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Behind Brand Israel: Israel's recent propaganda efforts

Ben White 23 February 2010

“The Delegitimization Challenge” report from the influential Israeli think tank the Reut Institute has put the spotlight on efforts by Israel and the Zionist lobby to counter the growing movement for justice in Palestine, and specifically, the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign. The work done by Reut has rightly attracted attention, but it is only one (particularly prominent) example of a wider trend, as the Israeli government and global Zionist groups mobilize to fight the threat to the apartheid system. Ben White analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. 

Harvard Fellow calls for genocidal measure to curb Palestinian births

22 February 2010


A fellow at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Martin Kramer, has called for “the West” to take measures to curb the births of Palestinians, a proposal that appears to meet the international legal definition of a call for genocide. Kramer, who is also a fellow at the influential Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), made the call early this month in a speech at Israel’s Herzliya conference, a video of which is posted on his blog. 

Israel's contemptuous response to Goldstone findings

Sayed Dhansay 22 February 2010


Submitted to the UN on 29 January, the Israeli government’s response to the UN-commissioned Goldstone fact-finding report falls far short of a credible investigation and continues Israel’s long-standing policy of refusal to investigate and convict those responsible for crimes committed during its military campaigns. Sayed Dhansay comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Scattered in death as in life

Nadia Hijab 22 February 2010


Mamilla cemetery is estimated to be over 800 years old and was in continuous use until 1948 when the Western part of Jerusalem was conquered as Israel was created. The battle over Mamilla cemetery encapsulates many aspects of Israel’s approach to Palestinian rights since the conflict began, and it is worth considering five here. Nadia Hijab comments. 

Hebron's living hell

Alice Rothchild Hebron, West Bank 22 February 2010


Our sobering taste of life in Hebron included other devastating stories and the presence of Israeli guard towers, camouflage netting, checkpoints, a wall spray painted with graffiti that included a tribute to the Golani brigade, one of the Israeli army’s most aggressively violent units, and to Betar, a right-wing youth organization. I passed a concrete block obstructing the road, spray painted with an arrow and the words “This is apartheid.” Alice Rothchild writes from Hebron. 

PACBI issues clarification concerning intellectual responsibility statement

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel 19 February 2010

PACBI’s recent statement entitled “Intellectual Responsibility and the Voice of the Colonized,” which criticizes the research project that led to the publication of the book, The Power of Inclusive Exclusion: Anatomy of Israeli Rule in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has stirred a healthy debate and mostly constructive discussion among various scholars. 

Israeli media first to report Haitian organ theft rumor

Jillian C. York 19 February 2010


There is considerable speculation following the removal of Lady Jenny Tonge on 14 February from her position as health critic for the Liberal Democratic Party in the UK’s House of Lords following her statement calling for an inquiry into claims that the Israeli military stole organs during its relief work in Haiti last month. Jillian York reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Jerusalem families come out against museum built on ancestors' graves

Marian Houk 19 February 2010


Members of prominent Palestinian families from Jerusalem came out last week in protest against plans by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to build a Museum of Tolerance on top of part of the ancient Mamilla Cemetery where their ancestors are buried. One family member behind the initiative said it is not just symbolic, but instead a full-blown campaign. Marian Houk reports for The Electronic Intifada.