Category Archives: human rights

Eritrean man, beaten and shot in Israel after being mistaken for attacker, dies from wounds | News | DW.COM | 19.10.2015

{So one has to ask – how many other killings have the authorities encouraged and excused?} An Eritrean man died after being mistakenly shot and beaten following a shooting in southern Israel, officials said Monday.On Sunday, an Arab gunman opened fire on a crowd in a bus station, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding nine other people. The assailant then engaged in a gun battle with authorities before fleeing outside, where he was shot dead.Amid the confusion, an Eritrean migrant was shot by an Israeli security guard while crawling on the floor. A crowd of people, thinking the Eritrean man was the culprit, then surrounded him and began beating him, while several others rushed to his side in an attempt to protect him.The man died later that night in hospital.Reasons for the man’s shooting are still unclear. Government officials and members of the media have reacted with disgust at the man’s death.”It’s terrible,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, according to the Associated Press news agency. “It shows you what a terrible situation we are in.”Speaking to members of his Likud Party on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was a “law abiding” country where “no one should take the law into their own hands.”

Source: Eritrean man, beaten and shot in Israel after being mistaken for attacker, dies from wounds | News | DW.COM | 19.10.2015

Israeli Jews and Arabs join for rally against violence in Jerusalem and West Bank – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The march took place hours after four Palestinians were shot dead and a fifth wounded in attacks on Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.The violence that has raged for more than two weeks prompted a “very concerned” US president Barack Obama to call for calm, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to chair a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.Some 2,000 pro-peace demonstrators answered a call by Israeli leftist groups and gathered in the centre of Jerusalem under the banner “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies”.

Source: Israeli Jews and Arabs join for rally against violence in Jerusalem and West Bank – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Bishops in stinging rebuke to David Cameron over refugee crisis | World news | The Guardian

Paul Butler, the bishop of Durham, issues a statement making clear their patience is exhausted.He describes the government’s policy response as “increasingly inadequate” and complains that the prime minister has failed, over more than five weeks, to respond to their suggestions with more than a cursory acknowledgment.“It is disheartening that we have not received any substantive reply despite an assurance from the prime minister that one would be received,” Butler says. “There is an urgent and compelling moral duty to act, which we as bishops are offering to facilitate alongside others from across civil society.”He adds: “There is a real urgency to this issue with those increasingly being forced from their land as their homes are literally bombed into the ground. As the fighting intensifies, as the sheer scale of human misery becomes greater, the government’s response seems increasingly inadequate to meet the scale and severity of the problem.”

Source: Bishops in stinging rebuke to David Cameron over refugee crisis | World news | The Guardian

Turkey’s divisions are so deep they threaten its future | Soner Cagaptay | Comment is free | The Guardian

{Too easy and since when do we take American and Turkish intelligence views as anything but spin to support status quo in Turkey. Everything is ISIS is is too easy.}

Isis intentionally targets opposition rallies in Turkey to give the impression that the government will not protect those Turks who are against Erdogan, serving its goal of destabilising the country. With the Ankara bombing, Isis seems intent on triggering conflict between the pro- and anti-Erdogan camps that are already distrustful of each other.

Source: Turkey’s divisions are so deep they threaten its future | Soner Cagaptay | Comment is free | The Guardian

The Skyrocketing Costs Of NYC’s Homeless Epidemic: Gothamist

Since 2007, Albany has scaled back its contribution for both family and single adult shelters, while the federal share for family shelters has grown, and the city’s tab has increased for single adult shelters. (The title of the IBO’s report begins “Albany Shifts the Burden…”)The report cites former mayor Michael Blomberg’s elimination of the rental assistance program Advantage in 2012 as a likely driver of the latest shelter population spike. Mayor de Blasio, to be sure, is committing more money to trying to the issue. He has lined up $1 billion in anti-homelessness spending over the next four years, and his administration spent $180 million last year helping 53,000 households pay back rent to avoid eviction, up from 42,000 households and $124 million the year prior. He also started a new rental assistance program called Living in Communities, commonly referred to as LINC, but the report says its impact has yet to be felt.

Source: The Skyrocketing Costs Of NYC’s Homeless Epidemic: Gothamist

Juncker: EU and Turkey agree on joint plan on refugees | News | DW.COM | 16.10.2015

The two sides are now in agreement on “the exact content of a joint action plan” to stem the flow of refugees arriving to Europe, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after the refugee summit in Brussels early Friday.The EU and Turkey also agreed to “speed up” the talks on easing visa restrictions for Turkish citizens, according to Juncker.The plan mostly deals with providing more aid to help Turkey manage around 2 million refugees on its soil. Turkey is also the main starting point for the hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean and entering Europe, with many EU officials pressuring the country to crack down on human smugglers.

Source: Juncker: EU and Turkey agree on joint plan on refugees | News | DW.COM | 16.10.2015

Aid for Lebanon? And if EU is only getting 7% of refugees – what’s all the fuss?

The Director of Caritas Jerusalem: the block of East Jerusalem feeds anger and feelings of revenge – Fides News Agency

“The imposition of Israeli checkpoints in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem represents a ‘safety measure’ that provides no security, but on the contrary increases anger and frustration, and thus feeds feelings of revenge”. This is how Father Raed Abusahliah, Director General of Caritas Jerusalem evaluates the potential negative effects of the closure of areas of East Jerusalem, where attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers in recent days have caused the deaths of several Israeli citizens. “In my opinion”, said Fr. Raed “they can impose all the blocks they want, but this will not ensure safety. The only way to achieve security and stability for all is to restore freedom to the Palestinian people”.

Source: The Director of Caritas Jerusalem: the block of East Jerusalem feeds anger and feelings of revenge – Fides News Agency

Middle East – Israel seals off East Jerusalem after ‘Day of Rage’ attacks – France 24

{Isreal creates “ghetto” in Jerusalem and engages in collective punishment}

At a meeting of the security cabinet that finished in the early hours, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also allowed revocation of residency rights of Palestinians deemed to have committed “terrorism” and a step-up in the demolition of homes of people who carry out attacks.Seven Israelis and 30 Palestinians, including children and attackers, have died in two weeks of violence including stabbings, shootings, car rammings and security crackdowns that have stirred memories of past Palestinian uprisings.The causes of the turmoil are multiple, but Palestinians are angry about what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, an area that is holy to both Muslims and Jews.

Source: Middle East – Israel seals off East Jerusalem after ‘Day of Rage’ attacks – France 24