Dagelijks archief: 8 augustus 2012

16000 Muslims still displaced in Gujarat

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Ahmedabad: Janvikas, an NGO in Gujarat has just published a detailed survey report which shows that while over 200,000 people were displaced during the 2002 violence in Gujarat, over 16,000 people are still living in 83 refugee camps across the state 10 years later.

Surviving without basic infrastructure facilities like roads, electricity and gutter lines, the victims are victimised by the system’s laissez-faire approach in solving their issues.

Some of these victims narrate tales of their miserable existence beside garbage dumps and living in places that are nothing short of dump yards themselves.

They were speaking at a convention titled ‘Gujarat’s internally displaced: Ten years later’, which is part of the programmes organised by several NGOs under Insaf ki Dagar Par event. The convention was held by Janvikas here on 30 April. Recounting tales of horror that continue even after a decade, Shama Banu Ansari, a resident of a relief colony said, “I have been living in a pathetic condition for the last 10 years. We lack basic facilities and our complaints to government officials fall on deaf ears.” She said that the water which flows out of the overflowing gutters and right into her colony has even killed a girl, not to mention about the others who have fallen ill from the unhygienic living conditions.

Rohit Prajapati, secretary of People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), said it is high time the government, that would like everyone to believe that there are no riot-affected in the state, takes a hard look at reality. “It is time they made a package for the internally displaced and also helped those who want to return to their villages,” said Prajapati. He further said those who live in riot colonies are people who don’t dare to return to their original place due to threat to their lives.

Several other victims apart from activists include Prakash Shah of Movement for Secular Democracy (MSD) and Vijay Parmar, CEO of Jan Vikas. These are the people who cannot dare to return to their original place of residence and have, since 2002, been residing in shelters built by NGOs and Muslim charitable organisations.

To read the Janvikas report, visit: http://janvikas.in/download/Status_report_IDPs.pdf

(24.05.12 / www.milligazette.com / 08.08.12)

Why are we in Gaza being punished for Egypt border guard killings?

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Once again Palestinians in Gaza are being punished for events beyond their control.

Egypt is the country that I have visited the most.

Being a daughter of a Gazan father and a refugee mother (originally from al-Majdal orAshkelon as it is now known), and a holder of a Palestinian identity card and passport, I have never been allowed to reach 1948 Palestine (modern day Israel). I have been to Jerusalem only once and spent only one night in Ramallah because the permit, issued to me by the Israeli authorities, stated that I could spend no longer there than the period they had “very generously” stipulated. Of course, this is the case for the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza.

Up until 2006, the year the Palestinian legislative elections were held, Egypt remained at the heart of our summer plans. To many of us, Egypt is home. Not that we were oblivious to how Hosni Mubarak accommodated Israel, but primarily because we loved the people of Egypt and identified with them in so many different ways.

Then the siege on Gaza was imposed. Mubarak rebuffed any Palestinian attempt to ease the blockade, and constructed an iron wall to close down the newly-built tunnels at the time, effectively suffocating a mostly civilian population already suffering from high levels of unemployment and poverty. We were devastated. We cursed Mubarak, and sometimes we cursed the Egyptian people for their indifference towards the suffering of their Palestinian kinfolk (most of us were unaware of the protests Egyptians had mounted against the blockade, resulting in mass arrests).

The culmination and manifestation of our devastation came in 2008. Dozens of angry Palestinians in Gaza stormed the Rafah terminal demanding an end to the siege and an open crossing into Egypt. We were met by violence and later on we were faced by an Egyptian outcry at the “uncivilized” behavior and blatant “disrespect” to the sovereignty of Egypt.

Falling in love again

On 25 January 2011, we fell in love with Egypt again, or our love was renewed. We felt like an abandoned lover who has just discovered that she hasn’t been betrayed, that the “affair” was fabricated by a jealous third party.

Palestinians flocked to the Square of the Unknown Soldier in Gaza City to express solidarity with their Egyptian brothers and sisters. Protestors were beaten up and arrested because the internal administration here was afraid of a similar uprising in Palestine. We carried the millions in Tahrir Square in the folds of our prayers, of our conversations and hottest arguments. Seeing the spilling of blood and the murder of fearless young Egyptians stimulated contempt for the villains and forced tears out of our eyes.

