This week in Palestine September 2019 by PalGov

Issue 257 September 2019 Changing the Lives of Palestinian Youth

MESSAGE FrOM THE EDITO

This Week in Palestin

Message from the Editor

dvisory Board

Minister Ziad Bandak

Adviser to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the Restoration of the Nativity Church

Sliman Mansour Artist

Amid Masri Agriculturist Issue 257 September 2019

Mahmoud Muna

Changing the Lives of Palestinian Youth

The Bookseller of Jerusalem

Cover: “EU 4 Youth” University Tour of Birzeit University. Photo by Arine Rinawi, courtesy of the European Union, 2019.

Carol Sansour

Poet, Communication Specialist

Fida Touma

Director General of A.M. Qattan Foundation

orthcoming Issues

October 2019 Palestinian Diaries and Memoirs November 2019 Palestinian Tourist Services Special Issue For Every Child in Palestine December 2019 Palestinian Christians

This issue of This Week in Palestine, themed “Changing the Lives of Palestinian Youth,” has been published with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

WiP Team

Publisher: Sani P. Meo Art Director: Taisir Masrieh Graphic Design: Tamer Hasbun

Telefax: +970/2 2-295 1262 info@turbo-design.com www.thisweekinpalestine.com www.facebook.com/ThisWeekInPalestine

The views presented in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Maps herein have been prepared solely for the convenience of the reader; the designations and presentation of material do not imply any expression of opinion of This Week in Palestine, its publisher, editor, or its advisory board as to the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or the authorities thereof, or as to the delimitation of boundaries or national affiliation.

A great thank you to our sponsor the European Union and the authors at various EU institutions who garnished this issue, themed Changing the Lives of Palestinian Youth, with valuable accounts of their efforts as they work tirelessly to create spaces of change for youth within Palestinian society. TWiP extends its sincerest gratitude to this month’s contributing authors: Tomas Niklasson, acting EU representative in Jerusalem; Alessandra Viezzer, head of cooperation at the European Union Representative Office in Jerusalem; Michael Klode, head of program at GIZ; Wissam Deeb, communications adviser at GIZ; Nathalia Feinberg, Danish Head of Mission; Pierre Cochard, Consul General of France in Jerusalem; Reem Ghattas, program manager at the Austrian Representative Office; Guillaume Robert, director of the French Institute of Jerusalem; Mona Kriegler, director of the Goethe-Institut Ramallah; the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation; Tatenda Malan, humanitarian and development practitioner and intern at Sharek Youth Forum; Enrico Barone, communication advisor; Sara Dominoni, program officer at the European Commission; Haneen Salameh and Riccardo Corradini, Erasmus students; Enas I. aL-Muthaffar, filmmaker; and Diana Buttu, lawyer and analyst. Within the pages of our In the Limelight section, you will be introduced to our Personality of the Month Estephan Salameh, learn about our Book of the Month, Praise for the Women of the Family by Mahmoud Shukair, and be surprised by the unique sound of the Palestinian-Italian band Al Raseef. Our Exhibition of the Month, Take My Hand… O, Impossible, currently on display at Zawyeh Gallery, presents a variety of up-and-coming Palestinian artists, while Bassam Almohor takes you around the beautiful village of Deir Istya, and Fadi Kattan’s creativity once again graces our pages with a delicious recipe for za’atar bread. This issue also features a tribute to the late Palestinian artist and intellectual, Kamal Boullata, who left us too soon, but not without an everlasting impact. Academics, writers, journalists, and politicians recount Boullata’s life and momentous contributions to the fields of art, critique, and literature. Boullata, an icon of Palestinian artistry, gone but never forgotten.

The TWiP Collective

Printed by Studio Alpha, Al-Ram, Jerusalem. 2

CONTENT

Issue 257 September 2019

My Palestine in One Act

Palestinian Youth

Palestine Marathon

Towards a Stronger European Partnership to Benefit Palestinian Youth

My Erasmus Story

Skills and Competencies for Palestinian Youth

Erasmus+

Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Youth

Environmental Awareness

I Paid Off My Tuition Debt!

