Landmark French Ruling on West Bank Construction and International Law
In an important but largely ignored case, a French Court of Appeals in Versailles ruled last week that construction of a light rail system in the Israeli-controlled West Bank by a French company does not violate international law. In doing so, the court sided with many of the arguments long made against the blanket application of the relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions to Israeli settlements. National courts rarely if ever address such issues, and thus the decision is important both for its rarity and for what it says.
In this post, I’ll address issues relevant to the substance – Israel’s presence in the West Bank. In the next post I’ll deal with the “Kiobel” issues raised by the case – corporate liability, the value of American ATS cases, and so forth. I should note at the outset that what follows is based on a rough translation of the opinion and my vague French; I would be grateful for corrections on matters of language that I have misapprehended. I venture forward because it is an important decision that deserves attention, yet has been met by complete silence by international legal scholars.
Yisrael Beytenu’s presents governance bill
The bill, which was set to be voted on by the Ministerial Legislation Committee Monday, raises the electoral threshold to four percent of the general population from two — putting small parties, namely the Arab lists, at a disadvantage — and limiting the number of ministers that can serve in a government to 19 as well as establishing a maximum of four deputy ministers.
The new governance bill that seeks to beef up the government’s staying power by making it less prone to toppling via no confidence votes was introduced Wednesday by Yisrael Beytenu MK David Rotem.
The draft, which was believed to be submitted at the behest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was met with applause from Rotem’s faction but was promptly criticized by members of the opposition who claimed it gave large parties too much power, while stripping small parties of their voice.
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Bibi scares me
By Ted Belman
Today Netanyahu said:
“The purpose of the future agreement with the Palestinians is to prevent the eventuality of a binational state and to guarantee stability and security.”
Not a word about Judea and Samaria belonging to Jews.
Not a word about an undivided Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Not a word denying the right of return.
Not a word about refusing to uproot settlers.
Not a word about an undivided Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Not a word denying the right of return.
Not a word about refusing to uproot settlers.
Only the far left worries about becoming a bi-national state. Now Bibi has joined their ranks
High Stakes: Israel Alert as US Mulls Syria Strike
JERUSALEM, Israel — At a news conference Tuesday, President Obama said he still hasn’t determined whether Syria crossed a “red line” with a chemical weapons attack in March.
The president suggested he would consider military action against Syria if the United States can confirm President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his people.
But a number of U.S. allies — and enemies — are intently following Washington’s response to the threat. No one has more at stake than Israel.
Syrian opposition groups released a video showing dozens of people they say were killed or sickened in a chemical weapons attack by the Assad government. Back in March, Obama issued a warning:
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Israel is Doing Remarkably Well, Economically and Strategically
Israel’s economic and strategic situation is surprisingly bright right now. That’s partly due to the government’s own economic restraint and strategic balancing act, partly due to a shift in Obama Administration policy, and partly due to the conflicts among Israel’s adversaries.
Let’s start with the economy. During 2012, Israel’s economy grew by 3.1 percent. While some years ago this would not be all that impressive it is amazing given the international economic recession. The debt burden actually fell from 79.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product to only 73.8 percent. As the debt of the United States and other countries zooms upwards, that’s impressive, too.
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Forget the Apologetics: Progressive Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism
By Matthew M. Hausman
In 1975 the United Nations General Assembly passed its infamous resolution equating Zionism with racism. Although rescinded some years later, it established a plan for delegitimizing Israel by undermining Jewish national claims and rewriting history. That plan continues today, finding expression in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (“BDS”) movement, the left-wing obsession to brand Israel an apartheid state, and the revisionist Palestinian narrative. It is also enabled by a Jewish left that excuses progressive Israel bashers by falsely distinguishing anti-Zionism from Jew-hatred. But denying that Jews are entitled to sovereignty in their homeland requires the suppression of Jewish history and acceptance of an incompatible national myth that has no factual foundation. To deny Jews the basic right of self-determination is to denigrate their stature as an extant, ancient people; and treating them differently from all other nations on earth is indeed a form of antisemitism.
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The Truths About Terrorism Whose Names They Dare Not Speak
The current conventional wisdom about terrorism, Islamism, and the Middle East is being bent, but not broken, by two events. On one hand, there is the Boston bombing; on the other hand, developments in Syria and to a lesser extent Egypt. What’s happening?
In the Middle East, the misbehavior of Islamist movements is becoming more apparent. In Egypt, there is the repression of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, which may actually intend to create a non-democratic Sharia state! Parallel behavior in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Turkey is under-reported but occasionally surfaces.
The most important single story at the moment, though, is Syria. Basically, the Obama Administration has woken up and recognized what was easily apparent two years ago: They are helping to put radical, anti-American Islamists into power! They are helping to provide them with advanced weapons which might be used for activities other than what is intended!
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Unis tolerating intolerance
IT says a great deal about the illiberal tendencies of parts of our academic community that the anti-Israeli boycott, divestment and sanctions movement – which often borders on the anti-Semitic – finds support in the humanities faculties of some of our universities.
Given the right of people to go about their legal business, and shop where they please, it is questionable that the University of NSW should even tolerate protests against a chocolate shop being established on its site. But it is beyond question that it should take action against protesters using blatantly racist and anti-Semitic language as part of these protests. We expect that, quite rightly, there would be forceful action to stamp out any vilification of, say, Muslim or Asian students. Yet seemingly the targeting of Israeli-linked companies and Jewish people throws up a confected moral quandary.
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Experts: Ariel Set for More Growth, Thanks to its University
By David Lev, INN Sept 14,2012
After a decade with a rather quiet real estate market, the city of Ariel, “capital of Samaria,” housing prices are on the move – up. The city, which is set to celebrate its 35th anniversary next year, has seen its population grow to nearly 20,000 residents, not including thousands of students studying at Ariel University, which has turned out to be a major locomotive to attract people to not just study, but to live and even work in the city. The government earlier this week gave its final authorization to naming the city’s institute of higher education as a university, culminating a process that has gone on for several years.
With the housing freeze in Judea and Samaria only recently lifted, construction has begun anew in Ariel, and new housing stock is desperately needed, according to city officials. They cite data from the Central Bureau of Statistics that says that rents for four room apartments are about NIS 4,500 per month – not much less than satellite cities and suburbs around Tel Aviv. To cash in on demand, many homeowners have carved out apartments from basements and storerooms. The large demand for rentals comes largely from the student community, which, at its largest, includes up to 13,000 students.
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The historic Jewish east Jerusalem
By Mort Klein, Cutting Edge Commentator
The propaganda war by the Palestinian Arabs that began as soon as the Oslo agreements were signed has recently expanded to include an all-out assault on the idea that there has ever been any real Jewish connection to Jerusalem. Like the “revisionist” historians who claim that the Holocaust never happened, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials are attempting to falsify history in order to undermine the Jewish connection to the Holy City.(Read more…)
Ted Belman
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