I posted that story to illustrate the racism in Israeli society from the
beginning of the State of Israel. And this was not racism toward Palestinians.
It was racism toward Jews from the Middle East, Jews who were not of European
descent. That's what I think is the most important take away, not government
secrecy.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2017 11:56 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Thousands in Jerusalem protest abduction of
Yemenite babies following disclosure some were experimented on
If true, this can only be described as Obscene. Cruel and heartless disregard
of people, regardless of any attempt to justify it.
When such behavior is conducted or even approved by Government, it raises the
question, How much secrecy will the People tolerate.
Abusing the People's trust demands open disclosure of all Government
activities. If such disregard of human rights are tolerated within a nation's
borders, how can the citizens trust their governments treatment of the rights
of people in other nations?
But we need not look to Israel for examples of government secrecy and hidden
disregard of people's rights. We have an even bigger problem right under our
American noses.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/27/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Speaking of Nazism!
Miriam
Mondoweiss
Thousands in Jerusalem protest abduction of Yemenite babies following
disclosure some were experimented on Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronenon
June 26, 201726 Comments
The surviving relatives of Yemenite Jewish children that families says
were abducted by staff at state-run medical facilities and illicitly
sold into adoption protest in Jerusalem. The demonstrators called for
the Israeli government to investigate the alleged systematic
kidnappings known as the Yemenite Children Affair, June 21, 2017.
(Photo: Shiraz Grinbaum and Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org)
Over 2,000 Israeli Yemenite Jews and supporting activists gathered in
Jerusalem last Wednesday to mark an annual day of awareness for what
families say was a state-sponsored program to abduct Yemenite Jewish
infants and other Israeli children born to parents who were recent
immigrants from Arab countries.
Known as the Yemenite Children Affair, in the first decade after the
establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, there was a systematic
kidnapping of newborn Yemenite children, carried out by Israeli
hospitals and government institutions. Mothers, who often were in
Israel for a short time and did not speak Hebrew, would enter
hospitals or other state facilities to give birth. Once the child was
born medical staff told the parents the child died unexpectedly. Yet
none of the families were shown bodies or burial documents. Many of
the families did not practice any mourning ceremonies because they
believed their missing children were still alive.
The babies who went missing, parents claim, were given away to
childless Ashkenazi families (Jews of European descent–the dominant
ethnic group in Israel at the time), leaving the Yemenite families
with no answers regarding their children’s fate. In most cases, the
families were told the children died unexpectedly.
There have been a few national state committees tasked with
investigating the matter over the decades, but they were previously
accused of ignoring real evidence and helping government efforts to cover up
the affair.
Following recent pressure by the third generation of Jewish Yemenite
activists, part of the national archives and state protocols were
disclosed to the public.
Last year Benjamin Netanyahu had more than 3,500 government files on
the investigation into the disappearance of the childrenpublished
online. A Knesset committee followed up by confirming earlier this
month that Yemenite babies died during the 1950s after state medical
institutions conducted experiments on them. Despite the disclosures,
the families are still in the dark regarding their relatives, and the
matter is still an open wound in the Israeli society.
Seeking more answers, the Israeli nonprofit Amram organized the
protest in Jerusalem last week under the title “Recognition, Justice,
Healing,” calling on the government to open all of the national
archives, which could allow for family reunification. The
demonstrators also want the affair recognized as a crime against humanity.
This was the largest protest on the topic in the history of Israel to date.
