IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has pulled out of a prestigious Jerusalem awards ceremony, citing “distress” at recent events in Israel and saying through a representative that she is uncomfortable with travel to Israel at this time.
on April 20, 2018
Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians on the Gaza-Israel border on Friday, bringing to 35 the death toll in recent weeks among Palestinian protesters demanding the right to return to their former homeland.
on April 20, 2018
Natalie Portman has decided against receiving an honor in Israel and canceled her trip to accept the prize, according to the organization honoring the actress. The Genesis Prize, which honors notable individuals "who inspire others through their dedication to the Jewish community and Jewish values," has canceled its annual ceremony in Israel in June following the actress' apparent decision to not take part in the event.
on April 19, 2018
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a Kansas law designed to punish people who boycott Israel is an unconstitutional denial of free speech. The ruling is a significant victory for free speech rights because the global campaign to criminalize, or otherwise legally outlaw, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has been spreading rapidly in numerous political and academic centers in the U.S.
on January 31, 2018
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Kansas law barring state contractors from participating in boycotts against Israel, saying the state law violates their free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree wrote in his decision that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the "First Amendment protects the right to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law."
on January 30, 2018
This month, the Israeli government announced that activists affiliated with 20 organizations, including my organization Codepink, would be banned from entering Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories because of our support for the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. As a Jew, this causes me tremendous sadness because I have a lifetime attachment to Israel and Palestine.
on January 15, 2018
We write in support of Lorde, who made public her decision not to perform in Israel and has now been branded a bigot in a full page advertisement in the Washington Post. Shmuley Boteach, the author and promoter of the advert, supports Israel’s illegal settlements and wrote last month on Breitbart to thank Donald Trump for “electrifying the world” with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in defiance of international law.
on January 5, 2018
Recently, the Kansas Commission of Education barred a math teacher from a program for training other teachers because she refused to sign a pledge certifying that she is “not engaged in boycotting Israel.” The teacher happens to be a Mennonite, and she supports a resolution passed by her church denomination opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The resolution urges the boycotting of “products associated with acts of violence or policies of military occupation, including items produced in [the Israeli] settlements.”
on November 9, 2017
When Zionist militias forced my grandmother, Rasmiyyah, and her family out of their home in Safad at gunpoint during the 1948 Nakba, the process of settler-colonialism that was propelled by the Balfour Declaration and that culminated in ethnic cleansing became more than just a national tragedy for the indigenous people of Palestine. It became personal.
on November 2, 2017