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Tag: Palestine

Can ‘Sousveillance’ Bring Down Police States?
A group of masked Japanese protesters film the police with a videocamera in this Dec. 21, 2008 photograph. (Flickr / David Shackelford)
March 17, 2016
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Can ‘Sousveillance’ Bring Down Police States?

Posted in Journalism, MintPress News, and SXSW

From the footage of Eric Garner’s death to YouTube videos of Israeli soldiers’ violence against Palestinians, recordings made by everyday people are providing powerful evidence against the actions of police states around the world.

One NGO is harnessing that power and using it against some of the world’s most repressive regimes and dangerous criminals. Videre Est Credere (Latin for “to see is to believe”) provides hidden cameras and specialized training to victims of war crimes and human rights abuses from Africa to Asia.

Oren Yakobovich, CEO of Videre, said the organization’s main goal is to force governments to “protect human rights, or take another kind of action to make people’s lives better. It doesn’t matter how they do it, whether it’s in court or changing legislation.”

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72 Percent Of Aid To Palestine Ends Up ‘In Israeli Hands’
In this Oct. 11, 2006 photograph, a volunteer holds a cement block during a home rebuilding project in Palestine. (Flickr / Amos Trust)
March 14, 2016
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72 Percent Of Aid To Palestine Ends Up ‘In Israeli Hands’

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Aid money to Palestine ends up benefiting the Israeli economy, and may even help perpetuate the occupation, according to an analysis published last year.

Published by Aid Watch Palestine, a Palestinian NGO that scrutinizes the spending of foreign relief money, the September 2015 study by Shir Hever suggests that at least 72 percent of foreign aid actually ends up back in Israeli hands.

Palestine’s economy is dependent on foreign aid, although foreign nations sometimes pledge more than they actually give. The World Bank reported that of $3.5 billion pledged to Palestine in 2015, “only 35 percent has been disbursed, $881 million less than what was supposed to be disbursed so far” by September.

“[D]espite over two decades of sustained aid, the occupation has not come to an end and Palestinians are not yet sovereign in their own country,” Hever noted in the report. “The question that arises is not only whether aid is effective, but whether it also causes harm.”

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Despite Backlash, Haaretz Editorial Board Opposes Israeli Apartheid Policies
A copy of the Hebrew and English editions of Haaretz, a liberal Israeli newspaper, with a pair of reading glasses folded on top. (Wikimedia Commons / HMBR)
February 25, 2016
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Despite Backlash, Haaretz Editorial Board Opposes Israeli Apartheid Policies

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Haaretz is often described as one of Israel’s most influential newspapers, frequently compared to the U.S. “paper of record,” The New York Times.

Both papers share a similar, liberal Zionist viewpoint, but with a major exception: Haaretz is one of the few mainstream media outlets in either country to openly equate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and its occupation of Palestinian territory with apartheid.

Last August, Haaretz correspondent and senior editor Bradley Burston wrote an editorial entitled, “It’s Time to Admit It. Israeli Policy Is What It Is: Apartheid.” Burston explained that while he once objected to the comparison between Israel and Apartheid South Africa, he now accepted the term could be applied to his home after repeated war crimes and human rights violations:

Read moreDespite Backlash, Haaretz Editorial Board Opposes Israeli Apartheid Policies
LA Times Runs BDS Ad Advising Top Oscar Nominees To #SkipTheTrip To Israel
"Free Trip to Israel At the Expense Of Palestinians" reads the headline of a BDS Movement advertisement published on Feb. 24, 2016 in the Los Angeles Times. (Jewish Voice For Peace)
February 25, 2016
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LA Times Runs BDS Ad Advising Top Oscar Nominees To #SkipTheTrip To Israel

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Today, the Los Angeles Times published the #SkipTheTrip advertisement, sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, which Variety rejected last week.

Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of JVP, praised the LA Times decision in a press release. “We know that when people have access to information about Israeli policies and their impacts on Palestinian lives, they are more willing to speak out for justice. This is a small and important step toward that goal.”

Read moreLA Times Runs BDS Ad Advising Top Oscar Nominees To #SkipTheTrip To Israel
Jewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times
The front cover of the parody edition of The New York Times created by Jewish Voice For Peace and Jews Say No! One top headline includes the news that Hillary Clinton is quitting the presidential race to focus on fighting human rights abuses. (JVP / Jews Say No!)
February 5, 2016
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Jewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

Big Apple commuters may have been a bit bewildered by the headlines in their morning copies of The New York Times on Tuesday.

The New York chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace, a progressive Jewish group opposed to Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians, collaborated with local group Jews Say No! to create a parody edition of the Times. They distributed over 10,000 copies of the free “special edition” of the newspaper to New York transit customers on Feb. 2.

The Times has been criticized for its support of Zionism, including overlooking Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians and attacking the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to put economic pressure on Israel to end its apartheid policies.

Read moreJewish Voice For Peace Helps New Yorkers Imagine A More Balanced New York Times
Netanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos. (YouTube screenshot)
February 5, 2016
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Netanyahu Demands Additional US Foreign Aid After Iran Deal

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and MintPress News

Israel receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States each year, and it may start receiving even more next year, according to widely quoted statements from the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Apartheid Israel currently receives $3.1 billion in aid annually which, together with Egypt, accounts for 75 percent of all U.S. foreign military aid. Israel also receives additional U.S. funds for other projects, including its Iron Dome missile defense system.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Netanyahu insisted that Israel will need even more funding over the next 10 years to maintain its military edge in the wake of the nuclear deal with Iran.Agence France-Presse reported on Jan. 21:

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