By Leah Levane
Writing about the Filton 4 sentencing, eminent lawyer reminds us of the centuries old history that led to Juries having “the power to temper law with mercy. It is among the oldest protections against an overbearing state. The difficulty is that judges seldom tell juries the power exists, leaving counsel to invoke it only obliquely”
Liberal Zionists, appalled at what has happened in Gaza, blame it on Netanyahu and the extremists who have captured and corrupted the “real” Israel.
Not so, argues US-based activist Raphael Mimoun.
To make his point he describes the cold-blooded massacre at Qibya on 14th October 1953…
JD Vance has caused waves by pointing out the dangers of “always conflating criticism of a particular government with Jew hatred”.
If everything is Jew hatred, he said, then nothing is Jew hatred,
Talking in the context of the Iran deal he said “I find often the arguments are, ‘Israel doesn’t think this is good, therefore it’s bad,’” claims Vance. “And my reaction is that Israel’s opinions matter, but fundamentally they are separate.”
We post here three items from the Church Times.
First a report on the Bishop of Gloucester, Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, who had the temerity to ask: “Why can we not condemn the actions of this government of Israel regarding Palestine, and at the same time condemn anti-Semitism in the UK? The two things are entirely different and should not be conflated or cancel each other out.
By Leah Levane
The Jewish Council of Australia has made its submission to the Royal Commission, rejecting much of its framing: “Antisemitism is real, it is rising, and it demands a serious response. But the evidence is clear: the dominant policy response adopted in Australia of punitive laws, the curtailment of civil liberties, and definitions that treat criticism of Israel as antisemitic don’t make Jews safer, they actually make things worse.
By Leah Levane
What further hell can Israel inflict on the people of Gaza? Now cranes have been erected in Gaza so that people in their tents are not only subject to constant surveillance but also random gunfire. Tamer Nahed, a Gaza-based journalist, said the cranes “fire randomly and almost continuously at tents, streets, and exposed neighbourhoods”.
By Leah Levane
Up to 1,000 tonnes of Israel’s electronic waste is being dumped into the West Bank leading to a rise in cancers, birth defects and also industrial injuries for Palestinians handling this toxic waste. Israel has strict laws about disposing of waste but nothing to prevent companies taking their waster to the West Bank where these laws – like so many others – do not apply. With soil pollution and terrible smells, this also contributes to the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
Charles Lenchner writes about difficult strategic questions which are dividing the solidarity movement in the United States. They are not – yet? – really an issue in Britain, but it is worth looking at the issues at stake.
When Sally Rooney agreed to have her latest novel published by a BDS-compliant publisher in Israel precisely to show that BDS wasn’t antisemitic, it was with the agreement of the BDS movement in Palestine.
But it opened up a division in the US movement. If the entire Zionist enterprise is racist and colonialist why bother to draw any distinctions?
By Leah Levane
This insight into the views and experiences of some of the young people refusing to fight is fascinating, not least for highlighting the pressures within Israeli society to be a soldier, that this is seen as a rite of passage for all and avoidance can mean short but repeated periods of imprisonment as well as being able to access some aspects of life in Israel.
By Leah Levane
UKLFI wrote to the Chief Executive of Hackney Council to complain about a Green Councillor “wearing a keffiyeh on the council’s “Your Councillors” webpage (saying this) was causing distress to at least one Jewish resident of the borough.” They gleefully posted that the Council Removed the “offending” Photograph.However, Hackney Greens are standing firm.