Israel-Palestine
Obama, enough listening, it’s time to act
March 2013 – Barack Obama’s plan to “listen” when he visits Israel and Palestine is not enough, the US president must take act to launch a people’s peace process.
Reading between the lines of the Middle Eastern media
February 2013- Despite its bottom ranking in the Press Freedom Index, the Middle Eastern media is freer than it appears at first sight.
Palestinian liberation through the Israeli ballot box
January 2013 – Despite their marginalisation or disenfranchisement in Israeli politics, Palestinians can use Israel’s democratic tools to their advantage.
Israeli elections: When there’s nothing left to lose
January 2013 – With Israel expected to elect its most right-wing government ever, what can progressive Arab and Jewish voters do to challenge the status quo?
December 2012 – My time in Israel and Palestine, where everything is politics, has taught me that it is the human that is holy, not the land.
Occupational hazards in the West Bank
December 2012 – While the world’s attention was turned to Gaza, stealthier military manoeuvres in the West Bank were pushing more Palestinians off their land.
Israel and Gaza: When attack is the worst form of defence
November 2012 – As the fog of war distort people’s vision and compassion, can Israeli and Palestinian reject the strategy of violence offered by their leaderships?
The Arab world’s missed opportunities
November 2012 – Early Arab rejectionism and division unwittingly helped to build Israel and to lose Palestine, with the Palestinian people paying the heavy price.
Israel’s missed opportunities for peace
October 2012 – Israel has squandered so many opportunities for peace that its very identity as a ‘Jewish state’ is in jeopardy.
October 2012 – Israeli settlements are one of the greatest obstacles to peace, but could settlers also help build a Palestinian state?
The non-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
October 2012 – With the two-state solution relegated to the dustbin of history, the time has arrived to consider equal citizenship for Palestinians and Israelis.
The stick of boycott v the carrot of recognition
October 2012 – The targeted boycott of Israel should be complemented with Arab recognition of the Jewish state and grassroots engagement with ordinary Israelis.
Israel’s Wizard of Oz on the anarchy of Jewish civilisation
September 2012 – Israeli novelist Amos Oz believes that Jewish civilisation is founded on dissent and non-conformity, but how true is this?
Learning about the Holocaust… in Arabic
September 2012 – A joint trip to Jerusalem’s Holocaust Memorial provides Palestinians and Israelis with lessons in tragedy, pain and mutual respect.
School resumes with tough lessons for Bedouin kids
September 2012 – With their school slated for demolition, the children of Khan al-Ahmar wonder whether Israel believes that Bedouins do not deserve an education.
September 2012 – Children are the innocent victims and future perpetrators of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For their sake, a political solution must be found.
August 2012 – Is it possible for Israelis and Palestinians to find common refuge in their shared notions of exile and return?
Holy month, holy city, unholy Egyptian
August 2012 – Even for a non-believing Egyptian, Ramadan in Jerusalem – where the three Abrahamic faiths coincide and oft collide – is a fascinating experience.
Nearly sisters: the common cause of Israeli and Palestinian women
August 2012 – The fog of war obscures the similar challenges facing women in Israel and Palestine and how the conflict hinders them from finding common cause.
اغسطس 2012 – يعتقد ساسون سومخ، الشاعر والكاتب وصديق الأديب المصري الراحل نجيب محفوظ، ان الأدب يتسامى على السياسة
Half a day with the ‘last Arab Jew’
August 2012 – Sasson Somekh, critic and friend of the late Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, believes literature transcends politics and can bridge cultures.
Israel and Egypt’s other revolution
July 2012 – The creation of Israel sparked a revolution in Egypt, and Nasser, the legendary champion of the Arab cause, once sought peace with the Jewish state.
July 2012 – Living behind the ‘Zion Curtain’ reveals how alike Israelis and Palestinians are and how ordinary people must build common ground on this shared land.
Principle and pragmatism demand end to Gaza blockade
June 2012 – Both humanity and self-interest should compel Israel to end its inhumane siege of Gaza.
Safeguarding Arab media heritage… in Israel
June 2012 – The world’s largest Arabic-language press archive is located in Israel. Should Arabs use it or boycott it?
Rethinking the right of return
May 2012 – Palestinians understandably dream of return, but focusing on the right of return is standing in the way of other, more vital rights.
The battle for Palestinian memory
May 2012 – Palestinians run the risk of forgetting the Nakba and there are those who do not wish us to remember it. But our future freedom depends on our memory.
