Electronic Intifada : Internet & Technology

Institute for Palestine Studies commemorates Nakba on the Web

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:11:31 PST

The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) has created a special on-line resource to commemorate the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948. "1948: Sixty Years On ..." draws on the Institute's rich archives and its flagship Journal of Palestine Studies to provide wide public access to incisive articles, analyses, memoirs, detailed maps, and chronologies. These materials illuminate the events leading up to and culminating in the establishment of the state of Israel and the beginning of the Palestinian tragedy.

Private TV and radio stations forced to pay massive license fees

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:30:00 PST

For the first time since their launch following the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 during the Oslo process, the private TV and radio stations across the Palestinian territories are at a turning point. The majority of these stations are threatened with closure, following a decision by the ministry of communications and information technology to force these channels to pay large fees to the government, with the threat of backdated payments being demanded also. Directors and owners of these channels were stunned by the decision, considered to be beyond their means.

Middle Eastern-American comedians making Comedy Central's "The Watch List"

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 16:16:00 PST

Can an Arab be funny? Can a Muslim tell a joke? Can an Iranian make you laugh? Find out on "The Watch List," the groundbreaking new comedy show that will be available January 8, 2007 on Comedy Central's Internet channel Motherload. This edgy comedy show features the country's top Middle Eastern-American comedians performing stand up and sketch comedy. This is the only place where you can find out if "Arabs are the new blacks," see a real virgin Palestinian-American Muslim comedian, get a taste of what its like to "fly while Muslim," and find out if the President of Iran is high.

Still Occupied: Campaign draws attention to Gaza's plight

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 16:12:00 PST

Calling to the international community to get mobilised and bring the Israeli occupation to an end, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights has launched an international campaign to demonstrate that the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli effective control despite its claims otherwise. The campaign comes one year after the completion of the Israeli Unilateral Disengagement from Gaza in September 2005. It aims to bring about more effective international public and government involvement in the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in an effort to repair the consequences of prolonged infringements of international law.

Israel's Foreign Ministry provides Free Internet Tool to online activists

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 05:56:00 PST

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs understands that today's conflicts are won by public opinion. They mobilize pro-Israel activists to be active and voice "Israel's side to the world." A software company has developed The Megaphone desktop tool that sends desktop alerts on key articles on Israel and surveys, online polls where activists could click on the button to support Israel and click alerts to easily voice pro-Israel opinions. This tool helps activists to raise the profile of opinions on Israel. EI's Arjan El Fassed finds this tool also useful for those who would like to see some fair and balanced reports on the Middle East conflict. Pro-human rights and pro-peace activists will find this a useful tool as well.

On blogging and citizen reporting from warzones

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:35:00 PST

Electronic Lebanon has finally been incorporated as a special section of the Electronic Intifada website. Our diary section, "Live from Lebanon", has been extremely popular, offering accounts from Beirut and other cities under bombardment in Lebanon. There has been a lot of media interest in these diaries, and many U.S. news networks are offering reports about voices from the ground and blogs to varying degrees in their reporting. Some networks have been reporting that the phenomenon of blogging from warzones is "new". This is not the case. Members of the Electronic Intifada team have been pioneering alternative media reporting from Middle Eastern warzones for over 10 years.

Electronic Intifada - Spring 2006 Appeal

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 20:01:00 PST

EI is an internationally recognized media phenomenon, widely respected for carving out new - and needed - terrain for comprehending the Palestine-Israel conflict from a rich variety of perspectives. In a world of averted gazes, EI continually strives to bring the Palestinian narrative front and center. Palestinian dignity is sustained by the riches of Palestinian culture and history. EI is sustained by your continuing interest, support, and concern for justice.

Al-Jazeera web reporter freed for lack of evidence after six months

Fri, 26 May 2006 08:44:00 PST

Palestinian journalist Awad Rajoub, a reporter for the Arabic-language website of the satellite TV station Al Jazeera, was freed on 24 May 2006 after being held by the Israeli authorities for six months. He was arrested on 30 November 2005 at his home in Doura, 10 km outside the West Bank city of Hebron, and accused by the Israeli military of "threatening state security." The Al-Jazeera bureau in Paris told Reporters Without Borders the Israeli court that was supposed to try him ruled there was insufficient evidence and ordered his release.

US government illegally utilises FM frequency defined as Palestinian "national asset" by Oslo accords

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:11:00 PST

On September 11th, 2005, in a sudden move, The Palestinian Ministry of Information closed the Voice for Love and Peace Radio Station and granted a broadcasting license to Radio SAWA to broadcast on the frequency 94.2 FM, which has been assigned to The Voice for Love and Peace Radio Station (VOLP) since 1996.

Bethlehem bloggers online

Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:58:00 PST

"A window for you to look in; to see past the walls, barbed wire fences, and the media distortions; to hear from the people in Bethlehem themselves." Palestinians and internationals living in the Bethlehem region have started a weblog. They want to tell the world what it is like to be living in occupied territory, under an economic siege, encircled by a wall and military checkpoints. For them the new site, Bethlehem bloggers, found at www.bethlehemghetto.blogspot.com, is a portal to communicate to the outside world and tell the stories of their lives in Bethlehem and what it is like to live in a "Palestinian Ghetto."

