Author: Sarah Judith Hofmann

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The duo that make up Dugri: Uriya Rosenman (left) and Sameh Zakout (photo: Sarah Hofmann/DW)

Palestinian-Israeli rappers

Dugri duo for dialogue

"We have had enough of hate and violence": when the situation between Hamas and Israel escalated again in May last year, a Jewish and an Arab Israeli sought an artistic and stirring response. They call themselves "Dugri" – straight talking for a better future. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Ask Project initiator Corey Gil-Shuster: Ask Israelis, ask Palestinians – beyond black and whiteMiddle East: Young Arabs "more Israeli and more Palestinian than ever"Arabs and Jews in Israel: You can't tear us apartThe West-Eastern Divan Orchestra: Consoling concertos
"Free Palestine!" demonstration in Munich (photo: Sachelle Babbar/Zuma Wire/picture-alliance)

The controversial Jerusalem Declaration

Why the world needs a new definition of anti-Semitism

Years ago, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance formulated how hatred of Jews can be recognised. Now a new definition is causing controversy. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Israeli-Palestinian dialogue: Israel, Palestine – and nuance as the moral imperativeInterview with Amos Oz: ''I love Israel even in times when I don't like it''Debate about anti-Semitism and the Middle East conflict: Dissidence and the Jewish diaspora
Israeli tear gas against Palestinian protests following the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in 2018 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/A. Abed)

Israeli literature

Yishai Sarid's "Minatzahat" – killing with no fear

"The Memory Monster" was a success for Israeli author Yishai Sarid. His latest book hasn't been published in English yet, but given his reach among Anglophone readers, it won't be long before there's a publishing deal for this controversial new novel. Sarah Judith Hofmann read the bookMore

Breaking the Silence: The ″turncoat″ sons of IsraelIsraeli author Lizzie Doron on Independence Day: "Israel is facing crucial decisions"Interview with Amos Oz: ''I love Israel even in times when I don't like it''Assaf Gavron's novel "The Hilltop": Message of political reconciliation
Mahdi Baraghithi at the Birzeit University exhibition (photo: DW/Sarah Hofmann)

4th Qalandiya International art exhibition

Showing for Palestinian solidarity

The fourth Qalandiya International exhibition opens with shows in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in Lebanon and Germany, crossing borders the Palestinians themselves can't pass. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Official Qalandiya International 2018 websiteQalandiya International – the first Palestinian Biennale: Against the flowQalandiya International: Palestine's contemporary arts festival
Israeli director Samuel Maoz (photo: DW/Sarah Judith Hofmann)

Interview with film director Samuel Maoz

Israeli "Foxtrot" pulls no punches

Award-winning filmmaker Samuel Maoz shares the personal story behind his latest film, Foxtrot, and why his allegory of Israeli society has made him an enemy to many in his home country. Interview by Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Film review: "Dancing Arabs" by Eran Riklis: Dancing at two weddingsBreaking the Silence: The ″turncoat″ sons of Israel Yotam Feldman's documentary "The Lab": Palestinians as guinea pigs?
Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour in his atelier in Ramallah (photo: Sarah Hofmann/DW)

Interview with Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour

Covert war

Palestinian Sliman Mansour is known as the "artist of the Intifada". Sarah Judith Hofmann spoke to him about 70 years of Israel, the daily passing of checkpoints and the symbolism of the dove of peaceMore

Mohammad Sabaaneh′s "White and Black: Political Cartoons from Palestine": Punching through the glassQalandiya International: Palestine's contemporary arts festival'Worst view in the world': Banksy opens hotel overlooking Bethlehem wall
Israeli author Amos Oz (photo: Imago/Leemage)

Interview with Israeli author Amos Oz

"I want peace"

Amos Oz, one of Israel's greatest living authors, has also been a pre-eminent peace activist and remains a passionate advocate of a two-state solution in his homeland. In interview with Sarah Judith Hofmann, Oz reveals how he believes peace can be achievedMore

