Doc's Talk: Jordan strips Jerusalem residents of citizenship rights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Jordan strips Jerusalem residents of citizenship rights

Al Jazeera TV, Qatar

Presenter, Female #1
The Jordanian government has warned against the dangerous rise in the number of Jerusalemites residing in Jordan who don’t renew their residency permits issued by the Israeli occupation. This prompted the government to change the Jerusalemites permanent residency yellow cards to temporary green cards, stripping them of their basic rights. The Jordanian opposition said the citizenship order is unconstitutional. Hasan al-Shubaki met a Jerusalemite family and reported on their ordeal.
Reporter, Male #1
All members of his family have Jordanian citizenship except for him. This is how Nasir Abu Kuwaik, who was born in occupied Jerusalem, spent the first 17 years of his life. His name was added to his mother’s Jerusalem residency card. Nearly 13 years ago, Nasir’s mother was stripped of her Israeli residency card. In 2000, the Israeli occupation authorities forced Nasir to sign a document, stripping him of his citizenship right. Six years later, Nasir married a Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip and applied for a Jordanian-issued family record book. However, he was surprised to find out that his Jordanian citizenship had been revoked, as shown in this hand-written phrase. Nasir has diligently requested the occupation authorities grant him citizenship. Nasir also made several failed attempts to help uphold his Jordanian citizenship. His yellow card was changed to a green card, forfeiting all of his rights.

Guest, Male #2 (Nasir Abu Kuwaik, a Jerusalemite who lost his Jordanian citizenship)
When I look at the green card, I feel regret because I know I will lose all my rights, including health, education, political, ownership and other rights. Overnight, I lost all of my rights. Yesterday I was a Jordanian and today I’m a Palestinian.

Reporter, Male #1
The Jordanian Ministry of Interior has recently expressed fear over the rise in the number of Jerusalemites residing in Jordan, who don’t renew their residency permits issued by the Israeli occupation. This causes them to risk losing their Palestinian residency cards and helps promote the concept of an ‘alternate state,’ as confirmed by the government, which declined to return our call.

Guest, Male #3 (Anis Qassem, a legal expert)
In the long run, this means the number of people who would lose their citizenship will reach a million. They will not have the right to vote, work, receive social security benefits, own a car or open a bank account. Are these people or authorities aware of what they are doing?

Reporter, Male #1
Several candidates running in the upcoming election declined to comment on the case. However, politicians and critics said implementing the articles of disengagement between the West and East Bank is leading to a rise in the number of yellow card holders, currently numbering a million, who are being described as victims of random orders and measures by the occupation authorities. As the government continues to change the residency status of Palestinians in Jordan, despite criticism by legal experts and political candidates, observers believe that Israel will continue to expel Palestinians from their land. Meanwhile, the suffering of Jerusalemites as well as the suffering of Palestinians on both banks of the river will continue. Hasan al-Shubaki, al-Jazeera, Amman.
Israeli Labor Party threatens to walk out if peace talks do not resume
Jordan TV, Jordan
A senior minister in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has threatened that his Labor Party would walk out of the coalition if peace talks with the Palestinians do not resume by the end of the year. Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman, who intends to challenge Defense Minister Ehud Barak for Labor leadership, said he would do everything he could to force the Labor Party out of the government. U.S. brokered peace negotiations which began early last month have been suspended as Netanyahu continues to resist international calls for extension of a partial freeze on settlement construction.
Millions of widows and orphans in Iraq face difficulties making a living
Al Rafedin, Iraq
Presenter, Male #1
The U.S. occupation army claimed that the death toll of Iraqis from the beginning of 2004 to August of 2008 was around 77,000, in addition to about 122,000 wounded. The Washington Post newspaper said the figures that the U.S. army announced are lower than the numbers released by Nouri al-Maliki’s government. An independent report indicates that Iraq lost 1.5 million of its people during the years of occupation. After reports indicated the existence of about a million widows and 4 million orphans in Iraq, there have been repeated requests to draw up a full strategy to find the right solution to the problem of widows and orphans in Iraq. These people are not only suffering from lack of material support and ways to earn a living, but are also subject to social problems.

Reporter, Male #1
An orphan or widow in every household: this is the gift of the U.S. occupation to the Iraqi people since it invaded The Country of Two Rivers 7 years ago. These orphans and widows are neglected, and the government failed to solve this problem which could create a threat to the solidity of Iraq’s social structure. A number of reports indicated that the number of widows in Iraq has exceeded 2 million, and the number of orphans reached 4 million. With the situation deteriorating, various institutions and organizations inside and outside Iraq have repeatedly requested to come up with a comprehensive strategy to find the best solution to the problem of widows and orphans. Social and educational experts stressed that the large number of widows and orphans are not only struggling with earning a living and making ends meet, but also suffering from social problems. The widows are mostly suffering from the low living standards and the deterioration of the economic situation in the country. Iraqi widows face having no source of income after they lose the bread-winner of the house. The consequences of this problem make it necessary to remove the dividing line between society and politics. Experts requested to speed up the process of forming the next government, affirming the importance of including the situation of widows and orphans as a top priority on the agenda of the next government in order to support this social stratum. They warned that the widows and orphans may slip into what they called the “dark corners of the society,” which may cause more trouble for Iraq. The experts reiterated that making an official strategy to help the widows in Iraq and solve their problems is not something difficult to do. They said that the government’s failure to implement such a strategy and its shirking the responsibility for this problem increases the suffering of these widows and orphans.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk