Haidar Eid

Hamas' political immaturity



Instead of coming up with an alternative program to that of the Palestinian Authority, and all the organizations belonging to it, and instead of building on the unprecedented, growing solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza, the leadership of Hamas, in statements made by its leaders and — more importantly — letters sent to the US president, have begun a process of deterioration like that of their predecessors who sold out Palestinian rights at Oslo. Haidar Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada. 

Gaza 2009: Culture of resistance vs. defeat



The ongoing bloodletting in the Gaza Strip and the ability of the Palestinian people to creatively resist the might of the world’s fourth strongest army is being hotly debated by Palestinian political forces. The latest genocidal war which lasted 22 days, and in which apartheid Israel used F-16s, Apache helicopters, Merkava tanks and conventional and non-conventional weapons against the population, have raised many serious questions about the concept of resistance and whether the outcome of the war can, or cannot, be considered a victory for the Palestinian people. Dr. Haidar Eid comments for EI

Sharpeville 1960, Gaza 2009



The horror of the racist apartheid regime in South Africa was challenged with a sustained campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions initiated in 1958 and given new urgency in 1960 after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. Similarly, the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions has been gathering momentum since 2005. Gaza 2009, like Sharpeville 1960, cannot be ignored: it demands a response from all who believe in a common humanity. Dr. Haidar Eid in Gaza City comments for EI

"The radio reported that my friend was under the rubble"



I was lying in my bedroom when the first strike happened, around 1:30 in the morning. A strike isn’t just one explosion, it’s a series of explosions. Boom, boom, boom, boom. The whole building shook. I woke up and went to the bathroom first, and within 30 seconds the second strike hit. F-16s were bombing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, about 500 meters away. I could hear glass shattering everywhere. Dr. Haider Eid reports from the besieged Gaza Strip. 

Learning from South Africa



The strategic value of international solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, refugees in the Diaspora and Palestinians in Israel raises some fundamental questions. The most immediate and urgent are: what the nature of international solidarity should be and how it can best support the Palestinian struggle for self-determination? Savera Kalideen and Haidar Eid comment for The Electronic Intifada. 

Nadine Gordimer: Stand against Israel's apartheid too



The following is an edited open letter from Gaza lecturer Dr. Haider Eid to Nobel Prize-winning South African author Nadine Gordimer: The news of your conscious decision to take part in the “Israel at 60” celebrations has reached us, students and citizens of Gaza, as both a painful surprise, and a glaring example of a hypocritical intellectual double standard. My students, psychologically and emotionally traumatized and already showing early signs of malnutrition as a result of the genocidal policy of the country whose birth you will be celebrating, demand an explanation. 

A third way



The “third way” that secular intellectuals defend, condemns terrorism and supports the fight against it. However, the criterion it follows is a universal one. That is, support comes only if the US is prepared to censure Israel for its illegal occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and all the crimes that come with it, and stops its support for imposed, corrupt dictators in the Arab world. Haider Eid comments for The Electronic Intifada.