French-German Cooperation in Palestine

Empowered Youth, Transformed Society

Bridging Cultures through Music, Theater, and Drama

Changing the Lives of Palestinian Youth

My Catch-22 with Europe

Youthful Palestine

A Tribute to Kamal Boullata

66 Personality of the Month

84 Accommodations

68 Book of the Month

86 Restaurants

70 Artist of the Month

89 Attractions

72 Exhibition of the Month

91 Travel Agencies

74 Where to Go

91 Tour Operators

76 TWiP Kitchen

92 Maps

78 Events

98 The Last Word

82 Cultural Centers 5

Palestinian Youth

Making a Difference By Tomas Niklasson

outh form close to one quarter of the total Palestinian population. Together with children, they form two-thirds of all Palestinians. These were some of the first figures I learned about Palestine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in addition to figures about the number of Palestine refugees, the size of Area C, the number of settlements in the West Bank, or the hours of electricity shortages in Gaza.

EU 4 Youth University Tour at An-Najah National University. Photo by Arine Rinawi, courtesy of the European Union, 2019.

These numbers are more than just numbers. For a society that is living under occupation, the high number of young people poses a real challenge with regard to responding to their needs in terms of health services, education, and job creation, to name but a few. But a young population also brings hope â&#x20AC;&#x201C; through new knowledge and perspectives, an international outlook, and a vibrant energy commitment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to a nation that strives for dignity, independence, and freedom.

for the economy and adds to the social challenges created by a patriarchal society, intra- Palestinian fragmentation, and identity loss. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation remains a major challenge for Palestinian development in general and for youth aspirations as well. Elaborating on such challenges would merit chapters, but I prefer to look at opportunities. During my first three years here, I have learned a lot from Palestinian youth: I have learned to see the spot of light in darkness; I have learned that by keeping hope alive, you keep alive the future of a nation.

Despite the fact that young people represent a significant and growing segment of the population, youth remain disempowered and marginalized in Palestinian society. With limited political representation and few opportunities to mobilize politically, their voices are not sufficiently heard, and their concerns are not always echoed. With a restricted economy and low economic growth, they are hit hard by high unemployment that reaches almost 40 percent for Palestinian youth. This is untapped potential

As I traveled around Palestine, I met brilliant students at Palestinian universities who have the desire and the skills to make a difference in their society. The engineers, doctors, and teachers of tomorrow who believe in their right to a better future and their responsibility to work towards that goal despite all the challenges.

We will continue to engage with Palestinian youth, whether through our educational and exchange program such as Erasmus or through our wide portfolio of development projects. This will go hand in hand with our diplomatic engagement to ensure that the voices of young Palestinians are well heard. Together, by taking strong, confident steps, we can achieve our joint goals, and we can and will make a difference. Tomas Niklasson is the Acting EU Representative in Jerusalem. Since 1998 he has been an official of the European Commission and later of the European External Action Service at the HQ in Brussels and has been posted to Pakistan and Liberia. He holds a PhD in political science from Lund University.

EU 4 Youth University Tour at Birzeit University. Photo by Arine Rinawi, courtesy of the European Union, 2019.

A girl from Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin community playing with balloons before a Ramadan Iftar. Photo by Iuna Vieira, courtesy of the European Union.

front lines when it comes to basic human rights. I felt their worries about the fading vision of the twostate solution and the dark reality of occupation. I listened to their concerns about shrinking space â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for Palestinians, for civil society, for youth. And I also admired their strength to fight for our shared human values.

I spoke with others who studied in Europe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; some through the Erasmus+ program â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and who came back to their towns and villages to serve their people. I heard how they presented the Palestinian case to their European colleagues, and I saw how they brought back the knowledge and experience they gained in Europe. I attended cultural events where young Palestinian artists expressed and impressed. I watched them presenting amazing artistic pieces together with young European artists, whether in theater or music or dance. They shared the beauty of diversity and joint work.

We at the EU believe that youth can be a powerful agent for change in society. Support to young people in Europe, as well as in neighboring countries, can make a difference. We work with our counterparts to empower youth so that they can engage as active citizens in their communities. We support youth in

I engaged in discussions with young human rights defenders: those on the 8

playing an effective role in prioritizing their needs in society and in translating those priorities into reality. In Palestine, we are working hand in hand with the Palestinians to build an independent Palestinian state. We are confident that by supporting young Palestinian women and men, we can aim for the highest, and aspire to a bright future. Investing in youth today will strengthen the Palestinians as they seek their independence. It puts Palestine on the right track towards achieving their national goals. Fully engaged, well-educated, healthy, and productive young people will help bring dignity and peace to this land and change the unbearable reality into a brighter future. 9

