Friday, October 31, 2014

Sweden has officially recognised the state of Palestine

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/10/sweden-recognises-state-palestine-2014103084649277571.html

Sweden has officially recognised the state of Palestine, Stockholm's foreign minister has said, less than a month after the government announced its intention to make the unprecedented move.

The Palestinians cheered Thursday's move, while Israel recalled its ambassador to Sweden for consultations.

Israel also summoned Sweden's ambassador to protest and express disappointment.

Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, told Al Jazeera that recognising Palestine, and the leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, would put each party on a level playing field and help move peace talks forward.

Recognising Palestine will 'help peace talks go forward'

"It is important to support those who believe in negotiations and not violence," she said.

"This will give hope to young Palestinians and Israelis that there is an alternative to violence."

President Abbas hailed the "brave and historic" move to officially recognise the state of Palestine, his spokesman told the AFP news agency.

Sweden is the first EU member state in Western Europe to recognise the Palestinian state.

Seven EU members in eastern European and the Mediterranean have already recognised a Palestinian state - Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Romania.

Non-EU member Iceland is the only other western European nation to have done so.

Israel has long insisted that the Palestinians can only receive their promised state through direct negotiations and not through other diplomatic channels.

The United States cautioned Sweden against recognition, calling it "premature" and saying the Palestinian state could only come through a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

In Thursday's announcement, Sweden's foreign minister said that "the government considers that international law criteria for recognition of a Palestinian state have been fulfilled".

++++

Antonio Buehler Found Not Guilty After Austin Cop Breaks Blue Code of Silence

Antonio Buehler Found Not Guilty After Austin Cop Breaks Blue Code of Silence, Testifying on his Behalf

by aletho

By Ben Keller | PINAC | October 29, 2014 From left to right, surprise witness Jermaine Hopkins, an Austin police officer who testified on Antonio Buehler’s behalf, attorney Millie Thompson and Antonio Buehler, who was found not guilty for a 2011 case where he was arrested for photographing Austin police. Deliberations in the trial […]

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Mahmoud Zahar says "Abbas does not speak on our behalf and we never accepted his [political] plan.”

Hamas has not authorized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate with Israel about the establishment of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said on Wednesday.

Zahar told the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar newspaper that Abbas helped Hamas conduct indirect negotiations with Israel during the recent cease-fire talks in Cairo. But, he added, “We did not authorize him to negotiate with Israel over any political process or the 1967 borders or anything else. Abbas was negotiating to lift the siege and other humanitarian issues such as bringing goods into the Gaza Strip. Abbas does not speak on our behalf and we never accepted his [political] plan.”

The newspaper said the interview with the Hamas leader was conducted on the rubble of his house, which was destroyed by Israel during Operation Protective Edge.

Asked about recent remarks by senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk that there was “nothing wrong” with negotiating with Israel, Zahar replied: “He meant that if Abbas does not fulfill his role in negotiating with Israel about the humanitarian issues, we will search for another mediator to talk to Israel directly. This could be an Arab, international or UN mediator that would negotiate with Israel about humanitarian, and not political, issues. As for us, we don’t sit with Israel.”

Zahar lashed out at Abbas’s Fatah faction, saying it has lost its “electoral and popular legitimacy.” He denied Abbas’s charges that Hamas has established its own “shadow government” in the Gaza Strip.

“Mahmoud Abbas is not a legitimate president; he is a de facto president,” said Zahar. “We dealt with him as a president who was elected one year before us [in 2005].

But he sought to stage a coup against us. In 2006, we gave him half of the government at Mecca. He has lost his legitimacy and does not represent us politically. It’s enough that he is the mastermind of a failed program over the past 22 years.”

Zahar said Hamas was prepared and is not afraid to contest new elections.

“Abbas does not call elections because he fears the results,” he added.

Zahar reiterated Hamas’s refusal to abandon its weapons, saying all Palestinians shared his position.

Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah on Wednesday traded charges over who is responsible for the recent phenomenon of Palestinians fleeing the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of would-be Palestinian immigrants have been killed or have gone missing after the boats carrying them capsized off the shores of Egypt and Libya.

Fatah officials in the West Bank claimed that senior Hamas officials were involved in the illegal immigration of Palestinians. The officials said Hamas collects $3,500 from every Palestinian who seeks to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.

Those who wish to leave the Gaza Strip through a tunnel are required to pay $2,000 each, they said.

The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported that Egyptian human traffickers in Sinai were also involved in the scheme. The agency said Palestinians seeking to immigrate to Europe were leaving because of pressure from Hamas against anyone who does not belong to the Islamist movement. It said others were fleeing for economic reasons.

“The Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing is a mafia run by Hamas,” Wafa said. It also accused Hamas of distributing aid to the Gaza Strip only among its followers.

In response, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called on Fatah to stop its “systematic campaign of incitement” against Hamas. Abu Zuhri strongly denied Hamas involvement in the exodus from the Gaza Strip, dubbing the Fatah charges “lies designed to tarnish the Palestinian resistance.”

Sources in the Gaza Strip said Hamas security forces have arrested a number of tunnel owners involved in the smuggling of Palestinians.

The sources said Hamas has also taken security measures to stop Palestinians from fleeing the Gaza Strip. According to the sources, Hamas has also arrested a number of Palestinians who returned to the Gaza Strip after failing to reach their destination.

UK media hypes up RAF interception of Latvian plane

by aletho

RT | October 30, 2014 Two Royal Air Force jets reportedly threatened to shoot down a Latvian cargo plane, rushing at supersonic speeds to intercept it, after the plane failed to respond to air traffic control over Kent in Southern England and sent authorities into panic mode. “I am instructed by Her Majesty’s Government of […]

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PRESS RELEASE - Dr. Ashrawi: “Netanyahu’s Announcement to Construct More Settlement Units Constitutes a Deliberate Attempt to Impose a De Facto One-state Solution”

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

PLO Executive Committee
Department of Culture and Information

October 27, 2014

Dr. Ashrawi: “Netanyahu’s Announcement to Construct More Settlement Units Constitutes a Deliberate Attempt to Impose a De Facto One-state Solution”

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, said, “In the strongest terms possible, we condemn Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement to construct 1,060 units in the illegal settlements of Har Homa (Jabal Abu Ghneim) and Ramat Shlomo situated in occupied Jerusalem.”

“Netanyahu’s actions have exposed the true nature of this blatantly racist, extremist Israeli coalition, and it has become evident that Netanyahu is interested in forging ties with extremist and violent settlers at the expense of the two-state solution and Palestinian human rights.”

“With its escalation in settlement activities and its policies of colonization and apartheid in and around Jerusalem, Israel is willfully imposing a de facto one-state solution and ethnically cleansing Palestinians from historical Palestine.”

“Today’s announcement once again proves that Israel is not a partner for peace that respects the global rule of law. We call on all members of the international community, including the European Union and United States, to take immediate action to end Israel impunity and support our multilateral efforts of resorting to all venues of international judicial accountability, including approaching the UN Security Council and the ICC and acceding to the Rome Statute. Failure to curb Israel violations will plunge the already volatile region into great violence, chaos and instability,” concluded Dr. Ashrawi.

-------------

To access this press release on the PLO DCI website, please click here.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Fatah calls for "day of rage" tomorrow

Fatah calls for "day of rage" tomorrow

The following is the announcement by Fatah that was reported by the official PA news agency:

"Fatah calls to its fighters and to the masses of the Palestinian people to aid the Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem.

In an announcement that was published by the Fatah Mobilization and Organization Commission today, the movement called to set tomorrow as a day of rage throughout the homeland and in countries which are home to refugees, to express the Palestinian people's opposition to any attack on the holy places and foremost among them the Al-Aqsa Mosque... And to consider desecration of Al-Aqsa as a declaration of a religious war against the Palestinian people and the Arab Islamic nations."

