Today, Israel�s Supreme Court lifted a ban on Mohammed Bakri�s documentary �Jenin, Jenin�, ruling that Israel�s film board, also known as the film censorship board, had overstepped the red lines drawn by the freedom of expression. �Jenin, Jenin� was screened three times in Israel before it was banned. According to the court the board�s decision infringes on freedom of expression �above and beyond what is necessary.� Now that the ban on the film is lifted, the first screening has been set on December 8 at the Tel Aviv Cinemateque. Read more about Israel's Supreme Court lifts ban on "Jenin, Jenin"
For months, CNN has misrepresented the facts of where Israel’s apartheid barrier will run. Repeated interventions only brought marginal improvements, until November 5-6, when CNN changed the reported length and cost of the project after contacting the Israeli government to check: “According to Defense Ministry spokeswoman Rachel Niedak-Ashkenazi, the planned fence route, which has been approved by the government, will be 690 kilometers (429 miles) long. Cost is estimated at $1.5 billion.” Michael Brown reports for EI. Read more about Correcting CNN's measurement of Israel's Apartheid Wall
Israel’s hard-line supporters in the US Congress have fired the latest volley in their sustained campaign against the rights of Palestinian refugees and against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides for their basic needs. They have introduced a resolution accusing the UN agency that looks after refugees, and are trying to rewrite the history of the 1948 expulsion of the Palestinian people from its homeland. EI’s Ali Abunimah looks at the latest moves by pro-Israel organizations and their allies in the US Congress. Read more about Hijacking the Palestinian narrative: Israel's friends in Congress
In February last year, Gili and Sagi, a young Israeli couple, were “married” at sea - a marriage that was not legally recognised by the State of Israel. Although they are both Jewish, the couple objected to the only marriage option open to them in Israel: an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. Instead, they chose a marriage contract that they drew up themselves, together with a lawyer, thus rendering their union illegal. Israel’s marriage laws have been criticised by both Israelis and Palestinians alike for being discriminatory. Suraya Dadoo takes a look. Read more about Love and marriage in Israel
The Second Annual Conference of the Peace and Justice Studies Association took place from October 9-12 in Olympia, Washington at The Evergreen State College. The title of the conference, ‘Fostering Alternatives to Violence,’ was deeply felt by the participants whose talk frequently turned to the post-September 11th world, the Bush administration and the conflicts in Iraq and the Occupied Territories. Educators, students, artists and activists joined to discuss progress and problems within the movement. candio. reports from Olympia. Read more about Olympia conference remembers Rachel Corrie and Rafah
Recently, Palestinian farmers living in proximity to Israel’s Separation Wall received an order signed by Major General Moshe Kaplinski, commander of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, declaring that their lands lying between the barrier and the border with Israel had been classified as “a closed military zone”. Henceforth, the order stated, only Israeli citizens and Jews from other countries would have unrestricted access to these lands. Palestinians who wished to enter or continue living in these areas would have to apply for special permits. Michael Shaik comments. Read more about Time is on whose side?
It’s nearing the end - this routine of coming again and again to the Jaffa Military Court, to which we have grown accustomed in the past half year. The testimonies and cross-examinations are past. Today the prosecutor - Captain Yaron Kostelitz, will make his final summation, trying his utmost to make the most heavy case and use the most specious arguments against the five young guys in the dock. Read more about The prosecutor and the judge
The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, initiated through aggressive military campaigns in 1948 and 1967, has been consolidated and standardised through a continuous and ongoing assault on the very environment of Palestine. The Israeli grip on the Palestinian Territories has been ensured through a paradoxical “violence of construction.” Read more about The Violence of Construction: Israel's Wall and International Law
Researchers have found that nearly 60 percent of European citizens believe Israel poses the biggest threat to world peace. Iran is considered the second biggest threat, North Korea the third and the United States the fourth. The European Commission survey asked the public in all 15 member states to look at a list of countries and say which they considered potential threats to peace. Israel was selected by a majority in almost all the EU member states. EI’s Arjan El Fassed takes a closer look. Read more about EU poll: "Israel poses biggest threat to world peace"
The Road Map is in tatters, and not by accident. It is business as usual for the most right wing government in Israel’s history. Business is building, and building is booming.For many months now, before and after the launch of the Road Map, land has been confiscated and homes and agricultural land levelled for the construction of the “separation” wall along the north of the West Bank. People are being separated from their land and each other, greenhouses and crops have been destroyed and towns and villages are being encircled by the wall as it snakes through the West Bank annexing land to Israel. Anwar Darkazally contributed this piece to EI. Read more about Building to destroy: The 'separation' wall and the future of Palestine
