As Israeli authorities prepare to demolish Khan al-Ahmar's school, a group of activists lay backpacks outside Israel's Supreme Court — one for each student who may soon find himself without a place to learn.  A group of Israeli and foreign Jewish activists laid 174 backpacks outside Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning as a protest against the impending demolition of the entire village of Khan al-Ahmar, including its school. Each backpack, say the activists, was meant to represent a student who studies at the "tire school" and will be left without a place to learn. [tmwinpost] The action,…

Israeli forces are preparing to demolish and displace the entire Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar. European diplomats attempt a solidarity visit but aren't allowed to enter. The demolition is part of Israel's 'E-1' plan to dissect the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem. By Oren Ziv Israeli police and army officials showed up in the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar with bulldozers and other heavy equipment for the second day in a row on Thursday, preparing for the impending destruction and forcible displacement of the entire village. [tmwinpost] A dozen Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists tried to block one of the…

The Palestinian residents of Khan al-Ahmar are facing the threat of expulsion from their homes in the West Bank. No matter how hard they tried to ingratiate themselves with their settler neighbors, nothing seemed to help.  Sukkot is a lovely holiday. For seven days we play pretend: building ornate sukkot tabernacles in the safety of our yards or on our balconies, and imagine transience. While we say blessings, the residents of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar will be biding their time. [tmwinpost] Is there another way to awaken the Jewish-Israeli conscience, which instructs us to remember that the sukka was…

Text by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org A recent New York Times article ran under the misleading headline, "West Bank Land, Empty but Full of Meaning", referring to the E1 area where the Israeli government recently announced new settlement building in spite of international opposition. Strangely, the photo appearing in the online edition underneath that headline pictures a Bedouin man who owns land in E1. The Times headline is especially troubling for its resonance with the Israeli national myth that the land was "empty" before the Zionists came and "made the desert bloom." Such language reinforces decades-old misconceptions to the casual reader, while the disconnect between…

Israel is threatening to bisect the West Bank by building in the E1 area, between the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem. A photographic journey shot in medium format film - starting east of Jerusalem, through the west of the city and all the way to Tel Aviv - provides portraits of how different rights are extended to different people under Israeli rule. By Mareike Lauken and Keren Manor   Our journey begins in Ma'aleh Adumim, one of 124 Israeli settlements established in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1967. With its green lush palm trees, olive tree roundabouts and parks,…