January 2010

"Redeeming" the land: from kibbutzniks to Hilltop Youth


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. 

"Together we can end this occupation"


The Israeli military recently dropped hundreds of leaflets warning Palestinian residents from the village of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip not to travel within 300 meters of the border — the distance of Israel’s so-called “buffer zone.” In response, local activists marched to and nonviolently demonstrated inside the “buffer zone” against the illegal action. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre recently spoke with demonstration organizer Saber Zanin. 

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


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. 

Palestinian Authority: Pray our way or else


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) is using West Bank mosques as a new battleground in its political offensive against its opponents within Hamas as well as critics from its own Fatah party. Earlier this month, PA security forces raided several mosques in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron before assaulting and arresting a number of Friday worshippers. 

Arab parliamentarian in Israel visits Auschwitz


An Arab member of the Israeli parliament has sparked controversy among Jews and Arabs in Israel over his decision to join an official Israeli delegation commemorating International Holocaust Day today at a Nazi death camp in Poland. Mohammed Barakeh will be the only Arab in a contingent of Israeli parliamentarians and government ministers at Auschwitz to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Book review: Avi Shlaim's "Israel and Palestine"


When prolific writers compile a decade or more of their writing in a single collection, changes in style, political outlook, or interpretive tendencies are readily apparent. Consistency in all these respects is visible too. While Avi Shlaim’s latest book — Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations reveals such changes and continuities, his analytical gaze suffers from a blind spot when it comes to the ideology upon which Israel was founded. Max Ajl reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

New York Times fails to disclose Jerusalem bureau chief's conflict of interest


The New York Times has all but confirmed to The Electronic Intifada (EI) that the son of its Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner was recently inducted into the Israeli army. Over the weekend, EI received a tip suggesting this had been the case and wrote to Bronner to ask him to confirm or deny the information and to seek his opinion on whether, if true, he thought it would be a conflict of interest. 

Israel's PR exploitation of Haiti aid


Despite logistical problems, the 12 January earthquake in Haiti has seen much of the “international community” pull together to provide food, doctors and other emergency aid for the already poverty-stricken country. But the disaster has also provided apologists for the State of Israel’s human rights abuses an opportunity to try and grab high moral ground. Sarah Irving comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

My family's ongoing Nakba story


One of the most traumatic effects wrought upon Palestinian society by the 1948 Nakba, or the dispossession of historic Palestine, is the physical separation it forced upon Palestinians, between those in the diaspora and the refugees, between those living in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and those who became citizens of Israel. Yet this process is ongoing to this very day, and targets even individual families. Mohammad Alsaafin details how Israel is preventing his family from seeing each other through its restrictive ID system. 

Israel upgrades settlement college to university


Ehud Barak, Israel’s defense minister, approved last week the upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine Palestinian confidence in the peace process. The decision, authorizing the first Israeli university in Palestinian territory, is expected to entitle the college to significant extra funding, allowing it to expand its student population. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Gaza families fight to visit relatives in Israeli prisons


Umm Faris Baroud of Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City wakes up early every Monday in the hope that she will be allowed to visit her son Faris, serving a life sentence in one of Israel’s prisons. “For the past two and a half years I have been unable to visit Faris,” she explained. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Gaza's thin red line one year later


During last winter’s invasion of Gaza, Israeli forces killed 16 medical rescuers, four in one day alone. Another 57 were injured. At least 16 ambulances were damaged with at least nine completely destroyed. In a special report for The Electronic Intifada, Eva Bartlett speaks with Gaza’s emergency medical workers one year after the massacres. 

"Palestinian journalists can't work freely or safely"


“Being a journalist is the most dangerous work in the world,” says Palestinian photojournalist Nayef Hashlamoun, “especially being a photojournalist or a photographer. We work under risk every day, especially in conflict areas like Palestine or Iraq, especially if you have soldiers who feel that you are from the other side, not from their side.” Sarah Irving reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Israel threatening, arresting and deporting to crush dissent


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel is lashing out at international criticism and attempting to crush local dissent in what appears to be growing sensitivity to reproach of its policies. Several recent incidents have dominated media headlines, including the arrest of a Jewish-American journalist on the grounds of security, threats by an Israeli minister against international diplomats and the arrest of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. 

"Jerusalem is in danger"


Once again, Israel resorts to show trials. Sheikh Raed Salah, a prominent political and religious leader of the Palestinian minority, was sentenced on 13 January by an Israeli court to nine months of imprisonment. This is his second conviction in recent years. This time the allegation was that he assaulted a policeman and obstructed police work during a demonstration at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Nimer Sultany comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

"Humanity cannot be divided": Gaza shows solidarity with Haiti


“We have been living a man-made disaster actually for the past 62 years,” said Palestinian parliamentarian Jamal al-Khudari, a chairman of the Gaza-based Committee to Break the Siege. “We would like to send out a message of solidarity to the people of Haiti, who are now facing a natural disaster.” Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip. 

Zionism's destabilizing force: "Israeli Exceptionalism" reviewed


In his new book Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism, M. Shahid Alam successfully argues that the moral force behind the Zionist movement is a sense of Jewish, and consequently Israeli, exceptionalism. This claim of exceptionalism underpins what he calls the “destabilizing logic of Zionism.” According to Alam, Zionism “could advance only by creating and promoting conflicts between the West and the Islamicate.” Ahmed Moor reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Santana: Don't entertain Israeli apartheid!


The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to musician Santana, scheduled to perform in Israel this summer: “Your gig in Israel will be a clear contribution to Israel’s well-oiled campaign to whitewash its persistent violations of international law and basic Palestinian rights through ‘re-branding’ itself as an enlightened and cultured country.” 

Lebanon tightens control over Palestinian refugee camps


NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (IPS) - Recent inter-factional clashes in Lebanon’s Ein al-Hilwe refugee camp once more illustrated the fragile security situation in some of its Palestinian camps. Lebanese plans to take over security within the camps are rejected by the Palestinians. Ein al-Hilwe and other refugee camps are home to various Palestinian nationalist groups, but also host different Islamist forces that the Lebanese government considers a threat to the state’s security and stability. 

Boycott the 2010 Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival


The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) call on students, lecturers and filmmakers to boycott the 13th International Student Film Festival, scheduled for June 2010 in the city of Tel Aviv. PACBI and PSCABI believe that this festival, as with similar cultural initiatives supported by the Israeli government, is openly designed to whitewash the crimes of Israeli apartheid. 

"We are all complicit": an interview with Ewa Jasiewicz


A year ago, Israel launched its invasion of Gaza. Dubbed “Operation Cast Lead” by the Israeli military, the invasion started on 27 December 2008 and finished on 18 January 2009. During those 23 days, more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed including more than 320 children. Originally from England, Ewa Jasiewicz was one of a handful of “internationals” on the ground during the entirety of the attacks. Frank Barat spoke to Jasiewicz for The Electronic Intifada. 

Israel jails Palestinian peace activists


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel has long argued that Palestinians should pursue their political objectives in a nonviolent way. However, several prominent Palestinian peace activists have recently been arrested and jailed for doing just that. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, 39, the coordinator of the Bilin Popular Committee, which has challenged Israel’s illegal expropriation of Palestinian land both in an Israeli court and a Canadian one, has been charged with “illegal arms possession, stone throwing and incitement.” 

Nahr al-Bared's economic recovery hampered by military siege


More than two years after the end of the fighting, the war-torn Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, located in northern Lebanon, is far from the model the Lebanese government has promised the camp would become. Instead, reconstruction of the camp is delayed, the area is a military zone with restricted access, and the camp’s economy is stalled and residents are largely unemployed. Ray Smith reports for Electronic Lebanon. 

Fighting our way to Gaza


I should have known that my trip to al-Arish was not going to be straightforward. The last time I set foot in the usually sleepy Sinai tourist town, just 40 kilometers away from the Egypt-Gaza border (or, should I say, iron wall of oppression) at Rafah was back in March 2009, when I met up with the first Viva Palestina convoy. Ten months later, another convoy was on its way to the besieged Strip. Jody McIntyre writes from al-Arish, Egypt. 

Marriage under siege close to impossible


GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - “If we had money we’d get married right away,” says Samir, 23. He has found his bride, but not the money to hold the wedding. The Israeli siege imposed shortly after Hamas’s election in early 2006 has ruled out marriage for many. Palestinians traditionally marry young, between 18 and 25, but more and more now pass their mid-twenties single. 

