03/11/2026
KNOW is thrilled to announce that we will welcome internationally acclaimed journalist and co-founder of the Electronicintifada, Ali Abunimah, to Kalamazoo on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Ali will speak at Kanley Chapel on WMU's campus at 6 p.m. and the event is free and open to the public.
Ali Abunimah is a Palestinian-American journalist, author, and leading voice for Palestinian rights. He is the co-founder and executive director of The Electronic Intifada, an independent news platform he helped launch in 2001 to provide in-depth reporting and analysis on Palestine and the Middle East from a perspective often excluded by mainstream media.
He is the author of influential books including One Country and The Battle for Justice in Palestine, the latter of which won the Palestine Book Award for its critical examination of the Israeli occupation and prospects for justice. He has also contributed to major publications and served as a fellow and board member in respected advocacy and community organizations. Abunimah’s work is exemplary of his lifelong commitment to journalism, human rights, and challenging powerful systems that limit open debate about justice, liberation, and self-determination.
In January 2025, Abunimah was arrested by Swiss authorities in Zurich just days before a planned public speech on Palestinian rights. He was held for three days without formal charges and then deported — an incident condemned by United Nations experts and human rights advocates as a serious threat to freedom of expression and political speech. Critics, including independent investigators, later reported that political interference and pressure from pro-Israel security officials played a role in his detention, raising serious concerns about censorship and the suppression of dissenting voices in Europe. Ali was awarded damages this week be the Federal Court of Switzerland who found the charges to be without merit and in violation of procedural rights.
