Irish union passes motions in support of Palestine5 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAt its Biennial Delegate Conference in May 2008 the public sector union IMPACT passed two motions criticizing Israeli suppression of the Palestinian people and calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services. The motions also called for divestment from those companies engaged in or profiting from the occupation as well as an education campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people.
Normalizing occupation: Syria, Israel and “peace talks”5 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIt may be too early to determine what truly lies behind the secret Syria-Israel “peace talks.” With Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert positioned to leave office under a cloud of scandal and after a rash of policy failures across the Middle East, the Bush Administration is now counting its last days in power. Thus, it appears that the Syrian government has chosen an opportune time to attempt to usher in a new positive period for itself. Whatever the intentions of the parties involved in these negotiations, at least one thing can be said that makes them irrelevant. Yaman Salahi comments for EI.
With economic siege comes malnutrition4 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”Can you imagine that when a child of mine asks me for one shekel [USD 0.30], I can’t afford to give it to him? That’s why I hide from my children from early in the morning until evening.” So explains an exasperated Naser al-Batran, a father of five children living in the central Gaza Strip. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports on how Israel’s siege on Gaza is affecting public health there.
Israeli ambassador to the UK’s PR problem4 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rIt would appear that the ambitions of the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom far outweigh his abilities as recently acquired documents from the University of Edinburgh reveal his embassy bungled a public lecture and then tried to lay the blame elsewhere. Ron Prosor became the new Israeli Ambassador in November 2007, arriving with a fresh enthusiasm for the promotion of Israel. They’ll be “coming out of London to make the case for Israel,” the Israeli daily Haaretz reports he told embassy staff.
“An experiment in building a better world”4 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”Freedom Clothing Project is an experiment in building a better world—I know that sounds a bit grand, but we wanted to try to make a clothing company unlike any other.” Freedom Clothing Project Ltd is a UK not-for-profit cooperative founded in 2005, comprising a small handful of friends and relations. The Electronic Intifada contributor Natasha Tsangarides spoke to project director Joe Turner about his work and the current trading obstacles.
Beyond the make-believe of negotiations4 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rIsrael needs a Palestinian state—or at least the illusion of one—to mask the reality of apartheid where millions of Palestinians, soon to be the majority population between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, are ruled by a Jewish sectarian government in which they have no rights. EI co-founders Arjan El Fassed and Ali Abunimah comment.
Crossing the Line interviews Nadia Hijab about J Street3 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThis week on Crossing The Line: They claim to be the political arm of the pro-Israeli peace movement in the US by seeking a more just and equitable situation for both Israelis and Palestinians. But is the new Israeli lobby group, J Street, any different from AIPAC? Host Naji Ali speaks with Nadia Hijab about this new face on Capital Hill and the effect they are having on US policy towards the Middle East.
“We are still waiting to visit our sons and daughters”3 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rEvery Monday morning a crowd of women gather in the courtyard of the ICRC in Gaza City. Most of the women arrive carrying a framed photograph of one or two men. When journalists start to arrive at around 10am, the women ask them to take pictures, and to film the vigil. “Some of us have been waiting more than six years to visit our sons in Israeli prisons and we have all been forbidden to visit the prisoners in Israel for a year now. So we want our jailed husbands, sons and daughters to see us in newspapers and on television. They will then know that we haven’t given up.”
Gaza Fulbrights, small yet symbolic2 Jun 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rWASHINGTON, 2 June (IPS) – Israel and the US said Friday they would “revisit” a policy that prevents Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip to pursue their educational goals one day after a controversial US State Department decision to withdraw all Fulbright Scholarships from students living in the territory.
Haaretz.com promotes website advocating genocide and terrorism2 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rHaaretz.com, the website of the Israeli newspaper often cited as an example of Israel’s liberal, critical media carries paid advertisements from a website openly advocating the total destruction of the Palestinian people, the murder of large numbers of Muslim civilians, the assassination of the family members of Arab rulers, and the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons against dozens of countries.
Between oppression and empowerment2 Jun 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rDefining the status of the Palestinian citizens of Israel has always been a puzzle for many scholars. One called the Palestinian citizens “semi-citizens” with accidental citizenship. Another distinguished between “liberal citizenship” granted to the Arabs and “republican citizenship” granted to the Jews. A third distinguished between “incidental citizenship” granted to the Arabs and “substantive citizenship” granted to the Jews. I have contributed to this discussion by claiming that the Palestinians are “citizens without citizenship.” Nimer Sultany comments.
Academics urged to condemn US canceling of Gaza students’ Fulbright scholarships30 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe news that the US State Department has decided to cancel all previously approved Fulbright grants to Palestinian students in Gaza is deeply shocking. In yet another clear demonstration of US complicity with the Israeli occupation regime, the State Department has decided to withdraw the grants for graduate studies in the US because Israel has not given permission for the students to leave Gaza.
