Perspectives
Palestinian Journalists in Gaza Struggle to Do Their Jobs as Israel’s Military Targets Them and Shuts Off Communications
The Israeli war on Gaza entered its 23rd day amid Israeli attempts to impose censorship and media blackout. As the all-out war intensified amid anticipated ground invasion the unexpected happened. The unprecedented move isolated Gaza from the rest of the outside world, with locals unable to contact ambulances, not knowing what’s going on around them. Emergency phone lines stopped working.…
Stop Praying for Gaza!
It is late evening on Thursday, October 19, 2023. I am sitting in our living room following the news about Israel’s war on Gaza. For the last 12 days I have been following the news, switching between Aljazeera, CNN, BBC, RT, and others to try to understand what is happening and how the world is reacting. Yet, my real concern has been about the people in Gaza; people I know, people I came to…
By Allowing Israel into the Visa Waiver Program, President Biden is Endorsing Israel’s Discrimination Against Palestinian-Americans
Last week, officials in the Biden administration confirmed that Israel will be granted entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver program after years of campaigning by the Israeli government. The decision was made even though Israel continues to discriminate against Palestinian-Americans such as myself when attempting to visit our homeland, which should render it ineligible. By allowing Israel into the…
New Biopic Starring Helen Mirren Whitewashes Golda Meir’s Racism & Israel’s Apartheid
When I heard Golda — the new biopic about Israel’s fourth Prime Minister Golda Meir — would be entering theaters recently, my stomach dropped. Heralded as a feminist icon for her rule spanning from 1969–1974, I know Meir as someone else: a former occupier of my family’s stolen Jerusalem home and denier of my people’s very existence. The film, from Israeli director Guy Nattiv, traces a…
Pro-Israel Groups That Tried to Cancel Palestine Writes Festival Incite Hatred Against Palestinians
On the eve of the historic Palestine Writes literature festival this past weekend, the Philadelphia air felt heavy with the pollution of vitriol and hatred. Attacks on the festival’s organizers, speakers, and supporters were expected, because there’s almost never a time or place in the United States when Palestinians can speak freely and without fear about their own life experience and dreams…
Criticizing Israel Cost Me a State Department Nomination. What Does This Mean for the US and Human Rights?
As a human rights advocate for more than three decades, I have become accustomed to the ire, as well as sanctions, from governments that I criticize for rights abuses. That’s part of the job. But I was deeply disappointed that only days after nominating me to the western hemisphere’s principal human rights body, my own government withdrew my nomination, in effect sanctioning me for doing what…
Only President Biden and Congress Have the Power to Stop a War Crime
It is rare that a person is given advanced warning that a war crime is about to be perpetrated against him. But a few months ago, the Israeli Supreme Court signed-off on the full-scale expulsion of my community in the occupied West Bank. For over 30 years, we have struggled to defend our homes, as Israel has tried to turn our land into a military training ground. But now, without immediate US…
Israel is Destroying My Entire Community and the World is Doing Nothing to Stop It
Every night, I go to sleep with my camera next to me, prepared to be awakened at any moment by the sound of Israeli military bulldozers coming to destroy my home. I’ve already photographed soldiers forcing dozens of families out of their homes in Masafer Yatta over the past month, part of the largest forced displacement of Palestinians carried out by Israel in decades. If the international…
Expert Q&A: Israel’s Expulsion of Palestinians from Masafer Yatta
Expert: Basel Adra, journalist and activist from Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. On May 4, 2022, the Israeli supreme court ruled that Israel could expel more than 1,000 Palestinians from their homes in the Masafer Yatta region of the occupied West Bank, ostensibly to make way for a training zone for Israel’s occupying army. While Israel routinely destroys the homes of Palestinians,…
Expert Q&A: The Latest Escalation of Violence in Palestine/Israel
Expert: Diana Buttu, political analyst, former advisor to Palestinian Authority President and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian negotiators, and Palestinian citizen of Israel. Question: In recent weeks, we’ve seen a spate of attacks in Israel that have captured international headlines. What’s going on? Diana Buttu: First of all, it’s important to keep…