Friday 19 March, 2010
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THE JEWISH CHRONICLE ONLINE
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Palestine
Palestine group gets student union ban
March 11, 2010A pro-Palestinian group which launched an angry protest against an Israeli speaker has been banned from using a student union's facilities. Leeds University Union took action against the student Palestine Solidarity Group after protesters interrupted a talk given by Ishmael Khaldi, Israel's deputy consul. They chanted and banged on the doors of the lecture theatre as Mr Khaldi spoke at the Jewish Society event. The union's activities executive has stopped PSG booking rooms in the union building until the start of the next semester in April.Israel, Palestinians agree to peace talks
March 8, 2010Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to indirect peace talks, brokered by US special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell. Mr Mitchell, who is currently in Israel, met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the last two days to raise the issue of restarting negotiations. He then met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this afternoon. Israel and the Palestinians are expected to conduct four months of negotiations through a US mediator, which will focus on security issues and borders of a potential future Palestinian state.
Analysis: Riots in Israel are not an intifada
March 4, 2010The images of youths throwing stones and border policemen firing tear-gas grenades back at them last week in the alleyways of Hebron and at the entrance to the Temple Mount seemed eerily reminiscent of the two intifadas. But that is all they were: images. So far, a widespread uprising throughout the territories, coupled with gradually escalating responses by the Israeli security forces, has failed to materialise; the riots seem to be petering out. This is not a third intifada, at least not yet.
Family of Rachel Corrie will sue Israel
February 24, 2010The family of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, killed seven years ago while apparently acting as a human shield in front of an Israeli army bulldozer, is to sue the Israeli Defence Ministry. Cindy and Craig Corrie of Olympia, Washington, say they have four key witnesses, three Britons and an American, who saw Ms Corrie crushed underneath a Caterpillar bulldozer in Rafah in 2003. The witnesses belong to the International Solidarity Movement, the pro-Palestinian activist group with which Ms Corrie, 23, was involved at the time of her death.
Arab rights protesters seek to lift Israel's Left
February 18, 2010While many Israelis use Friday afternoons for a pre-Shabbat nap, hundreds each week are refusing to sleep through what appears to them to be a glaring injustice against Palestinians. They have converted a park opposite east Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood into the venue for regular protests against evictions of Palestinian residents to make way for Jews.
It's time Obama pressed the PA
January 7, 2010How are we to account for the complete lack of progress in peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel during 2009? To give a comprehensive answer to this question would require many more column inches than the JC permits me. So let me focus on just one of the components. But first I must dismiss two excuses repeated ad nauseam in the media.Palestinians to gain access to Israel's main road
December 30, 2009Israel’s main route between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem must be opened to Palestinians, the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled. Palestinians have been barred from using Highway 443 since 2002 when Palestinian terrorists attacked and shot dead Israeli motorists on the road. But villagers from the Arab village of Beit Sira in the West Bank section of the road, which runs for 10km, have been prevented from access by concrete barriers, and are stopped at military checkpoints. Villagers took their case to court in 2007, with the assistance of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
Minister shares platform with far-right leaders
December 17, 2009A government minister has spoken at the same controversial Palestinian-organised conference which invited an extremist Hungarian far-right leader. Mike Foster, Minister of State at the Department for International Development, was invited by the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) to a conference in London on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).Arab scholar 'blasted' over Temple Mount
December 3, 2009Prominent Palestinian academic Sari Nusseibeh has reportedly been blasted for writing about the Jewish connection to Temple Mount. Mr Nusseibeh was one of a number of Palestinian and Israeli scholars to contribute to an unprecedented joint new study about the site, Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem’s Sacred Esplanade, initiated by the Hebrew University and the Yad Ben-Tzvi Institute. In his chapter, Mr Nusseibeh, president of al-Quds University in east Jerusalem, does not affirm that there were Jewish temples on Temple Mount.
Celtic fans anger at STUC Palestinian campaign
December 2, 2009Celtic fans have reacted with outrage at the Scottish Trade Union Congress’ attempts to use the Hapoel Tel Aviv Europa League match as a political rally against Israel. The STUC, backed by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, plans to hand out 10,000 Palestinian flags to fans entering the Celtic Park stadium as an “act of solidarity”, almost one year after Operation Cast Lead. Writing on blogs, comments and message boards, Celtic fans have railed against the mixing of football and Middle East politics.
