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Gaza's 700 (and counting) stranded students

5 June 2008


For the mainstream press, the story of the Gaza Fulbright seven “moved quickly” and has now concluded with a positive ending. But hundreds of other Palestinian students remain stranded inside the Gaza Strip, and the number is expected to rise this summer. According to data from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, almost 700 Palestinian students are still waiting to leave Gaza in order to pursue studies, and scholarships, abroad. 

The most reliable path to freedom

Omar Barghouti 8 June 2008


For cynics who still consider the above too little progress for the given timeframe, I can only reiterate what a South African comrade once told us: “The [African National Congress] issued its academic boycott call in the 1950s; the international community started to heed it almost three decades later! So you guys are doing much better than us.” EI contributor Omar Barghouti argues that boycott, divestment and sanctions are the most reliable and moral path to freedom, justice, equality and peace in Palestine and the entire Middle East. 

The stigmatization of anything Palestinian or Arab

Lilith Hope 5 June 2008


The current controversy over a celebrity chef wearing what some mistook for the traditional Palestinian kuffiyeh in a Dunkn’ Donuts ad points to the increasing tendency to collapse everything Arab, especially Palestinian, into the category “terrorist.” EI contributor Lilith Hope writes that the prejudice interpretation of this national and cultural symbol will only exacerbate the stigma that surrounds anything Palestinian or Arab. 

Normalizing occupation: Syria, Israel and "peace talks"

Yaman Salahi 4 June 2008


It may be too early to determine what truly lies behind the secret Syria-Israel “peace talks.” With Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert positioned to leave office under a cloud of scandal and after a rash of policy failures across the Middle East, the Bush Administration is now counting its last days in power. Thus, it appears that the Syrian government has chosen an opportune time to attempt to usher in a new positive period for itself. Whatever the intentions of the parties involved in these negotiations, at least one thing can be said that makes them irrelevant. Yaman Salahi comments for EI. 

With economic siege comes malnutrition

Rami Almeghari Gaza Strip 4 June 2008


“Can you imagine that when a child of mine asks me for one shekel [USD 0.30], I can’t afford to give it to him? That’s why I hide from my children from early in the morning until evening.” So explains an exasperated Naser al-Batran, a father of five children living in the central Gaza Strip. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports on how Israel’s siege on Gaza is affecting public health there. 

Israeli ambassador to the UK's PR problem

David Thomson 4 June 2008


It would appear that the ambitions of the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom far outweigh his abilities as recently acquired documents from the University of Edinburgh reveal his embassy bungled a public lecture and then tried to lay the blame elsewhere. Ron Prosor became the new Israeli Ambassador in November 2007, arriving with a fresh enthusiasm for the promotion of Israel. They’ll be “coming out of London to make the case for Israel,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reports he told embassy staff. 

Irish union passes motions in support of Palestine

5 June 2008


At its Biennial Delegate Conference in May 2008 the public sector union IMPACT passed two motions criticizing Israeli suppression of the Palestinian people and calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services. The motions also called for divestment from those companies engaged in or profiting from the occupation as well as an education campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people. 

Beyond the make-believe of negotiations

Arjan El Fassed and Ali Abunimah 4 June 2008


Israel needs a Palestinian state — or at least the illusion of one — to mask the reality of apartheid where millions of Palestinians, soon to be the majority population between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, are ruled by a Jewish sectarian government in which they have no rights. EI co-founders Arjan El Fassed and Ali Abunimah comment. 

"An experiment in building a better world"

Natasha Tsangarides 4 June 2008


“Freedom Clothing Project is an experiment in building a better world — I know that sounds a bit grand, but we wanted to try to make a clothing company unlike any other.” Freedom Clothing Project Ltd is a UK not-for-profit cooperative founded in 2005, comprising a small handful of friends and relations. The Electronic Intifada contributor Natasha Tsangarides spoke to project director Joe Turner about his work and the current trading obstacles.