Mondoweiss Online Newsletter

NOVANEWS

• Mort Zuckerman pursued by terrorists for supporting Israel. Not
• In pictures: Easter under occupation
• The Quartet is worthless
• Jewish press concoct threat against 200 Jewish students in Florida university
• Is the Pope also barred from entry into Israel?
• ‘When I put this on my website, some people will say, Those people are just terrorists.’
• Aloni and Zizek to appear this Sunday in NY stage version of ‘What Does a Jew Want?’
• Sixty-five percent of Hebron has been confiscated by Israel for settlements since 1967
• ‘NYT’ and ‘NPR’ treat occupied East Jerusalem as part of Israel, no problem
• The children of Kufr Qadum: “You arrested our fathers, so we lead the demonstration today”

Mort Zuckerman pursued by terrorists for supporting Israel. Not

Apr 10, 2012

Philip Weiss

I never heard this story before, but it’s funny. Reporter Leonard Levitt, who’s been chasing down the NYPD surveillance scandal, has come up with a document that confirms what he says is an old story: back in 2004, Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman got a NY Police Department Intelligence Division tail– three officers assigned to follow him– because “people were following him.”

Terrorists, evidently. Levitt:

[Zuckerman’s friend] NYPD Intelligence Division’s Deputy Commissioner David Cohen.. Cohen had Intelligence Division detectives tail the folks tailing Zuckerman.

Recently, NYPD Confidential obtained a document confirming this police favor to the billionaire publisher…

Zuckerman’s spokeswoman at the time justified the NYPD surveillance by suggesting that terrorists may have been following Mort, given his outspoken support for Israel….

As it turned out, Zuckerman’s pursuers had no connection to terrorism. They were two retired NYPD detectives, working for a local interest that has never been disclosed.

Police sources at the time offered two theories as to the identity of that interest: either a rival businessman or Zuckerman’s ex-wife, who was in the midst of her divorce from him.

Zuckerman did not return a call to his home, seeking comment.

(thanks to Justin Elliott’s twitter feed):

In pictures: Easter under occupation

Apr 10, 2012

Allison Deger

Worshipers enter the Church of Holy Sepulchre, Friday, April 6, 2012.                             (Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Despite restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation, over the weekend 35,000 Christians gathered in Jerusalem to observe Catholic Easter and Eastern Orthodox Palm Sunday. TheInternational Middle East Media Center reports on the weeks-long permit process Christians must endure, in order to receive access to pray in Jerusalem from the Israeli Authorities:

Palestinian Christians who want to go to Jerusalem on Easter have to apply for a permit through their church several weeks in advance. The churches then submit the lists to the Israeli military authorities, who vet the lists for young men under age 35, or anyone with a family member in Israeli prison. Those people are denied permits, while the rest are allowed entry into Jerusalem for a single day only. Even with the permit, however, Palestinians are frequently denied entry at the Israeli military checkpoint leading into Jerusalem without being given a reason.

Worshipers walking the Via Dolorsoa in Jerusalem’s Old City, April, 6, 2012.                (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

In advance of Sunday’s Easter celebration, worshipers gathered on Friday to walk through the Old City of Jerusalem along the “Via Dolorsoa” or “Way of Suffering,” the path believed to have been walked by Jesus before his crucifixion. The path concluded at the Church of Holy Sepulchre, the Christian burial site for Jesus. Inside of the church, pilgrims paid respects to the Stone of the Unction, a cut slab believed to be where, following the crucifixion, Jesus was anointed.

Tony Khalil as Jesus Christ walks the Via Dolorosa. (Photo: Darren Whiteside/Reuters)

On Good Friday, a worshiper wipes the Stone of the Unction. (Photo: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

On Sunday April 8, 2012, the followers of the Catholic church celebrated Easter Sunday, and observers of the Eastern and Greek Orthodox churches celebrated Palm Sunday.

