As much as the the Right may deny it, the world is sending Israelis a clear message: the settlements are illegal and immoral. The faster we listen, the better off we will be. By Alon Mizrahi Let's talk about the issue itself. The issue is not Israel's reputation, not its legal status, nor the behavior of its right-wing government. The issue is settlements. On this issue one must repeat today what was true yesterday, the day before, and every day since 1967: the idea of settling for the purpose of marking territory — based on a worldview based on belligerence and supremacy — while placing…

Roughly 100 people march on a checkpoint in Bethlehem to protest the occupation and mark Christmas. Israeli forces respond by pepper-spraying and teargassing the demonstrators. Text by Oren Ziv. Photos by Oren Ziv, Keren Manor and Shahaf Polakow Around 100 members of the Palestinian Popular Committees marched towards one of Bethlehem's main checkpoints on Friday to protest the occupation. The demonstration was also held to mark Christmas, with some of the protesters dressed as Santa Claus. Private security forces on the scene, who were not expecting the demonstration, pepper-sprayed the protesters. Border Police officers arrived a few minutes later and started pushing…

The government which makes it almost impossible for Palestinian citizens to acquire building permits is the same one that kicked Givat Amal's residents out of their homes, all while coddling the settlers in Amona. By Yaser Abu Areesha About a week ago I visited a friend who got married earlier this year, a childhood friend who always had the sparkle of success in his eyes. He followed the classic path of high school, work, university, joining the job market, and then the cherry on the cake: marrying and starting a small family. A couple of years before he got married, he…

After a year in which the government incited against Arab society and the media pandered to the Right's agenda, the attempt to expel Joint List MK Basel Ghattas points to a worrying future. By Abed Abu Shehada When the Knesset passed the so-called “expulsion law” last summer, widely seen as targeting Arab lawmakers, many believed it didn't matter, because no vote on expelling a member of the Knesset would reach the two-thirds majority (90 MKs) needed. They also said it was the media’s role to be objective and to cover the news reliably, so as not to become a tool in…

An ex-president who has been convicted of rape is released from prison early, despite showing no remorse. Meanwhile, a rape victim who killed his assailant in self-defense remains behind bars, denied clemency. By OR Seri On Sunday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin announced that he had rejected a request for clemency for Yonatan Heilo. Heilo, an Ethiopian immigrant, has so far served six years in jail for killing his rapist, who had already assaulted him twice. He was originally charged with murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison; however, following an appeal to the Supreme Court, his conviction was reduced to manslaughter and…

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announces that the military prosecutor is looking into the killing of a 15-year-old Palestinian teen in Gaza, after soldiers shot a flare directly at his face. Israel’s military prosecutor is investigating the killing of a Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip after IDF soldiers shot a flare at his face, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman recently announced. Footage of the incident, which occurred on September 9, shows that the 15-year-old was not posing a threat to the soldiers at the time he was killed.  [tmwinpost] The teen, Abdel-Rahman al-Dabbagh, was killed during a demonstration of around 100…

We want to work with the Israeli Left to build a future based on equality and justice for all. But not at any cost. I was recently asked about what kind of conditions need to exist to for real Arab-Jewish partnership to exist in the Israeli Left. Opinionated, smart Palestinians (I try my best to be one of them) will do all they can to avoid this question. That makes sense, since any attempt to rise to the challenge is actually roundabout way of admitting that such partnership is possible. This takes the Arab, and the Jew for that matter, out of their comfort zone.…

Netanyahu tells foreign journalists that using social media to attack local reporters is 'the most entertaining.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke honestly, perhaps for the first time, about what has been driving his recent attacks on Israeli journalists during a conference for members of the foreign press in Jerusalem Tuesday evening. During the Q&A session, one reporter asked Netanyahu about whether confrontations with local journalists are the "best strategy" to engage with media outlets critical of him. "I don't know, it's the most entertaining," Netanyahu retorted. "It's fun, I enjoy it." It used to be that there was the media, the media said…