Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Seoul by Michael Kennedy

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations occurred Saturday in downtown Seoul, directly across from Gwanghwamun Square. The peaceful protests were part of a more considerable Asia-Pacific Region effort to mark the International Day of Action for Gaza on Aug. 3.

Weekly rallies occur on Saturday afternoons in Seoul, by the SK Seorin building at 1 p.m., and outside the nearby Kyobo Bookstore across from Gwanghwamun at 2 p.m.

"SK" in South Korean business stands for "Sunkyong." The Sunkyong Group is one of South Korea's largest family-owned conglomerates.

The International Day of Action for Gaza on Aug. 3 was to show solidarity with Palestinians all around the world who are dedicated to highlighting Israeli crimes and violations of Palestinian prisoners' rights and the continuing genocide in Gaza.

Further protests are expected in Seoul through late August.

* * *

Regarding the large images/posters: Ismail Haniyeh (1962-2024) was a Palestinian politician who was the political leader of Hamas, the organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. He was murdered by Israeli Defense Forces in Tehran (where he was attending the inauguration of the newly-elected President of Iran Masoud) on July 31, 2024. Iran has promised retribution.

I am publishing this article by Michael Kennedy, but want to emphasize that while Netanyahu's government's actions should be condemned as a crime against humanity, we do not support or recognize Hamas in any way. History shows us that everyone has contributed to creating something dreadfully wrong in this region.

However, peace can only be achieved through peaceful means. I believe that the demonstrations are right, even if, after the strong protests against the war in Iraq, my hopes have collapsed.

On February 15, 2003, over 100 million people in almost a thousand cities worldwide expressed their opposition to the 'permanent global war' initiated by then-US President George W. Bush. The demonstration was a collective statement of 'No to war without ifs and buts’. The failure of the movement showed that everything is driven by economic interests that people can hardly resist.

If people take the time to inform themselves and refrain from spreading hateful comments on social media without real knowledge of the reality, perhaps the world would still have a chance for peace… and love. BH

What is 'Project 2025', and why are so many Americans alarmed about it? by Martin Ingber

What is 'Project 2025', and why are so many Americans alarmed about it?

As The New Republic warns, Project 2025 is “a remarkably detailed guide to turning the United States into a fascist’s paradise.”

A manifesto of the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 proposes what is essentially a ‘Christian Nationalist’ vision of the United States, in which the most powerful nation in the world operates based not on Democracy, but on the religious beliefs of Evangelical Christianity.

This concept is completely contrary to the bedrock principles of the U.S. Constitution. It is a plan in which women's reproductive rights are severely limited; all pregnancies must be carried to term, even if that requires coercion or death; married heterosexuality is the only valid form of sexual expression and identity; transgender and gender-nonconforming people do not exist; and much more...

The Affordable Care Act (Health Insurance), Medicare, and Social Security would be cut or eliminated, along with union rights and worker protections.

Project 2025 calls for dramatically expanding the powers of their president; dismantling the Department of Education, the FBI, the Environmental Protection Administration, and many other key agencies that provide for the common good; extravagant new tax cuts for the wealthiest; widespread attacks on women’s legal rights, including divorce, contraception, and access to abortion medication; banning pornography; and replacing thousands of the civil servant specialists that staff government agencies with trump loyalists.

Many Americans are justifiably alarmed by the threat posed by these proposals, as well as the many others that are not referenced here. Donald trump, (a criminal already convicted of rape and 34 other felonies), who advocates many of these same policies, has just urged his supporters to restore him to the Presidency, ominously promising voters that if they elect him this November, “You won’t have to vote any more after that, we’ll fix it…”

#stopproject2025

Martin Ingber

#stopproject2025

Paris by Victor Borst

My camera often brings me to places where I don’t belong, and this time, I got stuck between the riot police and French protesters. I went for a peaceful photo walk in Paris, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by riot police. Of course, I had to take some photographs and get some extra exercise because I had to run a few times not to be hit. A series of protests began in France in 2023 with a demonstration nationwide, organized by opponents of the pension reform bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. The protests didn’t work and the retirement age went up to 64.

