Margaret Aziza Pappano, The Bullet, 18 February 2009

In the aftermath of the most recent Israeli assault on the Palestinian people, we now know that many buildings of the Islamic University in Gaza have been destroyed, as at least ten bombs have hit this so-called “military target,” including a residence for female students. Students waiting for a bus were hit. How will they hold classes now? Even before this, classes were piecemeal, governed by such unavoidable distractions as failure of electricity and sudden erection of checkpoints. Students in Gaza and in the West Bank struggle to get an education and professors struggle to teach classes. I once ran a workshop on applying to graduate schools in the U.S. and Canada for Palestinian students in which I had to field questions like, how do I explain that I am 35 and still working on a BA because my university was closed for five years and I was imprisoned for two? How do I explain that I can’t get a letter of recommendation because my professor was killed? As we encounter frustrations like too-large seminars and inadequate teaching support, North American academics may have difficulty imagining such dire circumstances as the stuff of daily life.

[Read the article | Read/Sign Open Letter from Faculty for Palestine]

Samera Baalusha (34) and two children at the funeral for five of her other children, killed in a Dec. 29 missile strike. © Amir Farshad Ebrahimi (flickr)

WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (OneWorld.net) – At least 100,000 people remain homeless one month after the ceasefire in Gaza, with many living in squalid conditions without access to clean water and toilets.

Thousands of Palestinians now reside in makeshift “tent cities” that have sprung up in place of demolished neighborhoods, while tens of thousands more have been forced to move into cramped living quarters with family and friends, says Save the Children UK. More than half of the 100,000 people that have lost their homes are children, adds the international charity.

[Read the report]

Ethiopian Americans for Justice (EAJ)
12 February 2009

A US-based Ethiopian human rights group is expressing concern about an unprecedented $20 million donation to the Clinton Foundation by an Ethiopian billionaire.

In a letter to President Clinton, Ethiopian Americans for Justice (EAJ) said it has reason to believe that the huge donation by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi, a businessman closely allied with the ruling group, was made on behalf of the Ethiopian government..

The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia has deployed tremendous resources to influence the successors of the Bush Administration.

Mr. Zenawi’s group enjoyed a special relationship with the Bush Administration. It provided self-serving “intelligence” and spear-headed the invasion of Somalia. It also hosted the “African Guantanamo,” participating in the illegal kidnapping, imprisonment and torture of Africans.

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