| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jun | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |
Dov submitted a bill last week calling for a two-year limit on local councils’ terms due to fears that Israeli democracy is being undermined because the Interior Ministry is appointing such councils.
Full story by Haaretz journalist Yigal Hai.
Sderot mayor: We will not seek revenge
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz
Tensions were already high in Sderot yesterday, after four Qassam rockets struck the town in the early morning hours. Then, in an additional barrage of two rockets, came the lethal strike. A Qassam rocket hit not far from Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s home, where Maor Peretz, one of the defense minister’s bodyguards, was conducting a routine patrol. From the other direction approached Faina Slutzker, 57, hurrying on her way to helping the elderly. The rocket seriously injured Peretz and critically wounded Slutzker. Maxim Nizri, a Magen David Adom medic, said that when he arrived on the scene, Slutzker had already lost consciousness; she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Slutzker’s husband Michael, who arrived on the scene to look for his wife, was taken to the hospital. There he was joined by a social worker from the Sela immigrant aide organization, who helped notify family members of Slutzker’s death and accompanied them throughout the day. Slutzker was laid to rest yesterday afternoon. Her funeral was attended by Hadash MKs Mohammad Barakeh, Dov Khenin, and Hanna Swaid, who had met earlier with Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal and emphasized the need to stop the killing of civilians. The participants in the meeting also decided to reach out to residents of the Gaza Strip to try and stop the cycle of violence, municipality spokesman Yossi Cohen said.
This message was also conveyed by Barakeh during the funeral. He told Haaretz, “The security of Beit Hanun is derived from the security of Sderot, and vice versa.”
Moyal made similar comments when he spoke of Faina Slutzker. “The easiest thing right now is to seek revenge,” said Moyal. “But we will not seek it. This city will become a symbol as a city that desires peace, and we will be heard, in all of Palestine.”
At roughly 7 P.M., an additional rocket hit central Sderot, seriously injuring a 17-year-old. The fear in the town has risen. “It is like we are in a firing range,” the residents fumed. A number of youths lit tires in an intersection and shouted “Death to the Arabs.”
Public Defense Min.: IDF must expand action to stop Qassams
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service - 13:51 15/11/2006
Public Defense Minister Avi Dichter (Kadima) said Wednesday morning that Israel’s political echelon must instruct the Israel Defense Forces to eliminate all Qassam rocket fire using any means necessary, regardless of the risk to soldiers’ safety.
Dichter’s comment was made in response to Wednesday’s deadly Qassam strike on the western Negev city of Sderot.
“The political echelon should have and still must issue an order to do everything possible to end the Qassam fire from Gaza into Israel,” Dichter said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, there isn’t such an order. The current IDF operation is not sufficient. The operation must be expanded,” he added.
Minister Eitan Cabel (Labor) also called for a rigorous response to the continuous Qassam rocket fire. “The IDF and the defense establishment must operate with sternness and clarity, although it is likely that the rockets will continue to fall despite any operation,” he said.
MK Danny Naveh (Likud) said that the current policy discriminates against the residents of southern Israel. “Every day that goes by without a widespread action (to stop the Qassam fire) creates the impression that the fate of Sderot is not the fate of Tel Aviv,” he said, referring to the probability that if rockets were to rain upon Tel Aviv, the response would have been more forceful.
“Israel will pay dearly with human lives if it doesn’t take action immediately,” he added.
MK Yitzhak Levy (National Religious Party-National Union) said that the residents of Sderot are paying with their lives for the recklessness of having evacuated Gaza during the disengagement.
MK Dov Hanin (Hadash) said “The shedding of the blood of civilians, be it in Beit Hanun or in Sderot, must stop immediately.”
“The path of violence and force has led us to a dead end, and the only viable option is to open up the channels of negotiation,” he added.
MK Taleb a-Sana (Ra’am ? Ta’al) offered his condolences to the family of Wednesday’s rocket strike victim, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. He called on both Israel and the Palestinians to cease the violence and return to the negotiating table.
