The Palestine thread

[give her dixie]

Not content with bombing Gaza, Israel decide to attack Sudan and bring their weeks killing to 10.

Sudan 'terrorist state', says Israel official after raid

(AFP) – 4 hours ago 

JERUSALEM — Sudan is a "dangerous terrorist state," a top Israeli defence official said on Thursday after the Sudanese government accused Israel of carrying out a deadly missile strike on a military factory in Khartoum.

Sudanese officials say the attack on the Yarmouk facility south of Khartoum, which took place at around midnight on Tuesday and killed two people, was carried out by four radar-evading aircraft.
Israel, which has long accused Khartoum of serving as a base of support for militants from the Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza, has refused all comment on the claim.

"Sudan is a dangerous terrorist state. To know exactly what happened (there), it will take some time to understand," Amos Gilad told Israel's army radio.

Asked directly whether Israel was involved in the attack, Gilad, who serves as director of policy and political-military affairs at the defence ministry, refused to reply directly.

The Israeli air force, he noted, was "one of the most prestigious in the world, a fact which had been proved many times in the past.

"Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is regarded a war criminal. Sudan has also served as the operational base for (the late Al-Qaeda chief Osama) bin Laden," Gilad pointed out.

"The regime is supported by Iran and it serves as a route for the transfer, via Egyptian territory, of Iranian weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists," he told the radio.

Khartoum has said it found evidence of Israeli involvement among the remnants of the explosives at the blast site.

"We think Israel did the bombing," Culture and Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman said, adding: "We reserve the right to react at a place and time we choose."

It is not the first mystery blast which has prompted allegations of Israeli involvement.
In April 2011, Sudan said it had irrefutable evidence that Israeli attack helicopters carried out an air strike on a car driving along its Red Sea coast which killed two people.

Israel again refused to comment, but Israeli intelligence sources told AFP that a truck carrying weapons, which was being escorted by the car, had been hit in the strike.

In January 2009, foreign aircraft bombed a convoy of trucks in eastern Sudan, with US and Israeli press reports saying they were carrying weapons destined for Gaza during Israel's deadly 22-day assault on the territory.

Khartoum, which has close ties with Hamas, is seeking the removal of US sanctions imposed in 1997 over its alleged support for international terrorism, its human rights record and other concerns.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gSoTbAbd9z-REdfGHzbKpkV-HZtA?docId=CNG.e948f75582c629a7eb61956930e63223.191

[Ball DeBeaver]

"Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is regarded a war criminal. Sudan has also served as the operational base for (the late Al-Qaeda chief Osama) bin Laden," Gilad pointed out.

"The regime is supported by Iran and it serves as a route for the transfer, via Egyptian territory, of Iranian weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists," he told the radio.



Khartoum, which has close ties with Hamas, is seeking the removal of US sanctions imposed in 1997 over its alleged support for international terrorism, its human rights record and other concerns.

I can't think why Israel would have done this.

[Ball DeBeaver]

Arab/Leftist Olive Tree Vandals Busted by Jewish Film Crew

Volunteers caught a group of Arabs and anarchists uprooting olive trees near Ateret in Binyamin, apparently planning to blame Jews


AAFont Size
By David Lev
First Publish: 10/25/2012, 6:00 PM




Arab/Leftist Olive Tree Vandals

Binyamin Regional Council


Volunteers from the grassroots Binyamin Residents' Council on Wednesday caught a group of Arabs and anarchists uprooting olive trees near the town of Ateret in Binyamin. Apparently, the group was planning to cause damage to an olive grove belonging to an Arab farmer, and blame it on Jews from the area.

The volunteers filmed footage of the group as it was destroying the trees, filming its members for several minutes, until one of the group noticed they were being recorded. At that point, the group began shouting and threatened to attack the volunteers. The group quickly loaded the trees onto a pickup truck and ran away.

Itzik Shadmi, chairman of the Council, called on the IDF and the government to put more effort into preventing these kinds of provocations, and to keep the anarchist and student groups who ostensibly come to "help" the Arabs in the olive harvest out of the area. "Thanks to these patrols, which are manned by volunteers from the Binyamin region, we have shown the true faces of these Arabs, who each year complain that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria destroy their trees."

