Stories about Palestine from April, 2009
Palestine: Gaza Mom Back in the US
The saga of Palestinian blogger and mother Laila El-Haddad and her two children has come to a complete circle - she is back in the US, where she started her long trek to Gaza, Palestine, three days earlier, after the Egyptian authorities denied her from reaching home. Her messages on Twitter helped draw attention to her plight as well as the drama many Palestinians face as they cross boundaries.
Palestine: Parallels with Native Americans
Samuel Nichols, an American who works with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, writes about the parallels he sees between the history of the Native Americans and the...
Palestine: Twittering Gazan Mom Stranded at Cairo Airport Deported after 36 Hours
Her tweets have gone silent and her last message spoke of a deportation to somewhere other than home. Home is Gaza in Palestine, which Laila El-Haddad and her two American-born children Yousuf and Noor can't travel to, to be reunited with their grandparents except through the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border - which is closed. Egypt won't let them through; and El-Haddad's visa to the US, where she has flown in from to the Cairo Airport where she was stranded for 36 hours, had expired. Where is the Twittering Palestinian mother and what has happened to her and her children?
Palestine: Misconceptions Regarding Criticism of Hamas
The Queen of Sheba is an NGO worker currently in Gaza: “I cannot stand the misconception that by being critical of Hamas, one is automatically condoning the international rejection of...
Jerusalem: Palm Sunday Procession
Intern in Israel describes attending the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem: “My husband and I participated in the procession from Bethphage to St. Anne’s Church just inside the city gates...
Palestine: Meeting Hagg Ayoub
Natalie Abou Shakra, a Lebanese activist in Gaza, describes meeting a man known as Hagg Ayoub at a demonstration: “Hagg Ayoub, the voice of 61 years of injustice and crimes...
Palestine: A Third Intifada?
Marcy Newman, who lives in Nablus in the West Bank, asks if a new Palestinian uprising, or intifada, is on its way.
Egypt: Stranded Palestinian Mother Tweets Ordeal from Cairo Airport
The ordeal of a Palestinian mother and her two children, who have been stranded at the Cairo International Airport for an entire day so far, has engaged Twitter users across the region today. Journalist Laila El-Haddad, who is en route to Gaza from the US via Cairo, kept her followers, friends and the general public informed of her ordeal through a string of tweets at GazaMom, creating another cycle of retweets, Facebook entries and blog commentaries as hope dimmed and her stamina was put to test.
Palestine: Book by Gazan Blogger Published in Japan
Gazan blogger Prof. Said Abdelwahed writes that a book of his writings during the recent war on Gaza has been published in Japan.
Palestine: A Video Tour of Gaza
Gazan blogger Lina AlSharif went on a tour of Gaza recently – and recorded the experience to share with you.
Israel: Teen Killed, Child Hurt in Terror Attack
Breaking news in Israel – Two boys were attacked with an ax yesterday (April 2) in the West Bank community of Bat Ayin. Thirteen year old Shlomo Nativ died from his injuries, while 7 year old Yair Gamliel was rushed to the hospital with a fractured skull. The incident, deemed to be a terrorist attack, lead the Israel Defense Forces to the nearby town of Khirbet Safa, where the attacker is believed to be hiding. In the Jewish tradition of burying the dead, Nativ's funeral was held on the same evening.
Israel: Palestinian Youth Orchestra Disbanded for Israeli Performance
In honor of Good Deeds Day in Israel, a Palestinian youth orchestra performed for a group of Holocaust survivors. Known as the “Strings of Freedom,” the group was composed of 13 children, ages 11 to 18, from the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Find out what happens next to them in this post.
Palestine/Israel: Palestinian Support on U.S. Campuses
“What is happening on the U.S. campuses is not about supporting the Palestinians as much as it is about promoting hatred for the Jewish state. It is not really about...
Israel: Searching for a Peace Prophet in Palestine
“If Palestinians adopted a Gandhian nonviolent strategy, could they reshape the entire conflict with Israel and finally realize a two-state solution?” asks Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg in an entry entitled,...
Palestine: The Politics of Health
Louisa Waugh writes at the New Internationalist's Gaza Blog: “Last week the Hamas Government took a political decision that will change the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people...
Palestine: Farmers Shot At
In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra reports: “The farmers told us that during their harvesting on the field yesterday and the day before that, they had been shot at...
Palestine: New Gazan Blogger
In Gaza a new blogger introduces himself: “Hello, my name is Omar Ghraieb and I am proud to be Palestinian. I currently live in Gaza which I am sure alot...
Palestine: The Story of Ahmad
Ayman Quader in Gaza writes: “It was an ordinary morning December 2008. Children were playing and having fun. They were digging between the rocks to get some space for their...
Palestine: Children's Festival in Gaza
Laila El-Haddad reports that a Children's Festival will be held in Gaza from 5 to 9 April.
Palestine: The Spirit of Resistance
In Gaza, activist Eva Bartlett writes: “Less than two months have passed since the end of Israel’s grisly war on Gaza…Yet Palestinians are trying to move on, again, while dealing...