Towards a Stronger European Partnership to Benefit Palestinian Youth

By Alessandra Viezzer

still remember my first day in Palestine in September 2015. During the day, I visited Ramallah and was immediately struck by the vibrancy of the city; young people – shopping, eating, working, living – were all around me, and I was filled with curiosity about the potential of Palestine and its youth. This was a far cry from the sleepy, aging Italian village where I grew up. In the evening, as I sat on the balcony of my temporary accommodation in Jerusalem, the cool breeze fanning my hair, I watched the sunset and tried to imagine the exciting journey that lay ahead of me in this special land, wondering whether I could contribute just a little to improving the lives of the young people I had met during the day on the other side of that wall. Little did I know back then that by 2019, European missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah would be admired by European diplomatic representations across the world for their progress in working together.

assistance should support and protect the viability of the two-state solution. However, each European country had its own approach to reaching this goal, which led to many overlapping programs and funding streams that reduced the effectiveness and efficiency of European funds. European partners owed it to Palestinians, as well as to our own taxpayers, to do things more efficiently and effectively. That is why, when I arrived, European Development Partners worked together under a common local development strategy, adhered to a certain division of labor, and jointly monitored progress in a few key sectors.

Development Partners began to design their own umbrella strategy, far more ambitious than anything previously undertaken. The European Joint Strategy 2017–2020: Towards a Democratic and Accountable Palestinian State frames European cooperation with Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian refugee camps across twelve sectors, grouped into five pillars and five crosscutting themes, including youth. The strategy, which aligns with the National Policy Agenda, provides a framework through which European Development Partners can support Palestinian partners, including the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA, and community groups in a more coordinated way, while also recognizing the challenges

In 2016, the Palestinian Authority embarked on the design of a new strategy that culminated in the National Policy Agenda 2017– 2022. At the same time, European

Palestinian students in East Jerusalem schools take a break in front of Damascus Gate after finishing a cleaning day in East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhoods.

I arrived into an active community of European Development Partners that had already been working closely together since 2011 with the aim of revising their partnerships with Palestinians. European partners – that is the European Union with its 28 member countries, and Norway and Switzerland – believed that 10

Closing ceremony of the Seeds of Expression at the Youth Village.

to Palestinian development caused by the occupation and geographic fragmentation. With this strategy, European partners are sending a clear signal that they speak with one voice and are united in their objectives within the Palestinian context. The European Joint Strategy 2017–2020, the first of its kind in Palestine, is now over two years old. It has significantly altered the way in which Europeans work among themselves, and I hope that our Palestinian partners have been able to discern benefits from this change. This issue of This Week in Palestine showcases just a few examples of the many joint projects and activities that European partners have taken on with the aim of improving the lives of Palestine’s youth by maximizing the potential of each country’s specialties and knowledge, and taking advantage of the economies of scale that can come from collective action. Each article is written by a representative from a different European Development Partner, reflecting the division of labor that exists in the group. Among other topics in this issue, you will read about the benefits that young farmers will be able to enjoy through our large agricultural program, the European efforts to promote gender equality within programs that specifically target youth, and the challenges that face educational establishments in East Jerusalem. You will learn the scale of European engagement with Palestinian youth and our sincere efforts to address the issues that face young people.

currently conducting a review of the European Joint Strategy 2017– 2020 to check whether the strategy remains relevant and whether we are sticking to the promises therein. The outcome of this review will also affect how we proceed post2020. In any case, European partners will strive to work ever more closely with each other to ensure that transaction costs for Palestinian partners are as low as possible and that our financial assistance is most effectively protecting the viability of the twostate solution while also leaving no one behind and bringing Palestine closer to its Agenda 2030 targets.

I will continue to watch keenly as Palestinians progress towards the national aspirations that they decide upon. Article photos courtesy of the European Union.

Ms. Alessandra Viezzer, Head of Cooperation, Office of the European Union Representative, was born and raised in Italy, where she studied political science and international relations. She earned a master’s degree in European studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Ms. Viezzer has been working with the European Commission since 1997, holding a number of positions that deal with management of financial assistance to both EU Member States and third countries. From 2007 to 2015, she was posted in Cyprus as Head of the Team. In September 2015, she started with the Office of the European Union Representative in Jerusalem as Head of Cooperation.

Unfortunately, I will not be here to participate in this next stage, as my posting to Palestine will end in 2019. Nevertheless, be assured that Palestine will always remain in my heart. I will always remember what Mahmoud Darwish once said: “Palestinians suffer from an incurable disease called hope.”

