Omar Saad, a young Druze from the town of Maghar in northern Israel declared his refusal to serve in the IDF in late 2012. Although the Druze are considered to be an ethnic group that has assimilated well in the Israeli community, the voices of refusal within the community are becoming stronger. In an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saad writes that he opposes the idea of conscription by law for members of the Druze community, as it forces them to fight against their Arab brothers. Israel Social TV is an independent media NGO working to promote social change, human rights, social justice and equality, and to mobilize its…

There are many injustices under the occupation: small ones and big ones. There is theft and murder and never ending oppression. There is Shuhada Street, and they all exist there. By Leehee Rotschild On the Friday before last, Palestinian protestors accompanied by Israeli and international solidarity activists wanted to mark "Open Shuhada Street Day" in Hebron. Shuhada Street has been closed to Palestinians since the Baruch Goldstein massacre in 1994, including residents who live on the street and have to climb onto their rooftops to adjacent streets in order to leave their houses. Meanwhile, settlers living in the area come…

On Friday February 22, 2013, a demonstration took place in Hebron protesting the restrictions placed on Palestinians' freedom of movement on Shuhada Street in the city. Shuhada Street has been closed to Palestinians for over a decade (ever since the second Intifada began in October 2000 and seven years after Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein killed 19 Palestinians at the nearby Ibrahimi Mosque); Israeli settlers are free to use the street. More than anything, the closure of Shuhada Street is an expression of Israel's undeclared racial segregation policies, and their implications. Ever since it was closed to Palestinians, life in the…

Unlike Prisoner X, there is no public outrage in Israel over the way the legal system is preventing Samer Issawi from receiving a fair trial. But then again, Issawi is Palestinian. Samer Issawi, the Palestinian prisoner who has been on an intermittent hunger strike for over 200 days, had his day in court on Thursday. According to the sentence handed down by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, one might ostensibly believe that Issawi would be released on March 6, when his prison term is completed. But Samer Issawi is Palestinian, and therefore subject to a multi-layered legal system in which his…

Last week I went to the Friday demonstration in the West Bank village of Bil'in for the first time. Some of the people who know me found it hard to believe. "Only now? Next week they will be marking eight years of demos, and only now you come, Ami?" Yeah. I guess I’m what you call a “couch-leftist.” My battle is done in my home, my sword is my keyboard. I’m proud of that sword, I must say. But for the past year I’ve been feeling it isn’t enough. I live a privileged life in a suburb of Tel Aviv.…

Repeated demolition attempts by the army and right-wing groups are threatening to destroy the Palestinian village of Susya. "Thus shall it be done to the people whom the state does not delighteth to honor," (but is delighted to get a hold on their land). This is Susya's story. Israel Social TV is an independent media NGO working to promote social change, human rights, social justice and equality, and to mobilize its viewers towards activism.

The 'Combatants for Peace' theater group held a workshop in the Palestinian village of Izbat Tabib in order to help people whose homes are under threat of demolition. The group is using a unique method of a non-violent struggle called 'the theater of the oppressed.' The method allows the audience to experience different situations the characters must cope with – instead of only talking about them. Our reporter, Noam Foreman, accompanied the group for its activities. Israel Social TV is an independent media NGO working to promote social change, human rights, social justice and equality, and to mobilize its viewers towards activism.

Over the last few months, I have engaged in a series of conversations with Pakistani writers and academics through mutual friends. These talks have been a rare and fascinating opportunity to see their country through their eyes rather than through Western media sources. We've discovered some surprising common concerns and a mutual desire to stay in touch. We would like to write posts  occasionally for one another so that our audiences can share these understandings as well. The following is an introduction by Abdul, one of the participants, who writes his own blog tackling the stories of Pakistan that are…

Nearly one hundred delegates from North America and Europe were refused entry into Palestine on Sunday as part of the 'Welcome to Palestine' campaign to raise awareness about Israel's border policies. International activists from the United States and Europe were denied entry into the West Bank on Sunday by Israeli border control after successfully crossing in from Jordan. Around 80 people were planning on visiting Bethlehem as part of the Welcome to Palestine campaign, which organized two previous events where activists attempted to visit Palestine through Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (Palestine's airports have been closed by Israel since…

By Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Some 200 Palestinians and a handful of Israeli and international solidarity activists joined the protest in Kufr Qaddoum on Friday. The demonstration was dedicated to the commemoration of American peace activist, Rachel Corrie, who was run over by a bulldozer while attempting to prevent house demolitions in Rafah in 2003. The verdict in the civil lawsuit against the State of Israel in her case will be announced next week on August 28. The protest opened with speeches, following which the crowd started marching towards the main road of the village. Without any provocation on behalf of the protesters, the army…