I don’t write poems but, in any case, poems are not poems. Long ago, I was made to understand that Palestine was not Palestine; I was also informed that Palestinians were not Palestinians; They also explained to me that ethnic cleansing was not ethnic cleansing. And when naive old me saw freedom fighters they patiently showed me that they were not freedom fighters, and that resistance was not resistance. Read more about A massacre is not a massacre
Turkish society has been deeply divided over many issues, from political allegiances to cultural preferences. The public sphere in Turkey is more a realm of appropriation and exclusion than one of mutual agreement and consensus building. However, when it comes to Palestine — as the current furor of Israel’s attack on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza — demonstrates, there is a surprising consensus. Murat Dagli comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The Flotilla attack and Turkey's views of Palestine
Early this morning under the cover of darkness Israeli soldiers stormed the lead ship of the six-vessel Freedom Flotilla aid convoy in international waters and killed and injured dozens of civilians aboard. Israel had been openly threatening a violent attack on the Flotilla for days, but complacency, complicity and inaction, specifically from Western and Arab governments once more sent the message that Israel could act with total impunity. Read more about International solidarity and the Freedom Flotilla massacre
No one can accuse history of not having a sense of irony. Sixty-three years ago in July 1947 a passenger ship destined for Palestine and named The Exodus was stopped and boarded by the British Navy. The ship was crowded with Holocaust survivors determined to make a new life for themselves in British controlled Palestine. Today another small flotilla of ships is making its way to Palestine. Richard Irvine comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The Gaza flotilla and the ironies of history
The Freedom Flotilla of nine vessels sailing to the Gaza Strip is exposing the partisan nature of the response of the United Nations and the international community to Israel’s three-year siege on Gaza. Allegra Pacheco comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Freedom Flotilla exposes international community's failure
Today is the 21st day since the arrest of Ameer Makhoul at his home in Haifa, Israel, under the cover of darkness, by officers of the International Crimes Investigation Unit and General Security Service (GSS or Shabak). On this day we, Ameer’s family, announce that we are extremely worried about what is happening to him and the conditions of his detention. Janan Abdu and Issam Makhoul comment. Read more about Ameer Makhoul's arrest is an assault on all Palestinians in Israel
Will recent revelations that Israel not only possesses nuclear weapons, but actually considered selling them to apartheid South Africa, cause Europe and America to rethink their relationship with Israel? The truth is that Israel already enjoys such a privileged level of access to their key institutions that any rethink is improbable — at least in the short-term. One of the most important aspects of this relationship relates to how Israel interacts with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about NATO's other member state
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has lately made a show of calling on Palestinians to boycott goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Despite the rhetoric of defiance, the effort actually appears designed to undermine and abort the broader Palestinian and global civil society campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions, and to reassure Israel of the PA’s ongoing collaboration. Ali Abunimah comments. Read more about The PA's disingenuous boycott campaign
Two weeks after Israel imposed a travel ban on him, Ameer Makhoul, a well-respected Palestinian leader holding Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped from his home on 6 May in the middle of the night. The persecution of Makhoul brings back memories of the South Africa apartheid regime; during the South Africa anti-apartheid movement, similar tactics were used against those advocating for freedom and equal rights, who were accused of terrorism and having links with the Soviet Union. Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza comment for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Persecution of Palestinian citizens recalls S. Africa apartheid repression
Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler’s recent comments that Canada’s policy towards the Middle East has been put in the service of domestic electoral concerns have been read as critical by the corporate media. However, Fowler is only one of many reproducing a fantasy of Canada having a reputation for being fair, just and objective as regards the Middle East. Sean F. McMahon comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Challenging Canada's myths about its role in Palestine
