All Content

The Mecca Charity Show

Roni Ben Efrat 8 March 2007


At first glance, indeed, the Mecca Agreement may seem a great wonder, considering what we published here two months ago. We divided - and still divide - the Middle East into two axes. One included the US, Saudia Arabia and Fatah, and the other included Iran, Syria and Hamas. Under these circumstances, how was agreement possible? The answer lies in a temporary conjunction of interests between Saudi Arabia and Iran. When we unpeel a few layers, however, the dovish feathers fall away: the Mecca Agreement is a mere time-out - not the basis for a new beginning. 

Violence against women rises in the occupied territories

7 March 2007


Three Palestinian women were shot dead in the northern Gaza Strip last month — rumours say it had to do with ‘honour’. The corpses of the women — Ibtisam Mohammad Musallam Abu Qeinas, 31; Samira Tahani Debeiky, 45; and Amani Khamis Hosari, 40 - were found within a 24-hour period in Beit Lahiya and Gaza City, leaving residents shocked. “People are saying it was an honour killing, that the women were of loose morals…” 

Obama Pivots Away From Dovish Past

Larry Cohler-Esses 7 March 2007


Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s maiden speech to the pro-Israel lobby last week saw a man described by early supporters as an ardent dove on Israel take flight as a bird of considerably more hawkish mien reports The Jewish Weekly. But Ali Abunimah, a Hyde Park Palestinian-American activist, and co-Founder of The Electronic Intifada “said that until a few years ago, Obama was ‘quite frank that the U.S. needed to be more evenhanded, that it leaned too much toward Israel.’ It was vivid in his memory, said Abunimah, because ‘these were the kind of statements I’d never heard from a U.S. politician who seemed like he was going somewhere rather than at the end of his career.’” 

The lighter side of the Axis of Evil

Maureen Clare Murphy 8 March 2007


Since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., Middle Easterners have found themselves under the microscope, especially in the US, and our polarized world is being misdiagnosed as a “clash of civilizations.” Thankfully, standup comedians Dean Obeidallah, Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader, and Maz Jobrani are here to skewer it all in the must-see Axis of Evil Comedy Special, which airs in the US on Comedy Central this Saturday. Comprised of American performers of Middle Eastern descent, the Axis of Evil Comedy Show is an ongoing tour that began in 2005 and has been greeted across the US with critical acclaim. 

Canadians and the International Boycott Movement

Freda Guttman 7 March 2007


We in Canada have our own AIPAC’s, devoted Zionists in bed with our government, and the Christian Right. However, we also have many Palestine solidarity and Arab organizations, as well as grass roots civil groups that have flowered here over the years, and take a dynamic, public position on the occupation, the right of return, the human rights abuses that Palestinians are subjected to, and have wholly embraced the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel. We consider it our mandate to educate the Canadian public on these issues and as well, on our government’s untenable and right wing policies towards the Middle East. 

Video: Interview with child taken as human shield in Nablus

Research Journalism Initiative and a-films 7 March 2007


On 28 February 2007, during the Israeli invasion of Nablus, the IOF kidnapped 11-year-old Jihan Tahdush from her home in the Old City of Nablus. She was used as a human shield while Israeli forces conducted door-to-door searches in the Old City. Jihan says of the incident: “They gave me biscuits to persuade me to talk to them, but I didn’t tell them anything. When I brought them to the house they told me not to be afraid because they were with me. When I asked to go back to my mom, they said, ‘We have to keep you a bit longer.’” This video-interview was produced by the Research Journalism Initiative and the Anarchist Film Collective “A-Films”. 

Egypt Gov't Challenged over Israeli Action at Mosque

Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani 7 March 2007


CAIRO, Mar 7 (IPS) - In a rare show of unity, parties from across the political spectrum have condemned reported Israeli violations against Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque. They have warned of “dire consequences” if the site — the third holiest in Islam — were to be damaged. “Jihad [holy war] becomes incumbent on Muslims when violence is done against them or their holy places, dignity or possessions,” Mohamed Tantawi, grand sheikh of Cairo’s venerable al-Azhar University declared in a departure from his usually non-confrontational position. 

International Women's Day: Yes to Life, No to Death

7 March 2007


Women around the globe celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow, 8 March 2007. This event is one of the most distinguished ones that renews commitment and stresses the importance of women’s enjoyment of all their rights in accordance with international standards and conventions. In addition, this day comes as a reminder of the pioneering role of women in different social, cultural, economic, and political spheres.The 8th of March comes this year upon Palestinian women as they face very difficult and harsh circumstances. 

Israel, Iran, U.S. Least Liked Countries

Jim Lobe 6 March 2007


WASHINGTON, Mar 6 (IPS) - A majority of people from around the world hold predominantly negative views of Israel, Iran, and the United States, according to a survey of more than 28,000 respondents in 27 countries. The survey, which was sponsored by the BBC World Service and designed by Globescan and the Washington-based Programme for International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), found that 56 percent and 54 percent of all respondents said they had mainly negative views of Israel and Iran, respectively. Fifty-one percent and 48 percent said the same about the United States and North Korea, respectively. 

Requesting Permission to Narrate: "Dreams of a Nation" Reviewed

Alexander Provan 6 March 2007


Since 1948, Palestinians have not only occupied the painful position of many oppressed peoples who are systematically displaced, disenfranchised, denationalized, brutalized and murdered; they have also been put in the awkward, even tragicomic, position of having to convince the rest of the world of their very existence. This problem of visibility lies at the heart of Dreams of a Nation: On Palestinian Cinema, an illuminating, if incomplete, anthology of essays on the efforts of Palestinians to represent themselves on film to the world and to each other.