Last week, volunteers also caught a group destroying trees, and filmed them as well (see video below). That incident occurred near Elon Moreh. That group apparently did not have a pickup truck to move the evidence when they were caught, and instead left the damaged trees in the field. Volunteers called police, but no arrests were made.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161332

[seafoid]

Arab/Leftist Olive Tree Vandals Busted by Jewish Film Crew

Volunteers caught a group of Arabs and anarchists uprooting olive trees near Ateret in Binyamin, apparently planning to blame Jews


AAFont Size
By David Lev
First Publish: 10/25/2012, 6:00 PM




Arab/Leftist Olive Tree Vandals

Binyamin Regional Council


Volunteers from the grassroots Binyamin Residents' Council on Wednesday caught a group of Arabs and anarchists uprooting olive trees near the town of Ateret in Binyamin. Apparently, the group was planning to cause damage to an olive grove belonging to an Arab farmer, and blame it on Jews from the area.

The volunteers filmed footage of the group as it was destroying the trees, filming its members for several minutes, until one of the group noticed they were being recorded. At that point, the group began shouting and threatened to attack the volunteers. The group quickly loaded the trees onto a pickup truck and ran away.

Itzik Shadmi, chairman of the Council, called on the IDF and the government to put more effort into preventing these kinds of provocations, and to keep the anarchist and student groups who ostensibly come to "help" the Arabs in the olive harvest out of the area. "Thanks to these patrols, which are manned by volunteers from the Binyamin region, we have shown the true faces of these Arabs, who each year complain that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria destroy their trees."

Last week, volunteers also caught a group destroying trees, and filmed them as well (see video below). That incident occurred near Elon Moreh. That group apparently did not have a pickup truck to move the evidence when they were caught, and instead left the damaged trees in the field. Volunteers called police, but no arrests were made.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161332

So Jewish settlers don't destroy Palestinian olive trees ?
Is that what you are saying ?
Are we supposed to belive this hasbara?   

[Ball DeBeaver]

Maybe it was the big bad Jews that done this too.....

Theft and Destruction at Jewish-Owned Olive Grove

A Jewish farmer went to harvest olives Tuesday from his grove in the Shilo region, but discovered his trees sawn and stripped of fruit.


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By Chana Ya'ar
First Publish: 10/25/2012, 11:00 AM




Jewish olive grove destroyed in Shomron

Israel news photo: Shomron Residents' Council



A Jewish farmer went to harvest olives Tuesday morning from his grove in the Shilo region in Samaria (Shomron), but discovered that his grove had been stripped of the fruit. Dozens of trees were destroyed as well, their branches chopped. Many were sawn down.

Farmer Erez Ben-Saadom was left with only broken branches, he said, and fabric olive sacks with Arabic writing. There were also some olives spilled on the ground.

"We don't know what to do now," the farmer said. "We are talking about tens of thousands of shekels lost, and serious damage to the grove."

Ben-Saadon said it's not the first time he has has fallen victim to theft and vandalism from his Arab neighbors. "Last Sabbath, Arabs harvested from my trees and stole olives from 40 other trees in the same area," he told Arutz Sheva. "A few years ago, they planted three bombs in our vineyard in Har Bracha," he added. "It was a miracle nobody was hurt.

"Uprooting trees, theft and throwing rocks at farmers is not rare, unfortunately," he said. "Every year we suffer from assaults and thefts, both from the Arabs and from anarchists and leftist who come here from around the world.

"It's outrageous that next to my home in Rechelim, Arabs harvest olives without being disturbed, and yet they attack us in the media as if we're plotting against them – while Arab attacks and thefts targeting Jewish farmers in Samaria are met with silence," he declared.

Samaria (Shomron) Residents' Committee head Benny Katzover confirmed that farmers in the region have faced frequent harassment, theft and vandalism during the olive harvest season, as well as attempted libel.

"Unfortunately, this serious issue is met with a lack of proper response," Katzover said. "I call on the legal authorities to take Arab and far-left attacks as seriously as they take Jewish attacks on Arabs," he added.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161327

[Ball DeBeaver]

Pro-Israel Arab party to run in next Knesset election




Thursday, October 25, 2012 |  Ryan Jones   




Israel's upcoming early election just got a lot more interesting with the announced formation of a new Arab political party that intends to support the Jewish state.

Israel's Channel 2 News on Friday highlighted the new party, which will reportedly be made up of "well-known" Arab public figures.

