Life for Palestinians in exile remains a largely ignored issue in the Middle East. Many Arab regimes have acted terribly towards these poor people over countless decades. Palestinians in Lebanon face discrimination and outright racism.
Showing all posts tagged human rights
Israel’s record on rights isn’t something to be admired
A new blog from Jewish Voice for Peace, The Only Democracy in the Middle East?, details the ever-worsening human rights abuses commited by Israel against peace activists, dissident Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel as “morally stained” due to the occupation
I like the way the Magnes Zionist writes this. The established Jewish community has often become little more than supporters of Israeli apartheid. You’re either against the occupation or not. Simple as that. Work to end it or get out of the way. Over to him: It means that we are seeing a “paradigm shift”…
Sydney Morning Herald recognises Sri Lankan anarchy
The kind of Sydney Morning Herald editorial that is hard to condemn. In fact, it’s necessarily strong against Sri Lanka’s descent into brutality. Alas, can we dream that one day the corporate press will equally see Israel’s occupation of Palestine in the same way? War is often the justification for a temporary suspension of normal…
Elton John should turn his back on Zionist oppression (and write a song about it)
The global campaign and coverage of boycotting Israeli events and institutions is gathering steam (the latest information on the academic boycott is here). And what about this? A group of British academics have called on singer Elton John to cancel his scheduled performance in Israel this June. “Political or not political, when you stand up…
Bombing Iran will only push people into the arms of the regime
Mohsen Sazegara, a founder of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 1979 but now strong critic of Tehran, talks to Foreign Policy: I hope that the Obama administration and other democratic countries will be more supportive of the struggle of the people of Iran for democracy and human rights. I can summarize it in four items. First,…
Another tale of Israel refusing medical care for the Gazan people
Israeli human rights group Gisha released this statement today: Gisha and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel appealed to the High Court of Justice on behalf of Issam Hamdan against a District Court ruling blocking his exit from Gaza for emergency medical treatment. …·… … … … … … … The State refuses to allow him out of Gaza based on its claim…
Colombo shuns being welcomed into the civilised world
Sri Lanka is experiencing a very public descent into further instability. Today we receive news that the recent opposition presidential candidate, Sareth Fonseka, has been arrested for allegedly planning a military coup. But the real reason may be this (via the Guardian): Hours before his arrest, Fonseka, who himself has been accused of a range…
How Israel is moving from a “democratic to fascist society”
Israeli Didi Remez writes at his essential blog Coteret: Sima Kadmon is senior political commentator at Yediot, second in stature only to Nahum Barnea. She devotes much of her Friday (February 5 2010) column to a methodical deconstruction of the motivation and methodology behind the Im Tirzu anti-NIF smear campaign. Kadmon adds… domestic… depth to Nahum Barnea’s…
Middle East news that falls through the cracks
Sometimes its hard to keep up with the disturbing news coming out of Israel and Palestine. So here’s a good summary of some recent reading: – Evicted Jewish settlers from Gaza recently found any crimes from the 2005 withdrawal wiped clean from the slate due to a bill in the Knesset. – Newsflash: some American…