AN OPEN LETTER TO LEONARD COHEN: from Israeli citizens
We are Jews, Palestinians, Israeli citizens, who hold your poetry and music in high esteem, and it is because of this respect for your artistic contributions and your moral Buddhist commitment to “save all beings” that we hope that our appeal to you to cancel your planned performance in Israel will not fall on deaf ears.
Israel is facing one of its most immoral historical moments. Its ruthless, criminal bashing of the Palestinians has met with little international criticism or curbing. The silence of most of the world’s governments continues to embolden successive Israeli governments to commit more violent acts. Israel has violated numerous international laws, but so far for Israeli Jews life in Israel goes on as if nothing happened. Indeed, your people, Cohen, have built “a new Dachau, And call it love, Security, Jewish culture”, as you have so perceptively put it yourself in ‘Questions for Shomrim’, but only a few voices have been raised against these injustices.
It is left for us, citizens of the world, to condemn Israeli atrocities and crimes against humanity. Dissociating ourselves from Israel’s brutal policies is the only non-violent way now to avoid becoming complicit in the killing, the wounding and the maiming, and the robbing of Palestinians. Faced with all this and more, Palestinians are calling on all people to support their struggle for their basic rights. Unfortunately, recognizing Palestinian rights will require a fundamental shift in Israeli society. We suspect that this change will be achieved only via external pressure. The least that one can do in such a situation is not act as if it is business as usual. We see our society becoming more and more calloused and racist and given your longstanding, vocal commitment to justice, we cannot envision you cooperating with continued Israeli defiance of justice and morality; we cannot envision you playing a part in the Israeli charade of self-righteousness. We appeal to you to add your voice to those brave people the world over who boycott Israel. We urge you to cancel your planned performance in Israel.
To see list of signatories to date, use link above
Protest at ‘IDF entertainment group’ Tues 28 April ….. and get your stickers, leaflets and posters for the national demonstration ‘Remember Gaza’ on Saturday 16 May
“IDF entertainment group singing Israel’s favourite songs” is to perform at artsdepot this Tuesday, 28 April at 8 pm. More info below.
This propaganda stunt for the Israeli army, so close after the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, is unacceptable. While Palestinians are dying
in Gaza because of the siege imposed by the Israeli army, the planned Israel 61 celebrations is like dancing on their graves. Israel 61 is celebrating
the 61 years most of the 1.5 million Palestinians have been forced to live as refugees. They became refugees 61 years when they were ethnic cleansed from their homes which led to the creation of Israel and they are still denied their right of return. Also, the unrelenting Israeli attacks on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem is no cause for celebration.
Protest:
Write to artsdepot – events@artsdepot.co.uk.
Join the protest, 7pm outside artsdepot at 5 Nether St, Tally Ho Corner,
North Finchley N12 0GA.
Tube: West Finchley, Finchley Central and Woodside Park tubes: Buses: 82,
125, 134, 221, 263, 460
[Press release] Assault on the adherents of peace and democracy follows after Lieberman took over the police and state prosecution”
Press Release April 27, 2009
Uri Avnery: Police offensive against New Profile activists – a violation of the Freedom of Speech. This assault on the adherents of peace and democracy follows after Lieberman took over the police and state prosecution. “The police assault on activists of ‘New Profile’ and ‘The Center for the Defence of the Individual’, the detention of activists, among them grandmothers, and confiscation of computers constitutes a severe attack on the Freedom of Speech in Israel” warns Uri Avnery of the Gush Shalom movement. “The activity of New Profile – an organization which opposes the militarism of Israeli society and gives counseling to Conscientious Objectors – is considered by the police to be ‘incitng to shirking’ – a severe legal charge.
Just a few weeks have passed since the Netanyahu-Lieberman government took office (or should one say Lieberman-Netanyahu) – and already a brute offensive is launched against the adherents of peace and democracy. Indeed, the appointment of the new Minister of Police was from the ranks of the party headed by Lieberman.
To read the whole press release, ue link above.
Below and attached is a statement by the National Lawyers Guild regarding Israel’s effort to exonerate its military from violations of international law committed in Gaza. Please use and circulate as you see fit.
Press Release by the National Lawyers Guild: NLG REJECTS ISRAEL’S ATTEMPT TO WHITEWASH WAR CRIMES
UN Investigation Must Be Allowed to Proceed!
