All Content

Some Observations on Academic Freedom

Feroze Sidhwa 10 April 2005


The report recently released by Columbia’s Ad Hoc Grievance Committee is an odd document. Several people, including this author, have pointed out that the section dealing with three student grievances against two professors makes very little sense. The report seems to simply discount the word of Dr. Joseph Massad while taking the word a Dr. George Saliba at face value. In the case of a simple “he said, she said” grievance against Dr. Saliba, the Committee sided with the accused professor. In the case of “four people testify for Dr. Massad (including Dr. Massad), while three people testify for his accuser (including his accuser),” and when the testimony of Dr. Massad’s four is far more consistent and less suspect than that of the three testifying against him, the Committee sided with the accuser. 

Struggling to be self-reliant in Jenin

Salam Max Jenin, Palestine 10 April 2005


Why are so many children born with mental and physical disabilities in Jenin? It is this question the staff of the Local Committee for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (LCORD) set out to answer after more than a decade of working with such children and their families. LCORD carried out some research, to try to discover what was causing so many cases in their region. They interviewed 215 mothers of CP sufferers, and found something they had not been looking for: that almost 70 per cent of them (150 of the mothers) were all using the same, cheap contraceptives. 

The fugitives of Nablus

Atef Saad 8 April 2005


On April 1, Amin Abu Warda, 37, sat with his colleagues, tallying votes for the new board of directors at the Balata Refugee Camp Youth Center. Just before midnight, with the group exhausted from the long hours, 15 armed men broke into the room. “It was terrifying,” says Abu Warda. A video of the break-in shows one of the intruders busting up the blackboard scribbled with the number of tallied votes. Another kicked a ballot box, already emptied. A third man confronted an employee who was trying to hide a few remaining and unharmed ballots. At gunpoint, the man was forced to surrender the papers, another ripping them into pieces before firing a bullet at the ceiling and ordering everyone out of the room. 

"This is Not a Subject for Comedy": Jewish comedian tackles the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Maureen Clare Murphy 8 April 2005


When he was eight years old, Ivor Dembina was asked by his teacher Mr. Benson, “Are you British, or are you Jewish?” So began the journey of the North Londoner comedian (he jokes that his parents are refugees of South London) who came to question religious versus national identity, and in his hit show This is Not a Subject for Comedy gets his audience to remember the importance of this distinction. Though the show is the result of a trip to Jenin he made as a guest of the International Solidarity Movement, his experience growing up Jewish and becoming socially aware that drives the show. 

Israel's Peeping Tom in Rafah still operational

6 April 2005


Since February 18, Palestinians leaving Gaza through the Rafah international crossing point have been forced to experience a humaliating enhanced x-ray process which allows Israeli forces to photograph civilians completely naked. As of yesterday, Israel began to restrict the use of the system to certain individuals — a clear admission of the dangerous health and privacy issues regarding its use. The system is related to systems that have been developed at research labs such as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US and others in the UK. Civil liberties campaigners and privacy experts have called the system a “voyeurs charter”. 

UN review paints gloomy picture of 2004 economy in occupied Palestinian territory

6 April 2005


Around half of the Palestinian population was living below the official poverty line last year, more than double the number in 2000, unemployment increased, and there is no hope for improvement unless guarded optimism on the political front is translated into economic activity, according to the latest review of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory for 2004. The report summarises the main humanitarian trends in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2004. It is an updated version of the report submitted in November 2004 by UN agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee. 

Irish Limerick City might soon become world's first Caterpillar Free Zone

6 April 2005


Limerick City Council will soon consider a motion put forward by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supported by the family of the murdered American human rights observer Rachel Corrie, to declare Limerick City the world’s first Caterpillar Free Zone. The motion calls on the City Council to ban the use of all Caterpillar plant and machinery on Council worksites from January 1st 2006, and calls on all traders in Limerick City to implement a voluntary ban on the sale of Caterpillar merchandise. Limerick City Councillors have a precedent-setting opportunity to declare the world’s first Caterpillar Free Zone, thereby sending a resounding message to Caterpilar shareholders and directors when they meet in Chicago on April 13. 

Four weeks of activities launched to mark Palestinian child day

5 April 2005


This year Palestinian Child Day will mark the start of four weeks of UNICEF-supported activities in the West Bank and Gaza, aimed at providing more than 7000 children aged 6-16 years, with a supportive and productive environment. The activities are led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNICEF. “The events we are supporting are aimed at making a difference in the lives of the most marginalized children in society,” said UNICEF Special Representative Dan Rohrmann. The activities will be conducted in 15 districts. In cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Municipality of Gaza, including the Children Municipality Councils, will help more than 700 kids participating in Fun Days held at safe play areas. 

EI EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Massad's response to the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee Report

Joseph Massad 5 April 2005


In late 2004, claims of intimidation in the department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) of Columbia University hit newspapers around the world after an unreleased documentary Columbia Unbecoming, which purported to reveal incidences of intimidation and anti-Semitism in the classroom. The primary target of the organized campaign was Professor Joseph Massad. Columbia University ultimately formed an ad hoc committee to investigate, which released its report on 31 March 2005. Joseph Massad responds. 

Children, PTSD, and the future of Palestine

5 April 2005


On April 5th every year, Palestinians celebrate Palestinian Child Day. This year’s anniversary comes as Palestinian children suffer from various deprivations of their basic human rights. Israeli occupation remains the main reason for these violations and the basic source of agony for children and for Palestinian society as a whole. Political and social problems have negative ramifications on children’s mental health. According to scientific research by Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, children were found to suffer from high levels of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which negatively impacts their attitudes towards peace.