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Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem PNN 6 Feb 2010 - I like to travel and when I travel, I like to have a guide book. Here in Jerusalem, that guide book is the Tanah, the Bible. This is how guide Asher Altshul likes to start his tours at the expansive City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. The site stretches along and down one of Jerusalem's hills, just outside the Old City.... My Father was a Freedom Fighter- a book review Uruknet February 3, 2010 - Ramzy Baroud’s "My Father Was A Freedom Fighter" is more than a book, it is actually a masterpiece. In an overwhelmingly evoking personal style Baroud manages to bring to light the history of the Palestinian people and their battle with Israel and Zionism. Through the story of the Baroud’s family the book outlines every event in... Zionism Laid Bare Kathleen Christison, CounterPunch 2/3/2010 A Review of Shahid Alam’s "Israeli Exceptionalism" The essential point of M. Shahid Alam’s book, Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism, comes clear upon opening the book to the inscription in the frontispiece. From the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi, the quote reads, “You have the light, but you have no humanity. Seek humanity, for that is the goal.” Alam, professor of economics at Northeastern University in Boston and a CounterPunch contributor, follows this with an explicit statement of his aims in the first paragraph of the preface. Asking and answering the obvious question, “Why is an economist writing a book on the geopolitics of Zionism?” he says that he “could have written a book about the economics of Zionism, the Israeli economy, or the economy of the West Bank and Gaza, but how would any of that have helped me to understand the cold logic and the deep passions that have driven Zionism?” Until recent years, the notion that Zionism was a benign, indeed a humanitarian, political movement designed for the noble purpose of creating a homeland and refuge for the world’s stateless, persecuted Jews was a virtually universal assumption. In the last few years, particularly since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada in 2000, as Israel’s harsh oppression of the Palestinians has become more widely known, a great many Israelis and friends of Israel have begun to distance themselves from and criticize Israel’s occupation policies, but they remain strong Zionists and have been at pains to propound the view that Zionism began well and has only lately been corrupted by the occupation. Alam demonstrates clearly, through voluminous evidence and a carefully argued analysis, that Zionism was never benign, never good—that from the very beginning, it operated according to a “cold logic” and, per Rumi, had “no humanity.” Except perhaps for Jews, which is where Israel’s and Zionism’s exceptionalism comes in. more.. e-mail Triumph of the Will Bernard Avishai, Palestine Note 2/1/2010 Imagine a state in Palestine to which the Jews of the world are gathered, but in which they have individual rights no greater than its Arab inhabitants. Imagine a country with no privileged religion: everyone goes to his or her house of prayer in freedom and peace. Imagine a state in which individual human rights are paramount; a state that is full of different languages, reflecting the cultural richness of its many immigrants. Imagine that such a state would have no army, but would depend for its peace and order on the Western powers. Imagine that this state called itself merely the "new society." A hydroelectric canal would join the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean. Imagine that, in such a society, an Arab citizen could say something like this: "Would you call a man or a robber who takes nothing from you but brings you something instead? The Jews have enriched us, why should we be angry with them? They dwell among us like brothers, why should we not love them? Our houses of worship stand side by side...our prayers, when they rise, mingle somewhere up above, and then continue on their way together until they appeared before our Father." Imagine a Jew adding: "Nothing on earth is perfect, not even our new society. But we are merely a society of citizens seeking to enjoy life through work and culture." A leftist fantasy? Bound to undermine Israel? Actually, this is more or less exactly the vision of the Jewish state set out in Theodore Herzl’s novel Old-New Land.(The dialogue is taken from the book verbatim; Herzl also wanted "athletic and rifle clubs" for once "pale, weak and timid" Jewish children.) Old-New Land’s famous epigraph, "Im tirzu, ein zu agaddah," "If you will it, it is no dream," almost immediately entered Zionist lore, though few Zionists at the time were so liberal and cosmopolitan that they were prepared for a vision in which Hebrew had been effaced. Nevertheless, when people invoke the phrase "Im tirzu, etc.," this is the dream Herzl supposed Jewish will would attach to. more.. e-mail 'More Than a Book: It's a Masterpiece': My Father Was a Freedom Fighter Palestine Chronicle: 3 Feb 2010 - By Gilad Atzmon – London Ramzy Baroud's 'My Father Was A Freedom Fighter' is more than a book, it is actually a masterpiece. In an overwhelmingly evoking personal style Baroud manages to bring to light the history of the Palestinian people and their battle with Israel and Zionism. Through the story of the Baroud’s family the book outlines every event in the history of the conflict and reflects on the way it transformed the Palestinian reality. The book is a heart breaking depressing story of the Baroud family’s journey from paradise to hell. It is a flight that starts in Beit Daras, a small pictorial village in the south of Palestine. It ends in a Gaza refugee camp. It is a tragic journey of a rural self-sufficient population that is driven into total dispossession, humiliation and absolute poverty. And yet, there is a beam of light along the book namely resistance: Ramzy’s father Mohammed, was a freedom fighter. He didn’t win a single war, not even a battle, yet, against all odds, in spite of his poverty and illness, he managed to educate his children and to plant hope in their young souls, to fuel Ramzy with fierceness, which along the years transformed the young man into a monumental inspirational writer and an icon of intellectual resistance. My Father Was A Freedom Fighter may be one of the saddest books ever written, yet, Baroud peppered it with his witty sarcastic humour. In between sobbing and laughter we come to intimately... A Review of Shahid Alam's "Israeli Exceptionalism" Zionism Laid Bare Uruknet February 3, 2010 - The essential point of M. Shahid Alam’s book, Israeli Exceptionalism: The Destabilizing Logic of Zionism, comes clear upon opening the book to the inscription in the frontispiece. From the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi, the quote reads, "You have the light, but you have no humanity. Seek humanity, for that is the goal." Alam, professor of... Palestine's impossible dream | Yousef Munayyer The Guardian 3 Feb 2010 - Lavish, unrealistic plans for Palestinian development are a dangerous alternative to the struggle for independence Recently I received a very impressive full-colour booklet printed on expensive paper advertising a development project. The ambitious plan is to... Against incredible odds Sally Bland, Jordan Times, Jordan Times 12/7/2009 Peaceful Resistance: Building a Palestinian University under Occupation, Gabi Baramki, London and New York: Pluto Press, 2010, pp. 219 Providing quality education for the next generation in a rapidly changing world is a challenge anyplace, but nowhere more so than in Palestine. Added to the usual academic demands are the problems of getting books past Israeli military censorship, holding classes despite the army surrounding the campus, getting students and staff past innumerable roadblocks so they can attend classes, retrieving them from prison, and completing the course of study despite arbitrary and prolonged closures. These are just some of the challenges described by Gabi Baramki in his book, “Peaceful Resistance,” in which he combines memoir with a history of Birzeit University. The combination comes quite naturally because Baramki has been involved with this most outstanding of Palestinian universities in one capacity or another for most of his life. