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A quiet night on Rafah's sliding scale

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 19 June 2003

“It is still light out when we get to Abu Jameel’s garden. Rows of cactus line the road, bulbous green hedges expanding the boundaries between gardens. Cement box houses punctuate the land, which is a flat expanse of greenery and sand. It is the season for corn, and stalks reach high as somebody’s head. Watermelon vines cover the earth, weaving here and there around large squashes.” Laura Gordon writes from Rafah 

The ghosts of Rafah

Lora Gordon Rafah, Gaza Strip 19 June 2003


“Rafah, you are going to break my heart. People coming, people leaving, bleary eyed ghosts. The football moon illuminates the soft city full of soft people laying down to dreams unraveling in their hands. Even the concrete fades into sand. Even the refuse, covered with sand, catches fire in the night. The dreams of waste are heavenbound.” Laura Gordon writes from beseiged Rafah. 

Promises of an unpredicatable future

Jordan Topp 19 June 2003

There is no work this summer for the majority of people in Bourj el Barajneh refugee camp. Less work than last summer, I am told, when local NGOs estimated unemployment rates were around 60- 80% for those Palestinians living here. With hope of Return looking bleaker under current negotiations, people here—especially the young men—are doing whatever they can to leave. Jordan Topp reports from Bourj el Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut, Lebanon. 

Trial of ISM olive grove defenders begins

19 June 2003

The trial of Neta Golan and Shelly Nativ, Israeli citizens and members of the International Solidarity Movement, opened this morning in Hashalom court house in Kfar Saba. The two are accused of blocking IDF bulldozers in the village Dir Istya near Salfit to prevent them from uprooting Palestinian olive trees. Golan and Nativ are charged with interfering with police work, interfering with a public servant’s work (the bulldozer driver) and disobeying a decree of “closed military zone”. 

EI accepts Voices of Peace Award at ADC conference

18 June 2003


Two Electronic Intifada co-founders, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, were at the 20th National Convention of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington DC on 14 June 2003 to accept the ADC’s Voices of Peace Award on behalf of the founders of EI and sister site Electronic Iraq. The award was presented to EI and eIraq “in recognition of its commitment to bringing the concerns, voices, and experiences of the Iraqi and Palestinian peoples to audiences the world over via the Internet.” [Quicktime format, 7.8MB] 

ISM coordinator Huwaida Arraf arrested at Huwara checkpoint

18 June 2003


ISM founder Huwaida Arraf was taken into custody at Huwara Checkpoint near Nablus on June 18th after she protested the abusive treatment Palestinians were receiving from Israeli forces. Huwaida began negotiating with soldiers to secure the release of two Palestinian men who had been detained in the sun with their hands tied behind their backs for over 3 hours. One of the men has a bad back and was detained while trying to cross the checkpoint on his way to an appointment with a physician. 

Cindy and Craig Corrie accept first ever Rachel Corrie Activist Award at ADC conference

17 June 2003


Craig & Cindy Corrie At the 20th annual conference of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, held in Washington DC from 12-15 June 2003, Cindy and Craig, parents of slain activist Rachel Corrie received the first ever Rachel Corrie Activism Award. In this video clip from the conference, Cindy talks about Rachel’s experiences on the ground in Rafah. [4:36 mins, Quicktime file, 6.5MB] 

The wall in Tulkarem

18 August 2002


This footage follows the lines of Israel’s apartheid wall on a map. EI’s Arjan El Fassed filmed through which areas in and around Tulkarem Israel’s apartheid wall will be built. Most of the owners of the land already had been notified that their land was to be confiscated by military orders. The wall cuts a water pipeline built by the farmers. 

Qalqilya wall

18 August 2002


Israel’s apartheid wall filmed on August 18, 2002 by EI’s Arjan El Fassed, in and around Qalqilya. Footage shows the wall from both sides of the 1967 demarcation line. This eight-meter high concrete wall, complete with lookout towers located every fifty meters along its length, traps and isolates over 12,000 people.