NEWS

Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval to “Israel nation-state law”, which has to pass two more votes to become law. This proposal, which makes people worry that it might constitute a legitimate ground for discriminatory policies against Palestinians, is a hot topic of debate in the country. We talked to Louis Fishman, faculty member of Brooklyn College Department of History about these developments and he states that this law would be a disgrace, not only to the Arab citizens, but also to the Jews working towards an open liberal Israel that is based on freedom and equality.

The third indictment that was issued as part of Dink case was sent back to the prosecutor's office for the second time.

French journalist Mathias Depardon was detained and has been kept in Gaziantep for 18 days to be deported. Recently, he went on hunger strike.

Yesterday, academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça were referred to the court and then arrested. They were on 76th day of hunger strike.

As part of his first overseas trip, US President Donald Trump went to Israel after Saudi Arabia. He visited Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where he met religious leaders.

Gülmen and Özakça are on 76th day of hunger strike and director Ken Loach, producer Rebecca O'Brien and Pen International released solidarity messages.

Yesterday, a suicide attack was carried out in Arena concert hall in Manchester. Currently, it is reported that 22 people were killed and 59 people were wounded.

Amnesty International, in a report concerning dismissed public sector workers, stated: "The blanket nature of the dismissals, the fact that the dismissed include trade union, political or human rights activists and known critics of the government from conservative sections of society, and the broader crackdown on dissent that has included the jailing of more than 120 journalists awaiting trial since the 2016 coup attempt, increase concerns that a great many dismissals were arbitrary, unfair and/or politically motivated."

Dismissed academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça are on the 75th day of their hunger strike, which they started with the demand of being returned to their jobs. Last night, police raided their houses and detained Gülmen and Özakça. Lawyer Selçuk Kozaağaçlı stated that the ground of detention is the following: “the protest might turn into an indefinite hunger strike or trigger events like Gezi Park protests or Tekel strike.”

The state of emergency declared after the coup attempt on July 15 resulted in a purge in universities that has never been seen before in Turkey's recent history. The emergency decrees have been used for dismissing both experienced academics who carried out many researches in universities and young academics whose careers had just begun. However, despite everything that happened, some academics hold on to their profession, which they define as “reason for being”. In this regard, Kocaeli Solidarity Academy is a precursor and guiding initiative. Having completed its first term of “alternative education”, it has also the purpose of establishing an open and free school of life for people with a new two-tear program.