The lie of victory

Stop a Home Demolition

Help Us Send 2,000 Letters to Mayor of Jerusalem
Rabbis for Human Rights: Your 200 letters helped avert a demolition in March. A flood of letters now can make real the hopes we expressed when we presented the family with a grape vine and fig tree.

MachsomWatch reports from checkpoints, 23.4.06--29.4.06
Etzyon DCL, 23.4.06 -- “Dozens of men waiting in two lines for their biometric card. Some people came the night before so as to get a good spot in line… Many people seek our help to enter Israel for medical appointments. A grandfather of a 4-year old, who was run over and is in intensive pediatric care at Hadassah, is the only one in the family with a chance of getting in, but has to wait like everyone else. Other people have appointments for post-operative care or for operations (a 6-year old)… But no one has a chance of getting the permit today”

We remember - but differently:

Dr. Nurit Elhanan-Peled writes to the prime minister
Akiva Eldar - Ha`aretz - "I saw soldiers use their guns to threaten Palestinian children who brought us water and wanted to play a little outside of their homes-prisons. Marzel advised the soldiers to blow us up because we are leftists, and his wife cursed us, while a bunch of their offspring showered us with rocks. And this was all happening under the watchful guard of Israel Defense Forces soldiers.."

The choice is now
Angela Godfrey-Goldstein - hanitzotz.com/challenge - "So who, now, will stand up for free Palestine? The choice is now. Ongoing conflict and official apartheid, or finally, once and for all, real peace. Finally, a viable Palestine."

Settlers attack Palestinian schoolchildren south of Hebron
Yuval Yoaz, Amos Harel, Nadav Shragai and Michal Greenberg, Haaretz

Church Leaders’ Letter
Churches for Middle East Peace - "Church Leaders’ urgent appeal to Bush, Abbas and Olmert: prevent humanitarian crisis and restore hope for a two-state solution "

Days of thunder
Gideon Levy - Haaretz - " Little Meisa walks around barefoot among the ruins of her home, stepping on a carpet of glass splinters. In silence she walks among the ruins, here and there, not knowing what to do with herself. Her gray face expresses shock. Meisa does not say a word, it is impossible to get even a trace of a smile from her. This child is now a victim of shock."

More restrictions on UNRWA staff members` access to Jerusalem
Helga Tawil - UNRWA - " Scores of UNRWA staff members were denied access to their work places...The increased restrictions at crossing points leading to Jerusalem runs contrary to repeated assurances and public statements by Israeli officials that access by humanitarian aid workers would not be impeded."

PCHR : Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the OPT

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights - " Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Escalate Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)."

Quartet Envoy Questions Palestinian Aid Cuts
Reuters -- "Wolfensohn’s office said the Palestinian Authority’s inability to pay salaries was already having an impact on the economy"

Abbas moots referendum on peace deal
Reuters via Aljazeera -- "The Palestinian president says he intends to hold a referendum on any peace deal with Israel, sidestepping the Hamas-led government"

Review of Arab editorials
Middle East Times, Nicosia -- A regularly updated roundup of commentary from Arab newspapers

American Jewish Groups Join in Bid To Aid Arabs, But Spar Over Olmert Tie to Rightist
Marc Perelman - The Forward: "We are happy to see that Diaspora Jews finally understand the importance of equality in Israel and are starting to think of Israel in realistic rather than idealistic terms," said Dichter, director of Israel`s Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality. (...)