Stories about Israel from May, 2012
Palestine: Remembering the Nakba
May 15 is Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement and dispossession that took place at the time of Israel's establishment in 1948. In this post we look at how the day was marked by Palestinians on blogs and Twitter this year.
Israel: Increase in Racism Against African Asylum Seekers
In the past few weeks two cases of rape of Jewish women by Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers have been reported in the Israeli media, prompting a new wave of racism against asylum seekers in Israel.
Palestine: Agreement Made to End Prisoners’ Hunger Strike
On May 14 over 2000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails ended their hunger strike after periods varying from 28 to 77 days, when the Israel Prison Service agreed to implement measures ensuring the basic rights of prisoners would be met.
Israel: Mofaz Derided for Joining Unity Government
Israel's biggest news story of recent months happened in the early hours of May 8: the head of the opposition, Shaul Mofaz, agreed to join Benjamin Netanyahu's government, thus postponing the early elections Netanyahu had announced just days before.
Palestine: Mass Hunger Strike by Prisoners
Palestinian prisoners began an open ended hunger strike on April 17 to protest the conditions within Israeli prisons. What had started earlier as a protest by a few has now increased to thousands of participants.
Israel: Sharp Criticism of Israel's Leadership by Ex-Security Chief
Yuval Diskin, the former chief of Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, caused a firestorm in Israel at the end of April, when he was recorded speaking against the Israeli leadership, specifically, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
