· February, 2008

Stories about Israel from February, 2008

Israel: Ashkelon is ‘on the map’

Following the recent missile attacks on Ashkelon, many worried bloggers react, describing their experiences with terror and fear, within this deteriorating situation that seems ever more hopeless. Gilad Lotan brings us the story from the Hebrew blogosphere.

29 February 2008

Egypt: Monopoly on Backwardness

Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt, links to a story of an Israeli MP blaming the recent earthquake on gays and comments: “Lest anyone think that we in the Muslim world have...

22 February 2008

Kosovo: Views from the Russophone Blogosphere

According to the Yandex Blogs portal, over 3,700 posts on Kosovo independence have appeared in the Russian-language blogosphere in the past three days. Some of these posts have received dozens, if not hundreds, of comments. Below are a few snippets of this lively discussion, all translated from Russian.

20 February 2008

Israel: Kosovo or Palestine, the Balkan is Here!

Kosovo has declared its independence. While the Israeli government has yet to announce its stance, several Hebrew bloggers have been reacting and comparing the political fatigue in the Balkans to that back home. Gilad Lotan has the story.

19 February 2008

Lebanon: Queen Rania and Palestinians

“Finally. The queen of Jordan finally commented on the regular Israeli killing of Palestinians. She urged Palestinians to avoid…reckless driving,” writes Lebanese commentator Asad Abu Khalil.

15 February 2008

Palestine: Celebrating Valentine's Day

The meanings of Valentine's Day, like love, are multi-faceted. This year had the Palestinian blogosphere thinking about making creative connections, communicating across borders and boundaries, meaningful expressions of love and giving, hard losses, and questions of respect, writes Maya Norton.

15 February 2008

Israel: Cyber-Activists Promote Sderot

While it may not be the number one topic of conversation on the government's agenda, Israeli bloggers and netizens just can't seem to stop talking about the situation in Sderot....

13 February 2008

Israel: Zionism in Question

Richard Silverstein discusses Zionism in this thought-provoking post. “It's hard to write about Zionism. First, it's a belief system that is so deeply entrenched among many Jews that everyone has...

13 February 2008

Israel: Two Sderot Kids Severely Injured by Hamas Missiles

Every day the Hebrew blog portal Israblog hosts a discussion on a new topic, called the hot topic. This encourages bloggers to take part in the conversation around a specific topic. From politics to personal matters, submitting an entry tagged with the hot topic raises its readability, and places it on a relatively seen page; an incentive for people to participate.

11 February 2008

Israel: Living under Rockets

Ayana Neta, 14, from Israel vows to remain strong as rockets continue to pound her kibbutz. “The first rocket that fell inside the kibbutz was 2 m’ from one of...

6 February 2008

Israel: One Wall Down, a New Reality in the Middle East

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into the Egyptian side of Rafah as the wall on the Egypt-Gaza border was brought down by Hamas over a week ago. Egyptian attempts to revert the situation to its previous state where they hold little or no responsibilities, have failed. Many bloggers have been writing about this new reality in the Middle East, having immense implications on both Egyptian politics and Israeli security.

5 February 2008

Palestine: Rousing Speech

Leila Abu Saba posts a statement by Israeli activist, Shulamit Aloni, read at the Saturday Gaza protest, which she described as a rousing speech.

1 February 2008

MENA: Let it Snow ..

After a lull in the weather, it's back to cold and snow in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa. This time, bloggers were better equipped and had their cameras on standby.

1 February 2008