[WAFA, official PA news agency, Oct 30, 2014]

US-Israeli Relations Sunk to New Lows, Resorts to Insults

Posted: 29 Oct 2014 11:42 AM PDT

US-Israeli relations have sunk to new lows after Obama administration officials were cited calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "chickenshit" and "coward" engaging in political posturing, instead of efforts at Middle-Eastern de-escalation.
The comments were delivered in a conversation with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg on condition of anonymity. To many they symbolize the next step in a "full-blown crisis" of relations between the two, primarily over Netanyahu's relentless settlement-building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the Iranian nuclear issue.
"The thing about Bibi is, he's a chickenshit," said one official, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. "The good thing about Netanyahu is that he's scared to launch wars. The bad thing about him is that he won't do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states," he continued.
Goldberg keeps a running list of all the things US officials have ever called Netanyahu in interviews, and it's not small. "Aspergery" popped up, among other things. But it is the first time high-ranking officials have expressed their views of the Israeli leader in such a "gloves-off manner."
Netanyahu has repeatedly said he will not halt construction of 1,000 new housing units, which are considered illegal under international law, when built beyond the established 1967 'green line.'
Similarly, the Israeli leader is opposed to making any deals with Iran, and has recently warned in another conversation with The Atlantic that he intends to speak directly to Congress and to the American people, because President Barack Obama is unwilling to recognize his stance.
One of the officials interviewed by Goldberg voiced a "red-hot anger" at the Israeli leader for what he sees as severely undermining the peace initiative that Secretary of State John Kerry was so meticulously trying to build.
The other continued: "The only thing he's interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. He's not [Yitzhak] Rabin, he's not [Ariel] Sharon, he's certainly no [Menachem] Begin. He's got no guts."
Goldberg did not elaborate when exactly he recorded the interviews, only that they were done "the other day".
"Netanyahu's government has in recent days gone out of its way to a) let the world know that it will quicken the pace of apartment-building in disputed areas of East Jerusalem; and b) let everyone know of its contempt for the Obama administration and its understanding of the Middle East," Goldberg says, explaining his own view on things.
Netanyahu reacts: ‘I get attacked because I defend the State of Israel’
The Israeli PM addressed the remarks directly, though usually Israeli leaders do not respond to comments made anonymously.
“Our supreme interests, chiefly the security and unity of Jerusalem, are not the main concern of those anonymous officials who attack us and me personally, as the assault on me comes only because I defend the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in opening a memorial ceremony in parliament for an Israeli cabinet minister assassinated by a Palestinian in 2001.
“Despite all of the attacks I suffer, I will continue to defend our country. I will continue to defend the citizens of Israel,” he added.
Earlier promises by Netanyahu to strike Iran if it doesn't stop enriching uranium have had everyone in fear of a new world war, but, as one official in the interview said, "it's too late for him to do anything... two, three years ago, this was a possibility. But ultimately he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. It was a combination of our pressure and his own unwillingness to do anything dramatic. Now it's too late."
This mood is shared by other US officials, who, according to the interviewees, feel much easier about negotiating with Iran now that they think Netanyahu won't carry out his strike threat.
These latest comments are part of the tit-for-tat opinion-trading that has been resounding over contentious issues, and have already aroused the criticism of the Israelis – most notably, the pro-settler Jewish Home party leader, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who insisted that "serious curses such as these towards the prime minister of Israel are harmful to millions of Israeli citizens and Jews around the world."
“If what was written is true, the current government is planning to throw Israel under the wheels of the bus. I call for the US government to renounce these provocative insults and reject them out of hand,” he said, as cited by The Guardian.
Source