2004 Most Requested Pages on EI

Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:01:00 PST

The following lists of 2004 most requested EI articles and BY TOPIC reference pages was compiled from electronicIntifada.net webserver statistics recording the period between 1 January and 30 December 2004. This list covers the full range of articles and pages published by EI since 2001, not just those published in 2004. Links open in new windows to allow readers to browse through the list. Compiled by EI's Nigel Parry and Arjan El Fassed.

U.S. funds development of IT sector in Palestine

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 14:38:00 PST

The United States is channeling nearly $4 million through 2006 to promote the development of information and communication technology in the Palestinian Territories. Funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Palestine Information and Communications Technology Incubator (PICTI) opened in the Al-Sheikh Commercial Tower in the West Bank city of Ramallah in May and is seeking Palestinian entrepreneurs to partner with. "This state-of-the-art office space offers technology innovators an environment that encourages creativity while meeting their specialized needs for advanced technical support," said PICTI's first Chief Executive Officer David Bailey.

ExpoTech Palestine in Gaza from December 4th-6th

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 11:45:00 PST

ExpoTech Palestine Exhibition will be held at the Rashad Al Shawa Cultural Center, Gaza from December 4th?6th 2004. Claim your exhibition space at the technology crossroads of Palestine Gaza City. Meet your market, launch, preview and demo products. Sell your proven technology solutions. Your competition will be here. Anybody who's anybody in developing, manufacturing or marketing information and communications technology products, services and solutions will participates at ExpoTech Palestine. Shouldn't you be here, too? NOTE: THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED ON NOVEMBER 11TH. Organisers took the decision due to the political circumstances and the limited space sold for the Exhibition.

PCBS releases 2004 "Computer, Internet and Mobile Phone" survey

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 16:33:00 PST

The Computer, Internet and Mobile Phone Survey is a random sample survey implemented by the Paestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in the period 20 July?24 August 2004. The sample size is 7,557 households, 4,992 households in the West Bank and 2,565 households in Gaza Strip. This year's survey revealed that 35.7% persons aged 10 years and over use a computer, 33.3% have access to the Internet, and 30.0% own a mobile phone. In the Arab World, Palestine thus tops the list of countries whose Internet usage has reached the largest percentage of the population, with the UAE at 33.2% Internet access.

Commedienne Maysoon Zayid launches Maysoon.com

Mon, 26 Jul 2004 12:21:00 PST

Palestinian-American Maysoon Zayid is an actress and professional stand-up comedian, who received her BFA in acting from Arizona State University. She has appeared on As The World Turns, MTV, 20/20, and WashingtonPost.com. Maysoon has performed comedy in top New York clubs, including Caroline's, Gotham, and Stand Up NY, and has toured her stand-up act extensively in both the USA and abroad. In July, Maysoon launched Maysoon.com, a news and information portal on her comedy and activist work.

"Trip to Palestine" website documents life on the ground

Mon, 26 Jul 2004 12:15:00 PST

"An Easter trip to Palestine in 2004 inspired this East Coast couple to launch a new website exploring travel and pilgrimage to this tortured land. Trip to Palestine records their own personal experiences in vivid detail, complimented by a novel photocumentary encompassing nearly a thousand photographs they shot on the trip. This narrative photo and diary site illustrates daily life in Palestine in vivid detail, including such widely varied subjects as travel to and within Palestine, life under occupation, a tour of Holy places, glimpses of the Apartheid wall, as well as accounts of Tel Aviv and Haifa." - Press Release, TripToPalestine.com

Live Internet video coverage of the reading of the Court?s Advisory Opinion

Thu, 08 Jul 2004 05:23:00 PST

The reading of the Advisory Opinion to be rendered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in the case concerning the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion), will be transmitted in full, live, on the Court?s website on Friday 9 July 2004, from 3 p.m. The general public, civil society organizations and the media worldwide, contributed to this decision.

One Year Later: Rachel Corrie as Justice Itself

Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:51:00 PST

Mohandas Gandhi once said that: "We must become the change that we seek in the world." In Palestine, the change that people of conscience seek is the elevation of justice to the condition of reality. With the rise of the Internet and modern information technology more generally, fewer and fewer individuals, particularly in post-industrial societies, can credibly claim ignorance about the plight of suffering human beings all across this planet. AAPER's George Naggiar examines the spirit of Rachel Corrie and the call to not just seek, but to become justice.

Israel's West Bank Barrier: Semantics on the Internet

Thu, 04 Mar 2004 13:43:00 PST

In a presentation on the Jewish Agency for Israel's website, entitled "The Security Fence - Hopes and Fears: A Drama in Six Episodes", the report's author, Steven Klein, conducted a Google survey into the frequency of terminology used to describe Israel's Wall, typing in different terms and logging the number of Google hits returned for each. Klein's stated methodology for discovering "the most deserving term" for Israel's Wall is which term "enjoys the most common use" as evidenced by Google. EI's Nigel Parry explores Wall semantics on the Internet.

Live video coverage of ICJ hearings on wall on the Internet

Thu, 19 Feb 2004 09:38:00 PST

The public hearings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the United Nations, to be held from 23 to 25 February 2004 in the case concerning the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (request for advisory opinion), will be broadcast live and in full on the Court's official website (www.icj-cij.org).