“As they mourn today’s anniversary of the birth of Israel, Palestinians find themselves living through a new disaster, a mismatched struggle with the Jewish state that threatens what they have accomplished in the past eight years.” — from “A Bitter Sense of Deja Vu for Palestinians,” by MARYCURTIUS, Los Angeles Times.
Of course Palestinians are not mourning the birth of Israel, but the uprooting of 800,000 Palestinans from their land in the Nakba. Read more about Nakba widely misrepresented as an anti-Israeli protest instead of a Palestinian commemoration
Following our April 12th Action Item #11, CNN yet again portrayed the Israeli occupation as a Palestinian point of view, in a April 26th report titled, “Israel celebrates independence, Palestinians mourn deaths”: “But the Palestinians blame Israel for the violence, saying they employ heavy-handed methods to control Palestinian protesters — and that the presence of Israeli troops in the West Bank and Gaza amounts to an occupation of Palestinian territory.” Read more about CNN refers to the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of Israel
“The deadly operation launched by Ariel Sharon this week in Rafah, the southernmost city of the crowded and occupied Gaza Strip, is picturesquely code-named ‘Operation Rainbow.’ Dressing up a murderous assault on unarmed civilians with an ancient symbol of glittering hope is obscene. One hue never present in any rainbow is black. But that’s the shade I’d like to focus on in this essay and call for action.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani suggests a simple symbolic protest to encourage thought, inspire discussion, and nurture solidarity in the face of escalating carnage in Gaza and Iraq. Read more about Black is for mourning, to say "we're not conforming," to war crimes in the Middle East
Ali Abunimah, Nigel Parry and Michael F. Brown18 May 2004
The Electronic Intifada urges all concerned people to contact international and government officials to demand immediate action to halt Israel’s assault on Rafah refugee camp in Gaza. Israel is in the process of committing major war crimes with total impunity. The United States continues to give a green light to Israeli war crimes. In recent days, Secretary of State Colin Powell half-heartedly criticized the destruction in Gaza. Today, however, as the atrocities continue in Rafah, President Bush declared in a major address to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Israel “has every right to defend itself from terror.” Bush made no criticism whatsoever of the Israeli attack on Rafah. Read more about Urgent: Protest Israeli war crimes against civilians in Rafah; Gaza
The American news media have been largely eyeless in Gaza (save for Molly Moore did write a moving though haunting piece about Rafah for the Washington Post of May 16). According to UNRWA 1,100 Palestinians were made homeless in the first 10 days of May. Has that appeared in your local newspaper? Can you imagine the hue and cry if Palestinians somehow had the capacity to force 1,100 Israelis out of their homes in Ashkelon just a touch north of Gaza? The story would lead the newspapers — as it should — even if Palestinians said they were simply moving back to the land they were pushed out of more than 50 years ago. The point to make to the newspapers, and to CNN, is that both Israeli and Palestinian suffering should be covered. All too often, Palestinian casualties are ignored or downplayed. Read more about Speak out now for Rafah
In a response, more than 1,250 organizations, networks, coalitions, grassroots activists, community leaders, and intellectuals from across the world have joined in few days the “International Response” to the declaration made by President George W. Bush supporting the policies of Ariel Sharon. The Palestinian Right to Return movement in its entirety and organizations representing Palestinian refugees and those exiled took the lead in standing firm and unified in their collective demand to exercise the inalienable right to return. On May 15, 2004, this response and signatories will be sent to all members of the United Nations. Read more about Civil society response to Bush declaration on right of return
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Defence for Children International - Palestine section and Al-Haq of the unlawful killing of seven children, the youngest of which was 4 years old, and the beating and use of a 13 year old boy as a human shield. OMCT expresses its grave concern over these events. The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your urgent intervention and asks you to write to the Israeli authorities urging them to order a thorough and impartial investigation, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and guarantee adequate reparation to the victims. Read more about Seven children killed and one boy used as human shield by Israeli forces
Following a series of Action Items by the Electronic Intifada, beginning on 5 March 2005, McDonald’s Corporation headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois has been sending out form letters to those who wrote to the company about the issue. The letter claims “Regarding the recently fired employee, her employment was terminated for performance reasons by her supervisor, a Palestinian Arab who also speaks Arabic. No one has ever been let go for speaking his own language” and reiterates that “Hebrew is spoken when employees are conducting business.” Read more about McResponse: Form letter sent out by McDonald's in response to EI's Action Items
