#Chiffre_du_jour : 1,7 (%)
Amnesty: Wealthy nations host only 1.7 percent of Syrian refugees
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/amnesty-wealthy-nations-host-only-17-percent-syrian-refugees
#réfugiés, #Syrie, #pays_riches
#Chiffre_du_jour : 1,7 (%)
Amnesty: Wealthy nations host only 1.7 percent of Syrian refugees
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/amnesty-wealthy-nations-host-only-17-percent-syrian-refugees
Émouvant hommage de Pierre Abi-Saab à Sabah: Arabic tarab loses its ’Shahroura’: We won’t cry, Sabah
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/arabic-tarab-loses-its-%E2%80%98shahroura%E2%80%99-we-won%E2%80%9
Sabah asked us not to cry over her loss, and indeed we won’t. We didn’t even consider crying despite our great grief. In any case, we are sad for ourselves and for the golden age.
We are sad because the last stage of Sabouha’s life was difficult. She was on the brink of destitution and living in between rumors about her death.
We are sad because the ambassador of our golden age, this timeless singer who transcends all epochs from the Lebanese village to Cairo, the capital of renaissance and art in the 1940s and 1950s, brings to an end a time when the artist was first and foremost a singer. A time when all the rest, all the madness, extravagance, spectacles, private life, and “scandals” – if inevitable – came much later, after the voice, talent, and creativity were displayed.
We will be very sad, but we won’t shed any tears. How is it possible to cry over Sabouha? Just her name [which translates to ‘morning’ in English] is a companion to joy, happiness and love of life.
The Gaza ‘Pillage’ Troika: Israel, the PA, and UNRWA | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/gaza-pillage-troika-israel-pa-and-unrwa
By: Orouba Othman
Published Monday, November 24, 2014
The file of the reconstruction of Gaza has resulted in crude paradoxes, ones that will bring additional misery throughout the small enclave following the fragile ceasefire agreement. What most breaks the hearts of Gazans is that the same hands that dropped tons of explosives over their heads will shower them with their “charities,” and even benefit as a result. While they have paid the price with their blood, their slaughterers are rewarded by the reconstruction of the Strip, and by spying on them under the cover of the international community.
Israel has detained 10,000 Palestinian children since 2000: PLO
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israel-has-detained-10000-palestinian-children-2000-plo
More than 10,000 Palestinian minors in the occupied West Bank and annexed Jerusalem have been held by the Israeli army for varying periods since 2000, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official said Wednesday, adding that 20 percent of those detained since June of this year are minors. (...)
Around 95 percent of detained children were subject to beatings and torture by Israeli security personnel while in detention, while many were forced to make confessions under duress and undergo unfair trials, Qaraqe said, adding that at least 300 children are still detained in Israeli jails on various charges.
Violent practices by Israeli soldiers as well as settlers against Palestinian children is endemic and often abetted by the authorities.
Tens of thousands march in Beirut for wage hikes
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/tens-thousands-take-street-beirut-protest-wage-hikes
The Union Coordination Committee (UCC) – a conglomerate of public sector associations and schools – had asked public and private schools and government offices across Lebanon to observe the one-day strike to rally for higher wages.
The UCC is calling on Parliament to pass a bill that would increase the salary scale by 121%, and to fund it without raising taxes on basic goods.
In addition to imposing taxes on bank profits, activists want to tax billionaires who own the luxury seafront properties.
“I don’t see them giving us the pay scale we’re demanding any time soon,” Kassem Mubarak, a teacher at a trade school for electricians, told Al-Akhbar. “But we’re going to keep on protesting to show everyone that we are serious.”
“I didn’t used to protest when they started about two years ago, but now it’s getting more serious,” he added. “There will be more and more protests and they will keep getting bigger.”
African asylum seekers strike to demand rights, hold large rally in Tel Aviv
In an unprecedented protest, some 20,000 African asylum seekers march to Rabin Square to demand that Israel examine their asylum claims and stop arresting and detaining members of the refugee community.
