{{short description|Palestinian-American journalist|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{use dmy dates |date=June 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Ali Abunimah | image = Ali_Abunimah.png | alt = | caption = Abunimah in 2014 | birth_name = Ali Hasan Abunimah | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|12|29}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., United States | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = Executive Director of Electronic Intifada | notable_works = The Battle for Justice in Palestine (2014) | education = Princeton University, University of Chicago | occupation = Journalist, activist }}
thumb|right|Ali Abunimah speaks at the Palestine Solidarity Conference in Stuttgart.
'''Ali Hasan Abunimah''' ({{langx|ar|علي حسن أبو نعمة}}, <small>Arabic:</small> {{IPA|ar|ˈʕali ˈħasan abuˈnɪʕme|}}; born December 29, 1971) is a Palestinian-American journalist who advocates a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.<ref name="Boycott Israel Movement">{{cite web |first=Naomi |last=Zeveloff |url=http://forward.com/articles/152716/lightning-rod-of-the-boycott-israel-movement/?p=all |title=Lightning Rod of the Boycott Israel Movement |website=The Forward |date=16 March 2012 |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> A resident of Chicago who contributes regularly to publications such as the ''Chicago Tribune'' and the ''Los Angeles Times'', he has served as the vice-president on the board of directors of the Arab American Action Network, is a fellow at the Palestine Center,<ref>{{cite web |first=Ali |last=Abunimah |url=http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/13/obamas-ambiguity/ |title=ABUNIMAH: Obama's ambiguity, What it reveals about Mideast 'peace' |website=The Washington Times |date=13 November 2008 |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> and is the executive director and a co-founder of ''The Electronic Intifada'' website.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://electronicintifada.net/content/about-electronic-intifada/10159 |title=About the Electronic Intifada |website=Electronic Intifada |date=9 July 2011 |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> He has appeared on many television discussion programs on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and other networks, and in a number of documentaries about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including ''Collecting Stories from Exile: Chicago Palestinians Remember 1948'' (1999).<ref name="AFSC Profile">{{cite web |url=https://afsc.org/story/ali-abunimah |title='Ali Abunimah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731084019/https://afsc.org/story/ali-abunimah |archive-date=2021-07-31 |website=American Friends Service Committee |date=30 March 2010}}</ref> In 2014, he published ''The Battle for Justice in Palestine,'' which won the Palestine Book Award General Prize.
==Early life and education== Born in Washington, D.C., Abunimah spent his early years in the United Kingdom and Belgium before returning to the United States to attend college.<ref name="AFSC Profile"/> His mother is originally from the village of Lifta, now part of Israel, but she became a refugee in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. His father is from the village of Battir, now in the West Bank, and is a former Jordanian diplomat who served as ambassador to the United Nations.<ref>{{citation |first=Ali |last=Abunimah |title=Forward}} In {{cite book |first=Rich |last=Wiles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LeSqqoQbA_QC&pg=PT8 |title=Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |date=2010 |page=8ff|isbn=978-1-59797-591-9 }}</ref> According to his friend Max Blumenthal, in an article for the ''Mondoweiss'' website, part of the Abunimah family members say their forefathers came from Spain to Palestine following the fall of Granada in 1492.<ref>{{cite web |author=Blumenthal, Max |url=http://mondoweiss.net/2015/05/resisted-oppression-clutched |title=Spanish Jews resisted oppression in tunnels and, exiled, clutched their keys |website=Mondoweiss |date=2 May 2015 |access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>
Abunimah completed his undergraduate and master's degrees in politics at Princeton University and the University of Chicago.<ref name="Boycott Israel Movement" /> He began participating in activism while at Princeton. While at the University of Chicago, his work as a researcher for a community-based organization resulted in encounters with that city's Arab community, with which he became actively involved. This in turn brought him in contact with the Arab American Action Network, of which he would later serve as vice president and of which he remains a board member.<ref name="AFSC Profile" />
==Published work== ===''Electronic Intifada''=== Abunimah is the executive director and one of the founders of ''The Electronic Intifada'' website, a non-profit online publication which covers the Israeli–Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian perspective, which was established in 2001.<ref name="shor">{{cite web |date=22 May 2013 |script-title=ar: أهداف سويف وإياد البرغوثي يشاركان في احتفالية فلسطين للأدب |trans-title='Ahdaf Soueif and Iyad Barghouti Participate in the Palestine Festival of Literature |url=http://shorouknews.com/news/view.aspx?cdate=22052013&id=fd3c536c-8f83-498d-bee7-01573f1f38f2 |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Shorouk News |language=ar}}</ref> He regularly contributes articles to the site.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-22 |title=Ali Abunimah |url=https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=The Electronic Intifada |language=en}}</ref>