Once again, we identified with them. They were fighting for what we have been struggling to achieve for more than six decades: freedom and dignity. Whether in Tahrir Square, on Mohammed Mahmoud Street, Maspero, or later in Abbasiyya, our protagonists were the people of Egypt and our antagonists were first Mubarak and his regime and second the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which remains headed by Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

Nasty messages

In the past few days, I received countless nasty messages on my Twitter account either addressed to me personally or to anyone Palestinian. The harshest one read: “Gazans are dogs who would have become homeless without Egypt.” Another referred to us as “refugee garbage.”

Sunday’s attack in Sinai that left 16 Egyptian border guards dead was the reason behind these slights.

Following the attack, which was carried out by gunmen who have still not been identified, the SCAF was quick to accuse the people of Gaza of being behind the murder and hence Tantawi was quick in issuing his punishment. Both the Rafah crossing and underground tunnels were declared closed “indefinitely.” Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian minister of foreign affairs and presidential candidate, supported the measure and stated that the closure of the crossing must be accompanied with the closure of the underground tunnels.

Although many Egyptians were elated by the news, the young revolutionaries who made the highest sacrifices during the revolution condemned the decision and even used social networking websites to voice their opposition to Tantawi and his brutal policies toward the people of Gaza.

Double standards

It is worth recalling here the official Egyptian stance on the murder of two Egyptian security guards in an Israeli raid along the Israeli-Egyptian border last year. Not one Egyptian helicopter took off in search of the assailants and not one bullet was aimed at “suspects” from the Israeli side. Not only did the SCAF bury the incident as if it had never happened, but it went as far as to quell Egyptian protestors at the Israeli embassy in Cairo almost a year ago today. Days later the SCAF erected a high wall around the embassy to “protect” it against “extremists.”

The comparison is infuriating and exposes the double standards of the SCAF and the government standing behind it.

It is also noteworthy that what the SCAF is doing now is based on speculation regarding the identity of the assailants and not on true evidence.

The 1979 Treaty of Shame (better known as the Camp David accords) which limits Egyptian presence in the Sinai is another relevant issue. Had it not been for Camp David, it would have been much easier for the Egyptian government to ensure security of the Sinai peninsula, and reduce the possibility of such bloody attacks. Furthermore, on the day of the attack Israel allowed Egyptian troops to intensify their presence across the border. Here one should ask the Egyptian government why Israel is allowed to behave as if Sinai is an Israeli possession. But of course, the government is busy pumping gas below market price to its “peace partner.” Egyptians standing in long lines at gas stations or experiencing daily power cuts, however, come in distant second place.

While Israeli tourists can still tan their bodies and enjoy vacations on the shores of Sharm al-Sheikh, Gaza residents are arriving from any country to any Egyptian airport are being sent back to the countries they came from because Rafah crossing is closed and therefore they cannot enter Gaza, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.

Tantawi and his supporters need to be reminded once more that Palestinians have always demanded that our dignity be respected. Neither the closure of the tunnels nor any political decision in the world can break our determination and belief in our right to freedom, returnand equality. Tantawi and his ilk need to contemplate the steadfastness of our hunger strikers in Israeli jails to understand that Palestinians are dying to live.

Down with military rule!

Rana Baker is a student of business administration and a member of the Gaza-based organizing committee for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel

(electronicintifada.net / 08.08.2012)

Ook in Palestina financiële crisis in de maak

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De Palesijnse Autoriteit kampt met een eigen financiële crisis in wording, zeggen economen. De economie is niet gezond genoeg voor de groeiende staatsinstellingen.
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De Palestijnse premier Salam Fayyad zet volop in op economische ontwikkeling en investeringen in de privésector om de Palestijnse onafhankelijkheid op te krikken, maar de economie op de Westelijke Jordaanoever draait bijna volledig op internationale hulp.

