Surveys, opinion polls, and now, consultative approaches are increasingly being used to explore Palestinian refugee issues, and to formulate policy. The Civitas project adopted an entirely different approach to the matter. Indeed, civic participation is different even than consultation exercises - participation gives space for the young woman from Egypt (in the quote above) to articulate the complex sentiments, ideology, and political understandings that she possesses. It highlights many of the understandings Palestinians have for Palestine, but crucially it gives a more sophisticated understanding to those reading it about its importance and relevance. Read more about The Role of Participatory Methods for Mobilizing Change 

As I entered the powerful new museum of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem in early November, I was confronted by these words: “A country should be judged not only by what it does, but also by what it tolerates.” Kurt Tucholsky, WW1 veteran and pacifist, journalist and social critic whose books were burned by the same Nazi regime that stripped him of his citizenship, wrote the statement after Germany adopted the anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws. His sobering contention was brought vividly to mind during my visit to Gaza, Palestine ten days later. Read more about Language and the crimes we permit in Gaza 

I first visited Gaza in 1968 and have returned more two dozen times, most recently in April 2002. Since then, Israeli authorities have prevented our visiting Gaza. I was eager to return, to renew friendships and see for myself the changes that have taken place. I also wanted to convey my support for those courageous people who continue to work for human rights, democracy and a political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They persist despite formidable obstacles and being cut off from visitors. It is imperative, for them as well as for us, that those suffering such extreme isolation not be forgotten and that their voices still be heard. Read more about Pariah State: Meeting with the Prime Minister of Palestine 

Today I am crying alone. My friends Saed from Beit Sahour and Jenka (a very good American woman) are leaving for the States, where Jenka is living. The young couple have decided to leave Palestine, seeking a new life with no military occupation, no Apartheid Wall, no checkpoints, no bypass routes, no restrictions on roads. Saed, Jenka and myself have never seen or met each other in person since we began working together for the past couple of years, even though we all live in the same country, Palestine. But unfortunately for our friendship, the young couple is based in the West Bank and I am in the Gaza Strip. Read more about Imaginary Hugs In Palestine 

The international community inflicted new suffering on the Palestinians this week. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu commented on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza just days before the international community sank to new depths in efforts that seemingly seek to ensure further wretchedness in Gaza. His economic concerns were expressed while noting that Israeli officials have foiled the entry of the fact-finding mission he was leading on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council (a story ignored by both The New York Times and the Washington Post) into the 8 November deaths of 19 Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun. Read more about Palestinian civil war or renewed national aspirations? 

Just prior to 1948, the Palestinians realized that they were about to get rid of the British colonial hegemony that began in 1917, yet they woke up on the day the Britons left to another occupation, called Israel. Since that year, Palestinians began all over again to fight for their sovereignty over their ancestral lands; however, despite recent peace agreements with their occupiers, they have not so far attained that sovereignty. The international community, which clearly concedes the Palestinians’ legitimate right to fight the occupation on the path to freedom and statehood, has so far not been able to involve itself actively to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Read more about Who has failed? 

In analyzing Palestinian behavior, analysts often slip into what sociologists call “a person-centered” analysis, which attributes most behavior change to personal pathologies or virtues. But to understand why Palestinians behave as they do, what is necessary is a situation-centered approach, one that focuses on external factors. This is because the Palestinian situation is as close to a controlled social experiment as anyone is likely to find in the wild. When US social scientists conducted the by-now classic prison experiment to test the power of the social situation to determine behavior, values and attitudes, they were surprised by the results. Read more about Fundamental attribution error 

I have just found out that I studied in Jordan. I swear I did not know that. Well, that is not the only recent discovery I’ve made about myself. I have been learning many new things about myself as a Palestinian individual, all by coincidence. For instance, a few minutes ago I learnt that I took my BA degree from Jordan. No, I am not losing my mind. Or maybe I am. It is funny how when we Palestinians are striving to prove and maintain our Palestinian identity others still perceive us as aliens. It is as if the concept of “Palestine” only exists in our heads. Read more about An unclassifiable identity 

Attitudes towards the United States reached new lows through most of the Arab world over the past year, according to the findings of a major new survey of five Arab countries released Thursday. The report found that attitudes towards U.S. cultural and political values have become increasingly negative, although not nearly as negative as Arab views of specific policies. Particularly remarkable, negative opinions towards the United States have skyrocketed in two key Arab monarchies long considered close allies of Washington, according to the findings of a major new survey of five Arab countries released here Thursday by Zogby International and the Arab American Institute (AAI). Read more about Losing Arab Allies' Hearts and Minds 

I was 13 years old standing next to my father in Bethlehem one sunny and windy day when he took my hand and pointed to the settlement of Gilo and said, “See baba, see there?” My eyes followed his finger as it moved across the landscape and stopped at the settlement of Har Gilo. “And there. See? They are going to build settlements just like those all around us.” Then with his arm still outstretched, we turned in a circle and as I watched his finger pointing at the horizon line around Bethlehem and Beit Jalla, he added, “One day they will encircle us.” Read more about Photostory: Retracing bus no. 23 on the historic Jerusalem-Hebron Road