cafebabel.com

Trio Joubran: ‘It’s hard to be Palestinian musicians in the world’

('Annie Rutherford',) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:25:16 -0000

Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran are international musicians whose performance and perspectives nonetheless remain rooted in their homeland: Palestine. Just before the UN is due to consider Palestine’s official bid to become a UN member as well as a state, we meet the brothers in Paris about how their hopes for their country influences their music

Baking a state for Palestine at the United Nations kitchen

('hkeet',) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:22:08 -0000

64 years ago, the UN granted the Palestinians a state on 43% of the former mandate Palestinian territory. This state never came into being. The bid for this and UN membership will likely take place on 24 September. A divided EU once again shows its reluctance to form a common foreign policy with the member states’ 'for', 'against' and 'wait-and-see' positions

Self-identification, multiculturalism and erasmus in the EU

('Alexandra Belopolsky',) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:24:20 -0000

In a world where the physical borders are a blur, no wonder the mental ones are blurring as well. With nationalists turning to the 'protection of Europe' rather than the 'protection of the homeland', it is fair to say that the erasmus generation is the face of future Europe. United within itself, far past the division to Germans, French, Poles, or Italians, it's an identity in its own right - even for me

Israeli soldier: 'Arabic language of Middle East'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:00:00 -0000

He will finish his military service in October aged 22. Daniel from Tel Aviv is sure of his ideas: Obama, peace, politics, Israel-Palestine, Europe-Turkey... A spontaneous voice far from stereotypes which the media reinforce daily. Interview

Itamar Shapira: former Israeli soldier on killing in Palestine

('AnaD',) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:09:49 -0000

The organisation of veterans talks about the occupation of Palestinian territory and the moral price paid for it. Photos and combatant stories reveal the clear picture of the battlefield

Turkey-Israel: credibility and question of anti-semitism

('Karis Eaglestone',) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:18:48 -0000

Since heavy criticism from the Turkish side after the Israeli attack on a Gaza aid ship on 31 May, relations between the two states have entered a further ice age. There has been rising concern in Europe that Turkey is increasingly turning away from the west. A babelian political theorist explains the problems inherent to the Turkish response

Diary: Vilnius and I, reluctant bedfellows

('Daiva Repe\xc4\x8dkait\xc4\x97',) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:24:52 -0000

The passion evaporated years ago, after the capital became expensive and inconvenient to live in, or maybe since I stopped being a student. However, jobs for a social science graduate with a Lithuanian passport are here. Anecdote from cafebabel.com expat blogger 'Wonderland

Olga Rodríguez: 'Journalists tend to be very individualistic'

('Helen Swain',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:43:33 -0000

On a famed terrace close to Madrid’s Palacio Real (Royal Palace) at nightfall, the 34-year-old Spanish award-winning journalist talks about two of her passions, the Middle East and journalism

Babelblogs on bureaucracy: a Lithuanian looks for medical help in Tel Aviv

('Daiva Repe\xc4\x8dkait\xc4\x97',) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:16:21 -0000

Health insurance is not institutionally universal here in Israel. My advice? Don't go to live in Israel unless you're perfectly healthy and have no inclination towards extreme sports, and so on. And don't wear high-heels, just in case

Guide: the curiosity of Tel Aviv's dog, gay and religious beaches

('Daiva Repe\xc4\x8dkait\xc4\x97',) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:13:30 -0000

A lowdown on the rules - or lack of - to alternately abide by at neighouring sections of the city's 14km stretch of coastline

A cultural cacophony; international festival in Germany

('Annie Rutherford',) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0000

'Beirut? Isn't that in the near East?' You frequently hear this question when telling European friends about the Festival of Young Artists in Bayreuth. Has anyone other than avowed Wagner admirers heard of this small town deep in the franconian province?