Interview with Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell: Two states? A Sisyphean taskNew peace initiatives for the Middle East conflict: Two states, one homelandBreaking the Silence: The ″turncoat″ sons of Israel
German-Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann (photo: DW)

Interview with Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann

AfD's success comparable with the rise of the Nazis

Jews must speak out about the German general election result, says Moshe Zimmermann. The Israeli government, on the other hand, prefers to look the other way. In interview with Sarah Judith Hofmann, the German-Israeli historian explains whyMore

Facing down the AfD: We shall not be moved! Targeting the Muslim population: Presumed guiltyWhen anti-Semitism and Islamophobia join hands: The racist vortex
Syrian author Ramy al-Asheq (photo: Juliette Moarbes)

Interview with the Syrian writer Ramy al-Asheq

"Refugee is my situation"

He covered the demonstrations against Assad, was thrown into prison, yet managed to escape. More than anything, however, Ramy al–Asheq is a writer. In interview with Sarah Hofmann, he explains why the "Weiter Schreiben" initiative is so important to himMore

Germany′s first Arabic newspaper for refugees: Newcomers, not refugeesSyrian refugee Nather Henafe Alali: Exile and integration: the double whammyGermany’s refugee debate: Integration is a two-way street
Scene from the ARD mini-series ″Mitten in Deutschland: NSU″: (from left to right) Uwe Mundlos (Albrecht Schuch), Beate Zschape (Anna Maria Muhe) and Uwe Bohnhardt (Sebastian Urzendowsky)

German mini-series: ″Mitten in Deutschland: NSU″

Don't look the other way!

The NSU neo-Nazi terrorist trial barely makes the headlines anymore. A German TV miniseries on their alleged murders also met with little interest. Sarah Judith Hofmann wonders whether Germans are even interested in the case being solvedMore

NSU documentary: "Der Kuafor aus der Keupstraße": Probing the open woundTurkish victims of the NSU murders in Germany: A daughter demands justiceRight-wing extremism and Islamophobia in Germany: Sending out a political signal
Algerian author and journalist Kamel Daoud (photo: AFP/Getty Images/B. Langlois)

The Algerian writer Kamel Daoud

Who is the Arab man?

He has written about Albert Camus, the New Year’s Eve assaults in Cologne and the Arab man. He has had a ″fatwa″ issued against him and been accused of Islamophobia. At Germany's top literature festival, ″Lit.Cologne″, however, he was the man of the moment. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Book review: Kamel Daoud's "The Meursault Investigation": To kill an ArabNew Year′s Eve assaults on women: The Cologne outcryInterview with Yasmina Khadra: "The Algerian regime is pulling all the strings"
Sarah Judith Hofmann (photo: Deutsche Welle)

Sexual assaults at Cologne′s main station

#KoelnHbf – An attack on my freedom

The sex attacks at Cologne's main railway terminal are intolerable, regardless of where the perpetrators come from. An outcry is essential (#aufschrei). It is not acceptable that women in Germany become a target. Commentary by Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Cologne: New Year's Eve mob: Thinly veiled racism Cologne: sexual assaults and the press code: Outrage reaches new heightsViolence against women: Young Arab men fight for women′s rights
Bremen publisher Madjid Mohit (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Wagner)

PEN Centre honours Iranian-German publisher Madjid Mohit

Taking ″aerial root″

Madjid Mohit was one of those publishers and literary figures to flee Iran and its strict policy of censorship at the beginning of the nineties. These days he sells literature with ″aerial roots″ in Bremen. He was recently awarded the Hermann Kesten Prize by Germany′s PEN Centre for his untiring work promoting the work of authors in exile. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellionObituary: Mohammad-Ali Sepanlou: A master of contemporary Iranian lettersBook review: Ramin Jahanbegloo's "Time Will Say Nothing": "The last stop before hell"