A letter in the London Times from one of my co-members of the Sri Lankan Campaign for Peace and Justice: Sir, Since your report on Sept 15 (“EU sanctions on Sri Lanka to hit ”˜cheap’ clothing over human rights abuses”), diplomats in Colombo have been quoted (Reuters, Sept 29) as saying that the EU is…
Showing all posts tagged human rights
The contradictory faces of Haaretz
Ari Shavit: To prevent the region’s deterioration into complete chaos, Israel must exercize force once every few years. These limited demonstrations of power do not achieve a decisive military victory or a breakthrough in the peace process. Their entire purpose is to stabilize the violent relationship between Israelis and Arabs. Thus they create a temporary,…
When Israel wants to cuddle up with brutes
Human rights in Kazakhstan are dire. It therefore makes sense, according to the Zionist group Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, for Israel to closely align itself with the brutal dictatorship: Israel and post-communist, resource-rich states have similar geopolitical priorities in opposing terrorism and radical Islam. By developing closer ties with Kazakhstan – and with Eurasian…
Neither Sri Lanka nor Israel should have impunity in their ‘wars on terror’
My following article appears in today’s Lebanon Daily Star newspaper: Israel’s war against the Gazan people in December and January devastated the tiny Strip, killing over 1,400 people, a majority of whom were civilians. The Western powers, including America, England and Australia, backed Israel’s battle against Hamas and shared its belief that destruction of the…
You scratch our criminal, Israeli backs and we’ll touch yours
Palestinian independence? Accountability for Israeli war crimes? You’re dreaming (the quote below from the Israeli official is really well remembering): Israel is threatening to kill off a crucial West Bank economic project unless the Palestinian Authority withdraws a request to the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged Israeli crimes during last winter’s Gaza war. Shalom…
Making occupied Palestinian lives bearable
Israeli peace group Ta’ayush, true heroes of the Middle East, were back in the West Bank this weekend: The residents of Krayot, a village of some 2,500 tucked in a hilly region between the settlements of Shiloh and Eli midway between Nablus and Ramallah, have destroyed the dirt mound blocking their access to the main…
Removing “normality” from the Middle East
Why boycott, divest and sanction Israel? The Electronic Intifada provides some answers: …Veterans of the South Africa anti-apartheid campaign who led a successful boycott have also stressed the need to stand with indigenous communities. Boycott is a move to heed the voice of an oppressed group and follow its lead. The idea is that there…
The democratic gap inside Israel
The fine Israeli blog Promised Land discusses the concept of Neo-Zionism and its ramifications for the Jewish state: The settlers are by no means neo-Zionists. They represent the old fashion right wing, the one that still dreams of colonizing Eretz Israel Hashlema (the great land of Israel). Netanyahu was supposed to be their natural leader,…
Resistance brews as Israel builds more settlements
Rumblings about a third intifada are emerging from the Middle East. It’s not a pretty prospect but the utter failure to stop Israeli expansionism almost makes it inevitable. Eileen Read, writing at True/Slant, shares this concern: This week’s violent clashes between the Israeli military and the citizenry of Palestine underscore the ever-present chance of another…
Gazan lives are ruined to “destroy” Hamas
Could it be any clearer that Israel’s war is against the Palestinian people themselves? Poverty in the Gaza Strip has tripled this year under the Israeli blockade, according to the UN agency helping refugees living there. John Ging, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, told reporters on Thursday that…