Keyword: Israel

Will the ANC Government Ever Prosecute South Africans Serving in the Israeli Defence force?

Picture: Matanya/Wikipedia Eddie Cottle - When South African security services prevented a Cape Town girl from boarding a plane allegedly to join ISIS, many South Africans were pleased but at the same time surprised at how swift the reaction of our security services were. How come the same reaction is not applied to South African Zionist Jews serving in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF)? The swift action of the South African security services was carried out in terms of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act (RFMA),...

Support for Palestine In Europe: What's Winnable, What's Not

Picture: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom at the opening of the first Palestinian Embassy in Western Europe  in Stockholm on February 10, 2015, courtesy RT. Jamie Stern-Weiner - How can the Palestine solidarity movement win? What demands should it make in order to achieve the maximum amount of justice within the constraints of what is politically feasible? And how should it frame those demands in order to reach a broad public? These are questions of political judgment rather than science. But sound political judgment will be rooted, so far as possible, in a clear-eyed assessment of current (or incipient) public opinion. A movement that wants to persuade a...

Leaked Video Shows IDF Soldiers Harassing Palestinian Children in Night Raids

Picture: Chicago Faith Coalition Video A video has emerged showing Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers raiding Palestinian homes, forcing parents to wake up their children before questioning and photographing the youngsters. Children as young as four have been questioned during the night raids. The list of mistreatment of children doesn't end there. IDF soldiers regularly harass, manhandle and set attack dogs on young Palestinian children in public spaces. The IDF arrests up to 700 children each year. Human Rights Watch contends...

Obama Threatens to Withdraw U.S. Support for Israel at United Nations

Picture: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv Video This week Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected as prime minister of Israel for the fourth time. In the final days of his campaign, he made it clear that he doesn’t support a two-state solution. Washington has responded by saying, "Now that the foundation has been eroded, it means that our policy decisions need to be reconsidered…" In his latest interview, Netanyahu tried to walk back from his statement, but The New York Times reports that his retreat has done nothing to...

Nearly 60 Lawmakers Boycott Netanyahu's Speech In U.S. Congress

Picture: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Congress on March 3, 2015 courtesy Speaker John Boehner/flickr Lauren McCauley - As Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed no less than 26 standing ovations during his speech before the United States Congress on Tuesday morning, the resounding applause did not include the clapping hands of nearly sixty lawmakers who did not attend the controversial address. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (Vt.) joined 56 Democratic lawmakers in the boycott, which was seen by many as snub to the powerful Jewish-American lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs...

Analysing Netanyahu's U.S. Congress Speech on Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

Picture: Speaker John Boehner/flickr Video Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the world must stand together to stop Iran from gaining access to a nuclear weapon in his much-anticipated address to the U.S. Congress. Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, analyses Netanyahu’s speech arguing that the Israeli prime minister chose to focus on Iran’s nuclear programme to avoid having to address the Palestine question. He argues further that only when speaking about Iran can Netanyahu speak...