One of the organizers for the new party told Channel 2, "We're tired of Arab MKs who are more concerned with foreign policy in the Arab world and the Palestinian people."

The source was referring to the fact that the three Arab parties currently in the Knesset are made up of lawmakers who spend the bulk of their time condemning and undermining Israel and collaborating with its enemies.

The new party's goal is to do its job of truly representing its constituents, and therefore will busy itself with bettering the lives of Israel's Arab population.

Earlier in the summer we reported on an Arab public figure from the Galilee who planned to form a pro-Israel Arab Knesset party. Sarhan Bader, a local Likud activist, told The Jerusalem Post at the time that he, too, was tired of Israel's current Arab lawmakers misrepresenting the community.

"Most Arab citizens are in favor of coexisting, cooperating and living in harmony with Jewish Israelis," he said. "The other Arab parties place too much emphasis on the Palestinians and external Arabs. But it's more important to serve the Arabs inside Israel who want to live here in peace with our Jewish cousins."

It is not yet clear if Bader will be part of the new Arab party profiled by Channel 2, or if two pro-Israel Arab parties will seek seats in the next Knesset.


http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23454/Default.aspx

[Ball DeBeaver]

Arabs urged to serve in Israeli army


Israel is currently engaging in vigorous review of its military draft laws, which currently permit Orthodox Jews and Arabs to avoid national service. Interestingly, there are a number of Arab voices insisting that their sector of society should serve the same as Israel's Jews.

Reforming Israel's draft laws was one of the conditions of former opposition party Kadima joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. At the center of the negotiations was the Tal Law that enables Jews to bypass military service if they are attending yeshiva (Jewish seminary). Non-Orthodox Israelis are unhappy that so many of their religious brethren do not help carry the burden of national defense.

But the situation is not so simple. In a democratic society, it is not possible to only target Orthodox Jews for national service, and so the laws governing the drafting of Israeli Arabs are also being reviewed, much to the irritation of Arab Knesset members.

Arab members of Israel's Knesset like Ahmad Tibi and Talab el-Sana have long insisted that Israel is a racist state and therefore its Arab citizens should not do any kind of national service.

In an interview with Israel's Ynet news portal, Bedouin Arab activist Ibrahim al-Huzeil strongly disagreed.

"You want rights? Make your contribution. If not in the army, then help the community, your sector, your town," said Huzeil. "I see no problem with everyone enlisting, including Arabs and haredim."

As for Tibi and el-Sana, Huzeil said they do not represent most Israeli Arabs, but rather "they represent the Palestinian Authority and terror." Interestingly, Tibi was once an advisor to former Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, who at one time was the world's most visible terrorist.

Huzeil said that so far eight of his nine sons have served in the Israeli army, and he will continue to raise them to view national service to the Jewish state as a duty.

Protesters at the "Suckers' Tent" in Jerusalem where IDF reservists are challenging the exemption of Orthodox Jews from national service were surprised to hear a message similar to Huzeil's last week when an Arab mother visited.

Anet Haschaya insisted that, like the Orthodox, Israeli Arabs "must also carry their equal share of the burden, stop complaining and begin serving in the IDF – or at least join the national service program."

Haschaya, a Muslim, noted that all three of her sons had or currently were serving in the Israeli army.

A few years ago, the BBC profiled Maj Fehd Fallah, an Israeli Bedouin from the Golan Heights who explained that there are thousands of Arabs serving in the Israeli army, with pride.

"Israeli Muslims who don't serve in the IDF should be ashamed for not serving their country," said Fallah.

While enlistment among Bedouins and other Arab Muslims is relatively low, a comparatively large percentage of Israeli Druze do serve in the IDF, a decision their leaders made shortly after the rebirth of Israel.

It is also more common for Arab Christians to enlist than their Muslim brothers. Two years ago, the IDF celebrated the promotion of its first female Arab combat soldier, Cpl. Elinor Joseph, whose father before her had been an Israeli paratrooper.

"I know I am part of the Jewish state's army and therefore when we speak about that I listen and learn," said Elinor at the time. "I believe in what I am doing. In my eyes, I am here for a mission."

Earlier this year, Ynet reported on a female Arab Christian soldier who encourages young Israeli Jews to take pride in their upcoming military service.