“Het zal instorten, en hoe later het gebeurt, hoe harder de klap”, zegt Tareq Sadeq, Palestijns econoom en professor aan de Birzeit Universiteit. “Het zal ertoe leiden dat mensen hun wagen, hun huis kwijtraken. Ze zullen hun land verliezen als de zeepbel uiteenspat. Dit zal de hele economie raken en het zal ook schade toebrengen aan de Palestijnse Autoriteit (PA), misschien zelfs het einde ervan betekenen.”

De PA heeft aangekondigd dat ze kampt met gebrek aan middelen, en een begrotingstekort van 1,1 miljard dollar. “De Palestijnse economie is meer en meer afhankelijk geworden van lonen, niet enkel voor de publieke sector maar voor de hele economie”, zegt Sadeq. “Zo’n 70 procent van alle mensen met werken zijn loontrekkend. Als gevolgd daarvan is er geen productie in de Palestijnse economie. De mensen consumeren en consumeren maar er wordt niet geproduceerd.”

De economie op de Westelijke Jordaanoever draait bijna volledig op internationale hulp. In 2011 beloofden donoren de PA 1 miljard dollar aan steun, waarvan er 800 miljoen werd uitbetaald.

De Palestijnse premier Salam Fayyad zet volop in op economische ontwikkeling en investeringen in de privésector om de Palestijnse onafhankelijkheid op te krikken. De internationale gemeenschap looft die aanpak, en het het bruto binnenlands product steeg tussen 2008 en 2011 met 7,7 procent.

Maar uit een rapport dat de Wereldbank einde juli uitbracht, blijkt dat die groei niet vol te houden is. “De PA heeft gestaag vordering gemaakt om op veel gebieden instellingen uit te bouwen die nodig zijn in een toekomstige staat, maar de economie is momenteel niet sterk genoeg om zo’n staat te dragen”, zegt econoom John Nasir, hoofdauteur van de studie.

Restricties

Volgens het rapport moeten eerste de economische restricties opgeheven worden om de Palestijnse privésector zuurstof te geven, en moet de PA haar afhankelijkheid van buitenlandse hulp afbouwen.

“Die staart ons al in het gezicht sinds de akkoorden van Oslo: je kunt zien dat deze economie niet duurzaam is”, zegt Sam Bahour, een Palestijns-Amerikaanse zakenman. Hij ziet in de Israëlische controle over het Palestijnse arbeidsmarkte het grootste obstakel voor de ontwikkeling van de economie. “Het grootste probleem is dat we de mensen niet kunnen vinden die we nodig hebben. Israël controleert alle grensovergangen, niet enkel voor goederen maar ook voor mensen, waardoor het de snelheid van onze ontwikkeling kan regelen door het blokeren van menselijk kapitaal”, zegt hij.

Volgens econoom Tareq Sadeq moet het Palestijnse leiderschap de realiteiten erkennen van een economie onder de Israëlische bezetting en het beleid aanpassen om de financiële druk te verlichten op veel Palestijnse gezinnen.
“De kloof groeit”, zegt hij. “Er is frustratie in de straat maar wat voor de mensen nu telt is dat ze niet verliezen. Ze willen hun salaris, huis en bezittingen behouden. De Palestijnse economie bevindt zich onder bezetting. We  moeten denken aan ons eigen ontwikkelingsbeleid, hoe mensen op hun land kunnen blijven en de bezetting kunnen weerstaan.”

(www.mo.be / 08.08.2012)

Gunshots fired near Fayyad’s compound

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PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad speaks with a shepherd in Al-Mufaqara, near Hebron on Aug. 8.

RAMALLAH (Reuters) — Police traded gunfire with unknown assailants at the Palestinian Authority prime minister’s compound in Ramallah on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Premier Salam Fayyad was away touring the southern West Bank, near Hebron, at the time.

The exchange of gunfire in the West Bank city lasted around a minute, several witnesses confirmed, and the sound of ambulances could be heard shortly thereafter.

Fighting had subsided by the time special forces arrived, a few minutes after the incident began. The police searched and frisked people, apparently looking for weapons.