Celebrating World Water Day at the Youth Village near Ramallah with young volunteers.

Nevertheless, there is more that we can do. European partners are committed to continually improving their assistance and to match it to the priorities of the local population. Our future collective action, after the current joint strategy expires in 2021, will depend on the plans and ambitions of our Palestinian partners, including those of youth as they represent such an important constituent group of Palestinian society. We are 12

Shaping the Future

Skills and Competencies for Palestinian Youth Cooperation in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET)

By Michael Klode and Wissam Deeb

n the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, youth represent about one-third of the population. It is this young generation that constitutes the basis for developing the Palestinian society and economy amid rising unemployment and an unstable political situation. Every August is the time of year when the injaz (tawjihi) results are out, and the new cohort of young Palestinians prepares the next steps in their path through life. Even though the ratio of unemployed academic graduates is extremely high, most young people and their families dream of a future as medical doctors, engineers, or lawyers. But it is also important that the real and tangible benefits of a vocational alternative for a bright economic and social life be highlighted.

that companies are not able to find sufficiently qualified employees. This can be derived from the insufficient quality and quantity of training at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and/or the lack of attractiveness of vocational education in Palestinian society.

When referring to technical and vocational education, the broader layer includes all formal or informal measures to enhance skills and competencies required for a specific occupation. Hundreds of TVET providers function in Palestine (for profit, NGO-run, public), most of them accredited by the Ministry of Labor or the Ministry of Education and Higher Education through the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission (AQAC).

Within the context of the GermanPalestinian development cooperation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – known as GTZ until 2011 and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), furthermore the European Union, the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) – has supported and worked with the Palestinian Authority since the mid-1990s in strengthening the links between the demand from the private sector/labor market and the offers from the TVET providers to bring more young Palestinians into a valuable workplace. In this journey we have learned from and worked for thousands and thousands of people such as Mahmoud, Walaa, Mais, and Ameen, who are the protagonists of the stories we want to share here.

The Palestinian TVET Strategy 2010, which is currently being revisited, aims to create a knowledgeable, competent, motivated, entrepreneurial, adaptable, creative, and innovative workforce in Palestine, contributing to poverty reduction and social and economic development through facilitating demand-driven, high-quality technical and vocational education and training, relevant to all sectors of the economy, at all levels and to all people. GIZ’s current (2019) portfolio covers a broad range of TVET topics: introducing youngsters from refugee camps and all other areas in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza

Photo courtesy of Zajel Program, An-Najah University.

Youth unemployment in the Palestinian territories stands at around 40 percent. Particularly affected are young women and youth from marginalized areas, such as East Jerusalem, Area C, refugee camps, and Gaza, where youth unemployment reaches 60 percent. Data and information are not always detailed, but we work under the assumption 14

sessions and drive back home every day. She performed outstandingly and will be able to further disseminate the action-oriented learning approach in Palestine. According to Mais, this learning and acting opportunity was very motivating, and she will replicate her experience according to the requests from the Ministry of Labor. This is an important step in the sustainability of the pedagogical training of TVET staff.

to TVET by organizing orientation days and summer school programs at some vocational training centers, industrial/agricultural secondary schools or colleges; supporting the sector ministries in enhancing and structuring their TVET offers and guaranteeing quality of delivery for their students in the fewer than 40 public TVET institutions; supporting Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem since 2015 in offering bachelor’s degrees in four study specializations based on the German model of labormarket-oriented higher education. The dual studies system remains unique to the entire MENA region. It aims to provide young students with a competitive professional and practical experience that allows them to bridge the gap between the needs of the labor market on the one hand, and the learning outcomes on the other.

to be trained in Jenin and abroad by Austrian experts. During the world competition, he was one of the few who could accomplish the required tasks and returned home having achieved the commendable rank of 9th place! In August 2019, three other young professionals showed their skills in the world competition in Kazan/Russia.

He managed to find a place in the labor market even before finishing his studies! On behalf of the European Union, GIZ has implemented broad TVET support, including engaging with many young Palestinians, for example, Wala’ Nassar. She got married directly after completing tenth grade. Later, Wala’ wanted to learn a profession that she liked and that could help her to financially support her young family. So, she joined Culinary Art and Catering at Sa’eb AlNazer TVET institute in Hebron. When Wala’ graduated in 2016, she opened a small sweet shop in Dura city in Hebron – Walaa Sweets – which has met with great success. She has since opened a second sweet shop and has convinced her husband to manage it.

