http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/6033-israeli-law-seeks-to-protect-idf-from-defamation
Israeli law seeks to protect IDF from 'defamation' Ramona Wadi Thursday, 16 May 2013 14:30 - [image: Print]<http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/6033-israeli-law-seeks-to-protect-idf-from-defamation?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=> 0 0 0 1 The Israeli Ministerial Law Committee has approved a law developed by Yoni Chetboun of Jewish Home party, which would enable the IDF to press charges against individuals or entities propagating libellous information about the soldiers without the prior approval of the Attorney General. Claiming that the IDF has been erroneously represented in the media, particularly by activists pertaining to the BDS Movement, the law is supposed to enable soldiers to 'enter the public debate'. The move drew criticism from Tzipi Livni and Yael German, who declared the IDF as 'strong enough to defend itself without the need for Knesset legislation. Advocates have praised the law, describing as the culmination of fulfilling 'an unwritten contract between the people and the IDF ... The Knesset, in providing legal recourse for soldiers, has taken a very moral step'. The law is closely tied to the case of alleged defamation of the IDF's portrayal in the film Jenin Jenin (2002) directed by Mohammed Bakri. The invasion of Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield elicited accusations of war crimes from international organisations and Israel refused to allow a UN fact finding mission to access the area. The film focuses on Palestinians' testimony of the Israeli invasion at a time when the media was prohibited from approaching the area. The film was banned and declared 'libellous and offensive to the public' by the Israeli Film Ratings Board. Five IDF soldiers filed charges against Bakri for defamation however; the lack of personal slander throughout the film led to a dismissal of the case. Bakri was also deemed to have failed to substantiate the allegations portrayed in the film by reports from human rights organisation. Seen within the wider context of Israel's occupation of Palestine, the law furthers a culture of impunity which strengthens the existing loopholes allowing violators to escape punishment for any infringement of human rights. Independent investigations into human rights violations are never carried out, paving the way for internal investigations which always elicit the identical verdict of innocence. Witness accounts in these 'trials' do not include narration of events from victims, thus enhancing secrecy which, in turn, promulgates the facade of a 'moral army'. While allegedly protecting the IDF from 'severe damage' due to the myth of having no access for recourse, it is worth noting that the law effectively strives to silence criticism and outrage by also distorting the definition of the military into that of a targeted civilian minority community. Activism has recently been more vociferous on a global level, reflecting an awareness of the occupation's repression of Palestinians. With the approved amendment, Israel's reality which is entrenched in impunity, may strive to further shun the Palestinian narrative, already disregarded as fictitious due to the powerful propaganda of the occupying power. Considering the legal ramifications designed by Israel, the approved law is a continuation of the processes which render the military an untouchable and glorified entity. Despite that within the parameters of defending security for Israeli citizens, there lurks the unspoken truth of guarding the establishment and ensuring the continuity of the occupation. -------------------------------------------------------------------- <http://972mag.com/the-nakba-addressing-israeli-arrogance/71504/> The Nakba: Addressing Israeli arrogance<http://972mag.com/the-nakba-addressing-israeli-arrogance/71504/>Tom Pessah <http://972mag.com/author/972blog/> http://972mag.com/the-nakba-addressing-israeli-arrogance/71504/ -------------------------------------------------------- Noam Sheizaf <http://972mag.com/author/noams/>Despite efforts to erase it, the Nakba's memory is more present than ever in Israel<http://972mag.com/despite-efforts-to-erase-it-the-nakbas-memory-is-more-present-than-ever-in-israel/71468/> <http://972mag.com/despite-efforts-to-erase-it-the-nakbas-memory-is-more-present-than-ever-in-israel/71468/>Published May 14, 2013 -------------------------------- +972 Resources <http://972mag.com/author/927resources/>Report: Forced displacement on both sides of the Green Line<http://972mag.com/report-forced-displacement-on-both-sides-of-the-green-line/71568/> <http://972mag.com/report-forced-displacement-on-both-sides-of-the-green-line/71568/>Published May 16 -------------------------- By Activestills <http://972mag.com/author/activestills/> |Published May 16, 2013PHOTOS: Palestinians commemorate Nakba Day in rallies and protests <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/001-18/> Palestinian activist Mazzen Al-Azzah confronts Israeli soldiers blocking a march toward the Green Line near the village of Husan, West Bank, May 14, 2013. Al-Azzah was later arrested and falsely accused of throwing stones and assaulting soldiers. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) As Noam Sheizafs recent headline states, the Nakbas memory is more present than ever in Israel.<http://972mag.com/despite-efforts-to-erase-it-the-nakbas-memory-is-more-present-than-ever-in-israel/71468/> The Nakba, literally, the catastrophe, is the name given to the massive deportation of more then 700,000 Palestinians from what became the State of Israel in 1948. Sheizaf goes on to point out how efforts, such as the Nakba law, which authorizes the finance minister to withdraw funds from organizations commemorating the day, have backfired and effectively injected Nakba consciousness into the global discourse. >From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank and Gaza, activists marched to assert a history which is no longer disputed by Israeli historians such as Benny Morris<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/18/which-nakba-day.html>, who despite his shift to the right, still acknowledges that in the case of Israel, the moment of its birth was also the moment of the destruction and wholesale displacement of Palestinian society. For more resources on Nakba history, visit the Zochrot<http://www.zochrot.org/en> (Israeli organization dedicated to raising awareness on the Nakba) website, or the website of the Palestinian NGO Badil <http://badil.org/>. <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/002-16/> Right-wing protesters wave Israeli flags as they demonstrate against a ceremony commemorating the Nakba that was held by Palestinian and Israeli students in the entrance to the Tel Aviv University. The event took place under heavy police presence, May 13, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/003-15/> Palestinians march with torches through the streets of Bethlehem to commemorate the Nakba, May 14, 2013. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/004-14/> Palestinian activists march on Road 60, the main north-south route through the West Bank, in a Nakba Day protest, May 15, 2013. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/005-16/> Palestinian activists commemorate Nakba Day by planting trees in the Ahfad Younis neighborhood of Bab Al-Shams protest village site in E1, May 15, 2013. The Israeli settlement Maale Adumim, illegal under international law, covers a nearby hilltop. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/006-14/> A Palestinian youth uses a slingshot during clashes with the Israeli army during a protest to commemorate the Nakba, outside the Ofer military prison, West Bank, May 15, 2013. (Photo by:Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/007-15/> Israeli border policemen arrest a Palestinian man during protests commemorating Nakba Day at Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/008-15/> A mounted Israeli policeman charges Palestinian crowds during protests commemorating Nakba Day at Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. (Photo by guest photographer: Tali Mayer/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/009-14/> An Israeli policeman kicks a fleeing Palestinian woman as riot forces charge into crowds during Nakba Day protests at Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. The Nakba, literally, the catastrophe, names the massive deportation of more then 700,000 Palestinian, made refugees and driven out of what became the State of Israel in 1948. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/nakba-clashes-damascus-gate-east-jerusalem-15-5-2013-2/> An Israeli policeman bleeds from an injury sustained attempting to eject Palestinians commemorating Nakba Day at Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. According to Haaretz, In Jerusalem, two policemen were lightly injured when Palestinian protesters threw stones. Two ultra-Orthodox men were lightly injured when they were beaten by Palestinians. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/011-14/> Members of the media take cover behind a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance targeted by Israeli water canons during Nakba Day protests near Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org) <http://972mag.com/photos-palestinians-commemorate-nakba-day-in-rallies-and-protests/71551/012-11/> Israeli police arrest a Palestinian man during protests commemorating Nakba Day at Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org) *Read more:* Remembering the Nakba, understanding this is a shared land<http://972mag.com/remembering-the-nakba-means-understanding-this-is-a-shared-land/71530/> Report: Forced displacement on both sides of the Green Line<http://972mag.com/report-forced-displacement-on-both-sides-of-the-green-line/71568/> The Nakba: Addressing Israeli arrogance<http://972mag.com/the-nakba-addressing-israeli-arrogance/71504/> The Palestinian Nakba: Are Israelis starting to get it?<http://972mag.com/the-palestinian-nakba-are-israelis-starting-to-get-it/71516/> Despite efforts to erase it, the Nakbas memory is more present than ever in Israel<http://972mag.com/despite-efforts-to-erase-it-the-nakbas-memory-is-more-present-than-ever-in-israel/71468/> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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