Global Voices » Israel

Palestine: Rare Photographs of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948

Mohamed Adel — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:13:21 +0000

Blogger Iqbal Tamimi posts rare photographs of the Palestinian Nakba of 1948.

Israel: The Lie, the Truth and the Meme (of the Soldier and the Girl)

Carmel L. Vaisman — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:52:05 +0000

The photograph below, of a soldier stepping on a little girl, has been circulating on the social web for the past few days, claimed to be of an IDF soldier and a Palestinian girl. Wesley Muhammad who posted it claimed to have seen it on someone else's news feed with that caption, and wonders why it went viral from his page. Within two days the photo (now discarded) received over 500 comments, including some claims the photo is fake.

Yossi Gavni reposted the photo highlighting the main claims that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) doesn't carry that kind of weapon and has no such uniforms, and that photo circulated mainly among Israelis. Apparently, the photo was tweeted last year in French, claiming this is actually from Syria's demonstrations and asking for it to spread. However, Arab blogger Omar Dakhane found the original photo (below), which is neither from Syria nor Israel but a street theater performance in Bahrain.

This story could have ended here with a lesson not to believe everything that circulates out there in the age of media manipulation and virality, but apparently some Israelis have decided the best response to a viral lie is a humorous meme. In the last 24 hours many photos replacing the soldier with different characters have been circulating on Facebook, initiated by 10Gag, the Israeli answer to 9Gag humor and memes generator.

For example, a photo where the soldier was replaced by a dog wearing real IDF uniform, probably also responding humorously to earlier allegations that IDF trains dogs to attack Palestinians. Other entities stepping on that girl included an empire soldier from Star Wars, the Angry Birds, the Android, the Avatar N'aavi, Chuck Norris and more.

By turning the photo into a meme, Israelis are saying in “social media language” that such a situation is ridiculous and fictional, although Wesley Muhammad who started the viral spread concludes: ”I took the photo down (even though that type of thing DOES happen in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)”. In response, Shani Yaakov posted a collage of pictures titled “this is the true picture of the IDF” (below) in which soldiers are seen in positive and friendly interactions with Palestinians. As for the truth, as always, it's probably somewhere in the middle.

Israel, Ethiopia: Ethiopian Jews and Other Black Immigrants in Israel

Abdoulaye Bah — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:41:42 +0000

Sibo Kanobana wrote in the blog Afro-Europe: “I visited Israel en Palestine during the Christmas holidays and saw many things I didn’t expect to see. One of these things is the striking presence of black people in urban Israel. They represent a diverse people of whom most are Ethiopian Jews who made aliya (i.e. the migration of the jewish diaspora back to Israel) and settled in Israel in the 80’s and early 90’s.”

Israel: Protest Against the Deportation of Children of Migrant Workers

Amira Al Hussaini — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:21:02 +0000

On Facebook, Elizabeth Tsurkov shares this set of photographs she took during a protest held against the deportation of the children of migrant workers in Tel Aviv, Israel, tonight.

Palestine: Planning a Virtual Funeral

Ayesha Saldanha — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:15:05 +0000

It is extremely difficult for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to visit Israel, and for political reasons it is impossible for most other Arabs to do so, because Israel is not recognised as a state by the majority of Arab countries. At the same time, Palestinian citizens of Israel (approximately 20% of the population) are unable to travel to much of the Arab world, because they have Israeli passports.

Rasha Hilwi, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, has been reflecting on how these restrictions on movement will affect her – after she dies.

In a post on her blog, Zaghroda (which means “ululations”), Rasha writes [ar]:

Akka sunset. Image by Flickr user yanivba (CC BY-SA 2.0).

فجأة، تشعرين أن الموت خيّم فوق هذه السماء. بالرغم من أنه لم يتركها يوماً ما.
لا الموت فقط، لكن “هداك المرض” أيضاً، كما يسمونه. وصديقي يطلق على برجه أيضاً إسم “هداك البرج”. يعني السرطان، ودائماً حين يصل الموت بأسبابه العديدة. أسأل نفسي كلّ مرة من جديد: “أنا لشو بتفاجئ يعني؟” وتعود قيمة الحياة من جديد، لأكم يوم بس.
مش مهم.. لكن منذ فترة، قررت أن أكتب وصيتي.
على فكرة، لا أقصد من هذه الوصية أن أكون متشائمة. يعني الموت هو أمر طبيعي. أو هكذا أعتقد. ولأنه طبيعي فأنا أكتب عنه. وحسبما جدتي، أو جدتَك أو جدتِك تقول: “ما حدا بعرف بكرا شو بصير معه!”.

Suddenly you feel that death has been hovering in this sky, even though it never really left it. Not just death, but also “that disease”, as it’s known. (My friend even calls his star sign “that sign”.) That is, cancer.
And whenever death arrives, with its many reasons, I ask myself, “Why am I surprised?” Then I value life anew – for a few days.
Anyway, that’s not important…
A while ago I decided to write my will.
By the way, I don’t mean to be pessimistic by doing so. Death is something natural. That’s at least what I believe. And because it’s natural I am writing about it. As my grandmother says, or your grandmothers say, “No one knows what tomorrow will bring!”

