Students for Justice in Palestine at University of Maryland

Gaza's cars barely running Eva Bartlett, The Electronic Intifada, 3 August 2009 Even though six months have passed since Israel's brutal three-week bombardment of Gaza, Saleh, like many other Palestinians, has not been able to repair the damage. "I can't replace the windows and doors in my house; they were broken during the war. For the most part you can't find them in Gaza, and if they've been brought in through the tunnels then they're far too expensive."Facing the debt of an unpaid car part, needed insurance, and daily expenses, the driver is considering other ways of making money. "Maybe I'll have to sell my wife's only jewelry to pay the bills. Maybe I'll have to sell our refrigerator and television. That might bring 700 shekels [less than $200]." From Electronic Intifada - - - so who exactly suffers the most from this occupation? is it hamas? no. fatah? no. it is all the innocent Palestinian civilians who have limited acces...

“Breaking the Silence”, a group of courageous former combat soldiers, published a report comprising the testimonies of 30 Gaza War fighters. A hard-hitting report about actions that may be considered war crimes. The generals went automatically into denial mode. Why don’t the soldiers disclose their identity, they asked innocently. Why do they obscure their faces in the video testimonies? Why do they hide their names and units? How can we be sure that they are not actors reading a text prepared for them by the enemies of Israel? How do we know that this organization is not manipulated by foreigners, who finance their actions? And anyhow, how do we know that they are not lying out of spite? One can answer with a Hebrew adage: “It has the feel of Truth”. Anyone who has ever been a combat soldier in war, whatever war, recognizes at once the truth in these reports. Each of them has met a soldier who is not ready to return home without an X on his gun showing that he killed ...

Last March, poet, novelist and feminist Alice Walker joined a delegation organized by Code Pink, to travel to the Gaza Strip just weeks after the 22-day Israeli bombardment and invasion. Walker, globally acclaimed for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Color Purple, had also traveled to Rwanda, Eastern Congo and other places where she witnessed cruel and barbaric behavior that left her speechless. "Rolling into Gaza I had a feeling of homecoming. There is a flavor to the ghetto. To the Bantustan. To the "rez." To the "colored section." In some ways it is surprisingly comforting. Because consciousness is comforting . Everyone you see has an awareness of struggle, of resistance, just as you do. The man driving the donkey cart. The woman selling vegetables. The young person arranging rugs on the sidewalk or flowers in a vase." We pass a hospital, bombed and gutted by fire. If one is not safe in a hospital, when one is already sick and afraid, wh...