Israel's Apartheid Law
That is what many have called the Nation-State Law that the Israeli parliament (photo) adopted in July 2018. It made more clear than ever what the Palestinians have known and world governments have avoided admitting: that Israel has established an apartheid regime both in occupied Palestinian territory and within Israel itself.
Added to the "Basic Law" – Israel's closest thing to a national constitution – this new legislation defines Israel as the nation-state exclusively of the Jewish people, thereby privileging Jewish citizens and denying equal rights to non-Jewish citizens (Palestinians comprise at least 20% of Israel's citizens). It also grants great advantages to Jewish-only communities, interjects Jewish religious law into court decisions, reverses Israeli court decisions that barred discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, and gender, and downgrades the status of the Arabic language, previously an official language of Israel along with Hebrew.
As shocking as some provisions of this law are, Palestinians have noted that much of it was the reality they already know in Israel, and the government is just being more explicit about the widespread, codified racial discrimination in what Israel erroneously claims is "the only democracy in the Middle East."
READ MORE
NY Times: Israeli Law Declares the Country the 'Nation-State of the Jewish People'
NY Times: Did Israel Just Stop Trying to Be a Democracy? LA Times: Israel's 'Jewish state' law is the latest assault on its Arab citizens LA Times: Israel Just Dropped Pretense of Equality for Palestinian Citizens +972 Magazine (Israel): Israel's Nation-State Law: 'Apartheid is a process' Palestine Chronicle: Jewish Nation-State Law: Why Israel Was Never a Democracy Mondoweiss: 'Nothing changed with this law' – Palestinians respond to 'Nation-state of Jewish people' law
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ABOUT OUR NEWS SOURCES
The articles we include in our lists to 'Read More' – in our newsletters and on our website – are provided as an informational service for our readers, and the views expressed may or may not be shared by UMKR.
Some selections may be repetitive;because some periodicals have paywalls, we provide a variety of sources in the hope that every reader will find some of them accessible, with or without a subscription.
The Worst U.S. Actions
In 2018, there were so many terrible decisions regarding Israel/Palestine by the Trump administration, it's difficult to know where to start. But these rank among the top mainstream news stories of the year and may have the most far-reaching effects.
Recognizing Jerusalem; Moving U.S. Embassy
The first part of this headline actually happened in December 2017. Reversing decades of U.S. policy and brazenly flouting international law, President Trump announced that the United States recognizes the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which Israel had named it decades ago. Based on that recognition, Trump also decided the U.S. embassy would move from Tel Aviv where all other embassies are located, to Jerusalem.
In May 2018, that move became reality. U.S. and Israel held an event in Jerusalem to celebrate the new location of the U.S. embassy, even while the Palestinians in Gaza were offering up their lives a few miles away, protesting this blatant renunciation of Palestinian rights in occupied territory (see story above).
Under international law, East Jerusalem is not in the state of Israel. It is under military occupation, taken along with the rest of the West Bank in the 1967 war. That same year, the UN Security Council unanimously (that means the U.S. too) adopted Resolution 242, telling Israel it had to relinquish the occupied land. Instead, Israel declared all of Jerusalem its capital and has been colonizing the West Bank including East Jerusalem ever since. No country had its embassy in Jerusalem because the world does not recognize it as Israel's legitimate capital. Now the U.S. has set a terrible example (that Paraguay and Guatemala have already followed), severely undermining Palestinian rights, not to mention the credibility of international law, which needs all the support it can get.
Apparently, many governments agree. Also in December 2017, 128 countries, including Great Britain, France and Germany, voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution declaring Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital to be "null and void," and calling for the United States to drop its recognition of that capital, thereby defying U.S. threats to cut U.S. aid to those that so voted.
READ MORE
Reuters: Over 100 countries defy Trump, vote for Jerusalem U.N. resolution United Nations: General Assembly Overwhelmingly Adopts Resolution Asking Nations Not to Locate Diplomatic Missions in Jerusalem LA Times: Celebration in Jerusalem, bloodshed in Gaza NY Times: A Grotesque Spectacle in Jerusalem Haaretz (Israel): Trump's Embassy Move Intensifies America's Immoral Support for Israel's Alt-right Government
IMEU: Quick Facts: Jerusalem
Cutting Funds to UNRWA
That difficult to pronounce acronym (try "unerwa") stands for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which was created after Israel's 1948-49 war, when 700,000 to 800,000 Palestinians became refugees and Israel would not allow them to return to their homes when that war ended. Israel destroyed 400 or more Palestinian villages to make sure they could not return.