Ameen Abu Baker from Rummana, Jenin participated successfully in the WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi 2017. He studied painting and decoration for 10 months at the Vocational Training Centre in Jenin

Let’s spread the word: do TVET!

Mais Hantash is a trainer with the Ministry of Labor. She comes from Khars, a small village in the Hebron area. When the Train the Trainers Project started, she was nominated as one of the potential multipliers who would be able to train teachers and trainers on their pedagogical competencies in the future. This work process is implemented by experts from GFA, a German consulting group. She had to commute to training

Photos courtesy of the authors.

Mahmoud Zere’i.

Mais Hantash. Ameen Abu Baker.

and graduated in 2016. Ameen was one of 27 enrolled in the painting and decoration program. He chose this area because he believes that the market lacks skilled labor in this field. With his passion and determination, Ameen won first place in the First National Competition for Skills in Palestine. After a year and a half, he was ready to join the Abu Dhabi WorldSkills Competition in 2017. He was lucky to have the opportunity 16

Twenty-year-old Mahmoud Zere’i of East Jerusalem is studying information technology and is one of around 240 Palestinian students enrolled in the Dual Studies program at Al-Quds University, the first undergraduate degree program in the entire MENA region that combines theoretical in-class learning with continuous practical training at Palestinian partnering companies throughout the course of study. Based on the German model of labor-market-oriented higher education, the program aims to reduce the unemployment rate of university graduates in Palestine by offering labormarket-driven curricula and practical training. This is supported by the GIZ program More Job Opportunities for Palestinian Youth. In a very short period of time, Mahmoud has proved his competence and earned the trust of the company where he is doing a practicum. He has recently been offered a permanent work contract.

Wala’ Nassar.

Dr. Michael Klode is Head of Programme at the GIZ Train the Trainer programme. Wissam Deeb is Communications Advisor at GIZ More Job Opportunities for Palestinian Youth programme. 17

Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Youth The Agri-Food Sector

By Nathalia Feinberg

outh comprise over one-third of the Palestinian population, an equivalent of 1.37 million individuals ranging between the ages of 15 and 29. This vibrant population is always in search of new economic opportunities. Fifty-two percent of these young people reside in rural areas of the West Bank, where few jobs are created and where agriculture is not only an integral part of the socio-economic and cultural fabric but also a potential driver of economic development and an unexplored arena of opportunities for young people.

Youth unemployment in the West Bank has increased over the past years, going from 25.6 percent in 2007 to 27.2 percent in 2018. In Gaza, the rate of unemployment went from 39.8 percent to 69 percent during the same period.* Agriculture has an unharnessed potential to provide decent employment opportunities for these youth, not only through farming but also through various other related businesses such as processing, packaging, transportation, distribution, marketing, and financial services. A young strawberry farmer.

Youth involvement in the agricultural sector would substantially enhance its productivity and profitability, allowing it to realize its potential as a driver for rural development in Palestine. Moreover, young agri-entrepreneurs are crucial to introducing and harnessing the muchneeded innovations and technological advances in Palestine’s agricultural value chains. However, even when young Palestinians perceive that agricultural activities are a route to entrepreneurship and economic independence, they still face multiple challenges and barriers to entry that include difficulty in accessing land and capital for starting their businesses, limited information, and various market constraints.

A young poultry farmer collects eggs from a poultry farm.

Denmark, Netherlands, European Union, Switzerland, and Spain, through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, are offering new opportunities for youth entrepreneurship along agricultural value chains through a Multi-donor Agribusiness Programme (MAP) that supports young agri-entrepreneurs to establish, run, and sustain agrifood investments. This program puts special attention on assuring equal opportunities to all, promoting competitiveness within a gendersensitive, open, and transparent framework.

Agricultural and livestock EU-funded projects in Gaza. Photo by Mohammad Zanoun, courtesy of the European Union, 2019.

Through MAP and many other initiatives that promote investment support, policy assistance, technical capacity building, and awareness raising, Palestinian and European partners are seeking to develop a strong enabling environment in which young people can thrive and seize decent current and future employment opportunities in agricultural value chains.

Support will range from investment development to provision of financial assistance. According to Ciro Fiorillo, head of the FAO office in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the investment support under the MAP will provide a unique opportunity to groom young entrepreneurs and promote agri-business growth. He explains, “By addressing specific barriers to market entry, the MAP provides a proyouth, private-sector-led approach to capturing agri-food business opportunities and stimulate valuechain development.”

