1 December 2010
Earlier this year, “Mahmoud” came home to see a letter with his name on it, instructing him to come to the Russian Compound prison facility in Jerusalem. The 15-year-old Palestinian resident of the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem went to the prison with his father, mother and aunt. He was interrogated for seven hours. Read more about Targeting Silwan's children
30 November 2010
NGO Monitor has launched a campaign targeting a Dutch foundation’s financial support to The Electronic Intifada, accusing the publication among other things of “anti-Semitism.” NGO Monitor is an extreme right-wing group with close ties to the Israeli government, military, West Bank settlers, a man convicted of misleading the US Congress, and to notoriously Islamophobic individuals and organizations in the United States. Read more about Why NGO Monitor is attacking The Electronic Intifada
30 November 2010
The new WikiLeaks disclosures provide a useful insight, captured in the very ordinariness of the diplomatic correspondence, into Washington’s own sense of the limits on its global role — an insight that was far less apparent in the previous WikiLeaks revelations on the US army’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jonathan Cook comments. Read more about WikiLeaks' harsh lesson on imperial hubris
6 December 2010
A bill recently proposed in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, requires organizations to pledge loyalty to Israel as “Jewish and democratic.” The legislation continues threatens the existence of civil society organizations working for Palestinian rights within Israel. Read more about New Israeli laws threaten Palestinian civil society
30 November 2010
Palestinians living under siege in the occupied Gaza Strip cannot even communicate by mail, as Israel also severely restricts or delays the delivery of post including letters and packages. Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about "Return to sender" - Israel blocks the mail to Gaza
30 November 2010
More than three years after Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in the north of Lebanon was destroyed, its reconstruction is finally under way. However, the process runs at a slow pace and remains only partially funded as further political obstacles appear on the horizon. Read more about Nahr al-Bared reconstruction delay throws civil rights into spotlight
30 November 2010
In his new book Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean, Basem Ra’ad unearths new renderings of religious, historical and cultural material and offers readers a direction for thinking about research and activism alike. Read more about Book review: excavating Palestine's "Hidden Histories"
29 November 2010
It was a bright, warm morning in the occupied West Bank’s Saffa Valley Thursday, 18 November when, without warning, the Israeli occupation forces were upon us. Within moments, five Israeli soldiers were shouting in Hebrew. “You have one minute to leave the area!” they said, before shooting stun grenades at our feet. Moments later, we were told to sit quietly and hand over our passports. A six-hour detention was to follow. Read more about Arrested while helping farmers in Saffa Valley
Gilboa Prison 29 November 2010
The following is an excerpt from a letter by Palestinian political prisoner and civil society leader Ameer Makhoul, written in response to a postcard featuring an image of a lighthouse sent by The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof: “The lighthouse, al-fanar in Arabic, is an inspiration. I have built a lighthouse here in jail. It has been built in my mind because I am not allowed to use the space, but my mind is totally mine.” Read more about Letter from prison: I have a lot of energy to struggle
29 November 2010
Scottish artist Jane Frere’s exhibition In the Shadow of the Wall reminds us that the plight of the Palestinian people is not just confined to periods of overt conflict, but is an ongoing, everyday experience. Stephen Fiddes reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Review: paintings scream to break walls of silence
25 November 2010
An Israeli military judge extended the jail term for Abdallah Abu Rahme, a well-known Palestinian activist who was due to be released on 18 November. Meanwhile, in New York City, students created a mock Israeli checkpoint in the middle of Columbia University and in Scotland Edinburgh-based activists worked with one of the country’s top law firms to advise the city council not to contract with Veolia. Read more about Activism roundup: Abu Rahme sentence extended, students stage mock checkpoint
Aida refugee camp 25 November 2010
The holiday of Eid al-Ahda — the Feast of the Sacrifice — is celebrated by Muslims across the world to commemorate the prophet Abraham’s sacrifice of a sheep in the place of his son Ishmael. Palestine is no different than most countries where the holiday is observed, but with one notable exception: the Israeli occupation. Photographer Sanne Winderickx documents the Eid al-Adha holiday under occupation in the West Bank. Read more about Photostory: somber holiday under occupation