Services inside the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem April 7, 2012. (Photo: Ahmad Mazhar)

Worshiper lights candle inside of Greek Orthodox church for Palm Sunday, Gaza, April, 8, 2012. (Photo: Hatem Moussa/AP)

Greek Orthodox Palm Sunday service, Gaza. (Photo: Hatem Moussa/AP)

Easter Sunday, Church of Holy Sepulchre, April, 8, 2012. (Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

Easter Sunday, Church of Holy Sepulchre, April, 8, 2012. (Photo: Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

Coptic Archbishop of Jerusalem Anba Abraham with a palm cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Coptic Palm Sunday, April 8, 2012. (Photo: Gali Tibbon/AFP)

This Sunday, thousands are again expected to gather in Jerusalem for the Coptic, Eastern, and Greek Orthodox Easter.

The Quartet is worthless

Apr 10, 2012

Annie Robbins

United Nations Security Council

Palestinian delegate to the UN, Riyad Mansour, sent a carefully timed letter to the UN security council on Monday ahead of a meeting in Washington tomorrow of the Quartet’s top representatives. The letter condemns Israel for systematically destroying prospects for a two-state solution  through the sustained escalation of the campaign of illegal Jewish settlements.

AFP:

“The letters called on the international community, and particularly the Security Council, to condemn settlement activity — which is illegal — and other illegal Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory,” Malki told AFP.

The message also called for “urgent measures to put pressure on the occupying power, which is Israel, to compel it to stop these actions and policies immediately,” he said.

The text of the letter warns that Israel’s “illegal and destructive plans not only inflames tensions but further underscores the dubious nature of the occupying power’s claims of readiness to negotiate a peace settlement.”

It said settlement activity was part of a campaign “being deliberately waged in an attempt to seize more Palestinian land and entrench (Israel’s) control over the Palestinian territory.”

“The goal of these messages at this time in particular is to keep the issue of settlements at the top of the priorities of the Security Council and General Assembly,” Maliki added.

The Washington Post reports Hillary Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled to attend to discuss the ‘the latest Mideast situation’ at Blair House on Wednesday April 11th.  Foreign ministers of the eight major industrialized nations will also be in attendance. But consideringcurrent events, the latest Mideast situation is likely to include discussion of Syria, Iran and Turkey. Excuse me for imagining once again, Palestine will be moved to the back burner.

Can the Quartet do anything besides ‘urge’ the parties? What is the point of this ‘process’ if they will do nothing as Israel cuts off East Jerusalem and expands the settlements? Everyone knows there is no prospect for two states without East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Haven’t we had this same conversation over and over? The only thing changing here is facts on the ground, as the Quartet and the UN Security Council do nothing.

Palestine News Network:

In a press release from the Palestinian representative office of the UN, Mansour reported that on 4th April, the Israeli government submitted construction tenders of 1,121 new settlement units in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; 827 new units in the illegal settlement of “Har Homa” (Abu Ghneim) in southern Jerusalem, and 180 units in Giv’at Ze’ev settlement, north of Jerusalem. He also mentioned the head of the Jerusalem municipality’s issued statement on 2nd April about the plans to build new settlement units in Jerusalem.

Mansour, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, called on the international society, especially the Security Council, to condemn the settlements and other illegal activities and policies occurring in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially Jerusalem. Mansour emphasized that it must take immediate procedures to put pressure on Israel to cease these actions and policies.

Perhaps the Quartet could view this video from last week to better comprehend the important security details carried out by Israeli military forces in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

 

Jewish press concoct threat against 200 Jewish students in Florida university

Apr 10, 2012

Phan Nguyen

Yesterday, YNet, the Times of Israel, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and the Jewish Daily Forwardpublished reports about the targeting of 200 Jewish university students in a guerrilla campaign instigated by “pro-Palestinian” activists at the start of Passover.

Except that the incident never happened.

Here, I trace the steps to determine how a creative performance by student activists to raise awareness of home demolitions against Palestinians turned into yet another sign that Jews were being locally targeted for persecution.