Shirin Shlian from Nazareth speaks at schools in the Jewish part of the town helping teenage Israelis make sense of the life changes they are about to face.

"I give the students a lesson about the first draft notice, IDF enlistment and the jobs the army has to offer. In addition, I hold personal conversations with each student with the aim of encouraging them to have a significant and contributing service," said Shlian, whose brothers are also soldiers.
"The students applaud me for my decision to volunteer, enlist – and make a contribution to the State."


http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23279/Default.aspx

[give her dixie]

Remember when Israel destroyed the UN schools in Gaza during Cast Lead and then told the world that there were rockets fired from them? Well, they lied .......

http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1477

No rockets from UNRWA schools in Gaza during the Gaza war of 2008-2009
Israel's Channel Two publishes correction

24 October 2012
East Jerusalem

Israel's highest-rating news programme, Channel Two News, has published a statement correcting false claims that rockets were fired from schools operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) during the Gaza war in 2008-2009. The statement makes clear that Israeli officials themselves acknowledged that such claims were false and that there was no evidence to support them.

"We heard this misinformation during the war when there was shelling on and around the Agency's schools and our main warehouse in Gaza", said UNRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness, "but Israeli officials made it clear to the UN during the war itself that they knew claims about militants in UNRWA installations were completely false. Constant, unchecked repetition of this misinformation has been very damaging to the Agency and has produced some very poor and biased journalism, which I will continue to confront. This is the third time in just a few months that a major news organisation has issued a public retraction because of false information about UNRWA."

The shelling in and around UNRWA installations, such as schools and the Agency's warehouse in Gaza, were condemned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders. In a statement issued on 15 January 2009, Mr. Ban expressed "outrage", saying he had protested to Israel's defence and foreign ministers. The defence minister had told Mr. Ban that the shelling of the UNRWA warehouse was a "grave mistake".

After the warehouse was destroyed along with all material and equipment within it, the Israeli government paid over USD 10 million to the United Nations. "Would all this really have happened? Would all this really have been said by such senior officials if there were militants firing rockets from our installations?" asked Gunness.

[give her dixie]

Good piece from professor Richard Falk on why we should boycott those companies who profit from the illegal occupation. One omission is Irish company, CRH, who supply the cement used in the Apartheid Wall and in the illegal settlements

http://www.un.org/ga/61/news/news.asp?NewsID=43376&Cr=palestin&Cr1

UN independent expert calls for boycott of businesses profiting from Israeli settlements

25 October 2012 - A United Nations independent expert today called on the world body's General Assembly, as well as civil society, to take action against Israeli and international businesses that are profiting from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

"My main recommendation is that the businesses highlighted in the report – as well as the many other businesses that are profiting from the Israeli settlement enterprise – should be boycotted, until they bring their operations into line with international human rights and humanitarian law and standards," the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, said in a news release issued as he presented a report on his work to the Assembly.

Highlighting the activities of companies such as Caterpillar Incorporated of the United States, Veolia Environment of France, G4S of the United Kingdom, the Dexia Group of Belgium, Ahava of Israel, the Volvo Group of Sweden, the Riwal Holding Group of the Netherlands, Elbit Systems of Israel, Hewlett Packard of the USA, Mehadrin of Israel, Motorola of the USA, Assa Abloy of Sweden, and Cemex of Mexico, the Special Rapporteur noted that a wide range of Israeli and international businesses are involved in the establishment and maintenance of the Israeli settlements.

"All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been established in clear violation of international law," said Mr. Falk.

"Yet today Israeli settlements control over 40 percent of the West Bank and between 500,000 and 600,000 Israeli citizens are living in Palestinian territory," he added. "In the last 12 months alone, the settler population has increased by over 15,000 persons."

He drew the Assembly's attention to developing international law and standards concerning businesses and human rights, including the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Businesses and Human Rights.

"The principles outlined in the Global Compact are clear," Mr. Falk said. "Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and ensure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses."

The Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. The Guiding Principles, endorsed by the Human Rights Council, provide a global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity.

Mr. Falk also noted guidance developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that points to the prospect of corporate and individual criminal responsibility for violations committed during a situation of armed conflict.

"In short, businesses should not breach international humanitarian law provisions. Nor should they be complicit in any breaches. If they do, they may be subject to criminal or civil liability. And this liability can be extended to individual employees of such businesses," the Special Rapporteur said in presenting his report.