▻http://972mag.com/african-asylum-seekers-go-on-strike-hold-large-rally-in-tel-aviv/85034
#protestation #requérants_d'asile #marche #manifestation #Tel_Aviv #Israël #asile #réfugiés
Autres images :
Tirées de ce site : ▻http://activestills.org
Thousands of refugees flood Tel Aviv square in mass protest
Plus de 30 000 migrants africains manifestent à Tel-Aviv
▻http://www.romandie.com/news/n/Plus_de_30_000_migrants_africains_manifestent_a_Tel_Aviv86050120141528.asp
Plus de 30 000 demandeurs d’asile africains entrés clandestinement en Israël ont manifesté dimanche à Tel-Aviv, selon la police. Ils ont dénoncé le refus des autorités d’examiner leurs requêtes pour obtenir un statut de réfugié, ainsi que le placement en rétention de centaines d’entre eux.
Selon une loi votée le 10 décembre, les immigrés clandestins peuvent être placés jusqu’à un an en rétention sans procès. « Nous sommes tous des réfugiés ! Oui à la liberté, non à la prison », ont-ils scandé en anglais, avant d’écouter une série de discours.
Deuxième jour de protestation:
Thousands of African migrants march on Tel Aviv embassies:
►http://www.asile.ch/vivre-ensemble/2014/01/05/le-nouvel-observateur-manif-monstre-a-tel-aviv-pourquoi-30-000-noirs-sont-sort
Africans rally in second day of protests against Israeli detention
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/africans-rally-second-day-protests-against-israeli-detention
Thousands of asylum seekers in Israel go on strike
Thousands of African asylum seekers and their supporters in Israel Sunday went on a three-day strike in Tel Aviv’s main square to press for their demand of equal rights.
Chanting “freedom, freedom, not jail,” asylum seekers called on Israel to cease their arrests and instead recognise their asylum requests, Xinhua reported.
Some 50,000 African asylum seekers and refugees live in Israel. Most of them fled Eritrea’s prosecutions and forced military conscription, or clashes in Sudan.
▻http://www.wespeaknews.com/world/thousands-of-asylum-seekers-in-israel-go-on-strike-279299.html
Nouvelle manifestation d’immigrants africains en Israël
▻http://www.rfi.fr/sites/filesrfi/imagecache/rfi_43_large/sites/images.rfi.fr/files/aef_image/2014-01-05T121101Z_1310792286_GM1EA151K0701_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-MIGRANTS_0.JPG
▻http://www.rfi.fr/moyen-orient/20140105-israel-manifestation-immigrants-afrique-soudan-erythree?ns_campaign=goo
By Activestills
|Published January 6, 2014
PHOTOS: Asylum seekers protest outside foreign embassies in Tel Aviv
►http://972mag.com/photos-asylum-seekers-protest-outside-foreign-embassies-in-tel-aviv/85133
Merci @loutre !
Source : ►http://972mag.com/photos-asylum-seekers-protest-outside-foreign-embassies-in-tel-aviv/85133
Israeli protests: a refugee’s story
As tens of thousands of migrants demonstrate in Tel Aviv, one man describes what happened when he went home to Sudan
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/06/israel-refugees-protest-sudan?CMP=twt_gu
v. aussi:
150 imprisoned African asylum seekers start hunger strike
▻http://seen.li/4mbs
En Israël, les réfugiés refusent d’être traités « comme des criminels »
Des milliers de migrants, principalement venus d’Érythrée et du Soudan, se mobilisent en Israël pour dénoncer les risques d’enfermement qu’ils encourent et exiger que leur demande d’asile soit traitée équitablement. Parce que la plupart de ces ressortissants ne sont pas expulsables, le gouvernement durcit les conditions d’accueil pour les inciter à partir d’eux-mêmes.
▻http://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/110114/en-israel-les-refugies-refusent-d-etre-traites-comme-des-criminels?onglet=
article de @carine
Week after ban, African migrants take part in Knesset meeting
Campaign by asylum seekers picks up again after suspension following Sharon’s death; women and children rally in Tel Aviv
African Asylum-Seekers Go on Strike in Israel
Tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers in Israel held a week-long workers strike from January 5 to 12. The decision came in response to the Israeli government’s redoubled efforts to remove non-Jewish Africans from its city centers and was inspired by a march on Jerusalem a few weeks earlier by 150 Africans, who had been among the first group of refugees detained at a desert halfway house.
African migrants to Israel, ‘We are human beings too’
The scene should hugely embarrass all Israelis and supporters of Israel: tens of thousands of African immigrants demonstrating, demanding to be treated as human beings within a state that claimed to be created as a safe haven for immigrants. The lie is exposed for all to see.