24 November 2010
Volvo prides itself on being a byword for sturdiness, safety and reliability. After a careful examination of the vehicle-maker’s investment in Israel, perhaps it should also become synonymous with enabling torture. Read more about Volvo equipment enabling torture, facilitating occupation
24 November 2010
To accuse Hamas of marketing fundamentalism and extremism in the Gaza Strip is false and inaccurate. There is no “Talibanization” of Gaza. Such a claim is based on Israeli propaganda and the deliberately distorted accounts of those in Gaza who are politically and ideologically opposed to the government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Ahmed Yousef, Deputy of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about There is no "Talibanization" of Gaza
23 November 2010
Any major film addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict can expect to court a measure of controversy, but American artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel’s intervention is unlikely to cause much consternation among a mainstream cinema audience. Omar El-Khairy reviews Schnabel’s film Miral for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Film review: Palestine as Hollywood fantasy in "Miral"
22 November 2010
BEIRUT, Lebanon (IPS) - Abu Yussif doesn’t want to talk about his work anymore. “It’s not going to help and nothing will change anyway,” he says. The tall, white-haired Palestinian has just returned from work and relaxes in his little garden in the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. Read more about Despite law "reform," Palestinians out of work in Lebanon
25 November 2010
Filmmaker Dahna Abourahme’s latest film focuses on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein al-Hilwe in south Lebanon, and on the women in particular as they reminisce about their roles during the Israeli attack on the camp in 1982-1984. Amany Al-Sayyed interviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Everyday heroes: filmmaker Dahna Abourahme interviewed
18 November 2010
An elections process in Iraq cleverly diverts all attention from the colossal incompetency of the government, and spins the tall tale of a young, fledgling born-again country instead. The reality is that democracy in Iraq does not exist beyond the show business of sham elections. Ahmed Habeeb comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The deadly lie of democracy in Iraq
18 November 2010
Palestinians describe the Israel Land Administration Law (ILA) quietly passed by the Israeli Knesset in 2009 as the final stage in the 62-year process of displacement from their homeland. The legislation is expected to have a long-term, disastrous impact on Palestinian lives and precludes the possibility of a negotiated resolution to the conflict. Read more about A privatized Nakba
19 November 2010
Director Samuel Maoz’s reduction of Lebanon to the interior of an Israeli military vehicle alerts us to the film Lebanon’s insular vision right away. Belén Fernández comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Cinematic therapy for Israeli soldiers
17 November 2010
Another setback for the Palestinian national movement may be unfolding as Barack Obama dangles a lavish package of incentives in the face of Benjamin Netanyahu in an attempt to lure the Israeli prime minister into renewing a three-month, partial freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank. Read more about With Netanyahu bribe, Washington going for broke
16 November 2010
The threats of death, maiming and incarceration are perhaps the worst and most direct obstacles to the objective coverage of situations in which human rights violations are committed daily. But by no means do they alone account for problems relating to global coverage of war, politics and human rights in the Middle East today. Read more about The obstacles to reporting the truth about war
16 November 2010
Wrapped in an Israeli flag, San Francisco Voice for Israel/StandWithUs member Robin Dubner, an Oakland-based attorney, pepper-sprayed two Jewish Voice for Peace members in the eyes and face after they attempted to nonviolently block her ability to aggressively videotape the faces of JVP meeting attendees against their will. Read more about StandWithUs member attacks Jewish Voice for Peace activists
16 November 2010
The conventional wisdom is that when Washington has exerted pressure on Israeli governments they have eventually succumbed to American demands. However, a closer reading of the historical record and declassified American archival documents reveals a more complex dynamic between the two allies. Read more about The myth of American pressure
17 November 2010
The Israeli historian Ilan Pappé’s new memoir Out of the Frame manages to link Pappé’s personal struggle against Israeli McCarthyism with a broader struggle for human and political rights of which academic freedom is merely one aspect. Raymond Deane reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Book review: An Israeli academic's struggle against McCarthyism
Gaza Strip 16 November 2010