During the Gaza war, Abunimah has co-hosted a live stream program,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Electronic Intifada |url=https://www.youtube.com/@TheElectronicIntifada/streams |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=YouTube |language=en}}</ref> on which he interviewed Refaat Alareer before his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abulhawa |first=Susan |date=2024-12-06 |title=Susan Abulhawa Remembers Refaat Alareer: Poet, Teacher, Husband, Father |url=https://lithub.com/susan-abulhawa-remembers-refaat-alareer-poet-teacher-husband-father/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestinians mourn poet Refaat Alareer killed in Israeli air strike |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/palestinian-people-mourn-the-death-of-refaat-alareer |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-27 |title='Refaat is immortal': On learning from Dr. Refaat Alareer |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/refaat-is-immortal-on-learning-from-dr-refaat-alareer/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-14 |title=Dr. Refaat Alareer's Memory: Let It Be a Tale... |url=https://www.wrmea.org/north-america/dr.-refaat-alareers-memory-let-it-be-a-tale.html |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=WRMEA |language=en-gb}}</ref>
=== ''One Country'' === Abunimah wrote the book ''One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse'', which proposes to revive the idea of one state shared by two peoples. Booklist wrote that "Abunimah's approach, inspired by ongoing reconciliation processes in South Africa (and, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland), is fresh, energetic, and ultimately optimistic that those tired of violence will eventually gravitate toward an inclusive, unified Israel." ''The International Socialist Review'' called the book "refreshing" and concluded that "In the struggle for liberation, we must never lose sight of what we are ultimately fighting for, no matter how far off it may seem. When many others have moved away from this discussion, Ali Abunimah's book refocuses it on the right goal, even if he's not clear about the path from here to there."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kosuth |first=Dennis |date=2007 |title=The one-state solution |url=http://www.isreview.org/issues/52/rev-onestate.shtml |url-status=dead |journal=International Socialist Review |issue=52 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921221302/https://isreview.org/issues/52/rev-onestate.shtml |archive-date=2020-09-21 |access-date=2013-12-03}}</ref> The ''Arab Studies Journal'', noting that "any book proposing a one-state solution to the Zionist-Palestinian conflict" faces major challenges, such as "how to propose a vision of a shared future without papering over the history of injustice" and "how to instill hope without succumbing to naivete," said that Abuminah "navigates these challenges admirably."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mikel |first1=Issa |year=2007 |title=One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse |journal=Arab Studies Journal |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=100–103 |jstor=27934008}}</ref>
=== ''The Battle for Justice in Palestine'' === In May 2014, Abunimah published another book, ''The Battle for Justice in Palestine,'' which analyzes Israel's propaganda initiatives, emphasizes solidarity activism, and connects the struggles in Palestine to those of other oppressed groups across the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0kaBQAAQBAJ |title=The Battle for Justice in Palestine |date=2014-03-25 |publisher=Haymarket Books |isbn=978-1-60846-324-4 |language=en}}</ref> This book was the 2014 winner of the Palestine Book Award General Prize.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Battle for Justice in Palestine |url=https://www.palestinebookawards.com/reviews/item/the-battle-for-justice-in-palestine-2 |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Palestine Book Awards |language=en-gb}}</ref>
=== Other writing === In response to the 2008–2009 Gaza War Abunimah wrote an article in ''The Guardian'' headlined: "We have no words left".<ref>{{cite news |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=2008-12-29 |title=We have no words left |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/israel-gaza-attack-palestinian-reaction |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104022043/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/29/israel-gaza-attack-palestinian-reaction |archivedate=4 January 2009 |accessdate=1 June 2024 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In the article, Abunimah commented about the end of the truce: "But what is Israel's idea of a truce? It is very simple: Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonise their land" and "any act of resistance including the peaceful protests against the apartheid wall in the West Bank is always met by Israeli bullets and bombs. There are no rockets launched at Israel from the West Bank, and yet Israel's extrajudicial killings, land theft, settler pogroms and kidnappings never stopped for a day during the truce."