US charities fund Israel’s secret nuclear weapons program

Posted: 29 Oct 2014 03:12 PM PDT

The Dimona nuclear weapons production facility in Israel

A new federal lawsuit in the United States seeks immediate release of a government report about how American charities contribute to Israel's secret nuclear weapons program.
The Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy has filed a lawsuit in the DC District Court to obtain an unclassified study conducted in 1987 for the Pentagon titled “Current Technology Issues in Israel.”
The closely-held report named three institutions, Israel's Weizmann Institute, Technion University, and Hebrew University, which raise "substantial tax-exempt charitable funding through affiliates in the United States."
The study discovered that Technion University technicians were involved in developing nuclear missile re-entry vehicles and were working at Israel's Dimona nuclear weapons plant.
Computer scientists at the American Friends of the Hebrew University, working at the Soreq nuclear facilities in Israel were also “developing the kind of codes which will enable them to make hydrogen bombs,” according to the suit.
In addition, the American branch of Israel's Weizmann Institute “studied high energy physics and hydrodynamics needed for nuclear bomb design, and worked on lasers to enrich uranium, the most advanced method for making the material dropped on Hiroshima in 1945,” said sources familiar with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also aims at ensuring the enforcement of the Symington and Glenn Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibit US foreign aid to nuclear powers that are not signatories to nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel has never allowed any inspection of its nuclear facilities and continues to defy international calls to join the NPT.
Source

Insurance companies start writing ‘Ebola exclusions’ into policies

Posted: 29 Oct 2014 03:43 PM PDT

As Ebola spreads further from its current epicenter in West Africa, American and British insurance companies have started to adjust their standard policies for hospitals and other vulnerable businesses to exclude the virus.
According to insurance industry insiders, companies needing to insure business travel to West Africa or to cover losses following a quarantine may now deal with revamped policies that will likely increase in price based on the latest Ebola outbreak, which has killed nearly 5,000 people in West African countries like Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
“What underwriters are doing at the moment is they’re generally providing quotes either excluding or including Ebola and it’s much more expensive if Ebola is included,” Gary Flynn, an event cancellation broker at London's Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc, told Reuters.
Ebola has had less impact on liability insurance. For instance, in the US, policies that cover the likes of worker's compensation claims are regulated on the state level. Thus, Ebola exclusions are not likely, according to Reuters.
Property and casualty insurers, though, have more at stake and are taking into account the possibilities of heightened Ebola infections.
ACE Ltd told Reuters that its global casualty unit, used for US companies to insure employees who travel abroad, was excluding Ebola on a "case-by-case basis" while underwriting new policies and renewals for some clients with operations in Africa, since there is a “potentially higher risk exposure."
"Business interruption" may be getting the most attention, according to Tony DeFelice, managing director of Aon Risk Solutions’ national casualty practice in the US. Such interruptions include possible loss of employees to illness, or quarantine of an airliner or cruise ship due to a case of suspected Ebola or other sickness.
Special policies are being introduced to adequately address Ebola-era business interruption (BI) claims, as those are only triggered with direct physical damage to property, according to insurance broker Marsh.
“This means that without special provisions for example, manuscripted wording to broaden coverage healthcare providers’ property insurance and BI policies would likely not be triggered based solely on the presence of Ebola,” Marsh said this month.
Meanwhile, Miller Insurance Services LLP and William Gallagher Associates have worked with Lloyd’s of London underwriter Ark Syndicate to launch the first product to insure Ebola-stricken hospitals that may incur losses.
Another company, Aon PLC, has created an "Ebola task force" to monitor how the virus is or is not spreading in order to help clients prepare for risks.
Source

Israel closes al-Aqsa to all visitors after the shooting of a right-wing rabbi

by aletho

Al-Akhbar | October 30, 2014 Israeli Occupation Forces on Thursday closed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to all visitors after an overnight shooting incident in which a man on a motorbike tried to gun down an Israeli hardliner. "This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and […]

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Torture in Israeli prisons: 200 methods used against Palestinian prisoners

by aletho

Methods range between severe beatings, putting prisoners under cold water followed by hot water, cuffing or restraining them with their arms behind them and then tying them to a door or window for long periods of time, often lasting hours MEMO | October 29, 2014 Hundreds of torture methods used against Palestinian prisoners during interrogations […]