Eurovision 2009: kitsch but politically correct

('Gemma Turner',) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:02:26 -0000

Watching the best party that a flagging Europe is supposed to provide reminds me more of watching the antics at an elderly relative’s birthday party. Extravaganza, my eye. The only aspect that continues to emerge like a beast year in, year out is its political censorship from Spain to Russia

Israeli national trail: take a bible, talk to your God and don’t walk on water

('yoav',) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:29:08 -0000

The free month-and-a-half trek crosses Israel from tip to toe, via valleys and mountains, winding in the cities, deserts and woods. A bit of context to help you plan carefully and prepare for a tough physical effort, plus some tips

Israeli-German theatre: the Holocaust, Nazi and Palestinian 'Third Generation'

('Annie Rutherford',) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:00:00 -0000

Together with the dramaturges Amit Epstein and Irina Szodruck, Israeli director Yael Ronen ventured on an experiment with Third Generation. The theatre project has already been performed as a work in progress in Halle (Germany), Tel Aviv and Parma (Italy). A newly finished version hit the Berliner Schaubühne in early May. Review and interview

Middle-East: British students still mobilised

('Hayley Wood',) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Fighting in the Gaza Strip may be over, but sit-in demonstrations organised via email and Facebook continue in 21 UK universities. Amongst other things, students demand bursaries for Palestinian students. This is a campaign which 'has only just begun'

Aviv Geffen: 'Israel is a paranoid country'

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0000

Hopeful sounds from Israel: the 35 year old pop singer was one of the first conscientious objectors in Israel. Today, he sings about peace in the Middle East and wants to lend a voice to a 'new generation' with his songs

Turin in the Israel-Palestine crossfire

('Andrea Giambartolomei',) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:30:47 -0000

During the military campaign against Hamas on the Gaza Strip, a wave of Muslim immigrants across Europe, stretching from London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels as well as Milan and Rome – protested against Israel’s actions, supporting their Palestinian ‘brothers’. Perspective of the communities in Turin, a twin city of Gaza and Haifa

Middle East conflict: the EU has to be more proactive

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:55:27 -0000

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, visits the members of the European parliament in Strasbourg to discuss the EU’s role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Interview with French MEP Catherine Boursier-Mougenot

Eyewitness Israel: Gaza, war and the wall of incomprehension between Europe

('Helen Swain',) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:00:02 -0000

From Jerusalem to Sderot, Israelis are lamenting the pro-Palestinian stance of European public opinion, as well as serious anti-Semitic acts. They have warned that dialogue with Hamas is impossible

Question: what do the EU and US need to do in the Middle East conflict?

('euro topics',) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:19:19 -0000

After Israeli troops marched into the Gaza Strip on 2 January, how can the conflict in the Middle East be resolved? Reactions from the Belgian, Portuguese, Swiss, German and Swedish press

Exhibition brings Israel and Palestine 'face to face'

('John Smith',) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:58:00 -0000

Face2Face is a unique and edgy photography show by French and Swiss friends JR and Marco, They stick the Israeli-Palestinian conflict right under European noses

Keren Ann: ‘You take something from everything’

('Nicholas Dobson',) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

The French singer of Dutch origin, 33, was born in Caesarea, Israel. She lived in the Netherlands until the age of 11 and sings in English. Now, she moves between Iceland, France and New York

Where Israel and Palestine meet

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:00:00 -0000

An astonishing eye-witness account of Israeli-Palestine exchanges at the checkpoints that divide the two peoples, followed by an update on EU-Palestine relations

Interwar Lebanon tightens its belt

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:00:00 -0000

In pre-civil war ambience, how are the Lebanese making a living?

Why Resolution 1701 fails and must be rejected

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Passed unanimously, UN Resolution 1701 aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign says it will add fuel to the conflict and tells us why

Bloggers’ war against traditional media in Lebanon

('Sarah Turpin',) — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 11:52:00 -0000

A Lilliputian army of bloggers and freelance journalists are besieging the Western media. According to the provocative point of view of a young blogger, the Western media is too often inclined to demonise Israel.

Europe and the Middle East: brothers in arms

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:00:00 -0000

Though European governments have been quick to criticize the escalation of violence in the Middle-East, the EU still sells weapons to Israel and Lebanon. Europe needs to strengthen its arms trade Code of Conduct

Piergiorgio Rosetti: Peace as a political instrument

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 02:37:00 -0000

The case for a European peace-corps is the strongest it’s ever been, Piergiorgio Rosetti tells Café Babel.

Ahmadinejad's Jihad

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 12:00:00 -0000

As the nuclear crisis deepens, isn't it time that Europe put aside its differences with Iran's opposition party, asks MEP Paulo Casaca.