“To be an Arab in Israel is also to suffer from a qualitatively different kind of discrimination: a racism that is unknown to anyone who can claim to be an “ethnic Jew,” or, in the case of the Russian Christians, a “social Jew.” The discrimination is not just structural but ideological: it is the negation of the Arab citizen’s right to an identity as an Israeli. It is felt in the absolute exclusion of the minority from all aspects of the Zionist nation-building programme.” Jonathan Cook exposes the logical and methodological flaws in the writings of former Israeli government minister Professor Amnon Rubinstein. Read more about Amnon Rubinstein's lazy -- and misleading -- math
To the extent that the recent military acts in the territories are debated in Israel at all, the debate almost solely revolves around the question whether or not it is possible to end the Palestinian terror this way. The Palestinians, as human beings, simply do not exist. Tanya Reinhart writes in Yediot Aharonot.Read more about The Palestinians don't even have weather
Israel is good at floating vague ideas that grow in their generosity and magnanimity if they are rejected but quickly prove empty of any meaningful content if accepted, writes regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, who recently visited Washington and found a number of dangerous myths about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict alive and well. Read more about Myths and Disasters
Sam Bahour and Michael DahanRamallah, Jerusalem26 February 2003
The snow will soon melt and the destroyed homes, bullet riddled walls, tank-rippled roads will re-appear, only to jog the collective memories of those Palestinians that remain the victims of this thirty-six year man- made tragedy called Israeli occupation. Read more about Snow-covered Rubble
Above: The Electronic Intifada team
“These are crucial days, days that will determine the trajectory of the Middle East’s future in profound ways. More than regimes will be changed in the coming months. Life chances of the region’s most vulnerable—women, children, and the elderly—will certainly change for the worse. We, in response, must change our tactics and increase our efforts to safeguard human rights and uphold international law. EI and affiliated websites will be part of that change.” As EI marks its second anniversary, its founders look back at past successes, but mostly ahead at pressing challenges. Read more about On its second anniversary, the Electronic Intifada looks ahead
Why have the Palestinians lost so much international support, and what can be done to regain it, asks EI contributor Joseph Massad. Read more about Post-Oslo solidarity
“After nearly two years of reversals of fortune and near-death moments, the landmark case lodged by survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacres was resurrected and revitalized last week, offering renewed hope to human rights activists and victims of state crimes throughout the world and posing challenges to those who have enjoyed impunity for far too long.” Laurie King-Irani, an EI founder and the North American Coordinator of the International Campaign for Justice for the Victims of Sabra and Shatila, looks at the implications of a decision by the Belgian Supreme Court last week. Read more about Belgium's Challenge to War's Ancient Calculus
WANTEDFORWARCRIMES
The decision of the Belgian Supreme Court that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon can stand trial under that country’s “universal jurisdiction” law for war crimes, once he is no longer in office, has caused a storm of outrage in Israel. The case was brought by survivors of the 1982 massacre of thousands of unarmed Palestinian refugees in Israeli-occupied Beirut, carried out by Israeli-armed and trained gangs, under Israeli army protection, and in which Sharon is deeply and personally implicated. EI’s Ali Abunimah responds to the arguments of those who say Belgium has no right to do this, and who seek continued impunity for war criminals. Read more about Putting Sharon on Trial: Why Belgium is doing the right thing
Following my last military reserve duty, I was kicked out of my unit, the educational corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There was a surrealistic dimension to the whole experience. I had driven a few hours to a base located near the Egyptian border after having been asked to lecture about “leadership” to 60 soldiers from the Givati infantry brigade who were about to begin an officers’ training course. These young men are the military’s future commanders, its elite. Neve Gordon, writing in In These Times notes that, “When the end justifies the means, then everything is permitted.” Read more about Israel's Slippery Moral Slope
EI’s Ali Abunimah provides a detailed analysis of Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations Security Council, and the holes in the American case for an attack on Iraq, that “you could sail a U.S. Navy battlegroup through.” Read more about Focus on Iraq: Powell's UN speech dissected