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RUSSIA EXECUTES EUROPEAN AERIAL MANEUVERS

RUSSIA EXECUTES EUROPEAN AERIAL MANEUVERS “Russian military aircraft conducted aerial maneuvers around Europe this week on a scale seldom seen since the end of the Cold War, prompting NATO jets to scramble in another sign of how raw East-West relations have grown. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said that more than two dozen Russian aircraft in four groups were intercepted and tracked on Tuesday and Wednesday, an unusually high level of activity that the alliance said could have endangered passing civilian flights.” Ukraine and Russia will resume talks today. [WSJ]

The ‘Fingerprint’ That Helped Unravel the Amelia Earhart Mystery

The ‘Fingerprint’ That Helped Unravel the Amelia Earhart Mystery
After decades filled only with heartache in the search for Amelia Earhart, a storm on Gardner Island in 1991 turned up a piece of an airplane. Michael Daly reports on Ric Gillespie and his wife, Pat Thrasher, who found the metal object, matched it with Earhart’s plane, and their plans to look for more.

Read it at The Daily Beast

Sweden recognizes Palestinian state

Sweden recognizes Palestinian state as UN fails to condemn Israeli settlements

by aletho

Al-Akhbar | October 30, 2014 Sweden on Thursday officially recognized the state of Palestine, Stockholm's foreign minister said, less than a month after the government announced its intention to make the move and one day after UN Security Council failed to condemn Israeli settlement plans. "Our decision comes at a critical time because over the […]

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U.S. economy grew at 3.5 percent rate in 3rd quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a solid annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter, propelled by solid gains in business investment, export sales and the biggest jump in military spending in five years.

The Commerce Department says that the third quarter result followed a 4.6 percent rebound in the second quarter. The economy shrank at a 2.1 percent rate in the first three months of the year due to a harsh winter.

Tim Cook Speaks Up

By Tim Cook October 30, 2014

Photograph by Ashley Gilbertson for Bloomberg Businessweek

Throughout my professional life, I’ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don’t seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.

At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” I often challenge myself with that question, and I’ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That’s what has led me to today.

For years, I’ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I’ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people’s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.

While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.

The world has changed so much since I was a kid. America is moving toward marriage equality, and the public figures who have bravely come out have helped change perceptions and made our culture more tolerant. Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.

I don’t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I’ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.

I’ll admit that this wasn’t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I’d like to hold on to a small amount of it. I’ve made Apple my life’s work, and I will continue to spend virtually all of my waking time focused on being the best CEO I can be. That’s what our employees deserve—and our customers, developers, shareholders, and supplier partners deserve it, too. Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one’s sexuality, race, or gender. I’m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I’m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.

The company I am so fortunate to lead has long advocated for human rights and equality for all. We’ve taken a strong stand in support of a workplace equality bill before Congress, just as we stood for marriage equality in our home state of California. And we spoke up in Arizona when that state’s legislature passed a discriminatory bill targeting the gay community. We’ll continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.

When I arrive in my office each morning, I’m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.

Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'I'm Proud To Be Gay'

Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay in a powerful essay for Bloomberg's Businessweek.

In the essay, published Thursday, Cook said that he has never denied being gay, but has not publicly discussed his sexuality until now: "So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

Read the whole story

Eighth prison term for conscientious objector Uriel Ferera

Eighth prison term for conscientious objector Uriel Ferera. Full details and calls for action and support below.

Uriel Ferer a, 18 years old from Be’er Sheva, reported to Tel

Hashomer military induction base, accompanied by a demonstration of support for his refusal to serve in the military. Uriel declared his refusal to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel. on 20/10/2014 Uriel was sentenced to 20 days in military prison no. 4 near.

Uriel declared before his fifth imprisinment that he stands against the war on Gaza and in his words:
"Hello, my name is Uriel Ferera. I am 19 years old, from Beesheba. I have already spent 70 days in prison, five terms, for refusing to enlist, on conscientious grounds. The reasons are that the army violates human rights in the occupied territories, and kills and humiliates the Palestinians people. For me as a religious person - this goes against the view that god created us all in his own image, and that we have no right to harm human lives. Right now there is an operation in Gaza. The army is attacking targets in which there are innocent people, women and children. I hope that this operation comes to an end, and that the occupation comes to an end, and that we all live in peace on this land. Tomorrow I have to report at the military induction base and refuse once more. I will start my fifth term in prison. And I am proud of myself for going to prison, and not taking part in war crimes."
Stop the Killing in GazaLink to the video

During the last days of his first prison term, he was denied from phone calls including calls to his lawyer from New Profile, and was denied from receiving letters of support. (to take action against these violations, please send letters to the addresses below).

