Haaretz: U.K. academic union moves to consider boycott of Israeli academia
Members of the University and College Union in England (UCU) passed a motion at their annual conference on Wednesday to consider severing ties with Israeli universities.
Tom Hickey, who teaches philosophy at the University of Brighton, says the motion highlighting the "humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gaza by Israel" is just shy of a full boycott, The Telegraph said.
The UCU, the largest trade union and professional organization for academics and lecturers working throughout the United Kingdom, called on its colleagues to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions, and to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned.
The motion noted "the continuation of illegal settlement, killing of civilians and the impossibility of civil life, including education" as a result of the occupation.
The Zionist response? Pretty predictable, when in doubt scream anti-semitism!
The Academic Friends of Israel condemned the UCU for passing a resolution "which is clearly discriminatory and anti-Semitic and, we believe, in clear violation of the U.K. Race Relations act."
Showing posts with label Haaretz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haaretz. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
UN expert: Palestinian "terror" inevitable result of occupation
interesting read from Haaretz..
A report commissioned by the United Nations suggests that Palestinian terrorism is the inevitable consequence of Israeli occupation and laws that resemble South African apartheid - a claim Israel rejected Tuesday as enflaming hatred between Jews and Palestinians.
The report by John Dugard, independent investigator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the UN Human Rights Council, will be presented next month, but it has been posted on the body's Web site.
In it, Dugard, a South African lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in the 1980s, says "common sense ... dictates that a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation."
"While Palestinian terrorist acts are to be deplored, they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation," writes Dugard, whose 25-page report accuses the Israel of acts and policies consistent with all three.
He cited checkpoints and roadblocks restricting Palestinian movement to house demolitions and what he terms the Judaization of Jerusalem.
"As long as there is occupation, there will be terrorism," he argues.
"Acts of terror against military occupation must be seen in historical context," Dugard says. "This is why every effort should be made to bring the occupation to a speedy end. Until this is done, peace cannot be expected, and violence will continue."
Israel's UN ambassador in Geneva slammed Dugard's analysis.
"The common link between Al-Qaida and the Palestinian terrorists is that both intentionally target civilians with the mere purpose to kill," Itzhak Levanon said. "The fact that Professor Dugard is ignoring this essential fact, demonstrates his inability to use objectivity in his assessment."
"Professor Dugard will better serve the cause of peace by ceasing to enflame the hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, who have embarked on serious talks to solve this contentious situation."
Dugard was appointed in 2001 as an unpaid expert by the now-defunct UN Human Rights Commission to investigate only violations by the Israeli side, prompting Israel and the U.S. to dismiss his reports as one-sided. Israel refused to allow him to conduct a UN-mandated fact-finding mission on its Gaza offensive in 2006.
The report will be presented next month at the 47-nation rights council's first regular session of the year. The new body has been widely criticized - even by its founder, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - for spending most of its time criticizing one government, Israel's, over alleged abuses.
A report commissioned by the United Nations suggests that Palestinian terrorism is the inevitable consequence of Israeli occupation and laws that resemble South African apartheid - a claim Israel rejected Tuesday as enflaming hatred between Jews and Palestinians.
The report by John Dugard, independent investigator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the UN Human Rights Council, will be presented next month, but it has been posted on the body's Web site.
In it, Dugard, a South African lawyer who campaigned against apartheid in the 1980s, says "common sense ... dictates that a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation."
"While Palestinian terrorist acts are to be deplored, they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation," writes Dugard, whose 25-page report accuses the Israel of acts and policies consistent with all three.
He cited checkpoints and roadblocks restricting Palestinian movement to house demolitions and what he terms the Judaization of Jerusalem.
"As long as there is occupation, there will be terrorism," he argues.
"Acts of terror against military occupation must be seen in historical context," Dugard says. "This is why every effort should be made to bring the occupation to a speedy end. Until this is done, peace cannot be expected, and violence will continue."
Israel's UN ambassador in Geneva slammed Dugard's analysis.
"The common link between Al-Qaida and the Palestinian terrorists is that both intentionally target civilians with the mere purpose to kill," Itzhak Levanon said. "The fact that Professor Dugard is ignoring this essential fact, demonstrates his inability to use objectivity in his assessment."
"Professor Dugard will better serve the cause of peace by ceasing to enflame the hatred between Israelis and Palestinians, who have embarked on serious talks to solve this contentious situation."
Dugard was appointed in 2001 as an unpaid expert by the now-defunct UN Human Rights Commission to investigate only violations by the Israeli side, prompting Israel and the U.S. to dismiss his reports as one-sided. Israel refused to allow him to conduct a UN-mandated fact-finding mission on its Gaza offensive in 2006.
The report will be presented next month at the 47-nation rights council's first regular session of the year. The new body has been widely criticized - even by its founder, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - for spending most of its time criticizing one government, Israel's, over alleged abuses.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Children of War
By Gideon Levy
Again children. Five children killed in Gaza in eight days. The public indifference to their killing - the last three, for example, were accorded only a short item on the margins of page 11 in Yedioth Ahronoth, a sickening matter in itself - cannot blur the fact that the IDF is waging a war against children. A year ago, a fifth of those killed in the "Summer Rain" operation in Gaza were children; during the past two weeks, they comprised a quarter of the 21 killed. If, heaven forbid, children are hurt in Sderot, we will have to remember this before we begin raising hell.