The Jewish media play a game of “telephone”

On March 30, members of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) posted 200 mock eviction notices on the doors of random FAU dorm room doors and elevators in order to highlight the Israeli policy of home demolitions.

The first prominent news report of the action was published on Mondoweiss on April 4 by the university’s SJP president, Noor Fawzy. Fawzy wrote that

some 200 mock eviction notices were distributed in elevators and on the front doors of randomly-selected dorms at FAU’s three largest residential areas.

Also on April 4, the Sun Sentinel of South Florida reported on the action in an article headlined“Mock Eviction Notices from Palestinian Group Rile FAU students.” Although the article itself made no mention of Jews being specifically targeted by the fliers, an accompanying photo caption implied differently:

Member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity and FAU freshman Corey Bloom stands in front of Glades Park Towers where he lives on the FAU Campus in Boca Raton. Bloom and other jewish students received mock eviction notices on their dorm room doors from an FAU club called Students for Justice in Palestine.

The following day, the Jewish Journal of Florida reported on the event, under the headline “Fake ‘Eviction Notices’ Scare Jewish Students” (see Google cached version). Here, the targeting of Jews became more explicit. While the Sun Sentinel reported that eviction notices were “taped on more than 200 doors in three dorms on the Boca Raton campus,” the Jewish Journal revealed that all those doors were Jewish doors:

[Rayna] Exelbierd was one of more than 200 Jewish students in three dorms who received the fake [eviction] notice from the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine.

An accompanying photo caption reiterated the point:

Students Lena Emara, Gabi Aleksinko, Satya Singh and Matthew Schneider pose with an “eviction notice” similar to those put on the dorm room doors of more than 200 Jewish students at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Complaints to the Jewish Journal led to the paper correcting its coverage. The references to “200 Jewish students” were changed simply to “200 students.” Unfortunately, the Jewish Journal did not indicate that it had updated the article. The damage was done, but the extent of the damage would not materialize until April 9.

On April 9, Ynet published an article headlined “Florida: Pro-Palestinian Group ‘Evicts’ Jewish Students.” The article was based entirely on information from the Sun Sentinel article and the original uncorrected Jewish Journal article, and featured two additional errors:

1. a quote attributed to the Sun Sentinel actually appeared in the Jewish Journal.
2. Ynet claimed that the incident had occurred “on Friday,” implying April 6—when actually it occurred the Friday before the Sun Sentinel and Jewish Journal pieces appeared, meaning March 30.

Angry comments followed the article, such as this one:

200 JEWISH students? How did they know? It’s extremely frightening to realize that they’ve been identifying who the Jews are on campus. Jew-counting is incredibly intimidating these days, as it has been for centuries.

In less than twelve hours, the article had registered over a thousand Facebook recommendations, making it one of the most popular articles on Ynet. When the article was reprinted by John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel, it registered an additional 5,000 Facebook shares.

A few hours after the Ynet article went online, Greg Tepper in the Times of Israel published his own version of the story, using virtually the same headline as the Ynet article, “Pro-Palestinian Group ‘Evicts’ Jewish Students.” Tepper’s article provided only one new piece of information—that the eviction notices were posted “on Friday night, which was the first night of the Passover holiday,” thus contriving another Jewish connection.

Yet Tepper, as with Ynet, had gotten the dates mixed up. The first night of Passover was on April 6. Before Passover began, the SJP action had already happened on March 30, and both theSun Sentinel and the Jewish Journal had already reported on the story.

Soon after the Times of Israel article appeared, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) published its own report, entitled “Pro-Palestinian Student Group Sends Jewish Students Fake Eviction Notices.” The JTA piece was entirely based on the uncorrected Jewish Journal article.

The Jewish Daily Forward then picked up the JTA article, renaming it “Jewish Students Get Fake Eviction Notices,” but otherwise reprinting the article word for word.

