Mondoweiss

May 13, 2017 Stan, Here is the latest news and opinion from Mondoweiss. Know anyone that you think would enjoy this newsletter? Share this sign-up link with them! ‘Freedom and Dignity’ — a poem on the 25th day of the Palestinian prisoner hunger strike By Aida Qasim Palestinian-American social worker Aida Qasim writes a poem inspired by the more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike who entered their 25th day of strike on May 11, 2017. Read in browser » Norway’s largest trade union federation endorses full boycott of Israel to advance Palestinian human rights  By Palestinian BDS National Committee Today, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, representing close to one million workers, endorsed a full boycott of Israel to achieve Palestinian rights under international law. The federation is the largest and most influential umbrella organization of labor unions in Norway. Read in browser » Netanyahu gov’t mulls bill to ban Israeli rights groups from bringing legal cases on behalf of Palestinians By Kate Haaretz reports the Netanyahu government is mulling over a bill that would prohibit Israeli legal rights groups from representing the interest of Palestinians in Israeli courts, "A bill that would bar nongovernmental organizations from petitioning the High Court of Justice on behalf of Palestinians will be debated by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday. The bill is being proposed following the wave of court petitions filed seeking the evacuation of settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank." Read in browser » Family of 16-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces remembers a bright young math student, poet, and politically charged youth By Sheren Khalel Last Sunday 16-year-old Fatima Hjeiji was shot dead by Israeli forces as she approached a group of five Israeli border police officers in Jerusalem, allegedly carrying a kitchen knife with the intention of attacking them. Sheren Khalel talks to her family who remembers the teen as an activist, poet, and stellar math student. “Even though Fatima was a young girl, she had a very strong personality -- very strong," Fatima's grandfather says. "Ever since she was a little kid she was always carrying the Palestinian flag, speaking about Palestinian land. She went to Jerusalem to be in solidarity with the prisoners, she went to Jerusalem for Palestine.” Read in browser » Palestinian hunger strike spreads outside prison walls, but JVP says NYT hasn’t kept pace By Allison Deger Palestinian hunger strikers entered their 25th day of strike on Thursday. While the protest for improved conditions inside of Israeli prisons for Palestinian detainees kicked off with an op-ed in the New York Times by strike leader and Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, Jewish Voice for Peace says the Times has not kept up with the story. In the weeks since 1,500 Palestinian detainees announced they were on strike, multiple solidarity campaigns have launched and a Palestinian cartoonist is touring the U.S. speaking about the plight of prisoners. Read in browser »