"This is life:" remembering earlier massacres in Gaza


“This is the first time I’ve returned here since my friends were killed,” Ahmad Hammad says. He stands at the edge of a vacant plot and gestures to its far end which lies over 1 km from the border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip. Hammad, 24, recalls the day two years ago when three of his friends were torn apart by an Israeli-fired surface-to-surface missile. Eva Bartlett writes from the Gaza Strip. 

Human rights defenders Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma released


On 13 January 2010, Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma, Palestinian human rights defenders active in the campaign against the annexation wall unlawfully constructed by Israel in occupied Palestinian territory, were finally released from Israeli detention. Addameer and Stop the Wall contend that both were arrested in an effort to curb the success of their peaceful activities in defense of Palestinian human rights. 

The United States, Israel and the retreat of freedom


A new report by Freedom House, a US-government funded think tank, suggests US interference around the world makes countries less free. Despite this, it calls for even more US intervention. The report’s approach also provides a stark example of the abyss liberal thinking has fallen into when it comes to ignoring Israel’s systematic abuses and presenting the country as an idealized democracy. EI’s Ali Abunimah comments. 

A second Gaza war around the corner?


Israel’s recent aggressions look ominously like the 4 November 2008 attack on Gaza, which killed six persons and shattered the four-month-long truce meticulously respected by Hamas. Predictably, Hamas and other factions retaliated for that Israeli provocation and then Israel used their response to justify its massacre of 1,400 people in Gaza this time last year. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. 

Don't forget Free Gaza Movement women


Although I appreciate Asa Winstanley’s warm review of To Gaza with Love (4 January 2010), he left out every woman involved in the organization and founding of the Free Gaza Movement. I’m dismayed that the review shows yet another attempt to turn the story into a “good-old boy tale” instead of what was a primarily a female initiative. 

Making a business out of Palestine's struggle


Soliciting the support of people in the US-based Palestine solidarity movement, Palestine Note recently launched a new website that aspires to become the online hub for all things Palestine. While the website announces its dedication to “news, stories and views about Palestine and Palestinians,” and its aspiration to become a “cultivator of community,” The Electronic Intifada contributor Yaman Salahi finds there is more behind the enterprise than meets the eye. 

Nablus executions: Shoot first, ask questions later


The brutal killing of three Palestinian men by Israeli military forces in Nablus last week on 26 December 2009 sparked grief and outrage across Palestine and brought the northern West Bank city to a standstill as thousands mourned the lethal attack. However, their voices are drowned out yet again by a well-played hand of Israel’s propaganda machine and repeated by the mainstream media. Bridget Chappell writes from Nablus. 

Church in hot water over Jerusalem land sales


RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel’s bid to keep occupied East Jerusalem under its sovereignty and prevent its incorporation into a future Palestinian state has been boosted over the years with the acquiescence of the Greek Orthodox Church. The church’s sale of politically sensitive land in East Jerusalem under dubious circumstances and amidst charges of political blackmail have caused outrage amongst Greek Orthodox Palestinians and threatened to split the church. 

Interview: Disabled activist continues struggle in Bilin


The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre interviews disabled Palestinian grassroots activist Rani Bornat: “These are peaceful protests; if we don’t fight for our land, then who can? If we don’t fight for the truth, then who can? If we don’t stand side by side and resist this occupation together, then who can? Peaceful demonstrations don’t hurt or kill anybody; they are only there to serve the oppressed. We must tear down this wall, so that we can live with peace … and freedom.” 

Uphill battle for academic freedom in US universities


Despite the expanding and momentous student-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, open dialogue around the reality of the situation in occupied Palestine continues to be an uphill battle for many professors inside the classrooms. Nora Barrows-Friedman reports on recent cases of academic freedom infringement for The Electronic Intifada. 

Will Egypt's underground wall end the Gaza tunnel trade?


A subterranean wall being built by Egypt along its border with Gaza is meant to hack the tunnel structures, which extend from the Egyptian side of the border to the Gaza’s side for distances that range between 400 meters and 1,700 meters. With many prohibitions on the ground, the tunnels have become a lucrative underground alternative. The wall construction portrays the depth of this underground urbanism, bringing the conflict between smugglers and the security to the forefront. Lina Attalah reports. 

