· October, 2008

Stories about Palestine from October, 2008

Palestinian Football History

  29 October 2008

Palestinians made their own football history, being the only team - in the words of one blogger - with a stadium but no country. It was a day of national pride and despite the setbacks, bloggers hailed it as a day of victory.

Palestine: Nahr el-Bared Update

  26 October 2008

It's been a year since the first Palestinian refugees were allowed to return to the Nahr al-Bared camp in Lebanon. Palestinian Haitham Sabbah has an update and videos in this post.

Palestine: No security

  25 October 2008

In Gaza, Sameh Habeeb talks to a young girl who witnessed her father and brothers being beaten by Israeli soldiers: “In all cultures the father of the family represents safety and security to the family. The Israeli soldiers routinely rob Palestinian fathers of their role.”

Palestine: Shame on Us

  19 October 2008

Under a post entitled Shame on Us, Palestinian Leila notes: “Until we cleanse these heinous sins, adhere and submit to what we know Islam to be, then we deserve to live in this shame and we deserve the scorn the world levies at us.”

Arabeyes: Mickey Mouse Must Die..or Maybe Not

  15 October 2008

Mickey Mouse must die, declared a Saudi cleric in a television interview. Or perhaps that is not exactly what he said. Regardless, the interview found its way to television screens and newspaper headlines around the world and bloggers are at loggerheads with the issue. Did the cleric literally mean that Mickey Mouse must die or was it just another ploy to sensationalise and poke fun of anything an Arab and a Muslim utters?

Palestine: The 9/11 Truth Movement and Nobel

  10 October 2008

“Dr. David Ray Griffin and everyone involved in the 9/11 truth movement have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The recipient of the Peace Prize will be announced this Friday, October 10,” announces Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah.

Israel: Yom Kippur Riots

  9 October 2008

‘Yesterday marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, or, the Day of Atonement in the Jewish faith. It is a pitiful irony then, that it should end in riots accompanied with chants of “death to the Arabs”, following an attack on an Israeli Arab man who merely tried to drive from...

Palestine: The Jews and Israel

  9 October 2008

Palestinian Pundit links to a story about a historian who claims that the idea of a Jewish people was “invented” and that “most of today's Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel.”

Egypt: Gaza Solidarity Activists Kidnapped, Abused and then Released

  9 October 2008

While celebrating the 6th of October victory and in alliance with the International Solidarity Movement to break Gaza Siege, activists from different Egyptian civil entities, syndicates, and political parties decided to head to Gaza in an attempt to break the siege. The attempt was cut short by the Egyptian Security, and around 36 activists were ‘kidnapped' and detained.

Arabeyes: Here Comes the One-Eye Veil

  7 October 2008

From a veil which covers the face but allows women to show their two eyes, an Islamic scholar from Saudi Arabia is now calling for a veil which shows one eye only. Bloggers from the Arab world react.

Palestine: If Animals Could Speak

  7 October 2008

Iman's Constant Cravings, from Palestine, asks: “If animals could speak.. I wonder what they'll have to say about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

Palestine: Jerusalem blues

  4 October 2008

Vika, who lives in Jerusalem, lists the reasons why she is feeling despondent these days, including a recent realisation: “My mood hit rock bottom this month when I realised the reason for the loud and constant hammering and digging that has plagued us all summer…is the beginning of a wall...

Palestine: Fatah and Hamas take their fight into schools

  1 October 2008

August 24 should have seen the start of classes for pupils in Gaza’s government schools, but instead it was the beginning of a week-long strike called by the Fatah-led teachers’ union protesting the interference of Hamas in education. In this post, one blogger, a school pupil himself, gives us his perspective on the political fight getting in the way of his education.