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Thursday, September 02 2010

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Hague and an ethical foreign policy
In an article for today's Daily Telegraph, British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, sought to flesh out an ethical framework for a new approach British Foreign Policy.
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US: Israeli rabbi's remarks offensive

Washington has criticized Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef over remarks that Palestinians should perish from this world.

"We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef," US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said on Sunday.

"These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace," he added.

"As we move forward to re-launch peace negotiations, it is important that actions by people on all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it," Crowley said.

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Knesset criminalises the commemoration of the "Nakba"

Thursday, 25 February 2010 14:47

A new law in Israel makes it a crime to commemorate what Palestinians call the "Nakba", the "catastrophe" of their dispossession by the creation of the Zionist state in 1948. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, has passed "The Nakba Draft Law" after just one reading. Penalties will be imposed on anyone showing signs of sadness and mourning within the (undefined) borders of Israel on 15 May; Palestinians remember on that day the creation of the refugee crisis that remains after 62 years.

Hebrew radio reported this week that the law is intended to stop people mourning on what is Israeli Independence Day; commemorative acts are, it is claimed, tantamount to "denying the Jewish character of Israel [and] insulting the symbols of the state". The radio noted that the fines might amount up to three times the expenditure of commemorative programmes.

According to one commentator, it is ironic that this law has been passed at a time when Israel is complaining about attempts to "de-legitimise" the Zionist state. Here is an example of Israel's own "de-legitimisation" of the Palestinians, their land and their culture, he said.

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 July 2010 16:03 )

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Ben makes this comment

Sat 27 Feb 2010 03:01:37 GMT

In the wake of the new law in Israel which makes it a crime to commemorate “Nakba”, it is interesting to point to Dom Martin’s latest book:

NAKBLINKA: The Cleansing of Coexistence

This new volume of poetry commemorates the first anniversary of the brutal attack on Gaza by Israel.

NAKBLINKA is the amplification of Nakba – the “Day of Catastrophe” commemorated by Palestinians to mark the expulsion and dispossession of their homeland in 1948. Nakba is starkly reminiscent of the catastrophic failure of global humanism and the triumph of singular inhumanity as witnessed in Treblinka during the Nazi regime.

Nakba + Treblinka = NAKBLINKA

For full text of the article: http://www.propheticimagery.com/Nakblinka%20Book/Index.htm

For a preview of the book: http://www.propheticimagery.com/Nakblinka%20Book/Index.htm

For a review of the book: http://defyingsilence.blogspot.com/

To go to Dom Martin’s website: click here.
Steve S makes this comment

Mon 01 Mar 2010 00:49:02 GMT

Dear Knesset,

You s*ck. Freedom of speech and human dignity are far more important than respect for "the state" (ANY state for that matter, not just your U.S. backed puppet regime).

Sincerely, a U.S. tax slave in Virginia.
susan makes this comment

Fri 05 Mar 2010 02:08:12 GMT

What an irony this is in what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. One would hope that those who went through the holocaust (either directly or through relatives and friends) would not want to cause so much suffering and displacement for others. The only hope is to respect one another and achieve a peaceful co-existence. The Palestinians are equal to the Israeli's in God's eyes. Some Israelis have become what they despised. Find and make peace.