Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumKidnapping highlights Israelis' surrender to settlers
On June 17, I took part in a discussion about settlements at a conference sponsored by the state prosecutors office in Modiin. The event was attended by dozens of prosecutors from all over Israel.The first speaker was the journalist Israel Harel, a resident of the Ofra settlement and a veteran of the Gush Emunim settlement movement. Harel praised the settlement enterprise and rejected the right of the Arabs in Judea and Samaria the word Palestinians never crossed his lips to an independent state. Harels remarks were greeted with exemplary silence. No heckling. Not a single critical comment.
Then it was my turn. I pointed to the damage incurred to Israeli citizens because of the settlement policy. I spoke of the damage caused by the settlements to the Zionist enterprise and warned of their negative influence on Israels international standing. I was constantly interrupted by shouting. The message How dare you attack the settlers at a time like this and Now is the time to stand united. In short, they were essentially saying that I should be ashamed. To be fair, after my speech two or three prosecutors came up to me and apologized for the behavior of their colleagues.
This episode illustrates the prevailing atmosphere in Israel since the kidnapping of the three young hitchhikers from the Etzion settlement bloc. The one incident has managed to do to the Israeli public in a matter of days what the settlement establishment has been trying unsuccessfully to do for years. The tens of millions of shekels invested by the Yesha settlement council in its Yesha is here campaign failed to bring the settlers into every household in Israel, unlike the scenes of the anxious parents and friends praying for the safe return of the missing youths.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/kidnapping-left-settlers-nationalism-etzion-katif.html#ixzz35ZCHm77J
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)azurnoir
(45,850 posts)Rachel Fraenkel, the mother of kidnapped teen Naftali Fraenkel, pleaded for international assistance to secure the release of her son and fellow captives Eyal Yifrach and Gil-ad Shaar, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday.
Numerous delegates, including those of Yemen, Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria, Turkey, Morocco, Maldives, Qatar, South Korea, Libya, Chile, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia decried the Israeli violations of human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.
An International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists representative returned the discussion to the topic of the abduction. It is impossible to focus on such issues in light of recent events, he said, criticizing the focus on Israeli actions, and said he was disappointed by inaction and apathy of international community.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rachel-fraenkel-its-wrong-to-use-boys-as-instrument-of-struggle/
interesting that Mrs Fraenkel would chose the UNHRC as opposed to the UNSC or UNGA one can only wonder why?