Portside

Sixty-three Israeli teenagers have published an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday, declaring their refusal to join the Israeli army due to their opposition to the occupation. The group calls itself the "2017 Seniors' Letter," continuing a long tradition of similar letters sent by high school seniors announcing their refusal to join the army, dating back to 1970

All people around the world and across time crave similar things. They want the chance to raise their families within a peaceful and fair environment. Also, one that affords a decent quality of life without fear of one’s fellow man. This was the main take away from our voyage into another world: Middle Eastern, Muslim, working class, rural and “occupied.” (If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?" ~ Hillel)

What I’m experiencing in this moment is a small example of how the occupation is used to take away agency from the Palestinian people on a daily basis. Each and every day, Palestinians are subjected to arbitrary checkpoints which delay their travel, restricted water which strips them of basic dignity, home demolitions which tear families apart, and constant surveillance that has seeped into every aspect of Palestinian society. I am broken but not finished.

Conscientious objector Tair Kaminer, 19, was sentenced to another 45 days in military prison on Sunday for refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The sentence will be the sixth term served by Kaminer. She has already served some 125 days in lock-up. By the time Kaminer completes her latest sentence, she will have spent almost 170 days in military detention. She has served more time in military prison than any conscientious objector before her. (Haaretz*)

'It's scary to see horrifying developments that took place in Europe begin to unfold here,' Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan said during a Holocaust Remembrance speech. The lunatics who will now start to scream against him need to know: This is what morality and responsibility sound like. - Israeli opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog.

A U.S. activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which supports Palestinians in their non-violent actions against the Israeli occupation, writes of his last days in Hebron. Hebron is the most populous city in the Occupied Territories. It is the only West Bank city where the Israeli settlers live inside the city itself, including many who live in an area close to the hub of the city, designated as H2.

Logically enough, under present conditions of mostly indiscriminate killing, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva met in special session to consider this war crimes question on July 23. The council reviewed and later adopted a resolution captioned: “Ensuring respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.” The lone vote against the commission of inquiry was the United States.

Witnessing a brutal occupation, where permanent insecurity and maximum humiliation are the norm.