The recent Hollywood films Invictus and Avatar inspire reflection on the past, present and future hopes of the Palestinian nation. The response to these movies among audiences around the world underscores the amount of sympathy around the world for moral struggles that ensue after the creation of an unjust reality, a sympathy Palestinians have been slow at garnering. Abdaljawad O.A. Hamayel comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Visions of Palestine's present and future in "Invictus" and "Avatar"
Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 of the world’s most developed countries, does not provide money or any special economic benefits. Yet it is easy to see why the Israeli government attributes great importance to Israel becoming one of its members. Shir Hever analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Israel's inclusion in economic organization a threat to democracy
The speeches at AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby group, on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Netanyahu’s subsequent meeting with US President Barack Obama are widely seen as drawing to a close what Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren called the “most severe crisis in US-Israel relations” in decades. However, this “crisis” has been widely misconstrued by both supporters and critics of Israel. Stephen Maher comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about The US' choreographed "outrage" at Israel
Since Israel announced yet another new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem during the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden last week, Israel has been subjected to a storm of criticism from friend and foe alike. Biden was in Jerusalem to show US support for Israel and to launch “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority of Ramallah. Instead the Israeli announcement caused him and the US administration deep embarrassment, prompting several officials to term it an “insult” and an “affront” and to stir talk of the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in decades. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. Read more about Storm over Israeli settlements as unreal as the peace process
There is a growing recognition that the Israeli settlement enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is, in practical terms, irreversible. The two-state solution, which for decades has been characterized as the preferred solution of an amorphous “international consensus” has generally been understood to involve a return to the pre-1967 occupation boundaries (referred to as the green line) with minor territorial adjustments by the parties. By now, even optimists refer to this solution as “unlikely” and “virtually impossible,” while realists recognize that the concept has outlived its usefulness as a political aspiration. Martha Reese comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Time to bury dead ideas about Palestine
On 28 January 2010 the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a statement to the Qatari government calling for a boycott of Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) and condemning the Qatari Ministry of Culture for hosting the orchestra in Doha. The statement goes so far as to accuse Daniel Barenboim of being an ardent Zionist. Mariam Said comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Barenboim-Said Foundation does not promote normalization
The first session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RTP) was heard in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month. The RTP is a peoples’ legal initiative designed to systematically try key actors responsible for the perpetuation of human rights violations in Palestine. In the frame this time was the European Union (EU). Two days and 21 expert witness testimonies later, the RTP found individual states and the EU as a whole guilty of persistent violations and misconduct with regards to international and internal EU law. Ewa Jasiewicz and Frank Barat comment for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about European Union found guilty at first session of Russell Tribunal
They hail from opposite parts of the globe, but they have much in common: Jewish; experts on and passionate defenders of international law; and pummeling bags for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. And the future of the law of war lies at the heart of the campaigns against them. Nadia Hijab comments how the undermining of Richard Goldstone and Richard Falk. Read more about PA's betrayal of human rights defenders the unkindest cut
In 2008 Britain expressed concern about how goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank may be benefiting illegally from European Union trade preferences that theoretically only apply to businesses within Israel’s internationally-recognized borders. However, EU officials have not only failed to defend international law, they have accommodated Israel’s abuse of it. David Cronin analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Flouting its own laws, EU accommodates "Made in Israel"
Critics of the movement for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel — including Israeli concert producer Shuki Weiss — have claimed that calling on artists to cancel performances in Israel is a form of censorship. Is the cultural boycott a form of censorship or McCarthyism? Sami Hermez comments for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Boycott or censorship?
