Latest news with #JonathanFowler
Al-Ahram Weekly
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Israel school closures in occupied east Jerusalem 'assault on children': UNRWA chief - War on Gaza
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Thursday decried an "assault on children" after Israel closed all six of its schools in occupied East Jerusalem, months after an Israeli ban on its activities took effect. "Storming schools & forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law", UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X, describing the move as "An assault on children. An assault on education". UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told AFP that Israeli forces "closed six United Nations schools in annexed East Jerusalem on Thursday, posting closure orders on the six buildings and forcibly entering three of the six schools". An AFP photographer present at two of the schools in the Shuafat refugee camp reported that Israeli forces entered the premises and posted a closure notice stating the schools were operating without "authorisation". The children had to leave the premises, with many departing in tears. Several young pupils, some visibly moved and others shocked, hugged in front of the school before they left. UNRWA said one of its staff members was detained. An assault on children. An assault on education. A sad day in occupied East Jerusalem. This morning, heavily armed Israeli Forces entered three @UNRWA schools in Shu'fat Camp in occupied East Jerusalem, forcing 550+ girls & boys who were in classrooms out of their schools.… — Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 8, 2025 "From May 8, 2025, it will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution," the closure order in Hebrew read. UNRWA's director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, told AFP that "heavily armed" forces surrounded the three UNRWA schools in Shuafat camp at 9:00 am. Friedrich added that 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present when the closure was enforced, calling it "a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education." He said police were deployed in the area around three separate schools in other parts of east Jerusalem, which has been annexed by Israel since 1967. UNRWA said that the school year for 800 children had "been ended by force". 'Violation of right to education' The Palestinian Authority condemned the move in a statement to AFP, calling it a "violation of children's right to education". In a statement, its education ministry called the closures a "crime". It urged international institutions to assume their responsibilities and defend the right of refugee children to a free and safe education. UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has been consistently subjected to attacks by Tel Aviv. The Palestinian refugee agency was established in 1949 to provide aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees displaced after the 1948 war. The agency provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Palestinian refugees in nearby countries. In Gaza, Israel has targeted and destroyed most of the UNRWA schools and infrastructure, killing tens of its staff, since the start of its genocidal war on the strip in October 2023, thus depriving 2.3 million Palestinians of basic health and education services. At the end of January, Israeli legislation came into force banning the agency's activities. Due to the annexation, the law applies to east Jerusalem but not to the rest of the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden. Adalah, an Israeli group defending the rights of the Arab minority, reported that Israeli police were raiding six UNRWA-run schools in east Jerusalem. The organisation filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court in mid-January, arguing the new legislation against UNRWA violated "fundamental human rights and Israel's obligations under international law". The Supreme Court rejected its request for the legislation to be suspended. In April, Adalah demanded a halt to the closure orders on UNRWA-run schools at the Supreme Court. The state responded that the Jerusalem municipality offered alternative schooling and the court rejected the NGO's motion. Adalah called the proposed alternatives "wholly inadequate". The United Nations considers the annexation of East Jerusalem illegal. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Arab News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UN: Israel school closures in East Jerusalem ‘assault on children'
JERUSALEM: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday decried an 'assault on children' after Israel closed all six of its schools in annexed East Jerusalem, months after an Israeli ban on its activities took effect. 'Storming schools & forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law,' UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X, describing the move as 'An assault on children. An assault on education.' UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler said that Israeli forces 'closed six UN schools in annexed East Jerusalem on Thursday, posting closure orders on the six buildings and forcibly entering three of the six schools.' An AFP photographer present at two of the schools in the Shuafat refugee camp reported that Israeli forces entered the premises and posted a closure notice stating the schools were operating without 'authorization.' The children had to leave the premises, with many departing in tears. Several young pupils, some visibly moved and others shocked, hugged in front of the school before they left. UNRWA said one of its staff members was detained. 'From May 8, 2025, it will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff, or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution,' the closure order in Hebrew read. UNRWA's director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, said that 'heavily armed' forces surrounded the three UNRWA schools in Shuafat camp at 9 a.m. Friedrich added that 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present when the closure was enforced, calling it 'a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education.' Friedrich said police were deployed in the area around three separate schools in other parts of East Jerusalem, which has been annexed by Israel since 1967. UNRWA said that the school year for 800 children had 'been ended by force.' The Palestinian Authority condemned the move in a statement, calling it a 'violation of children's right to education.' In a statement, its Education Ministry called the closures a 'crime.' It urged international institutions 'to assume their responsibilities and defend the right of refugee children to a free and safe education.' UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country's security. At the end of January, Israeli legislation banned the agency's activities. Due to the annexation, the law applies to East Jerusalem but not to the rest of the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden. Israel has accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of the agency's employees took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza. A series of investigations found some 'neutrality-related issues' at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation. Nevertheless, the UN said in August that nine staff working for UNRWA would be sacked because they may have been involved in the attacks. Adalah, an Israeli group defending the rights of the Arab minority, reported that Israeli police were raiding six UNRWA-run schools in East Jerusalem. The organization filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court in mid-January, arguing the new legislation against UNRWA violated 'fundamental human rights and Israel's obligations under international law.'