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was a student at Birzeit Higher School established by the Nasir family in their home as an elementary and secondary boarding school. After obtaining his MA from the AUB, Baramki got a job in Birzeit’s new Junior College programme. By then, Palestine had been divided with the formation of Israel, and the West Bank was under Jordanian administration. Birzeit College was able to flourish commensurate with the great efforts exerted by its staff, but after the 1967 occupation, developing it into a full-fledged, four-year university, like every single advance in its programme or facilities, had to be fought for. In one of Israel’s more hostile acts, University President Hanna Nasir was deported; as vice president, Baramki assumed responsibility for the administration of the university. Despite many new restrictions, Birzeit University continued to advance. As Baramki writes, “By 1979 we had a flourishing campus, a growing network of supporters and great plans for academic expansion. In short, the future looked bright. We had no idea of the disasters that were just around the corner.” (p. 75) more.. e-mail Pro-Israel lobbies target Europe Electronic Intifada: 3 Feb 2010 - BRUSSELS (IPS) - Defenders of Israel's aggressive stance have for many years been recognized as a powerful force shaping United States foreign policy. A less well-known fact is that the pro-Israel lobby has been making a concerted effort to strengthen its presence in Europe. The lobby's determination to make an impression on European Union (EU) policy-makers was exemplified by a new booklet published on 28 January. Berlusconi says Yad Vashem visit 'like being punched in the stomach' YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Italian premier deeply moved by tour of Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, writes 'This cannot be' in guest book Supersub 'Gedo' the hero as Egypt retains African crown Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 Egypt entered the record books on Sunday, beating Ghana 1-0 in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with super-substitute Mohamed 'Gedo' Nagy lifting the Pharaohs to their third straight title. Gedo, who has scored from the bench in Egypt's last four games in Angola, came on in the 63rd minute and produced his magic with five minutes left on the clock to cement Egypt's standing as the kings of Africa Dershowitz’s latest celebrity client Mondoweiss - 31 Jan 2010 - It appears the man who defended O.J. Simpson will go to any length for his current celebrity client, the State of Israel. From Haaretz : "Dershowitz calls Goldstone a traitor to the Jewish people." In his book, The Best Defense , Dershowitz gave a view of the approach... Female soldiers break their silence 1/29/2010 - Israeli Occupation Archive - Ynetnews. com – Six years after first collection of Breaking the Silence testimonies, organization releases booklet of testimonies from female soldiers who served in territories. Stories include systematic humiliation of Palestinians, reckless and cruel violence, theft, killing of innocent people and cover-up. Here are only some of testimonies“A female combat soldier needs to prove more…a female soldier who beats up others is a serious fighter…when I arrived there was another female there with me, she was there before me…everyone spoke of how impressive she is because she humiliates Arabs without any problem. That was the indicator. You have to see her, the way she humiliates, the way she slaps them, wow, she really slapped that guy. ”The Breaking the Silence organization on Friday released a booklet of testimonies by female soldiers recounting various abuse cases involving Palestinians in the West Bank. Breaking the Silence publishes shocking testimonies from women who served Occupation Mondoweiss - 29 Jan 2010 - There’s a new and shocking booklet of testimonies out from Breaking the Silence, this one from anonymous female soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories and routinely abused the "Arabs" or "illegal aliens." Because they could, or needed to. Ynet has published many of the testimonies ,... Breaking the Silence publishes shocking testimonies from women who served Occupation Uruknet January 29, 2010 - There’s a new and shocking booklet of testimonies out from Breaking the Silence, this one from anonymous female soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories and routinely abused the "Arabs" or "illegal aliens." Because they could, or needed to. Ynet has published many of the testimonies, and they’re horrifying/nightmarish, all about the kind of warped psychological/gender... Breaking the Silence publishes shocking testimonies from women who served Occupation Mondoweiss - 29 Jan 2010 - There’s a new and shocking booklet of testimonies out from Breaking the Silence, this one from anonymous female soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories and routinely abused the "Arabs" or "illegal aliens." Because they could, or needed to. Ynet has published many of the testimonies ,... Researcher: Israel destroyed Palestinian books Uruknet January 28, 2010 - Israel plundered and destroyed tens of thousands of Palestinian books in the years after the State's establishment, according to a doctoral thesis to be submitted next month by a Ben-Gurion University researcher. In an interview with the researcher published on al-Jazeera's website Thursday, he claimed that Israel destroyed the Palestinian books in the framework of its... Researcher: Israel destroyed Palestinian books YNet News 28 Jan 2010 - Tens of thousands of Palestinian books destroyed after Israel's establishment, Ben-Gurion University researcher says Palestinians prepare to enter record books with longest caricature 1/26/2010 - Gaza - Ma'an - Palestinians are hoping to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the third time for drawing the longest caricature in the world. Muhammad An-Nimnim, known as Abu Noon, the director of Artists for Freedom in Palestine and a Palestinian cartoonist, told Ma'an that the participants are in preparation and making the necessary arrangements to enter the record books with the longest caricature in 2010. Abu Noon said he hopes that the picture will be drawn on the separation wall in Bethlehem in the West Bank, to boost tourism to the city. International artists will also participate in the caricature's creation, in support of peace, he said. Coordination with a consulate is underway to complete the necessary procedures to allow the artists to begin drawing on the wall in Bethlehem, he added. Why Haiti is Poor (IV): the Aristide Failure Mondoweiss - 26 Jan 2010 - Some day, a Haitian writer (maybe Edwidge Danticat ?), should do a novel based on the rise and fall of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the brave priest-turned-president who raised the hopes of Haiti’s poor majority, only to later turn toward authoritarianism, corruption, and violence. Haiti is still poor partly... Excerpt from an important new book: A Wall in Palestine Mondoweiss - 23 Jan 2010 - We are excited to share an excerpt from A Wall in Palestine , a new book by French journalist Rene Backmann (published by Picador). Backmann is a foreign affairs columnist for Le Nouvel Observateur. The book tells the story of the Separation Wall in the West Bank,... Interview: Joe Sacco Uruknet January 18, 2010 -When it comes to the world of cartooning, Joe Sacco is considered a luminary. Sacco, who is hailed as the creator of war-reportage comics, is the author of such award-winning books as Palestine and Safe Area Gorazde. His latest work, Footnotes in Gaza, is an investigation into two little-known and long-forgotten massacres in 1956 in the southern... The Big One Devastates Haiti Uruknet January 16, 2010 - ...The country is a text book example of oppressive rule, exploitation, extreme poverty, widespread unemployment, and overwhelming human misery - largely because of US dominance since the 19th century. From 1849 - 1913, navy ships entered Haitian waters 24 times to "protect American lives and property," and from 1915 - 1934, US Marines occupied and ravaged... Moshe Halbertal and the Goldstone Report Uruknet January 9, 2010 - ...I begin here with Moshe Halbertal's attack on the Goldstone Commission ("The Goldstone Illusion") in the November 6th issue of New Republic. Halbertal