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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sister-in-law has been arrested during the eviction of two Palestinian families from disputed homes in East Jerusalem.
Ofra Ben-Artzi was placed in police custody on Sunday after she tried to visit Palestinian families being evicted from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Ben-Artzi, the 58-year-old co-editor of Occupation Magazine, is a sister-in-law of Sarah Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife. Her son was sent to military jail a few years ago after refusing to serve in the Israeli army on conscientious grounds.
“When I saw the news of the evictions, I was at home and just got the message from reading Ha’aretz newspaper that they had just happened a few hours ago,” Ofra Ben-Artzi told The Media Line. “So I decided to go and see what happened to my friends.”
“At that time I did it on a personal level, because I know the families personally. I know Umm Kamel, who has been evicted before, and has been staying in a tent since November,” Ben-Artzi said.
“Through visiting occasionally and participating in various protests about her eviction, I also came to know Mr. Gawi who was evicted on Sunday,” she added.
[.....]
“I started walking, and immediately a policewoman said: ‘Hey lady, where are you going?’”
She said she replied: “‘I’m just going to visit my friends, they have a problem and I wanted to see what happened to them.’”
The policewoman refused to let her enter, despite Ben-Artzi’s protests. When she asked the policewoman for some kind of documentation forbidding her entry, the officer failed to produce anything.
“All of a sudden so many policemen came and blocked my way, almost stepping on me,” Ben-Artzi said. “These were their tactics so I could not move, and if I were to make any movement, then I would be attacking them. I was blamed for attacking a policeman,” said Ben-Artzi.
“And I was alone – this is something that I want to stress – I’m a 58-year-old woman who was alone on this road, and all of these policemen came to block this ‘dangerous person’,” she said. “I told them, ‘This is my city. This is an open road. Before I saw religious people go on this road, and I want to go too.’”
After being detained on the side of the road for nearly half an hour by the police, Ben-Artzi recalled, reinforcements were brought in.
“They were very careful,” she said. “They brought more policemen – Special Forces I think – because they were dressed in black and wore black shoes.”
“They all surrounded me so cameras couldn’t take pictures, and no one could see while they were taking me – grabbing me – into the police car,” she said.
I predict great things for this thread.
The Media Line
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus sister-in-law has been arrested during the eviction of two Palestinian families from disputed homes in East Jerusalem.
Ofra Ben-Artzi was placed in police custody on Sunday after she tried to visit Palestinian families being evicted from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Ben-Artzi, the 58-year-old co-editor of Occupation Magazine, is a sister-in-law of Sarah Netanyahu, the prime ministers wife. Her son was sent to military jail a few years ago after refusing to serve in the Israeli army on conscientious grounds.
When I saw the news of the evictions, I was at home and just got the message from reading Haaretz newspaper that they had just happened a few hours ago, Ofra Ben-Artzi told The Media Line. So I decided to go and see what happened to my friends.
At that time I did it on a personal level, because I know the families personally. I know Umm Kamel, who has been evicted before, and has been staying in a tent since November, Ben-Artzi said.
Through visiting occasionally and participating in various protests about her eviction, I also came to know Mr. Gawi who was evicted on Sunday, she added.
[.....]
I started walking, and immediately a policewoman said: Hey lady, where are you going?
She said she replied: Im just going to visit my friends, they have a problem and I wanted to see what happened to them.
The policewoman refused to let her enter, despite Ben-Artzis protests. When she asked the policewoman for some kind of documentation forbidding her entry, the officer failed to produce anything.
All of a sudden so many policemen came and blocked my way, almost stepping on me, Ben-Artzi said. These were their tactics so I could not move, and if I were to make any movement, then I would be attacking them. I was blamed for attacking a policeman, said Ben-Artzi.
And I was alone this is something that I want to stress Im a 58-year-old woman who was alone on this road, and all of these policemen came to block this dangerous person, she said. I told them, This is my city. This is an open road. Before I saw religious people go on this road, and I want to go too.
After being detained on the side of the road for nearly half an hour by the police, Ben-Artzi recalled, reinforcements were brought in.
