israel bans peace protests

[TommyTooter]

so much for the only democracy in the middle east.

http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/08/israel-bans-peace-protests/

Israel BANS Peace Protests
August 9, 2014 1:10 pm·
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Many thousands of Israeli peace protestors had been expected to arrive at Rabin Square tonight, to voice their solidarity with the people of Gaza. But once again, the Israeli police decided that freedom of speech simply does not apply to those speaking out against the actions of the Israeli State.

Police announced that peace protestors will not permit the demonstration to take place. An Israeli Home Front Command has placed restrictions on what they define as simply “large gatherings.”





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Now simply “gathering” to speak out against the war is ILLEGAL in Israel. This comes after weeks of growing protests, number in the thousands, began embarrassing the Israel right wing hawks. Israeli citizens were clearly not of one mind. An exponentially growing number were coming out to oppose the War on the Gazan people. Now, the Israeli Home Front Command, in collusion with the police, have simply banned peace protests

The Israeli peace group, Peace Now, says, “As law abiding citizens, we have to postpone the demonstration to a later date, but we question the reasons behind the cancelation as life continues as normal here in Tel Aviv today. We wonder if the motivation behind the cancelation, beyond fear of rocket attacks, had to do with possible attacks by the extreme right.”

They continue, saying “We view the decision, which does not allow people to protest during tense times, as a dangerous precedent that weakens the democratic discourse in Israel.”

Until this ban is lifted, any sizable peace protest in Israel is effectively off limits. So when you don’t hear about those protests for the people of Gaza, number as high as 10,000 in number any more, now you know why. The Israeli State has banned protests in an attempt to squash what they fear is a budding Israeli Spring.

 

[Jazzy]

Doesn't appear from this article that that the peace protests were banned:

Five years ago I covered Operation Cast Lead, the precursor to Israel's recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza. This week I went back for the latest sequel and its aftermath.

Some things were different, but depressingly despite the passage of the time, many things were the same.

This time the Israelis allowed the world's media into Gaza, rather than keeping them out and stuck on one hill overlooking the coastal strip.

Israel's Iron Dome system has made them better at shooting down Hamas rockets. Hamas has become more effective at killing Israeli soldiers and firing longer range rockets.

But, more broadly speaking, the fundamentals haven't changed.

It was another futile exchange of missiles across the Gaza border with massive loss of civilian life inside the strip, ending in a stalemate that both sides know means they will be at it again before long.

Israel prides itself on being the only democracy in the Middle East.

It's always been a vibrant rambunctious democracy with room for sharp differences and fierce argument. Israelis would have it no other way.

But there's been a sinister edge to the divisions thrown up by this war that seems new.

Protest has always played an important role in Israeli political life. For the first time they were accompanied with violent counter protest.

Leftist groups taking to the squares of Tel Aviv to protest against the war were set upon by nationalist thugs, hurling abuse, spitting and in some cases assaulting the demonstrators.

The police in some cases intervened to protect the victims but not always in time.

The Israelis were shown little of what British news audiences saw every night on their television screens of the carnage in Gaza. And there was little criticism.

One journalist who dared speak out against that consensus received death threats so serious his newspaper has been forced to hire him a bodyguard.

Left-wing journalist Gideon Levy broke an Israeli taboo by using his column in Haaretz newspaper to criticise the Israeli Air Force pilots bombing civilian homes in Gaza while trying to kill Hamas fighters.

The backlash on the streets has left him stunned.

There are parts of Tel Aviv he no longer visits because of the abuse he can expect from the public. On Facebook, people warned him he could soon be the "late Gideon Levy".

The response to his article baffles him. He says: "I try to raise my voice, which is quite a lonely voice here, and I really wonder why do they freak out so much.

"The majority is so clear. The media is speaking so much in one voice, why does one single voice in one single newspaper (matter)?"

Levy views it as a dangerous development in a country that has long regarded its liberal democracy as one of its greatest assets.

"Above all, it worries me about the future because I'm not sure that this is reversible.

"I'm very worried that this lack of tolerance towards any kind of critics in times of war might turn also into a lack of tolerance for any minority and any criticism in times of peace."

Opinion polls suggest Israel has moved further to the right during the war and were an election to be held today politicians on the right would benefit.

Full article with video

 

[Combo]

The whole conflict is getting out of control and rather difficult to keep up with.

 

[TommyTooter]

Doesn't appear from this article that that the peace protests were banned:

this just happened in the past few days. there has been a ban on 'large public gatherings' imposed.

police announced that peace protestors will not permit the demonstration to take place. An Israeli Home Front Command has placed restrictions on what they define as simply “large gatherings.”

hundreds of israelis defy police ban to protest gaza war

Despite the police ban on public gatherings, several hundred anti-war activists took to the streets in Tel-Aviv on Saturday to say ‘no’ to the continuation of Israel’s bloody military operation in Gaza

 

[TommyTooter]

The whole conflict is getting out of control and rather difficult to keep up with.

the most difficult part of keeping up with it is sorting out the truth from all the biased reporting on it. the western press almost all favors israel and the arab world and russia spin it in favor of the palestinians. there is pure garbage coming from israeli and palestinian sources that has to be sorted through. many images posted as current are neither current or local. a lot of dead syrian babies being passed off as palestinian, which most of them actually are, but they'd been killed in syria.