The Electronic Intifada

The Electronic Intifada is an English-language online news and commentary publication focused on Israel–Palestine, Palestinian rights, the occupation, Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, and the international political and media environment surrounding the conflict. Its editorial perspective is explicitly Palestinian, distinguishing it from general-interest news organizations that present themselves as neutral or from outlets primarily aligned with Israeli government or advocacy narratives. The publication was founded in February 2001 by Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King, and Nigel Parry, during the early period of the Second Intifada. It emerged as part of the expanding internet-based media environment in which activists, journalists, researchers, and civil-society organizations sought to document events that they believed were underreported or framed inadequately by established international media. From its beginning, the site combined news reporting with analysis, opinion, interviews, photography, human-rights documentation, and media criticism. The Electronic Intifada is published by the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its audience is international rather than confined to the United States or the Palestinian territories. The site’s work is generally aimed at readers seeking Palestinian accounts of military operations, settlement policy, checkpoints, arrests, demolitions, displacement, humanitarian conditions, diplomacy, boycott campaigns, and the politics of media representation. It has also served as a source for journalists, researchers, campaigners, and readers following developments in the region. The publication has attracted both positive and negative assessments. Supporters and sympathetic commentators have described it as a professional and influential source of Palestinian reporting, particularly where mainstream outlets were considered slow or insufficiently attentive to Palestinian testimony. Critics have characterized it as advocacy journalism, ideological media, or propaganda because of its strongly pro-Palestinian editorial line and opposition to Israeli state policies. The publication’s work has consequently been part of wider disputes over the boundaries between journalism, political advocacy, human-rights documentation, and media activism. Several episodes increased its visibility beyond routine reporting. In 2008, it published emails connected with a Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America campaign concerning editing of Israel-related Wikipedia entries. In 2010 and 2011, its relationship with Dutch development organization ICCO became the subject of a public funding dispute after criticism from NGO Monitor and intervention by Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal. ICCO ultimately maintained its policy after discussion with the minister. In 2018, The Electronic Intifada published a leaked version of The Lobby, a documentary concerning pro-Israel political influence in the United States, after Al Jazeera decided not to broadcast it. The Electronic Intifada remains identifiable as a specialist digital publication rather than a general news conglomerate. Its core product is its continuously updated website, supported by written reporting, investigative material, commentary, and multimedia or documentary-related content. It does not appear to be a publicly listed company, and no public ticker or conventional commercial parent group is identified in the available reference material.

The Electronic Intifada was established in February 2001 by Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King, and Nigel Parry. Its creation coincided with the Second Intifada and with the rapid growth of online publishing as an alternative channel for conflict reporting. The founders sought to provide sustained coverage of Palestinian experiences and political claims at a time when much international reporting was viewed by supporters as episodic, overly dependent on official sources, or insufficiently attentive to the effects of occupation and military force on Palestinian civilians. The publication developed as a specialist digital outlet rather than a conventional newspaper. Its coverage has included daily and feature reporting, interviews, commentary, photography, documentation of alleged human-rights abuses, and analysis of international diplomacy and media framing. The site has addressed events in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Israel, Lebanon, and Palestinian refugee communities, while also examining Western political institutions, advocacy organizations, journalists, and academic or cultural debates related to Israel and Palestine. The Electronic Intifada is published by the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization. Its international readership has included activists, researchers, journalists, and people seeking Palestinian-oriented accounts of the conflict. Various commentators have treated it as an example of new Arab and Palestinian media, while others have emphasized that its political perspective limits its usefulness as a neutral or mainstream news source. These competing descriptions are central to the publication’s public identity: it presents itself as a source of reporting and analysis centered on Palestinian rights, whereas critics place it within the broader ecosystem of political advocacy and media activism. In April 2008, the site published emails linked to a campaign by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America concerning Wikipedia articles on Israel. The disclosure became significant because Wikipedia administrators later sanctioned several participating editors and concluded that covert ideological coordination conflicted with the encyclopedia’s open-editing model. The episode illustrated The Electronic Intifada’s interest in the politics of information production beyond conventional newsroom reporting. A more sustained controversy developed in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. NGO Monitor criticized the Dutch Interchurch Organisation for Development Cooperation, known as ICCO, for supporting The Electronic Intifada. The criticism included allegations concerning antisemitism, comparisons between Israeli policy and Nazi Germany, and the publication’s support for boycotts. ICCO defended its support and described the publication as an important source on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal publicly indicated that the issue could affect his view of future government support for ICCO, while civil-society organizations and academics criticized what they regarded as political pressure on an independent development organization. ICCO ultimately decided not to change its policy. In 2018, The Electronic Intifada published a leaked version of The Lobby after Al Jazeera decided not to broadcast the documentary. This reinforced the site’s role as a distribution outlet for contentious material concerning pro-Israel political influence in the United States. Over time, assessments of the publication have remained polarized. Supportive observers have praised its speed, professionalism, and Palestinian-centered reporting; critical observers have described it as partisan or propagandistic. The publication continues to operate as a nonprofit online media brand focused on Israel–Palestine and related political, legal, humanitarian, and media issues.