Mr. Falk noted that he had written to all the businesses mentioned in his report, and that positive responses were received from some of them.

"It is encouraging to be informed that Assa Abloy has moved its Mul-T-Locks factory from the West Bank to Israel, and that the Dexia Group, G4S, and Cemex are looking for ways to bring their operations into line with their commitments under the UN Global Compact," he added.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not United Nations staff, nor are they paid for their work.

[seafoid]

Maybe it was the big bad Jews that done this too.....

Theft and Destruction at Jewish-Owned Olive Grove

A Jewish farmer went to harvest olives Tuesday from his grove in the Shilo region, but discovered his trees sawn and stripped of fruit.


AAFont Size
By Chana Ya'ar
First Publish: 10/25/2012, 11:00 AM




Jewish olive grove destroyed in Shomron

Israel news photo: Shomron Residents' Council



A Jewish farmer went to harvest olives Tuesday morning from his grove in the Shilo region in Samaria (Shomron), but discovered that his grove had been stripped of the fruit. Dozens of trees were destroyed as well, their branches chopped. Many were sawn down.

Farmer Erez Ben-Saadom was left with only broken branches, he said, and fabric olive sacks with Arabic writing. There were also some olives spilled on the ground.

"We don't know what to do now," the farmer said. "We are talking about tens of thousands of shekels lost, and serious damage to the grove."

Ben-Saadon said it's not the first time he has has fallen victim to theft and vandalism from his Arab neighbors. "Last Sabbath, Arabs harvested from my trees and stole olives from 40 other trees in the same area," he told Arutz Sheva. "A few years ago, they planted three bombs in our vineyard in Har Bracha," he added. "It was a miracle nobody was hurt.

"Uprooting trees, theft and throwing rocks at farmers is not rare, unfortunately," he said. "Every year we suffer from assaults and thefts, both from the Arabs and from anarchists and leftist who come here from around the world.

"It's outrageous that next to my home in Rechelim, Arabs harvest olives without being disturbed, and yet they attack us in the media as if we're plotting against them – while Arab attacks and thefts targeting Jewish farmers in Samaria are met with silence," he declared.

Samaria (Shomron) Residents' Committee head Benny Katzover confirmed that farmers in the region have faced frequent harassment, theft and vandalism during the olive harvest season, as well as attempted libel.

"Unfortunately, this serious issue is met with a lack of proper response," Katzover said. "I call on the legal authorities to take Arab and far-left attacks as seriously as they take Jewish attacks on Arabs," he added.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/161327

BDB. What sort of Arabs are these people referred to in your posts ? Are they Algerians or Omanis or what? I would appreciate an explanation.

[seafoid]

Pro-Israel Arab party to run in next Knesset election




Thursday, October 25, 2012 |  Ryan Jones   




Israel's upcoming early election just got a lot more interesting with the announced formation of a new Arab political party that intends to support the Jewish state.

Israel's Channel 2 News on Friday highlighted the new party, which will reportedly be made up of "well-known" Arab public figures.

One of the organizers for the new party told Channel 2, "We're tired of Arab MKs who are more concerned with foreign policy in the Arab world and the Palestinian people."

The source was referring to the fact that the three Arab parties currently in the Knesset are made up of lawmakers who spend the bulk of their time condemning and undermining Israel and collaborating with its enemies.

The new party's goal is to do its job of truly representing its constituents, and therefore will busy itself with bettering the lives of Israel's Arab population.

Earlier in the summer we reported on an Arab public figure from the Galilee who planned to form a pro-Israel Arab Knesset party. Sarhan Bader, a local Likud activist, told The Jerusalem Post at the time that he, too, was tired of Israel's current Arab lawmakers misrepresenting the community.

"Most Arab citizens are in favor of coexisting, cooperating and living in harmony with Jewish Israelis," he said. "The other Arab parties place too much emphasis on the Palestinians and external Arabs. But it's more important to serve the Arabs inside Israel who want to live here in peace with our Jewish cousins."

It is not yet clear if Bader will be part of the new Arab party profiled by Channel 2, or if two pro-Israel Arab parties will seek seats in the next Knesset.


http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23454/Default.aspx

BDB - fascinating. It is very strange that the Arab parties would be so pro Palestinian. Do you have any ideas as to why this might happen ? it couldn't happen here.  Imagine Irish catholics in Westmeath taking an interest in British catholics living in Armagh. The mind boggles.

