Tag: Free gaza

Calls For BBC Reporter To Resign After Mentioning Plight Of Palestinians During Coverage of Je Suis Charlie Rally

A BBC reporter has faced calls to resign after he told the daughter of Holocaust survivors in Paris: ‘Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well’.

Journalist Tim Willcox sparked anger during his coverage of yesterday’s rally in Paris, held in memory of the 17 victims of last week’s terror attacks, including four Jewish people in a siege at a Kosher supermarket.

During a live report from the streets of Paris, Willcox was speaking to a number of participants in the march, including one woman who expressed her fears that Jews were being persecuted, and ‘the situation is going back to the days of the 1930s in Europe.’

To this, Willcox, who was broadcasting on the BBC News channel replied: ‘Many critics though of Israel’s policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well.’

When the woman, shaking her head, responded saying: ‘We can’t do an amalgam’, he told her: ‘You understand everything is seen from different perspectives.’

She was identified during the broadcast as ‘Chava’, and told Willcox when she was introduced on screen that she had lived in France for 20 years, but was originally from Israel.

She said her parents were from Poland, and came to Israel after the Second World War.

She had attended the rally with a friend, Aziz, who is French-born and comes from a Muslim background, with his parents being originally from Algeria.

Willcox has today apologised for his comments, taking to Twitter to say he had not meant to cause offence.

He wrote: ‘Really sorry for any offence caused by a poorly phrased question in a live interview in Paris yesterday – it was entirely unintentional.’

But many viewers also used the social network to express their anger and concerns over Willcox’s rally coverage, including historian and BBC presenter Simon Schama.

He wrote on Twitter: ‘Appalling of @BBCTimWillcox to imply any and all JEWS (not Israelis) responsible for treatment of Palestinians by hectoring lady in Paris.’

And added: ‘Then he had gall to patronise her at the end – “you see people see it from all sides” That Palestinian plight justifies anti-semitic murder?’

Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard also joined the debate, tweeting: ‘What is @BBCTimWillcox’s problem with Jews? Once is problematic. Twice is a pattern.’

The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which works to combat anti-Semitism in Britain, has circulated footage of the incident, and has called on those offended by it to formally complain to the BBC.

Director of communications, Jonathan Sacerdoti, told MailOnline Willcox’s Twitter apology was ‘not really good enough’.

‘It’s an admission he has done something wrong, but it’s incumbent on the BBC to make an on-air apology and to investigate his behaviour.’

There have also been calls for the reporter to resign.

Twitter user I Support Israel said: ‘Retweet if you believe @BBCTimWillcox should be fired for making this anti-Semitic suggestion’.

The comment was re-tweeted 41 times, while others expressed their views on the controversy, adding the hashtag #WillcoxMustGo.

An online petition was also set up, demanding that Willcox ‘personally apologise’, and calling for ‘re-assurance that this constant anti-Semitic behaviour from the BBC will come to an end’.

The petition authors said: ‘It was the wrong time and place to ask such a disgraceful question. The unity march was a time for France and the rest of the world to come together and unite against the rising threat of terrorism and anti-Semitism, as well as an opportunity to mourn and remember those killed in the horrific attacks.

‘Nevertheless, Mr Willcox showed no sensitivity and asked a tasteless question on live TV which has outraged those who have seen the clip, as well as leaving the interviewee speechless and defenceless.’

It is not the first time Willcox has been accused of anti-Semitism.

In November during a review of the following day’s newspapers on the BBC News channel, Willcox, who was anchoring the discussion, faced criticism after discussion of a story about Labour leader Ed Miliband reportedly losing Jewish support.

The BBC said Willcox (pictured) had no intention of causing offence, and had been discussing a wide range of issues with the rally participants

A guest on the programme, political observer Jo Phillips, had referred to a ‘Jewish lobby’, which had abandoned support for Labour over his condemnation of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

There was anger that Willcox had not pulled up the guest on her comments, and had added: ‘A lot of these prominent Jewish faces will be very much against the mansion tax’.

