JNF for all the People of Israel: the newsletter of Parashat “Vayishlach” ›

 The funeral ceremony of public housing took place last week in Jaffa

Parashat Vayishlach: The weekly report of Rabbis for Human Rights

Parashat “VaYishlach” raises for Rabbi Gideon Sylvester question on the meeting of Judaism and Africa. Israel, that is located on the edge of Africa and inside Asia, also did not decided what is the social and status identity of its residents. But we continue to act against the decrees and for a Inclusive Jewish future for all.

Rabbi Gideon Sylvester tells about his journey to Ghana, and how despite all the challenges and the difficulties he, as Jacob in our parasha “Vayishlach” – continues to keep the six hundred and thirteen commandments.

Are we proud of who we are? Do we believe that what we advocate for is just and Jewish (Even as we realize that we are human and fallible)? Do we believe that what we do is in Israel’s best interests? If you answer “yes” to any or all of these questions, you need to be at the annual Human Rights Week march this Friday.

Coming up events:

• On Friday, December 9^th we will march together for all human rights to all human beings
• On Sunday, December 11^th  at 15:30 we will meet at Lehavim junction we will demonstrate against the expulsion of the Negev Bedouin residents

In the last week a group of lawyers and human rights activists, accompanied by Palestinians was detained by settlers and IDF officer without authority. Two opinions that support leaving Dqueiqa residents in their place in South Hebron Hills (in Hebrew only). We were prepared for an eviction in Silwan and asked for your help to continue the campaign. We opened a new facebook page in English in order to monitor JNF’s actions. We participated last week in a funeral ceremony of public housing in Jaffa. RHR and coalition partners continue to work on suggestions for new laws and updating existing laws to save public housing.  A large and successful demonstration was held outside the home of Treasury Minister Steinitz by the Periphery Forum.

Surprisingly, Minister Benny Begin and Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin participated in the launching of a Knesset caucus to prevent the implementation of the Praver plan which could lead to the expulsion of some 30,000- 50,000 Bedouin from their homes.  All parties spoke movingly of th need to cooperatively develop the Negev for all of her residents, and indicated that the recommendations of the Goldberg Committee were the standard.  However, the Minister and Speaker evaded the contradiction between the Goldberg recommendation that the solution be based on existing communities, including “unrecognized villages,” and the Praver recommendations fo expel.  They refused to consider freezing legislation in order to come to an agreed upon solution.

We are working to get the Legal Advisor in the OT to deal with the refusal of the DCO to allow the completion of the olive harvest for farmers in El-Jenia in the within the Talmonim settlements, and to move quicker to deal with the land ownership claims by settlers that stopped the harvest of an elderly woman from Sara.

We are nearing the end of the olive harvest, but now is the hard work to hold the army to their commitment that every olive gets picked, and following up on other issues that arose during this intense period: Our pressure perhaps helped get the farmers of El-Jenya back into their olive groves, but this was short lived.  The army is flatly refusing to allow the harvest to be completed inside Talmon A or the Zait Ra’anan outpost. We are appealing. An elderly woman from Sara was prevented from completing her harvest next to Khavat Gilad just before Simkhat Torah because settles claimed it was their land.  The  Legal Advisor’s office has been dragging its feet, claiming that only half a tree was left.  The Palestinians say there were 35 trees yet to be picked.  Who knows if anything hasn’t been stolen at this point. On lands belonging to Akrabeh and Yanoun, a settler fence we got removed two years ago has reappeared in an expanded form, and the settlers are grazing cows on the fenced in land. The DCO said that they would take care of this.  We need to make sure that they do. Burin farmers tried to plow this week, but were rebuffed. Also near Khavat Gilad, farmers were told that their days to pick had come and gone, and that they would have to wait to see when and if an additional day could be set up. Bravely, they accessed their trees in this dangerous area without protection, and completed their harvest.

Rabbi Idit Lev published a post in “Avoda Shchora” on S who is in great trouble without a home or income. Rabbi Kobbi Weiss published in Human Rights March blog a post on the dying of public housing (in Hebrew only). The journalist Noam Shizaf mentioned in his column in Timeout our struggle against JNF and the eviction in Silwan (in Hebrew only). Amira Hass quoted in her column in Haaretz, Adv. Quamar Mishirqi-Asad in her article on the struggle in Dqueiqa in South Hebron Hills (in Hebrew only). Moriel Rotman published in “Common Ground” his response to the attack on human rights organizations English.

 How can you help this week:

• The detention of two young girls, Sausan and Amal from Hirbeet Ma’Faquara in South Hebron, is a serious and unusual event even in South Hebron Hills. Please help the girls with paying the fine and the lawyer’s fee.
• There is a on going threat to evict Rachel Levy from public housing in Yavne. In order to sign up for visits or to stay in her apartment, please call Rabbi Kobi: 050-2345251 or the RHR office: 02-6482757.

Shabbat Shalom