CINA

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A protestor dances to music played by Korean Americans on traditional musical instruments during a protest against an immigration bill that would criminalize illegal residents, in Los Angeles on Sunday./AP

Please read more about it here..

http://migrant.nodong.net/bbs/view.php?id=bbs_free&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=1210

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The British daily Guardian published yesterday following article..

National strike to hit key services

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The Israeli bourgeois newspaper Yedioth Achronoth published yesterday following disturbingly article..

Report: Massive anti-terror raid planned

Quoting Israeli security sources, Sunday Times reports three armored divisions as well as several battalions of paratroops, infantry to enter Palestinian towns after elections 'until last of terrorists are dead or under arrest'

The IDF, the Ministry of Defense and senior figures in Kadima are considering plans for a massive military operation in the West Bank after Tuesday’s elections, the London-based Sunday Times magazine reported.

 

Uzi Mahnaimi, the magazine's correspondent in Israel, described an Israeli plan to take over major Palestinian-controlled towns in a bid

to break the increasingly powerful grip of terror groups there, focusing on Hamas strongholds.

 

According to Mahnaimi, Major-General (res.) Amos Gilad, one of the Defense Ministry’s most senior officials, talked about the possibility of an operation aimed at penetrating the terrorists’ strongholds in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the appointment of a Palestinian government led by Hamas.

 

Mahnaimi, who claimed to rely on Israeli defense officials, described the details of the planned operation, which is believed to call for at least three armored divisions as well as several battalions of paratroops and infantry. It would be intended primarily to destroy nests of terror from Hamas and other groups in West Bank towns such as Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, he reported.

 

“The military aim will be to seize the main Palestinian towns in the West Bank and continue the operation until the last of the terrorists are dead or under arrest,” an Israeli security source told the Sunday Times reporter.

 

Mahnaimi added that operation planners envisage the army eventually withdrawing to Israel’s final borders as part of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's "convergence" plan, having neutralized much of the potential threat to Israel's security.

 

It is possible of course that the publication's timing, two days before the Israeli public casts its votes, also has to do with politics and with an another attempt by Kadima to appeal to right-wing voters, after it already wooed the Left with withdrawal promises.

 

Moussa's conditions

 

Defense establishment officials have been estimating for a long time now that an additional round of violence is expected in the region in the near future. The assessment gained further backing following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, and in light of what appears as additional unilateral moves on the part of Israel opposite the Hamas authority.

 

The Arab world is also preparing for the day after, and is concerned over an accelerated attempt by Israel to isolate the Palestinian Authority in the international arena. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has already announced that he would not allow such a situation and expressed his fear that any prospect for negotiations between the parties after Olmert's apparent victory will be lost.

 

Moussa also said that the Arabs would oppose unilateral moves on the part of Israel, which would harm the Palestinian interest and change facts on the ground. He added, however, that if Israel withdraws from territories while leaving fundamental issues such as Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees up for future talks, "we will not oppose a peace initiative."

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BTW here you can reads three intersting article which were published after the Jericho raid by the IDF...

 

The good ol' IDF

 

Jericho raid reminder of what army can do when it's not constrained

 

Last week's Jericho operation reminded the nation and the world that the IDF, when it wishes to – or more accurately when the politicians allow it to – is able to take care of all sorts of scoundrels better than any other army.

 

The problem is that in the past 12 years we almost forgot we have this kind of army. False prophets were scared to utilize it as they should have, even when necessary, lest their "peace process" be undermined and their tragic mistake be exposed to the public.

 

Read the full article here..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3229663,00.html

 

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Jericho raid: A new era

 

Prison raid reflects new Israeli attitude to Hamas-led PA; officials: Confrontation inevitable 

 

New rules: The story of Israel's takeover of the Jericho prison last week can be viewed as a microcosm reflecting developments in the Palestinian Authority, Israel's relations with the Palestinians, and the kind of future that lies in store with a Hamas-led PA.

 

The decision to refrain from a full-scale raid into the prison in order to detain top detainees barricaded there and choosing instead to avoid unnecessary risks and continue to chip away at prison walls and pressing ahead with the siege, was not only a military tactic.