She continues:

قبل أشهر قليلة عدت من القاهرة. وبعدما عدت بيومين فقدت صديقاً عزيزاً. ذهب إلى مكان بعيد. مكان لا أحد يعرفه، ويجهله كلّ من يقرأ هذه الأسطر الآن.. بتأمل!
لن أطيل الحديث عليكم. لكن لدي بعض الأسئلة المتعلقة بالموت وطقوسه. يعني، عندما أذهب غداً إلى المكان البعيد. الذي لا يعرفه أحد، من الطبيعي أن تقام جنازتي في عكّا- لا بيت لي سواها- هكذا يقول لي أبي. وبالتأكيد سوف أدفن فيها. صحّ؟
لكن، تقتلني فكرة أن أموت ولا زال الاحتلال قاعد على قلبي! كيف سيصل أصدقائي وصديقاتي من رام الله والقاهرة ودمشق وبيروت وعمان وتونس والمغرب وصنعاء وبغداد وطرابلس لوداعي الأخير؟

A few months ago I returned from Cairo. Two days after I came back I lost a dear friend; he departed for a faraway place, unknown to all who read these lines… I hope!
I won’t make this a long story for you all. However, I have some questions relating to death and its rituals. When I leave tomorrow for that unknown, faraway place, my funeral will naturally be held in Akka – I have no other home – so says my father. I will certainly be buried there. Right?
But the idea tortures me that I will die and the [Israeli] occupation will still be sitting on my heart! How will my friends from Ramallah, Cairo, Damascus, Beirut, Amman, Tunisia, Morocco, Sana’a, Baghdad and Tripoli come to say their final goodbye?

Rasha wonders:

يعني، هل برأيكم ممكن أن تكون وصيتي بإصدار تصاريح لأصدقائي في رام الله حتى يأتون لوداعي في التابوت؟ ياه ما أبشع الفكرة: إصدار تصاريح من الاحتلال حتى يروني وأنا ميتة! لكن، لربما ستكون هذه هي فرصتهم أن يزوروا عكّا وبالمقابل يأتوا لوداعي..
لكن ماذا عن أحبائي في القاهرة وبيروت وعمان؟
يعني، هل ممكن.. مثلاً.. مثلاً.. إن تكون وصيتي بحرق جثتي وإرسال القليل من الرماد إلى أصدقائي هُناك؟ وتنظيم أمسية موسيقية وأدبية بدلاً عن الجنازة التقليدية؟ طيب، هل ممكن أن تكون جنازتي عبر “الفيديو كونفرنس”؟ أو حتى “السكايب”؟ ماله السكايب؟ على الأقل مجاني. هكذا يكون بث مباشر لجنازتي من عكّا إلى بيروت والقاهرة وعمان وتونس ورام الله وغزة!أو لشو كلّ هالتعقيد؟ ممكن أن تكون وصيتي أن يحملوا تابوتي إليهم؟ أعتقد أن تصريح عبور لشخص ميت سوف يكون أسهل. والأهم، إنه لا يحتاج إلى فيزا. هكذا سيكون بمقدوري أن أرى بيروت. مين بعرف؟ ممكن أكون قادرة أشوفها وقتها.

Do you think I can put in my will that permits should be issued for my friends in Ramallah to come and say farewell to my coffin? What a horrible idea: a permit being issued by the occupation authorities in order for my friends to see me when I’m dead! But maybe it would be their chance to visit Akka, in exchange for saying farewell to me…
But what about my dear friends in Cairo, Beirut and Amman?
Is it possible – for example – for my will to state that my body should be burnt and that a little of my ashes should be sent to my friends in those places? And that a musical and literary gathering should be held rather than a conventional funeral? Is it possible for my funeral to be relayed by video conference? Or even by Skype? What’s wrong with Skype? At least it’s free. That way there would be a direct broadcast of my funeral from Akka to Beirut, Cairo, Amman, Tunis, Ramallah and Gaza!
But why complicate things? Maybe I can state in my will that my coffin should be carried to them. I think the permission for a dead person to cross the border will be easier [than for the living]. Most importantly, it wouldn’t require a visa. That way I would be able to see Beirut. Who knows? Perhaps I will get to see it then.

Morocco: Singer's Performance in Tel Aviv Ignites Debate on Israel's Cultural Boycott

Hisham Almiraat — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:43:47 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.

Hindi Zahra is a young Moroccan singer. A talented self-taught multi-instrumentalist, the artist embraced success soon after the release of her debut album, Handmade, in 2009. Hailed by the critics as “the worthy successor to Billie Holiday”, she received prestigious prizes, the last of which in February 2011, when she won the Victoires de la Musique award for the best world music album.

Her success has led her on tour across the globe. Her sultry and intimate jazz style, often sung in English, mixing blues songs with Moroccan Berber melodies, has somehow managed to cross cultural barriers, attracting even larger audiences.

At least this was the case until last October, when it was revealed that the singer was scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel, on November 12, 2011.

A Moroccan woman in Tel Aviv

The Palestinian Campaign for Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel quickly published an open letter [fr] to the singer calling for the cancellation of her concert in Israel.

“We are surprised that you have agreed to provide entertainment to a society that practices occupation, racial discrimination, and ethnic cleansing […] while our refugees - the majority of our people! - Continue to be deprived from their inalienable right to return to their homes,” the letter reads.

To the dismay of the boycott campaigners, the concert was maintained as scheduled.

In an interview [fr] with the Moroccan press, Omar Barghouti, one of the founders of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (or BDS) campaign, describes his disappointment at the decision of the artist to go on with her representation in Israel:

We were disappointed by [Hindi Zahra's] behavior. In her reply to us, there was a lot of hate. An Amazigh artist also tried to convince her, but she reacted very badly.

Chickens come home to roost

On Wednesday, December 14, the musical tour finally brought Hindi Zahra back home in Morocco for a concert in Casablanca, the country's most affluent and populous city.

On the Internet the controversy broke out when a group of activists, believed to be linked to the Moroccan chapter of the BDS Movement, published a call on Facebook asking people to join a sit-in outside the concert venue.

For some reason, the call was removed from Facebook a few hours later.