Articles by Abunimah on the Palestinian issue have been published by ''The New York Times'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Guardian'', ''Al Jazeera'' and other publications.<ref name="shor" />
==Activism== Abunimah played a key role in the Gaza Freedom March in 2009, a joint effort with Codepink to bring humanitarian relief to Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.<ref name="democracynow.org">{{cite web |date=Dec 30, 2009 |title=Gaza Freedom March Protests Continue in Cairo, Organizers Say Egypt Offer to Allow 100 into Gaza Not Sufficient |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/30/cairo_protests |work=Democracy Now}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ali Abunimah on the Gaza Freedom March |url=https://archive.org/details/AliAbunimahOnTheGazaFreedomMarch_443 |publisher=Arab Talk}}</ref>
In March 2012, Abunimah was among those Palestinian activists who signed a statement criticizing the views of Gilad Atzmon as racist and antisemitic. The signatories to the statement called for "''the disavowal of Atzmon by fellow Palestinian organizers, as well as Palestine solidarity activists, and allies of the Palestinian people''".<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-03-13 |title=Granting No Quarter: A Call for the Disavowal of the Racism and Antisemitism of Gilad Atzmon |url=http://uspcn.org/2012/03/13/granting-no-quarter-a-call-for-the-disavowal-of-the-racism-and-antisemitism-of-gilad-atzmon/ |accessdate=1 June 2024 |publisher=US Palestinian Community Network}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=2012-03-13 |title=Palestinian writers, activists disavow racism, anti-Semitism of Gilad Atzmon |url=http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/palestinian-writers-activists-disavow-racism-anti-semitism-gilad-atzmon |accessdate=1 June 2024 |website=Electronic Intifada}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ceren |first=Omri |date=2012-03-14 |title=Mearsheimer's Anti-Semitism Scandal |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/03/14/mearsheimer-anti-semitism-scandal/#more-787141 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316195814/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/03/14/mearsheimer-anti-semitism-scandal/#more-787141 |archive-date=16 March 2012 |accessdate=1 March 2013 |website=Commentary}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Walberg |first=Eric |date=5–11 April 2012 |title=Skinning the Palestinian cat |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2012/1092/fo2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217220239/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2012/1092/fo2.htm |archive-date=2012-12-17 |accessdate=1 March 2013 |newspaper=Al-Ahram Weekly}}</ref>
Debating Jonathan Tobin of ''Commentary'' on ''Democracy Now!'' in July 2012 about the legality of West Bank settlements, Abunimah argued that Israel's "violent settler colonial enterprise in the West Bank has no international legitimacy" and is "maintained through violence and a system of military tyranny and apartheid." He called the settlements "war crimes," described the IDF as "Israel's Jewish sectarian militia," and spoke of "the Jim Crow-like racism at the core of this Zionist ideology." In answer to Tobin's argument that a necessary first step toward agreement on settlements is Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist, Abunimah said: "How can Palestinians ever possibly recognize or give legitimacy to an entity that views their mere reproduction as human beings as a mortal threat?"<ref>{{cite web| title=WATCH: Ali Abunimah and Commentary's Jonathan Tobin debate Israel's settlements, Jim Crow on Democracy Now| work=Electronic Intifada| url=http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/watch-ali-abunimah-and-commentarys-jonathan-tobin-debate-israels-settlements-jim| date=2012-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-11 |title=Ali Abunimah KO's Jonathan Tobin in 'Democracy Now' debate |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/ali-abunimah-kos-jonathan-tobin-in-democracy-now-debate/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-11 |title=Are Israeli Settlements Legal? Electronic Intifada's Ali Abunimah vs. Commentary's Jonathan Tobin |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/11/are_israeli_settlements_legal_electronic_intifadas |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Democracy Now! |language=en}}</ref>