is a Harvard PhD, a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at Hebrew University, the author of a number of books on those subjects, and a former visiting professor at Harvard Law School.... Deciphered etching sheds new light on Bible's origin Ha'aretz 7 Jan 2010 - Did the writing of the Bible begin as far back as the 10th century B.C.E., during the time of King David? That is four centuries earlier than Biblical scholars currently believe - but an inscription recently deciphered by a scholar at Haifa University indicates that for at least some books of the Bible, the answer may be yes. ... Private and public New Year celebrations canceled in Nablus 12/30/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an - New Years Eve Celebrations hosted by the Nablus municipality will be canceled in honor of the memory of the three Nablus residents executed in their homes by Israeli soldiers on Saturday, the city's Mayor Jibrin Al-Bakri announced. The Thursday decision came following meetings by officials in Nablus, a spokesperson for the mayor said, explaining that Palestinians had a national duty to "respect the murder of the men," rather than "party and celebrate. "Cancellations extend to parties booked in halls and hotels by private parties. "Even if this has a bad economic impact on the city, it is what is appropriate," he said. On Saturday, Israeli forces entered Nablus for the first time in several months for one of the bloodiest operations in the city in over a year. The homes of three Fatah members - allegedly involved in the death of a settler the previous Wednesday - were broken into. 'Footnotes in Gaza' by Joe Sacco LA Times 27 Dec 2009 - Joe Sacco's "Footnotes in Gaza" is not a sequel to his 1996 book " Palestine," although it's tempting to read it as such. Both are works of comic-book journalism that take place in the occupied territories, and both offer a ground's-eye-view of situations that seem too big, too incomprehensible for us to wrap our minds around. But while "Palestine" is a portrait of its moment, an account of Sacco's visit to the West Bank and Gaza during the early 1990s, "Footnotes in Gaza" is a more expansive effort. Built around two forgotten incidents (the 1956 mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis), it is a book that digs deep, exploring the relationship of past and present, memory and experience -- rigorously reported yet always aware of the elusive nature of testimony, the way that stories solidify and harden over time. I’m off to Egypt Mondoweiss - 26 Dec 2009 - in a grim mood. Today’s Isabel Kershner piece about the militant blindness inside Israel is echoed by Tom Segev’s piece attacking Avi Shlaim in the forthcoming NY Review of Books. Both pieces are written by Israelis, for American publications, and from inside the Zionist perspective: a... Open letter to President Mubarak from the Gaza Freedom March 12/25/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - 26 December - DearPresident Mubarak; We, representing 1,362 individuals from 43 countries arriving in Cairo to participate in the Gaza Freedom March, are pleading to the Egyptians and your reputation for hospitality. We are peacemakers. We have not come to Egypt to create trouble or cause conflict. On the contrary. We have come because we believe that all people - including the Palestinians of Gaza - should have access to the resources they need to live in dignity. We have gathered in Egypt because we believed that you would welcome and support our noble goal and help us reach Gaza through your land. As individuals who believe in justice and human rights, we have spent our hard-earned, and sometimes scarce, resources to buy plane tickets, book hotel rooms and secure transportation only to stan in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza living under a crushing Israeli blockade. In Bi’lin we carried a wooden coffin called ‘International law’ Mondoweiss - 25 Dec 2009 - Pamela Olson, who is working on a book called Fast Times in Palestine, is back in Oklahoma after a year or so visiting the occupied territories. She filed a long post on her last days in the West Bank. She gave us permission to excerpt two... Graphic novel on IDF 'massacres' in Gaza set to hit bookstores Ha'aretz 21 Dec 2009 - Fans say graphic novelist Joe Sacco has set new standards for the use of the comic book as a documentary medium. Detractors say his portrayals of the Palestinian conflict are filled with distortion, bias and hyperbole. ... Palestinian Christians call on Westerners to reject Zionism PNN 12 Dec 2009 - Israeli settlers burn Quran in attack on mosque.Hundreds of Jewish settlers angry at reduced settlement building burned pages of Islam's holy book in an attack on a West Bank mosque as Palestinian Christians called for sanctions on evil Israel and rejected Christian Zionism, press reports said Saturday. Burned pages of the Quran lay scattered on the mosque's torched carpet as Israelis from... 'A Horrifying Demographic Problem' Palestine Monitor - 12 Dec 2009 - A wave of recent studies from academics both sides of the wall have revealed ingrained racism in Israeli schools. Books authorised by the ministry of education habitually use geography, history, language and other methods to instil negative perceptions of Arabs and Palestinians. Nurit Peled addressing the... Israeli vandals attack West Bank mosque 11 Dec 2009 - West Bank, December 11, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli extremists have attacked a mosque in the occupied West Bank, vandalizing the property and desecrating the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an. Suspected hardline Israeli settlers stormed the holy site in the northern West Bank village of Yasuf at night, set fire to the mosque's library and sprayed hate messages on... Transatlantic transactions, part 3 | Simon Head The Guardian 5 Dec 2009 - The Middle East dominates as Rory Stewart, Robert Malley and Margaret MacMillan close the New York Review of Books debate The multiple crises of the Middle East Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Iran and Afpak (Afghanistan/Pakistan) are collectively the... ‘Other countries have experienced terrorist campaigns without giving in to extremism’ Mondoweiss - 3 Dec 2009 - Last night I went to a party in New York for Emma Williams’s new book, It’s Easier to Reach Heaven Than the End of the Street , a chronicle of what it was like to live in Jerusalem during the second intifada. Williams, an English doctor and... VIDEO - Avi Shlaim and Shlomo Sand in conversation with Jacqueline Rose 11/17/2009 - P U L S E - Event description: Few modern conflicts are as attached to history as that of Israel and Palestine. Avi Shlaim, professor of international relations at Oxford will be in conversation with Shlomo Sand, professor of contemporary history at Tel Aviv University, at the Frontline Club for a seminal evening of discussion. Avi Shlaim’s new book, Israel and Palestine focuses on the causes and consequences of the Israeli-Palestine conflict, while Shlomo Sand’s international best-seller The Invention of the Jewish People unravels the mythologised history of the Jewish people to find that the Israelites were never exiled from the promised land, and therefore have no right to return. The book concludes that the present-day Palestinian Arabs are the true heirs of the biblical Jews. This is a once-only opportunity to hear these two eminent historians discussing their individual perspectives on. . . . Morgantini: Israel Must End Siege, Appear Before ICJ 12/2/2009 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - RAMALLAH December 2, 2009 (WAFA)- The former Vice-President of the European Union, Louisa Morgantini, said that Israel must end the siege on the Gaza Strip and that it is necessary that it appears before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She told WAFA after a press conference held on the occasion of launching the launch of the book, 'Palestine’s Guernica', that Israel must cease all forms of settlement activities because they are is completely illegal, and that its decision to halt settlement activities for a period of ten months is not serious. She stated that Israel uses this method to gain more time, where it continues to throw many families in Sheikh Jarrah and other parts of East Jerusalem out of their homes, and continues the demolition of houses. She continued: The book 'Palestine Guernica', which reviews and documents the events surrounding the recent war on Gaza last. . . . BOOKS-US: Hawkish "Israel Lobby" More Bark Than Bite? IPS WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (IPS) - The Nov. 25 announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a "moratorium" on settlement construction brought very different responses from the Jewish American "pro-Israel" groups J-Street and the heavyweight American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), calling attention to the increasing divide within the American... Israel may start importing books published in enemy states Ha'aretz 29 Nov 2009 - Books translated in "hostile countries" will soon be allowed to be sold ... French humanitarian aid permitted into Gaza 11/26/2009 - Al-Arish - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities permitted the entry of humanitarian aid and stationary donated by French charities into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday evening, according to an official for the Arab Doctors' Union, Mustafa Tayeh. In an interview with Ma'an, Tayeh stated that numerous French charities had donated the consignment which included books, pens and school bags, to school children in the Gaza Strip, particularly those children with parents detained in Israeli jails. The French charities' donation included nine tons of medical equipment, which arrived along with the delivery of stationary. Tayeh added that 50 tons of meat for the Eid Al-Adha, donated by the Arab Doctors' Union, will be permitted into Gaza on the second day of the Muslim holiday, as a result of Palestinian and Egyptian coordination. Donated books to enter Gaza in the coming days 11/24/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - A consignment of books and stationary will arrive in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, The Qatar Foundation announced on Monday. The Qatar Foundation, in conjunction with the Jordan Hashemite Charity, will deliver 18 trucks containing 250 tons of books and stationary to the Gaza Strip worth an estimated 10 million Qatari riyals, according to a news release issued by the organization. Qatar's ambassador to Jordan, Mane Abdel Hadi Al-Hajery applauded the efforts of the Jordan Hashemite Charity in overcoming the significant difficulties associated with sending aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, additionally commending Palestinians that have contributed to the implementation of the project, which focuses on supporting education in Gaza. The statement added that Al-Hajery paid tribute to the admirable initiatives undertaken by The Qatar Foundation in support of. . . Israel Is Real: An Obsessive Quest to Understand the Jewish Nation and its History by Rich Cohen | Book review The Guardian 20 Nov 2009 - Antony Lerman takes issue with a lop-sided critique of Israel With its laboured, punning title, you might expect Rich Cohen's book to be a propagandistic defence of Israel, perhaps arguing that, despite its detractors, the Jewish... Obama declines to set Guantnamo closure date in Fox News interview The Guardian 19 Nov 2009 - President criticises Afghan government and Israeli settlement building, and says he won't read Sarah Palin's book Barack Obama has backed away from his pledge to close the US prison at Guantnamo Bay by the end of... Obama declines to set Guantnamo closure date in Fox News interview The Guardian 19 Nov 2009 - President criticises Afghan government and Israeli settlement building, and says he won't read Sarah Palin's book Barack Obama has backed away from his pledge to close the US prison at Guantnamo Bay by the end of... Israelis Imprison Cat For Aiding Palestinian Prisoners 11/19/2009 - Political Theatrics - An Israeli prison,The Nakab, located between Egypt and Israel has booked one cat in solitary confinement as punishment for its services and assistance to prisoners who are serving sentences in solitary confinement. According to the Israeli officers,the cat was aiding prisoners by moving light objects (i. e. letters,bread etc) between the cells of prisoners. It turns out that the cat had been providing its services to prisoners for several months until it was exposed recently and so the prison administration decided to place the cat in solitary confinement – the same way they do to the prisoners. There are dozens of cats living between the cells and rooms of the Palestinian prisoners in several Israeli prisons and private prisons, and apparently the cats are trying to help them. Meet the rabbi spurring IDF troops to refuse orders Ha'aretz 18 Nov 2009 - The head of the Har Bracha Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, has written in a book distributed to all graduates of his yeshiva that soldiers are not allowed to participate in evacuating settlements. The book also accused senior Israel Defense Forces officers of being "contaminated by politics." ... AIPAC Received Classified US Trade Docs from Israeli Embassy -- IRmep 11/16/2009 - CNBC.com - WASHINGTON, Nov 16, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A FBI file reveals the Israeli embassy passed stolen classified US government information to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In 1984 Israel and AIPAC jointly lobbied Congress to secure preferential Israeli access to the US market against widespread American industry opposition. The declassified FBI report may be downloaded from the Israel Lobby Archive at: http://www. irmep. org/ila/economy/03071986INTERVIEW. pdf The FBI file, kept secret for 25 years, was recently released to the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The declassified files, their historical context, and long term impact on jobs and exports are detailed in the new book "Spy Trade: How Israel's Lobby Undermines America's Economy. " 'Egyptians should read in Hebrew, to know what the enemy is plotting' Ha'aretz 17 Nov 2009 - A gigantic storm has been brewing among Egyptian intellectuals ever since Egyptian poetess Iman Mersal permitted one of her books to be published in Hebrew ("An Alternative Geography," translated by Sasson Somekh, Hakibbutz Hameuhad publishing house). How, they demand, could any Egyptian writer cross the lines, defy the writers association's orders and destroy the bases from which the war against normalization with Israel is being waged? ... 'Mussolini: I'll build an island and put all the Jews there' Ha'aretz 16 Nov 2009 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was a rabid anti-Semite who called Adolf Hitler "a big romantic" and despised the pope, a new book of his mistress Claretta Petacci's diaries revealed, AFP reported on Monday. ... Unusual Partners Study Divisive Jerusalem Site New York Times 15 Nov 2009 - Israeli and Palestinian experts, seeking to promote understanding, collaborated on a new book about the holy site known as the Temple Mount and as Haram al-Sharif . IDF Chief Rabbi: Troops who show mercy to enemy will be ’damned’ 11/15/2009 - Ha'aretz - The Israel Defense Forces' chief rabbi told students in a pre-army yeshiva program last week that soldiers who "show mercy" toward the enemy in wartime will be "damned. " Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki also told the yeshiva students that religious individuals made better combat troops. Speaking Thursday at the Hesder yeshiva in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron , Rontzki referred to Maimonides' discourse on the laws of war. That text quotes a passage from the Book of Jeremiah stating: "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord with a slack hand, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. " In Rontzki's words, "In times of war, whoever doesn't fight with all his heart and soul is damned - if he keeps his sword from bloodshed, if he shows mercy toward his enemy when no mercy should be shown. " Rontzki's remarks came during a ceremony to celebrate a new Torah scroll at the yeshiva. New book sheds light on 'smut in the shtetl' Ha'aretz 15 Nov 2009 - In the early 1970s, Marvin Zuckerman and Gershon Weltman, childhood friends from the co-ops of the Bronx, came across a rare Yiddish manuscript. Though they had never thought of putting out a book together, they quickly recognized that there was something in this document that made them want to take up the task of translating and publishing the work - dirty words. ...
