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Diagnosing Benny Morris: the mind of a European settler

Gabriel Ash 27 January 2004


Israeli historian Benny Morris crossed a new line of shame when he put his academic credentials and respectability in the service of outlining the “moral” justification for a future genocide against Palestinians. How can one explain Morris’ knowledge that the ethnic Darwinism that was used to justify the murder of millions of non-whites, including Black African slaves, Native Americans, Arabs, and others, was also used to justify the attempt to exterminate Jews? Gabriel Ash takes a closer look at Morris’ thinking and the tradition to which it belongs. 

If it's against Jewish law, then why is Israel doing it?

Ali Abunimah 28 January 2004


The Israeli army has destroyed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian olive and citrus trees throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in recent years. Yet in a startling admission, a staffer at the Jewish National Fund for Israel (JNF) has written that, “it is against Jewish halachic law to uproot fruit bearing trees.” EI’s Ali Abunimah explains how the JNF has been essential to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and the destruction of its landscape. 

Supreme Court Holds Second Hearing on Petitions Against New Law Banning Family Unification

20 January 2004


On Sunday, 18 January 2004, an enlarged panel of 13 justices of the Supreme Court of Israel held a second hearing on petitions challenging the constitutionality of a new law that prohibits the granting of any residency or citizenship status to Palestinians from the Occupied Territories who are married to Israeli citizens. The new law affects thousands of families, comprised of tens of thousands of individuals. Seven petitions are currently pending before the Court against the “Nationality and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) – 2003,” enacted by theKnesset on 31 July 2003. 

Film Review: Like Twenty Impossibles (2003)

Tina Dybvik 27 January 2004


“Like Twenty Impossibles” is the work of Annemarie Jacir, co-written with Kamran Rastegar. Jacir is a Palestinian filmmaker, activist, and poet living between New York City and Palestine. The 17-minute short mockumentary tells the story of a journey in a country where checkpoints and a sinister patchwork of controlled areas make freedom of movement itself impossible, aptly portraying the complexities of oppression with a cast and crew that understand it. It is shot on location in Palestine, and the images of guns and power overwhelm the viewer as well as the waylaid film crew. 

Too late for two states?

Seumas Milne 24 January 2004


More than three years into the intifada, the Palestinian situation seems worse than ever: the weekly death toll, the poverty and now the wall. So has the uprising failed? Seumas Milne had exclusive access to leaders across the political spectrum - from president Yasser Arafat to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He found an unprecedented willingness to compromise - but a growing belief that the wall will scupper the best ever hope for peace. 

Violent invasions, extrajudicial killings, and suicide bombings

Mika Minio-Paluello Nablus, Palestine 25 January 2004


The Israeli invasion and siege of Nablus city ended two weeks ago now (Wed Jan 7), with a return to the nightly machine gun fire from the mountains, daily mini-incursions, and deadly proddings by jeeps and the occasional tank. With the invasion competing with the horrific Iranian earthquake, aircrashes, Sharon’s speeches and the Christmas holiday, media coverage was minimal, in Israeli, international, Arab and even Palestinian media, adding to the Nablus perception of abandonment by the world. Mika Minio-Paluello writes from occupied Nablus. 

International Court authorizes participation of OIC to 'Wall-Case'

22 January 2004


The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, has authorized the Organization of the Islamic Conference, at its request, to participate in the proceedings in the case concerning Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. By a letter dated 14 January 2004, the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference requested that the Organization be authorized to furnish information on the question submitted to the Court. 

International Court authorizes Arab League participation in 'Wall-case'

15 January 2004


The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, has authorized the League of Arab States, at its request, to participate in the proceedings in the case concerning Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion). By a letter dated 29 December 2003, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Amre Moussa, requested that the League be invited to furnish information, in writing and orally, on the question submitted to the Court. 

Weekly report on human rights violations

21 January 2004


This week Israeli forces killed a Palestinian woman. Seven civilians, including five children were injured during Israeli shelling in Rafah. Israeli forces invaded various areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces destroyed 60 homes in the Gaza Strip, including 51 in Rafah refugee camp. This week Israel razed more Palestinian agricultural land. Israel continues to use Palestinian civilians as human shields in military operations. Israel continued the construction of the Separation Wall and more land was confiscated and razed for this purpose. Israel continues to impose a total siege. 

The impact of the Separation Barrier on refugees in Jerusalem

23 January 2004


Israel’s construction of a separation barrier will severely impact the lives of Palestinians in the Jerusalem area in wide-ranging activities from education to health care to relief and social services, according to a report released today by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The report, the first in a series of regular updates, notes that 260 students out of a total 7,246 attending UNRWA schools, along with 86 out of 263 teachers, will be affected in their daily movements by the barrier, which will cut them off from places of learning.