A security official told Ma’an that a police officer guarding the building accidentally discharged his weapon and denied there had been an exchange of fire.

The Palestinian Authority has launched a security crackdown in the West Bank in recent weeks, arresting scores of suspects in a security sweep that has prompted some anger at President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah-led government.

(www.maannews.net / 08.08.2012)

Adam Hasner: Islamophobe for Congress

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Congress’s anti-Islam caucus will likely grow in November, and Florida’s Adam Hasner may be its worst new member

Adam Hasner: Islamophobe for CongressAdam Hasner

Rep. Michele Bachmann has gotten a lot of attention lately for her witch hunt against Muslims in the U.S. government, but she’s not alone. In addition to the four lawmakers who signed on to her letters, there are a handful of others who together might be called the Islamophobia Caucus — and their ranks are likely to swell after November, thanks in part to one of the caucus’ most outspoken members, Rep. Allen West.

After redistricting made West’s 22nd Florida congressional district slightly more liberal, he moved to the 18th. Running in his place is Adam Hasner, the former Florida House majority leader who abandoned a previous bid for the Senate. Hasner has already earned top-flight endorsers, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor andWest himself, as well as several major conservative organizations.

But perhaps a bit farther down the list is Pam Geller, the anti-Islam blogger and activist who spearheaded the effort against the so-called ground zero mosque. While she may not have officially endorsed Hasner, they’re clearly comrades in the fight against Shariah law. “Pamela [Geller] and I were on the front lines of that together, fighting to make sure that we kept her safe here,” Hasner told a Fort Lauderdale crowd in June of last year. For her part, Geller has writtennumerous blog posts praising Hasner, whom she declared to be “my friend.” “So many patriots and elected officials joined us, like Adam Hasner,” she wrote in June of last year. Here’s a photo of them posing together from her blog. (Hasner did not reply to requests for comment.)

As the Florida Independent noted in September of last year, Hasner has been involved in a “long-time crusade against the supposed threat of Sharia in the U.S.” In 2009, he appeared on a panel in D.C. with Geller and Frank Gaffney, the man behind Bachmann’s with hunt, according to a press release unearthed by the liberal research group American Bridge. Robert Spencer, another key figure in the Islamophobia cottage industry, called Hasner a “fearless truth teller” (here’s a photo them posing together via Spencer’s blog, Jihad Watch).

Before that, Hasner invited notorious Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders to Florida. “When I invited Geert Wilders to join me for a Free Speech conference in Palm Beach County, not only did the hotel cancel its plans to have him come in, but I was the one who was asked by the Hamas front group, the Council on Arab-Islamic Relations, to resign from the Florida House of Representatives, because I was an Islamophobe and a hater,” he said in the Fort Lauderdale speech. Wilders has made crusading against Islam his top priority.  He was under house arrest for hate speech in Holland and is barred from visiting several countries.

When Hasner caught flak for the invitation, he was unperturbed. “These are the same people who have been attacking me all session. This isn’t about being anti-Islam, this is all about the right to free speech and they are trying to stifle it,” he casually told the St. Petersburg Times in April 2009. Wilders personally thanked Hasner in his speech, saying, “We need strong leaders like we have here today, Allen West and Adam Hasner. We need strong men like that.”

Within just a few days of the Wilders speech, it was an event that Hasner did not attend that raised eyebrows. He apparently boycotted an imam’s opening prayers at the state Legislature. The Palm Beach Post reported at the time:

As usual, the Florida House opened session today with a prayer. But for the first time this year (and possibly the first time ever), that prayer was led by an imam, Qasim Ahmed, from the Islamic Learning Institute in Tampa. The prayer was videotaped by Ahmed Bedier, United Voices of  America director, who remarked on the absence of House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton. Bedier said he was videotaping the “historic” moment. “We did notice Hasner’s empty chair. That’s definitely noticed,” Bedier said… Hasner said he wasn’t on the floor this morning for personal reasons and noted the iman was in the House at the invitation of Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek. “It’s Jim Waldman’s right as a member to invite whomever he wants,” Hasner said.