Misreporting leads to death threats

On the same day that these articles appeared, student activists at FAU began receiving hate mail and death threats. Noor Fawzy, the campus SJP president, received a death threat to her personal email, while another death threat was sent to the SJP general email address. Both threats were reported to FAU police.

I asked Fawzy if the death threats were explicit or “merely” hinted at. She told me that the death threat sent to her explicitly detailed the method in which she would be killed.

Fawzy also stated that SJP had not been contacted by any of the media outlets that published the April 9 stories. Instead, she contacted Ynet to request that they correct their misinformation, which they have not done.

I asked Fawzy if it was even possible to single out 200 Jewish dorm rooms.

We randomly selected 200 dorms and elevators. We have no way of knowing who lives where. Not even housing knows that. Who would do this [target Jewish students]? It’s just ridiculous.

Inundated with complaints, Charles L. Brown, the senior vice president for student affairs at FAU, issued a statement, claiming that the mock eviction notices had violated school policies:

The University has received a number of inquiries following the recent posting of mock eviction notices in certain FAU residence halls. The University, as an institution of higher education, prides itself on being a venue for free expression, regardless of viewpoint. However, the distribution of printed material on University property is subject to FAU policy and regulation. These policies require that printed material be distributed only at reasonable times and places and in reasonable manners. These policies are designed to ensure that the manner in which material is distributed is consistent with the educational mission of the University, its uninterrupted orderly operation, the safety of the University community, and the protection of University property and that of its students, faculty and staff.

The recent mock eviction postings did not comply with the policies of University Housing and Residential Life or the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership concerning the distribution of printed material, and therefore the postings were removed.

However, Fawzy explained to me the careful steps that the campus SJP followed before they initiated their action.

One month before the flyering, members of SJP had approached FAU’s associate director of housing with details of their plans. They even provided a draft of the eviction notice. The associate director then conferred with the director of housing before approving the initiative.

“I got confirmation by email,” Fawzy explained. “That doesn’t mean they supported it. That just means they gave us approval to do it. We were trying to be as professional as possible,” aware that any careless move would be jumped on by SJP’s critics. SJP also presented the housing office with the final mock eviction notice beforehand. “We showed them the final copy—everything.”

Housing staff suggested that SJP members remain in the dorm buildings to answer questions from students who encountered the eviction notices, which SJP agreed to do. “We were very cooperative with them. We stuck around to answer potential questions.” SJP members were even escorted by housing staff when they went to post the mock eviction notices.

Fawzy complained about the vagueness of Brown’s accusation.

We had no intention of violating the laws. [Brown] was not specific about which policies we violated. To this day I still have no idea which policies we violated.

However, to Scott Brockman, the executive director of Hillel at Broward and Palm Beach, the very fact that the notices contained the housing department stamp of approval was proof enough that the action was “a clear violation of university guidelines,” as he told the Jewish Journal.

I contacted FAU student Jackie Klein, who was quoted in the Sun Sentinel as saying that the eviction notices were a “bit intimidating.” Klein, who is a Jewish education intern with Hillel and is the president of the Jewish Student Union at FAU, confirmed to me that the mock eviction notices did not target Jewish students. Although Klein did not personally receive a notice, she said she was “affected emotionally” by the notices, under her capacity as a Jewish educator.

I know a lot of the students on campus that weren’t Jewish that had the eviction notices on their dorm rooms, and their first thought was, ‘Okay, I’m being evicted. Why?’ And when I spoke to some students that had notices on their door, they were more scared about being evicted and not [about] the content of the paper.

I asked Klein about a statement made by fellow FAU student Rayna Exelbierd in the Jewish Journal. Exelbierd, who is an Israel advocacy intern for Hillel, had stated,

We’re considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn’t promote peace.

I asked Klein if that was the official Hillel position, and she stated she didn’t know anything about that.

