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Columbia faculty demand university divests from Israel


Last month a group of over seventy-five Columbia and Barnard faculty members launched a petition campaign demanding that Columbia University divest from all firms that produce or sell arms or military hardware to be used by the state of Israel. Tonight in an open hearing, the case will be presented to Columbia’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing. 

Fourth Committee: Disturbing humanitarian deterioration in Occupied Palestinian Territories focus


The hopelessness and anger of the witnesses before the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories had been directed not only against Israel, but also against the international community for its inability to provide relief, the Fourth Committee was told today. 

Follow up: NPR replies to concerns about cash payments to reporter, conflict of interest

Having become the recipient of large numbers of concerned e-mails resulting from The Electronic Intifada’s special report, “NPR’s Linda Gradstein Takes Cash Payments from Pro-Israeli Groups”, NPR has now confirmed that it will enforce its conflict of interest policy banning such payments. Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry report. 

The UN's Iraq Resolution: What does it mean?

A US war with Iraq may reshape the Middle East, and will certainly have an impact on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Hasan Abu Nimah, who frequently contributes to EI, turns his attention to Iraq and considers whether the new UN resolution brings war closer or pushes it away. What does this mean for the UN and how should Iraq and Arab states react to stave off the threat of a catastrophic conflict? 

Ramadan in Gaza


As I write this, now at home, I am watching the news on television. An Israeli tank is shooting at little boys who throw stones at it in Nablus. George Bush struts across a green grass lawn in a clean suit, talking about UN Resolutions. Kristen Ess writes from Gaza. 

From the square to the orchard


Veteran Israeli peace activist Adam Keller attended the Rabin Memorial Rally on November 2nd, and spent the following two days protesting the destruction of olive groves in Falami, a Palestinian village that will be drastically affected by the ongoing construction of Israel’s “Berlin Wall”. Meanwhile, news of the collapse of the Sharon government broke. 

Sharon's Appendix: The bankruptcy of Israel's "Peace Camp"


As Israel heads towards a new election, what prospect is there that Israel’s Labor party can offer a real alternative to Sharon? EI’s Ali Abunimah examines the positions of three leading lights of Israel’s “peace camp,” Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin and Shlomo Ben Ami. Find out why he thinks they are calling for the resumption of a journey along a road that leads only to a dead end, with no new ideas and no incentives for Palestinians who want true reconciliation and coexistence to build a peace front with them. If this is the case, what possible solutions lie on the horizon? 

UNRWA faces historic crisis


As the agency responsible for the provision of humanitarian aid and basic services to nearly half the population of the occupied Palestinian territory, UNRWA today faced perhaps one of the most serious challenges in its history, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, told the Fourth Committee this morning. 

Conflict in Palestine: a tale of two states


Many important voices have come out to express fear that the “two-state solution” for the Palestinian-Israeli dispute is fast fading. The consequences, they warn, are horrifying, not only for the Palestinians, for whom statehood is a national aspiration, but also for Israelis. Hasan Abu Nimah examines this development and what its true consequences may be.