In 2013, Abunimah traveled to Gaza to speak about digital journalism at the Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-05-25 |title=PalFest Beginnings: Experiments in Translation, Laughter in Gaza |url=https://arablit.org/2013/05/26/palfest-beginnings-experiments-in-translation-laughter-in-gaza/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Qualey |first=M. Lynx |date=2013-07-05 |title=M. Lynx Qualey discusses the Palestine Festival of Literature |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/07/05/m-lynx-qualey-discusses-the-palestine-festival-of-literature-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250109020331/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/07/05/m-lynx-qualey-discusses-the-palestine-festival-of-literature-2/ |archive-date=2025-01-09 |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> Other speakers included China Miéville, Susan Abulhawa, and Jeremy Harding.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snaije |first=Olivia |date=2013-05-20 |title=Can a Literary Festival Supersede Politics? Tenacious PalFest Tries |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2013/05/can-a-literary-festival-supersede-politics-tenacious-palfest-tries/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Publishing Perspectives |language=en-US}}</ref> Although he had previously attempted to visit Gaza, this was his first time in the territory.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=MARQUARDT-BIGMAN |first=PETRA |date=2013-05-26 |title=Ali Abunimah goes to Gaza |url=https://www.jpost.com/blogs/the-warped-mirror/ali-abunimah-goes-to-gaza-364615 |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=2013-06-02 |title=Images of Gaza: A few places that caught my eye |url=https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/images-gaza-few-places-caught-my-eye |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Electronic Intifada |language=en}}</ref> In addition to attending the festival, he visited various locations in Gaza, including the Popular Committee for Refugees in the Maghazi refugee camp, farms in Khuza’a, and the al-Omari Mosque.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ar: وفد من جريدة الانتفاضة الالكترونية يزور اللجنة الشعبية للاجئين في مخيم المغازي |trans-title=A delegation from the newspaper Electronic Intifada visit the People's Committee of the refugees in the camp of Maghazi |url=http://www.mrpc.ps/ar/print-1967.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414012124/http://www.mrpc.ps/ar/print-1967.html |archive-date=2015-04-14 |access-date=2013-11-29 |work=MRPC |language=ar}}</ref>''<ref name=":1" />'' Abunimah posted about his journey on Twitter and ''Electronic Intifada.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=PalFest 2013 Report {{!}} PDF {{!}} Palestinians {{!}} Festival |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/159938202/PalFest-2013-Report |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=2013-05-30 |title=Yes, Gaza is still under siege |url=https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/yes-gaza-still-under-siege |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Electronic Intifada |language=en}}</ref>
===Arrest=== In January 2025, Abunimah was arrested by police while on a speaking tour in Zurich, Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 January 2025|title= Electronic Intifada executive director arrested in Switzerland|url= https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/electronic-intifada-executive-director-arrested-switzerland|website=Middle East Eye|access-date=18 April 2026}}</ref> His arrest was condemned by UN human rights experts and activists.<ref>{{cite web |title=UN experts decry arrest of pro-Palestinian American journalist in Switzerland |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-experts-decry-arrest-pro-palestinian-american-journalist-switzerland-2025-01-26/ |website=Reuters |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UN experts slam Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah's arrest in Switzerland |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/27/un-experts-slam-palestinian-journalist-ali-abunimahs-arrest-in-switzerland |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref> He was released and deported after three days of detention.<ref>{{cite web |title=Switzerland releases, deports Palestinian American journalist Ali Abunimah |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/28/switzerland-releases-deports-palestinian-american-journalist-ali-abunimah |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 January 2025}}</ref> The Swiss Action for Human Rights, a human rights organization in Switzerland, condemned his arrest, stating that it was a violation of "fundamental rights, of freedom of expression in Switzerland, and arbitrary discrimination and violence."<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 January 2026|title= Electronic Intifada co-founder Ali Abunimah arrested in Switzerland|url= https://www.newarab.com/news/electronic-intifada-co-founder-arrested-switzerland|website=The New Arab|access-date=18 April 2026}}</ref>