 

Read the full article here..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3229522,00.html

 

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And the wall came tumbling down

A little while after it was all over, early Wednesday morning, Colonel Motti Almoz, who commanded operation "Rapid Closure," met with 17 wanted Palestinians arrested in the raid on the Jericho jail. The six more important inmates, whose incarceration was the main objective of the operation, had already been handed over to the Shin Bet. Almoz remained behind in the army camp at the southern exit of the city to speak with the mid-level wanted men, whose arrest was a unexpected bonus for the Shin Bet.   Read the full article here.. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/695196.html

 

 

 

 

NO COMMENT!!

 

 

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ONE SIDE OF THE REALITY..

Karin Horlitz, a woman from Dennewitz, East Germany, is beginning every morning her work at 4 a.m and finishing it usually at 9 p.m. and this 6 days a week.

She has 3 jobs... and she can survive.., the German daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung wrote yesterday. So she can spend about 850 Euro per month, but a large part of this money is already gone. For health insurance, instalments for the car, she needs for her work, and the credits for her house, the newspaper continued.

Finally for eating and drinking just 150 Euro are remaining for her each month.

..AND THE OTHER SIDE

Just before yesterday nearly all German newspaper, very infuriated..., wrote about the fact that J. Ackermann, the boss of Deutsche Bank, is earning 11.900.000 Euro per year. About 14.230.000.000 Won!!! Last year his sellary was increasing by 1.8 Million Euro.

But Ackermann is just the peak of the iceberg... Nearly all of the top managers of the main German companies are earning several Million Euro per year. And while every year the profits of this companies are massive increasing, thousands of the employees were dismissed. And the remaining workers must work more and more longer for the same money or if they are not willing to do so, they are threatened by more mass dismissals.

I think there is no further comment necessary...

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eKantipur reported yesterday following..

Home Minister warns SPA

Home Minister Kamal Thapa on Friday warned the seven-party alliance (SPA) that the government would be forced to dub it as an accomplice of the Maoist rebels if the SPA does not pull itself out of the recent second pact reached with the Maoists.

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The German magazine Der Spiegel published 3.13 following article about the Geumgangsan ressort, or better one of the S. Korean colonies in the DPRK...

Tourism in North Korea
 
Hyundai's Holiday Gulag

By Wieland Wagner

North Korean wouldn't normally spring to mind as a choice holiday destination. But hundreds of thousands of tourists are flowing into the secretive realm of dictator Kim Jong Il as part of vacations organized by the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai.

As morning sun rises over North Korea's east coast, it bathes Kumgangsan, the Diamond Mountain region, in a fiery red light. Workers emerge from a barracks in the valley, their bodies bundled up against the bitter cold. The only promise of heat comes from a giant propaganda poster that all workers are forced to pass: "Ten thousand lives for General Kim Jong Il, the sun of the 21st century."

A normal day in the realm of the "Dear Leader" begins with strictly adhered to rules that make little sense to outsiders. All workers are permitted to ride their bicycles up to the barracks gate, where they dismount as if on command. After slowly walking past the guard booth, they then push their bikes for another 200 meters along the road -- which has almost no car traffic. Only then do they hop on and begin peddling again.

This odd ritual can be observed from the Kumgang Hotel, a twelve-storey building built decades ago by the Stalinist founder of North Korea Kim Il Sung as a relaxation center for loyal officials. A propaganda painting in front of the building depicting Kim as a benevolent figure surrounded by a swarm of children serves as a reminder that still has a godlike status despite dying twelve years ago. Officially, the father of the country's current leader Kim Jong Il remains president, even in death.

The Kumgang Hotel at first was neglected by the junior dictator. But now it's been restored to its former glory, renovated from the ground up by South Korean firm Hyundai Asan -- to provide adequate accommodation for hordes of tourists from the capitalist south.

