Between the Lines (Oct 17): Thousands Protest ‘Loyalty’ Bill

Roi Maor By Roi Maor October 17, 2010 | Edit

The Headlines: Demonstration against Racism

> Thousands demonstrated against the proposed loyalty oath bill, and other racist and anti-democratic proposals.

> The US and other major countries have expressed disappointment at the decision to resume settlement construction in East Jerusalem. A planned meeting between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas was cancelled. The Palestinians and some Arab countries are promoting the idea of UN recognition for a Palestinian state in 1967 borders.

> Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, regarding the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit (held in Gaza for over four years), have resumed. Israel also notes 24 years to the capture of another soldier, Ron Arad, by Islamic militants in Lebanon. Both soldiers were, or are, being held in conditions that violate the Geneva conventions. The government’s failure to secure their release has provoked outrage in the Israeli public.

> A soldier admits [Heb] to humiliating a Palestinian detainee, but claims it was not a crime.

> Margalit Harshefi, who was convicted for knowing in advance about Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination in 1995, and doing nothing to stop it, believes she is the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice. She wants her conviction overturned (Yedioth). Opposition party Kadima is bickering [Heb] with one of its more extreme right-wing members, who supports a review of Harshefi’s case. In contrast, Likud, and even Labor, were conspicuously silent [Heb] about this issue.

The Sidelines: Settlers Violently Disrupt Olive Harvest

> Settlers continue to violently disrupt the Palestinian olive harvest.

> Hundreds of Druze from the occupied Golan Heights protested the draining of water from a critical water reservoir, only half of which is allocated to them.

> Greece offers [Heb] to mediate between Turkey and Israel, to settle their dispute over the Gaza flotilla, where several Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli soldiers.

> Netanyahu is interviewing [Heb] candidates for the Mossad’s director position.

> The IDF is soliciting funds from wealthy Americans, offering a semi-military training (in IDF uniform!) for those who give 10,000$ (Yedioth, 24 Hours).

> The Knesset is debating [Heb] a bill that would compel newspaper editors to publish a response from those criticized in their articles.

> The centralization of Israel’s private sector harms [Heb] productivity and creates risks for a financial crisis.

> Finance Ministry sources attack [Heb] Israel’s central bank for raising interest rates. They argue this will hurt exports and raise unemployment.

> An increasing number of hospital functions are being transferred [Heb] from doctors to nurses.

> Israeli doctors propose [Heb] to treat genocide with epidemiological tools.

The Bottom Lines: Discrimination and Suppression

> The city of Lod, which has experienced a violent crime wave over the past year, has [Heb] a long history of discrimination against its Arab inhabitants.

> In the next few weeks, extreme right-wingers plan to march in the Arab town of Um-el-Fahem. The Israeli police, compelled by the Supreme Court to allow the march, is pressuring [Heb] Arab residents to avoid counter-protests.

Roi Maor

I am an activist for social rights and human rights in Israel and Palestine, living in Tel Aviv. I’ve written several human rights reports and op-eds in ynet, Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post. Over the last few years, I volunteered and worked for several Israeli NGOs, including Yesh Din, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations I work for.

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