Interview with Amos Oz
"For Israel, it is a lose-lose situation"
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Gaza
Propaganda war
Women in Libya
High hopes brutally dashed
Iran's nuclear programme
Hope Must Go On

Interview with Amos Oz

"For Israel, it is a lose-lose situation"

Israel's ground offensive against Gaza is justified but excessive, says Amos Oz in this interview with Dennis Stute. However, the Israeli writer is also critical of the Hamas strategy of attacking Israel from within civilian areasRead more

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Gaza: Propaganda warIsraeli military offensive in Gaza: Israel cannot winInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Gaza

Propaganda war

The escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has been accompanied on both sides by massive propaganda drives. According to Joseph Croitoru, each side is attempting to speak directly to the opposing side through its propagandaRead more

Israeli military offensive in Gaza: Israel cannot winEscalation in the Middle East: Provocation and violenceInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"

Women in Libya

High hopes brutally dashed

The 2011 revolution raised Libyan women's hopes that they could in future play a more active role in society and politics, leading to the establishment of many women's rights groups. However, the militias' power games and ongoing violence are putting the progress achieved thus far at risk. By Valerie StockerRead more

Women's movements in the transitioning Arab states: For dignity, peace and equal rightsPower struggle in Libya: A permanent state of chaosFemale Activists in Libya: Fighting against Regression

Iran's nuclear programme

Hope Must Go On

In view of the stubborn hurdles on the path to a permanent nuclear treaty, Iran and the five UN veto powers plus Germany have agreed to continue their talks. Hope for a settlement remains. Yet the risks are not necessarily getting any smaller. By Ulrich von SchwerinRead more

Portrait: Qassem Soleimani: The man who pulls the stringsIran's role in the Iraq conflict: An ally, but not a puppetOne year on from Rouhani's election victory: Surprise and disenchantment

Politics

Amos Oz (photo: picture-alliance/ZB)

Interview with Amos Oz

"For Israel, it is a lose-lose situation"

Israel's ground offensive against Gaza is justified but excessive, says Amos Oz in this interview with Dennis Stute. However, the Israeli writer is also critical of the Hamas strategy of attacking Israel from within civilian areasMore

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Gaza: Propaganda warIsraeli military offensive in Gaza: Israel cannot winInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"
A Palestinian boy sweeping up rubble outside a bombed-out building in Gaza (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Gaza

Propaganda war

The escalating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has been accompanied on both sides by massive propaganda drives. According to Joseph Croitoru, each side is attempting to speak directly to the opposing side through its propagandaMore

Israeli military offensive in Gaza: Israel cannot winEscalation in the Middle East: Provocation and violenceInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"
The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Catherine Ashton, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (photo: Reuters)

Iran's nuclear programme

Hope Must Go On

In view of the stubborn hurdles on the path to a permanent nuclear treaty, Iran and the five UN veto powers plus Germany have agreed to continue their talks. Hope for a settlement remains. Yet the risks are not necessarily getting any smaller. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Portrait: Qassem Soleimani: The man who pulls the stringsIran's role in the Iraq conflict: An ally, but not a puppetOne year on from Rouhani's election victory: Surprise and disenchantment
Ruined buildings in the Gaza Strip, 19 July 2014 (photo: DW/Shawgy el Farra)

Israeli military offensive in Gaza

1

Israel cannot win

All those whose opinions differ from the prevailing view are considered saboteurs. In this guest commentary, the Israeli writer Etgar Keret describes how the thought police are dominating his homeland and explains why the problems Israel faces cannot simply be bombed awayMore

Israel's crisis politics: On hope and despair in the Middle EastInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"Etgar Keret and Samir El-Youssef: The Incursion of Politics into the Private SphereInterview with Etgar Keret: The Ambivalence of the Wall
more Politics »

Society

Women in Libya

High hopes brutally dashed

The 2011 revolution raised Libyan women's hopes that they could in future play a more active role in society and politics, leading to the establishment of many women's rights groups. However, the militias' power games and ongoing violence are putting the progress achieved thus far at risk. By Valerie StockerMore

