12th October 2023 - The Elephant's Weekly Digest

From the Editor's Desk

Welcome to this week’s letter from the Editor’s Desk. In this week’s newsletter, we examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the endless cycles of pain and violence. This is the key theme that graces the pages of this week’s publication.

THE NAKBA. Israeli Apartheid and the Question of Palestine. South Africa is leading opposition to Israel’s observer status in the African Union because the country’s relations with the people of Palestine do not reflect the principles of the AU charter. The State of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, on 14 May 1948. On the same day, US President Harry Truman, a close ally of Israel, recognized the new nation. This marked the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read more.

ISRAELI PM Benjamin Netanyahu alias Bibi. Netanyahu is the longest-tenured prime minister in the country's history, having served for a total of over 16 years. View here

PALESTINIAN FREEDOMS. For decades, African countries have supported the Palestinian liberation struggle against Israel, seeing in it parallels with their own anti-colonial movements. Likewise, the African people must not hesitate to criticize Israeli international law violations and the occupation of Palestinian lands. The Elephant speaks to Maren Mantovani, the international relations coordinator for the Stop the Wall Campaign and the international outreach coordinator for the Land Defense Coalition, a network of Palestinian social movements. Read more 

RECRUITING ALLIES. Looking for New Suitors: Is Israel Trying to Influence the African Continent’s Stance on Palestine? Israel’s success in getting observer status at the African Union is also a sign of the growing lack of interest among African leaders in the Palestinian issue altogether. There are more than 70 states and NGOs that are accredited to the AU. For most, this is not a particularly big deal. But for Israel, this has long been a major diplomatic objective with considerable symbolic weight. Read more

BIG (MOSSAD) BROTHER WATCHING. They Are Watching You: Israeli-Made Spyware Used to Monitor Journalists and Activists Worldwide. The use of spyware to surveil, harass, and intimidate journalists and activists — and those close to them has become a key activity for many governments worldwide. In a subset of 27 analyzed phones, Amnesty International researchers found 84 separate traces of Pegasus activity that closely corresponded to the numbers’ appearance on the leaked list. In 59 of these cases, the Pegasus traces appeared within 20 minutes of selection. Read more

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Is there a tip or story you would like us to cover? Please reach out and let us know!

Vol. 01, Issue No. 21, 12 October 2023

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