In Mind, Body and Soul of Palestine: A Photo Journal Exhibit, time, imagery, and stereotype are challenged and contradicted. Indeed, some of the imagery in the photographs contradict each other, causing the viewer to reconsider what they know about this country called Palestine that is constantly being reported but seldom understood. The show is presented by al-PHAN (which stands for Palestinian Humanities and Arts Now), a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization, and will be traveling around the U.S through next spring. Read more about Art review: Mind, Body and Soul of Palestine - A Photo Journal Exhibit
To its standard list of revenge measures following the Haifa suicide attack, Israel added the novel step of bombing Syria. Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah, and EI co-founder Ali Abunimah write that this escalation by Israel will not save it from an existential crisis that is hurtling towards it like a runaway train. Read more about Israel's date with a runaway freight train
Thousands of protesters demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq and Palestine took to the streets Saturday in London, Athens, Paris and other cities around the world, chanting slogans against the United States and Britain. The following photo reportage of the protest in London was made by Azem Bishara. Read more about Photostory: London protests against occupation of Iraq and Palestine
As Palestinians marked the third anniversary of the intifada, at the Tel Aviv District Court, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Marwan Barghouti, who was detained by Israel since April 2002, presented his closing arguments. Read more about Marwan Barghouti: "Why don't you refuse?"
Kathleen Christison and Bill Christison30 September 2003
As we watched helplessly, the two Caterpillars, with pneumatic drills on their long dinosaur arms, systematically punched holes in the front of the house, then in the roof. Billows of dust began to rise as pieces fell off the house, then more as the roof began to fall in. The water tank on the roof was first dented, then punctured, sending out a large spray of water that was visible even from our distant perch. It all took only a few minutes. In fact, only an hour passed between the arrival and the departure of the Caterpillars, probably only 20 minutes from start to finish of the actual demolition. Kathy and Bill Christison write about just one day spent defending Palestinian homes. Read more about Defending Palestinian homes: Tears amid the rubble
Through a simple campus lecture, Edward Said precipitated a rupture at Ohio’s Oberlin College. But like many things in his life, the debate did not touch the substance of Said’s theory or politics. Instead, his enemies were obsessed by what he stood for — a Palestinian nationalism that scared them because it was not easily stereotyped or dismissed. Through this vignette, I also learnt about the limitations and myopia of liberal campus politics. Naeem Mohaiemen remembers Edward Said. Read more about Edward Said: Campus hysteria in the face of truth
“There is no excuse for us not to aspire to the courage and clarity that Dr. Edward Said embodied. There is no excuse for us not to envision a better future and to work together with diverse Others for its realization. There is no excuse for any of us to let despair, anger, jealousy or fear poison us or slow us down. And there is no time to waste in honoring and sustaining the legacy of Dr. Said. As an American poet, May Swenson, said about deep sorrow following a great loss: ‘Don’t mourn the beloved. Try to be like him’.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani reflects on the lessons to be learned from Dr. Edward Said’s life and vision. Read more about Edward Said: A lesson that will not die, a vision that cannot fail
On September 25, 2003, I received the somber news of the passing of Palestinian Professor Edward Said, at the age of 67. I like many others felt an unbearable loss of one Palestinian hero who had influenced and inspired my quest to ameliorate the long, unjust and unabated suffering of the Palestinian people. Professor Said was one of a kind. Educator and writer Leila Diab remembers Edward Said. Read more about Professor Edward Said's Ninth Symphony plays on
Picking up a work by Edward Said is never intellectually or emotionally easy. Following Said through one of his thrusts into the meaning of the intellectual, of being an Arab or a Palestinian, or exploring with Said what it truly meant to be political is an experience so deep, at times, so painful, so unflinchingly honest that one emerges from it reborn, enlightened, and often on fire. I speak from experience as a young student set aflame by Said’s work in the mid-1990’s. I did not know Edward Said personally. I saw him lecture at Harvard and in Southern California, and I met him once at a conference in Boston. I talked to him about the challenges of being sympathetic to the Palestinians in academia. He responded, with real compassion and even a flash of anger in his eyes, “keep fighting.” MPAC Communcations Director Sarah Eltantawi remembers Said. Read more about Edward Said: The Loss of an Irreplaceable Mentor
Various news organisations reporting on the killing of one Turkish and one Swiss member of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) have included the Israeli claim that it was Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on the TIPH vehicle. A TIPH spokesperson, reached by telephone in Hebron by The Electronic Intifada today categorically stated that TIPH had “No information on the shooting.” Read more about Advisory: TIPH reports "no information on the shooting" of two of its personnel