UK union deals a blow to business-as-usual with Israeli academy29 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel salutes the British University and College Union for its principled support for the cause of justice and peace in Palestine and for adopting, at its annual congress on 28 May 2008, significant steps in the direction of applying effective pressure on Israel and holding it accountable for its colonial and apartheid policies which violate international law and fundamental human rights.
Forced to go green in Gaza29 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rAl-Khozendar Electronics in Gaza City has become a recent point of pilgrimage for many Palestinians. The visitors come to observe Gaza’s latest invention of necessity: an electric car. Gazan engineers Wasim al-Khozendar and Fayez Annas recently designed a car that runs entirely on electricity as a solution to the fuel scarcity caused by the nearly a year-long Israeli blockade that has included severe cuts in fuel imports. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from Gaza.
Australian national radio discusses Palestine coverage in the media29 May 2008*Image1*Palestinian-American journalist and EI co-founder, Ali Abunimah joins host Antony Funnell on Australian Radio, ABC, and discusses visibility in the media and the preconceptions and stereotyping that tag some people as less than desirable and see others ignored altogether.
From the Nakba to Absurdistan29 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rThe matrix of vulnerabilities that attend this state of statelessness raises an obvious question: if the Nakba is still in progress, then how will it end? Few people believe Annapolis holds the answer. As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently admitted, “Nothing has been achieved in the negotiations with Israel yet.” Sharif Hamadeh comments.
The Jordan Valley’s forgotten Palestinians29 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rFrom the veranda of his home up on the hillside, Hassan Abed Hassan Jermeh looks out over his village, fertile green fields, and all the way over to the mountains across the border in Jordan. Village elder since 1995, he is intimately familiar with the challenges facing Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. Ben White writes for EI about the continued ethnic cleansing happening in this crucial area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Ramallah commemorates the ongoing Nakba28 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rAs US President George W. Bush sang his messianic “happy birthday” speech to the Israeli Knesset, 50,000 or so demonstrators calling for the rightful return of the Palestinian refugees crammed into Ramallah’s Manara Square. Just a few meters away from the mass demonstration, the Baladna Cultural Center opened its contribution to the Nakba commemoration events: a three-day exhibit entitled From the Scent of Bil’in’s Wall. The exhibit closed on 17 May, and we were the first guests that day.
“Now we have nothing left”27 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr r”They came at four in the morning with two bulldozers, and they left before 8:00am. I own this chicken farm with my three brothers, and we worked day and night for 18 years to build up our business. The Israelis destroyed everything in less than four hours.” Nasser Jaber’s chicken farm was bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces 10 days ago, in the early morning hours of 16 May, while he was sleeping at home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
“Le petit soldat” dancing on Palestinian graves?27 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe following is a 25 May 2008 open letter to filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard endorsed by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and a list of Palestinian and Arab filmmakers: Palestinian artists were devastated to learn that you shall visit Israel soon to participate in a film festival in Tel Aviv, despite Israel’s decades-old colonial and racist policies against the indigenous people of Palestine.
Meet the Lebanese Press: Deal struck in Doha25 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Lebanese are deal-struck: in one day, their parliamentarians were to ratify decisions agreed upon in Doha, Qatar that will lead to the installment of a new president, the formation of a national partnership government, and the holding of parliamentary elections in one year’s time under a resurrected electoral law of the 1960s with some amendments. The speed and suddenness of the deal were a direct consequence of the change in the balance of power on the ground in the wake of the Hizballah military operation that exposed the weakness of the loyalist camp.
Salam Fayyad’s cynical party25 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rThe Palestine Investment Conference held from 21 until 23 May in Bethlehem has incited broad resistance from Palestinian popular organizations. In his invitation to investors appointed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wrote, “We are throwing a party and the whole world is invited.” EI contributor Adri Nieuwhof writes.
A change needs to come25 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rSince Israel’s foundational belief is that Jewish people can only be safe in an exclusively Jewish state, Israel’s charter is simple. Israel is required to maintain itself as a safe haven for all Jewish people. Based on their past experience and national and religious narratives Jewish people deeply believe that it’s only a matter of time before the tide once again turns against them.
Egypt takes a step back from Bush embrace22 May 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rCAIRO, 23 May (IPS) – On his trip to the region this week, US President George W. Bush dismayed even his staunchest Arab allies by expressing unprecedented levels of US support for Israel. In a rare sign of Egyptian displeasure with Washington, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak left a major economic summit before Bush had a chance to deliver a scheduled address.
Nahr al-Bared: more questions than answers21 May 2008rr r r rr r rr r rr r rr r rr rrr rOne year ago, on 20 May 2007, the fighting began between the Lebanese army and the militant group Fatah al-Islam in Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. During more than three months of fighting between the army and the extremist group, more than 47 Palestinian civilians, 178 soldiers and at least 220 militants were killed. More than half a year after the battle came to an end, only a fraction of its residents have been allowed to return.
Electronic Intifada