Klein stressed that she was more focused on the educational aspects of Israel and Jewish advocacy and did not like to be directly involved in the political disputes on campus. “I’m a proud Israel supporter. Because of my involvement on campus, I automatically support Israel. I’m constantly advocating Israel, no matter what.”

Conclusion

As the make-believe story of 200 Jewish students being targeted continues to spread internationally, it is important to note that the only news outlets that have propagated this myth have been outlets that cater to Jewish audiences. It is yet again an instance of Jewish media doing a disservice to its readership by feeding into the ever-present fears of anti-Semitic resurgence.

I have at times written about the phenomenon of “Jews scaring Jews,” in which mostly Jewish reporters and commentators seek to trigger the fears of their Jewish audiences—whether for sensationalism or for manipulation. I reported on how Haaretz’s Barak Ravid, with the assistance of Israeli minister Yuli Edelstein, turned the Park Slope Food Coop BDS campaign into a story in which “hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists” protested outside a “Jewish supermarket” that carried Israeli goods such as “Bamba, Milky, and hummus.” I reported on how commentatorstried to outdo one another in stacking up the most trauma-triggering adjectives to describe the Penn BDS conference. And most recently, I reported on how StandWithUs concocted a boycott campaign against a Jewish deli in Olympia, Washington.

In the present story, there are clear steps needed to resolve this matter:

• The Jewish Journal needs to indicate that its original article on the issue has been corrected and that “200 Jewish students” were not targeted.
• YNet, the Times of Israel, the JTA, and subsequent news outlets need to issue their own corrections for carelessly reporting on a preposterous premise.
• The FAU administration needs to ensure the safety of all of its students, but most importantly those who are being targeted with death threats and a smear campaign—that is, the students of SJP.
• Furthermore, the FAU administration needs to take responsibility for its own actions, defend free speech, not turn its back on its students due to external pressure, and not scapegoat SJP for violations that it did not commit.

In this story, the irresponsible actors are the adults in positions of power—whether it is the university administration that seeks to pander to external pressure and blame students for the administration’s own deficiencies, the Israel advocacy organizations that seek to capitalize on a manufactured controversy, or the Jewish media that continue to manipulate their own readership by indulging in sensationalistic stories designed to trigger Jewish fears of pending doom.

And where was the Anti-Defamation League?

I close this piece with the ADL’s own unfortunate contribution to the game. The ADL released a statement early, on April 5, before the “200 Jewish students” scare had fully materialized. Although the ADL did not accuse SJP of targeting Jewish students, its statement attempted to associate the flyering action with the evils of campus Palestine solidarity activities in general:

Title:
FAU Students Latest Target of Anti-Israel Mock Eviction Tactic

Descriptors:
…anti-Israel campus group…
…shock tactics…
… anti-Israel activity on campus…
…consistently demonized Israel…
…describing its policies…as racist and apartheid-like…
…compared Israelis to Nazis…
…criticize the “actions of the Israeli state”…
…American Muslims for Palestine…a virulently anti-Israel organization…

It was only following this laundry list of the evils of campus organizing that the ADL explained what was so wrong about the FAU SJP action in the final sentence:

As was the case at the University of Chicago and at Yale, the eviction fliers at FAU were seen by some students as disrespectful and intimidating.

Is the Pope also barred from entry into Israel?

Apr 10, 2012

Caroline Pinder Cracraft

The Gunter Grass case:

On Sunday, Israel’s interior minister Eli Yishai used a law permitting a bar on entry to former Nazis to declare Grass persona non grata for his “attempt to fan the flames of hatred against the state of Israel and its people, and thus to advance the idea to which he publicly affiliated in his past donning of the SS uniform”.

Grass was conscripted into the Waffen SS.