Video: Personal Palestine – Part 1: A disappearing world
May 2012 – In part I of this Palestinian great-grandmother’s story, she tells of the tranquil Jerusalem in which she spent her youth until disaster struck.
Mustafa Barghouti: “We are heading towards a Palestinian Spring”
May 2012 – Palestinian reformer Mustafa Barghouti on the demise of the peace process, the death of the two-state option and the dawning of the Palestinian Spring.
March 2012 – Africans in the Holy Land are challenging the whitewashing of their identities and are taking greater pride in their heritage.
Civil rights and wrongs in the Palestinian struggle
March 2012 – Young Palestinian activists are drawing inspiration from the civil rights movement, but are reluctant to redefine their struggle along similar lines.
Shlomo Sand: “I am not a Jew. I am an Israeli.”
March 2012 – Bestselling Israeli historian Shlomo Sand identity politics, political despair, why Lieberman is right… and drowning sorrows with Mahmoud Darwish.
‘Reel’ freedom in East Jerusalem
March 2012 – The reopening of a landmark East Jerusalem cinema could provide local Palestinians with a much-needed dose of ‘reel’ freedom. Read in Arabic
February 2012 – Despite the ugly war of words between Israelis and Arabs, Israel does also get some good press in the Arab world and has some surprising admirers.
Nomad with nowhere to go [video]
February 2012 – Salama is young, unemployed and so cut off by Israeli settlements that he has almost nowhere to go and no friends to hang out with except his brother.
Travelling without political baggage
February 2012 – Israelis and Palestinians travelling together without their political baggage can help pave the way to the mutual respect eventual peace requires.
January 2012 – As Israeli-Palestinian peace talks fail again, it is time to build a New Canaan of diversity, tolerance and peace based on reimagined identities.
Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes
January 2012 – Cyber attacks on Israel shock those who see Arabs as backward, but there are less hostile ways to hack away at mutual stereotypes.
January 2012 – The banning of a Jewish festival this year in Egypt is wrong, both from a secular and religious perspective.
The power of Palestinian ingenuity
January 2012 – Outsiders are more likely to associate Palestine with statehood-pending than patent-pending, but innovation is crucial to building a better future.
Hebron settlers: The art of peace
January 2012 – The settlers in Hebron are widely regarded as the enemies of peace. That’s why I, as an Egyptian, decided it was essential to get to know them.
Part II – From secular America to religious Hebron
Part III – “We are not extremists”
Part IV – “I don’t like Tel Aviv, does that mean we should tear Tel Aviv down”
Part V – Palestinian people do not exist, are “PR bluff”
Part VI – Living with Palestinian “dhimmis”
December 2011 – The Holy Land is where Christmas began. But with the relative decline of Christianity there, does the yuletide still retain its spirit?
December 2011 – Following the successful Palestinian ‘freedom rides’, it’s time for Israeli ‘freedom riders’ to cross the barriers between the two peoples.
Israel’s Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Netanyahu
December 2011 – Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu are so alike it is hard to tell them apart. The best way to neutralise them is through a nuclear weapons-free Middle East.
November 2011 – Palestinian ‘freedom riders’ defiantly boarded a bus to Jerusalem. So is the next stop for the Palestinian struggle a mass civil rights movement?
Avoiding the ultimate price tag in Israel
October 2011 – With the rise in Jewish fanaticism, Israelis are faced with a paradox: peace with the Palestinians could stoke conflict within their own ranks but avoiding full-blown civil war requires an end to the occupation.
October 2011 – Although alcohol is ‘haraam’, Muslim societies have rarely managed to stay on the wagon, and vital parts of their culture have developed under the influence.
October 2011 – Left-wing Israelis do not buy Netanyahu’s scare tactics and look forward to living side by side with an independent Palestine.
Walking on the moon in Ramallah
September 2011 – As an Israeli and a Jew, Ramallah once seemed to be as distant as outer space. So joining the crowds celebrating the Palestinian UN bid was like a small step for a man but a giant leap for my mind.
A civil compromise to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
September 2011 – With the Palestinian bid to join the UN likely to get them nowhere, there is a more civil way out of the impasse that will give both Israelis and Palestinians what they want.
September 2011 – As a rare Egyptian in Jerusalem, I have felt something akin to being a B-list celebrity.
Special report: Palestine@UN September 2011 – This special report features Palestinian, Israeli and other interested and knowledgeable voices who air their views on the significance and ramifications of the Palestinian quest to seek UN recognition.