Kumgangsan, which Hyundai manages with the permission of the "Dear Leader," has become an extremely popular travel destination for guests from South Korea. 400,000 tourists will arrive this year alone, one-third more than in 2005, says Hyundai executive Kim Young Hyun. Many visitors hope to get a glimpse of the secretive north, a country which still considers the south the enemy. At the same time, the tourists can experience first-hand how quickly the two Koreas are growing together, largely unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Capitalist enclave in the north

What about the small matter of North Korea's controversial nuclear program? Or the economic sanctions imposed by the United States, because the dictator from the north, desperately in need of hard currency, has allegedly been counterfeiting US currency? Judging by the amount of construction going on in Kumgangsan, global concerns over a potential crisis on the Korean peninsula seem to be falling largely on deaf ears here. Indeed, the renovated hotel is only one of many projects with which Hyundai is transforming the region into a blossoming southern enclave.

Behind a green fence, a crane hoists construction materials onto a site destined for a new building that will carry great political symbolism. When completed next year, the building will house a reunification facility for families torn apart by the 1950-1953 Korean War. And in a nearby valley, another project is underway that seems highly out of place in Kim's gulag-like state: Two Buddhist monks from South Korea are supervising the reconstruction of an historic temple that was destroyed in the war.

Hyundai also has plans to open a golf course in Kumgangsan in September. Until now, the bourgeois sport was seen as the height of decadence in this country of workers and farmers. Of course, the Communist proletariat won't exactly visit the facility for fun. Instead, North Korean employees will be mowing the lawns and collecting golf balls for their affluent brothers and sisters from the south. The capitalist enemy can already enjoy an elegant beach hotel, several restaurants and shopping at the local branch of a South Korean supermarket chain.

At first the Kumgangsan tourists were only permitted to pay in US dollars. However, the bankrupt regime in Pyongyang now also accepts the South Korean won. And hard reality has forced Kim to gradually make the once impassible border along the 38th parallel ever more porous. Hyundai operates a second island of capitalism farther to the west, in the Kaesong special industrial zone, an hour's drive from the South Korean capital, Seoul. In Kaesong, 6,000 low-wage North Korean workers assemble basic products -- clothing, cooking pots and cosmetics containers -- for 16 South Korean companies.

Porous border

But the scene at the Goseon border crossing on the east coast illustrates just how much the government in Seoul is betting on reconciliation with the north. Goseon is the port of entry into the north for tourists headed to Kumgangsan. The new processing building, as big as an airport terminal, is clearly designed for growth. Five lanes are already set up for future car traffic between the north and the south, but only one is currently open -- to accommodate Hyundai's tour buses.

Although it takes all of 15 minutes for the South Koreans to reach their destination, the demilitarized zone through which the road passes -- with its mines, electric fences and barbed wire -- makes Kumgangsan seem worlds away. Like cautious vehicles navigating an exotic safari, the South Korean busses roll through this no-man's land on a road bordered by a new railway line. Grim-faced North Korean soldiers are stationed every few hundred meters along the railroad embankment to make sure that the busses don't stray from their prescribed route.

Kumgangsan offers the vacationers a chance to relax in a dreamlike landscape, but also to enjoy a forced respite from the high-tech Western world. When they enter the country, their bags are searched for mobile phones, the evil electronic tools the "Dear Leader" has strictly prohibited. Kim's border guards also relieve the tourists of cameras with powerful zoom lenses, devices for which they would probably have little use, since taking pictures from the busses is also forbidden.

Kumgangsan remains a test zone for North Korea. How far can the first successor to the throne in a Stalinist dynasty open up his country without losing control over what is essentially a giant prison? Kim is unlikely to care much that his paying guests are able to cast curious glances at the miseries of stone-age Communism as they pass through this small slice of North Korea. What they see stands in sharp contrast to life south of the border. Thin oxen pull carts across fields devoid of tractors and farm machinery. Few cars take to roads that Kim's subjects use mainly as footpaths. They are often shared only with the bicycles of the privileged. The windows of many houses are kept sealed against the cold with plastic sheeting, and at night the villages are plunged into darkness for lack of electricity.