For Immediate Release – April 23, 2009
[New York] Calling the Israeli military’s self-exoneration “lacking in credibility,” the National Lawyers Guild on Thursday categorically rejected
the Israeli military’s findings that its soldiers did not commit war crimes during “Operation Cast Lead” in the Gaza Strip. The NLG reiterates its call to President Barack Obama to lend strong support to the UN – commissioned investigation into the conduct of both Israel and Hamas during Israel’s 22-day offensive – something Hamas has already agreed to, but Israel has indicated it will block.
“The Israeli military’s conclusions that it acted in accordance with international law are at odds with the findings of several organizations
including our own,” said Vermont-based attorney James Marc Leas, part of an NLG fact-finding delegation to Gaza. “This discrepancy underscores the importance of an independent investigation.” The Israeli military claims that it made a small number of errors and that no civilians were purposefully harmed by Israeli troops.
The NLG delegation traveled to the Gaza Strip from February 2-8, 2009, to investigate the circumstances that led to the high rate of Palestinian
casualties during Israel’s offensive. Contradicting Deputy Chief of Staff Maj-Gen Dan Harel’s claim that no Israeli soldier ever deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians, the Delegation’s 37-page report, released earlier this month, documents a number of disturbing instances of Israeli soldiers engaging in the willful killing of Palestinian civilians. One such case is that of Khaled Abed Rabbo. Israeli soldiers shot dead Abed Rabbo’s two young daughters and severely injured a third daughter while his family stood, carrying white flags, in front of the soldiers. Another incident is that of 72-year old Ahmed Shrahi. Israeli soldiers shot the unarmed Shrahi from a distance and then approached to execute him at close range. On the issue of Israel’s use of white phosphorus, the military report concluded that use of the shells adhered to the restrictions imposed by international law. According to Israeli military officials, the military decided to halt use of white phosphorous on January 7 after receiving criticism. Nonetheless, several incidents in which phosphorus shells were used were recorded after the military claims it gave a cease and desist order, including on a United Nations warehouse, located in the center of Gaza City, on January 15.
Following the release of the investigation results, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the army’s willingness to probe itself “proves that the IDF is one of the most moral armies in the world.” The NLG considers a whitewash and attempt to cover possible violations of international law and war crimes as the antithesis of morality. “If Israel has nothing to hide then it should cooperate fully with the UN investigation,” said Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers of the Delegation. “Since Israel receives over $3 billion in military aid annually, the U.S. should do its part insisting that Israel complies with the law of nations.”
For more information, please contact:
Huwaida Arraf, 202-294-8813
Paige Cram, 212-679-5100, ext.15
Below you can learn how the Israeli police is treating those who refuse to kill, maim and dispossess the Palestinians:
6 arrested for promoting draft-dodging: YNet
Police detain suspects, one of them a 70-year-old woman, seize computers used to upload material to website encouraging draft-dodgingSix suspects, one of them a 70-year old woman, were detained for questioning and released Sunday on suspicion that they preached in favor of dodging the IDF’s draft. Police say more suspects have been located and will be detained. Police have been following the activities of two websites called Target 21 and New Profile, which encourage youths to dodge the mandatory draft. Officers used IP addresses to locate computers outputting information to the sites and arrived at the owners’ homes Sunday morning to search the premises.
During the searches in homes located in various cities, including Ramat Hasharon and Jerusalem, officers confiscated computers and other materials related to draft-dodging. Police plan to use the material in order to charge the suspects. A 70-year old woman who was among the suspects detained told Ynet she had no regrets. “Four policemen arrived at my home at 7 am but I wasn’t home. My husband opened the door for them and they took two computers; mine and my husband’s. They took some stickers and then summoned me for questioning,” she said. “I’m not nervous about this because my conscience is clear. We don’t incite. Everything we do is legal, and that’s what I told them during the interrogation. I’m calm. I don’t know what they will claim, but you can sense a lack of democracy in the air,” the woman added.
The Zionist movement and sports in Palestine: The Electronic Intifada
Issam Khalidi
Reading the Zionist literature on the history of Palestine as well as the history of sports in Palestine, one might get the impression that Palestine was void of Palestinians. If such histories do mention the Palestinians, they invariably try to depict these Palestinians as lacking any cultural, social, or athletic aspect. They appear to assert that the Zionists populated the region, and graced it with civilization and modernization — that they brought sports and culture to the primitive people who had hitherto known nothing of either of these refinements. Efforts such as these to distort reality and rewrite history are not new. Indeed, the Zionist athletic leadership worked to marginalize the Palestinians in the sports sector.