Scholar: The Essenes, Dead Sea Scroll ’authors,’ never existed Ha’aretz 3/13/2009 Scholarship suggesting the existence of the Essenes, a religious Jewish group that lived in the Judea before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, is wrong, according to Prof. Rachel Elior, whose study on the subject will be released soon. Elior blasts the predominant opinion of Dead Sea Scrolls scholars that the Essenes had written the scrolls in Qumran, claiming instead that they were written by ousted Temple priests in Jerusalem. "Sixty years of research have been wasted trying to find the Essenes in the scrolls. But they didn’t exist, they were invented by [Jewish-Roman historian] Josephus. It’s a history of errors which is simply nonsense," she said. In his book "The Jewish War," Flavius Josephus describes the Essenes as an ascetic, mystical religious sect that lived in abstinence from worldly pleasures, including sex. more.. e-mail
Israeli wins French prize for book questioning origins of Jewish people Ha’aretz 3/12/2009 Professor Shlomo Sand, the Tel Aviv University history professor and author of a controversial book on the genetic origins of the Jews, this week received a top critics prize from French journalists. Sand, whose book "When and How Was the Jewish People Invented? "ignited controversy in Israel and in Jewish circles, is the recipient of the Aujourd’hui Award, which is given to the best non-fiction political or historical work. The book, which was published by the Resling imprint, spent 19 weeks on the bestseller list in Israel. Though it has been in bookstores for just six months in France, it has thus far sold 25,000 copies, good enough to remain on the bestseller list. Sand’s book deals with questions that remain taboo in Israeli society, among them the ancestral origins of the Jewish people and the genetic lineage shared with modern-day Israelis. more.. e-mail
ISRAEL: Slowly Beating Back the Persecution Psyche Analysis by Daan Bauwens, Inter Press Service 3/4/2009 TEL AVIV, Mar 4(IPS) - A new study shows that Israelis are moving towards an understanding of the Palestinian position on the conflict, even though a vast number still hold on to simplistic notions about good Israelis and bad Arabs. Political psychologist Prof. Daniel Bar-Tal at Tel Aviv University together with researcher Rafi Nets-Zehngut examined formal and popular collective memory in Israel. Formal collective memory is representations of the past in official government documents, books and textbooks; it is the ’official’ explanation of events. Popular collective memory is the repertoire of memory, representations and narratives of events people carry with them. The study points to important positive elements that keep hope for peace alive, as biased and victimised narratives begin to make room for critical, unbiased perspectives. more.. e-mail
Celebrated journalist Kassem Jaafar passes away The Daily Star, Daily Star 2/21/2009 BEIRUT: Former Daily Star reporter (1984-86) and opinion writer (1997-99) Kassem Jaafar passed away on Friday. Born in Nigeria in 1956 to a family from South Lebanon, Jaafar got his primary and secondary education in Lebanon before graduating from the American University of Beirut with a degree in Middle Eastern History and Islamic Studies. He moved to London in 1979 where he joined Kings College, University of London and completed his MA and Mphil in War Studies. During the early 80’s he co-edited Strategic Review, a newsletter on defense and current affairs in London, and later joined the BBC where he worked for more than 10 years as a Middle East and Defence correspondent. He also worked as Defence and Diplomatic Editor at Al-Hayat at its sister weekly Al-Wasat. He has authored and co-authored several books and articles, and lived between London and Doha, Qatar where he was a Diplomatic and Defence consultant. more.. e-mail
A recurring occupation Jim Miles, Middle East Online 2/14/2009 Neve Gordon’s ‘Israel’s Occupation’ develops several themes about the occupation that keep recurring, with alterations, as it develops the history of the occupation from 1967 to the present. - There are many sources of information from websites through newspapers to books that carry significant referenced information about the history and context of the Israel/Palestine problem that, with the support of the US government and the ambitions of the Israelis, has become a global problem. There is much material that accounts for the misery and suffering and imposition of a military regime on an occupied territory, and it all supports the general idea of an occupied people suffering under the power of an invading military. Now added to this relatively strong list of materials is Israel’s Occupation, a book that is so well written and presented that it provides a captivating and amazingly powerful read. more.. e-mail
Oldest living Palestinian still walks to the mosque for dawn prayers Palestine News Network 2/13/2009 PNN -- Here is the story of 122 year old Mohammad Ahmed Drede. His identity card registers his date of birth as 1887. Now, as a Palestinian, he has certainly survived more occupations that anyone should ever have to face, and remarkably he retains his memory. There is no record of the day or month of his birth, but it would seem that after, say, 100 years every day is a celebration. The Drede family says they look forward to putting their grandfather’s name in the Guinness Book of World Records. Northern Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp attempted to enter Guinness by constructing the world’s largest Right of Return key in honor of 60 years of Al Nakba in May 2008. To the east in the West Bank, the trolley resembling an enclosed ski lift that travels from the lowest and oldest city on earth, Jericho, found a place in the Book of World Records for its local mountain climb. more.. e-mail
No help from Elie Wiesel Ha’aretz 2/12/2009 "I contacted Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize winner, in 2002, after I read that he had been put in charge of a million-dollar Holocaust memorial fund," says Dahlia Virtzberg-Rofe’. She requested assistance in publishing a new edition of her father’s book. "In his response, Wiesel made the far-fetched claim that he supposedly had ’close ties’ with my father. On June 26, 1966, Wiesel wrote to my father: ’I read the summary of your book very carefully. The story sounds interesting, dramatic and shocking, as such a story should. Of course, I would be happy to read the manuscript. But I do not think it would be fair on my part to entertain you with hopes or promises. . . I may be coming to Israel in September-October. I will try to contact you and perhaps, when we talk, we can think about what can be done. ’" Did your father send him a copy of the book? "Certainly. . . . " -- See also: Mengele's errand boy more.. e-mail
First college for haredi women inaugurated Tzipi Kepel, YNetNews 1/27/2009 As of next academic year, ultra-Orthodox women will be able to expand their job opportunities thanks to new college in Netanya - The first technological college for ultra-Orthodox women was inaugurated in Israel this week, in the city of Netanya. The college’s opening marks a change in the way the financial viability of haredi households is being perceived. While the college will only begin operating in the next academic year (October 2009), its founders are already busy preparing the facilities and have proudly exhibited the structure and technological equipment that will be in use there. The students at the college will be taught by lecturers from the Rupin Academic Center, and will be offered certification studies in accounting, bookkeeping and tax consultation, among other courses. The pioneering move was lead by the director of the Beit Margalit. . . more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Palestinian broadcaster in Italy, Rula Jebreal, enjoys increasing acclaim Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 12/12/2008 Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for December 11, 2008. Palestinian-born Rula Jebreal, one of the most important broadcasters and interviewers in Italy, also happens to be a media darling. Jebreal has become something of a phenomenon in Italy, where she is wildly popular. She is the author of several books, one of which, Miral, is being made into a movie by acclaimed director Julian Schnabel. Jebreal, an outspoken figure on foreign affairs and immigration, is well-known for her tough interviewing style. And while Italy has treated her well, Jebreal, continues to yearn for her family in the occupied territories. [end]