They were very careful, she said. They brought more policemen Special Forces I think because they were dressed in black and wore black shoes.
They all surrounded me so cameras couldnt take pictures, and no one could see while they were taking me grabbing me into the police car, she said.
For the entire article, click on the link provided above.
It is rather funny - in a grotesque way.
Such is freedom in the 'only' democratic country in the Middle East...
The Media Line
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus sister-in-law has been arrested during the eviction of two Palestinian families from disputed homes in East Jerusalem.
Ofra Ben-Artzi was placed in police custody on Sunday after she tried to visit Palestinian families being evicted from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Ben-Artzi, the 58-year-old co-editor of Occupation Magazine, is a sister-in-law of Sarah Netanyahu, the prime ministers wife. Her son was sent to military jail a few years ago after refusing to serve in the Israeli army on conscientious grounds.
When I saw the news of the evictions, I was at home and just got the message from reading Haaretz newspaper that they had just happened a few hours ago, Ofra Ben-Artzi told The Media Line. So I decided to go and see what happened to my friends.
At that time I did it on a personal level, because I know the families personally. I know Umm Kamel, who has been evicted before, and has been staying in a tent since November, Ben-Artzi said.
Through visiting occasionally and participating in various protests about her eviction, I also came to know Mr. Gawi who was evicted on Sunday, she added.
[.....]
I started walking, and immediately a policewoman said: Hey lady, where are you going?
She said she replied: Im just going to visit my friends, they have a problem and I wanted to see what happened to them.
The policewoman refused to let her enter, despite Ben-Artzis protests. When she asked the policewoman for some kind of documentation forbidding her entry, the officer failed to produce anything.
All of a sudden so many policemen came and blocked my way, almost stepping on me, Ben-Artzi said. These were their tactics so I could not move, and if I were to make any movement, then I would be attacking them. I was blamed for attacking a policeman, said Ben-Artzi.
And I was alone this is something that I want to stress Im a 58-year-old woman who was alone on this road, and all of these policemen came to block this dangerous person, she said. I told them, This is my city. This is an open road. Before I saw religious people go on this road, and I want to go too.
After being detained on the side of the road for nearly half an hour by the police, Ben-Artzi recalled, reinforcements were brought in.
They were very careful, she said. They brought more policemen Special Forces I think because they were dressed in black and wore black shoes.
They all surrounded me so cameras couldnt take pictures, and no one could see while they were taking me grabbing me into the police car, she said.
For the entire article, click on the link provided above.
It is rather funny - in a grotesque way.
Such is freedom in the 'only' democratic country in the Middle East...
So there are doves in Netanyahus family tree. That's gotta be an embarrassment. Good for her, though.
I imagine she was arrested for her own safety.
I imagine she was arrested for her own safety.
The Media Line
For the entire article, click on the link provided above.
It is rather funny - in a grotesque way.
Such is freedom in the 'only' democratic country in the Middle East...
So there are doves in Netanyahus family tree. That's gotta be an embarrassment. Good for her, though.
There are more pro-peace anti-occupation Israelis than is being let on by the Western media... A lot of young Israelis refusing to join the IDF on conscientious grounds.
I wonder how are the Netanyahu family reunions... I can only imagine the tension.
How I was detained and interrogated for expressing solidarity with the expelled Palestinians.
The moment I heard of the expulsion of the families I knew I must go there and share their grief. Since the expulsion of Umm Kamel last November I regularly visit her tent. It was there that I also met and became friendly with Mr. Gawi who was this morning expelled with his family from their home.
The police had set up a vehicle block on the road leading to the neighborhood. I approached and innocently passed the policewoman. She immediately jumped up and asked ג where are you going? To visit friends in trouble, I said. You can`t pass ג she said. I told her: This is my city, my friends live there. But she insisted. Do you have any official paper to show me? I asked and took another step. To my astonishment, muscular policemen jumped up from all directions, physically blocking me with their bodies touching mine (this, I would later hear, meant that I was assaulting them). I did not know what to do. I sat down on the road, my eyes to the ground. They told me to get up and go away, but I reiterated that this was my city, my friends were living nearby and I was on my way to try to consolate them on the day of their disaster. One of them told his fellow: `Well, she is going to spend some days behind bars`. Indeed, within a few minutes I was told that I was under arrest. They called the Zinzana (detainees` car). Meanwhile, another group of riot police showed up, who formed a tight circle around me `so that she could not be seen and photographed being taken into the Zinzana`. From my vantage on the floor, I could see about twenty pairs of black commando shoes all around me. Two policewomen arrived and grabbed my arms dragging me into the vehicle.
