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Sharon shows no respect for democratic principles

Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker 21 June 2004


Israeli public pressure on Sharon’s militarised regime to withdraw from Gaza and the occupied territories is growing. This comes not only from civilians and organisations active in the peace movement, but — to the great alarm of an Israeli government with deep military links — also from the country’s military and security forces. Reservists and soldiers are not prepared to die for the settlers in Gaza. Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker say Sharon would be foolish not to heed the similar experiences of other leaders who faced growing resentment from their army and police commanders as their militarised policies failed. 

"Concrete Action" urged at International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East

17 June 2004


Concrete action on the situation in the Middle East was urged here today by participants at the two-day International Media Seminar on peace in the region, organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) — the twelfth of its kind since 1991, in response to General Assembly resolution 58/57. While everything was said to be “on the table” — Security Council resolutions, the Road Map, the Geneva Initiative — what was said by many speakers to be needed now was “action on the ground”. “Let’s do it in the Middle East; let’s do it, and let’s do it now”, became the theme during a wide-ranging debate on the conflict. 

British lawmaker alleges Israeli soldiers fired at group during visit to Gaza

20 June 2004


A member of Britain’s House of Lords said Saturday that Israeli soldiers shot at her and two other lawmakers during a fact-finding visit to Gaza the day before. Baroness Northover, the Liberal Democrat party’s spokeswoman on international development issues, said the group was traveling under U.N. supervision near the Rafah refugee camp Friday when soldiers in an Israeli observation post fired machine guns over their heads. A large number of children were nearby, she said. The group then moved closer to marked U.N. vehicles and another shot hit a building next to them, chipping off pieces of masonry near Northover, she said in a statement. 

Jerusalem, Al Quds, Yerushalaym

Bisan Abou Gharbiyeh Heerlen 18 June 2004


After years of observing the media, one might conclude that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are Palestinian areas and the rest, including Jerusalem, is Israeli. For the untrained eye there seems to be nothing wrong with such image constructions. It is no wonder that viewers internationally do not know any better. However a more in-depth look tells us otherwise. Bisan Abou Gharbiyeh explains that a virtual reality is being created which is completely contradictory to the actual reality on the ground, in particular when it comes to Jerusalem and the status of its inhabitants. 

Review: Elias Chacour: Prophet in His Own Country

Maureen Clare Murphy 19 June 2004


Rolling hills unmarred by the hands of man, the water of the Jordan river trickling along its way, olive trees rustling in the breeze — this is the land of the Galilee that Melkite priest Elias Chacour so loves, and this is the imagery he says Jesus enjoyed when he was living in what is now referred to as the Holy Land. To understand Chacour’s background is to understand his connection, and his family’s ties, to the land of the Galilee, and so it is appropriate that filmmaker Claude Roshem-Smith opens with beautiful scenes of Galilean pastoral greenery in his biographical film Elias Chacour: Prophet in His Own Country. 

Palestine: Perception and Reality

Nigel Parry 18 June 2004


“We have to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a mainstream concern and the only way we can do that is by effectively communicating the realities at ground zero for Joe and Jane Palestinian to the American public. Nobody would sign off on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if they knew what happened at ground zero, nobody. Only the most ardent and entrenched supporters of Israel.” This article is an edited version of a speech EI’s Nigel Parry gave at the “Palestine: Perception and Reality” panel at the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC, on Sunday 13 June 2004. 

New York Arab-American Comedy Festival seeking submissions

27 June 2004


The New York Arab-American Comedy Festival is seeking submissions from Arab-American artists for its 2nd annual Festival, which will take place in New York City from October 10 -13, 2004. The Festival will be divided into three parts: comedic theater, stand up comedy and comedic films. Last year was an overwhelming success, with the entire Festival playing to standing room only crowds. The Festival showcased a diverse group of Arab-American comedic plays, stand up comics and short comedic films, with the participation of over 40 Arab-American artists. 

Documentary film review: "Keys"

Maureen Clare Murphy 17 June 2004


“Mafateeh,” or “keys,” is a word that holds symbolic meaning for Palestinians, and refugees in Rafah, Amman, and Jenin alike can show you the keys to their houses that they temporarily fled or were expelled from during the time leading up to and during the 1948 war. And like Ali Nimer Harami does in the film Keys, these refugees can show you well-preserved pieces of paper that prove their legal claim over land that is currently inhabited by Jewish Israelis in what is now Israel. Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the beautifully shot film for EI. 

Video: Suheir Hammad reading 'Beyond Words' at ADC 2004

12 June 2004


At the 21st National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Washington DC, from June 10th-13th, EI’s Nigel Parry shot video footage of Palestinian-American poet and political activist Suheir Hammad reading her poem Beyond Words. Recipient of the Audre Lourde Writing Award from Hunter College, the Morris Center for Healing Poetry Award, and a New York Mills Artist Residency in Minnesota, Suheir has recently been touring with the Tony Award-winning Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam. Video in MPEG-4 format. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

17 June 2004


This week Israeli forces killed 8 Palestinians, including a child. Four Palestinians were killed in two extra-judicial assassinations. Israeli forces invaded Palestinian areas, razed agricultural lands and demolished twelve homes in the Gaza Strip. In Bethlehem Israeli forces demolished two homes. Israeli forces continue to shell Palestinian residential areas. This week a number of Palestinians were injured in such shelling. Israel continues to construct its Apartheid Wall on occupied Palestinian territory and continues to impose a total siege on the occupied Palestinian territories.