▻http://sfbayview.com/2014/african-migrants-to-israel-we-are-human-beings-too
Asylum seekers in Israel globalize protest
After more than a month of continuous protests and actions, the African asylum seeker community in Israel declared Wednesday an ‘International day of solidarity with the African asylum seeker community in Israel.’
Marches and protests have been planned in Tel Aviv, as well as outside Israeli consulates and embassies and UN offices in major cities throughout North America and Europe. Letters will be delivered to Israeli ambassadors and UNHCR officials demanding Israel ceases its policy of imprisonment and recognize the community as refugees, and calling on the UN refugee agency to take immediate responsibility
▻http://972mag.com/asylum-seekers-in-israel-globalize-protest/86117
Lebanon: Thousands of Syrian Refugees in Bekaa Face Merciless Winter
The crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon worsens by the day. Two and a half years after war broke out in Syria, a large number of displaced Syrians remain without shelter. Most live in overcrowded group housing, while others have set up small tents as temporary shelter.
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-thousands-syrian-refugees-bekaa-face-merciless-winter
Multiplication des incidents contre les réfugiés syriens
Lebanon : Rape of Disabled Young Man Triggers Syrian Exodus | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-rape-disabled-young-man-triggers-syrian-exodus
In the Lebanese Bekaa, the suspects in the rape of a young man with special needs are Syrian. This was enough to cause a commotion. Security forces arrested the suspects, and Syrian refugee tents were removed from the area. But the crisis could erupt somewhere else as the state fails to deal with the refugee issue institutionally.
voir aussi :
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-burn-down-syrian-refugee-camp
#Liban
#réfugiés
#Syrie
v. aussi : « Liban | Les réfugiées syriennes contraintes à la prostitution » :
►http://www.asile.ch/vivre-ensemble/2013/09/26/liban-les-refugiees-syriennes-contraintes-a-la-prostitution
Le domaine public maritime à Beyrouth au centre d’une nouvelle joute politique
Entre les héritiers de Hariri qui veulent exploiter le juteux portefeuille foncier de leur père, et le ministre Aridi, ministre des transports en charge du DPM, démissionnaire et en disgrâce, lui aussi connu pour son affairisme foncier. En attendant les pêcheurs dont le port (très précaire) et les installations sont menacés de délocalisation protestent, et comparent le projet à un nouveau Solidere (photo).
Lebanese Minister Reveals Daliyeh’s Port Mysteries | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-minister-reveals-daliyeh%E2%80%99s-port-mysteries
On Tuesday, November 5, Lebanese Transport and Works Minister Ghazi Aridi summed up the conflict in Daliyeh. He said his ministry had started implementing rehabilitation works at the fishing port in Daliyeh, but heirs of former prime minister Rafik Hariri (who own private property in the area) sabotaged the project.
et un premier article sur cette lutte en octobre ►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hariri-resort-threatens-beirut-fishermen
Sur cette affaire et son contexte de lutte pour les espaces publcs, quelques regards de chercheurs et d’activistes :
Public Spaces and Spatial Practices : Claims from Beirut par Mona Harb : ▻http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/14710/public-spaces-and-spatial-practices_claims-from-be
Voir aussi :
►http://rumor.hypotheses.org/3105 et ►http://rumor.hypotheses.org/3145
Sur le côté obscur du ministre Ghazi Aridi : ►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/ghazi-aridi-lebanese-mp-falls-jumblatt%E2%80%99s-favor
Même s’il faut noter que sur ces enjeux du domaine public maritime, il a de la constance : ►http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2012/Oct-17/191685-aridi-cites-1280-seaside-property-violations.ashx
Une magnifique et rare photo de la ville de la Mecque, avec son impressionnante médina et les tours qui l’assiègent
Why Did Riyadh Turn Down UN Seat ? | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/why-did-riyadh-turn-down-un-seat
Exclusive: Iraq still using bogus bomb detectors – and thousands pay the price
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/exclusive-iraq-still-using-bogus-bomb-detectors--and-thousands-pay-th
Bogus bomb detectors are still being used in Iraq five months after a British businessman who supplied the devices was found guilty of fraud.
