In a speech at the Fourth Annual Walk for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, at Oak Park, Illinois, EI co-founder Ali Abunimah said: “Today we have a proliferation of fake peace plans, from the Road Map to the Geneva Initiative, which seem to be designed for one purpose: to absolve those who advocate them from the moral responsibility of confronting the reality that they have allowed to develop. Peace plans and endless process have become little more than therapy for guilty consciences.” He also called on those engaged in divestment campaigns not to shy away from their calling, even in the face of unscrupulous pressure. Read more about Time to confront reality: Nakba Day speech in Oak Park
The British government assisted a leading company in the UK to obtain a lucrative contract with Israel which violates UK policy and international law on the status of Occupied East Jerusalem, an EI investigation has uncovered. Under the contract, signed with the Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UK consulting firm A4e will establish an employment center in Jerusalem. Despite assurances from officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv that “we cannot and will not support any work” by A4e in Occupied East Jerusalem, there is conclusive evidence that they did exactly that, damaging UK credibility as an honest broker. EI’s Ali Abunimah reports in a dual exclusive with Middle East International magazine. Read more about EI EXCLUSIVE: Britain's double game
Since the war in Iraq and Bush’s re-election we have witnessed the collective surrender by large segments of European and Arab ruling elites, as many allow themselves to become tools of Bush administration policies, write EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah and EI co-founder Ali Abunimah. UN missions in Lebanon, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s visit to Jerusalem, and recent EU statements about about Iran represent the reassertion of a western double standard that reinforces regional fears that international law is a weapon to be used only to punish disobedient Arab and Muslim countries, while Israel is totally exempt from all enforcement action. Read more about Fear and loathing across the Middle East
Michael F. Brown, Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry1 March 2005
The population of Palestinians living in Israel, the Occupied Gaza Strip, Occupied East Jerusalem and rest of the Occupied West Bank combined now exceeds the number of Israeli Jews, a U.S. government report has revealed. The Palestinian population stands at more than 5.3 million while the Jewish population stands at 5.2 million. The figures come from the U.S. State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. The report provided population figures for each of these territorial units separately but failed to connect all the dots to arrive at the explosive new demographic reality. Read more about EI EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian population exceeds Jewish population says U.S. government
Are Israelis and Palestinians finally on the road to peace? A glance at commentary in the US press would seem to suggest so. Since Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced a truce in early February at the Sharm al-Sheikh summit, many observers see a “window of opportunity” they are encouraging both sides to leap through. And do the latest tussles among Palestinian leaders reflect the kind of democratic reform that ordinary Palestinians want? EI co-founder Ali Abunimah compares this euphoria with the most recent developments on the ground. Read more about Is peace in Palestine about to break out?
The company that publishes The San Francisco Examiner and Washington Examiner newspapers has pulled an advertisement that demonized Palestinian children and has apologized for causing offense. The advertisement appeared in Media Week, a trade publication, as part of a campaign by The Examiner to sell advertising space in its newspapers. On 25 January, EI asked its readers to The Examiner, to politely request that the company withdraw the ad and apologize. EI welcomes The Examiner’s prompt and responsible action. Read more about Examiner pulls offensive ad, apologizes
The Electronic Intifada calls on its readers to protest an advertisement for the San Francisco Examiner and Washington Examiner newspapers demonizing Palestinian children. The advertisment appeared in the 24 January 2005 of Media Week, a trade publication. The advertisement aims to attract advertisers to the Examiner newspapers. It includes a picture of a girl playing a violin on the left-hand side of the page, and another picture of a girl carrying an assault rifle on the right-hand side of the page. Superimposed over the two pictures is the legend “PTA to PLO,” with PTA over the girl with the violin and PLO over the girl with the rifle. Read more about Examiner ad demonizes Palestinian children
What explains the widespread readiness of various groups to lapse into hypnosis and euphoria about a non-existent “window of opportunity” for peace, ask EI co-founder Ali Abunimah and regular contributor Hasan Abu Nimah? They examine the motives of various constituencies that have welcomed the charade of the Mahmoud Abbas election from an endless stream of EU envoys to the US government, and suggest that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority may have more in common in their approach to the peace process than initially meets the eye. Read more about Mass hypnosis in the Middle East
EI’s Ali Abunimah responds to an editorial in Ha’aretz, and points out that the majority of Palestinians, those living in exile, were not permitted to participate in the Palestinian Authority election, and that “a Palestinian Authority leader preselected by the international community on the basis of his willingness to surrender to Israel’s insatiable demands, and not elected by the vast majority of Palestinians, has absolutely no mandate to negotiate away our rights and will never be able to do so.” Read more about Palestinian Authority election excludes most Palestinians
EI’s Ali Abunimah was a guest on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman on 10 January 2005 to discuss the results of the election for president of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied territories. Abunimah said “Many Palestinians fear this is another setup so when the inevitable failure brought about by Israeli intransigence occurs, this will be another opportunity to blame the Palestinians, and accuse them of missing an opportunity once again.” Read more about Democracy Now!: EI discusses Palestinian election results
