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Visa delay will prevent massacre survivors from testifying before Belgian court

Hala Kilani 9 February 2003

Survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre won’t be able to testify against Israeli Prime Minister Sharon at the Belgium Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the Belgian Embassy didn’t grant them “emergency” visas. The embassy told the victims’ lawyer, Chibli Mallat, that there “wasn’t enough time” to get the visas ready before their date of departure. The Beirut Daily Star’s Hala Kilani reports on the good news and the bad news about the case against Sharon and others in Belgium. 

Bush and Sharon nearly identical on Mideast policy

Robert G. Kaiser 9 February 2003

“The Bush administration’s alignment with Sharon delights many of its strongest supporters, especially evangelical Christians, and a large part of organized American Jewry, according to leaders in both groups.” The Washington Post’s Robert G. Kaiser offers an in-depth analysis of the political and ideological dimensions of the Bush-Sharon worldview, and the role of pro-Likud neoconservatives in shaping the Middle East map. 

Israel's Slippery Moral Slope

Neve Gordon 31 January 2003

Following my last military reserve duty, I was kicked out of my unit, the educational corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There was a surrealistic dimension to the whole experience. I had driven a few hours to a base located near the Egyptian border after having been asked to lecture about “leadership” to 60 soldiers from the Givati infantry brigade who were about to begin an officers’ training course. These young men are the military’s future commanders, its elite. Neve Gordon, writing in In These Times notes that, “When the end justifies the means, then everything is permitted.” 

The Israeli military kills four Palestinians a day

Kristen Ess Bethlehem, Palestine 7 February 2003

How can Palestinians resist the brutality of the Israeli military government. How can they survive it? One Palestinian journalist, a friend for the past year told me, “We chose non-violence and they occupied our kitchens.” Since Sharon was re-elected Israeli soldiers have killed 28 Palestinians. This is just in the past eight days. Kristen Ess wrotes from Bethlehem. 

Bush seeks Israeli advice on "targeted killings"

Ori Nir 7 February 2003

“The Bush administration has been seeking Israel’s counsel on creating a legal justification for the assassination of terrorism suspects, the Forward has learned. Legal experts from the United States and Israel have met in recent months to discuss the issue, and are considering widening the consultation circle to include representatives of America’s closest allies in the war against terrorism.” Ori Nir reports on some chilling examples of US-Israel bi-lateral cooperation in the pages of New York’s The Forward. 

Famous comedian Jackie Mason incites genocide of Palestinians

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 6 February 2003


World-renowned American stand-up comedian Jackie Mason has published an astonishing demand that Israel threaten the Palestinian people with genocide. Mason and co-author Raoul Felder wrote: “We have paralyzed ourselves by our sickening fear of World Opinion, which is why we find it impossible to face one simple fact: We will never win this war unless we immediately threaten to drive every Arab out of Israel if the killing doesn’t stop”. EI calls on activists to respond. 

Mosque destroyed in Israel as Ariel Sharon's Judaization project for the Negev begins

Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages of the Palestinian Bedouin 6 February 2003

“The State of Israel today perpetrated an act of enmity against a mosque considered holy by Muslims. This act runs contrary to all international treaties which uphold the right to freedom of religion. The demolition inflamed the feelings of our people because it is the first time that the State has demolished a mosque in the Negev.” The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages of the Palestinian Bedouin in the Negev condemns the demolition of a mosque in the unrecognized village of Tel Al-Mileh, and warns it is just the beginning of Ariel Sharon’s plan to Judaize the Negev. 

While Israel Voted...

Saree Makdisi 6 February 2003

Surely the most remarkable thing about last week’s election in Israel was the fact that, even as Israeli citizens were enjoying their right to vote, their army was enforcing a lockdown that kept over 3 million Palestinians confined to their homes for three days, writes Saree Makdisi for EI.