Free Speech in Israel

Freedom of speech and the state of Israel

"It has become the norm in Europe and the US for any adverse comment about Israel, however mild, to evoke a ferocious counterattack from pro-Israel groups. The fear of provoking these intimidatory reactions has prompted a widespread pre-emptive self-censorship with regard to anything Israeli or Jewish among individuals and organisations seeking to avoid them." News Link

Israel court okays Charlie Hebdo distribution for vote 

"We will not surrender, and we will publish whatever we like, whenever we like," Lieberman said. News Link

New 'Daily Show' host in storm over 'racist, sexist' jokes

"In one post from 2009, Noah appears to take aim at the Holocaust..."

"Jamie Weinstein, an editor with the Daily Caller, suggested Noah's tweet about Israel "does seem to suggest that Noah believes Israel is an inherently belligerent country..."

"We hope that he will not cross the line from legitimate satire into offensiveness with jokes calling up anti-Semitic stereotypes and misogyny," Foxman added, urging Noah to avoid "bigoted jokes" targeting Jews..." News Link

Ultra-Orthodox parties likely to be part of Netanyahu's next coalition

"Politics can be magic, it turns out. While a pound of feathers may weigh the same as a pound of lead, the 13 seats the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism won in Tuesday’s election appear to carry more weight for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than the 18 seats they won in 2013, when Netanyahu kept them out of the coalition." News Link

Siege limits options for Gaza's chronically ill

"According to the report, the closure of the Rafah border with Egypt has "virtually eliminated access to specialised medical treatments outside of Gaza for private patients", while 20 percent of patients applying for permits to travel through Israel's Erez checkpoint for medical care last month were not approved." News Link

Israel 'boycotts' UN rights council session on Gaza war

"Geneva (AFP) - Israel's representative was conspicuously missing when the UN Human Rights Council started a special session Monday on the situation in the Palestinian territories and the 2014 Gaza conflict." News Link

Netanyahu tells Israel's Arabs he 'regrets' election-day rallying call

"JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday apologized to Israel's Arabs after a rallying call to his supporters on election day last week was called racist by opponents." News Link

EU officials confirm Israel not fully briefed on Iran talks...

...but that doesn't stop Israel from judging them.

"US State Department reported to say Israelis would ‘twist details’ to undermine negotiations

"The report quoted an unnamed European official involved in negotiations who said he was told recently by the State Department’s Wendy Sherman, the lead American negotiator with Iran, not to disclose too much information to the Israelis because "the details could be twisted to undermine a deal." News Link

Israel: The Ugly Truth

Israel: The Ugly Truth "And then there was his truly astonishing, by now notorious statement on election day itself, in which he urged Jewish voters to rush to the polls because “the Arabs are voting in droves.” One might have thought that those Arab voters were members of the body politic he headed as prime minister. Imagine a white American president calling on whites to vote because “blacks are voting in large numbers.” If there’s a choice to be made between democratic values and fierce Jewish tribalism, there’s no doubt what the present and future prime minister of Israel would choose." News Link

Netanyahu's win is a reality check "TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli liberals woke up after national elections with a demoralizing feeling: Most of the country, in a deep and possibly irreversible way, does not think like they do.

"Drink cyanide, bloody Neanderthals. You won," award-winning Israeli author and actress Alona Kimhi wrote on her Facebook page, before erasing it as her comments became the talk of the town. "Only death will save you from yourselves." News Link

Israeli legislative election 2015

News Link

UN says violence on Lebanon-Israel border risks new conflict

"UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is warning that recent violence along Lebanon's border with Israel and the presence of unauthorized weapons in a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon risk a new conflict." News Link

Israel Immigration Fuels Housing Boom Amid Shortage

"The surge in demand for housing is already outstripping the supply, so the addition of at least 10,000 French arrivals will only add to pressure on prices," Adar Etzioni, an analyst at Excellence Nessuah Broker Services Ltd., said by phone. News Link

The convergence of three fundamentalisms

"The convergence of these fundamentalisms shows us that Muslims do not have a monopoly on either fundamentalism or extremism. While the Muslim version thereof is non-state, informal and on the fringe of the global Muslim community, its counterpart in Judaism is in government, formal and mainstreamed, while in the US, the Tea Party and the right-wing Christian evangelical groups are, through the Republican Party, are in control of Congress and equally mainstreamed.

"All three have the capacity for devastating violence. All three read texts literally, whether their scriptures or constitutions. All three feed on fear and ignorance and exploit an instinctive suspicion of those who are different. All three cultivate theologies and theologians espousing intolerance, cruelty and divine harshness." News Link

Lieberman says Israel should execute Arabs who carry out deadly attacks

"Those who are against us, there's nothing to be done - we need to pick up an axe and cut off his head," he said, calling Israeli Arabs a "fifth column", and drawing applause." News Link

Race-based Arab political party means Israel is apartheid

"The Joint List, an unprecedented alliance of communist, nationalist, and Islamist parties representing Israel’s Arab minority, is poised to make history in next week’s election. Polls indicate that the Arab bloc could become the third-largest in Israel's parliament for the first time." News Link

Petraeus won't serve a day in jail for his leaks. Edward Snowden shouldn't either

"The sweetheart deal the Justice Department gave to former CIA director David Petraeus for leaking top secret information compared to the stiff jail sentences other low-level leakers have received under the Obama administration has led to renewed calls for leniency for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. And no one makes the case better than famed whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg." News Link

Emigrate to Israel, and please bring your children

Conscription in Israel - From Wikipedia

Prisoner reform in Indonesia. What's the point?

"While Bali Nine member Myuran Sukumaran waits to hear the date of his execution, he continues to hold art classes for his fellow prisoners at Kerobokan prison.

"Speaking in the days before the appeal was rejected, he [Zahlsen] told Guardian Australia he was still holding out hope that the man he now calls a friend will be spared, and the work he’s done to improve the daily lives of prisoners inside Kerobokan will spread across the Indonesian prison system." News Link

Australia asks Indonesia to rethink death penalty for two drug offenders

" SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia called on Indonesia on Friday to reconsider its decision to execute two Australians convicted of drug offences, a move that is likely to strain already fragile ties between the two neighbours.

"Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the two members of the so-called Bali Nine who were arrested at Bali's Denpasar airport in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8 kg (18 lb) of heroin to Australia were reformed characters who had helped rehabilitate other prisoners." News Link

UK bans ad for implying Old Jerusalem part of Israel

"The newspaper brochure showed a panorama of the walled Old City with the text "Israel has it all", and was ruled misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which said it implied the UNESCO World Heritage Site was part of Israel." News Link

Pelosi, Democrats furious over Netanyahu 'condescension'

"At one point, when Netanyahu suggested his nation's relationship with the United States should be above politics, Pelosi looked at her lap and shook her head. When he declared that, "if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand," Pelosi threw her hands up in exasperation. More than once, she turned to her deputy, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and appeared to vent." News Link

Kerry set to defend Israel before UN rights panel

"Kerry said Sunday that despite the split on Iran, the Obama administration is committed to Israel's defense. He noted the administration has intervened to protect Israel from condemnation at the United Nations and other international forums several hundred times in the last two years." News Link

Netanyahu and Putin