23 March 2010
In an important show of solidarity, 500 individuals participated in pro-Palestine activities on Friday 19 March in Melbourne, Australia, protesting against both the brutality of Israel’s actions in recent weeks and the ongoing support of the Australian government for Israeli apartheid. Omar Hassan writes from Australia. Read more about In Australia, a day of solidarity with Palestine
23 March 2010
Like stones thrown from the palms of Palestinian youth, Rafeef Ziadah’s lyrics are relentless in the way they shower audiences with the multiple layers of resistance and diaspora. Ziadah’s debut album, Hadeel, unleashes a tapestry of fierce poetry infused with an eclectic selection of beautiful sounds. Ahmed Habib reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Soundtrack to the struggle: Rafeef Ziadah's "Hadeel" reviewed
23 March 2010
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
22 March 2010
The Zakai and Tarabin families should be a picture of happy coexistence across the ethnic divide, a model for others to emulate in Israel. But Natalie and Weisman Zakai say the past three years — since the Jewish couple offered to rent their home to Bedouin friends, Ahmed and Khalas Tarabin — have been a living hell. Jonathan Cook reports. Read more about House rental in Israel: Arabs need not apply
19 March 2010
Gabi Baramki’s Peaceful Resistance: Building a Palestinian University under Occupation (Pluto Press, 2009) is a memoir of Palestine’s flagship university, Birzeit, by its former acting president. The memoir is an indispensable tool for teaching Westerners about the ways in which Palestinian education exists and flourishes under a constant state of siege and the barriers to academic freedom that Palestinians experience on a daily basis. Marcy Newman reviews for The Electronic Intifada. Read more about Book review: Higher education under occupation
19 March 2010
Early yesterday morning, the University of California Berkeley Student Senate (ASUC) passed a bill to divest from companies that provide military support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Debate began the night before at 9:00pm and ended and six hours later when the vote was held at 3:00am. Read more about UC Berkeley student senate votes in favor of divestment
18 March 2010
QALANDIA, occupied West Bank (IPS) - On Tuesday tens of hundreds of Palestinians of all political persuasions took to the streets, alleys and sidewalks as widespread rioting and protests spread across occupied East Jerusalem, the rest of the West Bank, Gaza and into Israel proper. Read more about Palestinian anger fills the streets
18 March 2010
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
18 March 2010
Saleh Zeidan, Gaza-based leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), spoke to The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari about chances for peace in the region following the latest failures and setbacks in United States peace initiatives. This is part of an occasional series of interviews with various political figures and factions in Palestine. Read more about DFLP's Saleh Zeidan: Obama's speech should become action
19 March 2010
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