The four-member Abu Daher family lived their happiest day yet since Israeli army bulldozers crushed their cement home almost two years ago during Israel’s massive assault on the Gaza Strip. Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza. Read more about 100-year-old refugee gets new Gaza home in time for Eid
15 November 2010
For decades the United States government has attempted to criminalize work in the Palestinian community in support of their national liberation cause. A special feature by The Electronic Intifada shows that in recent years, this repression has increased dramatically. Read more about US activists face new repression as political prisoners fight for justice
22 November 2010
It was midday on a Monday when 61-year-old Hamdan Abu Shallouf bent down, laboring away in his small home garden among his okra plants. There is something special about Abu Shallouf’s crops in the rural area of Khirbet al-Adas in Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Read more about Gaza farmers sow self-sufficiency
15 November 2010
In 2005, three years after the Israeli army perpetrated a massacre and razed dozens of homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, a group of Palestinian youth established the Jenin Creative Cultural Center. The center provides cultural and educational services for children and youth ranging in age from six to 25. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof interviews the center director Yousef Awad on the situation of children in Jenin. Read more about Jenin center director: "I want to create hope"
15 November 2010
I was deported by the Israeli government for publicly expressing support for and participating in the growing global movement for Palestinian human rights and freedom. Israel’s increased deportation of witnesses and activists such as myself comes as the solidarity movement including the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions gains momentum around the world. Read more about Deported by Israel, but not discouraged
12 November 2010
Asad Ghanem, a professor of political science at Haifa University, predicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet will eventually come to rue their obduracy. The intransigence and the unabashed espousal of “an ideology of Jewish supremacy” by Netanyahu and his supporters will lead to the gradual “reunification” of the Palestinian people, Dr. Ghanem said in an interview. Read more about Why Palestinians may one day thank Netanyahu
12 November 2010
The major Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), which has investments totaling 97 billion euros, has informed The Electronic Intifada that it has divested from almost all the Israeli companies in its portfolio. Read more about Major Dutch pension fund divests from occupation
11 November 2010
Activists successfully disrupted a New Orleans speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Massachusetts voters said yes to equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, Ireland saw the launch of a campaign focusing on Israeli “blood diamonds” and Australia held its first national BDS conference. Read more about Activism roundup: Netanyahu disrupters tell of "mob mentality"
11 November 2010
The new book Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians will surely attract the attention of Palestine solidarity activists because of the implied promise of a collaboration between its prominent co-authors, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé, and because of its highly topical focus on Gaza. Unfortunately, readers will likely be disappointed. Read more about Review: "Gaza in Crisis" leaves readers wanting more
10 November 2010
As proud as I am of the independent political path Iran has taken and the role it plays as an enabler of resistance to Israel, I am deeply aware of the great costs we have been forced to bear as a people by our government. Khashayar Safavi comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Solidarity must not come at the expense of Iranian freedoms
9 November 2010
A new documentary reveals a hidden chapter in the history of the Nakba — the Palestinian expulsion and flight at the hands of Zionist militias as Israel was established in 1948 — which saw the systematic looting of more than 60,000 Palestinian books by Israeli forces and the attempted destruction of Palestinian culture. Read more about The great book robbery of 1948
9 November 2010
In the past few weeks, the usually tranquil town of Safed — one of Judaism’s four holy cities — has been making headlines. Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz, last week declared it “the most racist city in the country.” Read more about Rabbis provoke riots in Israel's "most racist" city
9 November 2010
The United States has become a battleground for both the struggles of the peoples of Palestine and Kashmir, for freedom from military occupation and for justice. Awareness amongst the US public is broadened as the repression of both struggles grows ever more violent, and meanwhile those wishing to stifle debate on these issues in the US resort to harassment and intimidation. Read more about Speaking out on Kashmir and Palestine in the US
8 November 2010
