I met Vivien Sansour for the first time back in 2016, in her home town of Beit Jala, on the southern edge of Bethlehem, in Israeli-occupied Palestine. An anthropologist by training, Vivien has turned to the promotion of food and the cultural sovereignty tied to growing one’s own and saving the seeds, as her life’s work.
In a hyper-polarized world where everyone disagrees about everything and even the most straightforward affairs seem uncertain, an eminently erudite, well-traveled and literate critic is liable to draw a large crowd. Robert Fisk, dean of Middle East journalism, is one such man.
That awful A-word, preceded by the adjective ‘Israeli’. Israel boosters scream ‘antisemitism’ when they hear or read the phrase. Mainstream media avoid it like the plague. The international legal community has no difficulty likening Israel’s system of governance in the colonized West Bank to the South African prototype. Listen to my conversation with Professor Dugard.
The State of Israel faces no greater struggle than winning the hearts and minds of young American Jews. Judging from the outcome of a recent trip to Israel by several dozen Jewish college students, it’s no longer a slam-dunk.
Tourists come to Al-Walaja from around the world to enjoy the lovely surrounding landscape. A huge olive tree, reputedly over 5000 years-old, is a big draw. For political tourists, Israel’s imposing “security barrier,” soon to enclose little Al-Walaja in a cage, is a must-see.
Of all the acts committed by German troops at the start of World War One, none sparked more outrage than the destruction of the medieval library of the Flemish University of Leuven.
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The seductive voice of a clarinet. The wild wail of a tenor sax. The whimsical tones of a bassoon or oboe. Each of these sounds is produced by blowing air over a thin reed sliced from a cane stalk. Most cane reed is produced in the Var region of southern France.
We use lots of items in our daily lives. We use them and then throw them away, or perhaps recycle them when they wear out or get damaged. Then again, some of us prefer to repair for re-use — at a Repair Cafe.
Standing on the edge of little Battir, I feasted my eyes on an astonishing sight: an amphitheater of ancient stone terraces covered in a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, herbs and trees — including olive trees over a thousand years old.
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When Heather Majaury left the Ottawa Valley for university after high school, it was the start of a whole new journey. And it wasn’t just about the usual transitions from being a teenager to a young adult. It was the birth of a whole new sense of identity.
Israel plays a host of key roles in today’s troubled world: Jewish homeland. Bastion of peace and democracy in the troubled Middle East. Clever “start-up nation” the world can turn to for smart solutions. Israeli-American activist Jeff Halper pinpoints a darker niche.
Recent studies report that a glass of wine in the evening is good for your heart. This may be so, but a bottle of wine is not something you’d expect to buy at a hospital. In the French city of Strasbourg, you most definitely can.
Mention Rwanda to someone, what comes first to their mind? Bloody genocide, most likely; certainly not swank men’s fashion. Think again.
Twenty-four hours in Zanzibar. What’s a person to do? Following up on a contact, I go visit the Dhow Countries Music Academy … and am amazed.
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For those in need of a Johnny Cash fix, Winnipeg-native Marcel Soulodre is a guy to listen to. But you’ll need to hop on a plane. Marcel is currently paying homage to the late-great American country singer in bistros across Europe.
Debron, Luke and Paula huddle around a laptop in a McGill University cafeteria, absorbed in an online game. No dreadful monsters, zombies or bloody explosions here. Phylo is much more serious than that.
Israel’s “Separation Barrier” — some call it the “Apartheid Wall” — is one of those works of human ingenuity that has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
In need of a hard-hitting enviro news fix? BC-based publication The Watershed Sentinel is your go-to source for cutting edge green news and trenchant analysis — from British Columbia and beyond.
For those who speak and write non-Latin languages, being able to type on a ‘standard’ computer keyboard is a major barrier to digital democracy. In Cambodia, this problem has been solved and communities are going wireless.
Food is wonderful. A delight to be eaten as well as to behold. At this festive time of year, feast your eyes on some of the tastiest foods and beverages Palestinians and Israelis have to offer.
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