August/September 2005

http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org


“Today in Palestine,” Every Day

"Palestinians killed"
"IDF fires upon peaceful demonstration"
"Army grabs hundreds more dunams of Palestinian land"
"Palestinian children attacked by settlers on their way to school"
"Palestinian village placed under curfew"

You will seldom find these headlines in the mainstream U.S. media, but headlines such as these are available elsewhere on a daily basis. Online alternative media provides the coverage of the oppression of Palestinians that is typically ignored by the U.S. press. Furthermore, even "Haaretz," the primary mainstream daily newspaper in "Israel," offers its readers more exposure to the heinous crimes of the zionist state than supporters of Palestine have come to expect from U.S. dailies such as the "NY Times." Some "Haaretz" writers, though still not approaching the subject from the perspective of advocacy for the non-negotiable Right to Return, even offer sharp critiques of the policies and practices of occupation.

The age of the internet brings us easy access to information, but we still have the responsibility of finding it. Shadi Fadda, a Palestinian-Bosnian living in Lebanon, makes this task easier for the rest of us. Every day, Shadi searches the internet media sites for news from Palestine, compiles somewhere around 30 headlines, and sends out "Today in Palestine" to his distribution list. He also updates and maintains a website, http://www.TheHeadlines.org, with the same information.

Shadi includes a brief section of the article to which the headline belongs, with a link to the full article. He often adds a comment of his own, usually remarking on the irony of the situation. To the headline of "Bush pressures Palestinians after pullout" on August 27, 2005, Shadi adds the not actual quote, but obvious U.S. government sentiment of "We have no objection on Sharon's grab of Jerusalem."

The headlines are often infuriating. Reports of Palestinians killed or injured, land theft, poverty, illegal detentions, expansion of the Apartheid wall's route. But Shadi does not forget to include the positive. Reports of resistance, action calls, solidarity events. Many readers find Shadi's "Today in Palestine" updates to be indispensable daily reading.

Shadi shared his own story as a refugee.

"I was not into the Palestinian cause but since the beginning of the ongoing Intifada in September 2000. I personally view that as being very positive step, as I started building the picture of the Palestinian cause at age of 21, giving it my full power since."

While attending the American University of Beirut, Shadi joined the Palestinian Cultural Club. He tells of his meeting the late Edward Said in March 2003.

"That changed my view towards the cause completely. It also took place at the time USA started with its invasion of Iraq. That affected all the Arab streets, and my response was to start sending headlines about the Palestinian cause, as that became sort of forgotten in the media due to war in Iraq."

With very few exceptions, he has been sending out "Today in Palestine" every day since May 2003.

Recipients of the email version of "Today in Palestine" may be amused to see that the first listed recipient is president@whitehouse.gov. Shadi also includes the European Parliament, Britain's Department For International Development, the German Bundestag, the UN, and the U.S. State Department in his distribution list. Of course, none of them have ever written him back. He was happy to report, on the other hand, that one of the Palestinian ministries asked to be added to his list.

Shadi's efforts have caught the attention of those would have the headlines suppressed. His website has been illegally hacked on more than one occasion. His email address has repeatedly been forged for the sending of spam. But the site is back up, and he continues undaunted. He realizes that spreading awareness about Palestine is a form of resistance.

"Our main problem is our situation being so successfully hidden by the Israeli propaganda." Shadi combats this by spreading "awareness of the daily life of Palestinian people."

You can read "Today in Palestine" by visiting Shadi's website at http://www.TheHeadlines.org. The home page includes a form allowing you to sign up for Shadi's email list. For even more daily news from Palestine, including a daily posting of "Today in Palestine," please subscribe to the news list of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. You may do so by sending an email to Al-Awda-Newssubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Shadi has no plans to stop issuing "Today in Palestine."

He explains his own reasons for continuing.

"As long as Kofi Annan calls acts of the occupied against an occupier 'terror,' and claims that the occupier has the right to defend itself (from the occupied), and people (due to media success) accept such statements, our problem is far from over. If the world does not know about the problem, who will work on solving it?"


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