More than 600 activists from Quebec, Canada, and the United States gathered in Montreal from 22-24 October for a weekend-long conference on growing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The Electronic Intifada contributor Gretchen King produced an audio report from the conference. Read more about Audio: Highlights from Montreal BDS conference
Sebastia 8 November 2010
One can find very different leaflets about the same place: Sebastia, an outrageously pretty little West Bank village which you’d never guess was once a major city, the capital of ancient kingdoms and home to an imposing Crusader cathedral which is now the village mosque. Read more about Sebastia's living community sidelined for ancient ruins
8 November 2010
The Zionist “Left” is distancing itself from a loyalty oath bill on the Israeli government’s table, but the proposed oath is entirely consistent with Israel’s racist foundations and continued ethnic cleansing — all of which the Zionist “Left” has played a central role in perpetrating and whitewashing. Read more about The loyalty oath and Israel's Zionist "left"
5 November 2010
After spending nearly six months in jail, Palestinian political prisoner Ameer Makhoul signed a plea agreement with Israeli state prosecutors on 27 October. The deal involves a reduced list of charges, including contact with a foreign agent and spying for the Lebanese resistance movement Hizballah. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of seven to ten years. Read more about Plea deal "only option" for political prisoner Ameer Makhoul
5 November 2010
“It is time, after 43 years, to acknowledge the intolerable burdens of prolonged occupation on a civilian population.” In his last report to the United Nations General Assembly in his term as Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk describes the lack of cooperation of the Israeli government and the deteriorating human rights situation on the ground. Read more about UN will be judged on whether it upholds Palestinian rights
4 November 2010
Africa Israel, the flagship company of Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, announced this week that it is no longer involved in Israeli settlement projects and that it has no plans for future settlement activities. Read more about Boycott victory: Africa Israel suspends settlement construction
Budrus 4 November 2010
This Sunday, 7 November, will mark exactly seven years since Ayed Morrar first saw Israeli bulldozers arrive to destroy the land of his village, Budrus, in the occupied West Bank. Ayed al-Morrar, founder of the first popular committee to resist Israel’s wall, discusses with The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre his village’s struggle and victory and the future of the movement. Read more about Interview: Budrus "built a model of civil resistance"
2 November 2010
After years of training, the traditional Canaan Dabke dance troupe has a name renowned throughout Gaza, and uniforms to match. Read more about Dreaming of dancing around the world
2 November 2010
Has Hamas been able to actually build on its high level of commitment and sacrifice, not only on the part of the movement but of Palestinians in general? Haidar Eid comments. Read more about Tough questions for Hamas
2 November 2010
The behind-the-scenes work of Palestinian unions, Palestinian and international BDS groups, video conferences bridging Palestine to the outside world, and the struggle of Palestinian students to access an education continues largely unnoticed by the cameras. Read more about Education in Palestine in world spotlight
2 November 2010
Bulldozers, backed by Israeli soldiers and police forces, razed a Bedouin Palestinian encampment in Isawiya, a village northeast of Jerusalem on Wednesday, 27 October. Israeli forces destroyed tents and other structures that were home to six families, according to Ma’an News Agency. Read more about Israeli colonies expand, Palestinians face home demolitions
1 November 2010
Shoppers and employees at the Fresh Grocer’s flagship store at 40th and Walnut Street in Philadelphia were surprised last month by a choreographed flash dance performed in the store by activists calling for a boycott of products that provide moral and financial support for Israeli human rights violations. Read more about Video: "No justice, no chickpeas!" activists tell Philadelphia shoppers
1 November 2010
Last month, Greg Selinger, the New Democratic Party (NDP) Premier of the Province of Manitoba, and two of his ministers visited Israel. Among other things, the official delegation strengthened the longtime “progressive” government’s ties to the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The trip was a sad spectacle that should embarrass every Canadian who opposes racism. Read more about Progressive Canadians must challenge JNF's charitable status
1 November 2010
In his debut book The Political Economy of the Occupation, economist Shir Hever synthesizes a slew of sources to come to a solid analysis of the economic factors behind the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Read more about Book review: understanding the economics of occupation