==Views==
=== Israel and Palestine === In 2009, Abunimah wrote an article entitled, "Israeli Jews and the one-state solution", covering some of the same arguments as he raised in his book, ''One Country''. Abunimah's position is that the two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has "no chance of being implemented" and has been superseded by a "''de facto'' binational state" under Israeli control. He supports the creation of a single democratic state, based on the equality of citizens and taking into account the legitimate concerns of Israel's Jewish population.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Israeli Jews and the one-state solution|url= https://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-jews-and-one-state-solution/8528|website=The Electronic Intifada|date=10 November 2009|last=Abunimah|first=Ali|access-date=18 April 2026|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240425203444/https://electronicintifada.net/content/israeli-jews-and-one-state-solution/8528 |archive-date=25 April 2024}}</ref>
The journalist Naomi Zeveloff has described Abunimah as "the leading American proponent of a one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which calls for a shared democratic state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. It is a state, in Abunimah's view, in which all residents of Israel and the territories it now occupies would enjoy equal rights and obligations. But in the eyes of his detractors, Abunimah's idea is tantamount to the destruction of the State of Israel, a proposal that would obliterate the Jewish character of the country in favor of majority Arab rule."<ref name="Boycott Israel Movement" />
Abunimah opposes Zionism, which he describes as "a dying project, in retreat and failing to find new recruits." He argues that Zionism's promotion of Jewish self-determination in Israel and Palestine's "intermixed population" has the effect of maintaining "a status quo in which Israeli Jews exercise power in perpetuity." Abunimah's position is that Palestinians should pursue coercive measures against Israel such as the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S.) movement.<ref name="Israel won't survive">{{cite web |last=Abunmiah |first=Ali |date=19 January 2009 |title=Why Israel won't survive |url=http://electronicintifada.net/content/why-israel-wont-survive/7999 |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Electronic Intifada}}</ref> "Ultimately, I believe," he wrote in July 2012, "the logic and inevitability of a single state will be accepted. As in South Africa and Northern Ireland, any just solution will involve a difficult and lengthy process of renegotiating political, economic and cultural relationships. But that is where the debate, unstoppably, is shifting."<ref name="newstate">{{cite web |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=18 July 2012 |title=When the facts change, the solution should too |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/world-affairs/2012/07/when-facts-change-solution-should-too |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=New Statesman}}</ref>
According to the ''Jerusalem Post'' he has compared Israel to Nazi Germany<ref name="TJP20101126">{{cite news |last=Weinthal |first=Benjamin |date=26 November 2010 |title=Dutch will look into NGO funding of anti-Semitic website |url=https://www.jpost.com/International/Dutch-will-look-into-NGO-funding-of-anti-Semitic-website |access-date=21 March 2020 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> In an article in the ''Electronic Intifada'', he cited comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany made by Gerald Kaufman.<ref name="Israel won't survive" /> In 2010, he tweeted that "Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit" and has also said "Zionism is one of the worst forms of anti-Semitism in existence today".<ref>{{cite news |last=Marquardt-Bigman |first=Petra |date=15 June 2014 |title=Anti-Israel Activists Thrilled by Abduction of Israeli Teens |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2014/06/15/supporting-terrorism-and-bigotry-at-the-electronic-intifada/ |access-date=21 March 2020 |work=The Algeiner}}</ref><ref name="TJP20101126" /> In his opinion, the Israeli press is comparable to ''Der Stürmer'' and IDF statements are the word "of a Nazi" and Gaza is a "ghetto for surplus non-Jews".<ref>{{cite news |last=Israel |first=David |date=May 20, 2019 |title=Report: Israeli Academics Tried to Kill German Anti-BDS Law |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/news/global/europe/germany/report-israeli-academics-tried-to-kill-german-anti-bds-law/2019/05/20/ |access-date=May 29, 2021 |work=The Jewish Press}}</ref>