The darkness makes the bright lights of Hyundai's vacation paradise -- kept burning by its own power supply -- seem all the more glaring. It's a beacon of South Korean capitalism in the gloomy north. Just over more a thousand carefully chosen North Korean workers have access to the area, which is sealed off like a military facility. But nowhere else in this isolated country, whose citizen inmates are neither permitted to travel freely from one city to the next nor receive foreign television stations, can Koreans of the north and south come into such fascinatingly close contact with one another.

One of the more interesting places where such encounters occur is the karaoke bar on the 12th floor of the Kumgang Hotel. Hwang Sang Yoon, an engineer for a Seoul company that manufactures measuring devices, is sitting with a group of coworkers, clapping enthusiastically to the beat of the music, as one of the young North Korean hostess takes to the microphone. On the back of her red outfit, she wears the obligatory pin displaying a likeness of "eternal" President Kim Il Sung.

As the young entertainer starts singing a politically correct love ballad from the land of the Kims, the excited South Koreans push their way forward and sing along. A lively little party forms, and soon North Koreans and South Koreans are introducing themselves and clinking glasses. But when a few guests begin snapping photos of the waitresses -- that too is strictly prohibited -- the horrified North Korean women step aside to avoid being photographed and the mood suddenly cools down.

Engineer Hwang, undeterred, continues to enjoy the rare rendezvous with the beauties from the north. "We are one Korea," he calls out, raising his glass. The women nod graciously. But Hwang later says that one would be hard-pressed to find South Koreans eager to see a hasty reunification with the bitterly poor north, partly out of concern for their own affluence. It's a sentiment the government of South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun shares. Although Seoul supports Hyundai's projects in the north, it does so mainly to help prevent a collapse of the Kim dynasty.

Development ahead of reunificiation

With a view toward future reunification, the south is developing its Gyeonggi border province and building factories there. Industrial use of the region along the border was practically forbidden for many years, leading to economic decline and depopulation -- a situation not unlike that which once occurred in the former West Germany's border regions with then East Germany. But nowadays new investment is celebrated as a signal of a relaxation of tensions, irrespective of whether the six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program will continue or not.

But Seoul is also supporting its ailing neighbor with plenty of direct aid and cooperation. Last year alone, the south shipped 500,000 tons of rice and 350,000 tons of fertilizer to its poor cousin, while generals from the north and south met to avoid border incidents.

South Koreans are finding it more and more difficult to understand that the United States, the country's most important ally, continues to count Kim's realm as part of its so-called "Axis of Evil." The majority of the population no longer has any personal connection to the Korean War and many South Koreans see little reason to hate the still very unpredictable regime in the north these days. According to recent opinion polls, almost half of South Koreans between the ages of 17 and 23 say that their country should stand behind North Korea if the United States were to attack Pyongyang.

All of this encourages Hyundai to continue expanding its vacation enclaves. Kim Young Hyun, manager of the company's Kumgangsan facility, points enthusiastically at the steep cliffs behind the resort: "Our next project is to develop the inland mountains for vacationers." The company plans to attract ambitious hikers and climbers to the resort with a challenging series of mountain hiking trails.

Hyundai's efforts

The people at Hyundai have devoted their plans to the memory of company founder Chung Ju Yung. In 1998, the patriotic Chung, now deceased, crossed the border into North Korea with an aid shipment of 1,001 cows. In spectacular meetings with dictator Kim, Chung's visit then set the stage for joint projects now being realized.

The company also funneled secret payments to the north, money with which former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung essentially bought his way into a legendary June 2000 summit with Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang. When the deal came to light, the head of Hyundai Asan, Chung's son Mong Hun, jumped to his death from the company's Seoul headquarters in August 2003. His widow, Hyun Jeong Eun, has continued her husband's efforts to achieve reconciliation. But although she was given an audience with the "Dear Leader" last July, Hyun soon discovered just how unpredictable doing business with North Korea can be.

When Hyundai fired its key contact to the North Korean regime, a deputy CEO who was accused of embezzling $700,000, the tyrannical Kim took his revenge on the company by temporarily reducing Kumgangsan's daily tourist quota to 600 visitors. He also offered a South Korean competitor the opportunity to take over Hyundai's business, but the company declined. And so Hyundai continues its ventures north of the 38th parallel. According to executive Kim Young Hyun, the company has already turned its first profits with its vacation trips to the north. But, he adds, profits aren't nearly as important as contributing to peace on the divided peninsula.

Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Jeong Eun agrees. When she visited Kumgangsan last year, Hyun's purse was searched by North Korean border guards, who treated her as if she were nothing but an ordinary tourist. But despite this humiliation, Hyun later said, there was only one thing on her mind: "I will not give up."

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While the French student organisations refused yesterday to discuss with Villepin about a modification of the CPE, the student organisations and the trade unions just want to accept a canceling of the law, heavy clashes between protestors and riot cops errupted in the evening, CET, in Paris and in several other cities in France.

AFP, the official French news agency, reported this..

More violence in Paris as talks planned on jobs law

Violence erupted again during a protest march in central Paris against the French government's youth jobs programme, even as the embattled Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin gave ground by offering open-agenda talks with trade unions and student groups.

The Invalides esplanade -- a much-visited open space by the river Seine not far from the foreign ministry -- was the scene of running battles between riot police and gangs of masked youths who hurled projectiles, smashed shop windows and set fire to cars.

The youths, who appeared not to be part of the main protest march, threw stones and metal bars at firemen called to a put out a blaze in a nearby shop. Police sealed off the Seine bridges and made dozens of arrests.

Clashes between police and protesters also took place in the Mediterranean port of Marseille, the cities of Rennes, Grenoble and Lyon, and the Paris suburbs of Savigny-sur-Orge, Creteil and Rueil-Malmaison.

Altogether some 220,000 high school and university students took part in a fourth day of nationwide demonstrations against the government's contested First Employment Contract (CPE), a slight decline on a week ago, according to government figures.

Protests have repeatedly turned violent, notably on Saturday when a trade union member fell into a coma after being caught in a police baton-charge in the capital.

The latest disturbances came as the first hints of conciliation in the crisis emerged, with Villepin and the main trade unions agreeing to hold talks in Paris Friday.

In a letter the prime minister promised that the agenda of the talks would be "completely open," and in their reply the unions said they "reaffirm their demand for the CPE to be withdrawn before we agree to dialogue or negotiation on employment, job insecurity and the future of the youth."

Villepin also wrote to student leaders asking them to talks at his residence next week, his office said.

The prime minister has come under growing criticism -- even from within his ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) -- for failing to respond to the growing campaign of popular opposition, and Thursday's initiative was the first sign of a search for a compromise.

An open-ended contract that can be terminated within the first two years without justification, the CPE was conceived by Villepin as a tool against France's high youth unemployment rate which is can reach more than 50 percent in the high-immigration suburbs hit by last year's riots.

But it is opposed by an alliance of students, unions and left-wing political parties, who see it as a breach in France's hard-won system of employee protection. They have been demanding its complete withdrawal as a precondition for ending their protests.

A day of nationwide strikes and more demonstrations is planned for Tuesday.

The measure was voted through parliament two weeks ago as part of a wider equal opportunities law, and is now awaiting approval from the Constitutional Council -- the body that rules on the constitutionality of laws -- before coming into force.

Villepin, 52, who was appointed by President Jacques Chirac 10 months ago, has staked his political future on implementing the CPE, and it was still unclear how much he would be willing to compromise.

On Tuesday he told UMP deputies that he would not accept withdrawal or suspension of the contract, nor "emptying it of its essence." However commentators Thursday said he appeared to have come under pressure from Chirac to let out some slack.

Opponents of the CPE say its two most contentious features are the two-year trial period, and the "non-justification" clause which they believe gives employers too free a hand to sack young staff.

A new opinion poll Thursday showed that 66 percent of the public want the CPE withdrawn, a fall of two points on a week ago.

On Wednesday Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- Villepin's main political rival -- warned of the climate of lawlessness spreading to the country's high-immigration city suburbs and reigniting the riots that raged for three weeks in November.

For more, detailed and especially independent

informations please check out

English language coverage of the young workers’ revolt in France

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..아랍 에미리트 연방.

The Guardian, UK, reported yesterday following..