Important to mention Uriel appealed in advance to the military conscientious objectors committee, but was rejected by the committee.

Uriel’s video refusal statement can be found here.

An interview with Uriel in +972 Magazine can be found here.

You can find more news items regarding Uriel’s refusal visit: https://www.facebook.com/refusingIDF

and visit: https://www.facebook.com/urielshmuel.ferera.3?fref=ts

His prison address is:

Uriel Ferera

Military ID 08143090

Military Prison No. 4

Military Postal Code 02507, IDF
Israel

Fax:++972-3-95752760

Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send them your letters of support and encouragement via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting “reply all” to this message will send the message to the same address), and they will be printed out and delivered during visits.

Recommended Action

First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, social networks, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.

Other recommendations for action:

1. Sending Letters of Support

Please send Omar letters of support to the prison address above and via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org

2. Letters to Authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors’ behalf, preferably by fax, to:

Mr. Moshe Ya'alon,

Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
Hakirya,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: s...@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Tel.: ++972-3-6975220
Fax: ++972-3-6962757

Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 4,
Military Prison No. 4
Military Postal Code 02507, IDF

Israel
Fax:++972-3-95752760

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:

Denny Efroni,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-45-26

It would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison, and it is the same officer who is ultimately in charge of the military Conscience Committee:

Gil Ben Shaul,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52

For those of you who live outside Israel, it would be very effective to send protests to your local Israeli embassy. You can find the address of your local embassy on the web.

Here is a generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners’ behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own:

Dear Sir/Madam,

It has come to my attention that Uriel Ferera (military ID 8004295), a conscientious objector to military service, has been imprisoned for the ninth time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 4 Zriffin military base.

The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Ferera is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals. The repeater imprisonment of conscientious objectors is an especially grave offence, as it means sentencing a person more than once for the same offence, and has been judged by the UN working Group on Arbitrary Detention to constitute a clear case arbitrary detention.
I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of Uriel Ferera, without threat of further imprisonment in the future, and urge you and the system you are heading to respect the dignity and person of conscientious objectors, indeed of all persons, in the future.

Sincerely,

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Fourth prison term for conscientious objector Udi Segal.

Fourth prison term for conscientious objector Udi Segal. Full details and calls for action and support below.

Udi Segal a, 18 years old from ,was reported on 30/10/2014 to military induction base in Tal Hashomer and declared his refusal to serve for reasons of conscience due to his opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian people and discrimination against Palestinians inside Israel, and his refusal to to the attack on Gaza. Udi was sentenced to 10 days in military prison no. 6 near Atlit.
Udi is starting a Hunger Strike until his release.

Udi's video refusal statement can be found here.

You can find more news items regarding Udi's refusal visit: https://www.facebook.com/refusingIDF

His prison address is:Udi Segal
Military ID 08062238Military Prison No. 6Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580
Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send them your letters of support and encouragement via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting “reply all” to this message will send the message to the same address), and they will be printed out and delivered during visits.

Recommended Action

First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, social networks, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.

Other recommendations for action:

1. Sending Letters of Support

Please send Udi letters of support to the prison address above and via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org

2. Letters to Authorities

It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors’ behalf, preferably by fax, to:

Mr. Moshe Ya'alon,

Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
Hakirya,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: s...@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Tel.: ++972-3-6975220
Fax: ++972-3-6962757

Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:

Commander of Military Prison No. 6,

Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 02507, IDF

Israel
Fax: +972-4—9540580

Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:

Denny Efroni,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-45-26

It would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison, and it is the same officer who is ultimately in charge of the military Conscience Committee:

Gil Ben Shaul,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52

For those of you who live outside Israel, it would be very effective to send protests to your local Israeli embassy. You can find the address of your local embassy on the web.