11 March 2023

Victor Borst

April 25th, 50 years of Freedom by Mario Barrela

For us Portuguese, April 25th is a very important date. It was on this day that a group of brave men put an end to a tyranny that had lasted for 50 years. I was just over two years old at the time, but according to the accounts of family, friends and many witnesses, those were very difficult times!

Portugal was a poor country, with around 50% of the population living from agriculture and an illiteracy rate of over 75% for women and 70% for men, who were thus deprived of the right to vote. Infant mortality was high.

Culture, such as literature, cinema, theatre, and music, was controlled by the so-called “Blue Pencil,” which was nothing more or less than a form of prior censorship. Everything had to pass through its sieve, which was very difficult. It was all for the benefit of the regime and the interests of the state, thus castrating different ways of thinking.

Anyone who was caught or denounced for speaking out against the state was immediately arrested and violently tortured. Political prisoners were arrested without charge or warrant and subjected to physical and psychological torture, and PIDE (the political police) could decide to extend the time they had to serve in the political prisons of Aljube, Caxias and Peniche.

For these reasons and many more, these men carried out the so-called “Carnation Revolution,” a revolution that had almost no casualties but filled the streets of the whole country with people celebrating. I can’t even imagine such joy and relief.

Returning to the present day, I usually photograph the festivities every year. It’s beautiful to see all the happy people singing the songs that were the password for the start of the revolution, such as “Grândola Vila Morena” by Zeca Afonso or “Depois do Adeu” by Paulo Carvalho. This year was very interesting, because it was a sea of people, much more than in other years (maybe 50 years), but also because there were lots of young people, carrying their placards, carrying their messages, most of them without belonging to political groups or parties.

Finally, I’m proud to see so many young people who won’t let the feat of such heroic men die.

Regardless of whether we have a perfect country or not, I don’t think April should die, and I don’t think April will die.

Mario Barrela

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Lützerath by Jörg Schneider

We all consume too much energy and most of us living in the global north live comparatively a life of luxury without being ready to abstain from our way of life. Thus we are destroying our nature, our climate and our planet.

To satisfy our hunger for energy, RWE - one of the biggest German energy enterprises - excavates brown coal for power generation in an unimaginable huge surface mine, destroying all the localities and the environment around it. And in spite of Germany's agreement on coal exit and knowing the limitation of global warming to the max. 1.5 °C, as fixed in the Paris Climate Agreement, is hardly reachable anymore without appropriate measures, the digging goes on needlessly. There are even some spots from where spectators can have a glance at the open pit just to satisfy their curiosity.

Resistance against coal mining in the area had been ongoing for a significant period of time. In an effort to make a statement and draw attention to the ecological destruction caused by mining, environmental activists took over an abandoned hamlet named Lützerath. Unfortunately, by the start of 2023, the police had cleared the area to allow RWE to continue with their mining operations. As a result, Lützerath was destroyed and no longer exists.

Learn more

The photos here, all shot analogue and scanned afterwards, showcase the ecological disaster caused by RWE and one of the last days of Lützerath. To guarantee the activists‘ wishes to stay unknown, I didn‘t include them in my pics….

Jörg Schneider

Mom I’m coming home…

On 28 February 2023, a head-on collision occurred between two trains south of the Tempe Valley in Greece, about halfway between the Greek towns of Tempi and Evangelismos in the Thessaly region. The collision, involving the InterCity 62 (IC62) passenger train and an intermodal freight train, killed at least 57 people, with an official number of 342 passengers and 10 onboard railway staff on the passenger train and 2 staff on the freight train totalling 354 passengers on both trains.It is the deadliest rail disaster in Greek history. It was discovered that the IC62 passenger train had been allowed to proceed on the wrong track and pass signals at danger despite the presence of the freight train on the same track.