Southern farmer harvests monster potato Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 12/8/2008 ’He was "very proud" the super spud grew on his farm, given that it suffered a pounding during Israel’s 2006 summer war on Lebanon. ’ - TYRE: A South Lebanon farmer couldn’t believe his peeled eyes when he discovered he had grown a massive potato, he said on Saturday, adding that he now hopes to enter the Guinness Book of World Records book. "This giant weighs 11. 3 kilos," Khalil Semhat told AFP at his farm in the Tyre area, 85 kilometers south of Beirut. "I’ve been working the land since I was a boy, and it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it. " Semhat, 56, said he had not done anything special to inspire the monster spud. "I didn’t use any chemicals at all," he insisted, adding that he had to ask a friend to help him haul the huge tuber from the ground. Now he hopes the find will get a mention in the famous Guinness book, and said he would send in the details for possible inclusion next year. more.. e-mail
Right of Kahane Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 12/2/2008 Meet Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, head of the World headquarters to Save the People and Land of Israel (SOS Israel), director of the Chabad educational institutions in Kiryat Gat, author of more than 40 books on a wide range of topics in rabbinical law and Torah and the man who a few days ago said that "the state of Israel is the enemy of the Jewish people," before softening his stance a bit. He is further to the right than the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, a person who thinks Ariel Sharon is "Haman" and a "false Messiah" and that the foreign minister is "the second Isabella," perhaps the successor to the first Isabella, who is credited with the Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews from Spain. Now Wolpe, one of the heads of the Messianic faction of Chabad, is registering a new political party, "Eretz Yisrael Shelanu - A United Jewish Party for the Wholeness of the Torah, the Land and the People. more.. e-mail
Israel appoints first Arab female professor in country’s history Ofri Ilani, Ha’aretz 11/24/2008 The Appointments Committee of the Higher Education Council on Sunday bestowed the title of professor on Haula Abu-Bakar, a teacher and lecturer at Jezreel Valley College, making her the first ever female Israeli-Arab professor in Israel. Dr. Abu Bakar, 53, a resident of Acre, is seen as a trailblazing figure in the study of mental health in the Arab sector, focusing on how the issues of gender, mental health and sexual violence affect the community. Abu Bakar also authored the book "On an unpaved path", dealing with the female Arab political leaders, and "The Upright Generation", which dealt with the lives of Palestinian youths in Israel. [end]
40,000 Israelis attend historic Paul McCartney concert in Tel Aviv The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 9/26/2008 After a 43-year wait, Paul McCartney performed his first concert in Israel on Thursday, kicking it off with the familiar Beatles’ song "Hello, Goodbye" to the joy of tens of thousands of cheering fans. McCartney billed the concert Friendship First, saying he is on a mission of peace for Israel and the Palestinians. Singing "Give Peace a Chance," he stopped and let the audience sing the chorus alone. He told his fans, "Here tonight you sang it, you want it. "He dedicated the song to his fellow Beatle, John Lennon, who was killed in New York in 1980. Fireworks lit the sky as he sang "Live and Let Die. "After it was officially announced last month, the concert set off a wave of excitement throughout the country, where visits by A-list celebrities are still a novelty. more.. e-mail
Arab terror victim’s kin funds Arabic translation of Oz novel Shiri Lev-Ari, Ha’aretz 9/8/2008 Amos Oz’s autobiographical novel, "A Tale of Love and Darkness," has been translated into Arabic thanks to a contribution by the family of an Arab man killed in a terror attack in 2004. George Khoury, an Israeli Arab student, was doing his evening run in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood when a terrorist, who took him for a Jew, shot and killed him. The Khoury family, also from Jerusalem, decided to contribute funding to translate Oz’s book, in an effort to help the cause of coexistence. Two other books of Oz’s have been translated into Arabic. "My Michael," translated in the 1990s, received favorable reviews in Egypt. The other book, "Soumchi" was distributed in Jordan. Oz’s "Tale of Love and Darkness," published in Hebrew by Keter, was translated by Jamal Gnaim and is being published by Yedioth Books, which also published the book’s Russian translation. more.. e-mail
Mohammed Deif Back in Spotlight Ali Waked, MIFTAH 8/28/2008 The notorious leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammad Deif, is alive and kicking. And, apparently, writing as well. The shadowy leader has broken his two-year silence in the forward to a new book issued by Hamas in honor of group members killed in Gaza. Deif vowed Hamas would continue it fight. The highest a man can aspire to is the honor of martyrdom, writes Deif, who is introduced as the commander-general of the ’Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. ’ The life of a ’shahid’ leads to either victory or death, he writes: "We vow to follow in the path of the heroic shahids, in the path of Sheikh Yassin, in the path of those who have chosen to fight the enemy. " Deif has survived several attempts on his life, and lives in hiding. It is believed that he remains seriously wounded from the last Israeli attempt to kill him. Since then he has not appeared in person before a crowd, only giving a brief statement to Hamas-owned media several months ago and giving a speech via telephone at a rally held by the organization. more.. e-mail
10-year-old Muhammad memorizes entire Quran at 60 day summer camp Ma’an News Agency 8/14/2008 Gaza – Ma’an – Ten year-old Muhammad Can’aan, who was exiled to the Gaza Strip with his family in 2002, memorized the Holy Qu’ran this summer while he took part in a camp program. The boy committed the 600 page revelation to memory in only 60 days. "I went to a summer camp named after the Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him," Muhammad told Ma’an. "For 60 days," he continued, "I used to go from seven in the morning until four in the evening to participate in the camp. " At the camp Muhammad started memorizing the holy book along with his friends. " At first it was so difficult," he commented, "but with the help of my family and the teachers in the camp, I was able to memorize the book of God. " In the evenings after camp Muhammad would ask his mother to help him continue his project. " My mother would read the page twice," he explained, "and then in a quarter of an hour I was able to memorize 30 pages. more.. e-mail
Novelist expresses anger at censorship by national Muslim Writers project Palestine News Network 8/12/2008 Junaid Bhatti - This story is particularly interesting given the recent censorship of a book about the life of the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] and his bride A’isha -- "The Jewel of Medina" -- by the publisher Random House. Regarding the "Butteryfly Hunter," Dr. Max Malik asserts, "This is not the second coming of the Satanic Verses!"Dr. Malik, a former recipient of the Muslim Writer of the Year Award, has expressed his anger and deep dismay following the censorship of his debut novel "The Butterfly Hunter. "The Muslims Writers Awards, which claims to be a non-religious initiative, chose not to submit the controversial novel to the project’s independent judging panel for this year’s awards. Dr. Malik was winner of the top prize in 2007, and was spurred on by his success to dedicate a year of his life to "The Butterfly Hunter" -- an explosive work of fiction which frankly. . . more.. e-mail
Under fire Tahel Frosh, Ha’aretz 8/13/2008 Prof. Gannit Ankori wheels along a small black suitcase in the Jerusalem hotel lobby where our meeting takes place. When she talks about "the affair," which she is not at all interested in discussing, tears well up in her eyes and she chokes up. The suitcase holds all the documents and books, which she says vindicate her. In the past four years, Ankori, chair of the Art History Department at Hebrew University, has been involved in a transatlantic battle to clear her name of the allegations by one of the subjects of her study, Kamal Boullata, a leading Palestinian artist and one of the only living Palestinian art historians. Boullata, 66, who resides in the city of Menton in the French Riviera, contends that Ankori expropriated his research, which he conducted over a period of 35 years, for the first three chapters of her English-language historical survey, "Palestinian Art," which was published two years ago by Reaktion Books. more.. e-mail