Riot by migrant workers halts construction of Dubai skyscraper

Construction of what is expected to be the world's tallest building was halted yesterday after 2,500 workers in Dubai rioted over pay and conditions, causing damage estimated at £500,000.

The trouble broke out on Tuesday night when buses due to take labourers to a residential camp at the end of their shift were delayed, witnesses said. Workers from the Burj Dubai tower site and surrounding housing developments then chased and assaulted security officers, broke into offices, smashed computers and files, and destroyed about two dozen cars and construction machines, they added.

"Everyone is angry. No one will work," a labourer, Khalid Farouk, told the Associated Press. Other workers said they wanted pay rises: skilled carpenters earn £4.34 a day and labourers £2.84.

Construction workers building a new terminal for Dubai international airport also downed tools in sympathy yesterday, airport officials said.

Burj Dubai is intended to be the world's tallest building when it is completed in 2008. The developers are keeping its eventual height secret in case competitors try to overtake it. So far 36 storeys have been built.

In recent years Dubai has been the scene of an extraordinary construction boom. Most of the work is done by poor Asian migrants who have been growing increasingly restive amid reports of mistreatment and exploitation. Last September about 7,000 labourers staged an unprecedented three-hour demonstration.

Workers' grievances often centre on poor living conditions and non-payment of wages. According to the UAE labour ministry there were 5,486 complaints about non-payment of wages last year. Some companies have been accused of retaining and "losing" migrant workers' passports to stop them returning home.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1737180,00.html

REALLY GOOD NEWS!!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

JUST FIGHT BACK AGAINST THE CAPITALISTS... WHERE EVER THEY ARE!!

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According to the German daily Berliner Zeitung the French govt. is worrying about a huge revolt by the trade unions and student organisations in the coming days..

The British Guardian wrote about the issue following stuff.. 

Sarkozy suggests labour law 'experiment'

The French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, attempted to distance himself from an unpopular new employment law today by suggesting a six-month trial period for the measure.

The new law, which would allow employers to fire people under 26 without giving a reason, has sparked violent protests and the threat of a national strike.

It has also highlighted divisions between the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and Mr Sarkozy, who is expected to run in next year's presidential election.

Mr de Villepin has seen his popularity slump after pushing through the measure, known as the CPE first job contract.

He claims it would help cut youth unemployment, which is currently about 23% and rises to 50% in some poorer parts of Paris.

Opponents have said the contracts, which allow workers to be sacked during a two-year trial period, would create a generation of young workers with no job security.

Demonstrations by students have so far closed 18 universities and partially blocked 41 others. Trade unions have called for a national strike next Tuesday to try to force the government to reconsider.

Mr Sarkozy's remarks, made in an interview with the weekly magazine Paris Match, are being seen by some French commentators as an attempt to distance himself from Mr de Villepin.

"The wise thing would be for all to agree to a six-month experiment" in order to pull the country out of the crisis, he told the magazine.

Mr de Villepin has refused to withdraw the contract, despite the mounting pressure. He is seeking talks with the unions to amend the law but they have refused.

Mr Sarkozy denied rumours that he intended to leave the government. "One doesn't leave the government on an opportunistic decision," he said. "I have solidarity while being different."

Yesterday saw the fourth student-led protest in eight days with at least 5,000 people marching through the Left Bank. Some demonstrators threw bottles at police.

A 39-year-old demonstrator who was caught up in skirmishes with police on Saturday remained in a coma today.

Mr Sarkozy attracted international criticism, but won the backing of many French people, after the Paris riots last year during which called the urban poor a "rabble" and threatened to "clean them off the streets".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,1737101,00.html

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Following article was published yesterday, in the Israeli bourgeois daily Yedioth Achronoth...

MK Tibi: Jewish racism pays off

Arab-Israeli leaders hit back after poll shows strong anti-Arab attitudes among Israeli Jews. MK Tibi: Racism became mainstream in Israel long time ago; MK Barakeh: Poll results direct result of racist government policies

The reality of anti-Arab racism has become mainstream in Israel a long time ago, Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi said Wednesday in response to a poll showing strong anti-Arab attitudes among Israeli Jews.