In 2011, according to a YouTube video of a speech uncovered by American Bridge, Hasner boasted about the real reason for his absence two years earlier. “When the imam who was invited by a state representative who was a Democrat from here in Broward County, when he was invited to give the morning prayer at the Florida House of Representatives, and I boycotted the prayer, I was the one who was ridiculed,” he said.

In 2008, Hasner helped found an anti-Shariah group called Florida Security Council with an activist named Tom Trento. While Hasner was never an official member, he touted his involvement with the organization, which later changed its name to United West. “You cannot fight an enemy when you will not acknowledge that an enemy even exists, and that enemy has a name, and that is Shariah-compliant Islam,” Hasner told a local conservative group in March of last year. “We cannot allow political correctness and multiculturalism or appeasement to cripple our defenses at home or abroad.”

(www.salon.com / 08.08.2012)

Salafi leader offers to help fight extremism

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GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Salafis are ready to help Egyptian authorities fight terrorism by raising youth awareness, a leading Salafi intellectual in Gaza said Tuesday.

Iyad al-Shami told Ma’an that Salafis were not involved in Sunday’s attack on a Sinai police station in which 16 Egyptian officers were killed. He condemned the attack and called for its perpetrators to be punished.

He said Salafis were ready to help Egypt in its fight against terrorism by educating the youth against extremism. The main goal of the brazen raid was to destabilize Egyptian relations with Palestinians, al-Shami added.

Salafism preaches a moderate approach and forbids killing, al-Shami said, but some Salafis who lack education in the faith have adopted perverted beliefs which accept killing and theft.

“These are not Salafis,” al-Shami said.

Salafi groups emerged in Palestine in the 1980s, spread in mosques by preachers who had studied in the Gulf, but their reach has been limited and most chose Hamas or Islamic Jihad over Salafist groups.

They fall into two groups — the dawa Salafis who spread their beliefs through teaching, and the jihadis, mostly based in Gaza, who use force to defend and spread their faith, including Tawhid wa Jihad, Ansar al-Sunna, Jaysh al-Ummah, and Jund Ansarullah.

The shift of the Hamas movement from resistance to politics at a time when al-Qaida was declaring war on “infidels” prompted some Salafis in Palestine to turn from dawa to jihad. The armed clashes between Hamas and Fatah in 2006 brought more recruits to jihadi Salafism.

Gradually, the jihadi Salafis formed armed groups in Gaza that have claimed responsibility for attacks against Israel as well as attacks against coffee shops, Internet cafes, women’s hairdressers and Christian organizations.

These attacks were largely ignored at the height of the fighting between Hamas and Fatah but Hamas has cracked down on militant Salafists since it took control of Gaza in 2007.

In 2009, Hamas raided a mosque and killed 28 people after a Salafi imam declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza.

(www.maannews.net / 08.08.2012)

Hoe kijkt de islam naar andere religies?

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De definitie die de koran van een gelovige (Mu’min) geeft, is breder dan de algemene verwachting dat ‘een gelovige iemand is die in de islam gelooft.’ In feite is het zo dat iemand de islam als een manier van leven kan aannemen en beoefenen (de definitie van een moslim), maar niet in de islam gelooft. Mu’min wordt in brede zin gedefinieerd als iemand die in de Ene en Enige God gelooft, in engelen, alle openbaringen, profeten en de wederopstanding. De koran zegt: “Zij zijn niet allemaal gelijk: van de Mensen van het Boek (Joden en Christenen) zijn er die (voor het goede) staan: zij reciteren de Tekenen van God de hele nacht en werpen zich in aanbidding ter aarde. Zij geloven in God en de Laatste Dag; zij gebieden het goede en verbieden het kwade; en zij haasten zich (vol ijver) tot (alle) goede werken; zij behoren tot de( rang der) rechtschapene. Van het goede dat zij doen, zal niets van hen geweigerd worden; want God kent degenen die goed doen het best.” (3:113-115)

Echte, zoals hierboven beschreven, gelovigen kunnen dus overal gevonden worden, ongeacht de naam waarmee de persoon wordt aangesproken. Moslims geloven dat de islam geen nieuwe of unieke boodschap is, maar de meest volledige ‘update’ van dezelfde universele en tijdloze boodschap van God die aan eerdere profeten en volkeren is gezonden (2:132). Daaruit volgend, de ene boodschap die God de mensheid wilde geven.

