Product Description
Violence has become a part of daily life in Israel and the Occupied Territories since the latest intifada began on 29 September 2000. More than 570 Palestinians, including 150 children, have been killed by Israeli security forces. More than 150 Israelis, including 30 children, have been killed by Palestinian groups and individuals. Israeli forces have killed Palestinians unlawfully by shooting them during demonstrations and at checkpoints although lives were not in danger. They have shelled residential areas and committed extrajudcial executions. Palestinian armed groups and individuals have deliberately killed Israeli civilians by placing bombs in crowded places and in drive-by shootings.Amnesty International has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to abide by international human rights standards and urged the Palestinian Authority and armed groups to act in accordance with humanitarian law. It has also called on the international community to take action necessary to ensure respect for human rights in the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Says more about Amnesty International than about the Intifada
Amnesty International is an organization that used to show some respect for human rights.It supported Soviet dissidents such as Natan Sharansky.But as Sharansky noted, its reports were way off base.It reported all sorts of human rights violations in Israel, while leaving out most of the much more serious and systematic violations of human rights elsewhere in the Middle East.Amnesty International boasted that it showed "the picture as it is."But it did nothing of the sort.And it still doesn't.

Let's look at Amnesty International's recommendations in this report.

1) End the killings
2) Safeguard detainees

Yes!"Respect for human life must be restored."To Amnesty International, that means that Levantine Arab thugs ought to be arrested, treated with respect, and given fair trials (but by their fellow thugs, not by some reasonable judicial system).And Israel, of course, ought to avoid retaliating, lest it be charged with recklessness and "extrajudicial executions."

3) End collective punishments

This is a great idea.Except Amnesty International intends Israel to be the one to avoid defending itself against the thugs!The possibility that the thugs themselves could be in violation of some law appears to escape Amnesty International here.

Amnesty International also calls for "the setting up of an international monitoring presence in Israel's Occupied Territories with a human rights component."That sounds nice, but I have my doubts about whether it would do anything positive for human rights.It sounds to me that its main duty would be to ensure that thugs not be harassed.In addition, Amnesty International has taken a view by calling the disputed West Bank, "Israel's Occupied Territories."

To its credit, Amnesty International did admit that Arab armed groups have intentionally killed other Arabs, as well as some Israelis.But their "recommendations" are useless.There would be no war if the thugs stopped killing Israelis.Israel has no need to fight except in self-defense.

I think it is fine to cite instances of injuries, murders, torture, and all sorts of other violations of human rights.Some Germans did that in World War Two.They cited all sorts of violations against Germans, but they tended to omit their own violations.Amnesty International ought to be better than that.But it isn't.

Amnesty International had no problem in reporting the death of Muhammad al-Dura in a chapter on "Killings by Israelis."Well, I have nothing against such a chapter.People on all sides die in wartime.But Amnesty International is doing us all a disservice to accept all sorts of Arab propaganda pretty much as factual while casting doubt on what Israelis report.The evidence that Israel did not kill Muhammad al-Dura was very strong, and it was unreasonable for Amnesty International to make it appear that such incidents are typical Israeli behavior as opposed to a simple blood libel.

I am in favor of human rights, and as a result, I can't support Amnesty International at all.We need human rights organizations that truly support human rights.And I think that this article shows that Amnesty International is not up to this task.
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Product Description
One in every six Israeli citizens is a Palestinian Arab. While much has been written about the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza, the struggle for political rights by Palestinian citizens of Israel remains largely unexplored.Shany Payes offers a fresh look at this struggle through analysis of the increasingly growing sector of Palestinian non-governmental organizations. Charting the political history of these associations over the last quarter of a century and running right up to developments during the recent Intifada, she analyzes the political repression of Palestinian civil society by the Israeli state and attempts made by Palestinian NGOs in Israel to build a civil society in the face of such oppression.
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The "Israel Yearbook on Human Rights" - an annual published under the auspices of the Faculty of Law of Tel Aviv University since 1971 - is devoted to publishing studies by distinguished scholars in Israel and other countries on human rights in peace and war, with particular emphasis on problems relevant to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The Yearbook also incorporates documentary materials, relating to Israel and the Administered Areas, which are not otherwise available in English (including summaries of judicial decisions, compilations of legislative enactments and military proclamations). ... Read more

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The Israel Yearbook on Human Rights- an annual published under the auspices of the Faculty of Law of Tel Aviv University since 1971- is devoted to publishing studies by distinguished scholars in Israel and other countries on human rights in peace and war, with particular emphasis on problems relevant to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Catholic Insight on April 1, 2001. The length of the article is 2639 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The occupation of Palestine.(questions about Israel and the Palestinians)
Author: Father Alphonse de Valk
Publication: Catholic Insight (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2001
Publisher: Catholic Insight
Volume: 9Issue: 3Page: 10

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description

This book analyzes the changes and tendencies expressed in the relation between army and society in Israel.