He has acknowledged the potential for anti-Jewish violence in Israel should a one-state solution be realized, stating in a Q&A at a 2009 conference at Hampshire College: "You can never have an absolute guarantee about what the future will be like. ... You cannot guarantee that if there was a one-state solution it wouldn't, it would be…the best scenario is if it's more in the direction of South Africa and Northern Ireland than Zimbabwe. But we couldn't rule out, you know, some disastrous situation, like Zimbabwe."<ref>{{cite web |date=26 November 2009 |title=Part 2: Q and A with Ali Abunimah: (BDS) Conference keynote speaker at Hampshire College |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAPQLXInwMs&NR=1 |publisher=WHYNotNews |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Abunimah |first=Ali |date=4 December 2009 |title=There is a tremendous struggle to be waged, to force Israeli introspection, and change |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/abunimah-there-is-a-tremendous-struggle-to-be-waged-that-will-force-israeli-introspection-and-change/ |access-date=1 June 2024 |website=Mondoweiss}}</ref>
Abunimah has given two theories about the strong relationship between the U.S. and Israel: first, he said Israel plays an important role in U.S. imperialism by allowing it to control the Middle East and their resources; second, he believes "there are powerful organizations and networks that consider support for Israel very important and they influence the politics of the United States through elections and contributions to political campaigns to make candidates adopt to Israel's position."<ref name="Role in US Elections">{{cite news |last=Aljamal |first=Yousef |date=17 January 2012 |title=CPDS: Gaza Youth Discuss Zionist Role in US Elections |url=http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17396 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124015346/http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17396 |archive-date=24 January 2012 |access-date=11 June 2012 |newspaper=The Palestine Chronicle}}</ref>
"The Arab-Zionist conflict did not begin in 1948 but rather long before it," Abunimah maintained in a 2009 lecture. It began, he said, "when the Zionists came to Palestine in the beginning of the last century, and was exacerbated with the appearance of the refugee problem." He made the following argument: "If for example the Jews returned to their original countries, those countries would be shocked, and those are their countries who exported them to Palestine. So how can these countries, most of which sing the praises of democracy and human rights, be silent about the right of return of the Palestinian people, the people and owners of the land, to their villages and cities?" He also claimed that "Zionism is strong, but it has not been renewed or rooted in the land of Palestine, and the Palestinians hold their land and identities dearly and are on their way to a majority."<ref>{{cite news |date=17 May 2009 |script-title=ar: علي ابو نعمة:الفلسطينينون ليس لديهم ارض ولكنهم شعب فريد عندهم دولتان |trans-title=Ali Abunimah: Palestinians do not have land, but the people of Israel have two |url=http://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2009/05/17/137920.html |access-date=1 June 2024 |work=Alwatan Voice |language=ar}}</ref>
=== Barack Obama === Abunimah met Barack Obama in 2004 when the latter was a member of the Illinois State Senate.<ref name=wsat>{{cite web| trans-title=Obama's views of the Middle East is still mysterious .. Pending the appointment of envoys to the region| work=AAWSAT| url=http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?issueno=10992&article=503793#.Ue656WSQeUx| access-date=2013-12-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203104844/http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?issueno=10992&article=503793#.Ue656WSQeUx| archive-date=2013-12-03| url-status=dead |language=ar |script-title=ar: نظرة أوباما للشرق الأوسط لا تزال غامضة.. بانتظار تعيين مبعوثيه للمنطقة}}</ref> Abunimah wrote in 2007 that he had met Obama around half a dozen times before Obama held elective office. The events were often at Chicago-based Arab-American and Palestinian events, including a 1998 fundraiser at which Edward Saïd was the keynote speaker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electronicintifada.net/content/how-barack-obama-learned-love-israel/6786|title=How Barack Obama learned to love Israel|first=Ali|last=Abunimah|date=March 3, 2007|website=The Electronic Intifada}}</ref> Abunimah accused Obama of having cut off his relationships with Arab Americans after his election to the U.S. Senate. "Obama said that he is sympathetic to the Palestinians," Abunimah has declared, "but I do not believe that. ... I believe that he is political and he does not sympathize with the Palestinians in light of his recent positions and actions. He said he was sympathetic to the Palestinians because he needed their votes in order to be elected."<ref name=wsat />
