The Electronic Intifada

Pro-Israel lobbies target Europe

David Cronin 3 February 2010



BRUSSELS (IPS) - Defenders of Israel’s aggressive stance have for many years been recognized as a powerful force shaping United States foreign policy. A less well-known fact is that the pro-Israel lobby has been making a concerted effort to strengthen its presence in Europe. The lobby’s determination to make an impression on European Union (EU) policy-makers was exemplified by a new booklet published on 28 January. 

Interview: "We need a new, united strategy as one people"

Adri Nieuwhof 3 February 2010



The Arab Association for Human Rights (HRA), based in Nazareth, is one of the first human rights organizations in Israel, founded during the first Palestinian intifada by lawyers and community activists to monitor human rights violations. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof recently interviewed Mohammad Zeidan, the general director of HRA. 

Palestinian politicians face tide of persecution in Israel

Jonathan Cook 2 February 2010



Leaders of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel warned this week that they were facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution designed to stop their political activities. The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Palestinians unfairly stripped of citizenship in Jordan

Charles Fromm 2 February 2010



WASHINGTON, (IPS) - The Jordanian government should halt the arbitrary revocation of nationality from its citizens of Palestinian origin, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday. The report, “Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality,” details the Jordanian government’s efforts to strip more than 2,700 Jordanians of their citizenship between 2004 and 2008. 

Hamas parliamentarian: "We accept existence of Israel within 1967 borders"

Mel Frykberg 1 February 2010



RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Palestinian politics are at an impasse. The four-year term of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) ended on 25 January with no new elections planned. Presidential elections, meant to be held last year, were also postponed indefinitely. IPS spoke with Dr. Mahmoud Ramahi, a neurosurgeon and secretary-general of the PLC, on the political deadlock. 

"A different kind of occupation": an interview with Elia Suleiman

Sabah Haider 1 February 2010



Nazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman is one of the darlings of Cannes and stands out from the pack of contemporary Palestinian filmmakers for his unique style of filmmaking based on sewing together a series vignettes, silence — an emphasis on visual storytelling versus dialogue, and deadpan comedy found in often grim humor in the lives of everyday people living under the tyranny of what he calls a “pathetic occupation.” Sabah Haider recently interviewed Suleiman for The Electronic Intifada. 

"Redeeming" the land: from kibbutzniks to Hilltop Youth

Carmelle Wolfson 31 January 2010



After the 1967 war the value of the kibbutz — instrumental in defining territory for the Jewish State of Israel — as a frontline force had become obsolete. The then burgeoning settler movement soon came to replace the kibbutz as a central colonizing body. Occupying Palestinian land and cultivating it to be inhabited by exclusively Jewish communities, the strategies of settlers are not much different than early kibbutzniks. Carmelle Wolfson writes. 

"Our community is at risk": An interview with Ittijah's Ameer Makhoul

Adri Nieuwhof 29 January 2010



Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community Based Associations, was founded in 1995 in response to a widely felt need for increased cooperation and exchange between Palestinian Arab organizations in Israel. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof recently interviewed Ameer Makhoul, the general director of Ittijah.