Green Left by Raul Connolly, Sunday, August 8, 2010

Photo Palestinian clears rubble from building destroyed in Israeli air-strike in Gaza

A growing number of unions across Australia have backed the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign targeting Israel. The campaign demands that Israel ends its apartheid-like policies towards Palestinians.

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) said in a July 20 statement that it would “continue to add its voice to the call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine and condemning all acts of terrorism”.

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August 7th, 2010 Al Jazeera by Nicole Johnston

Photo Palestinian worker at stone quarry in an increasingly barren Gaza.

As you approach Gaza’s main dump by road you see a massive wall of trash looming over the plain.

It’s crawling with around one hundred scavenger dogs and dozens of poor children, combing through the trash for anything they can sell.

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Haidar Eid, Electronic Intifada 9 August 2010

Photo Khaleel Reash Words without Borders initiative does not explicitly oppose the many borders that exist for Palestinians under occupation.

An initiative recently launched by the prestigious online literature magazine Words without Borders entitled “Cross-Cultural-Dialogues in the Middle East,” rings alarm bells in light of the Palestinian civil society call for boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel.

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Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel, August 2010

Photo Hatem Omar Students search newspapers for their exam results, Gaza Strip.

We are a group of students from Gaza, and our only fault is being Palestinians. For that, Mr. Corea, we are imprisoned with our families and loved ones in what major Human Rights Organizations call the largest open air prison in modern history. The state you are planning to entertain, committed a process of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous people in 1948. And now it is engaged in, what the Israeli academic Ilan Pappe calls, “slow motion genocide” against the 1.5 million population of Gaza.

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José Antonio Gutiérrez and David Landy, Electronic Intifada, 6 August 2010

Photo Upside Down World Yankees get out of Colombia and the World

At the beginning of this month the Israeli government announced it would cooperate with one out of two international UN-sponsored investigation commissions into the 31 May Gaza Freedom Flotilla massacre, a move which UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon claimed was “unprecedented.” However, the details of this commission and who will take part in it — particularly the notorious outgoing president of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez — cast doubt over its impartiality.

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open sit-in by FuturePipe Workers in Akkar, North Lebanon

Photo Farah Koubaissy Half of Lebanese population lives with two dollars.

Since the 12th of July 2010, workers of the FuturePipe Factory in North Lebanon have been holding an open sit-in protesting against the closure of the factory. The management of the factory had stated that the reason behind closure is due to significant losses.

Yet the workers clearly indicate that the factory is not making any losses. It is actually generating substantial profit. Only about a month ago, the owners of the factory bought new equipment at a cost of more than a million US dollars. They also opened branches in different Arab countries.

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Report, IRIN 5 August 2010

Photo IRIN Suhair Karam: The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) says 222,000 children are enrolled in its schools in Gaza.

Gaza City, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) – The quality of life, the economy and food security for Palestinians living in Gaza have been severely impaired by Israel’s strict four-year blockade, according to the UN.

Israel says its closure regime is designed to protect Israeli citizens from attacks by militants in Gaza. Hamas, the ruling group in Gaza, says Israel’s blockade is aimed at undermining its rule.

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Jillian Kestler-D’Amours, Electronic Intifada, 6 August 2010

Photo Graffiti at Al-Quds University in Palestine.

Al-Quds University is maintaining a joint Israeli-Palestinian master’s degree program with Haifa, Hebrew and Tel Aviv universities, despite a decision taken by its own University Council in February 2009 to distance itself from Israeli academic institutions.

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Haidar Eid, Al-Shabaka, Palestinian Policy Network, 2 August 2010

Photo Matthew Cassel Does Gaza today resemble South Africa under apartheid?

The Palestinian national movement has overlooked this question: does the Gaza Strip resemble the racist Bantustans of apartheid South Africa? During the apartheid era, South Africa’s black population was kept in isolation and without political and civil rights. Is Gaza similar? The answer is yes and no.

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August 2010, Montreal, Quebec

Photo Beirut skyline from airplane over Mediterranean.

The Tadamon! collective wishes to express its full solidarity with Mr. Samah Idriss, editor of Al Adab (“Literature”) Magazine.

About Al Adab

Since its inception in 1953, this important Arabic cultural magazine has played a key role in encouraging progressive thought and debate in the Arab world.

Published in Beirut, Lebanon, Al Adab magazine has become a meeting place for critical reflection on grassroots democratic movements and a platform for voices decrying both colonization and dictatorship throughout the Middle East.

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