When our daughter Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip on March 16 2003, an immediate impulse was to get her words out to the world. We realised that her words were having a similar effect on others whose lives were being changed. Earlier this year, when a play created entirely from Rachel’s emails and journals first opened in London, we saw in a very immediate way the impact that Rachel’s words can have on others. It is disturbing to see our daughter played on stage, but it drives home the impact she has had since her killing in Gaza. Read more about Theatre Review: My Name Is Rachel Corrie
For a long time, relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamist movement Hamas have been tense. On September 30 these tensions finally boiled over. After a series of mysterious and still-disputed events, members of Hamas clashed with Palestinian police officers throughout Gaza City. Three Palestinians were reported killed, including a major in the Palestinian police, while more than 50 others, among them children, were injured. Read more about Hamas and the PA at loggerheads
Eighteen months ago I wrote a press release for what I thought would be the upcoming performance of a memorial cantata about a dedicated American college student, to be performed by other dedicated American college students. It was not to be. Some of the premises I had accepted in creating the work were seriously flawed. The first of many flawed premises was that in the environment of the ongoing Iraq War, one could expect an even table when presenting an antiwar argument - especially in a work of fine art. I was wrong. Read more about The Skies are Weeping to premiere in London
“I’m not looking for Sharon to do anything other than… to act in the measured way I spoke of”. And when the “measured way” includes air raids, mass arrests of Palestinians and serious violation of international law, British Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, is unlikely to be disappointed. At the very time Palestine takes on the characteristics of the anti-apartheid movement - with sanctions and boycott calls, an extensive twinning network, and Churches disinvesting from companies complicit in the Occupation -the British Government appears to tread ever more delicately around Israel. Read more about Gaza Last? The British Government's U-turn on Palestine
Lanterns and old-fashioned lamps dangled from the wood ceiling over hundreds of citizens gathered on the eve of Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims) to attend night of poetry recitation by young poets. The four young poets were in a semi-competition to win the most applause from the officials and ordinary citizens who were enthusiastic to spend this unique time far from politics. The night of poetry recitation, “There is a Room for Happiness”, was organized by the Rahala Association. Read more about Gazan poets gather for reading on eve of Ramadan
“At least give us enough bullets to protect people and protect our stations,” exclaimed a Palestinian police officer after he stormed the parliament building in Gaza City on the afternoon of October 3rd. He was one of approximately 40 officers from the Shati refugee camp who raided the in-session parliament to protest the Palestinian Authority’s reaction to fierce clashes between PA forces and Hamas militants in Gaza City on the night of October 2nd. One policeman and two bystanders were killed and 43 others were wounding in six hours of intense street fighting throughout the city. Read more about Outgunned: The PA's Security Challenges in Gaza
As a unilateral act, Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip raises basic questions for both sides in the conflict. For Israel, there is the question of how to define its deed: “Should we declare that the occupation of Gaza is over?” No less important are the questions Palestinians are asking: “Is this a victory? If so, who should get credit?” When Sharon prefers to speak of an end to Israeli “responsibility” rather than “occupation”, he means, above all, economic responsibility. He will discover, however, that Gaza, for its part, cannot disengage. Gazans cannot survive without access to jobs and export markets in Israel. Read more about Hurricane Gaza
It all started with an explosion on September 23, at a military rally for the militant Palestinian movement Hamas - its last before declaring an end to all weapon displays in the streets of Gaza. Hamas leaders blamed Israel for the explosion, arguing that it was a bombing by unmanned spy drones targeting leaders in the movement. However, PA officials said that the explosion had actually resulted from a malfunctioning makeshift ‘Qassam’ rocket. On the same night, HAMAS sent 30 rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot. Five Israelis were reported injured in the heaviest rocket attack in more than six months. The Israeli response was fierce. Read more about Israel's 'Sound' Terrorism
Bethlehem — While average Palestinians celebrate Israel’s withdrawal in the streets of the Gaza Strip, the minds of ranking Palestinian leaders are distracted by the implications of this development. Understanding that the post-withdrawal situation in Gaza will greatly affect the future of negotiations, PA leaders have outlined curious plans to ensure success. Facing Hamas, an adversary that reputable security analysts predict could defeat PA security forces in a military confrontation, PA officials have posited the idea of transferring thousands of armed Palestinian refugees from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. Read more about Governing Gaza: The role of Lebanon's armed Palestinians
In a press release dated September 28th, 2005, B’Nai Brith Canada claimed that the 2nd Annual Canada Palestine Film Festival, which opens today at Winnipeg’s prestigious Cinematheque theatre, is “about propaganda not art.” The implication, of course, is that defending the State of Israel — regardless of its behaviour — can be “objective” and “artistic,” whereas criticizing Israel’s actual human rights record, or portraying Palestinians as human beings with legitimate claims to self-determination, is by definition “propaganda,” or worse: anti-Semitism. Read more about B'Nai Brith Attacks the Canada Palestine Film Festival...Again!
