Where do you go when the news makes you want to throw up your hands?

Image: Ma’anImages

“Stand here on these streets and you will know this is a civil war.”

So said CNN’s Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware to the network’s viewers on November 27. To illustrate his point, he read from a diary published on Electronic Iraq.

Our award-winning websites, The Electronic Intifada, Electronic Iraq, and Electronic Lebanon bring the voices of those living through the most frightening and brutal events to a worldwide audience. We illuminate the cultural and social creativity and resistance through which people proclaim their dignity and pursue peace with justice. We provide sharp, original analysis, often unavailable from any other source, of the policies and events that fuel the ongoing tragedies in Palestine-Israel, Iraq, Lebanon and the wider region.

We want to tell you briefly about what we have achieved this year, and why your support is so vital as we prepare for the challenges of 2007.

ELECTRONIC IRAQ
http://electroniciraq.net

Trusted by grassroots activists and major network correspondents alike, Electronic Iraq is now an essential resource for understanding the many dimensions of the conflict in Iraq. The EI team welcomed back experienced journalist and eIraq cofounder Jeff Severns Guntzel to further enhance a site that has filled gaps in coverage of the conflict since early 2003. eIraq is more committed than ever to highlighting Iraqi voices, sharing the Iraqi experience of war in compelling ways, and promoting critical debate, open discussion and responsible policies.

ELECTRONIC LEBANON
http://electroniclebanon.net

Within hours of Israel’s massive assault targeting Lebanon’s people and destroying their painstakingly rebuilt infrastructure on July 12th, the EI team launched a dedicated site providing eyewitness accounts, carefully researched and informed analysis, and multimedia coverage. Our team, working 24 hours a day, on four continents, uploaded more than 20 articles a day during the crisis period, quickly making Electronic Lebanon an indispensable resource. Significantly, the project presented new voices which international media quickly incorporated into their coverage. Electronic Lebanon continues to reveal the complexity, history, and possibilities of Lebanon, while examining the negative impact of US and Israeli double standards on the Lebanese people.

THE ELECTRONIC INTIFADA
http://electronicintifada.net

With diaries, like Yousef Alhelou’s account of the aftermath of Israel’s massacre of the ‘Athamna family in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, The Electronic Intifada continues to shatter the wall of silence that surrounds Israel’s dramatic escalation of violence against Palestinians. EI’s comprehensive analysis of the Palestinian legislative elections and the subsequent economic sanctions imposed on the Palestinian people by Israel and its allies remains unrivaled. EI brought to light a new unstated Israeli policy of expulsion and exclusion from the occupied territories of Palestinians and others holding foreign passports months before the story appeared in the mainstream media. EI’s Op/Ed, Israel Lobby Watch and Role of the Media sections continue to be the best sources for exposes of the ways world governments and institutions collude to protect Israel from accountability. Its Activism News section reports on how solidarity movements are challenging them.

In addition to CNN, in the last year, the EI websites were cited by the BBC, CBC, C-SPAN, PBSNews Hour with Jim Lehrer, MSNBC, Reuters, Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Independent, The Times, The Guardian, The Nation, The Economist, Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune, The Pioneer Press, Chicago Public Radio, KPFK Pacifica, Flashpoints, CounterSpin, and Democracy Now! among others.

In just six years, The Electronic Intifada, Electronic Iraq and — now — Electronic Lebanon have achieved a prominence and following that is unparalleled in coverage of the region. We cannot do it without the sustained support of individuals like you who believe that fearless, independent media are more necessary than ever.

Help us reach our Winter fundraising goal of $40,000 to start 2007 strong. Our work is demanding all year round, so the most effective way to support EI’s educational mission is with a monthly recurring donation. That way we can spend less time worrying about paying bills, and more time reporting the truth about Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and the Middle East.

Sincerely,
Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King, Nigel Parry, Maureen Clare Murphy, and Jeff Severns Guntzel on behalf of the EI team

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