In a New York Times column today, PLO legal adviser Michael Tarazi lays out the case for solving the deadlocked Palestinian-Israeli conflict through “a one-state solution in which citizens of all faiths and ethnicities live together as equals.” That the New York Times printed this article represents a major breakthrough of this idea into the mainstream. Tarazi’s article is sure to draw a sharp negative reaction from those who wish to stifle a free debate. If you support equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis, and want to see this discussion expand, the New York Times needs to hear from you. Read more about Write to comment on New York Times opinion piece
Today (25 September 2004) is the first anniversary of Edward Said’s death. Time passes by so quickly and hence it seems as if only yesterday we were all reading those touching and insightful obituaries of the man and his philosophy. From brilliant long expositions to short but genuine eulogies, it seems that everything that could be said was candidly presented to those who knew him and the millions who have only heard of him. Such a litany of words should have enabled us to resign to his death, but his absence seems to me still incomprehensible. What would have happened if we still had Edward with us in this last year? Ilan Pappe ponders the question. Read more about One Year Later: Remembering Edward Said
Israel portrays the children of Palestine as terrorists, faceless stone throwers, but due to Israeli policies, it’s highly complex matrix of control, the health, education and overall well-being of the 1.8 million children of Palestine are at severe risk, Adah Kay, Professor at City University, London stated at the UN Conference on Palestine held in New York City in mid-September. Kay co-authored the book Stolen Youth, with Catherine Cook and Adam Hanieh, former staff and volunteers with Defense for Children International. Published in 2004 and subtitled, “The Politics of Israel’s Detention of Palestinian Children,” Stolen Youth is the first book to explore Israel’s incarceration of Palestinian children based on first-hand information from international human rights groups and NGO workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Read more about The future of Palestine's children and society at risk
As new Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Tories prepare for their party political conferences in Bournemouth and Brighton in the coming weeks, Palestinians from Balata to Beit Jibrin will be locked up in their homes and refugee camps for the fourth consecutive year. Against this background, occasional EI correspondent Victor Kattan interviewed Afif Safieh, the Palestinian General-Delegate to the UK and the Holy See - a sophisticated and suave chain-smoker - who invariably describes himself as a diplomat, a democrat, a political scientist and an observer of the British domestic political scene. Read more about Interview with Afif Safieh, Palestinian General-Delegate to the UK and the Holy See
“There is no possibility of sanctions being imposed against Israel; at least at present. South Africa alienated itself from all five of the veto powers and this allowed limited sanctions to be imposed. Israel will, it seems, for ever have the USA to veto any sanctions being imposed by the Security Council. I raised the issue simply to get it into the debate so that it is on the table. I have had no feedback whatsoever.” Occasional EI contributor Victor Kattan recently interviewed John Dugard, U.N. Special Rapportuer for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Read more about "A state cannot indefinitely stand against the world": An interview with UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard
Nearly 100 Heads of State and Government convened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today as the General Assembly opened its annual high-level debate on global issues. Decrying what he described as “shameless” disregard for the rule of law around the globe, Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged world leaders gathered at the General Assembly to do everything within their power to restore respect for the fundamental principles of law – in domestic affairs, as well as on the international arena. What has irked Kofi Annan is that the rule of law has been seriously eroded since September 11, and in the case of Israel, long before. Genevieve Cora Fraser reports. Read more about UN Conference on Palestine Sets Stage for UN General Assembly
Samia Halaby was twelve-years-old when Israeli soldiers arrived in Jerusalem. Born in the midst of Palestine’s bloodiest uprising against British occupation, Halaby was no stranger to colonial oppression, but something was different this time. She sensed it in the indescribable arrogance a British soldier used when he searched her school bag: His expressions, his motions, were the presage of a storm. As a Palestinian artist, Halaby’s work is, intrinsically, cultural resistance. Compared to many of her contemporaries, her circumstances have been rather fortunate. Following several years of exile in Beirut, her family moved to the U.S., where Halaby studied Cubism, Soviet Constructivism, American Abstract Expressionism and the Mexican Mural Movement. Read more about Liberation Art of Palestine
The International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded its work this week. According to an adopted plan of action, internationally coordinated action would be developed to escalate pressure to end the Israeli occupation and achieve the realization of Palestinian rights. Jeff Handmaker, an international human rights lawyer and regular contributer to EI, participated at the conference and presented a paper with Susan Akram on legal strategies. Read more about Beyond the Advisory Opinion: Possible Future Strategies
“This week, as the survivors of the Sabra and Shatila massacre remember their dead, Ariel Sharon, the man deemed ‘personally responsible’ for the massacre by Israel’s 1983 Kahane Commission, is planning an official visit to Holland. When Ariel Sharon steps off the plane, he will be treading not only on Dutch soil, but also on the bodies of the dead of Sabra and Shatila. Legally, the massacre and its victims remain unburied. It is Holland’s shame to assume that rolling out a red carpet of welcome can cover the corpses of Mr. Sharon’s victims, whose number continues to climb with each passing day.” EI co-founder Laurie King-Irani remembers a massacre that many prefer to forget. Read more about Unburied
Madonna - Esther, shalom, salaam, welcome. On behalf of Israeli Jews, and Palestinian or Israeli Christians and Muslims seriously opposed to your highly controversial visit, we ask you, with compassion, to reconsider the consequences of coming to Israel/Palestine in this context. This visit takes you to the heart of Occupied Territory in Bethlehem: a closed-off prison, a ghetto, whose civilians now have no work, no freedom, no life. They’ve finished their savings, live now on food handouts from foreign donor agencies. They’ve had their land taken, they have no justice through the courts, this entire city of ordinary folk trying to live a decent life, is imprisoned, while Israel calls the shots. Read more about Open letter to Madonna