I have spent an hour sitting there. We went deeper in the neighborhood, into the area where the families had been expelled from their homes. I could see the ultra-Orthodox men and women, in their distinctive clothing, walking quietly along the road, towards the grave of Shimon the Tzadik. No police blocked their way. I reflected that I was seeing the beginning of an innovation. No longer simply a `Jews Only` road. From now on, roads would be reserved to a specific kind of Jews, to those who `look Jewish`, those who ג as PM Netanyahu once said `have not forgotten what it means to be a Jew.` Nor did the bars prevent me from seeing that Umm Kamel`s tent, where she had been living since her own expulsion, was also gone. The ground where it had stood was completely bare, the whole area infested with police ג hundreds at least, possibly thousands. From the floor of the police car I saw what looked like a complete Judaization of the neighborhood. I would not be surprised if they also take off the very name of Sheikh Jarrah from the signs and the map.
Finally, I was taken to the Russian Compound Police. Under interrogation it turned out that all by myself I have held an illegal gathering and (as mentioned) assaulted a police officer. After this interrogation and waiting and giving all my biometric secrets to the police`s Criminal Identification Department, I was offered to be released in return for a pledge not to arrive at Sheikh Jarrah in the following two weeks. I agreed.
Afterthoughts
The expulsion of the families slams shut the door on any chance of dialogue with the Palestinians. It is a slap in the face of the Obama Administration and of those in the International Community seeking to promote a political process in our region.
The expulsion of the families is designed to create once again the supposed `Jewish togetherness` of `The whole world is against us` and of `Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.`
When the history gets written, the expulsion of the families, this so brilliant strategic move by Netanyahu and Barak, might get compared to Sharon`s ascent of the Temple Mount, the act which sparked off the Second Intifada.
The expulsion of the families is the prelude to the next war! The erosion of freedoms is only the beginning - the freedom of speech, the freedom of demonstration and protest. Ever escalating measures are taken against any civil, non-violent resistance to the occupation.
During the next round of violence, the level of governmental violence against dissidents will reach levels not known before.
I saw the writing on the wall: In Sheikh Jarrah, on the floor of the Zinzana, through the bars.
The Media Line
For the entire article, click on the link provided above.
It is rather funny - in a grotesque way.
Such is freedom in the 'only' democratic country in the Middle East...
So there are doves in Netanyahus family tree. That's gotta be an embarrassment. Good for her, though.
There are more pro-peace anti-occupation Israelis than is being let on by the Western media... A lot of young Israelis refusing to join the IDF on conscientious grounds.
I wonder how are the Netanyahu family reunions... I can only imagine the tension.
So there are doves in Netanyahus family tree. That's gotta be an embarrassment. Good for her, though.
There are more pro-peace anti-occupation Israelis than is being let on by the Western media... A lot of young Israelis refusing to join the IDF on conscientious grounds.
I wonder how are the Netanyahu family reunions... I can only imagine the tension.
There is a large political bloc of pro peace Israelis. That's one reason I can't stand to hear Israelis as a whole criticized where the current (and too many of the past) administration (s) deserve censure. How would we in the US like it if we were all viewed as if we agreed with everything our government has done in our name? Even in families disagreements arise. This is an informative thread. Thank you for posting the information.
They are legion, it's true.
unfortunately, the ethnic team jersey seems to be more relevant than common humanity. And, let's not pretend Bibi got elected on a whim. If, Today, the Israeli knesset decided to extend as much ethnic equality in israel as jews enjoy here in the US you'd see a full scale zionist fucking riot erupt by 10am.
