“He was just shouting at soldiers but then one soldier decided to attack him, so they beat the hell out of him - riffle butt to the head”. - Israeli soldier, identified only as “A.”, on the beating of a mentally-handicapped Palestinian man by Israeli forces. “We were sent to look for firearms, but didn’t […]

An Arab man sat near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters [NYT]
Waiting.
If this picture doesn’t personify the Palestinian experience, I don’t know what does.

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What words coming to life look like…

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When it comes to the political landscape of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the only thing more insignificant than an American election is an Israeli election. The outcome of these campaigns, which seem to bathe in the limelight of the world stage, tend to have worse consequences for the Middle East almost every time. Both Netanyahu and […]

Sixty percent of Americans in the nationwide survey said they were sympathetic toward the Israelis, compared with 17 percent who supported the Palestinians, CNN reported today on its Web site. A recent European poll showed that 23 percent of French people said the Palestinian Hamas group was primarily responsible for the war while 18 percent […]

Photo Credit: NYT
I hate sounding cynical. But I’m trying to be realistic here. This is not to say I hate the guy. I don’t even know him. And to be fair, it’s still his first day on the job. But seriously. Looking at how people are reacting to this. Especially the more westernized Jordanians here. […]

How do you define a protest? In the past three weeks I think the word itself has found new manifestations in Jordan. Each one catered to an audience and each one catered to a need. Some chose to go out in to the streets and shout, some chose to light a candle at a vigil, […]

While watching the events in Gaza unfold these past few weeks, I am overcome with grief, and it has become even more dominant once the ceasefire was declared. In the next few days and weeks, Israeli elections will roll on while Gazans will spend this time digging the bodies of relatives out of the rubble. […]

Nuff said…

These people are just amazing. I’ve seen some familiar faces that have showed up almost every day and it’s good to see new faces as well.
If you still want to help out, more and more people will be coming over the weekend so keep yourself informed with 7iber when it […]

Volunteers

Still

Needed

Every Day
From 4pm to 10pm
Just Click Here

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This is the breaking news of the day over here. Naturally, the Jordanian military has denied Israeli claims that shots were fired at a border crossing from the Jordanian side. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jordanian military fired anything so much as a wad of bubble gum at the Israeli side. Israeli media […]

All the updates are on 7iber but just in case my readers missed it, I’d like to re-articulate it here on the Black Iris. Suffice to say, the Aramex Campaign is going fairly well and we’re still helping them through 7iber and the Action Committee to mobilize volunteers. So far, the Aramex people have done […]

It’s almost impossible to talk about anything except Gaza these days. That’s not an understatement. It simply feels like the reality of the situation is so imposing on our lives that I can hardly open a newspaper or surf the local and regional blogosphere without reading about Gaza. It’s on the tip of every tongue […]

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The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
Strip Maul

Barack Obama InterviewJohn McCain Interview
Sarah Palin VideoFunny Election Video

Show some love for the man.
ht: emily

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A lot of people have been wondering how they can still help do something on-the-ground in Jordan when it comes to the situation in Gaza.
Here’s three things you can do:
First: 7iber needs volunteers who are willing to help sort and package goods just like last time, at the Aramex warehouse.
Second: 7iber is raising funds […]

A recent debate I participated in yielded the conclusive statement: “now is not the time for it.” It really got me thinking, whenever there is a crisis in this region, everyone socially is moved into one corner and an emergency circle is drawn. Anyone not in the circle must be punished, broken down, and brought […]