• 2018

  Leaked documentary published

  [1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  The Electronic Intifada posted a leaked version of Al Jazeera’s documentary The Lobby after the broadcaster decided not to air it.

• 2011

  ICCO retains its support policy

  [1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  ICCO decided not to change its policy after discussions with the Dutch foreign minister, despite continuing political criticism.

• 2010

  Dutch funding controversy begins

  [1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  NGO Monitor challenged ICCO’s financial support for The Electronic Intifada, triggering a public dispute involving Dutch officials and civil-society organizations.

• 2008

  CAMERA-related Wikipedia emails published

  [1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  The site published emails concerning a coordinated effort to influence Israel-related Wikipedia entries; Wikipedia administrators subsequently sanctioned several editors connected with the campaign.

• 2001

  Publication founded

  [1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King, and Nigel Parry founded The Electronic Intifada during the Second Intifada as an online publication centered on Palestinian perspectives.

Independent nonprofit digital media with an explicitly pro-Palestinian editorial perspective, focused on reporting, analysis, advocacy-related documentation, and criticism of Israeli policies and international media coverage.

• Online publication · 2001

  The Electronic Intifada website

  The publication’s principal offering is its website, which provides English-language reporting and commentary on Israel–Palestine. It combines current news with interviews, analysis, opinion, photography, human-rights documentation, and criticism of international media and political institutions. Its editorial approach is explicitly Palestinian in perspective, and its intended readership is international.

• Investigative journalism

  Investigative and documentary materials

  The site has also distributed investigative material and contentious documentary content, including leaked communications and a leaked version of The Lobby. These materials extend its role beyond routine news publication into media scrutiny, political investigation, and advocacy-oriented documentation.

• 2010

  ICCO funding controversy

  NGO Monitor accused Dutch development organization ICCO of improperly supporting The Electronic Intifada and raised allegations concerning antisemitism and boycott advocacy. ICCO rejected the characterization and defended the publication’s relevance to documenting human-rights and humanitarian-law issues. The dispute led to intervention and public warnings from Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, while other civil-society and academic voices criticized the pressure placed on ICCO.

  Source

Read more

• 2011

  ICCO keeps its support policyStrategy

  Background

  ICCO faced criticism and political pressure over financial support for The Electronic Intifada, including allegations that the publication promoted antisemitism or anti-Israel advocacy.

  Action taken

  After discussions with the Dutch foreign minister, ICCO decided not to change its policy.

  Aftermath

  The decision preserved ICCO’s stated support while the controversy continued to prompt debate about donor independence, boycott advocacy, and government influence over civil-society funding.

  Source

• 2018

  The Electronic Intifada publishes a leaked version of The Lobby[1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  After Al Jazeera chose not to broadcast its documentary The Lobby, The Electronic Intifada published a leaked version online. The documentary examined pro-Israel political influence and lobbying in the United States.

• 2008

  The Electronic Intifada publishes emails concerning a Wikipedia editing campaign[1]The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The publication reported on and published emails associated with a Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America campaign involving Israel-related Wikipedia entries. Wikipedia administrators later sanctioned several editors involved in the campaign, citing concerns about covert, coordinated editing.

1. 1The Electronic Intifadaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Electronic Intifada official websiteelectronicintifada.net