Since its inception, Israel has been defined as a nation in arms, a public space in which the security needs became central and, to a great extent, dictated the agenda and functioning of all the public arenas operating in it.  The theoretical investigation is accompanied by case study illustrations of special instances related to the nexus between:

• security and society
• security and politics
• the army and the media
• the army and public relations
• security and culture
• bereavement and commemoration
• social motivation to serve in the army
• the army and foreign policy.

Product Description
Examines the difficulties of Palestinian-Arab political life in Israel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The theory of ethnocraty
As'ad Ghanem is working at the School of Political Sciences at the University of Haifa. He researches in ethnical relations, politics of Arabian-jewish relations in Israel.
For him an ethnocraty is any regime, which wants to dominate and "ethnosize" an ethno-national minority. It can be defined as democratic when it allows the citizens to take part in politics, and when they enjoy the human rights. The majority thinks the regime has its legalisation. The minority does not because they feel discriminated. There are three reasons for the existence of an ethnocraty. The first is settlement-colonialism, the second is ethno-nationalism which strengthens the dominance of the majority for the disadvantage of the minority. The third is ethic logic which fosters the uneven distribution of economics. It is apparent that this could apply for Israel. But it could also apply for the neighbours of Israel. Israels experiences with arabs are not positive. If they do not want arabs in their country or are at least mistrustful it is no wonder since arabs wanted from the very beginning of the state of Israel up to this day to leave the country, and to underline their claims they used violence and terrorism and declare openly what they want, to expel all Jews from the Middle East. Therefore Jews have to be careful. They sruggle since 60 years to survive. Why should they give their enemies even one finger? Even though they did.

A good place to start
As I stated in my title I think this book is a great place to start for anyone looking to learn more about the evolution of Palestinian politics within Israel.This is a very focused study of the beginnings of the politicalization of what was left of the Palestinians within the Green Zone after the war of 48 all the way up until year 2000.While the fact that the book only goes up until 2000 is a problem since this leaves out some dramatic happenings that have changed the situation drastically, this book is still a great historical account of the political lives of the Palestinians up to that point.Good books that focus exclusively on the Palestinians that are also unbiased are hard to find which makes this work all the more valuable.

What I found most interesting was just how disruptive the war in 48 was for the Palestinians.Of course I understood this was a defining moment, but one aspect this book does a good job detailing is how much the expulsions and the exodus eroded the natural order of the Palestinians lives.In many areas traditional leadership was either decimated or had completely been removed.Not only that but groups of people had been displaced and moved into areas and villages that were alien to them.Add this fact to the imposition of military rule that was designed to disenfranchise and to keep the Palestinians pacified and disorganized, and one sees why it took decades for any real leadership to emerge from the ashes of this war.

The other area of great importance is the difficulties inherent in being a minority in a state that is based on ethnicity.The fact that the state of Israel is officially a state for the Jewish people makes any kind of equality for the Palestinians almost an impossibility.I think whether or not a state that bases is itself on ethnicity can truly be a democratic state or not is a debate worth having.While this was outside this studies purview, the author does a great job discussing the day to day problems for the Palestinian minority trying to work inside a political system that is purposefully stacked against their interests.

The author speaks at length about the differing streams of political thought that exists within the Palestinian minority inside Israel.He goes through and details each political stream by who they are, their political philosophy and how they have chosen to go about implementing those philosophies.Each stream of thought has differing ideas of how best to deal with state, and each stream chooses differing levels of cooperation with the Jewish state.Some groups like the Israeli-Arab stream believe in full cooperation with the Zionist state and its political parties whereas other streams like the Islamists believe only in supporting local government institutions while excluding national participation.The author thoroughly explains each group's motivation for pursuing their own goals and strategies for attaining those goals.

My main criticism is that the author thoroughly explains the problems within the Palestinian leadership, but then in his conclusion he suggests the solution lies in a binational state for territory encompassing the Palestinian Mandate.My problem is that all of the author's previous chapters outline how the Palestinians have no leadership that would be able compete with the Israeli side which is very politically mature and adept.It seems to me this would have been a recipe for some type of disaster.Of course subsequent events have, in my opinion made this issue moot.