At least 57 people were killed, and 80 others were injured, with 25 of them suffering serious injuries. Of the injured, 66 were hospitalized, with six being admitted to intensive care units. It was difficult to identify some victims because temperatures inside the first carriage had reached up to 1,300 °C (2,370 °F). Six Albanians, two Cypriot students, a Romanian and a Bangladeshi were among the dead. The rail disaster is the deadliest in Greek history.

A year later, no one has taken political responsibility, there are no defendants, no justice has been served, nothing has changed in this sad country that kills its children.

It wasn't an accident, it was murder!

Victims:

1. Γιώργος Μπουρνάζης, 15 ετών

2. Αναστασία Παπαγγελή, 19 ετών

3. Θώμη Πλακιά, 20 ετών

4. Χρύσα Πλακιά, 20 ετών

5. Αναστασία Πλακιά, 20 ετών

6. Αναστάσιος Κουτσόπουλος, 21 ετών

7. Μαρία Θωμαή Ψαροπούλου, 21 ετών

8. Φραντσέσκα Μπέζα, 21 ετών

9. Γιώργος Παπάζογλου, 22 ετών

10. Ελένη Τσίντζα, 22 ετών

11. Ιορδάνης Αδαμάκης, 22 ετών

12. Κλαούντια Λάτα, 22 ετών

13. Αφροδίτη Τσιωμά, 23 ετών

14. Αγάπη Τσακλίδου, 23 ετών

15. Ιφιγένεια Μήτσκα, 23 ετών

16. Άγγελος Τηλκερίδης, 23 ετών

17. Ντένις Ρούτσι, 23 ετών

18. Κυπριανός Παπαϊωάννου, 23 ετών

19. Νικήτας Καραθεόδωρος, 23 ετών

20. Αναστασία Αδαμίδου, 24 ετών

21. Καλλιόπη Πορφυρίδου, 24 ετών

22. Δήμητρα-Ευαγγελία Καπετάνιου, 25 ετων

23. Ελισάβετ Χατζηβασιλείου, 26 ετών

24. Δημήτρης Ασλανίδης, 26 ετών

25. Νίκος Ναλμπάντης, 27 ετών

26. Σωτήρης Καραγεωργίου, 28 ετών

27. Ελπίδα Χούπα, 28 ετών

28. Γιάννης Καρασάββας, 28 ετών

29. Δημήτρης Οικού, 29 ετών

30. Παναγιώτης Χατζηχαραλάμπους, 29 ετών

31. Σοφία-Ελένη Ταχμαζίδου, 32 ετών

32. Δημήτρης Μασσάλης, 32 ετών

33. Βάιος Βλάχος, 34 ετών

34. Αθηνά Κατσάρα 34 ετών

35. Μοχάμεντ Εντρίς, 34 ετών

36. Σπύρος Βούλγαρης, 35 χρονών

37. Ιονέλ Κουλέλα, 35 ετών

38. Λένα Δουρμίκα, 39 ετών

39. Βάγια Μπλέκα, 42 ετών

40. Ιωάννης Βουτσινάς, 48 ετών

41. Ανδρέας Παυλίδης, 49 ετών

42. Μαρία Μουρτζάκη, 51 ετών

43. Βασίλειος-Κυριάκος Κώττας, 52 ετών

44. Βαγγέλης Μπουρνάζης, 54 ετών

45. Βασιλική Χλωρού, 55 ετών

46. Μαρία Εγούτ, 55 ετών

47. Γιάννης Τζοβάρας, 55 ετών

48. Χρυσούλα Κουκαριώτη, 56 ετών

49. Μαρία Μιάρη, 56 ετών

50. Γιώργος Φωτόπουλος, 57 ετών

51. Γιώργος Κουτσούμπας, 59 ετών

52. Παβλίνι Μπόζο, 62 ετών

53. Γιάννης Καριώτης, 63 ετών

54. Γιώργος Κυριακίδης, 67 ετών

55. Ευαγγελία Κουκαριώτη, 63 ετών

56. Σύριος μετανάστης ο οποίος ταυτοποιήθηκε μέσω δείγματος DNA που εστάλη από τον αδελφό του από την Ολλανδία.

