PALESTINA/IZRAEL:
Shocking Decline in Ethiopian Israeli Birthrate
In her attempt to find out what the story was behind the shocking statistic, Gabai interviewed Ethiopian women immigrants and learned from them that they were given Depo-Provera (a contraceptive injection containing the hormone progestin administered once every three months) against their will. While some did not understand what the shots were for, others felt pressured into taking them in response to alleged threats that they would otherwise not be allowed to immigrate to Israel. The shots began in the refugee camps in Gondar, continued in the transition camps in Addis Ababa, and continued on after their arrivals in Israel. According to the women’s testimony, this continuity appears to have been a coordinated effort between the medical staff at the clinics in Ethiopia run by the JDC and doctors in Israeli hospitals and clinics.
Read more...
Israel 2012: More children resort to begging, or quit school to enter workforce
Izrael 2012: Više djece prosjači ili napušta školovanje radi zapošljavanja (17. prosinac 2012)
Prema izvještaju koalicije izraelskih organizacija za humanitarnu pomoć Latet za 2012. godinu 10% djece iz siromašnih obitelji koje primaju humanitarnu pomoć u Izraelu prosjači, dok je 2011. godine taj postotak iznosio 3%. 50% djece iz siromašnih obitelji mora raditi kako bi pomogla u domaćinstvu, a 18% djece je u opasnosti da napusti školovanje i krene u potragu za radnim mjestom. Među obiteljima koje se ne mogu prehraniti, 27% roditelja tvrdi da su oni i njihova djeca ponekad po cijeli dan bez hrane, dok je taj postotak 2011. godine iznosio 21%. Gotovo svi ispitanici, 95%, tvrde kako su se morali odreći nekih osnovnih stvari zbog svoje financijske situacije, a 63% ih tvrdi da ne mogu kupititi potrebne lijekove. Među ispitanicima iz ostatka javnosti 69% smatra da je siromaštvo najvažniji problem s kojim se suočava država, važniji čak i od sigurnosti, dok ih 56% vjeruje kako će politika za suzbijanje siromaštva imati važan utjecaj pri odabiru stranke za koju će glasati na predstojećim izborima. 42% ovih ispitanika smatra da je vlada najodgovornija za trenutno stanje siromaštva.
Read more...
Palestinian laborers in Israel: between a rock and a hard place
Every year around 40,000 Palestinians cross over to Israel to work; about half of this number does so illegally. Because wages in Israel are double, even three times more than wages in the West Bank or Gaza, Palestinians go through the hassle of acquiring work permits and or they take the risk of crossing over to Israel illegally. While wages in Israel might be attractive, working in Israel is no bed of roses for Palestinians. Starting from the bureaucratic and “security” procedures they have to pass through to get the permit, to actually crossing through checkpoints and getting to work on time, to receiving the proper social benefits at the end of their work contract, Palestinians face challenges. For those who work in Israel illegally, the challenges are even greater. Their “illegal” status makes them vulnerable to exploitation by their employees. Often times, Israeli employers deny illegal Palestinian workers the minimum wage and under write their working days which later affects the employment benefits and insurance they are entitled to.
Read more...
Palestinian Rockets Unlawfully Targeted Israeli Civilians (video)
Belonging to Palestine - A study of the means and measures of Palestinian women's belonging to their state and nation
Palestinian women are caught in an intersection of oppressions. As Palestinians they live in a state of occupation, constantly restricted in their mobility, opportunities and thoughts. As women they are subject to limited rights and opportunities inside Palestine, where society's view on gender roles are often very conservative. They are second-class citizens as Palestinians occupied by Israel and as women in a patriarchal society. Therefore I find it interesting to explore the ways in which Palestinian women assert and sustain their political belonging to Palestine. The motivation behind this interest is the strong national community and the perseverance of the Palestinian women as I experienced it during my stay. I wondered why the loud voices of all the political aware women I met were not being heard in the setting of the formal political system, and what these women did to make up for this exclusion.
Read more...
Israeli wants to renounce citizenship and become Palestinian
Andre Pshenichnikov, a 23-year-old Jewish immigrant from Tajikistan, was recently detained by Israeli police for residing illegally in the Deheishe Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. There he told police that he wants to break all ties with Israel, give up his Israeli citizenship and obtain a Palestinian one instead.
Read more...
Jews for Palestinian right of return
As Jews of conscience, we call on all supporters of social justice to stand up for Palestinian Right of Return and a democratic state throughout historic Palestine — “From the River to the Sea” — with equal rights for all. The full measure of justice, upon which the hopes of all humanity depends, requires no less.
Read more...
ŽIVOTINJE:
Koju promjenu trebamo učiniti? (video) (English/hrvatski)
30 najgorih slučajeva iz 2012. godine: Evo zašto zlostavljači životinja moraju u zatvor!
Novi Kazneni zakon, koji je stupio na snagu 2013. godine, propisuje zatvorske kazne do dvije godine za mučenje i usmrćivanje životinja te oduzimanje životinje zlostavljaču. Iako je riječ o značajnom pomaku u mogućnosti sankcioniranja zlostavljača, Hrvatska još uvijek zaostaje za zapadnim zemljama gdje se za iste prijestupe izriču kazne i do deset godina zatvora. Stručnjaci su zlostavljanje i ubijanje životinja prepoznali kao važan društveni problem, a zlostavljače i ubojice životinja kao ljude koji su opasni ne samo za životinje, već i za ljude i širu okolinu te je nužno zatvorskim kaznama utjecati na svijest da iživljavanje prema slabijima neće proći nekažnjeno. Nažalost, još uvijek ima slučajeva kada prolaznici danima ne reagiraju na ozlijeđenu životinju, no građani ipak sve više prijavljuju zlostavljanje životinja. Tijekom godine udruga Prijatelji životinja dobiva velik broj prijava građana koji svjedoče zanemarivanju i mučenju životinja, a slične prijave dobivaju i druge udruge za zaštitu životinja. Na web stranici Prijatelja životinja www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr mogu se naći upute o načinima prijave zanemarivanja, mučenja i ubijanja životinja policiji, inspekcijama i općinskom državnom odvjetništvu. Udruga poziva građane da ne okreću glave pred prizorima patnje životinja i da prijavljuju sve slučajeve zanemarivanja i nasilnog postupanja prema životinjama.
Pročitajte više...
BAHREIN:
Bahrain protesters challenge police in capital
Security forces in Bahrain fired tear gas and arrested protesters Monday during marches in the traditional market area of the Gulf nation's capital, forcing many businesses to close. ... The Interior Ministry said it made a "number" of arrests. Among them was rights activist Yousef al-Muhafedha, the acting head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, said his wife Zainab al-Sairafi. Al-Muhafedha's arrest could stir more backlash, less than a week after a Bahrain court rejected an appeal to overturn the jail sentence of the rights center's director, Nabeel Rajab. The court cut one year from his three-year sentence on charges of encouraging "illegal gatherings" linked to the 22-month uprising against the kingdom's ruling system. On Monday, authorities set up checkpoints and expanded patrols across Manama before rallies Monday to mark an annual commemoration for two protesters killed in 1994. Separate groups of hundreds of protesters chanted slogans in the narrow streets of the city's market district. Some of the crowds were dispersed with tear gas and volleys of stun grenades. ... More than 55 people have been killed in unrest since February 2011...
Read more...
HRVATSKA:
Anonymous message to croatian people (video)
Teško nam je vjerovati, da ne možete osjetiti zlostavljanje od strane svojih političara u posljednjih 20 godina. Čekate da se pojavi netko tko će stati iza vas i riješiti sve vaše probleme. Nažalost to se neće dogoditi. Okrećete leđa svakom novom porezu, povećanju cijena i načinu na koji se politička elita i bankari odnose prema vama. Ne treba vam pomoć od bilo koga, imate sve resurse i sve ostalo što trebate, ključ je da se organizirate. Vaša zemlja je posebno zanimljiva jer sadrži mnoge resurse kao što su voda, šume, čista priroda, more i otoci. Zato vas se nastoji osiromašiti i oduzeti vam sve što imate. Kriza je samo paravan. Novca ima i krije se u bankama. Politika koja se vodi zadnjih dvadeset godina je politika osiromašenja. Vaša djeca će biti jeftina radna snaga u europskoj uniji kojoj tako hrlite a i sama je pred propasti. Što prije postanete svjesni da pasivnost neće riješiti ovaj problem uspijet ćete vratiti život kakav ste oduvijek željeli.
Pročitajte više...
