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US aid dependency: The road to ruin

Hicham Safieddine 5 October 2007


The true measure of the alliance of any two states or political groups rests on an accurate and fair reading of two forms of support: military aid and economic assistance, and reaching a verdict about these two forms of support is based on the examination of three properties of such aid: the monetary value (size or quantity) of this aid, the declared and hidden objectives of the aid and the conditions attached to it (the quality of the aid). Based on these criteria, Hicham Safieddine asks, what is the truth behind the US support for Lebanon, in numbers and according to Washington’s own sources? 

Photostory: The month in pictures

6 October 2007


This slideshow is a selection of images from the month of September 2007. The month in pictures is an ongoing feature of the Electronic Intifada. If you have images documenting Palestine, Palestinian life, politics and culture, or of solidarity with Palestine, please email images and captions to photos@electronicintifada.net. 

Working towards a Palestinian national voice

James Kafieh 3 October 2007


Many members of the Palestinian Canadian community have been working hard to establish a truly representative Palestinian National Voice (PNV) organization for our community. Laith Marouf, identifying himself as the chapter coordinator for the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), on 14 September 2007 published an article attacking this effort (see Palestinian Diaspora: With or against collaboration?). James Kafieh responds. 

Only the beginning of the end

Ben White 2 October 2007


The clinking champagne glasses on Engage’s website said it all. The movement established to oppose the proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions was celebrating a victory, as the British University and College Union (UCU) announced that to even discuss the boycott risked “infringing discrimination legislation.” The boycott of Israel, it seemed, had suffered a blow. Ben White comments on the seeming defeat for the Palestine solidarity movement. 

Ali Abunimah debates Avika Eldar on Canadian radio

1 October 2007


Reality on the ground has many — once again — questioning the viability of a two-state solution and whether the controversial one-state proposal is even worth talking about. On 24 September 2007, EI’s Ali Abunimah appeared on the Canadian Brodcasting Corporation program, The Current with host Anna Maria Tremonti. Abunimah was invited to take part in a debate with Israeli journalist and political columnist for Haaretz, Akiva Eldar to discuss the feasibility, desirability and seeming impossibility of a one-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

International tug of war complicating Lebanon's election outcome

1 October 2007


BEIRUT, 1 October (IRIN) - Lebanon’s tussling factions are headed for a stalemate, settlement, or war, and international actors as much as local ones will decide which, analysts say. The presidential vote which was to be held on 25 September was deferred until 23 October after lawmakers failed to find a consensus candidate. Opposition members of parliament (MPs) boycotted the vote, arguing that Lebanon’s fragile sectarian political system requires a president agreeable to both camps. 

Dozens of Palestinians sift through rubbish tips to survive

30 September 2007


PSAGOT, WEST BANK, 30 September (IRIN) - For some West Bank Palestinians rubbish has become not only a livelihood but the only method of survival they know. Many dozens of Palestinians across the territory, including children, work at landfill sites, trying to earn a meager living. “This is very hard work here. My hands are all cut up, it smells. But what can I do? There’s no work in Ramallah,” said Muhammad, from al-Bireh, a nearby town. Aged 43, he has worked for the last 30 years — apart from a stint in jail — in the Psagot landfill site, sifting through the rubbish in search of scrap metal. 

A crack in the wall

Miko Peled 30 September 2007


“Getting inside the official Israeli mind is a worthwhile, if lurid, experience,” the late Edward Said wrote in his article “Dignity, Solidarity and the Penal Colony.” This is what it feels like when one is trying to understand the Middle East peace process that never seems to lead to anything. Observing this never ending saga, one can hardly help reaching the realization that peace is not a priority for Israel, and indeed Israeli governments have made no secret of the fact that a peace that precludes Israel’s complete control over historic Palestine is of no interest to them. Miko Peled comments. 

Interview: Arab hip-hop forces unite for justice

Stefan Christoff 1 October 2007


The Arab Summit is a musical project on the cultural front lines, uniting the most innovative hip-hop artists within the growing Arab rap movement of North America. The Arab Summit delivers inspirational beats that drive a musical project highlighting a progressive Arab voice in North America, advocating for the self-determination of people in the Middle East through hip-hop. EI contributor Stefan Christoff interviews the minds behind Arab Summit. 

The legacy of Sabra and Shatila: Amnesia and impunity

Maryam Monalisa Gharavi Cambridge, United States 1 October 2007


On 17 September 1982, journalist Robert Fisk registered the unfiltered rawness of witnessing the murdered victims of Sabra and Shatila up close: “Massacres are difficult to forget when you’ve seen the corpses.” On the final morning of the mass execution, stumbling upon the bodies of unarmed civilians, the French poet, playwright and novelist Jean Genet wrote: “A photograph has two dimensions, so does a television screen; neither can be walked through.” Maryam Monalisa Gharavi recalls her attempt to “walk through” Shatila camp and Sabra 25 years later.