The IDF explains that the Palestinians make a practice of sending children to collect the Qassam launchers. However, in this case, the children killed were not collecting launchers. The first two were killed while collecting carob fruit and the next three - according to the IDF's own investigation - were playing tag. But even if we accept the IDF's claim that there is a general trend of sending children to collect launchers (which has not been proven), that should have brought about an immediate halt to firing at launcher collectors.
Complete Article
Again children. Five children killed in Gaza in eight days. The public indifference to their killing - the last three, for example, were accorded only a short item on the margins of page 11 in Yedioth Ahronoth, a sickening matter in itself - cannot blur the fact that the IDF is waging a war against children. A year ago, a fifth of those killed in the "Summer Rain" operation in Gaza were children; during the past two weeks, they comprised a quarter of the 21 killed. If, heaven forbid, children are hurt in Sderot, we will have to remember this before we begin raising hell.
The IDF explains that the Palestinians make a practice of sending children to collect the Qassam launchers. However, in this case, the children killed were not collecting launchers. The first two were killed while collecting carob fruit and the next three - according to the IDF's own investigation - were playing tag. But even if we accept the IDF's claim that there is a general trend of sending children to collect launchers (which has not been proven), that should have brought about an immediate halt to firing at launcher collectors.
Complete Article
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Ad in Haaretz
Day & Night in the Holy Land
During the day,
Olmert embraces
Mahmoud Abbas
And speaks about
Permanent peace
And a rosy future
For the Palestinians.
During the night,
Children are being killed,
Land is being stolen,
Destruction is being wrought.
Children are being killed,
Land is being stolen,
Destruction is being wrought.
During the day - deception.
During the night - reality.
During the night - reality.
03-5221732.
Help us pay for
Our activities and ads
By sending checks to
Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322
Tel-Aviv 61033.
www.gush-shalom.org
info@gush-shalom.org
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Ad in Haaretz
Barak's Shameful Policy
In an army action
This week,
Two boys,
Aged 9 and 11,
Were shot dead.
The Minister of Defense,
Ehud Barak,
Leader of the Labor Party,
Did not even apologize
Or express regret.
Silence is admission:
This is now the policy.
03-5221732.
Help us pay for
Our activities and ads
By sending checks to
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Thursday, August 16, 2007
Ad in Haaretz
Gush Shalom Ad on IDF Murder of Boy
The boy Khalil Sha'er
Was waiting for a bus
Near Tekoa,
When he was seized
And beaten to death
By five soldiers.
Almost every day
In the West Bank and Gaza
The army kills
Children, women
And other unarmed people.
A matter of routine.
While Olmert babbles
About peace,
The occupation is getting
More and more
Deadly, destructive
And rapacious.
And rapacious.
03-5221732.
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Our activities and ads
By sending checks to
Gush Shalom, P.O.Box 3322
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Monday, July 9, 2007
'Mowing the grass' in Nablus
"Israeli" Occupational Forces at their finest...
By Gideon Levy
What do you do for 21 hours, trapped in one room - 28 people, including children and babies? How do you pass the time? How do you calm down crying and frightened children? How do you care for an ailing grandmother? You can't turn on the light, or the television, or talk. Armed soldiers guard the doorway and they've confiscated all the cellular phones. You can go out to the bathroom, but only after receiving permission. Used diapers have to be tossed in a corner of the room. After protracted negotiations, two women are permitted to go cook something.
Why was it necessary to imprison six innocent families this way? If the Israel Defense Forces needed their apartment building, why not let them move into the neighbors' homes? And why choose this building, when right next to it another building of similar size stands empty? Were these people being used as a kind of human shield for the soldiers? And what sort of trauma was inflicted on the little ones who were put through this ordeal?
On the radio I heard the explanation: "We have to 'mow the grass.'" This was the picturesque description offered by military sources for the IDF's activity in Nablus. This is why the army enters the city almost every night, carrying out broad-scale operations every few weeks, like the one last week. Two IDF officers were seriously injured, two were moderately injured, one passerby was killed - and members of the extended Adalay family were imprisoned together for no good reason.
Continue to Article
By Gideon Levy
What do you do for 21 hours, trapped in one room - 28 people, including children and babies? How do you pass the time? How do you calm down crying and frightened children? How do you care for an ailing grandmother? You can't turn on the light, or the television, or talk. Armed soldiers guard the doorway and they've confiscated all the cellular phones. You can go out to the bathroom, but only after receiving permission. Used diapers have to be tossed in a corner of the room. After protracted negotiations, two women are permitted to go cook something.
Why was it necessary to imprison six innocent families this way? If the Israel Defense Forces needed their apartment building, why not let them move into the neighbors' homes? And why choose this building, when right next to it another building of similar size stands empty? Were these people being used as a kind of human shield for the soldiers? And what sort of trauma was inflicted on the little ones who were put through this ordeal?
On the radio I heard the explanation: "We have to 'mow the grass.'" This was the picturesque description offered by military sources for the IDF's activity in Nablus. This is why the army enters the city almost every night, carrying out broad-scale operations every few weeks, like the one last week. Two IDF officers were seriously injured, two were moderately injured, one passerby was killed - and members of the extended Adalay family were imprisoned together for no good reason.
Continue to Article
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