This week's blog updates

This week's key stories in the Virtually Islamic 2.0 blog: 

Iran 'disinformation' report

'True Origins of ISIS'

Islamophobia Defined 

Building pictures of online activity

The Page 99 Test (my response)

Matthew Hedges Freed 

Spotify goes Palestinian 

Raed Fares 

Palestinian blogger rejects beauty industry award over Gal Gadot sponsorship

Middle East Eye, Palestinian blogger rejects beauty industry award over Gal Gadot sponsorship "Muslimgirl.com founder Amani al-Khatahtbeh turned down Revlon's Changemaker award due to Israeli actor's 'ambassador' role at company."

Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments

Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept, Facebook Says It Is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments, 30 Dec 2017 "What makes this censorship particularly consequential is that “96 percent of Palestinians said their primary use of Facebook was for following news.” That means that Israeli officials have virtually unfettered control over a key communications forum of Palestinians." Important article from Gleen Greenwald.

Israel's 'predictive policing' sees online crackdown on Palestinians

alaraby, Israel's 'predictive policing' sees online crackdown on Palestinians "Israeli security agencies are using advanced technology to trawl through Palestinian social media posts to identify and detain users who have not yet committed a crime."

Gaza and technology

London Review of Books, If Israel were smart; Sara Roy on Gaza, Vol. 39 No. 12, 15 June 2017, pages 19-20

"Gaza has a talented, tech-savvy population; if ever there were peace, an American investor said, ‘Gaza’s internet sector would become another India.’ The number of internet users in Gaza is reportedly equal to that of Tel Aviv, and a small number are already subcontracting for companies in India, Bangladesh and Israel."

Killing of Palestinians strikes nerve online

AlJazeera, Killing of Palestinians strikes nerve online "As many mourn the deaths of six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, supporters are taking to social media to express concern and outrage over the treatment of Palestinians by Israeli forces."

'Sixty years of Palestinian suffering: UN refugee agency unveils archive'

UNRWA audiovisual archive for Palestine refugees is discussed in Middle East Online, Sixty years of Palestinian suffering: UN refugee agency unveils archive

'Palestinian minister resigns over web censorship'

BBC News, Palestinian minister resigns over web censorship, 27 Apr 2012 "The Palestinian Authority's communications minister resigns, claiming it is moving to silence its critics by blocking access to opposition websites."

'Pro-Palestinian hackers apologise for cyber attack on Haaretz newspaper website'

The National, Pro-Palestinian hackers apologise for cyber attack on Haaretz newspaper website, 27 Jan 2012, "The group claimed responsibility shortly after the attack, tweeting: "haaretz.co.il Tango Down :)". But yesterday morning an apology appeared on the same Twitter account "@haaretzprint we are sorry, we didn't know that haaretz is a good newspaper, we sorry about this, and be sure no one will attack u again"."

Palestinian net hacked

BBC News, 'Hackers' cut Palestinian phone and internet systems, 1 Nov 2011 "The main phone network in the West Bank and Gaza has suffered a sustained attack by computer hackers, the Palestinian Authority (PA) says."

'Third Intifada' app

aljazeera.net, Apple removes 'Third Intifada' app, 23 Jun 2011 "Technology giant Apple has removed a pro-Palestinian mobile application from its roster of hosted programmes after Israel complained it incited users to violence.

"The "Third Intifada" application essentially reproduced the content from a website of the same name - 3rdIntifada.com - which posts news and opinion articles about Israeli aggression and the Palestinian cause."

The image on the left is from 3rdintifada.com (who may have received substantial extra publicity from this incident)

Cyber Culture Studies: Palestinian E-Resistance

Ghada Alakhdar, Amazon.com: Cyber Culture Studies: Palestinian E-Resistance: New Scopes for Cultural Political Intervention (9783639357905): Books "The Internet has evidently helped unearth dictatorships in the Arab-Islamic world by empowering the "silent and passive" masses. Restrictions on information spread and exchange such as borders, distance and time have become insignificant. The book zooms in on Palestinian e-resistance strategies. It reads the Deleuzo-Guattarian "rhizome", theoretical model of mobility and change, to chart out a diversity of dynamic agendas and arguments which develop and diversify online. This strategic mobility works in coherence with the quick economic and demographic changes that take place on the Palestinian territorial map itself. The book, therefore, provides inspiring theoretical tools and analysis for understanding the dynamics of e-resistance exploring how the Palestinian cause is related to diverse aspects of life, inviting a deeper understanding and expanding its chances for getting international support. This book should be useful for professionals in areas of social media and culture, resistance literature, Middle East studies and cyber philosophy, or anyone interested in exploring e-resistance and cultural-political e-empowerment."

I look forward to reading this.

'Taking the Middle East conflict online'

Netta Ahituv, European Journalism Centre, Taking the Middle East conflict online, 29 Nov 2010 discusses blogging in Israeli and Palestinian contexts - and dialogue between diverse parties online.

"Despite the substantial presence of pro-Israeli organisations and activity on the web, there is a general feeling among the Israeli public that the Palestinian side is ‘winning’ this virtual battle. There are many more anti-Israeli blogs and websites than pro-Israeli ones."

article refers to middleastpost.com

'Islamic Banking Hits the Web'

Internet Evolution - Marsha Weinstein - Islamic Banking Hits the Web, 16 Nov 2010 "A jaunt to now-Muslim-majority Bethlehem, in the Palestinian Authority, reveals a thriving city: renovated, bustling, affluent. When I remark on the profusion of late-model European SUVs, my Palestinian host shrugs: “Like in the West -- they live beyond their means.”"

