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Barenboim-Said Foundation does not promote normalization

Mariam Said 17 March 2010



On 28 January 2010 the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a statement to the Qatari government calling for a boycott of Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) and condemning the Qatari Ministry of Culture for hosting the orchestra in Doha. The statement goes so far as to accuse Daniel Barenboim of being an ardent Zionist. Mariam Said comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Documentary: "Nahr al-Bared: Checkpoints and more"

16 March 2010



Nahr al-Bared refugee camp has still not recovered from the devastating war in 2007 during which it was destroyed. The Lebanese army has been keeping a tight grip on the camp and the 20,000 displaced Palestinians who have returned so far. This 30-minute film documents various consequences of the siege on Nahr al-Bared. Merchants and artisans explain their specific problems and a UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) project manager, a project coordinator of the Palestinian-Arab Women League, the president of Nahr al-Bared’s Merchants’ Committee and a researcher provide their views and thoughts on the issue. 

European Union found guilty at first session of Russell Tribunal

Ewa Jasiewicz and Frank Barat 15 March 2010



The first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) was heard in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month. The RTP is a peoples’ legal initiative designed to systematically try key actors responsible for the perpetuation of human rights violations in Palestine. In the frame this time was the European Union (EU). Two days and 21 expert witness testimonies later, the RTP found individual states and the EU as a whole guilty of persistent violations and misconduct with regards to international and internal EU law. Ewa Jasiewicz and Frank Barat comment for The Electronic Intifada. 

Review: Finkelstein's transformation to victim hero in "American Radical"

Max Blumenthal 15 March 2010



With unfettered access to Norman Finkelstein during the most dramatic stage of his career, American Radical: the trials of Norman Finkelstein directors David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier provide a compelling look at one of the most roundly vilified academics in recent American history. Max Blumenthal reviews the new documentary for The Electronic Intifada. 

PA's betrayal of human rights defenders the unkindest cut

Nadia Hijab 14 March 2010



They hail from opposite parts of the globe, but they have much in common: Jewish; experts on and passionate defenders of international law; and pummeling bags for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. And the future of the law of war lies at the heart of the campaigns against them. Nadia Hijab comments how the undermining of Richard Goldstone and Richard Falk. 

Harvard students condemn center's defense of fellow's racist statements

Abdelnasser A. Rashid, Johnny F. Bowman and Maryam Monalisa Gharavi 12 March 2010



We students at Harvard University are disturbed by the racist and inhumane comments of Martin Kramer, Visiting Scholar at the National Security Studies Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. We have become even more alarmed that rather than taking a dissociating or even strictly neutral stance against such extremist and hateful statements, the Weatherhead Center issued a defensive response. 

Interview: Education and resistance at the Ann Arbor Palestine film fest

Jimmy Johnson 12 March 2010



The second annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival opened on Wednesday, 10 March with the feature film Pomegranates and Myrrh. Such festivals are a growing phenomenon with new ones popping up throughout the United States. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jimmy Johnson spoke with festival organizers Hena Ashraf, Ryah Aqel, Lauren Thams and Pomegranates and Myrhh director Najwa Najjar. 

Flouting its own laws, EU accommodates "Made in Israel"

David Cronin 12 March 2010



In 2008 Britain expressed concern about how goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank may be benefiting illegally from European Union trade preferences that theoretically only apply to businesses within Israel’s internationally-recognized borders. However, EU officials have not only failed to defend international law, they have accommodated Israel’s abuse of it. David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. 

Boycott or censorship?

Sami Hermez 15 March 2010



Critics of the movement for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel — including Israeli concert producer Shuki Weiss — have claimed that calling on artists to cancel performances in Israel is a form of censorship. Is the cultural boycott a form of censorship or McCarthyism? Sami Hermez comments for The Electronic Intifada.