Palestine Think Tank

Those who seek information about Palestine often tend to be attracted to particular writers and journalists for the special insights and gifts that seem to be uniquely their own. “The Middle East Crisis” is an issue having a profound, complex and multi-faceted dimension of interpretation, that for however long there has been a crisis (and worse), and despite the great abundance of written material available, more than we can ever realistically confront, the reader is driven to seek the voices that can analyse any aspect of the situation clearly. There really are far fewer with this talent than one would expect. The characteristic of this type of writer is that there is a distinctive voice or style, and more than that, there is a strong sense that the coherent and authentic ethics of this person are part of the message. It is not just reporting facts and intelligent analysis, but creating within us a consciousness of the moral situation that underlies the events. Khalid Amayreh is one such “source”. He is a very prolific author, and he is often able to correctly analyse the event of the day and place it into its overall context. This makes his work almost a diary of Palestinian events. However, as useful as it would be if he limited himself to reporting, Khalid Amayreh is far more important as a writer. He is concerned with the human condition and knows that the reader should not be left only with a cold reportage, because that would be telling only half of the story, and the less important half at that. His voice is the one speaking to the human heart, to the reader who sees the oppression that Palestinians are living under, and is mystified at they are no nearer to the end of their suffering. Khalid does not talk about “indiscriminate masses”, his work is almost a passion play, where there are names, identities, human stories behind all of the events narrated. In this interview, he touches on many issues in his intimitable way.

In March 2009, at Theatre Shawa, Italian Tenor Joe Fallisi, arriving in Gaza on one of the Free Gaza boats, performs with a group of Palestinian musicians. Here is a bit of the concert.

Paul J. Balles views a major public relations manual for Israel lobbyists. Written by Dr Frank Luntz, a US Republican political consultant and pollster, on behalf of The Israel Project, a US media advocacy group, it teaches pro-Israel propagandists how to hoodwink people about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how to silence critics and how to avoid [...]

The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are. And if our words and our actions come from superficial human relations techniques (the Personality Ethic) rather than from our own inner core (the Character Ethic), others will sense that duplicity. We simply [...]

On Palestine it is equally important to remember that double standard holds there as well. The freely elected government of Palestine was summarily ostracized by the United States and Europe, by people who take every opportunity to lecture us about espousing democratic practices. 
America even waged war to impose democracy on Iraq. How does that make [...]

This beautiful short film was produced in the series sponsored by the EU commission on Human Rights.
A must watch clip.

PLUS, AFTER THIS ARTICLE, "TALKING POINTS ON THE NOW HISTORICAL CAMP LE JEUNE SPEECH" DON'T MISS IT!!!
WRITTEN BY John Walsh
At Obama’s Summer Place with Cindy: “Leadership” of Peace Movement, MIA
I spent but a short time with Cindy Sheehan as she carried her antiwar protest from an earlier time at Crawford, TX, to Martha’s Vineyard, vacation spot [...]

This week's site is a very special site. DesertPeace is run by Steve Amsel, (who also happens to be a dear and loyal friend) who is that rare bird known as an Israeli citizen who is doing all he can to redress the balance of lies and falsehood told about what Israel is, who the [...]

Press TV's weekly programme Remember the Children of Palestine allows one of those rare opportunities to see brief reports about the daily life of Palestinians from a human framework. Each week, it features films and guests who talk about issues such as education, health, the family and holidays, as well as featuring music videos and [...]