We are the guests of eternity; in memory of Mahmoud Darwish Ma’an News Agency 8/10/2008 Bethlehem – Ma’an – When somebody dies, it is a tradition in the Arab world to remember his good traits and keep mentioning them. One Arab poet once described death as, "like a critic with jewels in his hands; from which one only selects the best. " As Palestinians around the world begin to digest the death of our National Poet, we will remember how special he was. We will remember how he was able to put voice to the triumphs and the sufferings of his people. One of Darwish’s early colleagues wrote about the already great poet in 1974. In his novel Emil Habiby described the child Darwish, with his mother the day they were forced to leave the village of Birwah, now in Israel. In a military jeep, the novel’s protagonist watches as the Israeli official orders the child Darwish and his mother out of Israel. more.. e-mail
A conversation with Sarab Aburabia-Queder David B. Green, Ha’aretz 8/3/2008 Sarab Aburabia-Queder is part of a small and select group of Bedouin women in Israel who have defied the conservative norms of their society and pursued a higher education. In her case, she went all the way to a doctorate -- with the subject of her research being women like herself, who have broken out of the strict confines that generally define the lives of Bedouin women. Aburabia-Queder, 31, recently published her first book, "Mudrot ve’ahuvot" ("Excluded and Loved: Educated Bedouin Women’s Life Stories, ) Magnes Press, 148 pages, NIS 69), which is based on interviews with 17 women from the Negev who were the first to leave their villages to study at the post-secondary level. If Israel’s Arab citizens are a minority who lead an arguably second-class existence, the roughly 160,000 Bedouin of the Negev could be described as. . . more.. e-mail
New biography of Gibran published Middle East Online 7/31/2008 LONDON – A translation of the biography of the famous Lebanese writer Gibran Khalil Gibran was recently published in London. The book, Kahlil Gibran: A Biography, was originally written in French by Alexandre Najjar, and translated into English by Rae Azkoul. With simplicity akin to that of Gibran’s own writing, Alexandre Najjar retraces Gibran’s life, from humble beginnings in Lebanon to his artistic training in Paris and meteoric rise to fame in the US, his adopted home. Najjar examines Gibran’s letters, his publisher’s archives and unpublished documents, revealing the extent of his influence and the message of peace and hope in all of his work. Author of the international bestseller The Prophet, Gibran Khalil Gibran and his work remain influential to this day. President John F. Kennedy famously quoted from this book: ’Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country’. more.. e-mail
’Jews for Jesus’ in Israel demand inquiry into burning of bibles by Orthodox Jews Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 5/25/2008 After a massive ’bible burning’ by the deputy mayor and orthodox Jewish students in the town of Or Yehuda, in Israel, a group of Messianic Jews, or ’Jews for Jesus’ as they are known, have called for an inquiry into the incident. Apparently the Ethiopian Jews living in the town were visited by Messianic Jewish missionaries, who believe in Jesus as their saviour. The missionaries dropped off bibles and pamphlets for the residents to peruse. Several days later, the deputy mayor of the town went through the town shouting through a loudspeaker for everyone to hand over the bibles to a group of Orthodox Jewish students who were going around and collecting them. The students then piled up the bibles and burned them. The incident brings out an increasing tension between Orthodox and Messianic Jews in Israel. Orthodox Jewish groups have cheered the book burning, while Messianic Jews. . . more.. e-mail
Syrians and Palestinians create largest flag in the world Maisa Abu Ghazaleh, Palestine News Network 5/19/2008 Jerusalem -- Palestinians and Syrians are designing the largest Palestinian flag yet, hoping it will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest flag. The group is using the slogan, "More Aware of the Precious Homeland," to create the flag with a length of 232 meters, a height of 116 meters, and a square area of 27,000 meters. The full size is that of historic Palestine, "from the river to the sea." Currently in the Guinness Book, the Israeli flag is largest at 200 meters long and 100 meters high. The Palestinian flag will be displayed for the first time at 2:00 pm Friday in a wide-lying area in the city of Damascus. It will remain for a full week with activities in conjunction such as Palestinian heritage tents, photos of those killed and those imprisoned, and pictures of Palestinian towns and villages, and another tent for dialogue and information. more.. e-mail
2,100-year-old Isaiah Scroll on rare public display for two months Nadav Shragai, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008 For the past 40 years, the 2,100-year-old Isaiah Scroll has been kept in a dark room with temperature and humidity controls, far from the public eye. A few days ago, in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary, the Israel Museum put the parchment scroll on display in the Shrine of the Book - for two months only. This is the only complete scroll among the 220 biblical scrolls, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered at Qumran. The scroll, whose message became "a foundation stone for humanity," according to Dr. Adolfo Roitman, director of the Shrine of the Book and curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls, was removed from display in 1967 after only two years, for fear it would disintegrate. Many scholars believe it was copied from an even more ancient scroll by the Essenes, a Jewish monastic sect from the Second Temple period. more.. e-mail
Review: The last enormous change Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi, Ha’aretz 5/12/2008 Fidelity, by Grace Paley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 83 pages, $20 - Grace Paley’s newest book of poetry was published in the quiet interval between March’s icy grip and April’s melting promise. Loyal readers worldwide have, for the past two decades, received every new poem with the same gratitude with which they received every new story during the three decades before that. Although Paley’s first love was poetry, it remained unrequited so long as the lives of first-generation Americans, women, Jews (most of her characters were all three) demanded to be transcribed into the grainy prose that would become her trademark. Her language was utterly faithful to the Yiddish- and Russian-accented English in which she had marinated in her childhood in the Bronx, to the politically inflected conversations of her coworkers in the. . . more.. e-mail
Review: Getting to the promised land Marcus Rubin, Ha’aretz 5/12/2008 The Hebrew Republic - How Secular Democracy and Global Enterprise Will Bring Israel Peace at Last, by Bernard Avishai, Harcourt, 304 pages, $26 - To a soft-power, peace-loving European like me, the solution to Israel’s problems often seems so obvious that it’s difficult to grasp why the Israelis -- otherwise such a resourceful and ingenious people -- did not choose it long ago. Which is exactly why reading the political economist Bernard Avishai’s new book, "The Hebrew Republic," is an unmitigated pleasure. Here, at last, is someone who gets it. A Jewish patriot who came to Israel to volunteer in ’67, and has lived on and off in the country since then, Avishai is able to cut through the endless discussions and proposals and in clear-cut prose explain what Israel should do to get out of the quagmire with the Palestinians and the occupation. more.. e-mail
Arab literature takes centre stage in London Middle East Online 5/10/2008 When Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz became in 1988 the first (and so far only) Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, it was hoped that this would lead to a major breakthrough for Arab literature in the West, including Britain. But for years such a breakthrough remained elusive. True, a few Arab authors achieved some success in English translation, but there was nothing comparable to the love affair of British readers with, say, Latin American magic realism, Russian and East European literature, and novels by writers originating from the Indian sub-continent. Now the picture regarding the publication of Arab literature in English is dramatically changing. This was evident at the recent three-day London Book Fair (LBF), which took place 14th-16th April this year and chose the Arab world as its market focus. more.. e-mail
