AxisMundi Jerusalem
Inside Israel and the Palestinian Territories
from FaithWorld:
Ultra-Orthodox protest against Israeli ruling to integrate Jewish schools
Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protested in Israel Thursday against a court order to desegregate a religious school and force Jewish girls of European and Middle Eastern descent to study together.
Demonstrations were held in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, a Tel Aviv suburb with a large population of religious Jews, before some 80 Ashkenazi parents, Jews of European origin, were to report to jail for defying the Supreme Court ruling.
Israel's ultra-Orthodox minority has long been at odds with the Jewish state's highest judicial authority over edicts which some devout Jews say interfere with their religious lifestyle.
The Ashkenazi parents resisting their daughters' integration with Sephardi, or Middle Eastern, students at a girls' religious school in the Jewish settlement of Immanuel in the occupied West Bank, deny the court's allegations of racism.
They say the two communities have different religious traditions and they do not want their children influenced by Sephardi practices.
Walls and balls
Last week we posted about the fifth anniversary of the International Court of Justice ruling on the separation barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank.
We mentioned how, despite it being one of the Palestinians’ most hated symbols of Israeli occupation, some people had worked the barrier into their daily lives, using it as a backdrop for movie screenings, restaurant menus and all manner of protest – artistic and otherwise.
Now Cellcom, an Israeli mobile phone company has used a portion of the separation barrier as the backdrop for one of its TV commercials – causing something of a stir in the blogosphere and on social networks like Facebook (login required) and YouTube.
Its not an original idea. As you will have seen in the video in last week’s post – the wall has already been used as a tennis net by activists protesting its existence and, in the video below, to promote an extraordinary idea that an Israeli-Palestinian joint bid for a World Cup soccer tournament might be a catalyst for peace.
Interesting to note that in neither video do you see what’s happening on the other side of the wall as the ball sails over - which is what’s got the bloggers up in arms.
Well, if you want to see how the wall stops attacks, then look at the statistics for those attacks.
If you want to see how Palestinians educate their children to kill Israelis, then watch “Tomorrow’s Pioneers”.
I believe that speaks to the ‘obviously false’ information you accused Enrico of making..
As for the Intifadas, are you implying that deliberate attacks on civilian targets, for the purpose of killing civilians, was somehow justified?
If yes, then you support war crimes. If no, then the wall is justified.
Too Close for Comfort
Every week our photographers and cameramen cover any number of demonstrations organised by activists protesting against the barrier Israel is building in and around the West Bank. Palestinians say the barrier is an Israeli land-grab that stifles freedom of movement and economic growth. Israeli authorities say the barrier prevents would-be attackers from reaching Israel.
You can read more about the controversy over the barrier here.
Covering the demonstrations has become a kind of routine. Most demonstrations happen on Fridays in the early afternoon. Protesters usually arrive along the same route. The Israeli army or Border Police are usually positioned in the same places. Protests start fairly quietly with chanting and flag-waving but almost invariably degenerate into skirmishes where demonstrators throw rocks at the Israeli forces who fire tear gas or rubber coated bullets to disperse the crowd.
Occasionally serious injuries and even deaths have occurred at these demonstrations. Israeli security force personnel have also been wounded during these events. Our journalists also follow a routine, but their work can be tricky. They try to pick a position where they can film or photograph the demonstrations, while staying out of harm’s way. Sometimes that’s easier to plan, than implement. When covering these demonstrations, our staff wear helmets, body armour, and gas masks. They’ve been trained to operate as safely as they can in these types of environments.
Last Friday, July 3, our cameraman Saed Hawari covered one of the regular demonstrations outside the village of Bilin on the West Bank. The demonstration was not unusual, but our camerman ended up a little too close for comfort. As you can see in the video below, some tear gas grenades bounced up and nearly struck him. Fortunately, he was not hit, and was not injured.
Check out the video below – especially the first few shots.
