Jerusalem Forum

What the wall has done
by Jamal Juma'

Israel began constructing the wall in June 2002 following its invasion of cities in the West Bank, which it dubbed "Operation Defensive Shield." In retrospect, the invasion appears to have been a prelude to the construction of the wall and no one recognized the significance of the invasion's code name at the time. more...

Claim for Native Title Threatens Jewish State by Jonathan Cook - Hura, the Negev

Nuri al Uqbi's small cinderblock home in a ramshackle neighbourhood of Hura, a Bedouin town in Israel’s Negev desert, hardly looks like the epicentre of a legal struggle that some observers say threatens Israel's Jewish character. more...

An artist's pledge to boycott
by Dave Lordan

I am proud to be among the many Irish and Ireland-based artists from across creative disciplines who have chosen to publicly support the growing campaign of boycott against apartheid Israel. more...

A state of Palestine in the making
By Rabbi Kenneth Chasen

The amazing changes occurring in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad show what a state of Palestine could look like. His leadership, and vision, should be embraced by all. more...

Israel refuses to lift ban on family unification

Jerusalem-born Firas al-Maraghi has been holding a hunger strike outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin, Germany, since 26 July, protesting a decision by the Israeli government to prevent his newborn daughter from being registered as a Jerusalem resident. more...

Peace talks in the shadow of demolitions - Badil

While President Barack Obama pressures Palestinians to re-engage in direct peace talks, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu loftily counsels President Mahmoud Abbas not to miss the opportunity, recent demolitions within the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel continue unabated and unaddressed. more...

In the News

Israel seals off Hebron following shootings

Report: Settlers to break construction freeze

Report: Barak proposes deal on Jerusalem

East Jerusalem Neighborhood Attacked By Israeli Soldiers; At Least 4 Detained

Life Under Occupation

"Solidarity tastes different inside prison" Ameer Makhoul writing from Gilboa prison

The following is an edited excerpt from a 7 August 2010 letter written by Ameer Makhoul from Israeli prison. A human rights defender, the director of the Arab nongovernmental organization network Ittijah, a leading voice of the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Makhoul was arrested during a raid of his family home in Haifa in the early morning hours of 6 May. more...

"Like living in a big factory" in Gaza
by Rami Almeghari

"Uff, uff, uff, you can never get time to rest or sleep quietly and you can't even work. Wherever you are, you hear sound of power generators which makes it seem we are all living in a big factory," Ahmad al-Bar explained, expressing the frustration of many Palestinians in Gaza at the electricity crisis there, now going on three years. more..

Report

Lebanon grants refugees work rights

Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday adopted a law granting full employment rights to the 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in the country, a high-ranking official told Agence France-Presse. more...

Palestine Pre-1947

Films & Arts

Youth re-imagine life through short films
by Kara Newhouse

Palestinian youth premiered nine short films at public screenings in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip last week. Forty youths worked in small groups during two parallel three-week workshops conducted in the al-Aroub (West Bank) and Jabaliya (Gaza) refugee camps during the month of July. more...