Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel over $8 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Palestinians in [Israeli settlement] Ma'aleh Adumim employed by Israel but on Jordanian terms

Ha'aretz
"Ma'aleh Adumim is a shining pearl in the State of Israel," declares its mayor, Benny Kashriel, on the municipality's Web site. ... [Ma'aleh Adumim is built on confiscated Palestinian land and is Israel's largest settlement bloc. It is illegal under international law.]

Eighty Palestinian employees, members of the Jahleen Bedouin tribe living on the city's edge in the West Bank, have served the citizens of Ma'aleh Adumim for decades, mostly in gardening and sanitation jobs. The workers must be doing a good job because Ma'aleh Adumim is considered one of Israel's cleanest and best-maintained cities.

The municipality is proud that every year it scores the highest marks according to the organization Israel is Beautiful. But the gaps between the municipality's Israeli and Palestinian employees are great and stem from Jordanian labor law, which was applied in the territories in 1965. Even amendments over the past 45 years that have made Jordanian legislation more progressive in terms of labor rights are not applied in the case of Palestinians employed by the municipality.

The differences are vast. Under the original Jordanian law the employees had two basic rights - very limited severance pay and holiday pay. All other social benefits that are part of Israeli labor law such as rehabilitation pay, pensions, travel expenses and education funding do not exist in the Jordanian law.

..."Ma'aleh Adumim was built on lands of the Jahleen; these people were pushed to the edges of the community," Lecker said. "This is not a hostile population and the city should be interested in ensuring that this community is not hungry." Full story