Headed to the beach this summer? Long car trip or airplane ride? Print out these articles to learn more about the situation in Gaza.
Summer Reads on Gaza
Summer Reads on Gaza
- Equilibrium of Belligerence Tareq Baconi describes how the current state of almost perpetual conflict with Gaza functions as Israel’s justification to maintain the status quo and continue the blockade of Gaza. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/07/30/israel-needs-to-loosen-its-choke-hold-on-gaza-to-avoid-another-war/?utm_term=.8d74f1f11aea
- Coding in Gaza Hazem Balousha and Oliver Holmes share the story of Gaza Sky Geeks, a “tech hub and co-working space” which has been training youth to code and participate in the global internet marketplace. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/05/wireless-in-gaza-the-code-school-bringing-hope-to-the-strip
- On the Gaza “Border” Amjad Iraqi writes on how the discussion of the fence surrounding Gaza as a “border” reinforces Israeli justifications for the use of force and denies Israel’s responsibility for those living under its control. https://972mag.com/the-myth-of-the-gaza-border/135392/
- Trapped “From Fence to Fence” Jehad Abusalim discusses living while feeling trapped, and the ways that Palestinians in Gaza perceive the fence, especially given that many in Gaza are refugees from the surrounding areas so close by. Abusalim also describes how the fence took shape, from a rough, informal demarcation line to a militarized barrier. https://972mag.com/trapped-from-fence-to-fence-in-gaza/122666/
- Art in Gaza Fidaa Shurrab writes about the life and artwork of Mahmoud al-Moqayad, a Gazan painter who creates work centered around life in a besieged but resilient Gaza. https://electronicintifada.net/content/gaza-artist-takes-trump/24931
- Reconstruction Efforts Sarah Algherbawi writes about how reconstruction efforts from the 2014 war are progressing slowly, and the living conditions for those who have not fully recovered from that assault. https://electronicintifada.net/content/reconstruction-snails-pace-gaza/25036
- Gaza’s Refugees Sarah Helm gives a history of the Palestinian return movement, from individual attempts to recover crops directly after expulsion in 1948, up until the recent Great March of Return. In addition, Helm talks to Gazans and describes their feelings about return in the current political context. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/israel-palestinian-gaza-refugees-nabka-1948-descendants-history-a8347391.html
- The Political Influence of the Great March of Return Haidar Eid discusses how the Great March of Return fits into a greater political atmosphere and how Palestinian civic society can build off of the unity shown during the March. https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/back-to-the-future-the-great-march-of-return/
- Gaza protests and the Israeli Arms Industry This recent report from Hamishim, a joint program of AFSC and the Coalition of Women for Peace, details how weaponry and other technologies used in the recent Israeli violence against protestors in Gaza has led to the sale of those “battle-tested” products to foreign militaries. https://enhamushim.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/report-with-covers1.pdf
Not interested in reading - but want to view some films on Gaza instead?
Not interested in reading - but want to view some films on Gaza instead?
Here are a selection of films to watch.
- Multimedia: Obliterated Families This website by Anne Paq and Ala Qandil contains the stories of families who experienced catastrophic loss of multiple family members in the 2014 assault on Gaza, including photographs and interviews, as well as a movie entitled Gaza: A Gaping Wound, and analytic pieces by Amira Hass and Raja Shehadeh. https://obliteratedfamilies.com/en/
- Movie: Killing Gaza Max Blumenthal and Dan Cohen’s documentary on the Israeli army assault on Gaza in 2014 presents a “chilling visual document of war crimes committed by the Israeli military, featuring direct testimony and evidence from the survivors.” https://vimeo.com/ondemand/killinggaza
- Movie: Gaza in Context Made in 2016 by a team of Palestinian academics, filmmakers, and activists, this movie and its corresponding website connects the issues of Gaza to those of all Palestinians, and how violence against Gaza fits in with the various forms of oppression that Israel uses against Palestinians. http://www.gazaincontext.com/film.html
- Movie: Flying Paper This film from directors Nitin Sawhney and Roger Hill tells “the story of Palestinian children in Gaza engaged in the fascinating culture of kite making and flying” and their attempt to break a world record for kite flying. http://flyingpaper.org/watch/
- Podcast: Palestine Now & Then On AFSC’s podcast Palestine Now & Then, Toufic Haddad and Jehad Abusalim discuss the history and current state of Gaza, covering the economic and political factors that have lead to the blockade of Gaza specifically and the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people. https://soundcloud.com/afsc-audio/palestine-now-then-e3-understanding-gaza-interview-with-toufic-haddad