57. Εριέττα, 23 ετών αγνοείται.

George Koulouridis

But the people are demonstrating again by Neta Dekel

The State of Israel is traumatized. The year of 2023 was a terrible year that began with a government attempt to make a regimen revolution, and continued with the terrible massacre on October 7th. 1,200 civilians were massacred. Women, men, children, the elderly. They were murdered, raped, burned and severely abused. 250 civilians were abducted from their homes, half of whom are still being held in terrible conditions in the Gaza Strip. Since then, we are at war. The reasons for the war are to release the abductees and restore security to the residents. There is no more justified war. After all, on October 6th there was no war, and it was forced upon us.

But the people are demonstrating again. This time the goal is to bring about early elections and replace the government that caused so much damage to the people and the country. Replace the government that refuses to accept responsibility for the greatest failure in the history of the State of Israel. A government that puts its own good before the good of the people.

The people are demonstrating, and the police are more violent than ever, in the spirit of the government. Every Saturday, many thousands take to the streets and cry out their pain.

Neta Dekel

Glasgow Anti-War Demonstrations by Cameron Scott

**Glasgow Anti-War**

**by Cameron Scott**

What happened on October 7th and thereafter need no explanation from me here, nor does the continuing wave of demonstrations that continues to take place in cities around the world.

Traditionally a politically left leaning society, there has long been strong support in Glasgow for Palestine and its people, indeed Bethlehem is one of Glasgow’s twin cities. Therefore, it was inevitable that the city centre streets would be host to another series of rallies and marches, and it was also inevitable that I would be there documenting once again, in the same manner that I had done so for virtually every other major demonstration that had occurred there in recent years.

Except this time, it was different. This wasn’t a local or even national issue; people were reacting to events that took place two time zones away. Also, it wasn’t new, sadly the latest chapter in an ongoing conflict, one that had been going on long enough for the polarisation caused by support for either side to permeate the very fabric of our society, and this polarisation reared to the surface once again very quickly.

In Glasgow and the West of Scotland we have our own religious divide, some of whose followers find association with either side of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, so it wasn’t long before this made its way to the terraces of both rival Glasgow football clubs, and subsequently shaped opinion within some sections of the public.

The first few demonstrations were fairly well attended, and trouble free. There were a few situations that made me feel uncomfortable, but generally I was able to go about my usual business of documenting in my own way. As the weeks progressed the numbers grew and the police started to display a bit more opposition, especially when the static rallies turned into impromptu and unauthorised marches through the city centre. This may have been driven by the increasingly hostile language used by the UK government, describing them as ‘hate marches’, although it is worth mentioning that the Scottish Parliament, led by First Minister Humza Yousaf, whose wife and in-laws are Palestinian, formally called for a ceasefire and the unconditional release of Israeli hostages on the 21st of November. Some arrests were made, and one of the main organisers, Mick Napier, a seasoned pro-Palestinian campaigner, was eventually banned from attending any demonstration in Scotland as part of his bail conditions. The tone of the demonstrations changed too, particularly in light of the increasing international calls for a ceasefire and the refusal of UK politicians in London to back this call. Additionally, companies located in Glasgow that were associated with the arms trade found themselves the target of localised demonstrations.

The photographs taken, some of which are shown here, and the archive that I continue to build are simply a documentary record of these demonstrations that continue to take place, made in my own style - a record of reactionary events where I live. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, there are political messages in the placards shown in my images, but that’s the nature of this type of photography.

For some people this is understandably a very emotional subject, and the polarisation that I referred to surfaced in many ways, particularly on social media which is by its very nature global in reach. Images shared on the usual platforms attracted some particularly unsavoury comments. I wasn’t alone in this; other photographers suffered from the same and it became a topic of discussion amongst us at the start of events. Rationality seemed to go out of the window, the politics, and events behind the subject matter of the imagery was the object of opinionated commentary rather than the photography itself. I wasn’t using hashtags, so this was from photographers who had chosen to follow me. They were using my images as a platform for their own viewpoints, in a manner that most likely broke community rules due to the language used, and I found this unacceptable. I went from deleting comments, to blocking offenders and then posting the images with the comments turned off. I was essentially dealing with a form online abuse, which has now thankfully stopped.