'Facebook is Not Where You Want to Hide'

Ahmad F Al-Shagra, The Next Web, Facebook is Not Where You Want to Hide, 15 Nov 2010 "It appears this week has been a busy one for both Islamic regulators and Facebook alike that with the arrest of an outspoken atheirst Palestinian blogger, temporary shutdown of Facebook in Saudi, and the removal of anti-Islam Facebook pages."

WOCMES 2

As part of a session on Palestine/Internet: On-line Imagination, Activism and Archiving here at WOCMES, Miriyam Aouragh from Oxford Internet Institute discussed “Cyber Intifada: Palestinian Activism in the Age of Web 2.0”. There was a lot to pack into a 20' slot, so I'm going to check out her forthcoming book Palestine Online - Transnationalism, Communications and the Reinvention of Identity (IB Tauris) when it emerges. Only drawback: the book is listed at £56.50 in hardback only (according to the catalogue link), which doesn't lend itself to accessibility or limited budgets. Hopefully it'll make a cheaper paperback edition, so we can all read about this important research.

There were some other papers relating to this blog in the session: May Farah explored “Virtual Nationalism”, based on fieldwork in Lebanon and elsewhere - I'd like to read more on that subject.

The issue of archiving came up in Helga Tawil-Souri's paper “Creating a Digital Palestine”, which discussed palestineremembered.com (this is a useful resource that I have previously recommended to students>. Archiving is an inceasingly important issue, that I have referred to in my own work, and will be discussing tomorrow.

Related to this, Laila Shereen Sakr videolinked a paper “On Archiving Gaza” - there were some technical difficulties in the presentation, and I'd have liked to have heard more: she is involved in some very interesting work, notably R-Shief. There are some more tech/net related papers in the next few days, which I'll be attending.

Al-Fateh children's website reviewed

Yohanan Manor and Ido Mizrahi, Hamas's Web School for Suicide Bombers, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2010, pp. 31-40 "All states use education as a medium to encourage responsible behavior in their children, at least in part to develop a law-abiding, civic-minded citizenry. Authoritarian regimes have a history of distorting this trust, often turning schools into places of indoctrination for a state or religious ideology. The Palestinians have, for some time now, created an educational system exemplifying this indoctrinational approach: Their textbooks deny Jewish and Israeli legitimacy within historic Palestine, demonize Jews and Israelis, discourage compromise or negotiated peace, and glorify violent struggle to achieve what are often termed "Palestinian aspirations." Since coming to power through elections in early 2006 and following its military coup in Gaza in June 2007, Hamas has continued this path of indoctrination, utilizing its popular children's website, Al-Fateh."

Note on the writers' perspective: "Yohanan Manor, chairman of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, is the author of "Arabs and Palestinians in Israeli School Textbooks" in Korinman and Laughland, eds., Israel on Israel (Valentine, 2008). Ido Mizrahi is research project coordinator at the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education."

StartPalestine

arabcrunch.com, Breaking: Demo Palestine Joins ArabCrunchStart Family, Now Called #ArabCrunchStart #Palestine, 28 Apr 2010 "ArabCrunchStartPalestine will work in 2 tracks: startuping and technology advancement, and will host a series of events featuring top notch local and global speakers, startups and highly skilled engineers.

"ArabCrunchStartPalestine will also work closely with the Palestinians startup and tech community and help them in any way possible."

See StartPalestine for more information on this.

Hamas

Arutz Sheva, Hamas Accuses Israel of Blackmail by Internet, 28 Apr 2010 "Hamas has accused Israeli intelligence agents of using the telephone and Internet to blackmail Gaza Arabs into cooperating with Israeli efforts to infiltrate the Hamas terrorist network."

Hamas video of Gilad Schalit

Ben Hubbard, AP, Hamas releases cartoon about captured Israeli, 25 Apr 2010 "Hamas released an animated film Sunday bearing a grisly message for Israel: If it doesn't meet the Islamic militant group's demands, an Israeli soldier it has held for nearly four years could return home in a coffin.

"The short but sophisticated cartoon - which depicts Sgt. Gilad Schalit's aging father wandering empty streets with a picture of his son and ends with the words "There is still hope" - is the latest product of Hamas' growing media machine."

Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, Analysis: Hamas’s Schalit film – cynical and smart, 26 Apr 2010 "While the movie is hard to watch, it does accurately show how Israeli leaders – including former prime minister Ehud Olmert, opposition leader Tzipi Livni and current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – have promised to do all they can to secure Schalit’s release. This movie is a reminder of that promise."

aljazeera.com, 3D Hamas Video Shows Shalit in Captivity as Father Ages, 26 Apr 2010 "The Ezzeddine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, published Sunday a computer animated video entitled "The Sentiment in the Zionist Society regarding Shalit," threatening that captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit will share the same fate as Ron Arad should not progress be made in talks. Arad is an Israeli pilot who went missing when he flew a mission over southern Lebanon in 1986."

Here's the video:



Also see



Further comment:

BBC News, Israel blasts new Shalit cartoon released by Hamas, 25 Apr 2010 "Noam Shalit called the film "psychological warfare" and urged Hamas to reach a deal with Israel in order to ease an Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has made life hard for Gaza's people.

""Hamas leaders would do better if instead of producing films and performances, they would worry about the real interests of the Palestinian prisoners and the ordinary citizens of Gaza who have been held hostage by their leaders for a long time," he said in a statement."

David Harris, xinhuanet.com, Hamas uses new technique in psychological war with Israel, 26 Apr 2010 "A superbly-made futuristic animated cartoon broadcast by the Islamist Hamas movement on Sunday is creating waves in Israel. It is thought to be the first of its kind from the military wing of Hamas that does not depend on the traditional images of brave Hamas warriors fighting against Israel."