The fact is, however, that prior to 1948 there were some 65 social athletic clubs in Palestine. Approximately 55 of them were members of the Arab Palestine Sports Federation, which was established in 1931 and re-established in 1944, and included athletic clubs from all over Palestine.
Efforts to dominate athletics, marginalize the Arabs, and cultivate cooperation with the British at any price were the main traits that characterized Zionist involvement in sports. A simple Internet query on the history of sports in Israel and a reading of the historical essays is enough to make plain that distortion and concealment of the historical facts have gone side by side.
The Zionist leadership viewed establishing athletic federations and committees as a means of achieving overall Zionist goals of establishing and legitimating Zionist claims to Palestine. These official organizations helped represent Palestine as “Jewish,” both regionally and internationally, and were seen as instrumental in achieving the leadership’s national and political goals.
For example, in 1924, the leadership of the Jewish Maccabi athletic organization attempted to gain membership in the International Amateur Athletic Federation. This initiative ended in failure as it was determined that Maccabi did not represent Arab, British and Jewish sportsmen in Palestine equally.
However, this unsuccessful attempt did not discourage Maccabi leader Josef Yekutieli, who in the beginning of 1925 attempted to gain Maccabi membership in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Yekutieli decided to employ a different tactic this time: he first established the Palestine Football Federation. The federation’s inaugural meeting was convened in the summer of 1928. Immediately, after being accepted in FIFA, the Jewish leadership started to dominate the Palestine Football Association by ensuring that Jews were the majority in it. This was accomplished by such strategies as imposing the Hebrew language and incorporating the Jewish flag in the federation’s logo.
Settler injures West Bank youth: BBC
A Palestinian teenager has been shot and seriously injured by a Jewish settler in the northern West Bank. Palestinian officials said the boy had been working on his family’s land near Madama when he was shot by settlers. There are no reports of any arrests. The incident took place near the Yitzhar settlement. The boy was later taken to hospital in Nablus.
An Israeli police spokesman said a settler had opened fire after coming under attack by stone-throwers. The settler was due to be questioned by police, the spokesman told AFP news agency. Late in 2008, Israeli security officials raised concerns about an increase in violence by settlers.
These attacks targeted both Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank. There are frequent reports of settlers harassing Palestinians and human rights groups have captured some of these attacks on video, bringing the issue to greater prominence. All settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
‘Every step that strengthens Hamas only distances peace’: Ha’aretz
Officials in Jerusalem were surprised by a report in the L.A. Times Monday that the Obama administration has asked Congress to amend U.S. law to enable the Palestinian Authority to receive federal aid even if Hamas joins a unity coalition. “Every step that strengthens Hamas only distances peace. In the event that the report is true, it is painful and worrying,” a political source in Jerusalem said Monday. Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ forces in a bloody 2007 coup, has been deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. and therefore cannot not legally receive U.S. government aid. sraeli officials are still attempting to ascertain the intentions of U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration. Initial messages relayed to Jerusalem from Washington said there would be no change in policy, only a change in the language used with reference to a Palestinian unity government. The Jerusalem source added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to raise the matter with Obama, senior officials in his administration and members of Congress during an upcoming visit to the U.S.
Israel: PA recognition of Jewish state ‘crucial’ for reconciliation: Ha’aretz
The Foreign Ministry said Monday that Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state was ‘crucial’ for reconciliation between the two sides after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Israeli calls to do so. “Recognition of Israel as the sovereign state of the Jewish people is an essential and necessary step in the historic reconciliation process between Israel and the Palestinians,” the ministry said in a statement. “The sooner the Palestinians internalize this basic and essential fact, peace between the two peoples will progress and come to fruition.”
Abbas made his comments on the issue, which emerging as a main obstacle to peacemaking, in a speech earlier in the day. “I do not accept it,” the Western-backed Abbas said. “It is not my job to give a description of the state. Name yourself the Hebrew Socialist Republic – it is none of my business.” Netanyahu said in a statement last week it would be impossible to make progress on the diplomatic track and reach a peace agreement without Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. But the prime minister said he had not made such recognition a precondition for opening peace negotiations. Netanyahu has shied away from endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state, a main goal of U.S.-backed peace talks that are currently frozen. Palestinians fear recognition of Israel as a Jewish state could help Israeli leaders resist any return of Palestinian refugees.
