Palestinian president sets date for ‘national reconciliation’ referendum News
Palestinian president sets date for ‘national reconciliation’ referendum

[JURIST] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [BBC profile] on Saturday set July 26 as the date for a referendum [JURIST report] in which Palestinians will vote on whether to establish a Palestinian state and implicitly recognize Israel. Palestinians will vote on the "national reconciliation" document [text; summary], which was written by detainees from Palestinian factions who are serving time in Israeli jails. The document calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state on land captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast War [Wikipedia backgrounder].

Earlier this week, Abbas extended a deadline he had set for the governing Hamas party [ICT profile] to accept the proposed document. A Hamas spokesman in Gaza said, however, that the party would not accept the referendum decision and that it is presently "studying its options." Abbas said he planned to go to Gaza to encourage the factions to reopen their dialogue, and if the sides came to an agreement, the referendum would be cancelled. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.