Since that time, UNRWA has been providing aid for those refugees, whose children and grandchildren have the same status and rights as refugees. Millions live in deprivation in neighboring countries, Gaza, and refugees camps in the West Bank, with limited access to essential resources and services. UNRWA fills that gap as best they can. The U.S. was UNRWA's major source of funding, providing about one third of its budget. Which it should, considering that the U.S. has long been Israel's primary enabler in oppressing the Palestinians and gives Israel $4 billion a year, ten times what it was contributing for Palestinian aid. The Trump administration pulled that relatively meager funding for UNRWA in August 2018, endangering essential services for roughly 5 million people.
Earlier in the year, when this action was beginning to be contemplated, warnings came from around the world to deter this ruthless step, which Trump has taken to force Palestinians to concede on other matters. Faith leaders of 14 Christian denominations and organizations in the U.S., including the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, wrote to President Trump urging him not to cut UNRWA funding, and saying: "Many of our agencies and local partners know firsthand the important role that UNRWA plays in providing assistance to Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza." In the Dignity is Priceless campaign in the UK, 25 celebrities including film stars Hugh Grant and Emma Thompson have signed a statement about the vital need for UNRWA's services
Nevertheless Trump has defended and maintained the brutal funding cuts, and UNRWA has been scrambling to make up the difference. Several nations, including Canada, Germany, and Belgium, have stepped in with additional aid, at least for 2018. But not all of UNRWA's budget was restored, and some services will be affected - putting lives at risk, cutting off access to education, and breeding despair in those who were already suffering.And there is no telling how UNRWA will fare in 2019 and beyond.
SEE RELATED NEWS: THE U.S. SCENE - Trying to Change Refugees' Status
READ MORE
Medical Aid for Palestinians MAP): FACT SHEET: The Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza
IMEU: FACT SHEET: The Crisis in Gaza
CUTTING UNRWA
The Guardian:US confirms end to funding for UN Palestinian refugees Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor: Report: Decline of UNRWA services consequences will be catastrophic UNRWA: Statement by the UNRWA Commissioner-General The Hill: US aid is critical to survival in Gaza Lift the hold on humanitarian funding Relief Web: Leading Humanitarian Organizations Object to Trump Administration Plans Brookings Institution: In one move, Trump eliminated US funding for UNRWA and US role as Mideast peacemaker Washington Post: Trump administration tells Palestinian refugees to submit or starve +972 Magazine (Israel): Politicizing Palestinian refugees won't make them go away Palestine Chronicle: Netanyahu Praises US for Axing UNRWA Funding (includes other int'l leaders' responses)
SPEAKING UP FOR UNRWA FUNDING
AFSC: Faith Leaders to President Trump: Restore UNRWA Funding
Times if Israel: 102 Democrats Urge Trump Not to Cut Palestinian Aid Ecumenical Leaders
Electronic Intifada: Celebrities back Palestinian refugees as Trump makes new threats
SUPPLYING AID
Palestine Chronicle: Donors to Increase UNRWA Support and Funding despite US Cuts
Jordan Times: UN Palestinian agency says it is overcoming Trump funding cuts
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ABOUT OUR NEWS SOURCES
The articles we include in our lists to 'Read More' – in our newsletters and on our website – are provided as an informational service for our readers, and the views expressed may or may not be shared by UMKR.
Some selections may be repetitive;because some periodicals have paywalls, we provide a variety of sources in the hope that every reader will find some of them accessible, with or without a subscription.
Due to the 12-year old Israeli blockade and Israel's destruction of Gaza's power plant and infrastructure in military assaults, Gaza households receive just 3 to 4 hours of electricity per day.