I’ve mentioned the polarisation related to this subject, so where do I stand on it? I’m a socialist and pacifist, I’m against violence, religious bigotry, indeed intolerance of any kind. I particularly abhor leaders who hide behind any reason to justify violence, where usually the most vulnerable disproportionally suffer the consequences. Everyone has the right to safe sanctuary in a place they call home, where they can live a meaningful life. Hopefully the need for these demonstrations will stop soon, but that looks unlikely given the recent events in Yemen. Hopefully, peace will be given chance.

cameron scott

Protest 2023-12-30

The demonstration at Habima in Tel Aviv was marked by loud cries, sadness, and pain as people protested against the government.

Our democracy is under attack

Neta Dekel

"ACT NOW" by Alain van Hille

BRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Police said about 20,000 people protested in the Belgian capital on Sunday to demand more action to fight global warming as delegates from some 200 countries met in Dubai for the United Nation's COP28 climate conference.

Marching to the beat of drums, protesters waved banners saying "ACT NOW" - the "O" stylised to resemble the Earth on fire - and "There is no Planet B".

"We think it's really important to raise everyone's awareness, especially the children's, about the future of the planet and about leaders who don't always listen to what's going on," said a protester who attended with his son and gave his name as John.

alain van hille

flickr

Scottish Trades Union Congress St Andrews Day Parade 2023 by Cameron Scott

St Andrews Day falls on the 30th of November and is Scotland’s official national day. Each year, on the last Saturday in November, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) holds its St Andrews Day anti-racism and anti-fascism parade through the centre of Glasgow. This year the procession, headed by a particularly energetic drum corps, started at Glasgow Green and finished with a rally at The University of Strathclyde. Over one thousand participants took part, representing trade unions, various community action groups and the Sheku Bayou Family Justice Campaign – a group dedicated to fighting for justice following the death of Sheku Bayou in police custody in May 2015. Amongst the dignitaries taking part in the parade this year were STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer and leader of the Scottish Labour Party Anas Sarwar, both of whom were in the group that headed the procession, and the rally at the end of the parade was addressed by various speakers, including Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf.

I missed that rally, opting instead to head to the nearby Glasgow Gallery of Photography for some respite from the bitter cold and, more importantly, to view and take some pictures of Progressive gang member George Koulouridis’ image taking pride of place in the current Masters Of Street Photography exhibition – a much better use of my time before heading for the bus home.

Cameron Scott

A house to live by Delfim Correlo

On September 30, thousands took to the streets in various cities across Portugal.

On a scorching weekend, they preferred the street to the beach, demanding that effective measures should be taken due to the exponential rise in the cost of housing.

Voices from the crowd shouted slogans such as "Peace, Bread, Health, Housing", "Housing is a right, without it nothing is right", "Millions for the banks, pennies for the people", or "A house is for living in, not for speculation".

In recent years, housing prices and rents have skyrocketed to unbearable levels for young people and families.

A growing demand for housing, with a significant component of foreigners (seduced by the tourist side of our country) and with greater purchasing power, seems to be the trigger- in the opinion of many - for growing real estate speculation in a market that (as is being proved) lacks regulation.

I dare say that in the last 5/6 years, in cities like Porto and Lisbon, housing prices have almost doubled, especially in the historic downtown. At the same time, for those earning the minimum wage (€740.83), the most they can afford is to rent a room with someone... since in the main urban centres a single room in an apartment can cost up to €500. Migrant families make up this group.

In addition, the rise in interest rates has further increased the pressure on families, now facing increasing mortgage payments, who do not understand the goodness of such a measure and its potential effect on inflation which is taking too much time to be seen....

These events took place one day after the president of the republic promulgated a package of government measures (“More Houses”), which effect everyone seems to doubt.