And Abbas better say it in Yiddish, or it would not count!
Border Policeman gets 8 years for killing Palestinian in 2002: Ha’aretz
The Jerusalem District court sentenced a Border Policeman to eight years in jail on Monday for killing a Palestinian in Hebron in late 2002.
Shahar Butbika, the Border Policeman, was convicted of abusing and killing Amran Abu Hamadiyah, 17, with three friends from his company.
One of the group, Dennis al-Hazub, was jailed Monday for five and a half years for his role in the incident, which he filmed. The video was later destroyed, according to testimony. Amran Abu Hamadiyah was forced into a Border Police jeep at the entrance to his house on Tariq Bin Ziyad Street, a few hundred meters from the Tomb of the Patriarchs, on the evening of December 30, 2002.
The Border Policemen later forced him to jump out of the jeep, which was speeding at 80 kilometers per hour. Twenty minutes later, Abu Hamadiyah’s body was found in the Hebron industrial area. The other two Border Policemen were Bassam Wahabi and Yanai Lalzeh. Lalzeh, whose video camera was used to film the killing, was earlier sentenced to eight and a half years for manslaughter in a separate trial. Wahabi was sentenced to four and a half years for aiding in the manslaughter
On this timetable, it will take at least another seven years until the murderers of Cast Lead in Gaza will be brought to justice… but don’t hold your breath…
Below you can read how Israel has managed to rid itself of Swine Flu, and save its population… have fun for a change!
‘Israel must call new disease Mexico Flu, as swine unkosher’: Ha’aretz
Ultra-Orthodox Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman on Monday declared that Israel would call the new potentially deadly disease that has already struck two continents ‘Mexico Flu,’ rather than ‘Swine Flu, as pigs are not kosher. “We will call it Mexico flu. We won’t call it swine flu,” Litzman told a news conference on Monday, assuring the Israeli public that authorities were prepared to handle any cases. Under Jewish dietary laws, pigs are considered unclean and pork is forbidden food, although the non-kosher meat is available in some stores in Israel. Two cases of suspected swine flu have been detected in Israel, but Health Ministry officials have said chances are low that either hospitalized men has actually contracted the disease. Both men, one 47 years old and the other 26, were quarantined after checking into hospital with flu-like symptoms upon their return from Mexico this week.
The following report is an example of what Israelis are fed by their media… they gorge themselves on this, really. If you belive this type of report, then you also must believe in Father Christmas.
Security guards shoot Palestinian at West Bank checkpoint: Ha’aretz
Security guards Monday shot a Palestinian after he ignored their orders to halt, wounding his leg, at the Tarqumiya checkpoint near Hebron.
Defense Ministry sources said the guards suspected the 60-year-old man was a suicide bomber. The sources said the guards called to the man, who was wearing a coat and carrying packages, to stop but he continued walking toward them. They shot in the air and when he still didn’t stop shot him in the leg, the sources said. At this point he threw down the packages and opened his coat to show he was not armed or wearing explosives. He was taken to a Hebron hospital lightly wounded. The Tarqumiya junction is guarded by a private security company.
Assisting the siege: Ha’aretz
Amira Hass
The two Palestinian governments continue to infringe on the rights of Gazans to medical treatment. They are still quarreling over the details of a compromise in principle brokered by public figures and independent Palestinian organizations. According to the proposed compromise, Bassem Naim, the health minister in Gaza, is to reinstate the officials who answer to Ramallah, whom he dismissed from the department for referrals abroad. His counterpart from Ramallah, Palestinian Authority Health Minister Fathi Abu Maghli, is to establish a committee of independent doctors to assure transparency in the referral of patients.
The crisis started in March when Egypt – acting on a demand from Ramallah – denied entry to patients whose referrals for treatment abroad had been signed by Gaza government officials. Then, armed with old (and not unfounded) arguments regarding the cumbersome nature of the process and favoritism, the Gaza government decided on March 22 to dismiss the Ramallah officials and pledged to cover the cost of treatment itself, even in Israel. It was a daring move, but it came at the expense of the patients, because it was expected that Israel would not honor a Hamas official’s signature. The pressure the Gaza government brought to bear on Egypt was too little, too late. Only at the beginning of last week did Egypt allow patients “from” both Gaza and Ramallah to leave Rafah. Others people were also allowed to leave, provided they had suitable connections with Hamas, the Egyptian security services and international organizations. As for the other patients, some managed to obtain the required signed permits from Ramallah to cross into Israel via the Erez crossing. But many did not; their relatives ran around among the various offices in Gaza seeking a solution while the condition of their loved ones worsened. At least 10 people are believed to have died because they did not receive treatment in time.
