08-03-2011 | Dexia in Israel announcement via Triodos Bank

Photo Israeli occupation soldiers arrest Palestinian youth at protest in West Bank.

Belgian bank Dexia has been excluded from the Triodos sustainable investment universe because of its ongoing financing of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Dexia Israel Bank (DIB), a subsidiary of Dexia, has financed Israeli settlements in the past. In response to shareholder and stakeholder pressure, DIB stopped new loans to Israeli settlements in June 2008. There are also indications that current loans are being withdrawn, although the longest maturity loan in the portfolio will not end until 2017. DIB’s actions have caused uproar in Israel and a regional council major in southern Israel called for a DIB boycott.

(…اكثر)

Lamis Andoni Al Jazeera

Photo Tunis, Tunisia downtown skyline.

Mohamed Bou’aziz, the young Tunisian who set fire to himself on December 17, is emerging as a symbol of the wider plight of the millions of young Arabs who are struggling to improve their living conditions.

Like many across the Arab world, Bou’aziz, who is now being treated for severe burns, discovered that a university degree was insufficient to secure decent employment. He turned to selling fruit for a living, but when the security forces confiscated his vending cart he torched himself – igniting a series of protests across Tunisia.

The roots of this Tunisian ‘uprising’ are to be found in a lethal combination of poverty, unemployment and political repression: three characteristics of most Arab societies.

(…اكثر)

Mondoweiss by Lawrence Davidson.

Photo Palestinian woman flying flag at protest in West Bank.

On September 5, 2010 the Israel newspaper Haaretz published an article the headline of which read “Anti-Israel Economic Boycotts are Gaining Speed.” The subtitle went on to state that “the sums involved are not large, but their international significance is huge.” Actually, what seems to have triggered the piece was not international. Rather, it was the decision of a “few dozen theater people” to boycott “a new cultural center in Ariel,” an illegally settled town in the Occupied Territories. This action drew public support from 150 academics in Israel. The response from the Israeli right, which presently controls the government and much of Israel’s information environment, was loud and hateful.

(…اكثر)

Haaretz by Nehemia Shtrasler September 2010

Photo Oded Balilty An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man carries a Palestinian flag as he walks in the street during the Purim holiday in Jerusalem, Monday, March 1, 2010.

The entire week was marked by boycotts. It began with a few dozen theater people boycotting the new culture center in Ariel, and continued with a group of authors and artists publishing a statement of support on behalf of those theater people. Then a group of 150 lecturers from various universities announced they would not teach at Ariel College or take part in any cultural events in the territories. Naturally, all that spurred a flurry of responses, including threats of counter-sanctions.

(…اكثر)

Rami Almeghari, Electronic Intifada 27 August 2010

Photo ActiveStills Anne Paq Bassam Dardouna stands in the abandoned apartment that he and his family are living in.

“We are not here to steal or take over something which is not our own. We are not criminals or thieves. We are humans who seek a safe shelter after we have lost hope that our houses will be rebuilt,” said Bassam Dardouna, 46, head of a 15-member household, as he stood in the middle of an unfinished apartment.

(…اكثر)

Mel Frykberg, Inter Press Service 23 August 2010

Photo: Palestinians selling items on Gaza street.

Gaza City – Just off Omar al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza City’s main thoroughfare, in a narrow, sandy alleyway is a little second-hand clothing shop. In the dimly lit store, with only intermittent electricity for some hours a day at best, sits a single battered and aging sewing machine.

This is where Khaled Nassan, a father of four children, tries in vain to eke out a living repairing and selling second-hand clothing. Nassan charges the equivalent of 25 cents on average to repair an item. Gazans can’t afford to pay the dollar it used to cost. Nassan is lucky if he takes home $20 a day.

(…اكثر)

Jerrold Kessel & Pierre Klochendler, Electronic Intifada 17 August 2010

Photo: Luay Sababa Palestinians try to cross into Jerusalem through an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem during the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, 13 August 2010.

Hirbet Deir, occupied West Bank – For Muhammad al-Baradiyeh, 38, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is always a blessing.

In fact, every day of the month-and-a-half prior to Ramadan has been good for Muhammad. Thanks to a permit granted by the Israeli authorities, he’s been able to work inside Israel and save extra money he’ll need for the holiday.

(…اكثر)

TruthDig by Chris Hedges, Aug 16, 2010

Photo: Palestinian child standing close to Israeli occupation soldiers in West Bank.

Time is running out for Israel. And the Israeli government knows it. The Jewish Diaspora, especially the young, has a waning emotional and ideological investment in Israel. The demographic boom means that Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories will soon outnumber Jews. And Israel’s increasing status as a pariah nation means that informal and eventually formal state sanctions against the country are probably inevitable.

(…اكثر)

Report, IRIN 5 August 2010

Photo IRIN Suhair Karam: The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) says 222,000 children are enrolled in its schools in Gaza.

Gaza City, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) – The quality of life, the economy and food security for Palestinians living in Gaza have been severely impaired by Israel’s strict four-year blockade, according to the UN.

Israel says its closure regime is designed to protect Israeli citizens from attacks by militants in Gaza. Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza, says Israel’s blockade is aimed at undermining its rule.

(…اكثر)

Haidar Eid, Al-Shabaka, Palestinian Policy Network, 2 August 2010

Photo Matthew Cassel Does Gaza today resemble South Africa under apartheid?

The Palestinian national movement has overlooked this question: does the Gaza Strip resemble the racist Bantustans of apartheid South Africa? During the apartheid era, South Africa’s black population was kept in isolation and without political and civil rights. Is Gaza similar? The answer is yes and no.

(…اكثر)