In the end this is an important book that will add perspective and insight into the Israeli state and its interactions with its Arab minorities.Any student or casual observer of this issue will find merit in this work no matter what their political affiliation.This is an unbiased accounting of an important issue.I recommend this book.

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Product Description
Social justice and the market economy often seem to be on acollision course. Human dignity and equal treatment are of littlecommodity value. More and more, however, labour law theorists areinsisting that, without more serious attention to human rights in theworkplace, the dominance of market-driven economics will continue toengender grave and potentially explosive social problems.This collection of essays -- composed in honour of the leadinglabour law and social security jurist Ruth Ben-Israel -- offersincisive perspectives on this vital aspect of today's post-industrialsociety. Featuring the most recent views of a virtual who's who ofmajor labour law authorities, the book includes in-depth analyses ofsuch important aspects of the field as the following:+workplace representation;+safety and health at work; +labour conflicts;+labour courts;+the ILOsupervisory system;+right to strike;+employee privacy; +enterprise reorganisation; and+treatment of blue collarvs. white collar workers.All issues are treated from acomparative legal viewpoint, with valuable contributions from Germany,Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the UnitedStates, Israel, and Japan. Ruth Ben-Israel is notable for her commitment -- as teacher,writer, and international advisor - to the continuity and expansion ofsocial justice as the welfare state has increasingly succumbed to thepressure of the corporate-driven global economic model. Her extensivebody of work emphasizes collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts,workers' participation, equal employment opportunity (especially forwomen), and unfair dismissal. Labour Law, Human Rights andSocial Justice is a faithful and fitting tribute from hercolleagues to her determination and eloquence in pursuing this mostworthy of goals. ... Read more

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When Israel declared its independence in 1948, it vowed to ensure equality for all citizens, regardless of religion, race, or gender. History shows, however, that this promise has been broken in the case of women, who generally live under circumstances significantly worse than those of men. Women in Israel is the first comprehensive overview of discrimination in a state dominated by a patriarchal religious order, and brings fresh insights to the efficacy of the law in improving the status of women. Providing a sociolegal perspective on women in Israel viewed, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari examines all aspects of Israeli women's lives, looking at legal issues such as affirmative action, motherhood and the workplace, and mechanisms for the advancement of women, as well as conditions of education, employment, health, family, and prostitution.

While tracing legislative evolution in Israel, Halperin-Kaddari discusses the extent to which law can create social change. Because of its unique position as an economically developed democracy and yet a state where government tries to maintain a special cultural tradition and religious identity in a heterogeneous society, Israel has failed to adopt a single national standard for women that would bring Israeli law into compliance with international human rights. Halperin-Kaddari concludes that the improvement in women's status has not been due to egalitarian consciousness, but rather is incidental to Israel's overall socioeconomic advancement.

Product Description
Western governments are reducing their role and encouragingnongovernmental organizations to expand theirs in providing social,human, and communal services -- a trend that is especiallysalient in the community sphere where neighborhood organizations aregaining increasing influence. This book describes the emergence anddevelopment of community organizations in Jerusalem and compares themto similar organizations in ten countries around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The US DoS relies on this book for positions.
This book is in a class of its own. The US Department of State uses this book's legal arguments as a basis for its position, that the 4th Geneva Convention does indeed apply to the Israeli occupation of the West bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. ... Read more

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Israel's political process is too often framed in terms of a dichotomy between Jewish and Arab/Palestinian citizens of the state, a framing which perpetuates political inequality and consequent injustices. This book focuses on the conflict within Israel and the role played by modern states in either mitigating majority-minority conflict or exacerbating it.

This comparative study concentrates on theoretical models and historical, legal or political patterns of development. With an emphasis on alternative approaches to alleviating civic and political inequality in a divided society such as Israel's, the book examines plurality and political pluralism as keys to enhancing Israel's democratic character. The dozen original essays address many of the basic points of contention between Jews and Arab/Palestinians within the Israeli civic body: unequal access to citizenship; unequal access to land; discrimination in access to public services; insufficient defence of minority rights in Israel's legal system; unequal obligations; unequal economic opportunities.

The essays raise a matter of principle that goes beyond the Israeli case: formal legal measures are relatively worthless if they are not preceded by political processes that are oriented to changing conceptions and perceptions of reality. Relevant to those who wish to understand the unobserved dynamics within a divided society, this book will be of particular interest to students of comparative politics, conflict resolution and Middle East studies.

