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sanash t1_iu59zqk wrote

Book is called "A Little Piece of Ground":

> Twelve-year-old Karim Aboudi and his family are trapped in their Ramallah home by a strict curfew. In response to a Palestinian suicide bombing, the Israeli military subjects the West Bank town to a virtual siege. Meanwhile, Karim, trapped at home with his teenage brother and fearful parents, longs to play football with his friends.

> When the curfew ends, he and his friend discover an unused patch of ground that’s the perfect site for a football pitch. Nearby, an old car hidden intact under bulldozed building makes a brilliant den. But in this city there’s constant danger, even for schoolboys. And when Israeli soldiers find Karim outside during the next curfew, it seems impossible that he will survive.

This is literally the reality of the situation in the region.

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Bagdana t1_iu8kjy8 wrote

> This is literally the reality of the situation in the region.

Where can I read more about these curfews Israel are imposing?

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DavidMalony t1_iu5bgz8 wrote

Garbage propaganda headline.

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AudibleNod t1_iu5ep8m wrote

>Roz Rothstein, CEO of the Israel education organization StandWithUs and a daughter of Holocaust survivors, said assigning the book promotes “propaganda that dehumanizes Israelis and paints a distorted picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

OK. Do you have another YA novel that you can provide to illuminate the Israeli position? I've read more than one Holocaust themed book in middle school and high school. Anti-Semitism blows and we should all shout it down when it comes up. But there is a historical record of abuse on the part of the IDF that cannot be ignored. And certainly can be grounds for a YA book (no pun intended).

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[deleted] t1_iu675s8 wrote

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HanaBothWays t1_iu6c1v4 wrote

Why can’t middle schoolers learn that the Israeli government, like many governments past and present, oppresses an ethnic minority within its own borders? If middle schoolers can understand similar situations in other countries without a problem, why can’t they understand it in Israel?

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Bagdana t1_iu8l5ve wrote

> oppresses an ethnic minority within its own borders?

The book is set in Ramallah. This has nothing to do with minorities within Israel borders. Ethnic minorities in Israel have full civil rights and they are not subjected to oppression or legal discrimination by Israel. And the oppression this book alleges is completely detached from current reality. When for the past 20 years has Israel imposed curfews as a response to terror attacks?

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HanaBothWays t1_iu8ldqv wrote

If you look on Google Maps, what country is Ramallah in?

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Bagdana t1_iu8mhdm wrote

On Google Maps, there's a stipulated border between the West Bank and Israel. But interesting to see that you are taking the Israeli right-wing position that all the territory belongs to Israel

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HanaBothWays t1_iu8msvn wrote

Oh, give me a break. It’s certainly Israel’s position that the West Bank belongs to Israel and in every practical sense they treat it that way.

Gaza also in theory does not belong to Israel, but Israel feels free to decide what people and things can and can’t go into Gaza, and to drop bombs on it.

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Bagdana t1_iu8orv5 wrote

> Oh, give me a break. It’s certainly Israel’s position that the West Bank belongs to Israel and in every practical sense they treat it that way.

No it's not. The Israeli position is that it is under occupation. They certainly don't treat it as if it is part of the country. Then they would annex it and give all residents Israeli citizenship, like they did in Golan and Eastern Jerusalem.

> Gaza also in theory does not belong to Israel, but Israel feels free to decide what people and things can and can’t go into Gaza, and to drop bombs on it.

So having a controlled border with a territory means that the territory belongs to you? Of course Israel will not let materials used for weapons etc. go to Hamas. A weapons blockade is fully legal. Around 300 truckloads of food, medical supplies etc. go into Gaza every day from Israel. Egypt also has a border, but does not allow goods through their crossing. Does this mean that Gaza belongs to Egypt?

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HanaBothWays t1_iu8p8sr wrote

The Israeli position is that the West Bank is under occupation like the Russian position is that what they’re doing in Ukraine is a “special operation” and not an invasion.

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Bagdana t1_iu8pupf wrote

The Israeli position on this matter is completely in line with the international community. No country recognises that the West Bank is part of Israel. There is a consensus that the territory is under belligerent occupation, or תפיסה לוחמתית in Hebrew.

You are the one promoting the Israeli hard-right position that the West Bank is part of Israel...

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HanaBothWays t1_iu8q3cn wrote

Israel promotes the position that the West Bank is part of Israel all the time by bulldozing Palestinian houses there and allowing settlements to be built there. It doesn’t matter what they say in theory or what I think it is. The bulldozers and the brick and mortar are what matter. I have spoken.

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Bagdana t1_iu8r3w5 wrote

Israel demolishes some structures that are built without permits. That's part of their obligations as an occupying power. And they do this for Jewish outposts as well, particularly if they are built on private Palestinian land. They have demolished around 50 Jewish outposts, such as Amona, Netiv Ha'avot, Homesh, Migron, Maoz Esther, Kumi Ori, Evyatar, Ulpana etc.

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HanaBothWays t1_iu8sjsn wrote

> Israel demolishes some structures that are built without permits. That’s part of their obligations as an occupying power.

Whaaaat a bunch of baloney.

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[deleted] t1_iu6v1vx wrote

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HanaBothWays t1_iu6vka6 wrote

I’m also Jewish. Tying up the fate of the Jewish Diaspora with the state of Israel has not done us any favors. We can, should, and must draw a distinction between ourselves and the State of Israel. Part of that means dealing honestly with Israel’s human rights abuses as we ought to with America’s or any other country’s.

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[deleted] t1_iu6xxep wrote

[deleted]

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HanaBothWays t1_iu705ty wrote

Yeah, I don’t, because “Jews worldwide are not affiliated with the State of Israel and do not unconditionally support it” is not something that a child picks up naturally with age, like fine motor skills or vocabulary or puberty.

It’s a concept they can be taught at 11 as they are taught about Israel’s misdeeds at 11. Otherwise your argument that they are too young at 11 could apply at any age.

Besides, do we worry this much about stirring up anti-Muslim bigotry when we talk about human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia or Iran to young people? No we do not. Israel is not special.

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Prestigious_Main_364 t1_iu6d9gg wrote

Are we squabbling over a book that shows the realities of an apartheid state? It’s like saying a book that exposes the extreme racism in 20th century South Carolina is anti-south and anti-south Carolina. It’s ridiculous, and if we really have call it anti-Israel then maybe we shouldn’t be supporting Israel

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Mish61 t1_iu8g3fx wrote

You can stand against the Israeli government and not be anti-Semitic.

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