CBC
17-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Halifax starting plan for Memorial Library site that will honour forgotten burial ground
More than a decade after the old Halifax library closed, the city has begun to explore options for the site's future that could include demolition of the municipal heritage building. The municipality recently passed $100,000 in this year's budget to hire a consultant to make a plan for the Memorial Library property. A Halifax spokesperson said that work will include public input and other research. Municipal staff have said removing the building, which would see the site become a park with "historical interpretation," is the best option for an area with a burial ground that has never been properly acknowledged. "It is just one of those classic cases, this [burial] site that illustrates how a whole part of our history can just be jettisoned and forgotten," said Jonathan Fowler, anthropology professor at Saint Mary's University. "There are many parts like that in this city, in this province, in this country. And I welcome the opportunity to engage in the work of remembering." The Spring Garden Road library opened in 1951 as a living cenotaph in honour of those who died in the First World War and the Second World War. It became a fixture of public life over the decades, with generations of Haligonians finding favourite books in the shelves, or enjoying fries from Bud the Spud food truck on the grassy area near the street. The library closed in 2014 when the Central Library opened, and has been vacant ever since. Although there was no mention of it in newspapers when it opened, or in council minutes about the location, the library was built on top of the Poor House Burying Ground. It's estimated 4,500 people from the neighbouring Poor House (located where the Doyle building is now) were buried there between the 1760s and mid-1800s. Poor House residents would have been those on the margins of society at the time, including orphans, people with disabilities, those who were homeless, or unwed mothers. People from all backgrounds were buried there, including Mi'kmaq, Black Nova Scotians, and victims of epidemics like smallpox. Records also show people new to Halifax, from around the province or the world, were buried at the site. "All of their lives have simply been forgotten. And it just doesn't seem right, does it?" said Fowler. Local historian William Breckenridge has formed Friends of the Halifax Memorial Library, and is working with the Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society to urge the city to repurpose the building. "It leaves me very concerned, because demolition is not an option that I think will respect the burials that are underneath, and also all the other history that goes along with it," Breckenridge said. Breckenridge and Emma Lang, executive director of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, said the library is architecturally important and should be turned into a museum or community space to tell the entire story of the site. "The fact that they chose to build a memorial to people who died in the wars on a cemetery, without acknowledging the people who are under here, is a really important story in itself," Lang said. "To tear it down seems to be … making it worse when you have the ability to at least talk about why this building was there, and what does that say about Halifax at the time — good and bad." After the Poor House on Spring Garden closed in the 1860s, the burial site was grassed over and trees were planted for it to become Grafton Park. The green space housed a fire station before the library was built. Although there are no reports that human remains were found during the library's construction, Fowler said it's "highly unlikely, bordering on impossible" that graves weren't disturbed. An archeological report on the 2016-17 relocation of graves from the adjacent St. David's Presbyterian Church land shows the remains of 244 people were recovered and moved to the church crypt. Three mass graves were found, including one of "likely former residents of the Poor House Cemetery on the neighbouring property." A Halifax staff report from July 2024 said Mi'kmaw ancestral remains were discovered during that excavation work ahead of the creation of the Grafton Park apartment building. Given the cultural sensitivity of the Poor House burial site, and strict protocol around land with Mi'kmaw remains, the report recommends against ground-disturbing activities on the property. Municipal staff said it would take $15 million to $20 million to renovate the library with new water and sewer lines, replace the roof, elevator, and rebuild the interior. These updates, especially new pipes, would require digging. Pam Glode-Desrochers, executive director of the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Society, said it will be up to elders and other experts to weigh in on what the protocols should be around any changes to the site. While digging should not be a "first resort," Glode-Desrochers said it should be up to the wider Mi'kmaw community, and people of all backgrounds in Halifax, to decide together the best option. "It's almost a little emotional because these are our ancestors. These were somebody's auntie and uncles and mothers and brothers, and like they belonged to community," said Glode-Desrochers. "But it's also exciting on the possibilities of what can be done, and how do we do that together." Although the burial ground is a piece of lost local history for many Halifax residents today, Glode-Desrochers said it's "always been known" by many in the Mi'kmaw community. "There'll be some tough conversations, but I also think it's part of the healing journey and what that looks like," said Glode-Desrochers. If the city wanted to explore repurposing the building, legal changes would need to be made because of a covenant on the land. The staff report said the province granted the land to Halifax in 1882 "for the use and enjoyment of the citizens of Halifax, as a public square or gardens forever and for no other purposes whatsoever." In 1949, the province amended the covenant to allow a public library only. Various groups have considered taking the building over the years, staff said, but determined it would be "uneconomical and thus inviable." Halifax eventually asked the province to take the site back, but it officially declined to do so in 2023. The consultant's final report is expected to go before regional council summer 2026.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel enforces laws banning UNRWA
Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The law that bans the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza went into effect on Thursday. The new laws, which were passed in October, prevent UNRWA from operating in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the organization's spokesperson Jonathan Fowler, said in a statement. Fowler said the UNRWA distributed humanitarian aid and assistance for nearly 6 million Palestinians. Because of the laws, UNRWA's international staff, originally located in East Jerusalem, has been relocated to Amman, Jordan. The ban will affect 30,000 UNRWA workers who served Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. UNRWA said Israeli courts did not turn back the laws, almost guaranteeing them to be implemented. The international community condemned the decision to ban UNRWA last October when the laws were originally passed. It was not clear what organization would step in the place of UNRWA, formally known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and Near East. Yuli Edelstein, chair of Israeli Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee said the bills were needed to secure the country. Israel accused a small number of UNRWA workers of being involved in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 which killed 1,200 and took more than 200 hostages. UNRWA fired nine workers after finding evidence that they may have been connected with the attack.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
International staff of UN Palestinian agency forced to leave as Israel ban comes in
The international staff of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) have had to evacuate and relocate to Jordan, its officials said as Israeli legislation banning it came into effect on Thursday. The UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, and the body's Security Council have described UNRWA as the 'backbone of humanitarian aid' in the Strip, which has been devastated by a ruinous 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli officials, however, have repeatedly accused UNRWA of 'bankrolling its enemies' and having ties to terrorism, a charge that the agency and UN officials have vehemently denied. In October Israel adopted legislation, banning UNRWA's operation on Israeli land –including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognised internationally. Contact with Israeli authorities would also cease with restrictions coming into play on 30 January. Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesperson, said that Israel had also shortened all of UNRWA's international staff visas to expire on Wednesday, which 'is tantamount to being evicted' or declared persona non grata. He addd that it has forced Unrwa to relocate its international workforce to Amman Jordan. Juliette Toma, Director of UNRWA Communications, called the bans 'outrageous' and 'devastating,' saying they had also been ordered to evacuate 12 premises in East Jerusalem, including schools and health centres, impacting 1,100 children and up to 80,000 people who use the centres for primary healthcare. 'This is unheard of. This is a campaign against the United Nations by a member state of the United Nations. UNRWA has been operating for 75 years. This is unprecedented in the history of the United Nations,' she told The Independent. Mr Fowler said that despite the difficulties 'UNRWA remains absolutely committed to stay and deliver.' 'We will not stop. We're not bowing down to this. But, we do know that the practical impacts and the uncertainty mean that our operations could be substantially affected,' he added in his statement. In a briefing a day before the ban was set to come into place, David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, claimed that UNRWA was only responsible for 0.6 per cent of Gaza's humanitarian aid, despite the fact that the UN itself says UNRWA is responsible for well over half. Mr Mencer also echoed several accusations that have been repeatedly made by Israel against the UN agency that it was involved in terrorism, which the UN denies. Israel says UNRWA staff took part in Hamas's bloody 7 October attacks on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. Israel's retaliatory air and ground offensive inside Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to the enclave's health ministry. The UN has said that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon—killed in September by Israel—was also reportedly found to have had an UNRWA job. The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations made and has said that Israel has provided no evidence despite being asked repeatedly. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, who has warned a ban on UNRWA would 'heighten instability and deepen despair' as well as undermine a ceasefire in Gaza, said this week that UNRWA has been the target of a 'fierce disinformation campaign' to 'portray the agency as a terrorist organisation.' 'Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons, and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio,' MR Lazzarini told the Security Council on Tuesday 'Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60 per cent of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people. We conduct some 17,000 medical consultations every day,' he said. Israel's most powerful ally the US, under President Donald Trump, has welcomed the restrictions. The acting US ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, told the Security Council this week that the US supports Israel's 'sovereign right' to close UNRWA's offices in Jerusalem adding that UNRWA was 'exaggerating the effects of the laws'. 'Suggesting that they will force the entire humanitarian response to halt is irresponsible and dangerous,' she added. US funding to UNRWA was suspended last year until March 2025 after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in the 7 October attack. The UN has repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA, that supports six million Palestinians across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The Un has also said that it would be Israel's responsibility to replace its services. Israel has rejected UN claims that it would be responsible for filling any gap left by UNRWA.