Here is a generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners’ behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own:

Dear Sir/Madam,

It has come to my attention that Udi Segal (military ID 08062238), a conscientious objector to military service, has been imprisoned for the fifth time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 6 in Atlit.

The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Segal is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals. The repeater imprisonment of conscientious objectors is an especially grave offence, as it means sentencing a person more than once for the same offence, and has been judged by the UN working Group on Arbitrary Detention to constitute a clear case arbitrary detention.
I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of Udi Segal, without threat of further imprisonment in the future, and urge you and the system you are heading to respect the dignity and person of conscientious objectors, indeed of all persons, in the future.

Sincerely,

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

UN rights experts urge greater regulation of private security companies

By William Helbling on Oct 29, 2014 10:15 am
[JURIST] The UN Working Group [official website] on the use of mercenaries on Tuesday urged [press release] stronger global and regulation of private security companies. The group also called on governments to hold private military and security companies (PMSCs) accountable for all of their international human rights violations. The call comes on the heels of a federal jury returning a guilty verdict [JURIST report] against four ex-Blackwater security guards who were charged with Iraqi civilian deaths in 2007. The convictions... +read more

UN rights expert urges ICC referral for North Korea

By William Helbling on Oct 29, 2014 11:18 am
[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea human rights Marzuki Darusman on Tuesday submitted a report [report, PDF] urging that North Korea be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity. Darusman stated that "[t[he international community must seize this unique opportunity and momentum created by the commission of inquiry to help to make a difference in the lives of the people of Korea, including victims, and to ensure accountability of those responsible for... +read more

Federal judge blocks contraception mandate enforcement for Catholic college

By Taylor Gillan on Oct 29, 2014 02:13 pm
[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida [official website] on Tuesday issued a temporary ruling [text, PDF] blocking the enforcement of the contraception mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [text] against a Florida Roman Catholic college. The order, which came in the form of a preliminary injunction, will remain in effect until the college goes to trial in his court. The dispute centers on new rules [text, PDF] proposed by... +read more

Supreme Court halts Missouri execution for ineffective assistance of counsel

By Addison Morris on Oct 29, 2014 03:20 pm
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday halted [text, PDF] the execution of Mark Christeson, a Missouri man convicted of killing a woman and her two children, pending the determination of whether the 35-year-old received effective legal counsel. Christeson's attorneys, along with 15 former judges, on Monday asked [JURIST report] the Supreme Court to block his execution, claiming that mistakes were made by his former attorneys, which led him to lose his opportunity to appeal his case to... +read more

Singapore top court affirms law criminalizing homosexuality

By Bradley McAllister on Oct 29, 2014 04:07 pm
[JURIST] The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore, the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Singapore [official website], on Tuesday ruled [judgment, PDF] that a national law criminalizing male homosexuality conforms with the city-state's constitution [text]. Three homosexual men brought the case [Straits Times report] against the attorney general, arguing the 76-year-old homosexuality provision of the current penal code [text], Section 377A, violates their right to equal protection and life and liberty, pursuant to Article 12 and... +read more

Bangladesh Islamist leader sentenced to death for war crimes

By Taylor Gillan on Oct 29, 2014 04:12 pm
[JURIST] A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Wednesday sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) [party website; Global Security backgrounder] leader Motiur Rahman Nizami to death for crimes committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [Bangladesh News backgrounder] with Pakistan. The former Cabinet minister was tried on charges [AP report] that included genocide, rape, murder and torture, and was accused of personally carrying out or ordering the deaths of nearly 600 Bangladeshis while serving as supreme commander of the Al-Badr militia. The JI party... +read more

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Friday, October 31, 2014

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Tim Cook Speaks Up

Fourth prison term for conscientious objector Udi Segal. Full details and calls for action and support below.

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