Israel
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When blackmail becomes policy
For ʹPalestinian peace processʹ read ʹIran war processʹ
The success of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process model is there for all to borrow and copy. Create a regional ʹprocessʹ sponsored or led by the U.S. and attach to it ʹpeaceʹ, ʹwarʹ, or any other temptingly big carrot, then woo and blackmail the desperate parties you are targeting by turns. Essay by Khaled Hroub
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Interview with Palestinian Culture Minister Atef Abu Saif
"We need citizen-oriented policies"
The foyer is hung with pop-art pictures of Palestinian poets and thinkers such as Mahmoud Darwish and Edward Said. The Palestinian Ministry of Culture in Ramallah is keen to present itself as open-minded, modern – just like its new boss, Atef Abu Saif. Interview by Inge Gunther
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Israel′s parliamentary elections
To be or not to be – the Netanyahu question
Rarely has there been a more exciting run-up to an election in Israel – yet rarely one so polarising either. After ten years in office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's re-election now hangs in the balance. His challenger, former Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz, is matching him in the polls. Inge Gunther reports from Jerusalem
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U.S.A. recognises Israeli annexation
Why so silent over the Golan?
U.S. President Donald Trump has disregarded international law by recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. But why have reactions to the move thus far been so muted? By Karim El-Gawhary
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Interview with playwright and novelist Sasha Marianna Salzmann
The trap of the century
Shortlisted for the 2017 German Book Prize with her debut novel "Ausser Sich", playwright and novelist Sasha-Marianna Salzmann discusses the sense of flux – in language, gender and in nations – that dominates contemporary existence and how the past continues to live on. Interview by Noha Abdelrassoul
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Portrait of the Israeli performance artist Adi Liraz
Provocation as a search for identity
Berlin-based Israeli artist Adi Liraz works the history and stories of the women in her family into her fabric artworks, re-telling them for posterity. In the process, she challenges existing narratives about home, femininity and identity. By Ceyda Nurtsch
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The West versus the Islamic Republic?
Iran's 40 years of strife
The 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution might have offered the West an opportunity to reflect on the failure of four decades of disengagement to bring the Islamic Republic any closer to collapse – or the region any closer to peace. Instead, the Trump administration has doubled down on hostility, with nothing to show for it. By Javier Solana
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Beer from the Holy Land
Kosher and halal
Despite the political conflicts, a Christian Arab family has been successfully brewing beer in the Palestinian territories for about 25 years. The brewery takes both Muslim and Jewish dietary stipulations into account. Jamal Saad paid a visit
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Jerusalemʹs Africans
Alienation and counter-alienation
Yasser Qous, son of African-Palestinians, explains the feeling of foreignness experienced by Africans in 1970s Jerusalem and the alienation of African parishioners from each other at the time
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Interfaith initiatives from Morocco to Jerusalem
Dialogue by design
Landscape architecture is a field that grapples with social inequality and spatial complexity – two characteristics that Jerusalem embodies. Sarah Turkenicz compares the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem with the Akrich tree nursery in Morocco and argues for a more sympathetic design approach when dealing with interfaith relations
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Palestinians criticise Internet censorship in Israel
"They are afraid of the truth"
Israel is censoring an increasing number of online posts from Palestinians and isn't shying away from arrests. Palestinians are desperate to preserve their freedom of expression and are fighting for their digital rights. By Tessa Fox
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Walking in the footsteps of the Lord in the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre
It is three in the morning and the Armenian Orthodox cleric Artak Tadevosyan distributes incense through the corridors of the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified and buried. Impressions of Ammar Awad and Corinna Kern