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Bavaria, with the name Joseph Ratzinger. Young Ratzinger, according to Wikipedia:

Following his 14th birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was conscripted into the Hitler Youth—as membership was required by law for all 14-year-old German boys after December 1939[9]—but was an unenthusiastic member who refused to attend meetings, according to his brother.[10] In 1941, one of Ratzinger’s cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was taken away by the Nazi regime and killed during the Action T4 campaign of Nazi eugenics.[11] In 1943, while still in seminary, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps as Luftwaffenhelfer (air force child soldier).[10] Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry.[12] As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family’s home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household.[13] As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the war in the summer of 1945.[13] He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year. —

‘When I put this on my website, some people will say, Those people are just terrorists.’

Apr 10, 2012

Philip Weiss

When I was in Palestine in February, I visited my friend Beesan Ramadan in Nablus. Beesan is 22 and a little bit famous: all internationals go to see her. I met her last year, not long after Angela Davis met her with the women of color delegation. People seek Beesan out because she is articulate, gracious– and yes, she is also a feminist in a society that is not especially tolerant of that movement.

In days to come, I’ll be posting a few videos of talking to Beesan, asking her about life in Palestine. More than anything, she wants visitors to understand her society.

In this video we are in downtown Nablus and she shows me two posters commemorating a family that was killed in Nablus during the second intifada, ten years ago this month.

The video is worth watching for a few reasons: first, to get a feel for the warmth and depth of a young Palestinian activist, second, for Beesan’s explanation (at about 2:30) that an ongoing Palestinian “revolution” began in 1936, with the Arab revolt under British occupation. And third, for Beesan’s answer to my question in the headline: “When I put this on my website, people will say that those people are terrorists.”

In her answer, I believe you can see the defiance of someone who is a member of a subject people, a people who lack the right of consent to the government that controls their lives. Any people in the world would bridle under such conditions. Any people would want their best and brightest– their Beesans– to represent them in the court of world opinion with words, not violence.

And any government that controls an occupied people without granting them the right to vote must soon lose legitimacy. (As the American abolitionist preacher Theodore Parker wrote in 1859, supporting resistance, “it is not to be denied that we must give up DEMOCRACY if we keep SLAVERY, or give up SLAVERY if we keep DEMOCRACY.”)

I’ll be posting more exchanges with Beesan in days to come. This will be an introduction!

Aloni and Zizek to appear this Sunday in NY stage version of ‘What Does a Jew Want?’

Apr 10, 2012

Adam Horowitz

“Aloni’s secular theology is definitely one of the most fascinating innovations of our time. So if you want to dwell in your blessed secular ignorance…then do not come to this event – at your own risk”-Slavoj Zizek

This Sunday Udi Aloni will be appearing with Slavoj Zizek and the Israeli actress Hani Furstenberg at Joe’s Pub in a stage adaptation of Aloni’s book What Does a Jew Want?: On Binationalism and Other Specters.

From the Joe’s Pub website:

Udi Aloni with Slavoj Zizek: What does a Jew want?
On Theory, Art and Action

What Does a Jew Want? is a remarkable series of visual Midrash presenting philosophy, video art, story-telling, and performance. The event portrays theological political fragments of a “split Jew” through the eyes of an outrageous philosopher and an obscure artist. The talented actress, Hani Furstenberg, will be an eminent part of this event.

Hani Furstenberg is one of the most preeminent actresses in Israel. She has starred in television series and fiction films, including CAMPFIRE by Joseph Cedar, for which she won the Israeli Oscar. As cast member in Israel’s prestigious theater The Cameri, her roles have included Ophelia in HAMLET, Constanze in AMADEUS, and Hodel in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. She received the Israeli Tony Award in 2010 for GHETTO, as well as the Most Promising Young Actress award given by the city of Tel Aviv. Hani was born and raised in New York. In her first American leading role, she stars opposite Gael Garcia Bernal in THE LONELIEST PLANET by Julia Loktev, due to be released this summer

Slavoj Zizek is a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic. His is one of the most original and influential figures in contemporary thinking. His books include “First as Tragedy, Then as Farce;” “In Defense of Lost Causes;” “Living in the End Times;” and many more. His recent book is Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical Materialism, (Verso2012)

Udi Aloni is a writer, artist and filmmaker whose work explores the discourse between art, theory, and action. Among his films are Kashmir: Journey to Freedom (2009), Forgiveness (2006), and Local Angel (2003). His recent book: What does a Jew want? On Binationalism and Other Specters (2011 Columbia University Press)
Last fall The Public Theater presented his Arabic adaptation of Waiting for Godot.

