Opinion and analysis

An artist's pledge to boycott


I am proud to be among the many Irish and Ireland-based artists from across creative disciplines who have chosen to publicly support the growing campaign of boycott against apartheid Israel. Compared to the imprisoned Palestinian people themselves and to those taking part in flotillas and other perilous anti-apartheid activities in Palestine our contribution and risk may be justly considered small. 

India employing Israeli oppression tactics in Kashmir


The 2010 summer in the disputed area of Jammu and Kashmir, administered by India, has been marked by popular protests by Kashmiris and crackdowns by India’s military. The stream of violence has left more than fifty dead, mostly young protestors. The situation in Kashmir has some parallels with Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, even borrowing the term intifada to describe the uprising. But the connection is more than analogy. Jimmy Johnson analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. 

Israel keeps evidence of ethnic cleansing locked away


History may be written by the victors, as Winston Churchill is said to have observed, but the opening up of archives can threaten a nation every bit as much as the unearthing of mass graves. That danger explains a decision quietly taken last month by Benjamin Netanyahu to extend by an additional 20 years the country’s 50-year rule for the release of sensitive documents. Jonathan Cook reports. 

Fighting expulsion and Western hypocrisy in Jerusalem


Earlier this summer, Israel arrested Muhammad Abu Tir, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Hamas. Israel also ordered two other PLC members, Muhammad Totah and Ahmad Attoun and the Palestinian Authority’s former minister of Jerusalem affairs Khaled Abu Arafeh to leave their home town of Jerusalem. Rahela Mizrahi writes for The Electronic Intifada. 

Is Canada passing information on its citizens to Israel?


As a national intelligence organization shrouded in secrecy, it is hard to know if the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) has been mandated to target Palestine solidarity activists. In the current political climate, however, it’s not surprising that CSIS officials view anyone defending Palestinian rights as a threat. Yves Engler analyzes for The Electronic Intifada. 

Uribe's appointment to flotilla probe guarantees its failure


The appointment of outgoing President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe Vélez to a UN-commissioned inquiry into the massacre by Israel of human rights activists aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla makes a mockery of the investigation. José Antonio Gutiérrez and David Landy comment for The Electronic Intifada.