Website Focus: The Electronic Intifada

If you are looking for information about refugee crisises, there are many webpages that you can use. One in particular that follows the plight of the Palestinian people is http://electronicintifada.net/new.shtml . Split up into different sections that cover different aspects of Palestinian life, you can read about Palestinian refugees, arts and culture, activism news, a human rights watch, and also opinion/editorial pieces about the current conflict. They present news stories and editorials from a Palestinian perspective, which is a rare thing to find if you are living in the United States, where most news is presented with a very heavy Pro-Israel slant.

Book review: Abdel Bari Atwan's "Country of Words" - http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9954.shtml

"A Country of Words: from the Refugee Camps to the Front Page is a remarkable Palestinian memoir, exceptional because of its abundance of compassion, humor and humility. Its author is Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arabic-language daily al-Quds al-Arabi who also wrote The Secret History of al-Qa'ida. Individuals have their own lives and create their own narratives, and for Atwan, his story begins in Palestine. Born in the Gaza Strip refugee camp of Deir al-Balah in Gaza in 1950, Atwan's life has been marred by tragic incidents, including the premature death of his father and later his brother, who supported his education."

One thing I love about The Electronic Intifada is that it shows Palestinians as real, human people. By presenting different parts of Palestinian culture, they let people see the real, hidden side of Palestinian life. They are more then just numbers and statistics, they are people trying to live their lives and still engage in their passions, from writing to music, poetry to painting. This specific post was a book review about "A Country of Words," a memoir about Atef Alshaer, a Palestinian journalist and activist, and how he lived through the multipule Intifadas and even spent time in refugee camps in multipule countries, from Egypt to Lybia to Saudi Arabia. This review goes to show the softer, more real side of Palestinians and the struggle that is an everyday part of their lives.


"Shimon Peres, you're a war criminal!" say Oxford students - http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9983.shtml

"Silent women in black, shouting students, small babies in prams, university lecturers and a local elected official were just some of the crowd gathered to voice their protest against an Oxford college's decision to honor Peres on Tuesday, 18 November as he gave the inaugural lecture in a series to be named after him. Some handed out leaflets and many were carrying signs, one of which read "Globalization of Apartheid," a pun on the title of the lecture, "Globalization of Peace.""

This article discusses the student protests surrounding Shimon Peres's speech which was the kickoff of a lecture series named after him happening at Oxford University. Students who were able to get inside and hear Peres speak continually interrupted him, calling out that he was a war criminal and should be ashamed of the way that he was treating the Palestinian people. The rest of the students and faculty who were present but unable to get into the hall stood outside, chanting louder then Peres' speech. I love how articles like this are always on the webpage. Sometimes it feels like issues including the Palestinian/Israeli conflict get pushed to the side. For those of us in the US who feel strongly about this, many times it is not the popular or common viewpoint, so being able to read about other students around the world who are also taking a stand can be very gratifying.


All in all, if you want a snapshot into the lives of Palestinians, The Electronic Intifada is a great website to get a real look at what is going on, free from the censorship and skewing that US media always does in regards to this conflict.