Joel Beinin, Jewish Peace News, 17 December 2009

The extravagant fundraiser for Jewish settlers in Hebron held in the New York Mets’ Citi Field on November 21 by the Hebron Fund is not a unique example of US tax-exempt institutions’ support for the most extreme of the settlers and their explicitly racist projects. Over $33 million was sent to such projects from 2004 to 2007. In 2007 and 2008 the “Od Yosef Chai” yeshiva (religious seminary) in Yitzhar near Nablus, whose rabbi proclaimed that it is permissible to kill non-Jewish babies and indeed anyone whose speech “weakens our kingdom,” received NIS 102,547 (about $27,130) from the US tax-exempt Central Fund of Israel. Other recipients of tax-exempt funds include Ateret Cohanim and El Ad (The City of David) which, for years, have been aggressively expanding the settler presence in the Old City of Jerusalem and the nearby village of Silwan. The bogus 10-month freeze on settlement construction does not begin to address the growing cancerous power of such institutions in the West Bank and all of Israeli society.

U.S. Tax Dollars Fund Rabbi Who Excused Killing Gentile Babies
Akiva Eldar, Haaretz, 15 December 2009

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HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER SPEAKS OUT ON ARREST WARRANT FOR THE LEADER OF THE ISRAELI OPPOSITION AND DAVID MILIBAND’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW OF UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Following the issue of an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, Israel’s former foreign minister, Sarah McSherry, partner at Christian Khan solicitors and executive committee member of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, speaks out about David Miliband’s proposal to change the law in the UK to ensure that no such arrest warrant can be obtained in future. She says:

“If Mr Miliband succeeds in his aim to change the legal system, the UK will be in breach of its obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to search for and bring before the Courts anyone, regardless of their nationality, alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, grave breaches of the Convention. Moreover, victims of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes across the world will be denied redress in the UK which will become a haven for war criminals. If Israel is confident that war crimes were not committed during the attack on Gaza, it should allow a prosecution against Ms Livni to proceed in the UK”.

[Read the release]

Gaza’s Subterranean Wall - first pictures

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via:

Green Zone from Nimrod Zin on Vimeo.

“Green Zone – is a 20 minute long documentary, exploring Israel’s discriminatory policies in occupied East Jerusalem. Since 1967 urban planning has been used by the Israeli establishment as a tool to contain the growth of the Palestinian population in the mixed city. The impact of these policies has been catastrophic for many Palestinian residents, resulting in an average of 100 house demolitions every year. The film incorporates interviews with Israeli and Palestinian residents, architects, journalists and politicians, in an attempt to present this complex situation, which has significant ramifications to the whole peace process.”

more info: http://www.ramzybaroud.net/