Feature Archives

On July 28th, at the Left Bank offices in Tel Aviv, a party was held to celebrate thirty years of artistic and political work by Mohammad Bakri, a well known Palestinian actor and director. Another reason for the celebration was a recent decision by a judge who ruled that Bakri cannot be sued for making the film Jenin Jenin. After producing Jenin Jenin, a documentary featuring interviews with residents of the refugee camp Jenin following the Israeli invasion in April 2002, Bakri was sued by a group of Israeli soldiers. The film shows through the testimony of Palestinians that the invasion of Jenin in April of 2002, constitute a war crime.

On July 16th, a prisoner exchange took place between the governments of Israel and the Hezbollah. Israel has returned 199 bodies of Hezbollah fighters and five live soldiers to Lebanon in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers who were killed on an occupied territory on the border between Israel and Lebanon. The government of Lebanon stated that “the agreement marks a big failure to Israel’s tactics and policies.”

Demonstrations against the Apartheid Wall are a daily occurrence in Palestine. On July 1st, in Ni'lin, two caterpillar bulldozers were destroyed during a demonstration. In Bil’in, on July 4th, three activists were injured and dozens of protesters were treated for tear gas inhalation. On June 5th, Palestinians and other activist defied a curfew on the village of Ni’lin, and demonstrated and blocked the Settler-road that runs by the village. In Ma’sra, live bullets and tear gas were used to dispersed a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land, and to mark the 4th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, which declared the wall illegal, and called for it to be dismantled and for those affected to be compensated for the damages.

Demonstrations against the apartheid Wall are a daily occurrence in Palestine. On July 1, seven caterpillar bulldozers were destroyed during a demonstration. On June 5, Palestinians and other activist defy a curfew on the village of Ni’lin, demonstrated and blocked the Settler-road that runs by the village. In Ma’sra live bullets and tear gas wer used to dispersed a demonstration against the expropriation of Palestinian land, and to mark the 4th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision, which declared the Wall illegal, called for it to be dismantled and those affected to be compensated for the damages.

On June 19, a senior advisor to UNICEF stated that UNICEF will not accept any financial support from Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. Leviev, who is the chairman of Africa Israel Investments, is in charge of at least one company which the Arab rights advocacy group Adalah-NY claims built Jewish settlements on West Bank land.

Video cameras have become a crucial way for Palestinians to document the daily harassment inflicted on them by Israeli settlers. In one recent example, a Palestinian family living on the southern hills of Al-Halil, was attacked by four settlers armed with baseball bats while farming their land. The video provided evidence against two settlers, who were arrested by the Israeli police.

May 2008 marked 60 years of the Nakba, the catastrophe. Sixty years ago, 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and 350 Palestinian villages were destroyed by the Israeli army and militias. In the Bay Area, the Nakba was commemorated by numerous events and demonstrations. On May 10th at the Civic Center, a peace and solidarity festival took place with bands such as the Coup and Dam. Jewish groups also organized solidarity actions. The International Jewish Solidarity Network has circulated a statement calling on people not to celebrate, and Jewish Voice for Peace called on Americans to remember the thousands of Palestinians who have suffered in the creation of Israel. The IJSN disrupted an event at San Francisco's JCC called "Israel at Sixty."