RIP Rabea
A few hours ago the Freedom Theatre in Jenin put out this short statement: The Freedom Theatre mourns the death of one of our graduated Acting School students, the brave … Continue reading
Forensics, denial, Rios Montt, Green Lines and ratshit
Last Monday I had the privilege of seeing Eyal Weizman deliver the 2013 Tom Hurndall Memorial Lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University. Tom, in case you don’t know, was a young … Continue reading
Overheard on a train
On the subject of holidaying in Bulgaria: “oh yes, there’s loads to do there. It’s almost like Blackpool”. Which leads me to wonder…?
Rant warning: on capitalism, the Western media and different types of explosions
It is a commonplace which has, in a few days, spread from the leftist Twittersphere to the liberal media (hell, even Owen Jones is doing articles on it now) to … Continue reading
Appeal from the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign
It seems to be a dangerous business being a left-wing organisation in London. Not long after Freedom Bookshop was burnt out, the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign sent out the appeal below. … Continue reading
New article: Dor Guez at The Mosaic Rooms reviewed
Electronic Intifada, 18th April 2013 “We are a minority within a minority,” says one of the speakers in Watermelons about Christians in the Middle East. “Nobody would think twice if … Continue reading
Segovia at the Alhambra/clearing out Thatcher
Being back in Manchester for a spell, I’ve sadly fallen straight back into my habit of flicking Radio 4 news on on my way to the kettle first thing. This … Continue reading
Mai Ghoussoub on language and its directions
When you read in opposite directions you’re not impermeable to other readings… It was in my Lycee Francais de Beirut that the Crusaders were either saints or cruel colonisers, depending … Continue reading
New article: Trio Joubran collection reviewed
Electronic Intifada, 12th April 2013 The Trio Joubran are perhaps Palestine’s best-known exponents of the oud, a traditional Arabic stringed instrument. Three brothers from a family of musicians and instrument-makers … Continue reading
Singer on the Metro
My old comrade Adam Shapiro just posted this short video, taken on the Paris Metro, on YouTube. It’s profoundly moving, but why, in what sense? Because of the woman’s lovely … Continue reading
New article: Cairo remains dependent on US aid
Electronic Intifada, 10th April 2013 While some Palestinians and their supporters saw a ray of light in the election of Mohammed Morsi and his government’s apparent solidarity with Gaza when … Continue reading
Elias Khoury on memory, war and revolution
The first thing I discovered is that we live in an oral society that doesn’t write things down… my fear has been that our present and our past were subject … Continue reading
Palestine’s lost villages
Zochrot is an Israeli organisation which tries to educate people about the ignored Palestinian history which underlies every Israeli city, town, village, national park… one of the ways it does … Continue reading
Maggie Songs!
A quick selection of songs about Maggie Thatcher (and now all of them are punk!). Even today, I’ve been amazed to see – once it’s all put in one place … Continue reading
He, she and it
When I was writing my biography of Leila Khaled for Pluto Press, my fabulous editor, David Castle, pointed something very valuable out to me. This is the fact that writers … Continue reading
Elizabeth Jennings/The Unknown Child
This poem is an old favourite, one I have kept coming back to over the years, both for its meaning and its wonderfully calm and un-ostentatious mastery of language. The … Continue reading
Sarah Irving 