The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine. The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held. Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has published a major new report documenting how the Israeli prison system has become “a network of torture camps,” where physical, psychological and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is normalized and routine.

The report, titled “Welcome to Hell,” collects the testimony of 55 Palestinians who were detained by Israeli authorities since October 7 and later released, almost all without charges. This comes as a group of U.N. experts condemned the widespread torture of Palestinians and as Israel’s Channel 12 News aired shocking footage of Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a prisoner at the Sde Teiman army base, where thousands of detainees from Gaza are held.

Sarit Michaeli, the international advocacy lead for B’Tselem, says the abuse in Israeli prisons is “systemic, ongoing and state-sanctioned,” reflecting the cruelty and thirst for revenge among a growing number of Israelis. “They would like to have a completely open field in terms of what they can do to Palestinians,” says Michaeli.

You can find the full report of testimonies here

  • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    13·
    1 month ago

    And many many Zainichi did and do.

    Where’s the source. I’ve got one that says the opposite.

    Current Discriminatory Practices

    Nonetheless, despite significant progress, discriminatory practices persist in Japanese society. Naturalization remains the primary means of acquiring full citizenship rights, but the process is complex and discourages many. Nowadays, most Zainichi Koreans are descendants of the forced labourers in the 1920s, so they were born and raised in Japan and speak only Japanese, but they are not eligible for citizenship unless one of their parents is Japanese. Furthermore, as it is against the law in Japan to have two nationalities, for Zainichi Koreans to naturalize would require them to renounce their Korean identity entirely. As Chung put it, “Japanese nationality is closely associated with ethnocultural identity, naturalization applicants must not only renounce their allegiance to their country of origin but must also demonstrate evidence of cultural assimilation”. Moreover, if their ethnic roots were revealed, they would still be seen as outsiders in Japanese society, therefore naturalizing would not even address the underlying causes of prejudice.

    Even though there is no fee to pay for naturalization, applicants frequently have to pay hefty attorney costs to prepare the numerous documents needed to authenticate their family histories.

    Estonia

    Apartheid too? I will say this, doubt you’ll see anyone who gives a single fuck.

    • barsoapEnglish
      51·
      1 month ago

      Where’s the source.

      Like here. About 6000 naturalisations per year.

      Are there issues? Yes. Is it Apartheid? If you think it is, then you are trivialising the shit out of what South Africa has done. What Israel is doing.

      Apartheid too? I will say this, doubt you’ll see anyone who gives a single fuck.

      The Soviet Union settled plenty of people in Estonia when they occupied it, those people didn’t get Estonian citizenship once Estonia got its independence, they got permanent residencies instead. A metric fuckton naturalised in the year since then, which involved learning Estonian.

      Bit of a difference because Estonia was the victim of colonialism, not the aggressor, they would’ve been perfectly within their right to just expel everyone, but the associated identity vs. nationality stuff very much applies.

      • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        11·
        1 month ago

        … trivialising the shit out of

        From 1937–1945, the Japanese military regime may have killed nearly 6 million people, including around half a million Koreans. This estimate includes Koreans who were conscripted into the Japanese army, where over 22,000 were killed.

        I’m with the demons and henchman.

        • barsoapEnglish
          3·
          1 month ago

          That’s a lot of things, bad things, but it’s not Apartheid. Words have meaning. It’s also not current.

          • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            11·
            1 month ago

            It’s also not current.

            Here the conclusion of your own source.

            Regardless, discrimination still affects their daily lives both visibly and invisibly.

            Definition of apartheid:

            system of legalized racial segregation that deprives one racial group of political and civil rights.

            I’ve provided sources that prove it. Political rights deprived as well as civil. Laws enabling it.

            • barsoapEnglish
              2·
              1 month ago

              Political rights deprived as well as civil.

              They can, and do, become citizens. The procedure is the same as for everyone else. Are you telling me that black people in South Africa were able to do that.

              • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                11·
                1 month ago

                Naturalization remains the primary means of acquiring full citizenship rights, but the process is complex and discourages many. Nowadays, most Zainichi Koreans are descendants of the forced labourers in the 1920s, so they were born and raised in Japan and speak only Japanese, but they are not eligible for citizenship unless one of their parents is Japanese. Furthermore, as it is against the law in Japan to have two nationalities,

                Go on how they do and can become citizens. I don’t know how many braincells I’ve lost talking to you. It’s easier for a Palestinian to get citizenship in Israel than it is for a zainichi Korean. They can’t even be Korean anymore to get citizenship. Dude what the fuck are you talking about here.

                • barsoapEnglish
                  2·
                  1 month ago

                  It’s easier for a Palestinian to get citizenship in Israel

                  Hell no. Should Zainichi have an easier path to citizenship? I do think so, here in Germany we have an accelerated procedure for people who were born and went to school here, no matter the parentage. Is it any more involved to get Japanese citizenship as a Zainichi than as a German? Nope.

                  Not allowing dual citizenship isn’t anything out of the ordinary either, btw.

                  • Snowflake@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                    11·
                    1 month ago

                    People born in Germany are given citizenship. Zainichi Koreans are not in Japan. There is no accelerated procedure for zainichi Koreans who went to school. In fact japanese law even makes it harder for Korean schoolchildren.

                    One of the continuing contentious issues for Koreans in Japan is education. The Japanese government in 2003 made graduates from most international schools and foreign schools – as well as Japanese schools – eligible for the university entrance examination. This has not been extended to most Korean schools (with the exception of a small number of Mindan-run schools), meaning that Korean students from these schools remain seriously disadvantaged. There also exists other forms of continuing discrimination against Korean schools, with donations to foreign schools being tax-exempt, but not those to Korean schools. Since most Korean schools are thus still not recognized as regular schools, children attending these schools will also risk discrimination in employment. The government of Japan also excludes Korean schools from the high school tuition-waiver programme, which was introduced by the government in April 2010, although the programme covered foreign schools authorized as miscellaneous schools. Many local governments have cancelled financial support for Korean schools as well.