Book review: Juan Cole’s “Engaging the Muslim World”19 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn his timely and insightful new book, Engaging the Muslim World, University of Michigan professor Juan Cole debunks prevailing myths and presents a set of compelling policy prescriptions that aim to encourage dialogue and defuse hostilities. However, while he convincingly addresses the questions of knowledge, he leaves issues of power largely unexamined. Muhammad Idrees Ahmad reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
UN body adopts Goldstone report19 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rUNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The 47-member Human Rights Council approved a resolution Friday endorsing war crimes charges against Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as spelled out in a report by a four-member international fact-finding mission headed by Justice Richard Goldstone. As expected, the United States threw a protective arm around Israel and voted against the resolution, along with some members of the European Union.
EI exclusive video: Protesters shout down Ehud Olmert in Chicago16 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rApproximately 30 activists—mainly students from area universities—disrupted a lecture given in Chicago by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday which was hosted by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. While Olmert’s speech was disrupted inside the lecture hall, approximately 150 activists protested outside the hall in the freezing rain.
Gaza farmers struggle with damaged agricultural land16 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rGAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) – Thousands of Gazan farmers may be unable to replant their crops during the region’s main planting season in October due to agricultural land still damaged by the Israeli offensive at the start of the year, and a lack of agricultural materials like seeds and fertilizers, according to officials.
Report: Israeli intelligence illegally profiling travelers in South Africa16 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rLast month South Africa’s premier investigative journalism TV show, Carte Blanche, aired an investigation of allegations that security personnel from Israel’s national carrier, El Al Airlines, were acting dubiously at Johannesburg’s airport. Carte Blanche conducted an experiment, sending an undercover reporter into the airport, expecting him to be targeted simply because he was Muslim. Sayed Dhansay comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Second chance at life16 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rTouching the old scar on her forehead, 14-year-old Samah Owda fought back tears while telling her story. For the past four years she has carried on, proving that internal wounds are sometimes more difficult to heal than external ones. As a 10-year-old girl she was given a “new life” and a chance that at the time no one thought would be possible. Eman Mohammed reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.
Book review: Orientalism and Islamophobia in the American left15 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSteven Salaita’s new collection of political essays, The Uncultured Wars, Arabs, Muslims and the Poverty of Liberal Thought exposes orientalism and Islamophobia on the American left. Joseph Shahadi reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
Tony Blair and the business of covering up war crimes14 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 7 October 2009, Tony Blair gave a lecture at a New York university. In responding to an unexpectedly direct student question, he publicly joined, for the first time, the US and Israeli Zionist consensus rejecting the Goldstone report. Jim Holstun comments for The Electronic Intifada.
“They killed him because he was Palestinian”14 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOn 30 September 2009 at 11am, 17-year-old Fuad Mahmoud Nayif Turkman was standing outside his school in the West Bank village of Yabad, when he was run over by an Israeli military jeep. An Israeli military spokesperson later claimed that “hundreds” of Palestinians were “rioting” in the area, and that the jeep had experienced “mechanical difficulties.” However, eyewitnesses from the scene say that the students were doing nothing of the sort. Jody McIntyre spoke with Fuad’s father, Mahmoud Turkman, and his 12-year-old brother Fadi for The Electronic Intifada
Rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure with mud14 Oct 2009rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSHEIKH ZAYED, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – On a searing summer morning, workers are adding layers to the mud-brick police station being constructed in Sheikh Zayed, northern Gaza. “We started building on 20 June,” says Mohammed al-Sheikh Eid, a consultant engineer with Gaza’s Ministry of Interior. “Since this is the first time we’ve built something on this scale with mud bricks, we can’t estimate exactly how much longer it will take to complete. Maybe another two months or so.”
Book review: Palestinian views on suicide operations13 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIn his new book The Making of a Human Bomb: An Ethnography of Palestinian Resistance, Nasser Abufarha examines the phenomena of Palestinian suicide operations. It is based on extensive fieldwork conducted in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, mostly in and around the northern town of Jenin. A native of the city, Abufarha interviewed families of suicide bombers, observed demonstrations and studied Palestinian cultural products that addressed suicide attacks. Asa Winstanley reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
FIFA urged to give the red card to Israel13 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWe challenge FIFA to live up to the letter and the spirit of its statutes and to seize this opportunity to prove to the world that it stands for a more just world by sending Israel an unmistakeable threat of exclusion. This would be an important victory for human rights—not only for the Palestinian people, but also for the international football community.
Is Canada more pro-Israel than the US?12 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rSome have commented that under Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, Canada has become (at least diplomatically) the most pro-Israel country in the world. Israeli officials concur. After meeting Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, four other Conservative ministers and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in July 2009, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has openly called for the expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel, stated, “It’s hard to find a country friendlier to Israel than Canada these days.” Yves Engler comments for The Electronic Intifada.
