Europe has emerged as a protagonist in this story, as refugees from Syria attempt to escape civil war and Islamic State group brutality. Member countries are reluctantly offering refuge, while others are constructing fences to prevent families from exercising their right to seek asylum. The European narrative of influx and escalating statistics tends to be a recurring…
Tag: Palestine
BOOK REVIEW: Rest In My Shade
There is always a time between the concepts of the present and forever which is inscribed in our remembrance. It is the beauty of memory which enables us to transcend and live within this truth. “Rest in My Shade” (Interlink Books, 2018) explores this reality through an illustrated poem about roots and Palestinian collective memory….
BOOK REVIEW: Hamas and the Media – politics and strategy
Wael Abdelal’s informative treatise, “Hamas and the Media: politics and strategy” draws upon the issue of counter-hegemony to portray the relevance and importance of resistance media, in this case, the role which the media has played to further the politics of Hamas. The counter-hegemonic narrative is paramount in this study. As the author describes, the…
Seeking protection for the Palestinians at the UN empowers the criminals
The debate on whether Palestinians should be granted international protection continues. Adalah’s November 2018 Report to the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 Protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territories says that, since Israel “failed to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for the violation of such serious crimes”, thus upholding impunity, there is a…
BOOK REVIEW: The Palestinian Novel from 1948 to the present
Bashir Abu-Manneh’s detailed study “The Palestinian novel: From 1948 to the present” (Cambridge University Press, 2016) combines the historical processes of Palestinian memory and postcolonial and literary theory in a manner which brings the various narratives and experiences of Palestinians to the fore. There is a unifying factor identified by the author – dispossession –…
BOOK REVIEW: Mahmoud Darwish. Literature and the politics of Palestinian identity
Far from accentuating the glorification that is synonymous with Mahmoud Darwish and his beautiful poetry, the new biography “Mahmoud Darwish: literature and the politics of Palestinian identity” by Muna Abu Eid (I.B. Tauris, 2016) is a competent exercise in revealing the intricacies of Palestinian collective memory combined with the complex persona of the man himself….
Italy’s Salvini said what the international community knows it can’t say: ‘Support Israel’
It is no secret that the right wing has appropriated and manipulated the definition of “peace” in today’s poisonous political climate. Peace is now synonymous with power, and little is being done to challenge this notion on a political level, to the point that one can speak of collusion between the right wing and the…
The Farce of Arab Humanitarian Aid in Palestine
In recent months, Gaza’s humanitarian situation has been under intense, albeit useless scrutiny. There is no disagreement that deprivation has reached unprecedented levels. Yet this consensus was also the product of an international effort that supports the Palestinian Authority (PA) regaining complete control over Gaza. In the words of UN Special Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick, the PA “would…
Return – Gaza Rises from Our Hands to Reclaim Its History
Looking inwards is like following the rhythm of a wave caressing Gaza’s shores. It spills over sand and rocks, leaving part of its itinerary to mingle with the imprints of feet that yearn to acquaint themselves with land beyond the undeclared borders. At some point, I believe, our eyes meet. Turning inwards, looking outwards, while…
BOOK REVIEW:White City Black City. Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa
The interlinked histories of Jaffa and Tel Aviv are dissected and analysed diligently in Sharon Rotbard’s White City Black City: Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa (Pluto Press 2015). Colonial narratives have stipulated the supremacy of Tel Aviv’s recent history, demonstrating how geography can be altered by history, namely through both conservation and…
RAMONA WADI 