Sixty-five percent of Hebron has been confiscated by Israel for settlements since 1967

Apr 10, 2012

Kate

65% of Hebron district land confiscated for settlements
AIC 9 Apr — Abdul Hadi Hantash, a member of the Land Defense Committee in Hebron, reports that Israeli settlements in the Hebron district expanded by 20% during 2011 and are expected to expand an additional 30% this year. Hantash claims that “the number of settlement units will be doubled”. He further adds that 65% of the district’s area, which exceeded 1103.5 square kilometers, has been confiscated since 1967 for settlements, military camps and bypass roads.
link to www.alternativenews.org

Parallel realities: Israel settlements and Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley
Ma‘an Development Center 7 Apr by Sam Bahour — MA’AN has recently completed its newest publication entitled “Parallel Realties: Israeli Settlements and Palestinian Communities in the Jordan Valley.” This factsheet describes in detail how and why Israeli settlers and Palestinians live in the Jordan Valley. It documents the incentives that Israeli settlers receive in order to move to the Jordan Valley settlements, while at the same time documenting how Israel is attempting to entice Jordan Valley Palestinians to leave the Jordan Valley through an oppression occupational regime. Furthermore, there are specific case studies involved where services and rights are put side by side to highlight the stark contrast that is a direct result of Israel’s policies in the Jordan Valley.
To download the  PDF report and view stunning photos that contrast life in the Jordan Valley click here: link to www.maan-ctr.org
link to epalestine.blogspot.com

Israelis turn Asqalan Muslim cemetery into parking lot
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 9 Apr – Israelis in the southern city of Asqalan turned the local Muslim cemetery into a makeshift parking lot in a move that is expected to stir anger among the Muslim community, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Monday. It said the municipality recently set up a market adjacent to the cemetery, which resulted in shopkeepers and customers parking their cars in the cemetery in complete disregard to the Muslim sacred place … Arab Knesset member Ahmad Tibi condemned the conversion of the cemetery into a parking lot and wondered what would have happened if the same had happened to a Jewish cemetery in France or Poland.
link to english.wafa.ps

Israel closes a main entrance for al-Ram
JERUSALEM (WAFA) 9 Apr — The Israeli military authorities closed with cement blocks Sunday night the main entrance to the northern Jerusalem town of al-Ram under the pretext Palestinian youth throw stones at Israeli soldiers from that area, according to al-Ram mayor Sarhan Salayma. An al-Ram resident was recently shot and killed in that area during a demonstration against the Israeli occupation. Salaymah said closing the main northern entrance, which was completed only recently, will have serious effect on the mobility of 60,000 residents of the town, as well as on economic and trade activities and social life. “The town has become a big prison,” said Salaymah
link to english.wafa.ps

Thousands of Christians gather in Jerusalem for Easter
IMEMC 8 Apr — On Sunday, Christians around the world celebrated the Easter holiday, and thousands of pilgrims gathered at the Church of the holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven two thousand years ago. The traditional procession of pilgrims from Bethlehem to Jerusalem was, however, prevented due to the Israeli Wall blocking the way … Shaath added, “Israel’s illegal Wall is an insult to the rich history of the Holy Land. Indeed, this colonial regime constitutes an assault on more than 2000 years of Christian history in the Holy Land for it disconnects, for the first time in history, the holy cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem.”
link to www.imemc.org