This cruel episode in the internal Palestinian power struggle reflects two tactics as far as the Israeli siege is concerned: The Gaza government sometimes tightens the siege itself as a means of pressuring Egypt into opening the Rafah crossing, while Ramallah sometimes makes its own use of the restrictions.
If I were a Palestinian: Ha’aretz
Akiva Eldar
In a moment of candor, Ehud Barak once said: “If I were a Palestinian of the right age, I would join, at some point, one of the terrorist groups.”
If I were a Palestinian, of any age, I would declare an all-out war on all terrorist groups and fulfill the demand of the Jews to recognize the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people. Furthermore, as a present on the birthday of the Jewish people, as it completes 61 years of existence, I would announce that I also respect its Declaration of Independence of May 14, 1948. I would do this on the condition that all the state’s principles, to the last one, apply to the territories controlled by the Jewish state – to every last foot of territory.
A sovereign state that demands another people recognize its national identity cannot get away with not presenting a map on which it defines its self-determination. The solution of two states for two peoples has little value so long as it is not accompanied by an agreement, even in principle, on the location of the border that will separate the two. Alas, the Jewish prime minister now demanding the Palestinians recognize the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people has erased that border in one fell swoop. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed his Czech counterpart, Mirek Topolanek, that “if Israelis can’t build homes in the West Bank, then Palestinians shouldn’t be allowed to either.” According to the principle of reciprocity, which has always been dear to Netanyahu, all Palestinians, like all Jews, are welcome to build their homes from now on anywhere between the sea and the Jordan River. This principle requires an update of the term “state lands,” which the Israeli occupation dictionary has translated into “lands of the State of Israel” and the political lexicon has transformed into “Jewish settlements.” Were I a Palestinian, I would therefore demand that the tenders for land allotments in the entire West Bank and East Jerusalem also be open to me. I would thank Netanyahu for his plan for “economic peace,” but on that basis would demand from the government of the Jewish people the same development budgets and water allotments it grants its Jewish citizens. And, of course, I would expect it would restore without delay my private land that has become the location of illegal outposts.
No such thing as a free lunch: Haaretz Editorial
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is busy developing his policy proposals before his upcoming White House meeting with United States President Barack Obama. From statements that the Israeli premier has made, it is apparent that he is seeking to bring to a halt the peace process that his predecessors pursued, which aimed at the establishment of a Palestinian state in the territories and reaching a peace agreement with Syria. Instead, Netanyahu is posing a series of demands that he will present to Obama: priority for the threat from Iran, Palestinian recognition of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, continued construction in Jewish settlements and refusal to withdraw from the Golan Heights. He is prepared to have the Palestinians “govern themselves” in half of the West Bank, with Israeli security supervision.
Netanyahu’s approach, which is backed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s declarations, is provoking opposition in the international community. Obama and senior officials in his administration have reiterated their commitment to a “two-state solution.” In the European Union, there are calls to freeze the upgrading of relations with Israel if the country retreats from prior commitments. The prime minister is of the opinion that Israel currently has an unprecedented political window of opportunity arising from concern among Arab states such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan over the threat from Iran, which will lead them to strategic cooperation with Israel. However, the international community, headed by President Obama, expects Netanyahu to continue to pursue the peace process that he inherited from Ehud Olmert, to freeze construction in the settlements and to ease living conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Arab states, which are committed to the Palestinian issue, will find it difficult to cooperate with an Israeli government that continues the occupation and opposes an agreement. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Israel will lose the support of the West on the Iranian issue if it fails to advance peace with the Palestinians.
As an experienced diplomat and statesman, Netanyahu knows there is no free lunch in politics. He should listen to Clinton and not come to Washington with empty hands. Instead of demands and naysaying, which will be met by American opposition, he should convey a clear commitment to the two-state solution, support the Arab peace initiative as the basis of a regional agreement, halt settlement expansion and engage in efforts to strengthen the Palestinian economy. This is the only way that Netanyahu can mobilize the support of the international community for his main goal – stopping the Iranian threat.