More than 4,500 people are estimated to have been killed in Iraq – 979 of them in September alone – since James McCormick, a former policeman, was convicted at the Old Bailey in April. His trial heard that the devices he was selling, called ADE-651, were based on novelty golf-ball finders and had no scientific means of detecting explosives.
cf ►http://seenthis.net/messages/135645
Il y eu aussi une enquête du Akhbar sur les faux détecteurs utilisés au Liban :
▻http://seenthis.net/messages/174874
Quelle étrange photo de Tripoli…
accompagnant l’article :
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/tripoli-tends-its-wounds-silence-and-despair
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah : la France et le mépris du droit
▻http://www.info-palestine.eu/spip.php?article13750
By : Bassam Alkantar
Published Monday, July 15, 2013
Traduction : Info-Palestine.eu - al-Mukhtar
Encore une fois, Georges Abdallah, le citoyen libanais que la France continue de détenir en otage, était présent lors de la célébration du jour de la prise de la Bastille, devant la résidence de l’ambassadeur français à Beyrouth. Les militants se sont rassemblés pour exiger la libération, le jour où « la liberté, l’égalité, la fraternité » sont censées être honorées.
(...)
De 15 à 17 h, les visiteurs ont afflué à la réception de l’ambassadeur français Patrice Paoli. Ils auraient pu se glisser facilement à travers les quelques dizaines de manifestants qui s’étaient rassemblés pour Abdallah, mais la sécurité de l’ambassade française a préférer les faire attendre pendant plus d’une heure et demie, ce qui a laissé aux visiteurs le temps de bien mémoriser le visage d’Abdallah, dont les images étaient affichées dans tous les endroits possibles.
Lors de la manifestation devant la résidence, appelée par la Campagne internationale pour la libération d’Abdallah, un certain nombre de participants ont fait des interventions en solidarité avec le prisonnier libanais.
Parmi les orateurs figurait le vice-président du conseil politique du Hezbollah, Mahmoud Qamati, qui a appelé les autorités françaises à préserver « le peu qu’il reste de leur réputation en libérant Abdallah ».
Joseph Abdallah, le frère de Georges, a ensuite pris la parole, en faisant valoir que le gouvernement français était devenu un protectorat US, inféodé au gouvernement américain « par le maintien en détention d’Abdallah, conspirant contre les peuples de la région, et en soutenant ouvertement le terrorisme. »
Targeting Hezbollah: Who is Behind the Dahiyeh Bombing?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/targeting-hezbollah-who-behind-dahiyeh-bombing
The Dahiyeh incident recalls a similar bombing that targeted the party’s spiritual leader, Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, on 8 March 1985. Fadlallah survived the attack, but 90 residents of the area lost their lives.
It was later discovered that the operation was carried out by local CIA operatives and financed by Saudi Arabia by way of the kingdom’s ambassador in Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who now heads the country’s intelligence services. The information was confirmed in Bob Woodward’s book, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, by then-CIA director, William Casey.
Tuesday’s attack occurred no more than a few dozen meters from the deadly bombing 28 years ago.
Israel’s new envoy to US “more extreme than Netanyahu”
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israels-new-envoy-us-more-extreme-netanyahu
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named as Israel’s new ambassador to Washington Tuesday an extreme nationalist with close ties to the US Republican Party.
Ron Dermer, who already served a stint in Washington as economic attache from 2005 to 2008, is on the record opposing the creation of a Palestinian state.
According to US diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks, he is also convinced that the western-backed Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is not a partner for peace.
Attentat de Bir el-Abed : les responsables dénoncent une tentative de destabilisation du Liban
▻http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/822944/attentat-de-bir-el-abed-les-responsables-denoncent-une-tentative-de-d
Les responsables libanais ont condamné, mardi, l’attentat perpétré vers 11h à Bir el-Abed, un fief du Hezbollah dans la banlieue sud de Beyrouth.
Cet attentat à la voiture piégée qui a fait une cinquantaine de blessés, dont deux graves, vise à destabiliser le Liban, ont averti la plupart d’entre eux.
Dozens wounded in Beirut blast on the eve of Ramadan
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/explosion-rocks-beirut-southern-suburb
It remains unclear who was behind Tuesday’s blast, but there is no shortage of suspects.
Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar pointed the finger at Israel, which launched 34-day war on Lebanon in 2006 which reduced much of Dahiyeh to rubble.