TOP STORIES OF 2018
ON THIS PAGE:
• The Great March of Return
• The Worst U.S. Actions:
Recognizing Jerusalem; Moving U.S. Embassy
Cutting Funds to UNRWA
• Israel's Apartheid Law
Fadi Abu Saleh, disabled Palestinian who was killed by Israeli snipers at the Great March
Palestinian medics evacuate a wounded man during Great March.
VIDEO posted online by Bernie Sanders: Palestinians Describe Life in Gaza
VIDEO, Institute for Middle East Understanding: Can You Imagine? (90 seconds)
Al Jazeera: Gaza Protests: All the Latest Updates
Al Jazeera: The Man Behind Gaza’s Great March
Counterpunch: Why Are Palestinians Protesting in Gaza?
Haaretz: The Heartbreaking Reason This Palestinian Joined the Gaza Border Protests
Middle East Eye: Palestinians are killed not because Israeli soldiers disobey orders but because they follow them
Electronic Intifada: Israel’s high court blesses killing and maiming of Gaza protesters
Middle East Monitor: The new Palestinian and the hope of return
The Intercept:Israel Kills Palestinians and Western Liberals Shrug. Their Humanitarianism Is a Sham.
The Nation: With the Great Return March, Palestinians Are Demanding a Life of Dignity
AAI-Washington Watch: Gaza Is In Need of Our Support
Counterpunch: Kill and Kill and Kill
Haaretz: In Gaza, Israel Surpasses Its Usual Evil
Haaretz: Debunking Israel's Talking Points on Deadly Gaza Protests
Haaretz: The Israel Massacre Forces
Democracy Now: “Apartheid, Rogue, Terrorist State”: Glenn Greenwald on Israel’s Murder of Gaza Protesters, Reporter
Electronic Intifada: Calling on world conscience
Forward: American Jews Have Abandoned Gaza — And The Truth
Foreign Policy In Focus: As Palestinians Honor Martin Luther King, America Sides with the Oppressor (Again)
Newsweek: Gaza Is Not a Humanitarian Disaster, It Is a Crisis of Human Consciousness That Demands Your Attention
NY Times: Why I March in Gaza
Patheos: Yes, What Israel Is Doing To Palestinians Is Actually Genocide
Haaretz: Polluted Water Leading Cause of Child Mortality in Gaza, Study Finds
Counterpunch: Sacrificing Gaza: The Great March of Zionist Hypocrisy
AFSC: Practicing Liberation in the Face of Oppression
Middle East Eye: Gaza's Great Return March massacre: A turning point?
MAP-Medical Aid for Palestinians: Horrific injuries reported among Gaza protesters
Doctors Without Borders: Thousands of people shot during protests require urgent treatment
Independent: Nakba Day: What is the 'Day of Catastrophe' observed by Palestinians and why do marchers wave keys?
Kairos Palestine: The Palestinian people are committed to seeking freedom- Statement from Palestinian Civil Society
Middle East Eye: 'A real catastrophe': Gaza fuel crisis threatens thousands of patients
B'Tselem: Israeli security forces killed 290 Palestinians in 2018; most were victims of a reckless open-fire policy
+972 Magazine: Palestinian refugees are demanding to be heard. Will we listen?
Jewish Voice for Peace: JVP Rabbinical Council condemns Israeli forces killing
Palestinian protesters in Gaza
The Great March of Return
On March 30th, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza began walking peacefully toward the fence that imprisons them, the "Green Line" border with Israel. They were calling for the right to return to their homeland (roughly 70% of Gazans are refugees from land that is now within Israel) and for the world to note the humanitarian disaster they are living in, due primarily to Israel's (then) 11-year-old blockade of Gaza.
Israel's response? Indiscriminate shooting of these protesters, using explosive ammunition designed to produce the most destructive injuries. Israeli snipers have targeted clearly identified paramedics and press members, as well as children, and have celebrated their kills on video. By the end of the first six weeks, 112 had been killed and thousands wounded, many with crippling injuries that will never be repaired.
The March was originally scheduled to last for six weeks and culminating on May 14th, when Israel and the United States would be celebrating the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem (see more on that below), and Gazans were also protesting that move.
Another important dimension of the Great March was the 70th anniversary in 2018 of The Nakba, the catastrophe of the Palestinian people that began in 1948 with the creation of the state of Israel, accomplished through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. See more about The Nakba at 70 in our reading list at the bottom of this page.
