Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Amelia Smith
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A rough ride for Egypt's economy
Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are enjoying a healthy flow of tourists, thanks to turmoil in the Middle East which has driven holidaymakers away from the Red Sea resorts of Egypt and towards the Acropolis in Athens, reported The New York Times recently. Once badly affected by the euro...
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The systematic arrest of journalists in Egypt, and a trade treat for Canada
On Sunday, the world learnt that the detention of Tarek Loubani and John Greyson had been extended by 45 days. The Canadian doctor and filmmaker have been held without charge since mid-August when they were arrested after filming and providing aid to the wounded during clashes between anti-coup protesters...
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Egypt's Kung Fu champion evokes memories of the 1968 black power salute
Wearing a yellow t-shirt with the familiar Rabaa salute, Egyptian Kung Fu champion Mohammed Youssef stepped up to receive his gold medal at the World Championship in Russia this weekend. But what was for him a symbol of solidarity with those violently attacked demonstrating in Rabaa Adawiya square, Egypt,...
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A constitution for all Egyptians, except the opposition
A new banner advertising a ‘constitution for all Egyptians’ depicts an unlikely looking collection of people. Standing in a line, from right to left, is a soldier, a man with downs syndrome, an Egyptian farmer, a woman wearing a suit and a doctor wearing a stethoscope round his neck,...
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US aid to Egypt will sanction military-backed regime
Last week, after an evening pasting ‘No to the Constitution’ posters to walls in Cairo’s downtown Garden City, three volunteers from the Strong Egypt party headed to take a minibus home. But en route down the Corniche they were arrested by police and taken to Qasr al-Nil police station....
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Egypt's new role in the future of Palestine
Recently, millions of Egyptians crowded round TV sets in Cairo to watch two presidential candidates debate their country’s future. For citizens more used to having a political system imposed on them than joining in the discussion, they seem to have adapted quickly. Cheers and applause broke out as the...
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Israel and the theory of the Other
In 1896 Theodor Herzl wrote “The Jewish State”, a book that was to change the lives of Palestinians forever. Believing that Jews would always be subject to anti-Semitism whilst they formed a disparate community, or lived as minorities in other countries, Herzl proposed that they must have a land...
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What would a Muslim Brotherhood victory mean for Israel and Palestine?
A 200km barricade being built along the Egypt-Israel border, originally designed to deter illegal immigrants and smugglers from entering Israel, has this week taken on a new significance. In the latest event to mark a decline in relations between the two countries, gunmen attacked construction workers building the security...
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Reconciling identity with military service: Israel's factions
On a warm summer evening in Jerusalem, hundreds of young soldiers gather in the plaza facing the Wailing Wall. They could be teenagers anywhere in the world only they are dressed in olive green and have huge black guns strapped across their shoulders. Posing for photographs it is the...
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Poll confirms what we already know - Israel is an apartheid state
Do Israeli citizens really want an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict that has beset the Middle East for so many years? The findings of a poll conducted by Dialog on behalf of the Yisraela Goldblum Fund and published in Haaretz last week suggest that no, they don’t. What many...
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Israel's claim to be fighting terrorism now rings hollow
As the conflict in the Gaza Strip reaches its eighth day, there is no tangible evidence to suggest a truce is imminent. The Israeli military has dropped leaflets over the Strip warning civilians to leave their homes and head to specified “safe zones”. As the violence escalates, almost 30 Palestinian...
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As the violence in Syria continues, increasing numbers of academics seek refuge in the UK
“Assad or we burn the country” said the Syrian dictator from the outset of the revolution. A grim promise made in 2011 that if the demonstrations didn’t stop he would make life so unbearable opponents would be forced to surrender. A terrifying two years later, Assad has been true...
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Women's racing team in Ramallah shows that there's more to Palestine than the Occupation
An all women’s motor racing team is not the first subject that springs to mind when imagining a new documentary to come out of the occupied West Bank, yet six Palestinian female racers, in fact the Arab world’s first all female team, are set to feature in a production...
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Over the Wall: A UK football team's journey into Egypt and Occupied Palestine
It begun with about 123 hours of footage, smuggled past suspicious border guards, and Jasper’s kitchen floor for a studio: “Terrible for our backs and postures,” Matthew explains. As the crowd disperses from the sold out cinema at the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation in London, I chat to the...
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The Missing Piece of the Arab Spring jigsaw? What the protests mean for Jordan
The protests in downtown Amman are a restrained affair and do not compete in size to the millions in Tahrir Square, Cairo. In fact, other than on Fridays, it’s hard to find any trace of them. Where they do bear resemblance to Egypt, however, is that both began with...
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Yosri Fouda on Egypt After the Revolution
In real life Yosri Fouda is relaxed. A warm character with a grey pin stripe suit, he settles down on a brown leather chair in the Frontline Club to begin his discussion. In a show characterised by positivity and determination, last night in conversation with senior BBC presenter Lyse...
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Seeking refuge across the border: Syria's Palestinian population
Cyber City in the border town of Al-Ramtha, Jordan was once an industrial complex, but since May has become a transit camp for refugees fleeing the terror in Syria. According to footage obtained by Al Jazeera, families of up to eight people share a single room there and are...
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Israel's latest law confirms bias in judicial system
It’s hard not to notice the biased nature of Israel’s justice system. At the end of July the Supreme Court delayed the eviction of Israel’s largest settlement, Migron, which was built on private Palestinian land and is deemed illegal by the United Nations. As settlements have grown in Israel...
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Will Morsi's dismissal of key officials stabilise Sinai?
Gone are the days of Hosni Mubarak when security officials weathered the storm of terror attacks in Egypt, escaping dismissal and accountability. Mohamed Morsi has this week attempted to set the precedent for a new era of strength, one in which public figures will be held accountable for their...
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From rhetoric to action: largest Protestant church in Canada prepares to boycott Israeli settlement goods
The resistance against Israel’s occupation took another step forward this week as Canada’s largest Protestant church looks likely to go ahead with a planned boycott of products made in Israeli settlements. The United Church of Canada’s proposition requests members to “avoid any and all products produced in the settlements”,...
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Egypt Divided Over Friday 24th Protests
It’s less than two months since Mohamed Morsi took office in Egypt, yet a group of protesters took to the streets today to demand he step down; the activists called for the dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood and for his dismissal. One of the leaders of the protest and...
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'Israel Loves Iran' A New Social Networking Campaign
On one photo, Syrus from Iran stands on the beach, his arms outstretched and a huge smile across his face. On another, Aval from Israel and Faran from Iran join their forefingers and thumbs together to create a heart shape, smiling at the camera. In fact the Facebook page...
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Israel tries, again, to justify expanding West Bank settlements
In October 1979 the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the eviction of the illegal settlement of Elon Moreh in the West Bank. Basing its decision on the Hague Convention of 1907, the Court ruled that the land was private, belonged to Palestinians and could only be expropriated for military benefits;...
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The Palestine-Israel conflict through the eyes of Israeli intelligence
In Israel its motto is “Defends and Shall Not Be Seen”. Like secret services all over the world, Israel’s is an entity associated with anonymity and invisibility. Yet in a new film that featured at the Toronto Film Festival last week, “The Gatekeepers”, six ex-directors of Shin Bet, Israel’s...