MK Dov Khenin of the Hadash Party stated that, “… we can’t afford to wait until there’s a regional peace before proceeding to handle human rights issues, nor can we wait for all human rights problems to be fixed before reaching out for a peace process”. MK Khenin stressed that regardless of other political developments in the region, all efforts should be made to ensure LGBT youth’ rights.
The youth representatives talked about the lack of awareness and support in their schools, and reported that due to this situation many LGBT teens can’t come out of the closet. They also spoke of the misery of teens banished by their estranged families, some eventually having no choice but to turn to prostitution.
After the meeting at the Knesset, the teens met at congregation Kol Hanshama, for a series of activities and discussions.
In the evening, the WorldPride Human Rights reception was held at the Jerusalem City Hall. Among the speakers at the event were Julie Dorf and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum (WorldPride co-chairs), Louis-Georges Tin (Founder and president of IDAHO - the International Day Against Homophobia), Ms. Fatima Amarshi (Executive Director of Pride Toronto), Russell Murphy (co-president of InterPride, the International Association of LGBT Pride Coordinators), and Hagai El-Ad (Executive Director of the Jerusalem Open House).
Left-wing rally: Negotiate with Hamas, Hizbullah
Ynetnews - Israel (16.July.06, 23:17)
MK Dov Hanin of Hadash told Ynet: “We are protesting against the second Lebanon war. The war is a disaster for Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese.
MK Khenin calls to shut down Dimona nuclear plant
Ynetnews - Israel (03.July.06, 18:16)
MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) filed a proposal in the Knesset to shut down the nuclear plant in Dimona. According to Khenin nuclear plants’ life-span is 40 years, thereafter radioactive materials become toxic and hazardous to the environment. (Ilan Marciano)
Protest against Gaza beach killings
Aljazeera.net - Qatar
Dov Hanin, a leftist legislator, condemned the killings, saying “the Israeli army was killing children in our name.
Orlev: Arab MKs back Hamas, should be kicked out of Knesset
Ha’aretz - Tel Aviv,Israel
MK Dov Hanin (Hadash) called upon the government to immediately halt the operation, saying that, “the blind return to the mud of Gaza is another step in the …
Israeli peace activists protest yesterday’s massacre in Gaza
Bahrain News Agency - Bahrain
MK of Hadash, Dov Hanin called on the Israeli public to voice against the occupation “war crimes.” He said such crimes would put Israel’s leader on trial …
Hadash MK Slams Olmert on Slow Moves for PA Talks
Arutz Sheva - Israel
(IsraelNN.com) Hadash Knesset member Dov Hanin slammed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday for not pushing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for …
Peace activists protest beach massacre
Dov Hanin, a Leftist MK condemned the killings, saying “the Israeli army was
killing children in our name.” Among participants in the protest in Tel Aviv
Left calls for truce in response to Palestinian offer and subsequent Israeli refusal to ceasefire without Shalit’s release. In Nazareth and Rahat, Arab-Israelis protest against operations in Gaza, demand government negotiation.
Roee Nahmias
Saturday evening, the left-wing Peace Now movementcalled upon the government to agree to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s call for ceasefire. According to the group’s statement: “One fatal accident is enough to turn the tables, complicate matters for Israel, and endanger the lives of IDF soldiers. Thus, wemust agree to a ceasefire before it’s too late.”
Rally in Nazareth (Photo: Hagai Aharon)Among the Arab-Israeli population there is also a widespread appeal to the government to agree to the ceasefire. This is despite the fact that the Israeli government already stated publicly that any ceasefire agreement is contingent upon Cpl. Gilad Shalit firstbeing released.
Saturday afternoon, scores of protesters in Nazareth and Rahatprotested against military operations in Gaza. Chairman of the UnitedArab List-Ta’al faction, Knesset Member Talab el-Sana, who attended theprotest in Rahat, said that Shalit’s release should be achieved through diplomatic channels, and not by military action.
Earlier, MK Ahmed Tibi (also of the UNited ArabList-Ta’al faction), in a radio interview with Radio Montecarlo saidthat “the Israeli government will sooner or later release Palestinianprisoners in exchange for the soldier. So why not avoid all thebloodshed?” Tibi also called upon the government to agree toHaniyeh’s ceasefire offer.
