Category Archives: Israel

How the West Bank Settlements Can Bring About Peace

Posted on April 7, 2013 by David Biale
israel-settlement

To judge by the Israeli public’s reaction t0 President Obama’s visit to that country, there may be a new opening to unfreeze Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.  The President articulated as clearly as one could how, from a pro-Israel point of view, a Palestinian state is a necessity.  The arguments are anything but new: there is no example in today’s world of a democracy ruling over a population who are not citizens; the historic necessity of a majority Jewish state is in danger; and …

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Ameinu Trip to Israel

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Manfred Lindenbaum

My wife and I used to go to Israel nearly every year – on Federation Missions, by ourselves, when we had children in Israel or grandchildren in Israel. We volunteered on Kibbutz for four months. The last few years have been hard. My love for Israel remains strong. I try not to judge Israel differently than I would any other country – but I expect more. I had to go so we cut short our skiing vacation and joined Ameinu. On arrival, we shared a van with the director of One Jerusalem. By …

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Israel’s Youngest Knesset Member Sworn In Today

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Ameinu Office

Press Release Israel’s Youngest Knesset Member Sworn In Today Media Advisory: For Immediate Release New York, NY, February 5, 2013 CONTACT: Aliza Becker 773-251-7599 alizacbecker@gmail.com Two years ago, a young Israeli woman made headlines and history as the leader of the unexpected “social protest movement” that brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets demanding social justice and equality. Today Stav Shaffir made history again, when at age 27 she was …

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If You Miss me at the Back of the Bus…..

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Judith Gelman, Vice President and Chair of the Executive Committee
freedom riders

While in Israel with Ameinu (Ameinu Journey January 1-6, 2013), some of the other participants and I took part in a “freedom ride” on one of Jerusalem’s de facto gender-segregated bus lines. As you may know, there has been a growing tendency in recent years for bus routes that predominantly serve the Haredi (Ultra-orthodox) community to have gender separated seating, with women and girls in the back and men and boys in the front.  When individuals complained to the public bus company, …

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Stone Soup: The Israeli Social Protest Movement 18 Months Later

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Judith Gelman, Vice President and Chair of the Executive Committee
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Every child hears the Stone Soup story:  There was no food to share in a war torn, poor town. None at all.  Then a hungry and clever soldier filled a kettle with water and a few large stones and offered to make “stone soup”. He did not ask for much, just a little flavoring for his soup. Remarkably, as villagers found an onion here and a clove of garlic there and a wilted carrot forgotten in a root cellar, a nutritious meal miraculously appeared.  Even a kindergartener cannot miss the …

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Netanya’s Undemocratic Elections Panel

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Stav Shaffir
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This was the first time I left a panel while it was still in progress. And of all places, it was in Netanya, the town of my birth and the place where I first learned to pronounce the word “democracy.” Today they tried to re-educate me. It started as an elections panel. Each representative had five minutes to speak. Likud, Labor, Jewish Home, Yesh Atid, everybody. I was the first to speak, and decided to discuss the connection between the social protest movement we have led and …

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Ameinu Reacts to Escalation of Violence in Israel and Gaza

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Ameinu
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Media Advisory: For Immediate Release New York, NY, November 16, 2012 CONTACT: Hiam Simon 212 366-1194 hiam@ameinu.net www.ameinu.net Ameinu, the leading progressive Zionist membership organization in North America, mourns the tragic loss of life due to the escalation of hostilities in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Pillar of Defense in response to increasing rocket fire into the south of Israel from Hamas controlled Gaza. …

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Don’t Need No Education

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Stav Shaffir
Ariel_University_Center

Breaking down unemployment in Israel underscores the importance of education to a successful economy. More than 60 percent of Israelis with less than an eighth grade education are unemployed, according to the Taub Center in Jerusalem. Employment rates are highest among those with an academic degree, in part because so many of the educated go elsewhere for work. Average income for college graduates is nearly $3,000 a month while those with less education make do with $1,200, the income of …

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Sheikh Jarrah Revisited

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Brad Rothschild, Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee
Sheikh Jarrah feature

Two summers ago, I joined a group of Israelis and Palestinians at their weekly protest in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The protests, which began in December 2009 following the eviction of four Palestinian families from their homes in the neighborhood, quickly began attracting hundreds of participants a week, including author David Grossman, former Speaker of the Knesset Avrum Burg, and Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kahneman. By the time I arrived in August 2010, the Sheikh …

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MK Shelly Yachimovich Addresses the Jewish Agency Assembly

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Shelly Yachimovich
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          Shelly Yachimovich is the Chair of the Israeli Labor Party and the Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset. In May she addressed the Jewish Agency. The text of her speech follows.   Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you so much for inviting me to speak here today. This is my first time at the Jewish Agency Assembly. It is a really, special privilege. Your work on behalf of Israel society has a lot in common with my vision for Israel, as head of the Labor Party, …

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