Nigel Parry

Interview with comedienne Maysoon Zayid

Nigel Parry 14 June 2003



Palestinian American comedienne Maysoon Zayid is a rising force who has appeared on MTV, As the World Turns, and 20/20. EI’s Nigel Parry caught up with Zayid at the annual conference of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) conference where she performed to a packed and appreciative crowd at the Friday dinner honoring Arab American achievements. Listen to EI’s first audio interview in MP3 format. 

Israel discovers that democracy is not an Israeli value

Arjan El Fassed and Nigel Parry 22 May 2003



The Israel Democracy Institute presents its 2003 “Democracy Index” at a conference today. The Index concludes that “Israel is not a substantive democracy” and notes that “more than half (53%) of the Jews in Israel state out loud that they are against full equality for the Arabs; 77% say there should be a Jewish majority on crucial political decisions; less than a third (31%) support having Arab political parties in the government; and the majority (57%) think that the Arabs should be encouraged to emigrate”. EI founders Arjan El Fassed and Nigel Parry report. 

Israel's 'We have the right to kill you' visa for Gaza

Nigel Parry and Ali Abunimah 10 May 2003



On 8 May 2003, the Electronic Intifada obtained and published the text of a document distributed by the Israeli military to foreign diplomatic representatives, entitled “Form to be filled out and submitted to IDF authorities prior to entry to the Gaza Strip”. EI’s Nigel Parry and Ali Abunimah look at the document, at Israel’s recent actions in Rafah, and wonder at the new entry conditions which require internationals to affirm they won’t hold Israel responsible for harming them: “I am aware of the risks involved and accept that the Government of the State of Israel and its organs cannot be held responsible for death, injury and/or damage/loss of property which may be incurred as a result of military activity.” 

The Brian Avery shooting: When will we realise that there can't be this many "accidents"?

Nigel Parry 5 April 2003



On 5 April 2003, Israeli troops in Jenin shot International Solidarity Movement activist Brian Avery. Avery, a 24-year-old American from Albuquerque, New Mexico experienced serious wounds to his face after Israeli troops shot at him with heavy machine gun fire from an armoured personnel carrier. In this coverage trend, EI co-founder Nigel Parry examines some of the misrepresentations in initial reports, and lists what we do know, uncomfortable facts which would seem to preclude the event being an ‘accident’. “For those of us who have lived as eyewitnesses in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, it is not news that Israeli troops regularly shoot at people without there being clashes or any threat to the soldier. This is one of the consequences of maintaining a military occupation for over one-third of a century, the dehumanisation of the occupied people by the occupying army. Increasingly during the Intifada, we have observed that internationals have been targeted by the Israeli army.” 

Photostory: Israeli bulldozer driver murders American peace activist

Nigel Parry and Arjan El Fassed 16 March 2003

On 16 March 2003 in Rafah, occupied Gaza, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver. Rachel was in Gaza opposing the bulldozing of a Palestinian home as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement. Photos clearly show she was well marked, had a megaphone, and posed no threat to the bulldozer driver. “This is a regrettable accident,” Israeli Defence Forces [sic] spokesman Captain Jacob Dallal was reported as saying in Ha’aretz newspaper. “We are dealing with a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly, putting everyone in danger.” 

US media ignore Sharon's embrace of ethnic cleansers in new Israeli cabinet

Ali Abunimah, Michael F. Brown and Nigel Parry 3 March 2003



The inclusion in the new Israeli government of the racist National Union, which openly calls for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, received muted coverage in the US media and passed largely without comment. EI co-founders Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry, and regular EI contributor Michael Brown analyse how the US media mishandled the story in this coverage trend. 

Photo of the Day

Nigel Parry 15 February 2003

Photo of the Day is a BNN feature which offers a photograph on a day, and calls it “Photo of the Day”. This is not to imply that this is a regular feature, nor that this photo is truly the mother of all photos for the day in question. Usual disclaimers apply. 

Famous comedian Jackie Mason incites genocide of Palestinians

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry 6 February 2003



World-renowned American stand-up comedian Jackie Mason has published an astonishing demand that Israel threaten the Palestinian people with genocide. Mason and co-author Raoul Felder wrote: “We have paralyzed ourselves by our sickening fear of World Opinion, which is why we find it impossible to face one simple fact: We will never win this war unless we immediately threaten to drive every Arab out of Israel if the killing doesn’t stop”. EI calls on activists to respond. 

Israeli security forces kidnap Jaggi Singh

Nigel Parry 8 January 2003

Canadian activist Jaggi Singh traveled to Palestine on December 14th to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation and participate in the activities of the International Solidarity Movement. On his arrival he was banned by an Israeli court from entering the occupied territories, an edict he defied on the grounds that it “normalized Israel’s occupation” of these lands. On January 8th, while arriving for a pre-arranged meeting with a friend in West Jerusalem, Singh was bundled into a car by three Israelis in plain clothes. Nigel Parry reports.