Common Grounds

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• Israeli parliament to vote on death penalty bill

  
  December 27, 2017 14:42

  Source: The Middle East Monitor

  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171226-israeli-parliament-to-vote-on-death-penalty-bill/#.WkLPeimBLmI.facebook

   

  Publsihed December 26, 2017

   

  Israel’s parliament is set to vote on a draft bill that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians “involved in operations against Israeli targets”, the country’s defense minister said Monday.

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• Israel in Talks With 'More Than 10 Countries' on Jerusalem Recognition,

  
  December 27, 2017 14:51

  Source: Haaretz

  https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.831182

   

  By Noa Landau

  Published Dec 25, 2017

   

  Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely says symbolic recognition of Jerusalem - not necessarily moving specific embassies - is at the center of ongoing talks ■ Israeli diplomats expect Honduras to be among the next countries to announce such a move

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• “We Will Not Serve in Your Army!” Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem Beaten, Arrested for Refusing Draft

  
  December 28, 2017 15:19

  Source: International Middle East Media Center

  http://imemc.org/article/we-will-not-serve-in-your-army-orthodox-jews-in-jerusalem-beaten-arrested-for-refusing-draft/

   

  By Miko Peled

  Published December 27, 2017

   

  While U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to move the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has dangerously fueled an international powder keg, another keg is burning in the heart of that city.

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• Report: 95% of new Palestinian detainees in Israel jails are youth

  
  December 28, 2017 15:23

  Source: Middle East Monitor

  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171222-report-95-of-new-palestinian-detainees-in-israel-jails-are-youth/?utm_content=buffer20b2c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

   

  Publsihed December 22, 2017

   

  Israeli mass arrests against Palestinians increased dramatically in December, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs revealed yesterday, noting that 95 per cent of the new prisoners are youths.

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• Trump’s Jerusalem decision is a victory for Evangelical politics

  
  December 28, 2017 15:31

  Source: The Brookings Institution

  https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2017/12/15/trumps-jerusalem-decision-is-a-victory-for-evangelical-politics/

   

  By Célia Belin

  Publsihed December 15, 2017

   

  President Trump’s announcement that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and that the American embassy will relocate, is—not surprisingly—going over badly with Arab partners, allies in Europe, and beyond. At first glance—and as many analysts have pointed out in recent days—his pronouncement appears somewhat incoherent with the administration’s stated policy of revitalizing peace talks and achieving what Trump has famously called “the ultimate deal.” It contradicts efforts to contain Iranian influence, which might benefit from Palestinian frustrations. Ever since Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, presidential candidates have promised these moves from the stump, only to realize once in office that the Jerusalem issue is a clear third rail, not to be touched. But unlike his predecessors, Donald Trump delivered.

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• Imagining Palestine's children as our own

  
  January 03, 2018 14:30

  Source: +972 Magazine

  https://972mag.com/imagining-palestines-children-as-our-own/132052/

   

  By Mya Guarnieri
  Published January 1, 2018

   

  My daughter, like Ahed Tamimi, also has blonde curly hair and light eyes. Her continual detention has left me awake in the middle of the night, my stomach churning. What if it was my little girl?

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• EU too divided for role in MidEast

  
  January 03, 2018 14:48

  Source: JEWS FOR JUSTICE FOR PALESTINIANS

  http://jfjfp.com/eu-too-divided-for-role-in-mideast/

   

  By Hugh Lovatt, ECFR
  Publsihed December 21, 2017

   

  Occupation and Sovereignty: Renewing EU Policy in Israel- Palestine

   

  Policy discussion document from the think-tank, the European Council on Foreign Relations [not an EU body]

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• FACT CHECK: How Much Funding Does the U.S. Give Palestinians - and What Would Happen if Trump Cuts It

  
  January 03, 2018 15:22

  Source: Haaretz

  https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.832747

   

  By Amir Tibon (Washington)

  Published Jan 03, 2018

   

  The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has combated calls to shut down for some time, but Trump and Haley's latest threats to slash funding is the most serious threat to Palestinians yet

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• Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments

  
  January 03, 2018 15:45

  Source: The Intercept

  https://theintercept.com/2017/12/30/facebook-says-it-is-deleting-accounts-at-the-direction-of-the-u-s-and-israeli-governments/

   

  By Glenn Greenwald
  Published December 30 2017

   

  IN SEPTEMBER OF last year, we noted that Facebook representatives were meeting with the Israeli government to determine which Facebook accounts of Palestinians should be deleted on the ground that they constituted “incitement.” The meetings — called for and presided over by one of the most extremist and authoritarian Israeli officials, pro-settlement Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked — came after Israel threatened Facebook that its failure to voluntarily comply with Israeli deletion orders would result in the enactment of laws requiring Facebook to do so, upon pain of being severely fined or even blocked in the country. 

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• Personality blocks politics in Oslo drama

  
  January 09, 2018 15:08

  Source: JEWS FOR JUSTICE FOR PALESTINIANS

  http://jfjfp.com/personality-blocks-politics-in-oslo-drama/

   

  By Robert A. H. Cohen, Writing from the Edge/ Patheos

  Published January 4, 2018

   

  “Did you enjoy Oslo?”

   

  As we were leaving the theatre an email dropped into my inbox inviting me to give some feedback. “Did you enjoy Oslo?” was the subject line. Hmm, tricky question. The acting was good. The dialogue was sharp and witty. But the process it depicted turned out to be a political nightmare and a national catastrophe for the Palestinian people. That didn’t stop the audience in London’s West End applauding the show with enthusiasm.

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