Avigail illegal outpost in the South Hebron Hills
RHR 9 Apr by Rabbi Arik Ascherman — In October of 2001 RHR wrote on behalf of Palestinians claiming land ownership to the Defense Ministry about the first prefab homes set down to create the Avigail outpost in the South Hebron Hills. On October 11th, we received a letter from the Minister’s office saying that this was an illegal outpost, and it had to be removed by the next day. There have been many defense ministers since then, but today huge signs in the Occupied Territories unabashedly proclaim the expansion of Avigail. Ta’ayush activists have been documenting the day and night building activities taking place AFTER a stop work order was issued on March 27th.  DCO officials have registered complaints with the police, etc. However, when again work was reported on Sunday, the head of the Hebron DCO said that he hadn’t known that the stop work order was being violated.  The settlers told the police that there was no stop work order, and claimed that they had been attacked by one of the Palestinians..
link to rhr.org.il

Israeli violence and provocations

Fadi Ahu Zaytoun, killed as settlers attacked farmers
ISM 9 Apr by ‘Rana H.’ — …shortly after Fayad left the area, Israeli soldiers permitted a mob of settlers to converge upon the Palestinian farmers tending to their land. They began by throwing stones, causing the group to separate and begin descending the hill. The settlers then proceeded to fire M-16 assault rifles in the direction of the unarmed farmers before releasing dogs. In the ensuing chaos,  and as Fadi desperately attempted to escape, his tractor flipped over and fell on him, mortally wounding the young man. Palestinians witnessing the incident ran back towards the scene to offer assistance. The settlers promptly dispersed as they rushed him down the hill to the road, unfortunately he was already dead. Fadi is of the village of Beita. With a population of only 12,000, this death resonates among all the residents. As Fadi’s father-in-law, Isam Bani Shams says, “This is not our first martyr nor our last, we have been in this situation for sixty-four years. Our village has lost some seventy martyrs.” On the same date, twenty-four years ago, two men from the village of Beita were also murdered by settlers from Itamar.
link to palsolidarity.org

Day of the Child: Houses overturned [turned over], 20 arrested by ‘American-style’ Israeli military
ISM 8 Apr by ‘Lydia’ — April 5th marked a day to celebrate the children of Palestine. This year the Israeli military decided to contribute to the special day of the children of Kufr Qaddoum by invading the village and kidnapping 20 fathers and brothers. Boys and men were taken from their homes in a series of overly aggressive and destructive raids … The Israeli military has seen escalating its intimidation of members of the village, and the soldiers’ main goal is to stop the Friday demonstrations that the villagers host … Since June 2011,  Kufr Qaddoum has been subjected to many night raids but nothing of this scale … Bashar Ishtawi, brother of Riad who was arrested, likened the raids to “a video game. Very aggressive and American style.”
link to palsolidarity.org

Plowing with army protection on their own lands but not during the ‘Festival of Freedom’
Rabbis for Human Rights 9 Apr — In most places the plowing has progressed without serious hitches this past week (the week before Pesach [Passover]). Many villages were given four days to complete their plowing before the Jewish holiday and told there would not be security for them to continue plowing during the week of Pesach. Some contacts such as in El Genia, Awarta, complained that this is not enough time to plow adequately. In El Genia our intervention led to an army promise of more days after the festival, despite an initial threat of “no more days”. According to our local contact in Awarta there was an incident there last Thursday (5th April) in which three settlers, apparently from Itamar, came down, one with a fierce dog, shooting into the air and attempted to frighten the plowers away. The army was called and their intervention prevented the incident getting out of hand, but the farmers remain reluctant to plow there without any  army protection, which as of this report is no longer scheduled in the area.
link to rhr.org.il

Settlers raid agricultural land near Jenin
JENIN (WAFA) 8 Apr — Tens of Israeli settlers Sunday raided an agricultural land south of Jenin, under the protection of the Israeli army, according to security sources. They added the settlers provoked and verbally assaulted the Palestinian residents in the area.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers raided Zabouba, a village west of Jenin, and fired tear gas and stun gre