In response to a settler marathon down (the closed to Palestinians) Shuhada street in Hebron a demonstration was organized by Palestinians with Israeli and international supporters. The demonstration was short as the Israeli army was clearly not interested in having any demonstrators get close to the actual marathon. Protesters carried signs saying “no peace with settlements” while organizers chanted in Arabic “Mubarak get out, Netanyahu get out.” Two Israelis were detained for roughly eight hours and no injuries were reported.
Child in Hebron Demonstration Photo: Joseph Dana/Popularstruggle.org
Demonstration to Open Shuhada Street in Hebron. Photo: Joseph Dana/ Popularstruggle.org
Child under Occupation Barely Able to See Over the Gate in Hebron. Photo: Joseph Dana/ Popularstruggle.org
February 12, 2011
9:27 am
In spite of all the demonstrators efforts, Jews will not be driven out of Hevron once again
February 12, 2011
11:24 am
Ben, the issue is not with residency- it is with sovereignty- meaning, the issue is not with Jews, it is with Israelis, or more exactly- Israel. Now, you can argue that with out Israel ruling over the area, Jews won’t be able to live in the area (and I think that is a fair argument) – but do you really think that Jewish presence in Hevron is more important than basic civil rights of over 150 hundred thousand Palestinians who live there? If so, can you explain why?
February 12, 2011
10:19 pm
MIK-
Yes, the presence of Jews in Hevron is VITAL for Israel. First of all, you must remember that 90% of Hevron is OFF-LIMITS to Jews. Forbidden to go there, even though there were Jews living throughout the city before 1929.
If Jews give up Hevron, the cradle of Judaism, even more ancient than Jerusalem, then we are signalling the Arabs/Muslims that we are not serious, and that if we can be pushed out of there, we will eventually be pushed out of Tel Aviv. This is because, as of now, the Arab-Israeli conflict is NOT a territorial dispute, it is an existential struggle between the Jews and Islam who view themselves as having the right to dominate all the minorities of the Middle East (dar al-Islam). Giving up Hevron is a recipe for war, just as giving up Gush Katif was.
Once the Arabs/Muslims come to realize that the Jews are serious, then arrangements can be made to regularize the situation for the Arabs and Jews in Hevron with everyone living in peace and with the Arabs running their own affairs. When this will happen I can’t say…it will not happen as long as radical political Islam is seen to be in the ascendancy.
February 13, 2011
1:53 am
” When this will happen I can’t say…it will not happen as long as radical political Islam is seen to be in the ascendancy. ”
What about radical political Judaism ?
I’m curious Ben Israel , what is your take on this :
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4025488,00.html
” This is defiance against the rule of Torah. Torah law precedes state law.”
Do you think Torah law precedes state law ?
February 13, 2011
2:09 am
Kibbutznik-
Israel is a parliamentary democracy. Virtually all religious Jews, including the Haredim accept, albeit occasionally reluctantly, the law as adopted by the Knesset.
Obviously, should the Knesset attempt to pass laws that infringed on the concience of the religious Jew, such as something like a prohibition to perform Brit Milah, such a law would have no validity for a Jew. But I believe you are not asking about laws involving personal religious belief but, rather, national policy, and and such, religious Jews recognize the sole authority of the government and Knesset govern and pass legislation in this area.
The “Radical Political Judaism” you refer to as a parallel to groups like the Iranians or the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood do not exist in Israel except in very tiny groups. SHAS and the YAHADUT HATORAH party have no interest whatsoever in running the state, they are essentially special interest groups. The National Religious Party is a statist movement that has always looked to the secular political movements as the “legitimate” rulers of the state. One Knesset seat in the National Union Party (Ben-Ari) might be considered an anti-statist Jewish religious party but he is not a charismatic leader that has a following nor a coherent political platform and message, his is essentially nothing more than a protest movement.
February 13, 2011
2:56 am
So you don’t think Torah law precedes state law ? Good .
The National Union :
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3666568,00.html
“Less powerful, but more extreme, are the National Union, led by Yaakov Katz, who swore an oath as he lay injured during the 1973 Yom Kippur war to dedicate his life to building Israeli settlements.”
Four seats they got :
http://www.knesset.gov.il/faction/eng/FactionPage_eng.asp?PG=107
Look up and wake up Ben Israel … No Peace with settlements !!!
February 13, 2011
3:48 am
Kibbutznik-You asked about Torah Law superceding the Law of the State. That has nothing to do with building settlements…the settlements are set up by the law of the state, whether you agree with that or not. Recall it was the Labor Party-especially Shimon Peres who set up the first settlements in Judea/Samaria, not Yaakov Katz.
All I can say is :
NO PEACE WITHOUT THE SETTLMENTS
February 13, 2011
4:05 am
Shimon Peres means as much to me as Yaakov Katz does Ben Israel.
I suggest you read this again :
http://972mag.com/to-such-an-israel-i-shall-be-a-traitor/
” I shall betray such an Israel because I am loyal to a very different Israel. An Israel of a people proud and unafraid. An Israel that shall accord full and true equality to all its citizens. An Israel that does not wish to rule another people for decades in the name of its traumas and fears, and definitely does not wish to use these fears as an excuse to steal that people’s land and colonize it. An Israel guided by the morals of the prophets and not by the racism of the Talmud. An Israel of “Blessed be my people Assyria, blessed be my people Egypt”, and not of “You are called man and they are not called man.” And I know I will not be alone in this betrayal, because as the Reverend Martin Luther Ling Jr. said: “The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.”
February 13, 2011
10:43 am
Ben-
you are confusing Jews and Israelis again. Israelis aren’t allowed to 90% Hebron (probably more than 90% actually). And that is Israeli law not Palestinian Law- so what does that have to do with anything?!
as to your main point- I don’t know what “being serious” means. Are you aware that Israel is a regional superpower? I think the Palestinians are (you know, we do have a habit of kind of pointing that out to them on a daily basis). You think that if we “give up” hebron that would make a difference?
What always blows my minds is how self proclaimed lovers of Israel from the right think Israel is so weak. How exactly do you think Israelis will be pushed out of Tel Aviv? I can’t even begin to understand what you are talking about. Can you explain the scenario where Israel ceases to exist because of external military force?
February 13, 2011
1:20 pm
Wonderful pictures. Beautiful struggle. No peace with settlements.
“No one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” ~ Malcom X.
February 16, 2011
1:32 am
gday Ben
Mate Mik is right – there is no problem with Jews going into Hebron. I was there myself with some Jews who came in peace without seeking to steal land or homes from the Palestinians. Now Israelis are forbidden by Israeli law to enter the Palestinian side but you can hardly blame Islam or Palestine for that?
Like Mik, I find it hard to understand your fears.
February 16, 2011
3:59 am
” …. I find it hard to understand your fears.”
I don’t , Ben Israel is religious right wing , ” Hevron is VITAL ” for him , its not vital for those that are not religious and those that are not right wing .