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It's not just the occupation

Ali Abunimah 7 June 2007


“Forty years ago today was the last day the citizens of Israel were a free people in their own land,” wrote Ha’aretz columnist Akiva Eldar on June 4. “It was the last day we lived here without living other peoples’ lives.” This sums up the cherished mythology of what is still called the Israeli left and much of the international peace process industry — that prior to the 1967 war, Israel was pure and on the right path. EI’s Ali Abunimah challenges the idea that had Israel not “become an occupier” the region would have had a happier history. 

Wilful Killing of 72-Year-Old Civilian by Israeli Forces in Hebron

7 June 2007


At approximately 12:20 am on Wednesday, 6 June 2007, a large Israeli military force, comprising at least 50 soldiers, came to the house of Yehia al-Jabari. Yehia, who was 72-years-old, lived with his family in a two-storey house in the B’er Haram area of Hebron city. Upon opening the front door of the house to the soldiers, Rajih al-Jabari, the 26-year-old son of Yehia, was dragged outside. Without any warning or justification, the Israeli soldiers began to beat Rajih, violently hitting his head against the wall of the house. 

Ronnie Kasrils' speech to S. African Parliament on 40th anniversary of occupation

6 June 2007


Forty years ago this week Israel’s military unleashed lightning attacks against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, alleging provocations as justification for its strikes. Within six days the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights had been captured. Apart from the Sinai from which Israel withdrew in 1977, the other areas remain under Israeli military occupation and control to this day. 

Audio: Crossing the Line interviews author Alex Lubin

6 June 2007


This week on Crossing the Line host Chris Brown speaks with Alex Lubin, an assistant professor of American Studies and the Director of Peace Studies at the University of New Mexico. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Promise Land: The “Orient” in African American Global Imaginary. Lubin’s research centers on the relationship between African Americans and the Arab World, in particular the Palestinians. 

Where do I stand?

Rania Masri Beirut 6 June 2007


A dear friend of mine told me yesterday that I’m taking sides. That it seems as if I’m condemning only one form of violence. I thank him for that note — it forces me to clarify my position. So, here is my position on what is happening now in Lebanon. I wholeheartedly condemn the attacks against the Lebanese Army. I find it especially abhorrent that many of these soldiers were not killed in “battle” but where actually killed in their sleep, and killed in a most brutal manner. EI contributor Rania Masri writes. 

Pressure mounts on Israel's architects

Susannah Tarbush 10 June 2007


Just days before 5 June’s 40th anniversary of the start of the June 1967 war, some of the biggest names in British architecture signed a petition calling on Israeli architects and their fellow professionals to stop participating in the creation of “facts on the ground”, which obliterate the idea of a viable future Palestinian state. Susannah Tarbush follows the controversy that has surrounded the London-based Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine’s efforts to hold accountable their Israeli peers’ involvement in projects that make them complicit in the violation of Palestinians’ rights. 

Ban products with a criminal flavour

Adri Nieuwhof and Mieke Zagt 7 June 2007


In an organic grocery in Amsterdam, Natuurwinkel, which has 70 locations all over Holland, a customer noticed several Israeli fruits and vegetables on the shelves. The customer asked about the exact origin of the fruits and vegetables, but the manager of Natuurwinkel could not give a clear answer. Through the Internet the name of the director and importer to the Natuurwinkel chain, Udea — the leading Dutch wholesaler of organic and frozen products and trades with ten European countries — was found, and in several emails clarification was requested on the origin of the Israeli organic products. 

A Village Mobilized: Lessons from Budrus

Ida Audeh 13 June 2007


The story of the village of Budrus is noteworthy because it reminds us that unarmed people are not powerless. Confronted with an Israeli plan to confiscate 1,000 dunums of village lands to erect a wall that would ultimately enclose area villages in a canton, Budrus residents put their bodies in front of the bulldozers that came to raze their farmlands. Unarmed, and abandoned to their fate by the increasingly useless and indifferent Palestinian Authority, the villagers quickly realized that the wall would stifle the area and make their lives unsustainable. EI contributor Ida Audeh interviews Budrus resident and activist Abd al-Nasser Marrar. 

Interview: "There are more than 20 dead in our neighborhood"

Sari Chreih and Razan Al-Ghazzawi Lebanon 6 June 2007


Sari Chreih and Razan Al-Ghazzawi interview Saleh Bhar, a medical doctor from Nahr al-Bared Refugee Camp: “During the first hours of the first day of the bombardment … my uncle died in his home when he was hit by one of the shells; he was with his two sons and one of his neighbors. … My uncle’s wife was injured. I have many relatives who lost their houses. My cousin Amin Bhar, a dentist, lost his house. My other cousin, also a doctor, lost his house too. My cousins told me that my uncle’s neighbor, Raed el Shans, who was with him when his house was shelled, also died with my uncle.” 

Water and Resistance

Timothy Seidel West Bank, Palestine 8 June 2007


The view from the Palestinian village of Nahhalin, in the west Bethlehem area, is sobering. This small village — along with the villages of Husan, Battir, Wadi Fuqin, and Al Walaja — are becoming more and more isolated from Bethlehem. As Israeli colonization in the Etzion bloc grows and as the Wall continues to cut deeply into the West Bank and strangle these communities, these Palestinian villagers have little access to the rest of the Israeli occupied West Bank. Even now, Israel is burrowing out a tunnel under the major settler bypass road running through the Etzion bloc. Timothy Seidel writes for EI.