The BBC defended the comments, and said: ‘It was clear that he was not suggesting that Jewish people in particular are against the mansion tax.’

Mr Sacerdoti said his organisation and 33 individuals had complained to the BBC about the November broadcast.

‘The BBC said there was no anti-Semitism in what he said, but according to the MacPherson definition, if a minority group feels it is anti-Semitic, it should be considered as such,’ he said.

‘It’s obviously offending people.’

He added: ‘And now he’s done it again in an extreme example when people are mourning the deaths of four Jews, among the other victims, and his reaction is to say this to a Jewish woman who is saying it’s like the 1930s.

‘To somehow bring in mitigating circumstances, is terrible.

‘The EUMC’s [European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, now the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights] working definition of anti-Semitism includes collective blaming of Jews for the actions of Israel.’

Alex Benjamin, Executive Director of Brussels-based group European Friends of Israel, told MailOnline he would ‘echo the calls for Willcox to resign’.

‘I was not the only one who was utterly disgusted at the deeply patronising, offensive and frankly partisan way he hassled this woman – a woman who as a Parisian Jew is genuinely concerned for her well-being – seeking to justify the abhorrent murders of four jews in Paris with the Israel Palestinian conflict,’ he said.

‘It was tactless, arrogant and he should at resign.’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Tim Willcox has apologised for what he accepts was a poorly phrased question during an in-depth live interview with two friends, one Jewish and of Israeli birth, the other of Algerian Muslim heritage, where they discussed a wide range of issues affecting both the Muslim and Jewish communities in France. He had no intention of causing offence.’

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

January 13, 2015
EU Court Ruled For Hamas To Be Removed From EU’s Terrorist List

BRUSSELS – The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should be removed from the European Union’s terrorist list, an EU court ruled on Wednesday, saying the decision to include it was based on media reports not considered analysis.

In its ruling, however, the bloc’s second highest tribunal said member states could keep Hamas’s assets frozen for three months to give time for further review or for an appeal.

The EU’s foreign policy arm said the bloc continued to view Hamas as a terrorist group. “This was a legal ruling of the court based on procedural grounds. We will look into this and decide on appropriate remedial action,” spokeswoman Maja Kocijanic said.

The United States urged the European Union not to change its stance.

“We believe that the E.U. should maintain its terrorism sanctions on Hamas,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing.

Israel, which has clashed repeatedly with Europe in recent years over Palestinian statehood ambitions, demanded Hamas remain blacklisted and said the ruling showed “staggering hypocrisy” toward a Jewish state founded after the Holocaust.

“It seems that too many in Europe, on whose soil six million Jews were slaughtered, have learned nothing. But we in Israel, we’ve learned,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He branded Hamas “a murderous terrorist organization”.

Hamas holds sway in the Gaza Strip and its founding charter calls for the destruction of Israel. It has regularly battled Israel, most recently in a 50-day war this summer.

Most Western countries say it is a terrorist organization, pointing to years of indiscriminate rocket strikes out of Gaza and waves of suicide attacks, primarily between 1993 and 2005.

HAMAS BUOYED

Hamas says it is a legitimate resistance movement and contested the European Union’s decision in 2001 to include it on the terrorist list. It welcomed Wednesday’s verdict.

“The decision is a correction of a historical mistake the European Union had made,” Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk said. “Hamas is a resistance movement and it has a natural right according to all international laws and standards to resist the occupation.”

The EU court did not ponder the merits of whether Hamas should be classified as a terror group, but reviewed the original decision-making process. This, it said, did not include the considered opinion of competent authorities, but rather relied on media and Internet reports.

It said if an appeal was brought before the EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice, the freeze of Hamas funds should continue until the legal process was complete.

In a similar ruling, an EU court said in October the 2006 decision to place Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers on the EU list was procedurally flawed. As with Hamas, it also said the group’s assets should remain frozen pending further legal action and the European Union subsequently filed an appeal.

The European Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution supporting Palestinian statehood. The text was a compromise, representing divisions within the EU over how far to blame Israel for failing to agree peace terms.