Among the survey's highlights: Half of Israelis do not want an Arab to visit their homes, while 40 percent believe Israel should encourage Arab emigration.

"Racists have a long time ago moved from the street to government benches," Tibi added. "Every anti-Arab phenomenon is accepted with understanding within Israeli society."

"Overall, it pays to be racist in Israel because you don't pay a price for it and you can always explain it away by a security need and a self-defense mechanism," Tibi said.

Fellow Arab-Israeli Knesset Member Taleb el-Sana also issued a scathing response, saying the poll is a "stain on democracy, moral bankruptcy, and a complete failure by the Israeli education system."

"In my opinion, this shows we're not talking about a few people but rather, a worrying phenomenon that places question marks over the Zionist movement," he added. "The mosquitoes of this racism apparently grew in the swamp of incitement against the Arab public, as well as the occupation and the settlements. This is definite proof occupation corrupts."

El-Sana added that had a similar poll been released in France, Jews would initiate a media frenzy and claim France was anti-Semitic.

"Yet when it happens at their (Jews) own home, they're quiet, and that's why this is a two-fold failure – they are racist, and they're also not attempting to address their own racism," he said.

'The problem – walls between Jews and Arabs'

Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh said that the poll findings testify to the depth of racism toward Israeli Arabs.

"This is a direct result of the official racist discrimination policy that has been led by all Israeli governments. This policy was extended in light of the occupation, which created Liebermanism, Kahanism, Olmertism and Netanyahuism," he charged.

Shawki Khatib, chairman of the Israeli-Arab Supreme Monitoring Committee, was not surprised to hear the findings.

"These data stem from the walls existing between the Arab and Jewish populations. For a number of years now I have been warning against these walls and against the de-legitimization of the Arab public and its leaders, in which the media take an active role," he said.

"The discourse and the terminology, the establishment and the separation between the Jews and the Arabs, have added more and more walls, and this is the result. When we say that we want to live together we mean it, but the Jewish public up till now did not want to deal with it," he charged.

Khatib went on to say that "the establishment, the public and the education establishment must take the matter into their own hands. If there is a fascist party running in the elections like that of Avigdor Lieberman and Baruch Marzel, and candidates who have already crowned themselves are sucking up to them, what is left to say?"

"In all the countries of the world no one has sucked up to the fascist parties, something that is being done in Israel today. These are data that should concern all those who rebuke the Arab public and now have to rebuke the population. The one who has to take a look at itself is the Israeli population," he claimed.

The Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens of Israel was also not surprised by the findings.

"These data translate to what is happening in practice every day, and we at the Mossawa Center receive reports of these acts of racism on an ongoing basis," said Abir Kopty, the center's media coordinator.

"Whoever thinks that he hates an Arab and that it's okay can hit him and kill him and it will also be okay. These findings are also dangerous for the Jews, who have suffered themselves from racism," she added.

According to Kopty, "racism is unhealthy for any society. Today it's directed against an Arab and tomorrow against anyone else, and that's why every Arab citizen is responsible to fight this racism. This battle is not over the fate of the Arab public, and out of this vision we set up special headquarters to fight racism, made up of Arab and Jewish organizations that are active among various groups. In the next vote, Jewish citizens are responsible for voting against racism. Their vote is part of this struggle."

Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality in Israel, also referred to the poll findings, saying that "ever since the October 2000 incidents, racism has reached worrying dimensions."

Meanwhile, National Jewish Front leader Baruch Marzel welcomed the poll results, saying that "the Israeli public sobered up from the illusions of peace and coexistence. More and more people realize today our views are right."  

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3231156,00.html

MK... Member of the Knesseth, the Israeli parliament

ARABS GO.. Where ever you want.. but leave Israel!

Many peoples in the country are thinking.

The related article Poll: Israeli Jews shun Arabs you can read here

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3231048,00.html

The rightwing Jerusalem Post wrote about the same issue

Survey: 40% favor encouraging Arab emigration

And the so called left liberal Israeli daily Haaretz published following article yesterday

Poll: 68% of Jews would refuse to live in same building as Arab