The photos were taken in Porto.

Delfim Correlo

Late Summer Scottish Public Service Disputes by Cameron Scott

After a relatively quite summer, unions here in Scotland who represent various public sector roles have been taking to the streets once again to demonstrate and campaign against proposed service cuts, job losses and below inflation pay awards.

Staff at Glasgow’s museums and galleries, represented by Unison, are facing a 30% reduction in positions and have been campaigning each week since August at various locations across the city. Additionally, at the end of August the Fire Brigades Union held a rally in George Square to protest against an £11 million package of cuts that would see appliances removed from some stations and also introduce a change to water rescue services, both of which would see a combined reduction of around 200 jobs.

The city’s parking attendants, represented by the GMB and Unite unions, held a one-day strike on the day that the Scotland and England national football teams met in Glasgow to celebrate 150 years of rivalry. The pickets marked the occasion by wearing masks representing both of the respective government leaders, while the Scottish football team marked the occasion by losing again.

Last but by no means least, lecturers and staff at the city’s colleges and universities have been campaigning against a proposed trade off between jobs and salaries whereby any pay awards granted will be offset by job losses, a situation that the Unite, Unison and Educational Institute of Scotland unions cannot accept for their members. This culminated in a day of action where various picket lines marched through the city to a rally held at the usual location in Buchanan Street.

From a photography perspective this was business as usual for me, essentially picking up from where I had left off in the Spring after covering the previous period of industrial unrest for nine months. However, it was nice to catch up with some of the friends that I had made during that campaign and indeed make some new ones. I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing more of them in the weeks and months ahead.

Cameron Scott

March to End Fossil Fuels By Martin Ingber

Tens of thousands of activists, demanding an end to the use of polluting fossil fuels, marched through the streets of New York City to the United Nations on Sept. 17 to mark climate summit week.

In addition to the many New Yorkers concerned about the growing climate crisis, the demonstrators included participants from around the country and around the globe; with groups representing Native Americans and indigenous peoples from throughout the Americas in the forefront of the march.

One of the more striking features of the crowd was the great numbers of passionate young people involved. They carried signs saying ‘Our House is on Fire’, ‘Fossil Fuels are Destroying Our Future’, and ‘Fossil Fuels Kill’; along with messages demanding more progressive action from U.S. President Joe Biden. The procession, estimated at 75,000 strong, featured a colorful and creative array of thousands of hand-painted signs and homemade banners containing variations on the urgent theme of ’Save Our Planet!’

This protest, along with others in various countries around the world, was said to be the largest such event since the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic. It follows a year of unprecedented wildfires, increasingly catastrophic natural disasters, and the overall hottest summer on record. Global warming, the product of greenhouse gasses and emissions from fossil fuels (and long predicted by scientists), is now widely understood to be an existential threat to the future of human life on Earth. And yet, the world continues to be powered by the pollution of fossil fuels …while powerful oil and gas companies resist progress as they reap record profits.

**Bread & Puppet Theater at Climate demonstration**

Mohawk Indian bikers

Martin Ingber

Attack on the Portuguese NHS by Mario Barrela

Last Saturday I went to photograph the demonstration in defence of the SNS (national health service), which of course was joined by the teachers, etc.

In this particular case, we (the Portuguese) are increasingly feeling

The attack on something we hold dear. Along with education and culture, I think these are the most important things that a modern, civilised society should have.

Over time, we have seen the NHS deteriorate. With the ageing and relocation of doctors and nurses, we have around 1.7 million users without a family doctor, an increase of 30 per cent compared to 2022. But that's not all, we have obstetrics wards in hospitals closed with mothers-to-be having to travel many kilometres, long queues of patients waiting for operations, hours and hours of waiting in public hospitals, doctors and nurses pressured to work overtime, etc.

We pay into the social security system throughout our lives, until someone says: It's better to have health insurance so you can go to private hospitals. Then what?

Pensioners with all the illnesses that come with a lifetime of work, lacking money or health insurance, go to health centres at dawn, uncertain whether they'll be able to get appointments... So!?!?

