I listened to Linda Gradstein’s report on Israel’s attack in Occupied Gaza on Morning Edition today, and I also listened to the report on the same incident on the BBC Arabic Service. The contrast between the two could not be greater, writes EI’s Ali Abunimah in a letter to National Public Radio. Read more about Comparing NPR's report on Israel's Gaza attack with the BBC's
Bedouins are famous for their generosity. It is well known that Bedouins will graciously host strangers for days without asking their name, the reason for their visit, or the length of their stay. Today, Bedouins of the Negev, who have experienced 50 years of systematic human rights abuses, threats of transfer, land confiscations, and house demolitions, are facing renewed pressures from discriminatory planning maps and Israel’s Green Patrol — which Bedouins call the “Black Patrol.” A community many had forgotten is growing angrier and more vocal. Maha Qupty reports on the challenges confronting Bedouin Palestinian citizens of Israel. Read more about Bedouins of the Negev: Israeli ctizens or punishable trespassers?
WANTEDFORWARCRIMES
The decision of the Belgian Supreme Court that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon can stand trial under that country’s “universal jurisdiction” law for war crimes, once he is no longer in office, has caused a storm of outrage in Israel. The case was brought by survivors of the 1982 massacre of thousands of unarmed Palestinian refugees in Israeli-occupied Beirut, carried out by Israeli-armed and trained gangs, under Israeli army protection, and in which Sharon is deeply and personally implicated. EI’s Ali Abunimah responds to the arguments of those who say Belgium has no right to do this, and who seek continued impunity for war criminals. Read more about Putting Sharon on Trial: Why Belgium is doing the right thing
World-renowned American stand-up comedian Jackie Mason has published an astonishing demand that Israel threaten the Palestinian people with genocide. Mason and co-author Raoul Felder wrote: “We have paralyzed ourselves by our sickening fear of World Opinion, which is why we find it impossible to face one simple fact: We will never win this war unless we immediately threaten to drive every Arab out of Israel if the killing doesn’t stop”. EI calls on activists to respond. Read more about Famous comedian Jackie Mason incites genocide of Palestinians
EI’s Ali Abunimah provides a detailed analysis of Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations Security Council, and the holes in the American case for an attack on Iraq, that “you could sail a U.S. Navy battlegroup through.” Read more about Focus on Iraq: Powell's UN speech dissected
Surely the most remarkable thing about last week’s election in Israel was the fact that, even as Israeli citizens were enjoying their right to vote, their army was enforcing a lockdown that kept over 3 million Palestinians confined to their homes for three days, writes Saree Makdisi for EI. Read more about While Israel Voted...
In April 2002, following the Israel’s “operation” in Jenin, first calls for institutional academic boycott of Israeli universities appeared in England and in France. The British petition called to freeze European Union contracts with Israeli university as long as Israel continues its present policy. What started as the individual voice of concerned academics, has become lately a formal resolution of a French university. Israeli academic Tanya Reinhart comments. Read more about Academic boycott: In support of Paris VI
Until European intellectuals take on board the racist basis of the Jewish State, their support for the struggle of the Palestinians will always ring hollow, writes Joseph Massad in this contribution to EI. Read more about Sartre, European intellectuals and Zionism
Twelve Palestinian factions, including the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas are meeting in Cairo. Egypt wants the talks to produce a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire in the conflict with Israel. Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah assesses what, if anything, these talks may produce. Read more about The Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo