of human beings fleeing persecution and war. This was a sign seen on Friday night’s rally in Sydney on the issue.
Helping asylum seekers may soon be completely illlegal down under
Once again, like in decades past, Australia is becoming a country many of us simply don’t want to recognise: A modern-day Oskar Schindler would be jailed for up 10 years under the Rudd government’s proposed crackdown on people smuggling, lawyers say. In largely unscrutinised changes, backed by the opposition, the government is introducing new criminal…