Women's movements in the transitioning Arab states: For dignity, peace and equal rightsPower struggle in Libya: A permanent state of chaosFemale Activists in Libya: Fighting against Regression
Dr. Mads Gilbert tends to a child in al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza, 2009 (photo Getty Images)

Interview with Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert

1

"Nobody is safe in Gaza"

Professor of Medicine at the University of Tromso, Norway, Mads Gilbert is currently working at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. He has been volunteering in Gaza on and off for the last 17 years and recently submitted a report to the UN on the state of the health sector in Gaza. In this interview with Roma Rajpal Weiss, Gilbert describes the present situation at the hospital and in GazaMore

Israeli military offensive in Gaza: Israel cannot winEscalation in the Middle East: Provocation and violenceInterview with Raji Sourani in Gaza: "We are just soft targets: we are very cheap"
Inside the El Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia (photo: dpa)

The Jewish community in Tunisia

"Everything is ok; we don't have any problems"

Once numbering over one hundred thousand, Tunisia's Jewish community has dwindled over the years. Its members practice discretion, but certainly have no desire to hide. By Sarah Mersch in TunisiaMore

Interview with M'Hammad Bennaboud: The Muslims and Jews of TétouanInterview with Benjamin Stora: The history of relations between Jews and MuslimsChristians in Tunisia: Cause for Concern
more Society »

Culture

Yahya Hassan during a reading of his poetry (photo: dpa)

The Young Danish poet Yahya Hassan

Whiz kid from the ghetto

Barely 18 years old, Yahya Hassan has thrilled readers and enriched Denmark's literary scene with his first volume of poetry. He also polarises opinion. Daniel Bax on Denmark's new poetry sensationMore

International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2014: "Frankenstein in Baghdad": Beyond good and evilSyria's opposition writers: Fighting oppression and censorshipTranslations of Classical Islamic Literature: From the Emotional Orient to the Distortion of Islam
Quraishi (photo: Evergreene Music)

Album review: "Mountain Melodies" by Quraishi

Keeping the voice of Afghanistan alive

Despite the beauty of Afghan rubab music, it is not well known outside the country and, according to Richard Marcus, infrequently heard inside Afghanistan too. On his new album, "Mountain Melodies", the Afghan-born rubab player Quraishi shares the austere beauty and intricacy of this music and demonstrates his virtuosityMore

Aziza Brahim's CD "Soutak": Music of beauty from a barren landSaladin Ahmed's ''Throne of the Crescent Moon'': An Arab-American Fantasy EpicInterview with Michael Muhammad Knight: ''Religious Laws Can Change''
Cigdem Aslan (photo: Handan Erek)

Portrait: the singer Cigdem Aslan

Songs of the outcasts

Rebetiko is a musical genre that describes the emotionally charged songs of Greeks who were expelled from Turkey in the wake of the population exchange of 1923. Cigdem Aslan, a young Kurd from London, lends her powerful voice to the stories behind these songs. By Marian BrehmerMore

A Musical Traveler: Muammer Ketencoğlu: Building New Bridges with MusicAziza Brahim's CD "Soutak": Music of beauty from a barren landInterview with the composer Marc Sinan: A modern-day Bartók of Turkic music
more Culture »

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In 532, the Roman Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of an awe-inspiring church in his residence, Constantinople, "one that has never existed since Adam's time, and one that will never exist again." Around 10,000 workers were involved in its construction. For a millennium, the basilica on the Bosphorus remained Christendom’s biggest church.

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Fikrun wa Fann/Art & Thought

Fikrun wa Fann/Art & Thought is the Goethe Institut's cultural magazine for dialogue with the Islamic world. "1914 – The First World War and the reshaping of the East" is the title of the 100th edition of the magazine. This anniversary edition is dedicated to the First World War, which broke out one hundred years ago this year. The events of the turbulent four years of the war not only changed Europe in the short-term; its consequences are still felt across the continent and beyond to this day.More