But the demonstrations won't stop there, education is on the rise too and at the rate interest rates and inflation are rising, you'll be hearing more from me about my beloved Portugal.

Mario Barrela

Omas gegen Rechts by Michael C. Geiss

Magdeburg (GER) 29.07.2023, Thousands took to the streets to protest against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Friday and Saturday as the party held a convention to choose its candidates for European parliamentary elections next year.

Protesters outside the conference venue in the city of Magdeburg waved banners with messages like "Stand together against right-wing hate" or "Nazis out".

Omas gegen Rechts was founded in November 2017 in Vienna. While Oma literally translates to “granny” in English, the word is generally used in the German-speaking world to refer to old women. Today there are more than 70 Omas gegen Rechts groups active across Austria, and more than 100 groups in Germany.

“We are the postwar generation—we know firsthand that societies can change and that there is power in speaking up,” Salzer and Scholl wrote. “We want to be a megaphone for others. By going out into the streets and opening our mouths, we challenge the cliché of the old, defenceless granny. No one reckoned on assertive old women like us.”

Omas

Michael C. Geiss

Our democracy is under attack by Neta Dekel

The Stage, Tel Aviv. Hundreds of people gather for joint prayer, organized by Yaya Pink.

Women, men, without difference of religion, race and sex. Preference or skin color.

Beautiful, optimistic, united people.

Among the speakers - rabbi, rava, lesbian and settler.

The goal - there is a different Judaism. Our Judaism. No one has a monopoly on Judaism.

29 September 2023

21 September 2023

**18 September**

**Another Day, more protests. 9 months. We will not surrender.**

Today is a fateful day for the state of israel The Supreme Court meets in full composition (15 judges) to discuss the cancellation of an amendment to the Basic Law (Ma'in Chapter in the Israeli Constitution) that harms the court's ability to protect citizens from governmental heartache and extremely unreasonable decisions and actions. The biggest danger we face is that the israel government will not accept the Supreme Court ruling, unless it stops in its favor, creating a constitutional crisis.

Yesterday, many citizens of israel came out to show support for the Supreme Court, making a clear statement that israel stands behind the Supreme Court and accepts all its decisions, and that the Supreme Court must make decisions bravely, independently and in accordance with the spirit of law, the Book of Independence and the principles of democracy.

12 September 2023

A weekend of protest march in the north. 40 degrees, walking on the road. Tough.

But the feeling is good, full of hope. The people started to walk... And ash to stop with the people that go - women, men, elderly and children, students and family owners. Everybody.

A weekend of protest marches in the north. 40 degrees, walking on the road. Tough. But the feeling is good, full of hope. The people started walking... and there was no stopping the people walking - women, men, old people and children, students and those with families. Everyone.

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Alternative builders - Shoham

Pictures of the patrol of the protest photographers that were shown in Kaplan... The photos of the protest's photographers squad from the last 3 weeks.

Eastern.

Day Tuesday 17 August - Levels. Yalla Tikva

**by Neta Dekel**

Our democracy is under attack

32 straight weeks of protests and Battle for our democracy is alive. The leader and the people are on the streets. stronger than ever. 13 August

**Shikma Bressler - the leader of the protests**

Democracy on the line... Saturday 5 August in Tel Aviv

Israel is facing a new and challenging era. Our democracy is under attack. The attacker is the right-winged government that was elected 8 months ago.

The Justice minister and his supporters declared a series of laws that will lead to a revolution in the supreme court, in order to take control and give the government unlimited force, without Legal supervision on unreasonable decisions.

Hundreds of thousands of people went out to demonstrate in the streets, all over Israel, in order to stop the process.

But, last week the Parliament approved the first law. The protest movement has lost the first battle.

But we will never surrender. We will continue fighting in order to keep our democracy alive and liberal !

I have joined a team of photographers that goes out to the streets in order to follow and document the protests, all the time, all over the country. The photos and videos will be used for publishing in the media by the protest leaders.

