Friday, December 14, 2007

Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions

I just added a 'widget' to my website. You will see it to the left side, at the bottom of my archives of past posts.

This is a link to the website for the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions. One of the most horrible aspects to what is happening in Israel and Palestine is the destruction of Palestinian homes by Israel. It is a practice that is justified for many reasons, but there is simply no justification for any one's home (built on their own land) to be destroyed.

Israel sometimes destroys Palestinian homes to punish families of suicide bombers or other engaged in violence. Imagine the equivalent in America. Someone commits a crime, and their mother's home, or their brother's home is demolished with bulldozers by the government. Sound crazy? It is.

Israel sometimes destroys Palestinian (or Arab Israeli) homes because they are built without the proper 'permits.' These 'permits' are almost impossible to get, because Israel does not want permanent structures to be built by Arabs, particularly in areas where Israel eventually wants to take the land for its own use and its own people. Permits, when available, are impossibly expensive and take many years to get. Often times, Arab families resort to building for their growing families, and face demolition orders all along the way. I have friends who have demolition orders against their homes as we speak. The crime? Owning land in contested ares where Israel would rather no Arabs remain. Demolitions are meant to demoralize and frustrate people until they simply 'give up' and leave.

The Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions is a great organization committed to fighting against this inhumane and barbaric practice. Please check out their website, either via the links I've included in this article, or via the 'widget' I have permanently installed on my blog. You can simply click on the image to be taken to their website.

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