Don't let them fool you - the struggle against Israeli Hafrada (Apartheid) is winning!

Israel Survey Results Shock
By TJ Reporter - Thursday 28th of December 2006

Nearly 70 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by a leading Christian publication believe in disinvestment from companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the territories.

The poll of more than 2,800 people, conducted on The Tablet website, pointed to the widespread existence of anti-Israel sentiment among respondents and a suspicion of the Jewish State's actions.

Despite a reduction in terror attacks since the creation of the security fence, nearly 80 per cent felt the security fence was not needed to protect the population of Israel from suicide bombers and nearly as many advocated that Churches campaign for its dismantling.

Three quarters of people who answered the survey agreed that the churches should call for the removal of Jewish West Bank settlements and that the institution should support Palestinian calls for an "independent homeland within the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israel war".

On the other hand, just 21.2 percent agreed that the churches should accept Israel "is engaged in a struggle for its survival and support its efforts to root out its enemies". And perhaps most worryingly, only 57.3 percent agreed that the Church should appeal for Palestinians to renounce violence and recognise Israel's right to exist.

Respondents to the survey included Christians from several denominations, Muslims and atheists, while 10 percent were Jewish. Claiming the results revealed a "worrying trend", Alan Aziz, Executive Director of the Zionist Federation, told TJ:" These statistics are very distressing and it is sad that people don't understand that what the situation in Israel needs more than anything is positive dialogue and not retribution".

ZF President Eric Moonman said he was "disturbed that a magazine like The Tablet should perpetuate a survey which appears to be riddled with prejudice". The report coincided with the Archbishop of Canterbury's pilgrimage to the Holy Land along with other church leaders.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4's Today programme last weekend, he said:"It is undoubtedly a fact that suicide bombing attacks have gone down since the barrier was erected but the human cost that we have seen has to raise the question: what alternative is there now? How does the long-term security implication of the barrier work out?"

UNICEF: 2006 One of The Worst Years for Palestine Children

UNICEF: 2006 One of The Worst Years for Palestine Children - Click Here for Full Story

Excerpts:

"United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that 123 Palestinian children have been killed since outbreak of hostilities, more than double the 2005 figure., adding that some 340 children remain in detention facilities. ...

"At this point in time, more than twice as many children died due to the conflict compared with 2005 - 70 per cent of these deaths were in Gaza"

Israeli soldiers tell of indiscriminate killings...

Israeli soldiers tell of indiscriminate killings by army and a culture of impunity - Click Here for Full Story

Excerpt:

"In recent months dozens of soldiers, including the son of an an Israeli general, all recently discharged, have come forward to share their stories of how they were ordered in briefings to shoot to kill unarmed people without fear of reprimand.

"The soldiers were brought into contact with the Guardian with the assistance of Breaking the Silence, a pressure group of former soldiers who want the Israeli public to confront the reality of army activities. The group insisted on anonymity of its witnesses to protect the soldiers from persecution and prosecution."

Government overrules war-crimes arrest order

Friday December 1, 2006 - (click here for full story)
By David Eames and Ruth Berry
Attorney-General Michael Cullen has over-ruled a District Court judge's decision to issue an arrest warrant against a visiting former Israeli general the judge believed was answerable for Middle East war crimes.
Auckland District Court Judge Avinash Deobhakta on Monday issued warrants ordering the arrest of Moshe Ya'alon, a former Israeli Defence Force chief of staff and head of intelligence.
The warrants were in response to information laid with the court under New Zealand's obligations as a signatory to the Geneva Convention.
Photo: Moshe Ya'alon's visit to New Zealand was organised by the Jewish National Fund. Picture / Reuters

Israelis adopt what South Africa dropped

By JOHN DUGARDPublished on: 11/29/06 - (click here for full story)
Former President Jimmy Carter's new book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," is igniting controversy for its allegation that Israel practices a form of apartheid.
Restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by a rigid permit system enforced by some 520 checkpoints and roadblocks resemble, but in severity go well beyond, apartheid's "pass system." And the security apparatus is reminiscent of that of apartheid, with more than 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons and frequent allegations of torture and cruel treatment.
Many aspects of Israel's occupation surpass those of the apartheid regime. Israel's large-scale destruction of Palestinian homes, leveling of agricultural lands, military incursions and targeted assassinations of Palestinians far exceed any similar practices in apartheid South Africa. No wall was ever built to separate blacks and whites.

ADL slams UN body for making Tutu head of Beit Hanun mission

Last update - 12:01 30/11/2006
By Haaretz Service - (click here for full story)
The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday blasted the United Nations Human Rights Council for appointing Desmond Tutu as head of its fact-finding mission to the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun.The mission is charged with investigating a botched Israel Defense Forces shelling in Beit Hanun which killed 19 Palestinian civilians."The appointment of Desmond Tutu as head of the fact-finding mission to Beit Hanun is an extension of the anti-Israel kangaroo court tactics used by the UN Human Rights Council," said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman.

UN: Israel breaks border agreement

By Laila El-Haddad at the Rafah crossing - (click here for full story)

A UN report has accused Israel of breaking all provisions in a year-old US-brokered agreement on Gaza's border crossings, as Condoleezza Rice visits the region.
The Agreement on Movement and Access, signed last November after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, was meant to facilitate the movement of Palestinians and goods in and out of Gaza.