Opinion and analysis

Of broken bodies and unbreakable laws

Laurie King 19 March 2003


“Rachel Corrie died for the sins of all High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions who have neglected to discharge their legally binding obligations to protect human rights and prevent impunity for confirmed rights violators. It should not fall on the shoulders of college seniors from Olympia, Washington to rectify the tragedies that nation states helped to create and are obligated to prevent.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani traces the sources of Rachel Corrie’s courage to the principles of International Humanitarian Law while noting that her murder highlights the urgency of halting Israeli impunity. 

Rachel Corrie, Nuha Sweidan and Israeli War Crimes

Steve Niva 16 March 2003


“The Israeli bulldozer that ran over and killed American peace activist Rachel Corrie, 23, in the Gaza Strip today had killed before. A few weeks ago, on March 3, an Israeli bulldozer killed a nine-month pregnant Palestinian woman, Nuha Sweidan, while destroying the house next door in a dilapidated Gaza refugee camp. Palestinian witnesses said that Mrs. Sweidan, 33, bled to death under the rubble as she cradled her 18-month-old daughter. Her unborn baby also died.” Steve Niva, a faculty member of Evergreen State College, makes an important call for action. 

Why Israel is so excited about "prime minister" Abu Mazen

Ali Abunimah 15 March 2003


Mahmoud Abbas (“Abu Mazen”) Under intense pressure, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has appointed a Palestinian “prime minister.” EI’s Ali Abunimah writes that popular objections to this move stem both from the notion of introducing a “prime minister” in the context of an endless foreign military occupation, and the notoriously corrupt character of the person Arafat chose for the job. 

Amnon Rubinstein's lazy -- and misleading -- math

Jonathan Cook 11 March 2003

“To be an Arab in Israel is also to suffer from a qualitatively different kind of discrimination: a racism that is unknown to anyone who can claim to be an “ethnic Jew,” or, in the case of the Russian Christians, a “social Jew.” The discrimination is not just structural but ideological: it is the negation of the Arab citizen’s right to an identity as an Israeli. It is felt in the absolute exclusion of the minority from all aspects of the Zionist nation-building programme.” Jonathan Cook exposes the logical and methodological flaws in the writings of former Israeli government minister Professor Amnon Rubinstein. 

Myths and Disasters

Hasan Abu Nimah 7 March 2003

Israel is good at floating vague ideas that grow in their generosity and magnanimity if they are rejected but quickly prove empty of any meaningful content if accepted, writes regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, who recently visited Washington and found a number of dangerous myths about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict alive and well. 

AIPAC, ADL refuse to condemn inclusion of ethnic cleansers in new Israel government

Ali Abunimah 3 March 2003

Leading pro-Israeli organizations in the United States have pointedly refused to condemn Ariel Sharon’s inclusion in his new government of the National Union alliance parties whose members ran for election on a platform openly advocating the “transfer” – or ethnic cleansing – of the Palestinians. EI’s Ali Abunimah phoned up the leading US pro-israel groups, AIPAC and ADL to find out why they were remaining silent about policies that fit the international legal definition of genocide. 

Snow-covered Rubble

Sam Bahour and Michael Dahan Ramallah, Jerusalem 26 February 2003

The snow will soon melt and the destroyed homes, bullet riddled walls, tank-rippled roads will re-appear, only to jog the collective memories of those Palestinians that remain the victims of this thirty-six year man- made tragedy called Israeli occupation. 

On its second anniversary, the Electronic Intifada looks ahead

The Electronic Intifada 27 February 2003


Above: The Electronic Intifada team “These are crucial days, days that will determine the trajectory of the Middle East’s future in profound ways. More than regimes will be changed in the coming months. Life chances of the region’s most vulnerable—women, children, and the elderly—will certainly change for the worse. We, in response, must change our tactics and increase our efforts to safeguard human rights and uphold international law. EI and affiliated websites will be part of that change.” As EI marks its second anniversary, its founders look back at past successes, but mostly ahead at pressing challenges.