Source: www.todayonline.com

December 18, 2014
Palestinians Afraid Of Criticising Mahmoud Abbas

RAMALLAH — Two-thirds of Palestinians say they are afraid to criticise Mr Mahmoud Abbas, according to a poll, and some of the Palestinian president’s recent actions only seem to confirm claims that dissent comes at a price.

Last month, Mr Abbas outlawed the West Bank’s largest labour union and briefly jailed its two leaders for organising strikes. Security agents routinely monitor social media and send threats or complaints to some of those criticising Abbas. Meanwhile, the Palestinian leader’s Fatah movement continues to purge supporters of an exiled rival.

Critics say that after a decade in power, Mr Abbas is overseeing a largely authoritarian system with shrinking room for dissent — a claim denied by Mr Abbas supporters who say Palestinians enjoy more political freedoms than most in the Arab world.

Complaints of heavy-handedness come at a time of paralysis on all fronts. Mr Abbas’ strategy of setting up a Palestinian state through negotiations with Israel has hit a dead end, while the bitter rivalry between Fatah and the Islamic militant group Hamas continues to fester.

With his approval rate down to 35 per cent, Mr Abbas lashes out against those he views as a political threat, such as former aide Mohammed Dahlan, now based in the United Arab Emirates, and ex-Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

In 10 years in office, the 79-year-old has avoided grooming a successor.

Mr Abbas defenders say Israel and Hamas are largely to blame for the gridlock: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopted harder negotiating positions than his predecessors, while Hamas seized Gaza in 2007 and set up a mini-state there.

The Hamas-Fatah split was largely responsible for eroding political institutions, such as parliament, and blocking presidential and parliamentary elections, now five years overdue, analysts said. This has opened the door for Mr Abbas to consolidate power, they said.

“We face an autocratic regime that doesn’t believe in any freedoms, in freedom of unions or freedom of speech,” said Mr Jihad Harb, a writer and Fatah member. “The people are now terrified. They don’t speak up, fearing reprisal.”

Mr Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman, said criticism is permitted — provided it does not cross a line by accusing Mr Abbas or members of his government of being traitors or infidels.

“If you look around and see what is going on in the Arab world, you realise how much freedom we enjoy here,” Mr Assaf said.

Most Palestinians in the West Bank appear to disagree, according to a poll published last week by the independent Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research. Sixty-six per cent said they believe they cannot criticise Mr Abbas without fear, according to the survey among 1,270 respondents, with an error margin of 3 percentage points.

One recent controversy centred on the largest Palestinian union, which represents about 40,000 employees of the Palestinian Authority.

Last month, Mr Abbas outlawed the union and had two top officials jailed for a week. The decision followed strikes by the union demanding more benefits.

Critics said Mr Abbas and Fatah had used the union in the past as a tool against rivals. They said Mr Abbas went after the union last month because it was causing problems for his hand-picked prime minister, Mr Rami Hamdallah.

Mr Bassam Zakarneh, one of the union leaders who was briefly jailed by Mr Abbas, said the union is being targeted because “they don’t want anyone to stand up to the government”.

Mr Abbas’ aide Nimer Hamad said the union was never registered and that strikes “caused huge damage to the interests of the people”.

Meanwhile, others defending the union also got in trouble.

Senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed, who criticised the decision to ban the union, found himself accused by Mr Hamdallah of nepotism for pushing his sister-in-law for the post of education minister — a rare “outing” of one member of the ruling elite by another.

The incident played out on a talk show earlier this month on government-run Palestine TV. Asked about his sister-in-law, Mr al-Ahmed denied he used his influence to get her the Cabinet job. Mr Hamdallah called the show, contradicting Mr al-Ahmed’s version on the air.

The episode confirmed a perception — held by more than 80 per cent of Palestinians, according to last week’s poll — that Palestinian Authority institutions are tainted by corruption, with nepotism cited as a major problem.

Some speculated the showdown over the union could also be linked to internal power struggles in Fatah ahead of a party convention next month.

Regardless of intentions, the crackdown on the union is unpopular, with two-thirds of the public opposed, said pollster Khalil Shikaki.