Miss Palestine's mistaken rebellion


One of the travesties of living in a colonized environment is that the inferior, or oppressed, aspire to win admittance to the Western world. There seems to be an emerging trend of this type of appeasement, where submission has replaced the revolution. The introduction to spectacles, like the breaking of a Guinness record for the largest plate of kanafeh and the search for a national beauty queen, are just two examples of absurd practices are coming to be seen as normal in Palestinian cities. Sousan Hammad comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

"No army, no prison and no wall can stop us"


I mark the beginning of the new decade imprisoned in a military detention camp. Nevertheless, from within the occupation′s holding cell I meet the New Year with determination and hope. I know that Israel’s military campaign to imprison the leadership of the Palestinian popular struggle shows that our nonviolent struggle is effective. Abdallah Abu Rahmah writes from the Ofer Military Detention Camp. 

My husband: jailed for protesting Israel's wall


On International Human Rights Day in 2008, my husband Abdallah Abu Rahmah was in Berlin receiving a medal from the World Association for Human Rights. Last year on the same day, 10 December, Abdallah was taken away at 2am by Israeli soldiers who broke into our West Bank home. Abdallah was arrested for the same reasons he received the prize — his nonviolent struggle for justice, equality and peace in Palestine/Israel. Majida Abu Rahmah comments. 

Gaza Freedom March: detained at the US embassy


On the afternoon of 28 December 2009, I was with several persons who accompanied CODEPINK cofounder Jodie Evans to the US Embassy in Cairo to present a letter from Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in which he expressed “strong support” for citizens of his state who were traveling to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and requesting they be given “every courtesy.” Ali Abunimah writes about being detained at the US embassy in Cairo. 

Gaza Freedom March marches in Cairo against blockade


The international delegation of the Gaza Freedom March originally planned to arrive in Gaza on 29 December 2009 to join a march against the Israeli blockade together with residents of Gaza two days later. Instead, most of its delegates remained in Cairo, having been blocked from going to the Rafah border by the Egyptian government, and instead marched against the Egyptian blockade on Gaza. Sharat G. Lin gives an account of the Gaza Freedom March from Cairo for The Electronic Intifada. 

Imprisonment as political pressure: Addameer's Sahar Francis interviewed


The Palestinian nongovernmental organization Addameer was founded in 1992 to promote and protect the rights of political prisoners. The Electronic Intifada interviewed Sahar Francis, a human rights lawyer and the director of Addameer, about the recent repression wave targeting Palestinian human rights activists protesting Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank. 

A year after losing a father and sons, a Gaza family copes


Fathiya Abu Jbara lost her husband and two sons in an Israeli air strike on the family home during Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip last winter. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reported on the strike a few days after the attack and one year later, visits the family again to see how they are coping. 

Photostory: Commemorating the assault on Gaza


Approximately one year ago, Israel unleashed its assault on the Gaza Strip — amidst its ongoing siege and occupation — killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the attacks, most of them soldiers. The attacks sparked mass demonstrations around the world in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The following images are from around the one year anniversary, when many groups around the world again led demonstrations to show their continued solidarity with Palestine. 

Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli apartheid


Gaza Freedom Marchers have approved a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid, calling for a global mass, democratic anti-apartheid movement to work in full consultation with Palestinian civil society to implement the Palestinian call for BDS

Gaza and the path to accountability


The US, UK and Canadian governments are all embroiled in attempts to immunize themselves from accountability under international law for their own actions in the so-called War on Terror. Protecting Israel from international law has therefore acquired an added urgency, not only in the interests of the Zionist regime, but also in the interests of the US and its two staunchest allies in the War on Terror, Britain and Canada, to remain beyond the reach of international law. Sunera Thobani comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Unbreakable in Cairo


Though I have lived most of my life in and around Chicago, it has never been my complete home. My sisters and I were born as first-generation Palestinian-Americans coming from Kuwait and for this reason our lives in Chicago always felt temporary — we were only supposed to stay until the Gulf War was over, we finished school, the occupation ended, the siege was broken, etc. The only accepted rhetoric about our presence in America was and continues to be, “This is not our home, we are from Gaza.” Dana Elborno writes from Cairo. 

Targeting human rights defenders


Israel still believes it can act with impunity. It will only stop if there is a cost to its human rights violations. Appeals to the Israeli authorities to respect due process are not enough, as Omar Barghouti put it in a call to redouble efforts for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Israel will only change if it “gets the message that its arrest of civil resistance leaders will only intensify the already massive BDS campaigns against it.” Nadia Hijab comments.