In September, a troupe of performers from the West Bank and Israel held a nine-day tour throughout the West Bank, promoting cultural resistance and staging innovative performance styles in an attempt to unify disparate Palestinian realities. By Marta Fortunato Al-Hadidiya, Jordan Valley, 12 December 2012 – Samir is on the verge of tears while he watches the Freedom Theatre actors performing the story that he himself just finished sharing with his community members. “I was grazing my sheep when the Israeli army arrived. I was blindfolded, handcuffed and brought to a military camp,” Samir tells. “There, some soldiers set dogs on me.…

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank who are normally barred from entering Israel got a glimpse of freedom during Ramadan as single entry permits were issued more liberally.  Many also infiltrated without being caught. What does that tell us about Israel's security rationale regarding its permit regime and resumed construction of the wall? Frankly, it's quite hard to believe just how many Palestinians from the West Bank got the unique chance to visit Israel over Ramadan. Some went through the checkpoints with permits valid for just one of the holiday's Fridays. Haaretz reports that 300,000 entered Israeli…

A new regular feature from the Activestills photography collective. Each week, we will bring you a selection of our most compelling images from movements for political and social change throughout Palestine and Israel.           Activestills is a collective of Israeli, international and Palestinian photographers, united by a conviction that photography is a vehicle for political and social change. To stay updated on our latest images, like Activestills on Facebook  or follow @activestills on Twitter. You can also visit our flickr photostream.

Due to a temporary relaxation in Israeli policy, many Palestinians traveled to Jerusalem through checkpoints during Ramadan this year. But now that Ramadan is over, it's back to business as usual. Every day, thousands of Palestinians circumvent the Israeli separation wall by crossing into Jerusalem without permission from Israeli authorities. Haggai Matar recently described this major flaw in the wall’s security rationale, even quoting a pro-barrier activist who admits: “There’s no problem crossing the gaps in the fence and tens of thousands of illegal workers cross it back and forth every day, and there should be no problem getting suicide…

Introducing: A new regular feature from the Activestills photography collective. Each week, we will bring you a selection of our most compelling images from movements for political and social change throughout Palestine and Israel.                       Activestills is a collective of Israeli, international and Palestinian photographers, united by a conviction that photography is a vehicle for political and social change. To stay updated on our latest images, like Activestills on Facebook  or follow @activestills on Twitter. You can also visit our flickr photostream.

By Sarit Topaz | Translation: Dena Shunra Muatasam and Ali were shot to death by the IDF at the start of Ramadan. The Israeli press glossed over the story. In writing about them here, the author attempts to restores a bit of humanity to the faceless Palestinians killed by the army This post was written at the request of a close friend, who asked me to publicize the deaths of Muatasam Adwan and Ali Khalifa, killed during a nighttime raid by the IDF in the Qalandia Refugee Camp, on the first day of the Ramadan fast. Everyone has been occupied with the wave…

Mayor Ron Huldai, as other mayors before him, always likes to show how he's the mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, with an emphasis on the "Jaffa". Because, sometimes, even a mayor can forget there are Arabs living in his town. So, I thought it was great that he made an effort to personally wish a happy Ramadan to all the Muslim residents of Jaffa, by putting up signs all over the Arab neighborhoods. Here's one, right in the center of Jaffa, on the main drag: Oooo! And here's another one! In the middle of Yefet st. (Jewish street name, but that…

By Alex Kane Residents of Beit Ommar have already gotten used to military incursions and prevention of access to land - but some residents believe the increase in recent raids is connected to the army's effort at deterrence ahead of the anticipated popular unrest in September Beit Ommar, West Bank—The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is meant to be a time for reflection and spirituality.  But for the 16,000 residents of this rural, agricultural village near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, it has been an unusually tense one. A spate of Israeli army raids at night and arrests of…

In the month of Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast from food and drink from sunrise until sunset. Most Muslims will admit how hard that task is, especially when Ramadan happens in the summer. So it was a surprise for me to hear about a Christian teenager who decided to fast for the whole month of Ramadan in solidarity with her Muslim friend. According to oregonlive.com, Jordan Pahl, a17 year old Catholic, decided to take her friend Dahlia Bazzaz’s challenge to fast during the month of Ramadan It all started last year during the Christian fasting period of Lent, when…