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Look for a future Palestine in the past

George Bisharat 3 February 2005


Six decades ago, my family celebrated Christmas in its Jerusalem home, as did the families of other Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem, Nazareth and throughout the Holy Land. Then, in 1948, Palestinian society was destroyed. More than 700,000 Palestinians — many, like us, Christians, but even more Muslims — fled or were forced into exile by Israeli troops. That is the history of the establishment of Israel that is often forgotten in the United States — but is stubbornly remembered by Palestinians. Why do Palestinians who lost their homes, and who have been barred by Israel from returning ever since, remember their pre-exile lives with such enduring intensity? George Bisharat offers an answer. 

Saida's Six Days of Curfew

Donna Mulhearn Saida, Palestine 3 February 2005


I am writing this by candlelight in a family living room in the Palestinian West Bank town of Saida where I am currently under military-enforced house arrest, along with 3,500 others. The living room of my adopted home is packed full of people. They have no choice but to stay inside. If they open their front door they will be confronted by the machine gun of one of the hundreds of heavily armed Israeli soldiers who invaded and occupied this sleepy farming town three days ago. Donna Mulhearn has spent the last week in the Palestinian West Bank town of Saida under curfew and military occupation with its people. 

Speaking out about Israel to save the Jewish soul

Cecilie Surasky 2 February 2005


“Every time a Gazan father faints as he watches his family home demolished; every time a Jew, Muslim or Christian is violently attacked by armed Israelis because they are non-violently protesting the separation wall; every time a rain of Israeli army bullets flies into the body of a young child on her way to school; every time a young Palestinian man is made to play violin by Israeli soldiers, or a pregnant woman dies at a checkpoint, Jews like us must speak out.” Commentator Cecilie Surasky is communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace and a New Voices fellow with the Academy of Educational Development. 

Film Review: "The Syrian Bride"

Maureen Clare Murphy 2 February 2005


Though the film is called The Syrian Bride, the story is about much more than Mona the bride. Played by Clara Khoury (who also starred as a bride in Rana’s Wedding), Mona doesn’t have very many lines in this new Israeli film. Instead, she acts as a gravitational body that the main themes of the film orbit around — her sister Amal’s unhappy marriage, the problems of tribal politics, the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights, and on a more abstract level, the broader political conflict in the Middle East. 

Israeli divestment fails amid opposition from local groups, Mayor

Bruce Hamilton 2 February 2005


The Somerville Divestment Project drafted a resolution to forbid Somerville investments in Israeli bonds and companies that supplied military and defense services to the country. “Like many other American cities…Somerville is directly, albeit unwittingly, contributing to the oppression, dispossession, humiliation and overall suffering of the Palestinian people,” Wallace wrote in his article, entitled “Somerville Divestment Failure is Bittersweet.” The article first appeared on Dec. 20, in The Electronic Intifada, an online publication dedicated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Anschutz Group Pulls Ad for 'Examiner' After Protest

Joe Strupp 30 January 2005


Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group, which owns the San Francisco Examiner and plans to launch the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, has pulled an advertisement promoting the two papers following criticism that the ad demonized Palestinian children, The Denver Post reported Saturday. The Electronic Intifada asked its readers to contact Examiner vice president of advertising Mark Wurzer and San Francisco Examiner managing editor Jim Pimentel to request that they pull the ad, according to the Post. 

Letter from Prison: My Interview with Israel's Shin Bet Intelligence Agency

Patrick O'Connor Ramle 1 February 2005


Recently the Israeli authorities have begun searching for and arresting experienced International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and international activists. My arrest and attempted deportation is another example of this. Evidently the Israeli authorities find nonviolent resistance and active support of Palestinian rights to be threatening. Pat O’Connor has managed humanitarian aid programs in the Middle East and Africa, and volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank supporting non-violent Palestinian protest against the Wall. He is currently in detention at Maasiyahu prison in Ramle awaiting deportation. 

Lessons from South Africa for the peace process (2/2)

Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker 1 February 2005


History has not given the Palestinian people much reason to trust the intentions of the government of Israel. While Ariel Sharon has repeatedly claimed to be driven by a commitment to peace, his actions have so far belied his words, particularly concerning its military occupation of Palestinian territories. In this second article of a two-part series, Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker revisit key factors that built trust amongst both parties to the conflict in apartheid South Africa, without eroding key principles of the liberation movement, and reflect upon these experiences in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Lessons from South Africa for the peace process (1/2)

Adri Nieuwhof, Bangani Ngeleza and Jeff Handmaker 1 February 2005


Despite some initial optimism following the outcome of the Palestinian presidential elections, there has been no obvious progress towards peace negotiations. This is of little surprise, since the conditions for holding negotiations simply do not exist and possibly have not even been thought through by either party. While opportunities for peace talks are fast disappearing as the region appears again to slide into outright confrontation, the writers, former anti-apartheid activists from the Netherlands, South Africa and Great Britain respectively, look back on this crucial period in South African history in the first of two articles in a series, to reflect upon and provide inspiration to the Palestinian struggle for liberation. 

East Jerusalem land confiscation considered anew

31 January 2005


In response to a written appeal by ACRI’s Chief Legal Counsel Dan Yakir for an immediate repeal of the unpublished government decision to extend the Absentee Property Law to East Jerusalem and the surrounding villages, Israel’s attorney-general Menachem Mazuz made clear that he had no knowledge of the decision and had never been informed of its existence. He further added that the issue is under urgent consideration and that he will issue a statement regarding his position within the next few days.