Mr Abbas’ approval rating has dropped to 35 per cent, from 50 per cent last summer. “There is no doubt that the crackdown on freedoms and liberties, particularly unions, is certainly one of those factors that are pushing in that direction,” said Mr Shikaki, who conducted last week’s poll.

Mr Abbas also continues to engage in battles with perceived foes, even though they have not declared themselves as challengers.

Earlier this year, he began purging supporters of former Gaza strongman Dahlan from the ranks of Fatah. He has warned others they would be expelled if they maintain ties with Mr Dahlan, some in Fatah said.

Beyond curbs on expression in the self-rule areas, Palestinians face multiple restrictions — including those on movement imposed by Israel, which retains overall control in the West Bank.

In this environment, many use social media as an outlet for their views, but that’s also fraught with risk.

Mr Ahmed Zaki, the news director of Palestine TV, said he was recently demoted after a Facebook post in which he criticised the choice of a talk show guest on his station — an Egyptian commentator who supported Israeli attacks against Hamas targets in Gaza.

After that post, Mr Zaki said he received a call from Mr Abbas’ office and was told he would no longer serve in his job, though he remains on the station’s payroll.

Ms Tami Rafidi, a 35-year-old Fatah activist in Ramallah, said she has been admonished for Facebook posts critical of Mr Abbas and told by party members and security officials to tone down her comments. She said she has not been threatened because of her role in Fatah.

“But I am aware of others who were pressured or threatened to stop criticism,” she said. “The margin of freedom in the social media is narrow in the Palestinian territories.” AP

Source: www.todayonline.com

December 18, 2014
Israel’s Status As National Homeland Of Jewish People Enhrined In Constitution

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel’s government on Sunday endorsed a proposal to anchor in law the country’s status as the national homeland of the Jewish people, drawing fire from critics who said it weakened democracy.

“The cabinet today approved a draft basic law: ‘Israel the national state of the Jewish people’,” said a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, one of whose MPs was a sponsor.

Netanyahu also announced a separate initiative to strip Arabs of their residency and welfare rights if they or their relatives take part in unrest.

Following a stormy meeting, the cabinet voted 14 to six in favour of the national homeland proposal, with ministers from the two centrist parties – HaTnuah led by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Yesh Atid of Finance Minister Yair Lapid – voting against, media reports said.

The proposal would mean Israel would no longer be defined in its Basic Laws as “Jewish and democratic” but instead as “the national homeland of the Jewish people”.

Critics, who include the government’s top legal adviser, say the proposed change to the laws that act as Israel’s effective constitution could institutionalise discrimination against its 1.7 million Arab citizens.

By giving preeminence to the “Jewish” character of Israel over its democratic nature, the law in its current format is anti-democratic, they say.

The Israel Democracy Institute said that the state’s Jewish identity is already contained in its 1948 declaration of independence.

“However, that declaration also emphasises the Jewish State’s absolute commitment to the equality of all of its citizens – an essential component missing from the proposals being presented to the government today,” IDI president Yohanan Plesner said in a statement.

Netanyahu insisted the law would give equal weight to both characteristics.

“There are those who would like the democratic to prevail over the Jewish and there are those who would like the Jewish to prevail over the democratic… both of these values are equal and both must be considered to the same degree,” he said.

The proposal has provoked uproar among MPs and ministers from the centre and the left, who fear the text only institutionalises discrimination.

There are also concerns about a plan to revoke the rights of any Arab resident who took part in or incited violence, even stone-throwing.

“It cannot be that those who attack Israeli citizens and call for the elimination of the State of Israel will enjoy rights such as National Insurance – and their family members as well, who support them,” Netanyahu told ministers.

Israel’s Arab minority, comprising some 20 per cent of the population, are descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the establishment of Israel in 1948.

If the Jewish homeland proposal becomes law, it would mean “the institutionalisation of racism, which is already a reality on the street, in both law and at the heart of the political system”, warned Majd Kayyal of Adalah, the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel.

