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Electronic Intifada

Website:

electronicintifada.net
Location:

Chicago, IL
Type:

Pro-Palestinian activist group
Formation:

2001
Executive Director:

Ali Abunimah

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Electronic Intifada is a radical pro-Palestinian online publication that publishes Palestinian-related news and opinion editorials promoting Palestinian nationalism. It is a sponsored program service of the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society (MECCS). 1 2

Electronic Intifada has amassed a large social media following, most notably through its executive director Ali Abunimah. 3 4 Abunimah has been the center of controversy for vehemently anti-Israel social media posts and his detention by Swiss authorities in January 2025. 5 6

Background

The Electronic Intifada was founded in February 2001 as an online resource for pro-Palestinian media analysis and activism. The four original co-founders of Electronic Intifada were Ali Abunimah, Arjan El Fassed, Laurie King, and Nigel Parry. Since its founding, the publication has expanded its scope to focus on producing original reporting from within the Palestinian territories. 1

Activities and Influence

The Electronic Intifada publishes news articles and opinion editorials that seek to provide a pro-Palestinian perspective on events that occur within the Palestinian territories and Israeli-Palestinian relations. 1 7

The Electronic Intifada criticizes Democratic and Republican leaders for their support for Israel. The publication has criticized President Donald Trump for what it considers his threats to ethnically cleanse Gaza. The piece compared President Trump’s comments to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s. 8 Similarly, the Electronic Intifada criticized former President Joe Biden’s policy toward Gaza, which the publication called genocide, and reported on a 2023 lawsuit against the Biden administration for “aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza.” 9 10

Electronic Intifada has been endorsed by other pro-Palestinian media outlets and nonprofit organizations, including the Palestinian American Council, which promotes the Electronic Intifada as a reliable source for Palestinian news. 11 The Jerusalem Fund, a community advocacy group that claims to contribute to “the movement for Palestinian liberation” through culture, education and humanitarian support, also promotes several Electronic Intifada articles on its website. 12

The Electronic Intifada has amassed a large social media following, with over 350,000 Facebook followers, over 265,000 X followers, and over 245,000 YouTube followers. The group uses YouTube to publish Palestinian stories and livestreams. 13 14 3

Parent Organization

The Electronic Intifada is a “program service” of the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that promotes pro-Palestinian media and art. 2 The other major projects of MECCS are the Palestine Film Festivals in Boston and Chicago, both of which are longstanding film festivals that screen pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel films. 15 16

Leadership

Ali Abunimah is the co-founder and executive director of the Electronic Intifada, and the president of the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society (MECCS). 17 18 He is the author of The Battle for Justice in Palestine and One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse, and he wrote the foreword to Against Apartheid: The Case for Boycotting Israeli Universities. Abunimah graduated from Princeton University and the University of Chicago and is a frequent speaker and commentator on the Middle East, contributing regularly to numerous publications. 19

Abunimah has a history of posting anti-Israel messages to social media. On March 8, 2024, Abunimah posted on Twitter, “Zionism and Zionists are evil.” 5 On October 25, 2010, Ali Abunimah posted, “Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.” 20 Abunimah has over 250,000 followers on Twitter/X. 4

In 2024, Abunimah mourned the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran. Abunimah posted and reposted messages describing Haniyeh as a “martyr.” He also posted a quote from Haniyeh endorsing assassinations as a political tool for making Hamas stronger. 21 Abunimah also predicted that Haniyeh’s death would strengthen the Palestinians and lead to Israel’s destruction, stating “Zionism will set the whole world on fire rather than let the Palestinian people live and be free.” 22 23 In January 2025, El Abunimah was detained and held for three days by Swiss authorities before being deported. Abunimah claimed he was detained for his advocacy for Palestinians. Abunimah was arrested in Zurich on the Saturday before he was set to deliver a speech. The Reuters news agency reported the next day that the Swiss police cited an entry ban and other measures under the country’s immigration law as the reason for Abunimah’s arrest. 6 24 25  On February 20, 2025, Abunimah posted an update to X/Twitter in which he claimed his lawyers obtained evidence proving Swiss authorities knew they had no justification for his arrest. 26

