In early March, the Electronic Intifada published a story about Ali Zbeidat and his family, Palestinian citizens of Israel whose home in the village of Sakhnin in the Galilee is threatened with demolition by a Jewish regional council called Misgav. For a decade Misgav has been seeking to prevent Ali, his Dutch wife Terese and their two teenage daughters, Dina and Awda, from living on land that has belonged to his family for decades. EI publishes for the first time some of the long-running correspondence between Misgav and Sakhnin which uncover a campaign of misinformation by Misgav to conceal from public view the apartheid land policies they enforce inside Israel. Read more about EI EXCLUSIVE: "Not prepared to concede one metre": Apartheid in the Galilee
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 Palestinian body politic is alive and united on a variety of central concerns, and has not been fragmented or destroyed in spite of more than 10 years of concerted attempts to do so. At this very moment Palestinians from all walks of life have been gathering together in large and small meetings to discuss the issues that concern them, in open debate. They choose the things they wish to speak about, and raise the issues that concern them. They discuss how to advance their rights - and there are certainly a multitude of them - legal, economic, civic, political, and social. Read more about Democracy and Rights are also for Palestinian Refugees
The official role of Israel as sole protector of the Jewish people through the so-called Israeli right of return (or Aliyah) is increasingly tested. The law of return is an exclusive law benefiting only Jews and allows any Jew to emigrate to Israel. This role of Israel, as sole protector of the Jewish people, is being increasingly tested by a large and growing number of émigrés from Israel to other countries around the world, matched by a diminishing number of new immigrants. Jeff Handmaker and Adri Nieuwhof argue that this creates serious problems for Israel in seeking to maintain the exclusively Jewish character of the Israeli state. Read more about Voting with their feet
This spring Palestine’s Birzeit University launched its latest means of cultural exchange. The new Paltel Virtual Gallery, which serves as an Internet portal for Birzeit students, Palestinians, and anyone else interested in Palestinian art, will also feature academic courses on Palestinian, Arab, and contemporary international art. In addition to highlighting a different Palestinian artist each month, the multiple functions of the bilingual Paltel Virtual Gallery intend to serve both those curious about Palestinian art, as well as Palestinians thirsting for more exposure to international art, which doesn’t enjoy a high priority in Palestinian schools. Read more about Birzeit's Virtual Gallery: The university's latest means of cultural exchange
Two significant events happened at the end of April - both of which carried more meaning than their literal interpretation. But they both had everything to do with the New Cold War and the reality of American hegemony. As Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, touched down in Israel on April 27th, he became the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit Israel or the Palestinian territories. In Ramallah, Putin was greeted with a cheering crowd as he became the first foreign head of state to visit Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas since the Palestinian elections earlier this year. Read more about Oil and Palestine: The New Cold War
The scene is tragic and unnerving but it has become astonishingly routine — the deadly routine that imposes ordinariness on the outrageous and unconscionable. The checkpoint at Qalandia is taking shape irrevocably as a permanent bottleneck and border crossing that cuts off the illegally annexed East Jerusalem along with some 28 Palestinian villages from the rest of the West Bank. To add insult to injury, the new structure will be built by Palestinian labour, as was the wall. What’s truly unnerving about this scene at Qalandia is how easily and smoothly it is taking shape. Read more about The making of an Israeli factoid
It’s been a long time coming but two weeks ago several ads created by Imagine Life began airing in Boston. Many Boston area groups coordinated raising the money and arranging the airing. As in other markets — 80 cities around the country — it was very exciting to see honest portrayals on American television of the grotesque and oppressive circumstances under which Palestinian people live. These ads ran on CNN and MSNBC. Bostonians were jubilant. There was hope. Read more about Success for Imagine Life ads in Boston
The mountains of Palestine form a sharp edge that plunges into the Jordan Valley as if cut by a knife. Almost to the rim of this drastic landscape lies the village of Al Aqaba, located in the farthest Palestinian lands of the Jenin region. It is almost a no-man’s land, nestled in the soft rolling foothills of the towering mountains, stirred by the strong breeze cooling the hot spring day. We went to Al Aqaba to speak with Haj Sammy, the mayor. The military uses the land around Al Aqaba for their training practices, having killed 8 and wounded 50 since 1971. Haj Sammy’s wound is one such example. He has been paralyzed since. Read more about Al Aqaba: Another village under threat
“Hearing is not like seeing and seeing is different from living the experience,” reflects Shehada’s mother about life in Rafah. And for a week in May 2004, that experience worsened as Israeli forces pushed forward with “Operation Rainbow,” killing 45 Palestinians, 38 of them civilians including nine children. “The only thing we can do is pray to God.” This overwhelmingly distraught sentiment runs throughout Shehada’s newest documentary Rainbow (2004), which examines first hand the devastating effects of the events of May 13-May 20th. However, this film is not a documentary in the traditional sense — from the perspective of an outsider looking in. Read more about Film review: "Rainbow"