Blogger Ghali Bensouda published a screenshot (see bellow) of the call:

Screenshot of the sit-in call as published by Ghali Bensouda

[…] Will organize a protest […] against normalization with Israel and as a reminder that Moroccan people reject any form of normalization with the Zionists […]

Among netizens the reactions were split between those who supported the protesters, and those who, like Ghali Bensouda, saw in the protest the instrumentalisation by radical political factions of the youth-based February 20 movement, who has been leading the pro-democracy protests in the country for the last 10 odd months. He writes [fr]:

Je trouve cette décision [d'organiser un sit-in] STUPIDE ET RIDICULE.
D’abord, la chanteuse est libre de se produire là où elle veut et c’est son choix.
Deuxièmement, se produire en Israël ne veut pas dire cautionner la politique de ce pays à l’égard de la Palestine. […]
Troisièmement, cela montre clairement la main mise de certaines organisations sur le 20 février qui font de la question anti-sioniste un fond de commerce.

I find [the decision to organize a sit-in] stupid and ridiculous.
First, the singer is free to perform wherever she wants and were she chooses.
Second, performing in Israel does not mean endorsing the policy of that country with regard to Palestine. […]
Third, this [protest] clearly shows the grip that some organizations are having today on the February 20 movement, making the anti-Zionist issue the main agenda.

Ethel (@_nethels_) attended the concert and she posted pictures of the performance.

Hindi Zahra performing in Casablanca - picture poster on Yfrog by @_nethels_

In the meantime, outside of the concert venue, a number of protesters gathered chanting slogans like “Boycott Israel,” or “I don't recognize Israel,” as shown in the following video posted on YouTube by Kifachinfo:

More reactions followed on social networks. Hamza (@Hamsek) was unequivocal (fr):

[Hindi Zahra] est morte à Tel Aviv aux yeux de pas mal de monde…

Hindi Zahra has died in Tel Aviv in the eyes of a lot of people…

Blogger Yassir deplores the involvement of the February 20 movement. He writes [ar]:

عشرين فبراير حركة شعبية نادت و تنادي بإسقاط الفساد و تحقيق مجموعة من المطالب الاجتماعية […] لذا “فهبوطها” إلى هذا المستوى هو، بنظري، ضرب لمصداقية الحركة و انحراف عن أهدافها.
أمام الحركة طريق طويل و الاحتجاج على زهرة هندي لن يغير من واقع الأمر شيئا… هناك ما هو أهم !

February 20 is a popular movement that has been calling for the fight against corruption. It has been advocating for social reforms […]
The movement has belittled itself in my view [by endorsing this protest], harming its credibility and deviating from its goals.
To movement has still a long way to go. Protests against Hindi Zahra will not change anything … There are more important problems to deal with!

Journalist Fahd Yata, a notorious critic of February 20, has this to say [fr] about the protesters:

Les pseudo révolutionnaires du FEB 20, qui n'ont plus rien à faire depuis le 25 novembre [eléctions législatives], appellent au boycott d'Hindi Zahra. Des Fascistes!

February 20, pseudo revolutionaries, who, since November 25 [legislative elections] don't know what to do, have now called for the boycott of Hindi Zahra. Fascists!

Veteran human rights advocate, Samira Kinani, writes the following public note on Facebook in defense of the protesters [fr]:

des citoyenNes ont décidé de répondre présentsà un appel de bds
cette action qui sillonne l univers contre un régime raciste
un régime d apartheid un état voyou un état criminel..
des actions pacifiques visant à faire entendre une autre voix que celle des médias dominants
et c le tollé et ça utilise tout “femme” “amazigh” tout est bon pour essayer de discréditer une action somme tout symbolique

Citizens have decided to answer the call of BDS. It's a campaign conducted the world over against a racist regime, an Apartheid regime, a rogue and criminal State.
These actions are non violent and seek to offer an alternative voice, other than the one conveyed by the mainstream media.
And what are these protesters faced with? A public outcry. “A women”, “an Amazigh”… Everything is good to try to discredit a fundamentally symbolic protest.

***

The Palestinian issue has always been a unifying cause in Morocco and, arguably, still ranks high among the main issues Moroccans do care about. In 2009, Moroccans took to the streets in solidarity with the Palestinian people, following the Israeli deadly raid on the Gaza Strip. They marched in their millions, filling the streets of the capital Rabat. But the idea of a boycott, although attractive to certain activists, may seem nebulous to some and is certainly divisive among netizens.

Whether you are for or against the boycott, says twitterati Samia, you should respect the right of artists to perform freely, and protesters to demonstrate non-violently. She tweets:

When Hindi Zahra performed in Israel, it was her right. When #feb20 [February 20 movement] protests against her, it's their right too. Now move on with your lives.
The cultural boycott of Israel has been going on for years. #feb20 is not doing anything controversial.

This post is part of our special coverage Morocco Protests 2011.

Australia: Comment on the Palestine Boycott, Divestment & Sanction Campaign

Kevin Rennie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:10:19 +0000

Crikey's NAJ Taylor gathers five of Australia's Middle East diaspora to write about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction of Israel campaign. How effective is it at “balancing the competing harms”? How “useful is [it] for members of the Israeli and Palestinian, as well as Jewish and Muslim, diaspora”?

Palestine: Mourning Mustafa Tamimi

Jillian C. York — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:04:05 +0000

For more than two years, protests have taken place in Nabi Saleh, a village outside of Ramallah. There, protesters have focused attention on the theft of water by the nearby Halamish settlement, which in 2009 took control of the Ein Al Qaws spring, preventing Palestinians access to their own land.

The protests - which broadly focus on all aspects of the Israeli occupation - have garnered some international attention in recent years, with footage filmed by protesters making it into the New York Times. Israeli forces have cracked down on protests in Nabi Saleh and elsewhere throughout the West Bank, at times arresting demonstrators.