The things that make for peace11 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rI continue to struggle with not being cynical about the situation in Palestine and in Gaza in particular. It is not a healthy place for me to be, spiritually or emotionally. But the Gaza Strip is a heart-breaking catastrophe in so many ways and the people there have been suffering for so long. It makes me think about the ways that we in the US are irrelevant—in the sense that it is less about what we need to do and more about what we need to stop doing. Timothy Seidel comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Al-Walajah, a symbol of Israeli ethnic cleansing9 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWhile American officials continue to claim that the mission of US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell is by no means over, and that he will still pursue his efforts to convince the Israeli government to agree to some sort of settlement freeze, Israeli plans for further colonization of Palestinian land continue undisturbed. The latest Israeli plans call for the destruction of the West Bank village of al-Walajah for the second time in six decades. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.
Israel’s export of occupation police tactics9 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rPalestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation would have to be suppressed and the population pacified if the occupation was to be sustainable. Thus began an evolutionary relationship that continues to this day, that of the Palestinian resistance versus Israel’s policy of permanent occupation. Jimmy Johnson analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.
From boycotts to Bilin: An interview with Jonathan Cook9 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rJonathan Cook is a British journalist based in Nazareth, the largest Palestinian city in Israel, whose work is regularly published by The Electronic Intifada. His latest book, Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair, was published by Zed Books last October. He recently sat with Jeff Gore to discuss his work and his analysis of the current situation on the ground.
Following al-Aqsa clashes, Israel mulls banning Islamic movement8 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Israeli government announced yesterday it would consider banning Israel’s Islamic Movement at the next cabinet meeting, in a significant escalation of tensions that have fueled a fortnight of bloody clashes in Jerusalem over access to the Haram al-Sharif compound of mosques. The move followed the arrest of the movement’s leader, Sheikh Raed Salah, on Tuesday on suspicion of incitement and sedition. Jonathan Cook reports from Nazareth.
After Goldstone, Hamas faces fateful choice8 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe uproar over the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) collaboration with Israel to bury the Goldstone report, calling for trials of Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza, is a political earthquake. The whole political order in place since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed is crumbling. As the initial tremors begin to fade, the same old political structures may appear still to be in place, but they are hollowed out. This unprecedented crisis threatens to topple the US-backed PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, but it also leaves Hamas, the main Palestinian resistance faction, struggling with fateful choices. Ali Abunimah comments for The Electronic Intifada.
A poverty of leadership7 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWhether or not the clumsy attempt to shelve the Goldstone report on last winter’s Gaza attacks is the tipping point for Mahmoud Abbas’s rule, the succession process has been underway for several years. However, it is being coordinated by the US and Israel and is no reflection of the wishes and desires of the Palestinian people. Abbas’s likely successor is Salam Fayyad, who somehow manages to be an even more uninspiring and unpopular character. Osamah Khalil comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Volvo providing armored buses for Israeli settlements7 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rFollowing reports published by The Electronic Intifada on the use of Volvo equipment in the demolition of Palestinian houses in 2007, the Volvo Group stated that it did not condone the use of its equipment for such purposes. Claiming to have no control over the use of its products, Volvo affirmed that its Code of Conduct decries unethical behavior. In spite of these claims, The Electronic Intifada has found that through its Volvo Buses branch, the Volvo Group is providing armored buses to transport Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Haram al-Sharif sovereignty under threat7 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rTension over control of the Haram al-Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second Palestinian intifada nine years ago. Ten days of intermittently bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem culminated yesterday in warnings by Palestinian officials that Israel was “sparking a fire” in the city. Israel’s Jerusalem Post newspaper similarly wondered whether a third intifada was imminent. Jonathan Cook reports from Nazareth.
Israeli highschoolers choose jail over occupation army service6 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIsraeli youth who refuse to cooperate with Israel’s military occupation are sent into a lengthy and relentless labyrinth of court martials and consecutive jail terms in what Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard calls a “price tag” meant to deter other young Israelis from non-participation. “Otherwise,” he says, ”[the Israeli government’s] argument says, everyone—of ideological or personal reasons—will refuse to serve.” The Electronic Intifada contributor Nora Barrows-Friedman recently interviewed two young Israeli women who have refused to serve in the army.
How Israel bought off UN’s war crimes probe6 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIsraeli diplomats suggested on Sunday that Washington had promised the Palestinian Authority, in return for delaying an inquiry into accusations Israeli war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, that the US would apply “significant pressure” on Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to move ahead on a diplomatic process when the US envoy, George Mitchell, arrives in the region tomorrow. But, according to Israeli and Palestinian analysts, diplomatic arm-twisting was not the only factor in the PA’s change of heart. Jonathan Cook reports.
Review: Darwish, between the national and the human6 Oct 2009rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”All beautiful poetry,” wrote the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “is an act of resistance.”. At a time when the US unconditionally backs Israel’s war against the Palestinians, and when everyone agrees that books are on their way out, two new, beautifully produced translated collections of Darwish’s work from independent American publishers are real acts of resistance. Raymond Deane reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
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