At least three Palestinians were killed Saturday as a resultof IDF activity in Gaza and almost forty have been killed in recent days. As aresult of the extreme hardship for the Gazan population, Haniyehapproached the Israeli government with a ceasefire request. Accordingto a statement issued from his office in Gaza, “in order to end thecurrent crisis, a mutual cessation of military action is required onboth sides.”
Haniyeh emphasized that, regarding the issue of the kidnappedsoldier,there is no escaping the need for negotiation. “The Palestiniangovernment is interested in finding a solution in a quiet anddiplomatic manner, without pressure or military escalation,” Haniyehsaid.
“The issue of Palestinian prisoners is a painful one in Palestinianhomes, and it is necessary for the international community to opentheir eyes to the tragedy of this issue.” He again appealed for the release of Hamas ministers and parliament members who were arrested inrecent days and for “the elimination of the siege being waged on the Palestinian people, by allowing the reopening of border crossings for passengers and wares.
The 17th Knesset will be sworn in tomorrow in its maiden session. At precisely 4:00 P.M., President Moshe Katsav will call the legislature to order with three blows of a gavel. He will then invite MK Shimon Peres (Kadima) to conduct the session. As the most senior MK, Peres will be acting speaker of the Knesset until a permanent speaker is selected.
About 1,000 guests have been invited to the opening session: former cabinet ministers and MKs, foreign diplomats, Supreme Court justices, the chief rabbis, heads of religious sects and other dignitaries.
The 38 new MKs who will be sworn in are looking forward to tomorrow’s ceremony.
“I’m really excited,” freshman MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) said. “It’s the first significant ceremony of my life.” Yachimovich has invited her family to the ceremony. “My mother is proud of me,” she says.
Yachimovich declares that in the Knesset she will continue to deal with the same issues she tackled as a journalist, “economics and labor. My ambition is to bring back terms like ‘organized labor,’ ‘collective contracts,’ ‘right to strike,’ to defend workers’ rights. That’s the most important area, which also can lead to disaster.”
Yachimovich declared that if Labor is named to head the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee she will compete for the chairmanship within Labor. She also wants to head the Finance Committee and the Committee on the Status of Women, “despite the fact that the ability to affect the status of women lies mainly in the other committees.”
“Politics is a profession,” Yachimovich says. “I don’t know whether I’ll be a good politician.”
The title of “most diligent MK” for the 17th Knesset goes to Dov Hanin (Hadash). Two days before the swearing-in and he already has 80 bills ready to be introduced. They deal with Hanin’s areas of interest: social welfare, the environment and human rights. Two examples: “The Polluter Pays,” which Hanin says is “a law designed to prevent a situation where it is profitable to pollute the environment in Israel, and a law that would make employers, rather than contractors, responsible for upholding workers’ rights.”
Hanin adds, “I’m optimistic. I found people in the Knesset who aren’t close to me politically but who have the will and the energy to effect change. I hope we can find areas in which party obedience will not be significant. I know most Israelis think that people enter the Knesset in order to be exploitative, but I see it as a challenge.”
“Lots of people gave me the honor of being in the Knesset, and I have to pay them back,” tyro MK Yosef Chagall (Yisrael Beiteinu) says. Chagall’s route to the Knesset was similar to that of Yachimovich. He was a journalist in the Russian-language press for 18 years.
“I’ll be the first MK from Baku, and I already have plans for cooperation with the parliament in Azerbaijan,” Chagall declares. “I also mean to take up the issue of young immigrants from the Soviet Union [sic].”
MK Eitan Cabel (Labor), for whom tomorrow marks the start of his fourth term, says it’s natural for the newbies to be excited but warns “all that glitters is not gold.”
התכנים של אדום - ירוק: האתר של חבר הכנסת דב חנין מוצעים תחת רישיון ייחוס-שימוש לא מסחרי-איסור יצירות נגזרות 2.5 ישראל של קריאיטיב קומונס.