This past Friday 9 December, 2011, however, Nabi Saleh experienced tragedy as activist Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was “critically injured after Israeli soldiers fired a tear gas canister at his face, and died at a hospital after his treatment was delayed by the occupation forces who had invaded the village to repress the weekly demonstration,” according to Linah Alsaafin, who also wrote:

One difference that distinguishes Nabi Saleh from other villages with popular resistance committees, like Nilin, Bilin, Biddu and Budrus is that no one has been killed, or martyred in the protests. Beaten up, yes. Arrested, ditto. But never a death. Until yesterday.

Photo of Nabi Saleh protest by Flickr user zaid amr, July 2011 (CC BY-ND 2.0).

On blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, Palestinian activists are mourning the loss of one of their own. Blogger Abir Kopty writes:

I remember your braveness during Nabi Saleh’s weekly rallies, facing the army with open chest. I apologize to you for not having your courage. Your life doesn’t worth less than mine.

…

Dear Mustafa, for the time being I’m afraid to make promises, as we have learned not to make promises bigger than us. I can only promise you that I will continue going to Nabi Saleh, I will not give up the hope, exactly as you didn’t. I promise you that your courage will keep inspiring me and giving me strength.

Rest in peace comrade.

Kopty also tweeted:

Everyday i say tomorrow is a new day, but the anger doesn't go away. #Mustafatamimi

On collective blog Front Line Echo, @amraamra writes:

For those who tell me that I take things too personal, I will continue to take it too personal and at heart because I’m human! I breathe, feel, cry, laugh, love and hate. So when someone hurts me, I hurt. When someone tickles me, I laugh. When we mourn the loss of a fellow Palestinian brother and other desensitized Palestinians are watching on the streets, smirking and making ridiculous comments, I will feel fury. When someone steals the life of another comrade in such a brutal and grotesque way, I will grieve. I will grieve… just like others are grieving.

The blogger continues:

When the international community tells Palestinians to adopt to more peaceful resistance in resisting the ongoing Israeli occupation, that is what we do. Yet, we are met with the same and even more brutal suppression. At this point I do not know what gives me the hope to continue, and I think many will agree. Nothing seems to make sense now. But one thing does make sense. Mustafa Tamimi’s soul has not gone in vain. We will carry him with us in our continuous struggle against occupation. We will not give up Mustafa… and that is for sure!

On Monday 12 December, Israeli soldiers came under fire for seemingly defending the use of fatal force on social media, a story covered by The New York Times. Their defense largely revolved around the fact that Tamimi had thrown rocks at an armored vehicle as it drove away. In response, Israeli-American Joseph Dana tweeted:

Should throwing stones at an antagonistic armored military jeep be a crime punishable by death?

Journalist Haggai Matar, in a post translated for and republished by +972 Magazine, shares one perspective from Israel:

It is simply shocking. Truly shocking. I look around, and I don’t see my society shocked. Not shocked at all of these people, or at the two head injures in Nabi Saleh yesterday, or at the two arrests in a peaceful demonstration in Ma’asara, which didn’t even get any coverage. I see the careful reports reading, “Palestinians claim that…” and the blind faith in the stance of the IDF Spokesperson. And the lack of shock shocks me even more…

This Friday's protest will be in honor of Tamimi; a Facebook page has been set up for coordination.

Egypt: Trafficking of Refugee Organs in Sinai

Onnik Krikorian — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:13:35 +0000

International human rights groups, including those in Israel, have made serious allegations that African refugees are being held for ransom, tortured, and also fall victim to trafficking. The Israeli Physicians for Human Rights, for example, reports that “Hundreds of refugees are still being held captive in the Sinai” and “experience physical abuse, torture, systematic rape and even death, all with the objective to obtain tens of thousands of dollars in ransom money in exchange for their release.”

Of particular concern, however, is a recent CNN report that says an illegal trade in human organs is also flourishing. The investigation quotes a tribal leader as saying “organ trade is the second most profitable trade behind only weapons trade. It brings in more money than drug dealing and prostitution.”

[WARNING: Graphic video]

israel matzav comments on the news:

There is organ theft in our region and it goes on along the Egyptian-Israeli border. You knew it all along, didn't you? Oh wait - you didn't because you listened to Carl Bildt and Donald Bostrom and you thought it was the Jooos who steal organs. Well, it's not. It's the Arab Bedouin residents of the Northern Sinai peninsula. And they're stealing organs from African refugees.

As does The Jewish Daily Forward:

Egyptian Bedouin smugglers are reportedly killing African migrants who are attempting to infiltrate into Israel for their organs. More precisely, the Bedouins are drugging migrants who cannot pay their high smuggling fees, opening them up, harvesting their organs, and then leaving them to die in the Sinai.

[…]

The Jerusalem Post refers to a CNN report quoting a source that said that mobile clinics with advanced equipment come from a private hospital in Cairo and conduct examinations on the migrants to determine which would be the best sources for healthy organs. Then the surgery is performed on the spot in the middle of the desert. The doctors pay $20,000 and up per organ to the Sawarka tribe.

Jerusalem Diaries:In Tense Times is one of many blogs which has published what it says is a letter from an Israeli reservist serving on the border with Egypt:

Several years ago, a trend started of African refugees crossing the Egyptian border from Sinai into Israel to seek asylum from the atrocities in Darfur. What started out as a small number of men, women and children fleeing from the machetes of the Janjaweed and violent fundamentalists to seek a better life elsewhere, turned into an organized industry of human trafficking. In return for huge sums of money, sometimes entire life savings paid to Bedouin “guides,” these refugees are promised to be transported from Sudan, Eritrea, and other African countries through Egypt and the Sinai desert, into the safe haven of Israel.