On the border between two languages Ofri Ilani, Ha’aretz 4/28/2008 Ten years ago, when Dr. David Sagiv began preparing the Arabic-Hebrew-Hebrew-Arabic dictionary he recently completed, he was still more optimistic than he is today. At that time, he and his wife, Marcelle, would go every year to Cairo, where he had established contact with some of the most important intellectuals in Egypt. The shelves of his bookcase in Jerusalem are filled with Arabic books, some of which contain dedications from Egyptian authors. For several years, it seemed as though cultural relations between Israel and Egypt were gradually being woven. But in the last few years, since the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out, David and Marcelle Sagiv no longer visit Egypt. "Today we are less in touch with our friends in Egypt," Sagiv says. "There is a serious process of deterioration in ties. Perhaps it is their fault, perhaps it is ours, but it is not a good thing. . . " more.. e-mail
David Grossman: I had a wish my book would protect my son Uri Shiri Lev-Ari, Ha’aretz 4/6/2008 "My son Uri spent most of his army service in the occupied territories, on patrols, lookouts, stakeouts, and at checkpoints, and every once in a while he would share with me the things he experienced there," author David Grossman writes in the afterward to his new novel, "Isha Borahat Mibesora" ("Woman flees tidings"). "I had a hunch - or more precisely, a wish - that the book I was writing would protect him. On August 12, 2006, in the final hours of the Second Lebanon War, Uri was killed in South Lebanon. . . . After the Shiva I returned to the book. Most of it was already written. What changed, more than anything, is the sounding box of the reality in which the final version was written. "Grossman’s new book tells the story of Ora and her husband Ilan, who have two sons - Adam, 24, and Ofer, a 21-year-old soldier. more.. e-mail
Secret history of capitalist world exposed in new book Jim Miles, Middle East Online 4/5/2008 Book review of:“Bad Samaritans – The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism” by Ha-Joon Chang (Bloomsbury Press, New York, 2008). Every now and then a ‘prize’ of a book comes along that includes all the elements of good writing. Bad Samaritans is one of them. Using straightforward language that generally avoids using the lexicon of economists, and explains it well when it is used, Ha-Joon Chang writes a strong narrative about the ills of the capitalist world. It is a combination of anecdotal history and comparative history that uses many good statistical elements to support his common sense arguments. Most chapters begin with an interesting anecdotal tale that illustrates the theme of that chapter, and all chapters end with an effective summary of his arguments. His title is most appropriate as he readily supports his position that free trade is. . . more.. e-mail
Israeli historian on Sadat’s gamble Saeed Taji Farouky in London, Al Jazeera 3/11/2008 In 1989, Benny Morris, the founder of Israel’s New Historian movement, published The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, questioning the traditional Israeli view of the Middle East’s longest conflict. In April, Morris will publish his latest book, 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War, about the creation of the state of Israel. Al Jazeera met with him at London’s Jewish Book Week, held in late February, to discuss the impact of the 1973 Yom Kippur War on Arab unity. Al Jazeera: Why did Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat launch the war of 1973? Morris: Sadat gambled correctly; he wanted to dislodge the logjam. He wasn’t going to get Sinai back unless he did something hard and he decided a war would do it and he was right It broke the logjam, he got Sinai back within nine years. So his calculation was correct. How did the war affect the philosophy of Pan-Arabism? . . . more.. e-mail this link
Gaza’s Christians Fear the Future Mel Frykberg, MIFTAH 2/27/2008 Fourteen masked gunmen burst into Gaza City’s YMCA library last week, overpowered two guards and laid explosive charges. One of the bombs later exploded, engulfing the building in fire, destroying most of the library’s 10,000 books, which were used mostly by high-school and university students. The other explosive charge was later safely defused by police while the guards were released unharmed in the north of the Gaza Strip. The attack on the YMCA, which also provides both Muslim and Christian Gazans with cultural exchange programs, a cultural center and summer camps, has unnerved Gaza’s tiny Christian community of approximately 3,500 people living among a Muslim population of 1. 5 million. This small community runs five schools, a hospital and a medical center." I am afraid about the future," Ramses Suri, a 29-year-old Palestinian Christian with a degree in business economics, told the Middle East Times in Gaza City, last Thursday. more..
’Religious Zionism sucked into abyss of haredi lifestyle’ Kobi Nahshoni, YNetNews 2/27/2008 Rabbi Yigal Ariel strongly condemns Religious Zionism, its leadership for turning excessively haredi, says religious Zionists ’have become delusional and irrational in their thinking’ - In a recently published book, Rabbi Yigal Ariel, chief rabbi of Moshav Nov in the Golan Heights, condemned harshly the Religious Zionist movement for its recent tendency to become excessively haredi in character." śSadly, we (religious Zionists) are gleefully making rapid strides towards the haredi world,"ť said the rabbi. "śToday we hear Religious Zionists speaking out against science, against the academic world, and even against basic rule of law." ť Rabbi Ariel"™s book, "Leshem Shamayim" (In Heaven"™s Name), published by the Beit El Library, attempts to "śexamine the growing conflict between Religious Zionism and the haredi world, and to determine whether the growing rift between these movements can be healed. more..
Encyclopedia sheds lights on achievements of Jewish women Dr. Lilach Rozenberg, YNetNews 2/25/2008 Thousands of Jewish women influenced the societies in which they lived, but most have never received the proper credit for doing so; now, for first time ever, new encyclopedia dedicated to achievements of these women - Have you ever heard the story of Sarah Schnirer, Hannah Maisel Shochat? How about Rosa Luxemburg? Thousands of women throughout time have contributed in meaningful ways to Judaism, the Land of Israel and the societies and countries in which they lived in the Diaspora. Women have been pioneers, revolutionaries, and inventors; however they barely get any attention in history books or Jewish encyclopedias for their accomplishments. A recently-released encyclopedia, the work of Moshe Shalvi and his wife, Israel Prize winner Prof. Alice Shalvi, tries to correct this injustice by giving Jewish women the attention they have been denied. more..
Echoes of the fractured reality of Palestinian existence Ayman Oghanna, Daily Star 2/22/2008 Ibrahim Nasrallah’s ’Inside the Night’ exposes the torments of life in exile - Review - BEIRUT: Missing an arm, a moustache and a homeland, two nameless narrators arrive at an ambiguous Arab airport. Although forgotten, they fail to forget and from this point of departure they wander lost through time and space, their experiences conveyed through a splintered and shattered selection of stories. The distinctly disparate narrative at the core of Ibrahim Nasrallah’s "Inside the Night" - translated from Arabic to English by Bakr R. Abbas and published late last year by the American University in Cairo Press - is a blurred tapestry of these wanderings as the narrators interlace past and present, youth and manhood, sex and love and, most tragic of all, a massacre. The result is a novel whose disjointed style echoes the fractured reality of Palestinian existence and exile. Nasrallah himself is no stranger to exile. more..
Leader of IDF refusenik movement wins Haaretz First Book Prize Shiri Lev-Ari, Ha’aretz 1/9/2008 Yaniv Itzkovich, a leader of a movement of combat reservists who publicly pledged to refuse service in the territories during the Second Intifada, has received the inaugural Haaretz First Book Prize for his novel "Pulse." Itzkovich, 33, co-wrote the 2002 "Combatants’ Letter," which was signed by 800 reservists who said they would refuse to serve in what they called "The War of the Settlements," but would continue serving in the Israel Defense Forces "in any mission that serves Israel’s defense." Itzkovich was jailed for a month as a result. An officer in the elite IDF Maglan unit, he had served previously in both the territories and Lebanon. The prize, worth NIS 50,000, presented on Monday, is awarded for an author’s first prose book, published in the preceding year. more..
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