The Israeli army issued a statement yesterday (Tuesday 14th December 2004) that a decision would be made in the next 48 hrs concerning four Birzeit University students who were illegally ‘deported’ back to Gaza last month. An international letter writing campaign involving hundreds of academics from around the world has been launched demanding they are returned to the university to complete their degrees. All were due to graduate this year. Bashar Abu Salim is one of the four. Charles Stratford tells the story about what happened on the night of his arrest. Read more about "It Was Like Abu Ghraib": Israeli Abuse of Birzeit University's Gazan Students
The leaders of the global war on terror keep promising us a future of democracy, peace, justice, respect for human rights and dignity even as they make war, and chaos seems to be erupting everywhere. In their sights is a world free of the prevailing evil — where bad people, and their misguided beliefs, ignorance, fanaticism, hatred, “anti-Semitism” and, worst of all, “terrorism” are no longer allowed to impede our peaceful existence. Such a world would, no doubt, be a wonderful place. The world has never enjoyed total peace in the past, but the new kind of conflict, in which traditional nation states fight against invisible and shadowy groups, seems to hold a new kind of horror. Hasan Abu Nimah comments. Read more about Pointing forward, moving backwards
The above leaflet was dropped on Gaza this morning from Israeli military helicopters. The translation says: TOTHEPALESTINIANPEOPLE. Your life is being harmed by irresponsible elements who exploit you by firing missiles from in between your houses at the Israeli settlements. These missiles backfire on you causing only destruction and loss of your source of living without leaving you any road to hope. Be aware !!! that firing missiles from your area will compel the Israeli Defense Forces to act in your area and to hit missile-launching elements in any place they act from. Get rid of terror which leads you to the bottom. Follow the road of hope. Do not allow the terrorists to come close to your area.” EI’s Nigel Parry reports. Read more about Leaflets of fear
The new documentary The Israeli Wall in Palestinian Land is a prime example of how low-cost digital technology has great potential for activists - with a small camcorder, and some decent video editing software, one can make a finished film that can be cheaply burned onto DVDs or put up on a website. Like cheap 35 mm, Polaroid, and disposable cameras democratized photography, video as a medium is now highly accessible. But whether one makes the most out of the medium is another matter. EI’s Arts, Music, and Culture Editor Maureen Clare Murphy reviews the new film for EI. Read more about Documentary film review: "Israeli Wall in Palestinian Lands"
The South African people fought for decades to free themselves of apartheid. The ANC departed from its non-violent policies in the early 1960s, becoming actively involved in the armed liberation struggle. The violence used by the ANC was directed at government institutions, economic targets and the forces involved in oppression. Nelson Mandela was arrested and imprisoned for almost 30 years. International solidarity movements supported the ANC by organising massive campaigns for sanctions and public boycotts against South Africa. A Dutch anti-apartheid activist and a South African ANC supporter whose father was imprisoned for ten years on Robben island for in his involvement in the resistance look back on activism during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Read more about Sanctions against apartheid South Africa should inspire the Palestinian people
“To understand human rights, human rights violations, and human rights enforcement, one must begin at the ground level, with the social and cultural setting of the abuse situation. This is not simply a legal requirement, but even more so a moral and political imperative. Whoever endeavors to protect human rights takes on the commitment to be fully human: to think, critique, imagine, argue, envision, cooperate, and take risks in concrete social contexts fraught with political consequences. Foremost among the risks of taking human rights seriously is reaching out to communicate. EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani offers some reflections on International Human Rights Day. Read more about International Human Rights: One day out of 365 is not enough
The Palestinian presidential election campaigns have not yet officially begun, but already there is much worry over Israeli-imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement, and how they might thwart the democratic election process. While Israel is making assurances that it will ease restrictions on movement during the election, recent events give reason to question their sincerity. Acting Speaker of Parliament Hassan Khreisheh dropped out of the race today, citing Israel’s refusal to allow him to travel to Gaza, and at 9:00 pm last night, presidential candidate Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi and his campaign delegation were detained and beaten at the Jaba checkpoint outside of Jenin while they were attempting to travel home to Ramallah. Read more about Israeli movement restrictions threaten Palestinian democratic elections
For nearly a year, Khalil Ayoub, 67, Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Th�r�se Boulos Haddad, 62, have been living in the basement of Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Gr�ce church, facing arrest and deportation if they leave their place of sanctuary. Under imminent threat of deportation by immigration authorities, many Palestinian refugees in Canada have been forced to live underground or take sanctuary. We are asking you to give a few moments today to contact Canadian officials who have the power to stop these deportations and end this human crisis. Read more about Stop the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees from Canada
Today’s Israeli Ha’aretz newspaper brought good news to those disturbed by the relentless death toll resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a headline that stated “IDF: 29 Palestinian civilians killed in W. Bank in 2004”. “The Israel Defense Forces released figures Wednesday showing that since the beginning of the year,” wrote Ha’aretz correspondent Amos Harel, “148 Palestinians have been killed by IDF fire in the West Bank, at least 29 of them, by army count, innocent bystanders, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.” EI’s Nigel Parry gags and begs to differ. Read more about On Palestine's Dead: Israel's Chilling Concept of "Good News"
Democrats, searching for ways to regain ground lost to Republicans in November, should take guidance from an unusual source: a just-reported Defense Department study of attitudes toward the United States in the Arab and Muslim worlds. That study confirms that we are resented worldwide not for our freedoms but for our policies. In particular, it is our support for Israel, and more recently our occupation of Iraq, that most offend 1.2 billion Arabs and Muslims. Friendly relations with this big slice of humanity are key to our economic and strategic well-being. Read more about Advance U.S. -- not Israel's -- interests
