As these words are being written, Israeli officials, with the backing of police, violence and tractors are delineating the Jewish settlement of Hiran - right over the homes of the Bedouin villagers of Um el Hiran.
We have become accustomed to the Israeli Government rhetoric saying that this piece of land or another cannot be utilized for settlement because it is needed for this military use or another, and therefore the Bedouin villagers must be displaced.
But today we are experiencing new heights in the government's displacement policies, as it starts to erase a large Bedouin village, only to build on its ruins a small Jewish settlement. And yes, we are discussing citizens of Israel: displacing one ethnicity to allow the other to settle in its place.
Eight were arrested, including Rabbi Arik Asherman from RHR, Salim Abu-Alqian, the village leader, four children and two young people.
Watch the violence: Please do not stand by! Contact your representative and ask him to demand answers from the Israeli Government. Contact the Israeli Ambassador in your country and demand answers.
The government of Israel has crossed all possible red lines in its actions. There are no acceptable explanations for such a racist decision.
This is added to other injustices that have been done by the authorities towards the residents of the unrecognized villages over the last several days:
In the unrecognized village of El Araqib last week the police accompanied the tractors as they came to prepare the land for tree planting - instead of the homes of the villagers. Eight were arrested. They were later released.
In the unrecognized village of Khashem Zaneh, the bulldozers came to demolish the home of a single mom, who was living in her hut with her 10 children. The mother closed herself in her home and was ready to put herself and her home on fire if her home was demolished and she and her 10 children would become homeless. The home was not demolished, but the authorities have threatened that they will be back soon to demolish the home...
Source: RCUV
Prepared for publication by
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
Twitter: @TimothyBHinchey
*Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey has worked as a correspondent, journalist, deputy editor, editor, chief editor, director, project manager, executive director, partner and owner of printed and online daily, weekly, monthly and yearly publications, TV stations and media groups printed, aired and distributed in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe Isles; the Russian Foreign Ministry publication Dialog and the Cuban Foreign Ministry Official Publications. He has spent the last two decades in humanitarian projects, connecting communities, working to document and catalog disappearing languages, cultures, traditions, working to network with the LGBT communities helping to set up shelters for abused or frightened victims and as Media Partner with UN Women, working to foster the UN Women project to fight against gender violence and to strive for an end to sexism, racism and homophobia. A Vegan, he is also a Media Partner of Humane Society International, fighting for animal rights. He is Director and Chief Editor of the Portuguese version of Pravda.Ru.
Note: Jews against Zionism is a movement from Jews by Jews for Jews and Palestinians which criticizes Zionism and the practices of the current Israeli regime as being detrimental to Jews and Palestinians alike. Fascist acts like this do what exactly?