Egypt and Israel: cold peace or cold war?
September 2011 – Relations between Israel and post-revolution Egypt are proving tetchy – but ordinary people hold the keys to peace.
September 2011 – Recognising the good qualities of the other side can be a first step to healing Arab-Israeli wounds.
Confessions of a ‘self-hating Arab’
August 2011 – Only self-hating Arabs and Jews can save the Middle East from itself.
Egypt, Israel and Palestine: towards the promised land of peace?
August 2011 – It is high time for Israelis and Palestinians – with grassroots support from Egyptians – to unlock their latent people’s power and forge a popular peace.
August 2011 – Ramadan is when Muslims fast and feast, but the holy month has something to offer those of other faiths, or none.
Can peace be as simple as child’s play?
August 2011 – Palestinian and Israeli children are victims of the conflict they have inherited. So can joint schools help them learn to live together?
Riding the school bus together in Jerusalem
July 2011 – Bilingual Hebrew-Arabic schooling has the potential to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis. So why aren’t there more of them? Arabic version
July 2011 – Both time and space are running out for the two-state solution. If Israelis wish to preserve the Jewish identity of their state, they need to act now to create a Palestinian state.
July 2011 – Israelis and Arabs tend to believe that they share little in common. But in reality they are more alike than they like to admit.
Which comes first: Palestine or the Palestinians?
June 2011 – Rather than grant them statehood, Palestinian plans to go to the UN could backfire. Instead, come September, the Palestinians should formally hand over control of the Occupied Territories to Israel and demand full citizenship.
June 2011 – Can Israelis and Palestinians learn something about building bridges between divided communities from the Egyptian revolution?
Jerusalem: the city where peace lost its way
June 2011 – Although it is called the ‘House of Peace’, Jerusalem’s reality is that of conflict and dwindling hope. But can this divided city ever live up to its name?
June 2011 – Rather than an almost miraculous blessing, Israel’s six-day victory in 1967 has proven to be a naksa for Israelis and Arabs alike.
Reinventing the Palestinian struggle
May 2011 – Inspired by the Arab spring, a new generation of Palestinians plan to fight the occupation with olive branches.
Recognising the weakness of mutual rejectionism
May 2011 – Palestinian reconciliation offers a golden opportunity for a peace deal. But reaching one requires Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to recognise some hard facts.
February 2011 – The Egyptian revolution could usher in freedom to the Middle East, but Arabs and Israelis must break free of the chains of prejudice, history and fear.
February 2011 – A democratic Egypt will not go to war with Israel, but for the cold peace to thaw, Israel must ends its occupation.
توجهات جديدة للنزاع العربي الإسرائيلي
ديسمبر 2010 – تتجاوز القضية الأخلاقية لصالح زيادة التفاهم في أهميتها قضية انتهاك حقوق النشر، حسب رأي الصحفي خالد دياب، رداً على قرصنة ترجمة رواية مصرية مشهورة إلى العبرية
EU: from soft to soft power of Israel
November 2010 – Rather than quietly walking down the aisle with Israel, the EU should harness its formidable ‘soft power’ to promote peace.
Novel approaches to the Arab-Israeli conflict
November 2010 – Despite infringing on the author’s copyright and wishes, the unauthorised Hebrew translation of a bestselling Egyptian novel highlights how the word can help blunt the sword.
October 2010 – Should organisations raising money for foreign militaries or to perpetuate occupations enjoy charitable status?
قرارات المحاكم الأخيرة في مصر وإسرائيل تُظهِر مدى الشك الذي وصل إليه اليهود والعرب الإسرائيليين
September 2010 – Arabs and Israelis tend to view personal relationships that cross the divide between them with suspicion, perhaps because individual love has the power to undermine collective hate.
Peace summit or the height of folly?
August 2010 – Can an activists’ peace summit at the top of Mont Blanc help bridge the abyss of Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
July 2010 – A return to an ancestral homeland is a dream that’s long inspired diasporas – often with troubling results.
Love and loathing in the Middle East
June 2010 – By calling Egyptians who marry Israelis traitors, Egypt has betrayed a group of vulnerable people who are guilty of little more than loving across enemy lines.
May 2010 – Jordanian journalists believe they do not enjoy enough freedom – a malaise shared with the rest of the Middle East. But why?
