Activists protest Israeli army sergeant's campus propaganda visit

Christopher Clark, The Electronic Intifada, 14 December 2010

On 2 December, the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Palestine organized a protest of an event entitled "Overcoming Terror: A True Story" which took place on the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst. Israeli army sergeant Kenny Sachs was the guest speaker at the event, an on-call speaker for Israeli propaganda groups Upstart Activist and Divestment Watch, and the event was sponsored by the Student Alliance for Israel (SAFI) and the University of Massachusetts Hillel House. Though the topic of discussion was what happened in Gaza, the event description never named Palestinians. Instead, "terrorists" was the term used to describe those who "attacked" Sergeant Sachs at the Erez checkpoint in northern Gaza. The rest of the description was a muddled account of a shootout between Sachs and aforementioned "terrorists" which resulted in Sachs losing his ability to play basketball after being shot in the leg.

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967

Tuesday, 26 October 2010 14:13

By Richard Falk

Summary
The present report considers developments relevant to the obligations of Israel under international law, as well as the situation of people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Emphasis is given to the cumulative impact of Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem arising from prolonged occupation, which exhibits features of colonialism and apartheid, as well as transforming a de jure condition of occupation into a circumstance of de facto annexation.

These developments encroach on the inalienable Palestinian right of self-determination in fundamentally detrimental ways. Attention is also devoted to habitual concerns involving settlement growth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the problems posed by the continued construction of the separation wall, issues of collective punishment, and a variety of other human rights concerns, including concern over the health-related and other adverse impacts of the continuing blockade of the 1.5 million residents of Gaza, consideration of the "Freedom Flotilla" incident of 31 May 2010 and the continuing effort to assess whether Israel and the responsible Palestinian authorities have carried out adequate investigations of war crimes allegations arising from the Gaza conflict of 2008-2009.

Download the full report

http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/reports-and-publications/1683-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territories-occupied-since-1967

Israel conducts population transfer training exercises

Jonathan Cook, The Electronic Intifada, 14 October 2010

Israel secretly staged a training exercise last week to test its ability to quell any civil unrest that might result from a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority requiring the forcible transfer of many Palestinian Arab citizens, the Israeli media has reported.

In defense of South African academics' boycott call

by RONNIE KASRILS, Electronic Intifada -- OCT. 1, 2010


When African National Congress leader Chief Albert Luthuli made a call for the international community to support a boycott of apartheid South Africa in 1958, the response was a widespread and dedicated movement that played a significant role in ending apartheid. Amid the sporting boycotts, the pledges of playwrights and artists, the actions by workers to stop South African goods from entering local markets and the constant pressure on states to withdraw their support for the apartheid regime, the role of academics also came to the fore.

The Rich Tapestry of Israeli Apartheid

by JONATHAN COOK, Mondoweiss — JULY 30, 2010


The recent announcement that Palestinian communities in Israel will be provided with a bus service for the first time since Israel’s founding – that is, in 62 years – surprised observers who had not realised second-class citizenship also extends to being deprived of a bus line.