Moslims noemen Joden en Christenen de mensen van het Boek, dat wil zeggen, mensen die door middel van respectievelijk, Mozes en Jezus ook een boek van God ontvangen hebben. De islam verbiedt elk geloof en elke religie waarin meer dan één God aanbeden wordt en elke vorm die geen God accepteert of aanbidt. Op het gebied van zedelijkheid, zuiverheid en persoonlijke ontwikkeling, zijn er een aantal overeenkomsten tussen de islam en alle grote wereldreligies.

Hoe moslims zich tegenover mensen met een ander geloof dienen te gedragen, wordt goed samengevat in het vers: “En beledigt degenen die zij naast God aanbidden niet, opdat zij God niet zonder kennis onrechtvaardig zullen beledigen. Aldus hebben Wij voor ieder volk hun eigen gewoonten redelijk-lijkend gemaakt; tot hun Heer zullen zij uiteindelijk terugkeren en Hij zal hen vervolgens informeren over wat zij gewoon waren te doen.” (6:108). Niet allen zet dit vers niet tot haat of gewelddadige acties aan, het verbiedt moslims mensen met een ander geloof door middel van beledigende opmerkingen te kwetsen.

Over de hele wereld zijn er vele interreligieuze activiteiten geweest en vinden die nog steeds plaats, vooral met Christenen. Deze betrekkingen reiken ook uit naar Boeddhisten, Hindoes en Joden. Dergelijke initiatieven zullen zich in de toekomst tot tastbare projecten ontwikkelen en de vruchten dragen van wederzijds begrip en acceptatie.

(www.vraagislam.nl / 08.08.2012)

The ultra-Orthodox tighten their grip in Israel

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BEIT SHEMESH, Israel

The rock hit Nili Philipp on the side of her helmet as she biked last year along the main road in this Jerusalem suburb. A few years earlier, the spitting had begun, as Philipp jogged on a road bordering an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood. Men called her names: Shikseh, the derogatory term for a Gentile woman. Prutzah, whore.

But Philipp’s story is not one of conflict between the defiantly secular Israeli majority and an increasingly assertive ultra-Orthodox minority. She is an observant, modern Orthodox Jew, dressed, on the day we speak, as she is for her runs — a kerchief covering her red hair, a skirt that falls modestly below the knee. It speaks volumes about intolerance among the ultra-Orthodox that Philipp has become enraged, even radicalized, by the behavior of her neighbors.

“Whenever people tell me, respect their society — their society doesn’t respect me,” Philipp says, voice quivering as she describes a recent incident in which a woman with an infant was pelted with stones while shopping here. “We all see ourselves as vulnerable, and we’re all scared.” The latest skirmish involves signs instructing women here to stay off certain sidewalks so as not to brush up against men.

In a chilling parallel to the escalating fundamentalist tendencies within Islam, the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, have adopted a version of Judaism that requires strict separation between men and women. The more they fear assimilation, the more extreme their practices have become. And, as their numbers mount, they have stepped up demands that society accommodate their religious needs.

On a day-to-day basis, the ultra-Orthodox, insular and detached, make little difference to the average Israeli. You can order a decidedly unkosher grilled calamari in Eilat or go clubbing in Tel Aviv even after Sabbath begins on Friday night.

Few secular Israelis experience the de facto segregated public buses that run through Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem; men sit in the front, women in the back, despite court-ordered signs advising passengers that they can sit where they choose. When I rode the No. 56 from Ramat Shlomo to Mea Shearim with representatives from the New Israel Fund and the Israel Religious Action Center, no one said a word when I sat up front — even if ultra-Orthodox men chose to stand rather than occupy vacant seats nearby.

Instances of intimidation such as Philipp experienced are more episodic than constant, more localized than countrywide. When they hit the news, as with the spitting and yellingat Philipp’s daughter and other young girls heading to their religious school in Beit Shemeshlast year, there tends to be public outcry and, at least briefly, official intervention.