But Salafi radicals affiliated with Syria’s anti-government rebels are also suspected to have been behind a series of recent attacks on Lebanon.
The bomb was the second major attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah maintains strong support, in recent weeks.
De manière assez invraisemblable, voilà que Saad Hariri accuse explicitement Israël.
▻http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/822937/attentat-de-bir-el-abed-hariri-condamne-et-accuse-israel.html
« Cet acte criminel qui a visé un quartier résidentiel de la banlieue-sud est condamné par tous les Libanais (...) », a lancé M. Hariri.
Il a également appelé à la retenue et au calme face aux dangers dans la région. « L’ennemi israélien tente d’engendrer une dissension (au Liban) en menant des opérations terroristes », a-t-il ajouté.
Hasard ou pas ce premier attentat survient au moment où les Saoud s’emparent du « dossier syrien. »
oui, il y a en ce moment une conjonction d’événements, du Qatar à la Syrie, de l’Egypte au Liban, qui ne peut manquer d’interroger...
Oui oui, Saad a bien accusé explicitement Israël de commettre des « attentats terroristes tels que celui de mardi ».
▻http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/89899-officials-denounce-bir-al-abed-blast-call-on-state-to-control-securi
He pointed out that the Lebanese must be aware of the dangers surrounding the country and the region, in particular, Israel’s attempt to create sedition by plotting “terrorist acts such as Tuesday’s blast.”
C’est sans doute exactement la même logique qui lui permet de refuser l’idée qu’Israël pouvait être impliquée dans l’attentat qui a tué son père, comme le soutenait le documentaire présenté par le Hezbollah il y a quelques années.
en l’occurrence, il lui est sans doute préférable que ce soit Israël qui a organisé cet attentat plutôt que des salafistes que son parti aurait stipendiés...
Sur i-télé des images de l’attentat (prise d’al-Manar avec son logo) où le commentaire relie l’attentat avec la question syrienne et rappelle - évidemment - l’implication du Hezbollah en Syrie. Rien par contre sur cette double accusation contre Israël (Hezbollah + Courant du Futur)...
Le ministre de la défense israélien prend tout de même la peine de nier toute implication israélienne et propose gracieusement son interprétation (dépêche AFP) :
▻http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/822951/israel-na-rien-a-voir-avec-ce-qui-se-passe-au-liban-ministre-de-la-de
Le ministre israélien de la Défense Moshé Yaalon a affirmé qu’Israël n’était pas impliqué dans l’attentat mardi matin dans une banlieue chiite de Beyrouth, qui résulte, selon lui, de la « lutte entre chiites et sunnites ».
« Nous constatons que la guerre en Syrie s’étend au Liban (...) Il s’agit d’une lutte entre chiites et sunnites. Nous observons, mais n’intervenons pas », a assuré M. Yaalon, cité par les médias.
The Bir Abed Blast: Restrained message sent… but likely just the beginning | The Mideastwire Blog
▻http://mideastwire.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/the-bir-abed-blast-restrained-message-sent-but-likely-just-th
L’excellent Nicholas Noe trace un avenir inquiétant,
Many of us have been waiting for a bombing in the heart of Hizbullah’s main neighborhood for quite some time, including here on this blog over the last two years. Even before the Syria crisis this was a real possibility, taken very seriously by the Party. Indeed, it is quite likely that the LAF and Hizbullah and other forces have disrupted plots just like the one that hit today – but it was inevitable given the porousness of Hizbullah’s spatial layout that one would get through, at least.
This bombing seems designed as a “rational” (though murderous, evil etc) attempt to rebalance calculations by hizbullah – as such, the target was not something which Hizbullah would be extremely hard pressed to restrain itself or its supporters from a massive outpouring of counter violence. Fadlallah’s mosque nearby, a real mass casualty attack or an attack on Amal targets/people (Birri for example): these are the types of targets that would signal a real “open” conflict and a far less rational/restrainable conflict.
The essential problem is that THE BOMBING WILL LIKELY NOT LEAD TO AN ADJUSTMENT of Hizbullah’s approach in Syria or Lebanon. As such, these coming days and weeks are more likely to see more attempts at larger attacks, and thus a wider open conflict.
