It was a lachrymose day today

Truly Journalism has no borders, as illustrated by a number of current news items. Journalists, whether Western or Iranian, play such a vital role in arousing our pity for human suffering throughout the world:

ISNA: "Iran asks the world to prevent murder of Palestinians by Zionist regime"

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman expressing serious concern over the continuation of the Zionist regime's crime against defenseless nation of Palestine condemned targeting innocent people of Gaza Strip.

Mohammad Ali Husseini pointing to the economic blockade of Gaza Strip creating a "human catastrophe" in that region called the murder of Palestinians and innocent people by air and missile attacks of the Zionist regime the "aim and result of the Annapolis conference."[...]

Times Online: "Guantanamo detainee, 45, is a shadow of his former self as he returns to family":

With his long grey hair and white beard, Jamil el-Banna looked much older than his 45 years yesterday as he tasted freedom for the first time since his return from Guantanamo Bay.

Mr el-Banna was released on bail by a judge pending a legal fight against extradition to Spain on allegations that he belonged to a terrorist cell linked to the September 11 attacks. He had been held on a European arrest warrant, issued within hours of his return to Britain from the American internment camp, and brought before City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Lawyers for the Spanish Government alleged that Mr el-Banna was a member the Islamic Alliance, allied to al-Qaeda, and should stand trial in Madrid. If extradited and convicted, he could be jailed for up to 15 years.

District Judge Timothy Workman released Mr el-Banna on stringent bail conditions stipulating that he reside at his home address in Dollis Hill, northwest London, observe a curfew and wear an electronic tag.

The actress Vanessa Redgrave provided surety for half the £50,000 bail for Mr el-Banna and a further £15,000 as surety for the bail of Omar Deghayes, 37, who followed Mr el-Banna into the dock. Mr el-Banna, a Jordanian-Palestinian, emerged from court to thank the tens of thousands of Britons who had campaigned for his release from Camp Delta. “Thank you very much everybody, my solicitor, the British people, the British Government for your help,” he said. “I’m tired. I want to go home and see my children.” [...]

Washington Post: "For Israel's Arab Citizens, Isolation and Exclusion":

[...] Arabs and Jews study in separate schools in Israel -- the Arab system receives fewer resources -- and learn Israeli history in different ways. Israel's Jewish education minister, Yuli Tamir, ordered this year that Arab third-grade textbooks note that Arab citizens call Israel's 1948 War of Independence "the catastrophe." Many Jewish lawmakers reacted with scorn.

Except for a relatively small Druze population, Arabs are excluded also from military service mandatory for all but ultra-Orthodox Jews, an essential shared experience of Israeli life and a traditional training ground for future political leaders. Arab lawmakers have lined up now against a new proposal for Arabs to perform "national service" in lieu of time in the army, an institution they hold responsible for enforcing the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"We have lost the Arab citizens of Israel," said Amir Sheleg, 63, who is head of security for the Jewish community of Nir Zevi on Israel's coastal plain. "They no longer want to be a part of the state, and I am sorry for it." [...]

Power Line's Paul Mirengoff notes:

The story is . . . devoid of context. Wilson notes (correctly) that relations between Arab and Jewish Israelis have deteriorated, but he never considers whether this might be caused by anything other than malice on the part of the Jews. In my view, the deterioration dates back to the first intifada. During that era, I happened to be in Israel when Israeli Arabs picked up, but then murdered, a Jewish soldier who was hitch-hiking back to duty after a weekend at home. Hitch-hiking is a way of life for young soldiers, and they had never hesitated to accept rides from Arabs who were identifiable as Israeli by virtue of their license plates. The murder of the young soldier sent shock waves through Israel. Along with other less dramatic but similarly unprecedented acts of hatred, it helped usher in the new, less happy relationship that Wilson describes.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Gitmo