Biden hails new Israel, Palestinian peace talks
March 9, 2010US Vice-President Joe Biden has hailed the new, indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians as a “moment of real opportunity”. Mr Biden, who met Israel’s President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem today, praised the proposed four months of talks, which have been brokered by US Middle East special envoy George Mitchell. Mr Biden said: “I hope it is a vehicle, a vehicle by which we can begin to allay that layer of mistrust that has built up in the last several years,"
Right-wing MK ‘Give Palestinians Israeli citizenship’
March 4, 2010Tzipi Hotovely, an MK on the right flank of the Likud, surprised political observers last month by saying that Israel should give citizenship to Palestinians in the West Bank. The country's political centre is increasingly talking about this scenario - but as a potentially disastrous move that will be forced on them if attempts to create a Palestinian state fail. Defence Minister Ehud Barak said earlier this month that Israel needs a Palestinian state to come into existence because, without one, it has only two options - to become a "bi-national country" or "an apartheid country".Human rights group takes UK to court over Israel sanctions
February 25, 2010A Palestinian human rights group is making a fresh attempt through the courts to force the British government to adopt sanctions against Israel. The West Bank-based Al Haq wants a ruling that Britain is in breach of its human rights obligations by failing to take action. The group, represented by the Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, lost an application for a judicial review to hear its case in the High Court last year. But an appeal, which will be contested by the Foreign Office, was due to begin in the Court of Appeal yesterday.MPs urge Israel to work with Palestinian Authority
February 18, 2010Israel's best chance for peace is to work with the current leaders of the Palestinian Authority, according to the leader of a group of MPs which has just visited the region. Mike Gapes, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, led nine of its 14 MPs from all parties on the four-day trip. He said on their return: "I believe Israel should recognise that Salam Fayyad and Abu Mazen are the best hope they've got for peace. They are committed to a two-state solution and Israel should respond positively."Brown meets Palestinian leader Abbas
January 29, 2010Gordon Brown has met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at Downing Street to discuss the peace process in the Middle East. The two met for an hour in Downing Street where their discussion included the Arab Peace Initiative and the Palestinian economy. A spokesman for Number 10 said: "They focused their discussions on the need to renew efforts towards a lasting peace agreement.
Revealed: how the Iron Lady barred Whitehall PLO link
December 30, 2009The Palestine Liberation Organisation provoked a spat between newly-elected prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington, according to papers just released by the National Archive. The papers also show her unswerving commitment to Israel and recognition of its position as the West’s primary ally in the region, even at such an early stage in her leadership.
London protests for Gaza bombings anniversary
December 29, 2009More than 600 protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy to mark the year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. Representatives from 25 organisations, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), the Green Party and Neturei Karta demonstrated in High Street Kensington on Sunday. Politicians, Jeremy Corbyn, Martin Linton and Baroness Jenny Tonge were joined by Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian Territories' diplomatic representative to the UK.Protest outside Palestinian carol concert
December 9, 2009More than 60 protesters demonstrated outside a church which held a carol service with alternative songs condemning Israel. The service was held at St Paul’s in Covent Garden by Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (JBIG) on Tuesday and included readings from Palestinian writer Ghada Karmi, veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent, Baroness Jenny Tonge and Lauren Booth.
Church holds anti-Israel Christmas carol service
December 3, 2009Dozens of protesters demonstrated outside a Baptist church which held a carol concert organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). The service, entitled Voices of Bethlehem, was held at the Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church on Monday. Protesters waved Israel flags and handed out flyers as more than 200 people attended the service, which included readings from playwright Caryl Churchill, whose play, Seven Jewish Children, caused controversy earlier this year.
Celtic: No Palestinian campaign at football match
December 1, 2009Celtic Football Club has opposed calls from the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) for fans to wave Palestinian flags at the Hapoel Tel Aviv match. The STUC plans to hand out 10,000 Palestinian flags to fans entering the Celtic Park stadium as an “act of solidarity”, almost one year after Operation Cast Lead. A spokesman from Celtic FC said that the club was “extremely concerned” about the plans and questioned their compliance with UEFA regulations. He said: “We believe Celtic Park is no place for a political demonstration.