This trajectory is but one of so many reasons why the West and its Allies were so stupid in meeting Assad’s initial violence with increasing counter violence coupled with exaggerated negotiating positions which were never reasonable or attractive or workable given the underlying balance of power or the nature of the regime and the resistance axis.
This is the path we have seen coming for almost two years – and it is set to get worst sadly.
La #BBC fait très fort :
Le Hezbollah frappé par un attentat - BBC Afrique - Monde
▻http://www.bbc.co.uk/afrique/monde/2013/07/130709_beirut-explosion.shtml
Les rebelles syriens avaient menacé d’exercer des répresailles contre le Hezbollah
Sur sa chaine Al Manar TV, le Hezbollah a joué la carte de l’émotion en diffusant des images de pompiers luttant pour éteindre l’incendie causé par l’explosion.
Et pas une seule fois le mot de civils ne sera prononcé.
L’attentat au Liban, une réponse à l’implication du Hezbollah en Syrie ?
▻http://www.france24.com/fr/20130709-attentat-liban-hezbollah-banlieue-sud-beyrouth-bir-abed-crise-syr
Plus de cinquante personnes ont été blessées par l’explosion d’une voiture piégée, mardi matin, dans la banlieue chiite du sud de Beyrouth, fief du Hezbollah. Une manière de sanctionner le parti de Dieu pour son intervention en Syrie ?
(...)
Et de conclure : « Cet attentat sert directement les intérêts du régime de Bachar al-Assad et ses alliés, qui veulent faire imploser la région ».
Aussi bien que la BBC, le #New_york_times,
Car Bombing Injures Dozens in Hezbollah Section of Beirut ▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/world/middleeast/syria.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=1&
The Balustrades of Beirut | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/balustrades-beirut
The show, “The Balustrades of Beirut,” is the work of Mazen Haidar, an architect specializing in conservation. After living and studying in Italy for over a decade, he returned to Beirut in 2010 and was horrified by how many of city’s historic buildings had been razed. “I felt traumatized by the lack of effective laws and also society’s apathy towards its cultural heritage being demolished.”
Ah mais dis donc : les intérêts français progressent partout dans le monde !
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/demonstrators-across-lebanon-demand-liberation-georges-abdallah
Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of French cultural institutes across Lebanon Thursday to denounce the recent delays in the release Lebanese leftist Georges Abdallah, who has been jailed in France for 28 years
French institutes in Saida, Tripoli, Nabatiyeh, Baalbek and Tyre were all closed in anticipation of the protests. Supporters of Abdallah held banners denouncing what they call a politicization of justice.
Palestinians reclaim land slated for Israeli settlement, create new village | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/palestinians-reclaim-land-slated-israeli-settlement-create-new-vi
Palestinians Friday morning inaugurated a tent village named Bab al-Shams in an area near Jerusalem referred to by Israelis as E1, defying an immediate eviction notice from the Israeli civil administration and military.
The new village of Bab al-Shams, named after a famous novel by Elias Khoury about the Palestinian right of return, comprises 23 tents, with two more being set up, and roughly 250 Palestinians who have proclaimed residency there.
The tent village consists of a Municipality office where the village council will meet, a clinic, a media office, and a kitchen.
Femen’s Neocolonial Feminism: When Nudity Becomes a Uniform - Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/femens-neocolonial-feminism-when-nudity-becomes-uniform
I first heard of Femen when they protested in Paris by wearing burqas and then stripping them off, to reveal their naked bodies underneath. This protest was aimed specifically at the Muslim community. Femen claimed that the veil and the burqa should be seen as intrinsically oppressive, and encouraged Muslim women to “free themselves” by stripping. This is apparent from both their protest actions as well as the slogans they use, including “Muslim Women! Let’s get Naked.” Femen have also made problematic statements about Arabs,such as: “As a society we haven’t been able to eradicate our Arab mentality towards women.” The slogan and statement point towards a specific view of Arab and Muslim women that forms part of Femen’s activism and ideology.
What struck me at the time was the underlying assumption that Femen was operating on, namely that female liberation can be directly linked to what women wear. This is not a new idea, and in fact has formed the basis of much of western feminism. One of the most prominent examples is the way the French state produced Algeria as a backwards country because Algerian women veiled. This type of logic automatically leads to the conclusion that in order to progress, women who veil must unveil, and therefore “free” themselves.