[give her dixie]

If you refuse to serve in the IDF and have a conscience, you go to jail......

Israeli conscientious objector begins 10-day sentence for refusing to serve in IDF


Moriel Rothman, 23, a Jerusalem native who lived in the United States for two decades, says he is acting in 'solidarity with the Palestinians living under occupation.

A U.S.-Israeli citizen who is refusing to perform his compulsory IDF service as a "conscientious objector", has a  has been sentenced to ten days in a military jail, Haaretz has learned.

Moriel Rothman, 23, a Jerusalem native who lived in the United States for two decades before returning to Israel last year, reported Wednesday to IDF headquarters outside in Tel Aviv after receiving a draft notice last June. Rothman told Haaretz late Wednesday night that he had been sentenced.

The IDF Spokespersons' Unit responded, "The soldier was arrested for avoiding the draft and for violating the Security Service Law and was sentenced to 10 days' incarceration," the IDF Spokesman's Unit said in a statement.

"The above-mentioned soldier submitted a request to appear before the Conscience Committee, and when he completes his sentence a decision will be made concerning the rest of his military service."

The statement did not mention where Rothman was being held.

In an interview with Haaretz, Rothman said he had planned to state his objections to IDF officials, knowing full well he faced incarceration. Rothman said he appealed the June letter, which was rejected ten days ago.

In a long letter posted to his blog, "The Leftern Wall," earlier this week, Rothman, a long-time resident of Yellow Springs, Ohio, laid out his manifesto, framing his refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces "on the basis of conscience, opposition to structural violence and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories."

Clad in jeans, a plaid shirt and sandals, and an army-style jacket, Rothman appeared at an East Jerusalem transit point for soldiers at 8 A.M. Wednesday en route to Tel Aviv, accompanied by about ten friends and family members. He was holding a bag that he said bore a "toothbrush, some almonds, a notebook, a pen, and books by Hanoch Levin, Rebbe Nachman [of Bratslov], [Jorge Luis] Borges and the Dalai Lama."

"Occupation can only be theoretical if you are not occupied, and thus my refusal to support the occupation by serving in the IDF is also an act of solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation," blogged Rothman, a 2011 graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, and former student president of the national board of "J Street U," the student organizing arm of J Street, a non-profit liberal advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-conscientious-objector-begins-10-day-sentence-for-refusing-to-serve-in-idf-1.472247

[deiseach]

BDB - fascinating. It is very strange that the Arab parties would be so pro Palestinian. Do you have any ideas as to why this might happen ? it couldn't happen here.  Imagine Irish catholics in Westmeath taking an interest in British catholics living in Armagh. The mind boggles.

I'm sure the Thatcherite press was stuffed to the gills during the apartheid era with tales of the good blacks who wanted to engage with the government of South Africa and condemned the terrorism of Mandela and the ANC. It would have been nauseating then too.

[LeoMc]

BDB - fascinating. It is very strange that the Arab parties would be so pro Palestinian. Do you have any ideas as to why this might happen ? it couldn't happen here.  Imagine Irish catholics in Westmeath taking an interest in British catholics living in Armagh. The mind boggles.

I'm sure the Thatcherite press was stuffed to the gills during the apartheid era with tales of the good blacks who wanted to engage with the government of South Africa and condemned the terrorism of Mandela and the ANC. It would have been nauseating then too.

In the 1980's the SDLP wanted constitutional politics and were condemning the activities of the IRA.

[deiseach]

BDB - fascinating. It is very strange that the Arab parties would be so pro Palestinian. Do you have any ideas as to why this might happen ? it couldn't happen here.  Imagine Irish catholics in Westmeath taking an interest in British catholics living in Armagh. The mind boggles.

I'm sure the Thatcherite press was stuffed to the gills during the apartheid era with tales of the good blacks who wanted to engage with the government of South Africa and condemned the terrorism of Mandela and the ANC. It would have been nauseating then too.

In the 1980's the SDLP wanted constitutional politics and were condemning the activities of the IRA.

I see. By that logic, I presume you think the UK and South Africa were comparable states during that period.