Contrary to initial plans, the Great March did not end that 6th week in May. Despite the huge danger these protesters face, desperate Gazans have continued to come to the border in the thousands and challenge the military that imprisons them, every week from March 2018 to this month of February. In January, Al Jazeera reported the death toll to be 240 with tens of thousands injured. Gaza's severely deprived hospitals and beleaguered medical professionals, already incapable of serving Gaza's needs, are overwhelmed with the wounded, and Israel allows very few patients to leave Gaza for medical care elsewhere.
It seems the Palestinians in Gaza will not stop risking their lives until the world heeds their sacrifices and pays attention: to the horrific living conditions in which Gazans are barely surviving and to the Right of Return for all Palestinian refugees that gave this march its name.
READ MORE:SEE SHORT VIDEOS, NUMEROUS PHOTOS, AND SOURCES TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS STORY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.
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Two photos above: Photojournalist, Yaser Murtaja, was one of several members of the press wearing clear identification on their clothing who have been killed in the Great March
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Can you imagine?
Besides living without electricity, 80-85% of the Gaza's population is dependent on humanitarian aid for survival and 90% or more of their water is unfit for human consumption, a leading cause of mortality in Gaza.
A United Nations report has said that, by the year 2020, the Gaza Strip will be "unlivable." Many others are saying it already is. But Gaza's 2 million residents are LOCKED IN; they cannot leave this open-air prison, so they have no choice but to continue living in these unlivable conditions.
Watch the powerful short video from IMEU
"Can you imagine?" (90 seconds)
Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, another disabled man targeted and killed by Israeli snipers at the Great March.
Download 2018 Review: Part One –
Download 2018 Review: Part Two –
The Big Stories of 2018
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Read these sections of
Part Two on our website:
• The Top Stories
• People in the Spotlight
• Events IN Israel/Palestine
• U.S. Scene: Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism
• U.S. Scene: More from Trump Admin
• U.S. Scene: On Campus
• U.S. Scene: Legislation- State, Federal
• U.S. Scene: Changes on the Horizon
• Around the World
• Successes: BDS & More
• Last, But Not Least
• For Information Junkies
UMKR Newsletter
NEWS UPDATE: FEB. 2019:
NY Times: Israelis May Have Committed Crimes Against Humanity
in Gaza Protests, U.N. Says
Al Jazeera: United Nations: Possible Israel crimes against humanity in Gaza
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The Nakba at 70
IMEU Fact Sheets:
The Palestinian Nakba
The Nakba, 65 Years of Dispossession and Apartheid
Plan Dalet
Israeli Independence and the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
FAQs: the Nakba and Palestinian Refugees Today
Jewish Voice for Peace: Facing the Nakba - a collection of resources
Nakba 70 Action: https://nakba70action.org/
Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network: MARKING THE NAKBA: From Betrayals and Warnings to Future Visions (For the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, a collection of essays and policy papers from Al-Shabaka's publications)
BDS Movement: Palestinians say “Their Independence, Our Nakba”
United Church of Christ, Global Ministries: "70 Years On: Seeking a Hopeful Future in a Time of Yearning"
Haaretz Editorial Board: We must deal with the Nakba
Jonathan Cook:At 70, Israel more than ever deserves a cultural and academic boycott
Middle East Monitor: Remembering the massacre at Deir Yassin
ABOUT OUR NEWS SOURCES
The articles we include in our lists to 'Read More' – in our newsletters and on our website – are provided as an informational service for our readers, and the views expressed may or may not be shared by UMKR.
Some selections may be repetitive;because some periodicals have paywalls, we provide a variety of sources in the hope that every reader will find some of them accessible, with or without a subscription.
The Great March of Return(continued) -REPORTS & COMMENTARY, PHOTOS, VIDEOS
United Methodists are responding to Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth ,a statement of faith and urgent call to action from Christians in Palestine. UMKR seeks, through nonviolent means and in partnership with Palestinian Christians, freedom, justice and equality for all Palestinians and Israelis.
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Razan Al-Najjar, a Palestinian medic, one of several that were killed Razzan was tending to wounded protesters at the Great March when she was shot.
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