Since the start of the Gaza war, our budget has tripled as we hired more editors and writers. We must not stop now as the Israeli genocide against innocent civilians in the Strip is worsening. Your solidarity is more critical than ever before.
Month: January 2013
‘My Family Is Living through Hell:’ Samer Issawi Speaks from Jail
By Shahd Abusalama – Gaza I can’t kick the bad habit of biting my fingers when I’m stressed despite my constant attempts. My forefinger is swollen due to this habit and it really hurts; the […]
Welcome, Chuck
By Uri Avnery I find Chuck Hagel eminently likeable. I am not quite certain why. Perhaps it’s his war record. He was decorated for valor in the Vietnam War (which I detested). He was a […]
Unchecked Israel Firsters
By Jamal Kanj In current debate over Chuck Hagel’s pick to head the Pentagon, it is becoming self-evident that any political appointment in a US administration must first pass the Israeli litmus test. Pressure from […]
The State of Palestine Exists
By John V. Whitbeck On January 3, Mahmoud Abbas, acting in his capacities as President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed “Decree No. 1 […]
Abbas and Meshaal in Cairo for Talks
The leaders of Fatah and Hamas are scheduled to meet in Cairo with the Egyptian president in the latest round of reconciliation talks between their long-divided factions. A spokesman for Mohamed Morsi’s office said the […]
Rights Groups Concerned by Gaza Death in Custody
The death of a Palestinian man while in the custody of the Gaza government in recent weeks must be thoroughly and transparently investigated, human rights groups say. Atef Khamis Derbas, 52, was being held in […]
Call for Yarmouk Truce as Aid Crisis Grows in Jordan
Palestinian factions in Damascus supporting the Syrian regime have called for a ceasefire after a month of fighting between government troops and rebels in the Yarmouk district in the south of the capital. In a […]
The Nobel Poets of Santiago – A Poem
By Ramzy Baroud It was here that Salvador Allende died for our sins Some say his own But the Republic was torn to shreds by Nixonian men with stiff faces Cold hearts And loud bombs […]
Fatah Leader Sentenced to 15 Years by Gaza Military Court
A military court in Gaza City on Tuesday sentenced a Fatah military leader to 15 years in jail. Muhammad al-Sakani told Ma’an that his brother Zaki was accused of terrorism and illegally possessing explosives and […]
Syria – A Prize For…?
By Iqbal Jassat While Syria has become synonymous with death and destruction and an enormously costly struggle for control of arguably the most strategic country in the Arab world persists, it is amazing how much […]
Official: PLO Seeking Return of Refugees to Damascus Camp
PLO leaders, the Free Syria Army and Syrian regime forces are in ongoing talks to finalize an agreement to allow Palestinian refugees who fled fighting in a Damascus camp to return, a PLO official said. […]
Abbas Orders Issue of ‘Palestine’ Passports
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked his West Bank-based government to prepare for replacing the words “Palestinian Authority” with “State of Palestine”. The order by Abbas on Sunday applies to all public documents, including ID […]
Israeli Center-left Bloc Fails to Unite
Three Israeli center-left parties have failed in an initial attempt to form a united bloc that might have cut into Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s lead in polls before the January 22 election. “We didn’t reach […]
History of the People: Articulating ‘Palestine’ Despite Israeli Hasbara
By Ramzy Baroud What does a Palestinian farmer who is living in a village tucked in between the secluded West Bank hills, a prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail and a Palestinian refugee […]
Writing to Break the Pattern
By Tamar Fleishman – Qalandiya, West Bank A week after taking a photo of Majed presenting the pendant hanging from his neck with the engraving of the face of his good friend Ali Kalifa, who […]
Canada’s First Nations: Expect Resistance
By Eric Walberg “Respect Existence or Expect Resistance”, chant native Canadians as a showdown 11 January loams with Prime Minister Harper. Sparked by Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike on tiny ‘Victoria’ Island near Ottawa’s […]
Educating Stanley Jordan: Facebook Showdown Produces BDS Victory
By Rima Merriman On January 5th, to everyone’s surprise, noted American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist Stanley Jordan posted this news that was music to the ears of BDS activists everywhere: “My performance at the […]
Fatah Festival in Gaza Reflects ‘New Phase of Unity’
Hamas’ involvement in facilitating Fatah’s 48th anniversary celebrations in Gaza reflects a new period of unity between the Palestinian factions, Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday. “We are committed to such a great responsibility and […]
Denying Palestinian Rights is the Core Issue in the Israeli Elections
By Rashid Shahin For the Palestinians, especially in the occupied territories, Israeli elections always mean an acceleration of actions against them; it means more violations of human rights, collective punishment, more arrests, land confiscation and […]
The Color of Our Zayt and Za’tar – A Poem
By Nasser Barghouty When the celestial colors fuse they choose yours an unforgiving cosmic green with depths and wounds (un)seen as it has always looked gleamed off your homeless eyes and will always do till […]
Fatah Holds First Mass Rally in Gaza in Years
Hamas, which governs Gaza, has allowed the West Bank political party, Fatah, to celebrate its 48th anniversary by staging a rally in Gaza City for the first time since its forces were ousted following a […]
Weird Elections in Israel
By Uri Avnery In a few hundred years, a professor looking for an especially esoteric subject will ask his students to research the Israeli elections of 2013. The students will come back with a unanimous […]
Stanley Jordan: You Don’t Get to Peace without Real Solidarity
By Rima Merriman After putting BDS activists through their paces for eight straight days of discussion on his Facebook page, noted Jazz musician Stanley Jordan announced on January 1st, that he had decided not to […]
U.S. Interference Spoiling Yemen’s Revolution
By James Gundun – Washington, D.C. The latest military restructuring announced by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi brought much-needed relief to an anxious nation. Beyond establishing new regional commands to increase the Defense Ministry’s […]
Gaza Rallies Ahead of Fatah Anniversary
Palestinian supporters of Fatah started massing in the main squares in the Gaza Strip ahead of an official anniversary festival for the party on Friday. A Ma’an correspondent said traffic was at a standstill around […]
Israel Completes Key Part of Fence with Egypt
Israel has completed the main segment of a razor-wire fence along its border with Egypt. The five-meter high fence, bolstered by military surveillance equipment, is touted by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as proof of his […]
‘The Iranians Are Coming’: The Imagined, ‘Sinister’ Iranian Threat in Latin America
By Ramzy Baroud Reading the text of a bill that was recently signed into law by US President Barack Obama would instill fear in the hearts of ordinary Americans. Apparently, barbarians coming from distant lands […]
A Short Tour of the Zionist Sewers
B Vacy Vlazna The Parisian sewer system is famous. Victor Hugo described it as such: ‘Paris has another Paris under herself; a Paris of sewers; which has its streets, its crossings, its squares, its blind […]
Obama and the Jewish Lobby
By Jamal Kanj The Israeli lobby is flexing its muscle against Barack Obama’s potential nominee to be the next Secretary of Defence. The frontrunner Chuck Hagel is co-chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board […]
Hobbes, Syria and the Importance of Stability
By Daniel Renwick Born into a tradition of leftism, Thomas Hobbes never spoke to me. When I read Leviathan as a student, it was the book of my enemy, an adversarial text that precluded me […]