One difficult set of questions in a country where religion and government are officially entangled is how much the state should accommodate the religious needs of the ultra-Orthodox — for example, the ultra-Orthodox public radio station that bleeps out the voices of female members of the national legislature, the Knesset, lest men suffer from “impure” thoughts on hearing women’s voices, or public health clinics with separate days for men and women. If higher education is key to integrating the ultra-Orthodox, should the state fund scholarships for gender-segregated classes?

Even more troubling are the mounting instances in which the ultra-Orthodox have insisted that their religious needs take precedence — for instance, demanding separate seating at public ceremonies or even, as happened last year, barring a female pediatrics professor from going on stage to accept an award from the ultra-Orthodox health minister.

With the country now debating how to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the armed forces — the long-standing draft exemption has been declared unconstitutional — questions of gender equity will become even more pointed: Will conscription of the ultra-Orthodox come at the expense of women’s rights in an egalitarian military? Will ultra-Orthodox men take orders from women?

These clashes between the legitimate rights of a religious minority and the essential freedoms of the majority threaten to become ever more intense as the ultra-Orthodox population multiplies and its political clout grows. The ultra-Orthodox now constitute about 10 percent of Israel’s population, but the Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that the Haredi share of the population will reach 30 percent within 50 years.

“I moved to Israel and the rock that was thrown at me wasn’t from an Arab, which I was prepared for,” said Dov Lipman, a Beit Shemesh community activist who came here from Silver Spring, Md. “It was thrown by another Jew, which I wasn’t prepared for.”

No one should have to be.

(www.washingtonpost.com / 08.08.2012)

Report: Israel preparing for Red Sea attacks

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Israel is preparing for potential attacks against its ships and airplanes in the Red Sea.

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israel is preparing for possible attacks against its ships and airplanes in the Red Sea, Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv said Tuesday.

Israel’s military is hoping that the recent Sinai attack will force Egypt’s army to act decisively against militant groups, but is preparing in case of any larger scale attacks against its ships and planes, Maariv reported.

Sinai Bedouins and international Islamist groups are likely to be involved in any future attacks, it added.

Israel’s army also reportedly urged Egypt to do more to shut down smuggling tunnels under its border with Gaza, claiming that Hamas could have prevented the attacks if it wanted.

Hamas implemented a series of security measures in the Gaza Strip on Monday after an attack in the Sinai left at least 16 Egyptian police officers dead.

All smuggling tunnels under the shared border were closed and extra security personnel were deployed along the border, deputy foreign minister of the Gaza government Ghazi Hamad told Ma’an.

(www.maannews.net / 08.08.2012)

Mosque In US Becomes Target Of Hate Crime

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Fire destroyed this Islamic house of worship in just a short period of time.

But the destruction here may have been caused by something more permanent and incendiary in someone’s heart – HATE.

It is the second time the Joplin Missouri mosque has been targeted in as many months.

The first attack in July caused damage but left the building intact. This time the destruction was absolute.

Imam Talib Abdur Rahib is President of the Islamic Leadership council of New York.

He says he is troubled that these attacks are signaling a dangerous turn in the level of intolerance in American society.

Several mosques have been the target of hate crimes over the last year.

In January a Shia Mosque in New York was firebombed – no one was hurt.

After the first torching of the Joplin Mosque this picture of the person believes to be responsible was released but no- one was charged.

The Council on American Islamic relations has offered a ten thousand dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the people or person behind this latest act of terrorism.

The second fire at the Missouri mosque comes just a few days after a gunman with racist neo Nazi ties walked into a Sikh temple and killed 6 people and injured 3 before himself being killed by police.

Authorities suggest the gunman through the internet, was urging others who harbor hate against other cultures to quote “get involved and become active” While no connection has been made between the two incidents American Muslims are concerned.

While worshippers will have to rebuild from scratch and despite their loss and heartbreak they say they too are offering something for whomever is behind this act of hate and that is forgiveness.

(www.youtube.com / 08.08.2012)