(Source: apeaceofconflict, via pl-ass-ebo)
One Young Druze vs. the Israeli Military
By Amira Asad | pub. Apr. 9, 2013 | vice.com
Every able-bodied Israeli has to serve in the military when they turn 18. Exceptions are made for Arab citizens and ultra–Orthodox Jews, but not for the country’s 125,000 Druze, an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious minority that is primarily based in the north of the country.
Last October, a 17-year-old Druze from Galilee named Omar Saad took a stand against Israel’s mandatory military service when he refused to appear at the recruitment office for a medical examination. In Omar’s widely circulated open letter to the government, he wrote, “Many of our Druze men served in the Israeli army… But what did we get out of this? We are discriminated against on all levels. Our villages are the poorest, our land has been confiscated, there is no urban planning or industrial areas…” Omar hasn’t backed down in the months since his letter went public, and with his graduation approaching I thought I’d call him up and see how things were going.
“The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart | Wed. Jan. 23, 2013
Circumdecision 5773 - Vote or Chai: Incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s election underperformance casts doubt on Israel’s loyalty to Israel - at least if we want to listen to the American commentary regarding the Israeli elections.
Yesterday’s News You Should Know: Monday 9/24/2012
Jewish Democrats ask Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to stop bringing “daylight” into Israel–United States relations. (JTA)
Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian civil war: At least 24 people are killed in violence across Syria. (DPA)
Kenyan AMISOM troops, advancing towards the al-Shabaab stronghold of Kismayo, “deliberately” shoot dead seven Somali civilians, according to a Somali Army spokesman. The Hizbul Islam faction announces that it leaves the al-Shabaab. (BBC)
Business and economy
Multiple reports suggest that North Korea is to introduce reforms allowing farmers to keep more of their produce, rather than handing it to the state. (BBC)
International relations
Senkaku Islands dispute: Dozens of Taiwanese fishing boats set sail for the disputed Senkaku Islands which are also claimed by China and Japan. (Kyodo News)(The Bangkok Post)
Senkaku Islands dispute: An estimated 1,000 people protest in Taipei over Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands. (Kyodo News)
Senkaku Islands dispute: China cancels events commemorating the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations with Japan. (Mainichi Shimbun) (Jiji Press)
Senkaku Islands dispute: Three Chinese surveillance ships enter Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
Senkaku Islands dispute: Bookstores in China suspend sales of books by Japanese authors or about Japan. (Jiji Press)
Senkaku Islands dispute: Japan sends its vice foreign minister, Chikao Kawai, to China in order to improve the status of relations between the two countries. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
Law and crime
Wang Lijun, the former police chief and vice-mayor of Chongqing, China, is sentenced to 15 years in prison for corruption-related charges and defection. (The Global Times)(AP)
Manufacturer Foxconn closes a factory in Taiyuan in China’s Shanxi province after a fight breaks out between thousands of workers. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Three bloggers in Vietnam are sentenced to four, ten and twelve years’ imprisonment for “anti-state propaganda”. (al-Jazeera)
Former Israeli minister of industry, trade and labor Ehud Olmert, who is also a former prime minister, is given a fine and a suspended 1-year jail sentence for cronyism while in office. A bribery case related to a housing project in Jerusalem is still being investigated. (Reuters)
The U.S. military announces that two U.S. Marines are charged with urinating on Taliban corpses in Afghanistan and failing to stop other misconduct by subordinates. (BBC)
Politics and elections
South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, daughter of former president Park Chung-hee, apologises for abuses committed under her father’s regime. (al-Jazeera)
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says recent parliamentary elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair. VRT calls them “a farce”. (Reuters)(VRT)
Make Love not War | Israel loves Iran
This is a facebook group that Israeli people opened to protest leaders intentions of war with Iran (or with anyone else for that matter). The protest comes in the form of uploading their images with anti-war captions.
Link to the actual group, please help spread it
https://www.facebook.com/israellovesiran