We increasingly hear horror stories of the atrocities these refugees suffer on their way to freedom. They are subject to, and victims of extortion, rape, murder, and even organ theft, their bodies left to rot in the desert. Then, if lucky, after surviving this gruesome experience whose prize is freedom, when only a barbed wire fence separates them from Israel and their goal, they must go through the final death run and try to evade the bullets of the Egyptian soldiers stationed along the border. Egypt’s soldiers are ordered to shoot to kill anyone trying to cross the border OUT of Egypt and into Israel. It’s an almost nightly event.

Rebel With A Cause, an Egyptian blog, is also alarmed:

Egyptian human rights organizations have raised concerns about torture, rape and human trafficking of African refugees in Sinai before, but officials didn’t want to admit it or take any actions. The situation seems to continue as it is and our government doesn’t want to intervene to stop this tragedy.

Unfortunately, we have a bad history in dealing with refugees in Egypt. Refugees leave their countries running away from wars, prosecution or dire economic conditions to face other hardships in Egypt. […]

[…]

This tragic situation cannot continue any longer. Immediate action must be taken from the government to stop those grave violations. It's horrible that those men, women and children flee their country to save their lives and find themselves in equally dangerous conditions or worse.More attention should be directed to refugees and their situation to end the dire condition that they suffer from.

Protesters in front of the USA embassy demonstrate against illegal trafficking of Eritrean refugees allegedly killed while crossing the Sinai. Image by carlos van as, copyright Demotix (25/11/11).

A petition to Stop Organ Trafficking of Refugees in Egypt is online here.

Video: Plural+ 2011 Awards Young Filmmakers

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:17:36 +0000

Youth from around the globe were awarded in New York for their thought-provoking short films showing their proposals for making society more peaceful and multicultural by addressing the topics of diversity, migration and social inclusion.

Multicolor handprints on white cloth. Image by Flickr user John-Morgan (CC BY 2.0).

The Plural + Youth Video Festival set out to recognize youth as powerful agents of social change; in the Awards Ceremony they commended young filmmakers for their winning efforts.

Let's see some of the winning videos: GIFT was created by Pang Jia Wei, Ryan Tan Chuan Min and the Tunku Abdul Rahman College in Malaysia and the video won in the 18-25 year old category. In it, we can see and hear how it takes diversity to build a nation.

The New Portuguese is a short documentary on immigrants in Portugal: whether they are immigrating to the capital city of Lisbon from their hometowns or whether their parents moved to Portugal where they were born, they all struggle for acceptance and a place in the city and country they call home.

Wish is a short film about families in China. It tells the story of a boy living with his grandfather while his parents work in a far away city, and how doing what is economically best for a child may turn out to be more challenging than planned.

I am Quiaqueña is the musing of a young woman born in the border between Argentina and Bolivia, and how belonging somewhere is not as easy when geography and politics get in the way.

Having many similarities may not be enough when there is a difference that is considered greater… that is the case of Between Us Two, from Israel.

Our Hood has the Wafalme Crew, a musical group composed of street kids who live in the ghettos of Nairobi, Kenya sing and tell the story of how music changed their lives for the better, teaching them about how to rise up to challenges and keep a positive outlook in life.

A young man writes to his father who has spent his whole life working far away from his home in Exile Song, reminding him that when he wishes to hear the thrushes and see the palm trees… all he has to do is come back home.

In Belong, different immigrants in Finland discuss their experience in living away from their homelands, and what are the things that make them feel that they belong in their new home.

You can see the other winning videos on the Plural + Youth Video Award Page.

Israel: Netanyahu Threatens to Replace Interns with Indian Doctors

Carmel L. Vaisman — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:07:54 +0000

Israeli medical interns were one of the most prominent sectors in the social protest that stirred Israel this summer and one of the few sectors that have kept striking until a fair agreement is reached. Their struggle has been occupying the front pages of the Israeli newspapers in the last couple of days; Friday 18 November's newspapers have quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting to the Ministry of Health to replace the interns with foreign labor contractors from India, if an agreement can not be reached with them.

This shocking remark, coming from the Prime Minister against the backdrop of poor labor conditions across sectors and the government's tightening control on foreign labor through discontinuing of visas, has been the top conversation topic online over the weekend.

As critique over social media is often presented in the form of humor and sarcasm, many Israeli interns have replaced their profile pages on Facebook to pictures of Indian doctors as seen in the profiles collection on Ido Keinan's blog, who reported the phenomenon first.

Message on the wall reads: "Bibi, you live in a Bollywood movie!"

Israeli interns change thier profile pictures to those of Indian doctors to protest Prime Minister Netanyahu's intent to replace them with foreign labor contractors

Israelis have been posting to the Facebook page of “civilians supporting the interns struggle” pictures of Gandhi or of Netanyahu wearing a Sikh turban, subtitled: “Wanted – an Indian PM” or “We can import an Indian PM too”, as well as digitally-manipulated pictures of Netanyahu's wife in an Indian sari.

Caption reads "We can import a PM from India too"

On Twitter @orbar wondered:

When they bring doctors form India will they instruct Oz bullies (the police unit responsible for capturing illegal foreign workers) to ask for medical diplomas?

@nitayp suggests:

I have a solution for this crisis: if the inters call themselves settlers instead of interns suddenly their demands will seem natural and reasonable

Famous Journalist and Television critique Rannan Shaked tweeted:

Bring doctors from India, social workers from Denmark, trains from Japan and community services from Sweden. Only keep bringing the Prime Ministers from your butt.

In a more serious tone, opposition Knesset member, Dov Khenin tweeted:

Netanyahu: “bring doctors from India”. The essence of Capitalism in 3 words. And when these doctors will learn Hebrew and learn to organize their labor, we will deport them and import others from China.