Report: Obama wants aid to go to PA even if Hamas joins government: Ha’aretz
The Obama administration has asked Congress to amend U.S. law to enable the Palestinians to receive federal aid even if it forms a unity coalition with Hamas, the L.A. Times reported on Monday. Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ forces in a bloody 2007 coup, has been deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. and therefore cannot not legally receive U.S. government aid.
The U.S. has presented an $830.4-billion emergency spending bill, comprising funding for its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would also allocate $840 million to the Palestinian Authority and for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s three-week offensive there earlier this year. Because none of the Gaza aid can legally reach Hamas, it will be difficult to ensure its delivery to the coastal territory.
The U.S. has refused to grant aid to Hamas unless the group agrees to recognize Israel, renounce violence and agreeing to follow past accords secured between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The administration’s request for the minor changes to aid measures is unlikely to come into fruition, as no concrete plans are yet underway for a Palestinian unity government. Reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah have been ongoing, but have so far yielded no results.
This will end in tears – Obamah has either not read the instructions sent by Lieberman, or, worse, refuses to fillow them…
Protests against security fence leave 29, including 13 IDF soldiers, injured: Ha’aretz
Demonstrations against Israel’s separation fence in the West Bank left some 29 people injured on Friday, as Israel Defense Forces soldiers fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullet at protesters. Approximately 1,000 Palestinians and left-wing activists protested the route of the security fence in the towns of Bil’in and Na’alin in the West Bank. Palestinian sources said the wounded included Palestinian journalists and family members of Bassem Abu Rahmeh, who was killed during a similar demonstration last week. Twelve demonstrators were injured in Bil’in and four protesters were injured in Na’alin. A total of 13 Israeli troops were also injured in the demonstrations. The 13 Israel Police and Border Police officers were lightly wounded by stones hurled at them. Protesters said 10 people were injured by rubber bullets, including three Israelis. All of the wounded suffered light injuries to their feet. Abu Rahmeh, 31, was killed during a protest last week in Bil’in, which has been a flash point for confrontations between soldiers and anti-fence protesters. IDF sources said last Saturday that the tear gas canister that killed him was likely fired in violation of orders.
Foreign Ministry to help run semi-covert immigration agency: Ha’aretz
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s office is expected to assume responsibility Sunday over Nativ – a semi-covert agency founded within the Prime Minister’s Office in the 1950s which operates in the former Soviet Union to bring Jews to Israel. However, Nativ will continue to answer to the Prime Minister’s Office. The division of authority over Nativ between the PMO and the Foreign Ministry has not been fully worked out yet.
Lieberman had expanded the agency’s authorities during his stint as strategic affairs minister under former prime minister Ehud Olmert. In 2007, he led a controversial decision to extend Nativ’s activity into Germany for the first time in the organization’s history. The Foreign Ministry opposed the move. Lieberman’s coalition agreement with Likud states that he will assume responsibility for Nativ and funding to the tune of dozens of millions of shekels.
Belgian Jews criticize Flanders Opera for staging anti-Israeli premiere: Ha’aretz
Prominent Belgian Jews have harshly criticized the Flanders Opera in Antwerp for staging what they regard as an anti-Israeli, political event disguised as a premiere. The contested show was created by two Israelis. The operatic production of “Samson and Delilah” is scheduled to premiere Tuesday, along with a political debate and film screening. Belgium’s Jewish community has condemned the opera – directed by Omri Nitzan and Amir Nizar Zuabi – for dressing Philistine conquerors in Western garb while Hebrew fighters like Samson wear Arab clothes. Samson, who lived in the 11th century BCE, was a partisan living under occupation of the Philistines – a powerful and technologically-advanced people of European roots. The Bible says he died at the hands of his occupiers, while killing many of his captors. Zuabi and Nitzan’s reverse-role adaptation of his love story with a Philistine woman leads Samson to become “history’s first shaheed” (or martyr, in the Islamic tradition), they say. “Samson is a shaheed, and Delilah is his lover from the enemy camp,” the directors explained. “This isn’t the first time public Flemish culture institutions stage unabashedly anti-Israel events,” David Lowy, founder of the JOBI group for Belgian youth in Israel, told Haaretz. “Israel is misunderstood in Belgium and distorting Bible stories will only compound this. The analogy’s ludicrous and state-funded bodies mustn’t abet in it.”
This sounds like a really exciting production! Can we please have it come to London?