Palestine
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Co-existence and the Middle East conflict
Jews and Muslims find common ground in small-town Germany
An unusual organisation brings Jews and Muslims together to fight hate and promote dialogue. In the small central German city of Marburg they have been jointly calling for an end to the violence in the Middle East. Oliver Pieper reports
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Interview with Mustafa Barghouti
Palestinians rediscover their sense of unity
Mustafa Barghouthi, Palestinian politician and secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative party is a key voice of the secular liberal left in Palestinian politics. Following the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire, he gives his view of events in Israel and the Occupied Territories in recent days and his hopes for German and European foreign policy going forward. Interview by Jannis Hagmann
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Escalation in the Middle East
Israeli-Hamas hostilities: same old story, or is it?
A young generation is rising up in the Middle East, fed up with the old politics. They are no longer interested in a two-state solution or territory, but in equal civil rights in an Israeli state, writes Karim El-Gawhary in his commentary
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Isabella Hammad on "The Parisian"
A new generation of Palestinian artists
Isabella Hammad’s "The Parisian" is an engaging and accomplished debut based on the life of her great-grandfather. Set during the end of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Palestinian nationalism, it is a classic coming-of-age novel. In interview with Schayan Riaz, the young British author with Palestinian roots talks about racism, the publishing world and giving a voice to Palestinians
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Violence flares in the Middle East
Foreign Affairs: "Paradigm Lost" – From two-state solution to one-state reality
Once a supporter of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ian S. Lustick now deems that goal a deceptively Solomonic, and often disingenuous, approach to avoiding a "one-state reality". Lisa Anderson read the book
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Unrest over Sheikh Jarrah
With Jerusalem on edge, Palestinian families face eviction
Renewed protests and violent clashes with Israeli security forces at the weekend have prompted the court hearing scheduled for 10 May to be postponed. Yet it remains unclear what the final outcome for four Palestinian families facing eviction by Jewish settler organisations in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah will be. By Tania Kraemer
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Berlinale 2021: Samaher al-Qadi's "As I want"
“We’re meant to be ashamed of the way we laugh”
In her documentary, the young Palestinian filmmaker Samaher al-Qadi gives us a passionate and very personal view of what it means to be an Arab woman. Her film explores the oppression of women and its deep roots in society, but also women’s will to fight against it. By Rene Wildangel
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Book review: Amjad Nasser's "Land of No Rain"
A milestone of modern Arabic literature
Jordanian author Amjad Nasser, who died in 2019, presents an impressive tale of homelands, life in exile and the hardships of returning home. His profound eloquence and use of experimental literary forms make “Land of No Rain” a landmark publication in modern Arabic literature, writes Martina Sabra in her review for Qantara
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Interview with Ask Project initiator Corey Gil-Shuster
Ask Israelis, ask Palestinians – beyond black and white
In 2012, fed up with people expressing clear-cut opinions on the rights and wrongs of the Middle East conflict, Canadian conflict researcher and long-time Israeli resident Corey Gil-Shuster grabbed his video camera and went out onto the streets in Israel and the Occupied Territories to ask ordinary people their views. The result: the Ask project. Inge Gunther met up with him for Qantara.de in Tel Aviv
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Interview with Irish author Colum McCann
"Apeirogon" – an entire kaleidoscope of pain
Israeli Rami Elhanan’s daughter Smadar was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber in 1997, Palestinian Bassam Aramin’s daughter Abir was shot in the head ten years later by Israeli border police. Irish author Colum McCann takes the lives of these two men as a starting point to tell a story of war, friendship, grief and hope. Interview by Schayan Riaz
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Interview with political scientist Abdalhadi Alijla
Trust in the state is a precious commodity
In his most recent book, "Trust in Divided Societies: State, Institutions and Governance in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine", political scientist Abdalhadi Alijla writes that not culture, but the failure of state institutions is what is causing the crisis of statehood in the Middle East. In this interview with Tugrul von Mende, Alijla argues for the reconfiguration of incompetent state bodies as a means of regaining the public's trust
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Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act
Congress allocates historic funding to Middle East peace
This week United States Congress passed the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, historic legislation delivering unprecedented levels of funding for peacebuilding in Israel and Palestine. This follows over a decade of advocacy by the Alliance for Middle East Peace – ALLMEP – toward the creation of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.