سبيل للخروج من فوضى الشرق الأوسط
يناقش خالد دياب بأن انتشار الأسلحة النووية سوف يستمر طالما استمرّينا في التعامل مع ترسانة إسرائيل النووية
A way out of the Middle East’s critical mess
May 2010 – As Barack Obama seeks to tackle the proliferation of nuclear weapons, it is high time for Israel to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
March 2010 – The Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel remain controversial, but Arabs and Israelis can draw lessons from Anwar el-Sadat’s quest for peace.
January 2010 – Israel is building a new anti-migrant barrier along its Egyptian border – leaving Mubarak’s regime with one problem fewer.
التسوية الفلسطينية عبر الصندوق الانتخابي
قد حان الوقت لمحمود عباس أن يذهب بكرامته وفتح المجال للشعب لكي يقررعبر صندوق الاقتراع
Palestinian reconciliation through the ballot box
October 2009 – To break the destructive deadlock between Fatah and Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas should step down as Palestinian president, call immediate elections and organise referenda on the future course of the Palestinian struggle.
Middle East: a Belgian solution?
October 2009 – Northern Ireland offers one model for Israeli-Palestinian peace. But a dose of Belgian pragmatism wouldn’t go amiss either.
يمثل صعود حماس والليكود ويسرائيل بيتنا إلى السلطة تصلّباً مخيفاً للرؤى الوطنية لا يبشر بالخير للمستقبل. بدلاً من أن تستحوذ عليهم كيفيّة تصادم هوياتهم، يحتاج الإسرائيليون والفلسطينيون لأن يركزوا المزيد من الاهتمام على النواحي التي تتداخل حياتهم عبرها
August 2009 - Instead of obsessing over how their identities clash, Israelis and Palestinians need to focus more attention on where they mesh.
Who’s responsible for the Arab world’s mess?
August 2009 – A UN report has reignited the controversy over who is to blame for the sorry state of the Arab world: Arabs or the West?
Grassroots change we CAN believe in
June 2009 – One of Barack Obama’s winning campaign slogans was “change we can believe in”. And with his presidency, everything has changed and nothing has changed when it comes to US foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
تغيير على مستوى الجذور نستطيع أن نؤمن به
كان أحد شعارات حملة باراك أوباما الناجحة “تغيير نستطيع أن نؤمن به”. ومع توليه الرئاسة، تغير كل شيء، إلا أن شيئاً لم يتغير بالنسبة لسياسة الولايات المتحدة الخارجية تجاه النزاع الإسرائيلي الفلسطيني
April 2009 – A new book lifts the veil off Israel’s Arab face and shows how, like the Palestinians, Middle Eastern Jews fell victim to political forces beyond their control.
April 2009 – Although the Israeli-Palestinian media battlefield is bitter and deeply entrenched, journalists have a responsibility to venture into the no man’s land between the two sides, even if it means getting caught in the crossfire.
رغم أن ساحة الحرب الإعلامية الإسرائيلية الفلسطينية تشوبها المرارة وهي متحصنة جيداً، إلا أن على الصحفيين مسؤولية المغامرة في الأرض الحرام بين الجانبين، حتى لو عنى ذلك الوقوع في خط مرمى النار
The Middle East media frontline
March 2009 – Pro-Israelis and pro-Palestinian need to join forces and find common ground in the no-man’s-land of the media battlefield. Read talk
February 2009 – The Dutch have employed some novel flower power to persuade Israel to relax its embargo on Gaza. Now it’s time to end the blockade.
February 2009 – As the dust settles on Gaza, is the best vision for the future of the Middle East a one, two or three-state solution?
January 2009 – The economic rewards of peace are supposed to lure Israelis and Palestinians away from conflict. But what if war is its own reward?
January 2009 – Rafah, a city divided between Gaza and Egypt, and between war and peace, prays for the opening of the border crossing.
September 2008 – Belief in the sacredness of the holy land has long bedevilled the quest for peace. It’s time to challenge the ‘God veto’.
September 2008 – With neither a two-state or bi-national solution imminent, Palestinians and their Israeli allies should attend to civil rights.
August 2008 – Israeli voters should give their next leader a clear mandate to negotiate an equitable peace with Syria.
August 2008 – A return to the negotiating table is encouraging, but Syria will have to make a daring gesture to win Israeli public sympathy.
The human cost of cluster bombs
September 2008 – Cluster bombs continue to hurt people and their livelihoods years after they were dropped.
Disarming the bomb in the basement
August 2008 – Israel’s weapons policy jeopardises the country’s own security and undermines efforts to create a nuclear-free Middle East.
Israeli elections: When there’s nothing left to lose