Abunimah strongly criticized Obama's approach to Mid-East affairs, writing that the president "entrenched" the policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, and has not contributed to "even the pretense of a serious peace effort."<ref>{{cite web |first=Ali |last=Abunimah |title='Israel resembles a failed state' [editorial] |website=Al Jazeera English |date=28 December 2009 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2009/12/28/israel-resembles-a-failed-state }}</ref> A 2007 article in New York's ''Jewish Week'' reported that Palestinian-American historian and Israel critic Rashid Khalidi held an Obama fundraiser in his home when Obama was running for the Senate, and quoted Abunimah as saying that Obama “convinced me he was very aware of the issues [and] critical of U.S. bias toward Israel and lack of sensitivity to Arabs....He was very supportive of U.S. pressure on Israel.'"<ref>{{cite news| last=Cohler-Esses| first=Larry| title=Obama Pivots Away From Dovish Past| work=The New York Jewish Week| date=Mar 9, 2007}}</ref>
Abunimah said on the TV and radio program ''Democracy Now!'' in 2008 that he had known Barack Obama "for many years as my state senator—when he used to attend events in the Palestinian community in Chicago all the time." Abunimah added that he had introduced Obama in 1999 at a "community fundraiser for the community center in Deheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. And that's just one example of how Barack Obama used to be very comfortable speaking up for and being associated with Palestinian rights and opposing the Israeli occupation," Abunimah said.<ref name=lexis>{{cite web| last=Adlerstein| first=Rabbi Yitzchok| title=Rosh Hashanas Global Message: Embrace Your Common Humanity or Perish| work=State News Service| date=Sep 3, 2010| url=http://www.lexis.com/research/retrieve?cc=&pushme=1&tmpFBSel=all&totaldocs=&taggedDocs=&toggleValue=&numDocsChked=0&prefFBSel=0&delformat=XCITE&fpDocs=&fpNodeId=&fpCiteReq=&expNewLead=0&brand=ldc&dedupeOption=2&_m=48ddf1014dd6aea8f56a23487801efb0&docnum=3&_fmtstr=FULL&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLzVztzSkAA&_md5=798b201b18c65c2f9e1f76b9479ed0cb&focBudTerms=&focBudSel=all}}</ref> In May 2012, Abunimah wrote that the United States under Obama was leading a campaign "to close every door to justice for Palestinians," and that his ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice is leading "a relentless anti-Palestinian crusade at the UN." He also wrote that "the Susan Rices and William Hagues of the world are not only silent about these crimes, but fully complicit in them," referring to the Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2012/5/7/slamming-the-door-to-justice-on-palestinians|title=Opinion: Slamming the door to justice|first=Ali|last=Abunimah|website=Al Jazeera |date=7 May 2012}}</ref>
==See also== * History of Palestinian journalism
==References== {{Reflist}} * ''One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict'' {{ISBN|978-0-8050-8034-6}}
==External links== *{{Twitter}} * [http://www.electronicintifada.net/ Electronic Intifada] Official Website * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205130259/http://www.abunimah.org/ Abunimah.org] Official Website * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090219001511/http://thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/223/pid/223 Palestine Center] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012110055/http://imeu.net/news/article003503.shtml Profile on Ali Abunimah at The Institute for Middle East Understanding] *[http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/1/security_for_everyone_not_just_settlers Ali Abunimah on Opening of US-Brokered Mideast Peace Talks] – video report by ''Democracy Now!'' * {{C-SPAN|85929}}
{{Authority control}} {{History of Palestinian journalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abunimah, Ali}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:American online journalists Category:American people of Palestinian descent Category:American journalists of Arab descent Category:American anti-Zionists Category:Activists from Washington, D.C. Category:Princeton University alumni Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:American activist journalists Category:American activists for Palestinian solidarity