December 2008
Introduction
The Israeli siege of Gaza continues, but we are happy to report that the Free Gaza Movement (FGM) successfully challenged the occupation three times since August. FGM voyages from Cyprus to Gaza City brought members of the European Parliament, journalists and activists, as well as much-needed humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip. Each time, the Israeli Occupation forces threatened to attack the ships, but in the end let them through. Articles in this edition bring you first-hand accounts of the first voyage, the recent arrest and detention of FGM volunteers and fishermen, and FGM’s plans for the future. ISM work in the West Bank continues; the online version of this newsletter includes a journal from a volunteer in Beit Ummar.
July 2008
60th Anniversary of Nakba
-the Editors, June 2008
2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (“the catastrophe”): the expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948. While Israel celebrates the anniversary of its founding, it remains in violation of UN resolution 194, and the fourth Geneva Human Rights Convention, preventing the return of approximately six million Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, Israel grants citizenship and the right to “return” to Israel to any person of Jewish ancestry worldwide.
December 2007
Bethlehem Encircled
By Henry Norr, November 12, 2007
It is unconscionable that Bethlehem should be allowed to die slowly from strangulation.
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 2005
Bethlehem at Christmas time – by now it’s an old chestnut for Middle East reporters. Every December, you can find feature stories about the city of Jesus’ birth in mainstream media outlets across the Western world – publications that have, in most cases, reported nothing about the place since the previous holiday season.
July 2007
Re-Examining the Six-Day War
By Henry Norr, June 2007
To mark the Occupation’s fortieth anniversary, we proudly present this well-researched summary of how it began. Examining the Zionist narrative and reframing history with a human-rights perspective is an essential step toward a just peace. We encourage you to share this article with friends and coworkers who only know the one version.
—Eds.
To most Israelis and Americans, the history of the June 1967 Middle East war is a classic David-and-Goliath tale.
January 2007
The Land of Milk
By Paul Larudee, August 2006
The name Lebanon literally means “land of milk”. It is one of the names given to a mythical earthly paradise in ancient times, usually located in one’s neighbor’s land, which typically justified the conquest of said neighbor, assumed to be barbarians.
Results of an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. (credit: Paul Larudee)
Of course, such justification is no longer acceptable
today under the Geneva conventions. Merely coveting one’s neighbor’s land is not enough, even if those neighbors are barbarians (today’s term is “terrorist”) unworthy of life itself. A “terrorist threat” is therefore required as a pretext for Israel to take land that it and its founders have coveted since at least 1918, when David Ben Gurion first described Lebanon’s Litani river as Israel’s future “natural” border to the north.
December 2005
Your Help is Making a Difference in Palestine
By Paul Larudee
As I began to write this, four ISM volunteers were arrested in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank. Their crime? To accompany Palestinians to school, shopping, work, or friends’ homes.
ISM volunteers document the harassment of Palestinians, their delays at checkpoints and the denial of access to their own property. They film Israeli settlers who shout insults, throw bottles and other objects, and even beat Palestinians while soldiers stand idly by. The good news is that the presence of volunteers with cameras is often enough to reduce these crimes. The bad news is that filming is itself often considered a crime.
January 2005
This issue has a story on Israel’s annexation wall. And an inside look at Palestinian refugees and their lives in Lebanon. Also reports on the 2004 olive harvest by local volunteers. PDF version
March 2004
An eyewitness account on the Jayyous olive harvest and the Wall that makes the cultivation of olives nearly impossible. An article on the destruction of Rafah, Gaza by Mustafa Barghouti. And an amazing story of nonviolent resistance organizing by Palestinians and internationals, including Israelis, working together to oppose the Wall in the village of Budrus. […]
November 2003
The Annexation Wall that surrounds Qalqilia is the subject of a report by local volunteer Brooke Atherton. An witnesses report on Palestinian students as they struggle for education while under occupation. Reports from volunteers on the ground in Palestine. PDF version
April 2003
This issue came out just after the killing of Rachel Corrie and the shooting of Tom Hurndall (who died of his wounds months later), and Brian Avery, (who has since recovered, although he is in need of reconstructive surgery to his face). A look at the vulnerability of the Palestinian population, who have sustained such […]