Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Oct 19, 2020
treating Erekat in apartheid Israel
There is a big debate as to whether Israel should be treating Saeb Erekat in an Israeli hospital or not. Erekat has CoronaVirus and is supposedly in very bad condition.
From an Israeli perspective, it does not bother me that Israel is treating Erekat. Israel goes well out of its way to treat enemy combatants, citizens of enemy countries and others opposed to our very existence. Treating Erekat is a humanitarian gesture that is in line with what Israel regularly does.
From Erekat's perspective, perhaps he should be refusing this treatment, considering what he thinks of Israel.
But that is his problem and hypocrisy, not ours.
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Jul 27, 2020
Freedom of Assembly has become a sacred cow
A lot has been said about the right to protest being a staple of democracy, thus causing the government to allow protests to continue almost unhindered while limiting all other social activities with very strict restrictions.
It is considered so sacred that I think it has become a sacred cow.
I do understand it though, even though I personally would not participate in a protest at this point. I also understand it even though I think anyone who does participate in such protests, especially without taking care for social distancing and wearing masks, is taking undue risks and could very well be causing the spread of the virus.
However, I am not sure why the right to protest is the only right given that status. Democracies are built on the rights and liberties of the people, with those rights including a lot more than just the right to protest.
If the rights of the people are so sacred,. what about the right and freedom to worship? I am not one to fight for shuls to open against the recommendations of health officials, nor in greater numbers than what they recommend, but why is the right to protest any more sacred than the freedom of worship? There is no right to go to a restaurant or a concert, so I won't compare it to that directly, but there is personal freedom and liberty and if a person should choose to open his restaurant or organize a concert and should I choose to go to it, why should that be any less than the freedom to protest?
If the government has the right to shut down everything else due to public health concerns, why not protests? I just don't get it. Why is the freedom of assembly, the right to protest, any more sacred than all the other rights a democratic society provides?
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Labels:
human rights
Feb 14, 2012
Proposed Laws: Yom Haatzmaut and Mid-Night Evictions
A couple of interesting laws that were recently proposed:
- The army, or police where relevant, often goes to dismantle outposts or illegal structures in the middle of the night. Though reminiscent of the KGB arresting dissidents in the middle of the night, it makes their job easier as the targets are disoriented and will offer little resistance.
MK Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz (NATIONAL UNION) has gotten together with other MKs from the Likud and Hadash to propose a new law that would put an end to the middle of the night actions. The proposal is based on human rights , and as Katz said "“Even if the courts decide someone’s home must be demolished, the rest of his human rights must be protected. It cannot be that people are forced out of their homes, even if it is justified, and are left without a reasonable chance to find shelter.”
(source: Jpost)
- Yom Haatzmaut's fluctuating date might soon fluctuate even more, and it might also become an official long weekend.
Until now the date of Yom Haatzmaut would only fluctuate in years when Yom Haatzmaut falls out on Friday, getting pushed back to Thursday to avoid chillul shabbat. That alone was enough to spark debates over whether, in such years, one should say hallel or not considering it was not being celebrated on the date of the miracle. That debate might become more pointed if the new proposal should become law, as the celebrations will be even further removed form the actual date of 5 Iyar, and far more regularly.
The proposed law (really just an amendment to the current Yom Haatzmaut Law), proposed by Minister of Tourism Stas Masejnikov, would have Yom Haatzmaut celebrated yearly on the Thursday of the week in which 5 Iyar occurs. It would also turn it into an official long weekend.
This proposal would ensure that the economy would not suffer from additional days off of work, often taken by many employees to stretch the vacation. Memorial Day, Yom HaZikaron, would be on Wednesday and then Yom Haatzmaut would be celebrated from Wednesday night through Saturday night. The purpose, as Masejnikov wrote his proposal, is to allow families of fallen soldiers and the general public the ability to prepare for both Memorial Day commemorations and Independence Day celebrations, to maximize the work week and to prevent chillul shabbat. (source: Yediot Acharonot)
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