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EI discusses Palestine after Arafat on CBC Radio's "As It Happens"

5 November 2004


EI’s Ali Abunimah and former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross appeared on CBC Radio’s As It Happens program to discuss Arafat’s legacy and what may come next. Abunimah said that Yasir Arafat is the “undisputed symbol” of the Palestinian nation and added, “We have to stop using the real shortcomings of Arafat and the Palestinian Authority as an excuse not to confront the reality that what fuels the conflict is Israeli military occupation. So the day after Arafat leaves the scene the test of our seriousness about making peace is whether we want to focus on those realities or keep talking about personalities.” 

Diaries from Tuwani

Joe Carr Tuwani 4 November 2004


Today we arose at 6am to go watch the children come to school. After repeated stone throwing, shouting, and threats by settlers, the children are taking the long way. They ride donkeys for two hours on the mountains around the settlement and outpost. We station ourselves along their path at strategic places where we can see both the children and the settlement. We would have time to act if settlers come out of the trees, we plan to draw them away from the children, call an Israeli activist friend who can mobilize the army and police, and then attempt to get space between the settlers and the trees so that they are more likely to be caught. This isn’t the best of plans, but every problem has a solution (kul mushkilah ilhaa hal), and this seems to be the best one for now. 

Yasser Arafat, 1929-2004

10 November 2004


Although his political obituary was written again and again, Yasser Arafat displayed a legendary tenacity and an amazing ability to pull through at the eleventh hour, usually thanks to his remarkable skill in cobbling together coalitions and allies from very disparate backgrounds. Trapped by Ariel Sharon in the rubble of his Ramallah headquarters, though, Arafat was marginalized politically and virtually powerless militarily since the murderous Israeli attack on Palestinian cities in March-April 2002 that killed over 500 people and destroyed most of the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority. He departs the Palestinian and Middle Eastern political stage as a wraith of his former self, with no political heir apparent. 

Arafat's departure brings uncertainty

Charmaine Seitz 4 November 2004


In the early hours of October 28, as dozens of journalists, mid-rung political officials and curious onlookers milled around outside President Arafat’s Ramallah compound speculating on the health of their leader, one Palestinian reporter evoked critical minutes in the shaping of early Islam. Cynically, he recalled how the Prophet Mohammed’s followers disputed the succession only hours after he lay dead. It was an acknowledgement of the moment’s import (some believed the president had already passed away) and impending uncertainty. From this week’s Palestine Report, Charmaine Seitz reports. 

Foreigner

Amal Awad West Bank 4 November 2004


The thing that always surprises me about the West Bank is how it never seems to change significantly. Understandably, there is a lack of progress. But I still find it disheartening in a sense to return to my parents homeland and find that, besides a building or two or a new shop, everything is the same as it was four, eight, or even twelve years ago. My last trip to the West Bank was in 2000, just a week before the Intifada broke out. West Bank remains in essence as it was then, however, there are more road closures and greater difficulty entering. Even leaving is a daunting prospect considering the number of checkpoints (no less than five on the route I took to Allenby Bridge) and a 4.30am departure time. My experience in West Bank was extremely memorable, despite an appalling beginning. I spent one week in my father’s village of Arrabeh (about 12km from Jenin), and visited family in other nearby areas, including Jenin. 

ADC Panel Examines Perceptions of Palestine

Sara Powell 30 September 2004


Nigel Parry of the Electronic Intifada said it was encouraging to see young Palestinians like Dean Obeidallah, Maysoon Zayid, and Suheir Hammad, (p)reaching outside the choir through their art. Like Lechner, Parry related his story of “seeing the light.” He went to Palestine with no previous knowledge and wound up in a U.N. bus in a refugee camp, just in time to see a small child throw a rock—very ineffectually—at an Israeli soldier, who then knelt, cocked his gun, and aimed at the child. The soldier was about to kill the child, Parry said, when he spotted the U.N. bus, and guiltily stood up. “There is no context in the media,” Parry stated. That is why the Electronic Intifada and other information outlets are crucial, he said, because “information is what will end the conflict. If we could transport Americans to Rafah for five minutes, they would never support Israel.” 

Israel's Supreme Court: Israel should provide security for West Bank olive harvest

3 November 2004


In response to a petition submitted by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Rabbis for Human Rights. The state requested two weeks in which to prepare a response to the demand to allow Palestinian farmers free access to their land every day, and protection against attacks by settlers. During the hearing the petitioning organizations agreed to provide the IDF a list of all the Palestinian villages in need of security to harvest their olive crop, and the IDF officers stated their commitment to make the necessary arrangements to secure the harvest, while protecting Palestinian farmers from attacks by settlers in areas it is required. 

Joseph Massad responds to the intimidation of Columbia University

Joseph Massad 3 November 2004


The recent controversy elicited by the propaganda film “Columbia Unbecoming,” a film funded and produced by a Boston-based pro-Israel organization, is the latest salvo in a campaign of intimidation of Jewish and non-Jewish professors who criticize Israel. Professor Joseph Massad, who has been a central target of this campaign, responds, exposing its tactics and explaining that its aim is to stifle pluralism, academic freedom, and the freedom of expression on university campuses in order to ensure that only one opinion is permitted, that of uncritical support for the State of Israel. 

UN General Assembly expresses support for UNRWA's work, calls for adequate funding

2 November 2004


The Fourth committee met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Speakers continued to express strong support for the humanitarian work of UNRWA and called for the alleviation of its budgetary problems. Many speakers also called on Israel to cease from measures which, they said, constricted the Agency’s ability to move staff and provide assistance. The representative of Bangladesh said that those measures resulted from a policy of collective punishment, including unprecedented destruction of homes and property, curfews, incursions, restrictions of movement and denial of humanitarian access. 

Israeli undercover unit assassinates three Palestinians in Nablus

1 November 2004


On Monday, 1 November 2004, Israeli committed an extra-judicial killing in Nablus, which left three members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades dead, and injured a fourth one. The killing was carried out by an Israeli undercover unit, whose members often disguise as Palestinian civilians.  This latest attacks came in the context of an official policy adopted by the Israeli political and military establishments.  An undercover unit of IOF, disguised in Palestinian civilian clothes moved into Nablus. They moved towards four Palestinians who were sitting in the old city and fired at them at very close range.