From the Editors

Highlighting important stories on and off The Electronic Intifada.

The Australian: West Bank barrier illegal: report

8 July 2004

A Palestinian website has posted what it said is the opinion of the International Court of Justice - due to be handed down later today - which states that Israel’s West Bank barrier is illegal. The world court will rule that “the construction of the wall being built by Israel, the occupying power, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime, are contrary to international law,” according to the document published on www.electronicintifada.net. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper also reported today that the ICJ would rule the barrier is illegal, based on documents obtained by the liberal daily.

Kurdistan unbound

Christopher Farah
7 April 2004

A Web site such as the Electronic Intifada tries to represent, by definition, an electronic uprising, carrying the Palestinian struggle for a nation — nonviolently, through information, education and communication — to Palestinians beyond the West Bank and Gaza, helping to create a unified Palestinian community that extends from Europe, to America, to the Middle East. The prototype for the Electronic Intifada was established on the Internet in September 1996, when Nigel Parry, who was in the West Bank, posted photos of a clash between Palestinians and Israelis.

Columbia Considers Limits on Political Expression at University

Jacob Gershman
18 April 2004

Columbia University is looking into where to draw the line on political expression on campus, as the school aims to fend off a growing reputation for its anti-American and anti-Israeli activism among professors. In an interview with the Electronic Intifada, an online pro-Palestinian magazine, Mr. Khalidi said his critics have intended to “silence such perfectly legitimate criticism” of Israel “by tarring it with the brush of anti-Semitism.”

EI commentary on Bush-Abdullah meeting on BBC World Service "Newshour" program

6 May 2004

On 6 May 2004, EI’s Ali Abunimah appeared on the BBC World Service programme “News Hour”, to comment on the meeting between US President George W Bush and his Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, during which Bush stated that, “I remain committed to the vision I laid out here in the Rose Garden on June 24, 2002, of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, and to the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent.”

Speakers urges binational peace

Arna Wilkinson
1 April 2004

Ali Abunimah, a commentator on Arab-American and Middle Eastern affairs, addressed the options of peace in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict before a receptive crowd of UI students and community members on Wednesday night. The mood was somber as the social-policy researcher dedicated his speech about the merits of a binational state to those who have died in skirmishes between the two groups, including several Iowans. “I feel a great sense of responsibility that what we say here tonight - everything we say is in seriousness - so much is at stake,” he said.

EI on BBC World Service "The World Today"

26 March 2004

On 25 March 2004, EI’s Ali Abunimah was a guest on the BBC World Service’s The World Today programme, commenting on the aftermath of Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the US veto against the UN resolution condemning the assassination. “The United States has made it clear for many years now that it’s not interested in letting the UN have any role in resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict and it wants that conflict to be resolved or not resolved on its and Israel’s terms.” Listen to the interview in MP3 or 3GP formats (Quicktime Player or Real Player).

EI's Laurie King-Irani on KPFK's Middle East in Focus programme

10 March 2004

On 9 March 2003, EI founder Laurie King-Irani and her husband George Irani appeared on California’s KPFK radio station’s Middle East in Focus programme to discuss developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US occupation of Iraq, Lebanon, international law, and American foreign policy in the Middle East. Dr. Laurie King-Irani is an anthropologist and teaches at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. George Irani is Lebanese and a professor of conflict management and analysis at Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC. The program is hosted by Don Bustany.

Public Expressions about the Wall

Sonia Nettnin
4 March 2004

A controversial panel discussion and theater production against the construction of a security barrier along Israel and in the adjacent occupied territories resulted in heated debate over the delicate subject. The panel included Norman Finkelstein, Derek Jinks, Roxane Assaf, and EI’s Ali Abunimah. The build-up to the panel and theater events included intense criticism from pro-Israel student organizations. Students for Justice in Palestine organised street theater performances.

Left Turn magazine interviews Nigel Parry about EI 3.0

Rami El-Amine
24 February 2004

The Electronic Intifada (EI) website, has become the place to go on the internet to find out what’s really happening in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A quarter of a million people visit the site a month. In January 2004, the EI team revamped the website and launced Version 3.0. Rami El-Amine from Left Turn spoke to Nigel Parry, one of the founders and designers of the Electronic Intifada, about the new site and its incredible success over the past three years.

The blogging war

Alan D. Abbey
23 August 2002

Arjan El Fassed, 28, is a Dutch-Palestinian resident of Ar-Ram, a Ramallah suburb, who has recently published op-ed pieces in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Newsday. “TalG” is the online name of a 30-something resident of Jerusalem’s Katamon neighborhood who has been quoted in recent articles in the Christian Science Monitor, as well as numerous Web sites. Their politics couldn’t be more different. What they have in common is they are both “bloggers,” writers of online diaries known as “blogs.”

Pages

Subscribe to From the Editors