Electronic Intifada : Palestine

Sussex University students vote to boycott Israeli goods

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:42:56 PST

Students at the University of Sussex, England have voted to boycott Israeli goods. The decision follows the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, which calls upon the Israeli state to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. In a campus-wide referendum, 56 percent of students voted in favor of the boycott.

UN vote overwhelmingly supports Goldstone report

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:22:33 PST

UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - A 575-page blistering report by Justice Richard Goldstone detailing war crimes in Gaza last winter is refusing to die despite an aggressive Israeli smear campaign to kill it. The report, which was favorably voted by the 47-member Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, received overwhelming support Thursday in the 192-member General Assembly. The vote was 114 in favor and 18 against, with 44 abstentions.

Gaza students organize for justice

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:51 PST

In order to find sustainable alternatives to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a new group calling itself the Justice Makers has been formed across the law departments in Palestinian universities. Two of the founders, Mohammed Eliwa and Yousef al-Nouri, are both fourth-year law students from al-Azhar University in Gaza. "The Justice Makers is about finding new ways within the international justice system to forward our case," al-Nouri explained. Biana Zammit reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers, settlers violate Palestinian women's rights

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:38:10 PST

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is in flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Interview: Living under constant fear of arrest

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:59:52 PST

Mohammed Ahmed Issa Yassen, 20, lives in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where he works in his family's car garage business as a mechanic. He is also a student at the al-Quds Open University, but since he has joined the Israeli intelligence's "wanted" list from the village, studying has been difficult. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre interviewed Mohammed about living under the constant threat of arrest.

Why I am not a Zionist

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:15:08 PST

I have come to realize it is actually simple and clear. I am a Jewish-American man in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Justice and resistance to imperialism is a global, human concern for all people. For Jews, yes, but not Jews alone. For Palestinians, yes, but not Palestinians alone. It will take us all to push and demand governments and corporate interests to create fair, equitable living conditions. It will take all peoples to hold history accountable for the atrocities that occur. Kevin Coval comments for The Electronic Intifada.

J Street conference only step one

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:02:49 PST

Was the recently held J Street conference the herald of an incipient peace treaty in Israel-Palestine? The supporters of the new lobby group hope so. Its name is a riff on K Street, the real Washington, DC address of many powerful lobbying firms. With a staff of 30 and a budget of millions, it has set itself up as the liberal alternative to AIPAC. Max Ajl comments for The Electronic Intifada.

New York Mets called on to cancel settlement fundraiser

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:42:10 PST

Eleven organizations from the US, Palestine and Israel have called on baseball's New York Mets to cancel a 21 November dinner at the Caesars Club at Citi Field for the Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund. The dinner is a fundraiser for Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank City of Hebron.

Book review: "A World I Loved"

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:24:49 PST

"This is my story, the story of an Arab woman," Wadad Makdisi Cortas states in the opening line of her memoir A World I Loved. Born Wadad Makdisi in Beirut in 1909, which at that time was considered a part of Syria, she discovered Arab nationalism at a young age and lived a life true to the idea in every sense. Cortas believed passionately that Arabs, in order to protect their culture and values, should liberate themselves from Western colonialism which sought to impose its ways and divide the people. Matthew Cassel reviews for The Electronic Intifada.

Gazans not allowed to rebuild their lives

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:09:24 PST

Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago. "As a human first and foremost, I need to live normally like before." Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.

Israel's anti-Semitic friends

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:07:46 PST

There can be few supporters of the Palestinians, still less anti-Zionists, who haven't, at some time or another, been accused of "anti-Semitism." Accusations that anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism have become little more than a ritual exercise in defamation. Tony Greenstein comments for The Electronic Intifada.

Rights groups: UN General Assembly must adopt Goldstone recommendations

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:34:56 PST

On 4 November 2009, the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (Goldstone Report) is scheduled to be tabled before the Plenary of the UN General Assembly in New York. Following the Report's endorsement at the Human Rights Council on 21 October 2009, it now falls to the General Assembly to ensure that the Report is endorsed and its recommendations acted upon.

Rights groups condemn bid to quash Goldstone report

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:11:46 PST

WASHINGTON (IPS) - International human rights groups have raised concern over a proposed non-binding resolution in the US House of Representatives which would call on the White House to oppose any future endorsement or consideration of Judge Richard Goldstone's "Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict."

Israeli physicists supply solar and wind power to Palestinian herders

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:54:20 PST

SUSYA, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Hundreds of impoverished Palestinian herders and farmers living in caves and tents in a remote area of the Palestinian West Bank have been provided free electricity due to the ingenuity of two Israeli physicists.

Legal action against Israel increases over Gaza assault

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:11:26 PST

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - As the legal and moral implications of the UN Goldstone report on Israel's military assault on Gaza continue to mount, Palestinians in Gaza are taking matters into their own hands and preparing civil lawsuits. The Israeli defense ministry's prosecution department has received about 1,500 notices of future civil lawsuits against the Israeli military.

Gaza activists organize to harvest

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:56:42 PST

BEIT HANOUN, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - Formed in September 2007, Local Initiative has a number of other mandates: promoting volunteerism; reaching out to marginalized families living in the regions along the Green Line border between Israel and Gaza; giving psycho-social support to children scarred by Israeli military attacks and shooting; financially assisting children with martyred parents; and improving the role of women and youth in society.

Homeless by Israeli policy

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:19:43 PST

SUR BAHER, occupied East Jerusalem (IPS) - The latest round brings the number of East Jerusalem Palestinians displaced since the beginning of the year by forced evictions or house demolitions to over 600, according to figures released by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. Altogether on Tuesday, six buildings were knocked down, leaving 26 people homeless.

Israeli blockade strangling Gaza agriculture

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:38:33 PST

Recently, Israel announced that it would import palm fronds from the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Initially, the decision to allow Gaza to export palm fronds seemed like an easing, however small, of the Israeli siege. But according to Gaza's farmers, exporters and the Israeli non-governmental organization Gisha, it wasn't. Mya Guarnieri reports for The Electronic Intifada.

Book review: The timeless work of Naji al-Ali

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:36:03 PST

Cartoonist Naji al-Ali was a towering figure in the Palestinian cultural and political scene. His daily political drawings were a knife-twisting, gut-wrenching journey into how Palestinians perceived their predicament. Toufic Haddad reviews A Child in Palestine: The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali for The Electronic Intifada.

Israel targeting grassroots activists

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:20:04 PST

OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM (IPS) - Israeli authorities are increasingly targeting and intimidating nonviolent Palestinian grassroots activists involved in anti-occupation activities who are drawing increased support from the international community.