Finances

As a project of the Middle East Cultural and Charitable Society, the Electronic Intifada’s financial records are published under MECCS’s tax returns. In 2023, MECCS reported $746,243 in total revenue, $715,439 in total expenses, and $845,888 in total assets. 27

In 2009, Electronic Intifada received a $2,500 cash grant from the Middle East Children’s Alliance. 28 Between 2020 and 2023, Electronic Intifada received a total of $402,200 in grants from the Lannan Foundation. 29 30 31 32

References

  1. “About The Electronic Intifada.” Electronic Intifada. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/content/about-electronic-intifada/10159
  2. “Donate to support the work of the Electronic Intifada.” Electronic Intifada. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/content/donate-support-work-electronic-intifada/4
  3. “Electronic Intifada.” YouTube. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/user/electronicIntifada
  4. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah).” X. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://x.com/AliAbunimah
  5. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” X. March 8, 2024. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://x.com/AliAbunimah/status/1766253893162315894
  6. “Switzerland releases, deports Palestinian American journalist Ali Abunimah.” Al-Jazeera. January 28, 2025. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/28/switzerland-releases-deports-palestinian-american-journalist-ali-abunimah
  7. “Opinion.” Electronic Intifada. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/opinion
  8. Bresheeth-Žabner, Haim. “Trump’s dangerous musings must ignite global resistance.” Electronic Intifada. February 13, 2025. Accessed February 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/content/trumps-dangerous-musings-must-ignite-global-resistance/50393
  9. Nassar, Tamara. “‘Genocide Joe’ sets the tone for US election year.” Electronic Intifada. February 10, 2024. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/tamara-nassar/genocide-joe-sets-tone-us-election-year
  10. Murphy, Maureen Clare. “Palestinians sue Biden to stop Gaza genocide.” Electronic Intifada. November 15, 2023. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/palestinians-sue-biden-stop-gaza-genocide
  11. “Links.” Palestinian American Council. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.pac-usa.org/links.htm
  12. “Search Results for: electronic intifada.” Jerusalem Fund. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://thejerusalemfund.org/?s=electronic+intifada
  13. “Electronic Intifada.” Facebook. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/electronicintifada/
  14. “Intifada (@intifada).” X. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://x.com/intifada
  15. “About.” Boston Palestine Film Festival. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://bostonpalestinefilmfest.org/about/
  16. “About.” Palestine Film Fest. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://www.palestinefilmfest.com/about
  17. “The Electronic Intifada Team.” Electronic Intifada. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/content/electronic-intifada-team/8
  18. “Middle East Cultural And Charitable Society – 2022 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43105608/202323189349315422/full
  19. “Bios – Ali Abunimah.” Lannan Foundation. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://lannan.org/bios/ali-abunimah
  20. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” “Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.” X. October 25, 2010.  https://x.com/AliAbunimah/status/28726521563
  21. Mauro, Ryan. “Over 20 U.S. Groups Mourn Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh.” Capital Research Center. July 31, 2024. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/over-20-u-s-groups-mourn-hamas-leader-ismail-haniyeh/
  22. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” X. July 30, 2024. Accessed March 2, 2025.  https://mobile.x.com/AliAbunimah/status/1818492225052872722
  23. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” X. July 30, 2024. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://mobile.x.com/AliAbunimah/status/1818495494097694885
  24. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” X. January 27, 2025. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://x.com/AliAbunimah/status/1883973272695627992
  25. Winstanley, Asa. “Ali Abunimah reveals how he was ambushed by Swiss police.” Electronic Intifada. January 29, 2025. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/ali-abunimah-reveals-how-he-was-ambushed-swiss-police
  26. “Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah), Post.” X. February 20, 2025. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://x.com/AliAbunimah/status/1892591996629332286
  27.  “Middle East Cultural And Charitable Society – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/43105608/202423209349303477/IRS990
  28.  “Middle East Childrens Alliance – 2009 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/943074600/2011_03_EO%2F94-3074600_990_201006
  29. “Lannan Foundation – 2020 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366062451/202142519349101154/IRS990PF
  30. “Lannan Foundation – 2021 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366062451/202231819349100923/IRS990PF
  31. “Lannan Foundation – 2022 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366062451/202341329349103664/IRS990PF
  32. “Lannan Foundation – 2023 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 2, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/366062451/202421729349101112/IRS990PF
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Electronic Intifada


Chicago, IL