* Many thanks to Elizabeth Tsurkov for her help with curating the tweets.

Palestine: Freedom Riders Challenge Israeli Segregation

Ayesha Saldanha — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:44:35 +0000

On November 15, a group of Palestinian activists were arrested while travelling on a bus carrying Israeli settlers. The activists called themselves the “Freedom Riders”, after the American civil rights campaigners of 1961.

Their aim was to demonstrate that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has led to segregation. Because settler buses go to areas that most Palestinians cannot enter, Palestinians are effectively prevented from using them.

However, the activists made clear that their goal was not equal rights with Israeli settlers:

In undertaking this action Palestinians do not seek the desegregation of settler buses, as the presence of these colonizers and the infrastructure that serves them is illegal and must be dismantled. As part of their struggle for freedom, justice and dignity, Palestinians demand the ability to be able to travel freely on their own roads, on their own land, including the right to travel to Jerusalem.

"Rosa Parks is ALIVE! Palestinians boarding settler-only bus to Jerusalem." Image by @CarlosLatuff

Holly is a British volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, and was there to see what happened:

Yesterday I witnessed six Palestinian activists demand freedom, justice and dignity as they defied Israel’s apartheid policies when the group successfully boarded settler-only buses and attempted to enter East Jerusalem, where they were eventually brutally dragged off and arrested by the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF). At the press conference and in the lead up to the event, the activists described how they had taken inspiration from the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the heroic actions of Rosa Parks. Drawing on the struggles of African Americans who fought against segregation and inequality in the United States, and South Africans who battled against apartheid, the Palestinian Freedom Riders aimed to draw the world’s attention to the similarity of the struggle faced by the Palestinian people on a daily basis.

She explained:

Unlike in the American South of the 60s, you will not see signs around the settlements or at the checkpoints stating “No Palestinians here” – Israel manages its PR machine far too well for such overtly racist statements to be witnessed by the other “democratic” countries which fund its existence. Similarly, Palestinians are technically allowed to ride “settler-only” buses and drive on “settler-only” roads, something repeated by the Israeli media and the settlers who came off the buses yesterday. But the segregation, inequality and the denial of Palestinian’s rights to enter their own land is implemented in a far more covert way by Israel. Whilst Palestinians may be able to travel on the buses and roads, these buses lead either into the internationally recognised illegal settlements, or into East Jerusalem where Palestinians are forbidden to enter. East Jerusalem is the intended capital of a future Palestinian state, yet Israel has denied the majority of Palestinians access to the city without a permit, which are almost impossible to obtain. As a result, Israel has been able to continually expand the settlements in East Jerusalem, particularly in the highly contentious area of Sheikh Jarrah, and this has lead to the annexing of Palestinian populated areas in the city so that it is surrounded by Israeli settlements, systematically destroying the possibility of having a Palestinian controlled capital. As I hope is becoming evident, the Palestinian Freedom Riders movement is not simply about the segregation of buses, the problem here is much larger. Palestinians face an apparatus of military control over Palestinians that needs to be dismantled, along with the settlements themselves.

Haitham Al Katib posted the following video on YouTube:

Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, one of the Freedom Riders, wrote on his blog about his experience:

I was honored to be a freedom rider and it was team effort at its best (those who rode and the many who worked behind the scenes). Two other Palestinians were also arrested with us who were there as a reporters/observers not participants. […] While released, we are still charged with “illegal entry to Jerusalem” and with “obstructing police business” pending potential trial.

He described his treatment by one Israeli soldier after being arrested:

One young Ashkenazi soldier was very arrogant and even called me “Professor Teez” (Teez is arabic for “ass”). We all (freedom riders) laughed it off and I told him that I did not insult him and that when someone insults me they demean themselves first.

Back to Holly, who concluded her post by saying:

The Freedom Riders are demanding that their very basic human rights are upheld in accordance with international law, and to demonstrate that they will continue to engage non-violently to win the freedom, justice and dignity for which the Palestinian people have struggled for so long.

Israel: Fury Over Legislation That Would Limit NGO Foreign Funding

Elizabeth Tsurkov — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:34:24 +0000

The Israeli Twittersphere reacted strongly to the decision of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation in the Knesset, approving two bills that would heavily tax foreign donations of human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and would severely limit the amounts the organizations are allowed to receive funding.

This legislation was supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and due to Israel's parliamentary system, once the coalition endorses the bill, it is most likely to pass in the plenum, where the coalition holds the majority of seats. The votes in the plenum regarding these two pieces of legislation are expected in the coming weeks. If the law passes, human rights NGOs are expected to appeal against it at the Supreme Court, demanding that the law be struck down.

The Israeli Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice have warned the committee that the law is unconstitutional (opposes Israel's Basic Laws) and is “very likely” to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

Hagai El-Ad, the Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, one of the organizations that would have their funding cut as a result of these bills, wrote that the bills do not reflect the will of the Israeli public, which spent the summer protesting for social justice:

The summer passed, the Knesset’s recess was finally over. Hardly a week or two passed. Has the Knesset opted to now devote its time to what had preoccupied the public all summer, or rather return to anti-democratic-business-as-usual?

So far, the answer is quite clear, and it is a slap in the public’s face. Social legislation? The coalition votes against. Anti-democratic legislation? The coalition is vigorously pursuing this agenda, as if the summer never happened.

Ziv Pug also pointed out the disconnection between the social justice protests in Israel and the government's actions, listing the bills the Knesset has turned down since returning from recess [he]:

נגד זכויות אדם, נגד רווחה, לא דיור ציבורי או אפילו פיקוח על שכר דירה. ממשלת מדינת יהודה עוסקת אך ורק בשרידה ושדידה. זו לא הממשלה שלי

@Zivpug: Against human rights, against welfare, against public housing and even rent control. The government of Judea is only busy with survival and robbery. This is not my government.