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This title explores the post-1989 migration of Soviet Jews to Israel, a subject area which despite its importance is as yet unexplored. The author focuses on what he believes is the negative impact of this migration on the prospects for a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. As Soviet Jews have migrated into Israel, many have been placed in the West Bank at the same time as displaced Palestinians have been refused repatriation. Professor Quigley also considers the economic effects of the migration for the existing Palestinian and Jewish populations in Israel. The influx of more immigrants has worsened the job and housing situation for the Palestinians while failing to serve the intentions of the Israeli government. The migrants are motivated more by economics than by a specific desire to live in a Jewish state to escape repression. Many would have gone to the United States if they had not been denied the opportunity by Israeli endeavours, and as a result of this thwarted desire they have not been welcomed by the resident Israelis. The book has been written in an innovative way.Though mostly non-fiction, eight chapters are fictional, tracing a Soviet Jewish couple from Moscow to Israel and their interaction with a Palestinian family there. The author's aim is to convey how both the immigrating Soviets and the Palestinians react to the peculiar situation that this immigration has created for them. These chapters are based on research and on the author's personal friendships with Soviet Jews who have migrated to Israel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Palestinian Propaganda
This book reminds me of a one sided trial in which the judge the prosecutor and the defense attorney are all the same. The author spits hatetowards the Israeli government through out the whole book. It is obviousthere is an agenda from the first page, to the last one. I'll give a fewExamples: The author calls Arabs Citizens-Palestinians. Arabs in Israel canvote unlike Palestinians. Also the author blames Israel for the refugeesproblem of 1948 but forgets to mention that it was the Arab countriesincluding the Arabs that were living inside Israel that were the aggressorsin that war. If it wasn't for the 1948 war the whole refugee problemwouldn't have been created. As long as the Palestinians and the Author willsee Israel like the crusaders that lasted in Israel for a short time andnot like a permanent country, there won't be a solution.PS Is it acoincidence that this book was printed in Lebanon? ... Read more

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In this thoroughly updated edition, Marwan Bishara, a leading Palestinian commentator, re-analyzes the Palestinian/Israeli situation nine years on from the Oslo Accords of 1993. He lays out the causes of the Second Intifada and argues that peace without justice is impossible. Bishara shows how the patrons of the Oslo "peace process", in particular the US, ignored the asymmetry of power between the Palestinians and Israelis. The ill-conceived transition process, as a result, degenerated into the fragmented and dependent apartheid statelet that exists today in the West Bank and Gaza.
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Customer Reviews (3)

A Book With Superior Political Analysis
Many people interested in the Middle-East enjoy reading this book for many reasons.The first of them being that the author states non-bias information about the political details suffocating and provoking a continual cylce of turmoil in the arena.His writing is eloquently smooth and he slowly guides his readers where he wants them to be.For anyone willing to open their hearts and minds to an array of stimulating perspectives, then you're choice to buy this book is the right choice.You must forget about being Palestinian and Israeli.You must stand neutral when reading this book and/or any book to be fulfilled and to soak it in like a sponge.He hasbeautiful writing style.

NOT FOR EVERYONE
If you happen to be a Palestinian or relate to the media's version of a Palestinian Cause, looking to feed your fervor, this book is definitely for you. If you happen to have a pro-Israel stance and bear an intellectual capacity to distinguish between pseudo scholarly bias and nonsense, this book is also for you (you'll be able to cement your case). BUT, if you are someone with common sense looking for a somewhat truthful or dare I say historic approach to this sensitive material, than save your money and buy another book or take a class in Middle Eastern Affaires. This work is quite weak, tedious, and appears to have been fallen victim to horribly poor translation (there's no indication that this work has been translated, however, it's quite apparent by the outrageous use of language in the book that something's odd). Perhaps my opinion of this book might improve were I to read the Arabic version, should one actually exist, and provided the laughable content was in fact a blundering consequence of the translation

Patchy account of conflict
This book, while complete in its specific knowledge, is rather misleading. Anyone buying it, or scanning the index may believe it gives an account of the conflict. However, it is a(n incomplete) account of the collapse of the Camp David accords, and the author's prediction of the shape of things to come(which while accurate will be better-written-about from the 'now' perspective). The maps could have been more complete, and some more historical background would have been welcomed. Strong for the time it was published, this book will likely date too much for any future purchases. ... Read more