Wednesday, 2/8/2023. Marching from the Declaration of Independence in Rothschild - towards the Tel Aviv Court:

Thursday (July 27th, 2023). The images show the pain of the people, the shout of the people.

The cry of the people rises from the streets with an intensity not heard before in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of worried and frightened people are fighting for their future and the future of their children… click on

Neta Dekel

Israel at a crossroads by Corinne Spector

Israel is now fighting for its life: Will this country stay on course with the continued, common acceptance of the Proclamation of Independence it set when it was established in 1948, or will Israel now make a sharp turn away, toward religion, a possible civil war and chaos?
It seems there is a third option as well, as happened in our distant past, that is a division into two nations: Judea -- a country that is based on religious, dictatorial laws of Judaism --and Israel, a country belonging to the Jewish people that maintains equality among its citizens, whether of different religions, races or genders. It will continue to be run by democratic laws, with a separation between religion and politics, between "Church and State".

Until now, Israel has somehow been run with both democratic and religious institutions, but now the mass demonstrations have proven that we cannot continue in this manner, for a variety of reasons.
Members of the Knesset who are now in power, have determined that since they were elected by a majority, they can now dispense with the "Rule of Reason". This rule of reason, developed by the British legal system in the 16th century, stated that the courts must have the ability to critique the institutions of government. These critiques have generally protected minority rights, among all human rights.
But the Opposition, says that democracy means equality – that is, that every segment of society has an equal say in how our society will look and function.
Around the world, Judaism has many strains and stripes but the Rabbinical Courts in Israel have determined that their Orthodox way is the one that must prevail; all other types of Judaism are secondary or even irrelevant.
If so, the first victim of a religious country would be women and their rights, as is often seen in religious Islamic countries. In Israel, many women's human rights are already in the hands of the Rabbinical courts and these courts wish to expand their power into all areas of life. For instance, will women in divorce cases be seen and heard? Will women be allowed in various institutions of higher learning? Already, women have been removed from councils dealing with women's rights; it is absurd and insulting, but also frightening!
A religious country also rapidly becomes a racist one because it determines who is better or higher in the pecking order, and who is less so. And because religions of various kinds often disagree with the very existence of LGBTQ+ people, these groups will also be harmed in the near future.
Human rights in Israel have already been bashed - those who are currently in the government regularly attempt to silence those who disagree with them.

If this government really represents the majority but is uninterested in equality, what about other religions that have always existed here – will they still be able to practice their beliefs freely?
Many individuals and groups are now refusing to be a party to what they view as an undemocratic society. These include influential people from within the police force, the army, the medical field, hi-tech, and even industry – many are refusing to continue their work, and are joining others who are giving their energies to voluntary efforts fighting what they see as dire changes in Israeli governance. All of these citizens can be found protesting, for more than six straight months attendance at Saturday evening protests. Now they have
begun to demonstrate on hot Tuesday mornings as well, standing in intersections and snarling traffic all over the country.
These demonstrations are of course problematic for the smooth flow of traffic, but are also emblematic of Israel at this crossroads, and in the chaos, no one knows where we are headed.

July 2023

Corinne Spector

twenty five weeks, twenty five demonstrations by Baruch Gian

In the last six months, Israel is under attack by the government to change the liberal and democratic rules. More than half of the population in Israel is afraid that Israel will be more similar to Hungary, Poland and Turkey, where there is authoritarianism.
Here are some pictures from the protest against the government from Jerusalem, near the government buildings, and from Tel Aviv where every Saturday night has a huge demonstration.

Baruch Gian

The commemoration of 13 February 1945 – 2011 by Michael Geiss

The commemoration of 13 February 1945 remembers the air raids on Dresden in February 1945 that killed up to 25,000 people.

In 2011, a commemoration ceremony was also held in Dresden, which was then abused by neo-Nazis, who had travelled from all over Germany, for their propaganda on Saturday 19 February 2011.

Only a strong police presence was able to prevent the neo-Nazis and Antifa from meeting… and in 2023? Same procedure as every year!