Ran Cohen, the Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights, another NGO that would have its funding cut, reacted on Twitter [he]:

אין לי שום דבר חכם להגיד על תמיכת ועדת השרים בחוק הגבלת המימון לעמותות. אבל יש לי אצבע משולשת, ואני מתכוון להשתמש בה ביתר שאת. י

@Cohen_Ran: I have nothing smart to say about the support of the Ministerial Committee for the law limiting funding of NGOs. But I do have a middle finger, and I plan on using it with greater intensity.

Others discussed the implication of the bills on Israel's democracy.

Blogger Haim Har-Zahav wrote [he]:

הערב אני והגברת נקיים שיחת ״חיינו לאן״, ולראשונה לא אפסול את אופצית ההגירה. לא כי שלום עכשיו לא תגייס תרומות- אלא כי יש מי שחושבים שאסור לה

@haimhz: Tonight the wife and I will have a conversation about our future, and for the first time, I will not rule out the option of emigrating. Not because Peace Now [leftist NGO] will not raise donations - but because some think is should be forbidden from doing so.

Avishai Burla wrote [he]:

לכל הבכיינים שמאימים לרדת מהארץ לברלין, אני חושב שישראל היא מדינה אירופאית נאורה לכל דבר. בדיוק כמו גרמניה רק בדילאי של 72 שנה

@avishay_b: To all the cry babies threatening to emigrate to Berlin, I think Israel is totally an enlightened European state. Just like Germany, only with a 72-year delay.

Blogger Noam R. wrote [he]:

הסיבה היחידה שהחוק החדש מדבר על ארגוני זכויות אדם ולא על מפלגות שמאל היא שהממשלה חושבת שדעת הקהל עוד לא בשלה. אבל חכו, גם זה יגיע

@noamr: The only reason the new law talks about human rights NGOs and not leftist parties is because the government thinks public opinion isn't ready. But way, it will get to this too.

זה לא לפתע, זה לא בבום, זה בהדרגה, לאט לאט, בהתבשלות. #פאשיזם. הוא זוחל

@Rubynet: It doesn't happen suddenly, bam and that's it, it happens gradually, very slowly. #fascismIsCreeping

מכל הממשלות שהיו לנו בשנים האחרונות, היחידה ששורדת קדנציה שלמה זו הפאשיסטית?! מה לעזאזל, ישראל?

@DanielleBN: Out of all the governments we've had in recent years, the only one that lasts a whole term is the fascist one?! What the hell, Israel?

הכותרת בטמקא “מכה לשמאל: הממשלה בעד הגבלת התרומות”. חדשות לטמקא: זה לא מכה לשמאל, זה מכה אנושה לדמוקרטיה. אה, רגע.

@OferRon: The headline on Ynet [one of the most popular news sites in Israel]: “A hit for the Left: the government supports limitations of donations.” Newsflash to Ynet: it is not a hit for the Left, it's a devastating blow to the democracy. Oh, wait…

A widely-shared photo on Facebook, originally posted by We Won't Shut Up, a campaign by a coalition of leftist NGOs, congratulated Israel:

"Congrats to the government of Israel! For joining the exclusive club of countries that place limitations on foreign funding for NGO! Signed: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leon, Belarus, China"

Others pointed out the hypocrisy in this legislation, considering Netanyahu's election campaign was mostly funded by foreign donors, and the newspaper supporting him, Yisrael Hayom, is funded by the American casino-tycoon, Sheldon Adelson.

A fake account of Yisrael Hayom, the pro-Netanyahu paper, posted [he]:

צריך להבין שמדינה דמוקרטית לא יכולה לאפשר לנתינים זרים לכוון ולשלוט במדיניות הפוליטית, החברתית והערכית שלה. רק כשזה בתקשורת זה די סבבה.

@Not_IsraelHayom: You must understand that a democratic country cannot allow foreign citizens to direct and dictate its political, social and moral policies. It's only pretty good when they control the media.

Daniel K appealed to the United States:

@dkapuchino: Hey, @barackobama @ronpaul Israel just voted to ban foreign donations to political NGOs. Does that cover US foreign aid to the IDF as well?

Blogger Itamar Shaltiel responded [he]:

ראש הממשלה, שלמעלה מ-95 אחוזים מהתרומות שלו מגיעות מארה”ב, תומך בחוק שמגביל תרומות מחו”ל לעמותות. מדהים. באמת מדהים

@itamars: The Prime Minister, over 95 per cent of whose donations come from the United States, supports a law that limits foreign donations to NGOs. Amazing. Truly amazing.

Israel: Whistleblower Anat Kamm Jailed for Exposing IDF Assassinations

Gilad Lotan — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:02:04 +0000

Anat Kamm is an Israeli journalist who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for leaking thousands of classified military documents to Israeli Haaretz journalist Uri Blau. Information from the documents suggests that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had defied a court ruling against assassinating wanted militants in the West Bank who could have potentially been arrested safely.

On December 4, 2008, Blau published a report based on these documents which stated that the IDF senior command planned and executed targeted killings of three people in violation of a 2006 ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court limiting the circumstances in which such a tactic could be used. I couldn't find a working link to the original article by Uri Blau, “License to Kill”, but here's a link to a blog post that reposted the original text.

Image by mish

Kamm is reported to have said during her interrogation: “There were some aspects of the IDF's operations procedures in the West Bank that I felt should be public knowledge… When I was burning the CDs I kept thinking that history tends to forgive people who expose war crimes.”