“Democracy guarantees that all citizens have the same rights and are equal before the state, but this racist change introduces a distinction on the basis of religion,” he said.

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, the government’s legal adviser, has also criticised the proposal, saying it weakens the state’s democratic character.

The version of the bill approved by ministers on Sunday represents a nod from Netanyahu to the most hardline elements of his party and ruling coalition as talk grows of an early election.

But it will be incorporated into a hybrid proposal approved by Netanyahu, the Likud statement said.

“The bill will pass a preliminary reading in the Knesset this Wednesday and will be revised to conform with a government bill which will be drafted and approved by the cabinet soon,” it said.

The final version of the text submitted to parliament for approval is likely to be softened, predicted Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel’s Open University.

“The text proposed by Netanyahu is more moderate but it is still problematic because he disassociates the Jewish character from the democratic character of the state and this institutionalises a hierarchy between them, to the detriment of democracy,” he said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

November 24, 2014
Activist Doctor Mads Gilbert Denied Access to Gaza Indefinitely

Mads Gilbert, an outspoken Norwegian doctor and activist who treated patients at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital during Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory this summer, has been denied access to Gaza “indefinitely” by Israeli authorities.

Gilbert told Al Jazeera on Friday that he was turned away from the Erez border crossing when attempting to return to Gaza in October, despite having all the legitimate paper work.

“To my surprise I was denied access by the Israeli military,” he said. “When I asked the reason they informed me that it was a security issue.”

Gilbert said that when he asked for a fuller explanation, he was told to “leave the premises or the police would be called”.

Telling the world about the burdens of the Palestinians in Gaza is considered a security risk.

The 67-year-old, who has been involved in solidarity work with Palestinians for decades and volunteered at al-Shifa during three wars, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military campaigns and its occupation of Palestinian territory.

During the seven-week conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement that left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead, Gilbert frequently spoke to international media, including Al Jazeera, about the situation at al-Shifa hospital, which was overwhelmed with civilian casualties.

However, a spokesperson for the Coordination of the Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli authority that coordinates all traffic between Gaza and Israel, told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang that the refusal of entry was related to security reasons and had “nothing to do with Gilbert’s anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic remarks”.

Gilbert told Al Jazeera he was informed that the ban was “infinite without any time limit”.

He said he had been invited by the Gaza Health Ministry which had requested his assistance to research the the impact on healthcare of the Israeli bombardment and to follow up on work done during that time.

The Norwegian embassy in Tel Aviv has made numerous inquiries to the Israeli government about the ban.

Bard Glad Pedersen, state secretary at the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, told Verdens Gang, “we have raised Gilbert’s exclusion from Gaza and asked Israel to change their decision. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is still difficult and there is a need for all health workers.”

Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-registered charity which has been working in the occupied West Bank and Gaza for over 20 years and supports al-Shifa hospital called the ban on Gilbert “deeply concerning” and reiterated that, “following the recent conflict, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza require specialised surgical treatment and it is imperative that the right to health is unimpeded.”

Denouncing his entry ban as a limitation of freedom of expression, Gilbert said it appeared the Israeli government “doesn’t want the effects of their continuous attacks on the civilian population in Gaza to be known to the world.”

“Telling the world about the burdens of the Palestinians in Gaza is considered a security risk”, he said, adding that in a larger perspective, the ban was not about him but about the Gazans’ right to international assistance.

“The Israeli authorities are, in my opinion, in no position to deny the Palestinian people support from the international community,” he told Al Jazeera.

He vowed to continue to challenge Israel and called for political pressure to be exerted to lift the “long overdue” siege of Gaza.

“There is no way we’re going to accept that medical and humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza shall be denied just because the Israeli government has decided so. I will not give up travelling to Gaza as long as they have medical needs,” he said.

Israel launched “Operation Protective Edge” following firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups from Gaza.

According to UN figures the Palestinian death toll was 2,131, of whom 1,473 were identified as civilians, including 501 children.. On the Israeli side, 77 people, mostly soldiers, were killed.

Source: www.aljazeera.com

November 15, 2014