The Israeli police secured a gag order prohibiting Israeli media from reporting on Kamm's arrest. On February 6, 2010, Anat was convicted of espionage and providing confidential information without authorization and placed under house arrest. After almost two years under house arrest, on October 30, 2011, Kamm was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

While this story is not new, the court decision on Kamm's sentence this week drew a wide array of Israeli netizen reactions. Noam Lester reposts thoughts [he] he published when the story was first publicized in 2010, protesting the lack of media focus on the reported IDF crime that surfaced from this leak:

We witness again the ritual of concealment, censorship, foreign publishing, leaks to blogs and finally a tiring day of non-stop blabbering media. Once again we sacrifice a victim in order to teach us all not to deal with the security forces, especially not to embarrass and show their wretchedness (and crimes). Everyone is focusing on the emissary (Anat) and not the news she surfaced: the IDF has committed crimes directly violating a court order from the Israeli Supreme Court. For this no one will be tried and certainly no one will sit in prison. But the one who exposed the atrocity - she can be presented as a traitor and sent for life imprisonment.

Anat Balint sarcastically writes:

The severe verdict of four and a half years in prison, given by the Tel-Aviv district court to Anat Kamm is a harsh blow to the 24-year-old whistleblower, and a calming pill to many of the public who followed the evolution of this story since April 2010. The process of turning Kamm to a modern-day witch who is threatening the existing social order has been completed successfully. She was caught, removed away from us, thank god, and now all can be sure that we've returned to believe in the holy values: there's nothing more important than the security of our country and its protection from enemies, there's no holier entity than the military, and there's nothing more severe than trying to hurt either of these.

She continues:

Every person whose part of the complex relationship between government entities, security forces and journalists in Israel understands the sheer irony wrapped in the Kamm affair. Leaks of the same sort are the bread and butter of these relationships, a daily affair. Messages that don't come out through the formal channels, or through an authorized interview, are in effect a type of “leak”, which is, according to the law, a crime. These leaks many times include confidential or top secret documents that somehow find their way to journalists and serve as a basis to their articles.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are many who believe that Kamm's sentence should be more severe. Moshe Goldbladt writes:

I hope that the State Attorney will not accept this absurd punishment that Anat Kamm received. In opposition to the judge ruling in the given verdict, the punishment reflects disrespect towards the state security.

Anat Kamm received the support of the left due to exposing “war crimes” - the claim is total babble - and glorified her for her motivation and ideology. When Kamm's lawyers saw that this heartens left wingers but doesn't help her, she started presenting herself as a young, confused girl who doesn't really understand the judges.

It is now time to stop playing hide-and-seek with Uri Blau and with Haaretz. The journalist, editor and everyone involved in receiving this classified material from Anat Kamm must stand before trial and pay a heavy price for their action. Also in this case we need to be talking about an active prison term for many years. Their claim for regularly having access to classified materials (as Raviv Druker suggests as a witness Kamm's trial) is exactly why they need to learn the consequences of breaking military field security laws in this country.

Palestine: Israeli Commandos Intercept Gaza-bound Flotilla and Arrest Activists

Amira Al Hussaini — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:55:38 +0000

Israeli soldiers boarded two ships heading to Gaza earlier today. The Canadian ship Tahrir (Liberation) and Irish Saoirse (Freedom) were en route to Gaza in an attempt to break the Israeli siege on it. Journalists reported on Twitter that naval Israeli commandos intercepted the vessels in international waters, off the Gaza coast, arresting the activists and journalists on board and taking them to the Ashdod port in Israel.

On YouTube, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a video entitled IDF Soldiers board the vessels en-route to the Gaza Strip.

The flotilla, named Freedom Waves, was kept under wraps until just before it set off from a Turkish port on its way to Gaza, two days ago. In addition to activists, the two boats which carry humanitarian aid, also has journalists on board.

Journalist Alan Fisher reports:

@AlanFisher: Israeli naval forces board 2 boats heading for #gaza foiling the latest attempt to break the four-year Israeli blockade of the territory.

Fisher continues:

@AlanFisher: The Israeli boarding of the two vessels took place in international waters

Support is also pouring in for Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, who was on board the Tahrir. Egyptian Amr Gharbeia tweets:

@gharbeia: Thinking of @Linaattalah and all those detained on #freedomwaves boats, now detained by Israel

Mohamed Abdelffath adds:

@mfatta7: Egyptian journalist @Linaattalah who is managing editor of @AlMasryAlYoum_E was on boat Tahrir and now detained by Israel at Asdod port

Salma Said asks:

@salmasaid: What is the egyptian gov going to do about #freelina?

And Tunisian Slim Amamou continues:

@slim404: My friend @linaattalah has been arrested by Israelis during #freedomwaves she's using @alaa avatar in support to #freealaa #freelina

Jordanian Shaden Abu Al-Haijaa appeals to Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who has drawn cartoons to support the Palestinian cause and Arab revolutions, for a drawing:

@Shad84: @CarlosLatuff please draw something about #FreedomWaves and detaining activists who were on board! @Linaattalah

Meanwhile, Israeli journalist Joseph Dana sums up today's operation as follows:

@ibnezra: The simple facts of the matter reveal that the Israeli army has illegally taken #FreedomWaves activists to Israel against their will.

He also notes:

@ibnezra: Imagine you wanted to go to Canada & the US navy stopped you, arrested you & then charged you with illegal entry into the US #FreedomWaves

And continues:

@Ibnezra: The Israeli army will take #FreedomWaves activists directly to jail inside Israel, likely to be charged with ‘illegal entry to Israel'

And needless to say, Israel's continuation of its siege on Gaza is not sitting well with Arab netizens.

Roqayah complains:

@iRevolt: The #Gaza Strip is the worlds largest open air prison; Israel has deprived 1.6 million people of their liberty and basic human rights.

For more reactions on the story, check out the hash tag #Freedomwaves on Twitter.