Photo courtesy of the author.

Nathalia Feinberg has been the Representative of Denmark to the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA since 2017. She was previously appointed as Ambassador of Denmark in Kampala to Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, and has served in numerous positions in Danish missions around the world, and in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen. * https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/por tals/_pcbs/ PressRelease/Press_En_30-4-2019-labour-en. pdf. 19

Environmental Awareness A Way to Empower Gaza’s Youth

By Pierre Cochard

recent study has shown that the Mediterranean Sea is the most polluted in the world. Every single day, it is contaminated by 600,000 tons of plastic waste.

territory (Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis, and Rafah), representing 45 percent of Gaza’s total population.

In accordance with France’s strong commitment to identify and mobilize sustainable environmental solutions for Mediterranean coastal ecosystems and, in collaboration with its European partners, to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, France and the European Union – alongside the World Bank and the Palestinian Authority – were proud to inaugurate the new Al-Fukhari sanitary landfill site on June 12 in the Gaza Strip. The landfill benefits more than 700,000 persons living in the south and center of the

Waste management is a serious challenge in the Gaza Strip. The commissioning of this major landfill responds to a huge issue, as the existing landfills in the Gaza Strip are over-saturated, and the increase in waste generation is leading to serious environmental and human-health impacts on the Gazan population. Al-Fukary landfill will put an end to

uncontrolled dumpsites and help protect the aquifer. The works at AlFukhari sanitary landfill were part of the strategic “Gaza Solid Waste Management Project,” which also comprises equipment, a transfer station, and capacity development for the Rafah-Khan Yunis and Middle Area Solid Waste Joint Service Council (JSC KRM). This project is funded by the European Union, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the World Bank.

In Gaza, environmental and social safeguards also become opportunities! The project ensured active involvement and change of behavior of local communities through a different set of activities. The 17 waste pickers who were working at the old dumpsite have been supported in new income-generating activities. More importantly, the JSC KRM has deployed broad public awareness and consultation activities, especially oriented toward the new generation.

various interactive activities with students, such as educational sessions, environmental interactive plays, field visits to the landfills and temporary transfer stations, scientific experiments on pollution caused by solid-waste problems, and drawings and art exhibitions using recyclable materials. This program targeted 40 schools every year (18 UNRWA schools and 22 governmental schools), comprising 51,365 students from 10 to 16 years old, and 1,756 teachers. At the end of the program, 25 schools conducted recycling exhibitions inside their facilities, and 30 schools participated in an e-competition on solid-waste management. Rewards were

A school outreach program started in 2016 to contribute to increasing student awareness about the environmental problems and solutions in solid-waste collection and disposal. The program included

School Environmental Awareness Program, March 2018. UNRWA Middle School for Girls â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Al-Nussairat Refugee Camp, Middle Area Governorate.

distributed to the 65 schools who participated in the program. One of the key messages was oriented towards waste reduction which, in the end, remains the best way to handle waste.

Photos courtesy of the author.

The outreach program targeted 16,084 people within local communities through 32 local NGOs and 17 municipality neighborhood communities. Thanks to these various socialoutreach activities, not only has the project been widely accepted, but the communities, especially the youth, are now more aware of solid-waste challenges. For more information, visit https:// www.facebook.com/JSCKRM/; h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . com/channel/UC4bE2_ DUd0r0XwCobVM7oEw; or http://jsc-krm.ps/. This ambitious project can be seen as an efficient cooperation effort between the French Development Agency and the European Union, in conjunction with the World Bank and the Palestinian Authority, for the

benefit of the people in Gaza. Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role has been key in creating this project, in spite of the constraints of the Israeli blockade and the inter-Palestinian division.

Pierre Cochard was Consul General of France in Jerusalem from September 2016 to September 2019. An experienced French diplomat, he successively served in Iran, Japan, and at the French Embassy to the Holy See. In addition, he has occupied various positions in Paris, at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

I Paid Off My Tuition Debt! A New Model to Respond to the Employability Challenges of Palestinian Youth

By Reem Ghattas

“It felt so good to open my student account, and for the very first time, my tuition balance was clear. I had paid off all my fees. No loans or money borrowing! My parents can breathe a sigh of relief.”

Reem Shweiki, 23, Birzeit University hen discussing life challenges with people of my generation – those who are still in college or the ones who have recently entered the workforce after university – we come to a consensus that employability and lack of practical competency are frequent topics that we have learned to repeat without realizing how complex and elusive they might be. We broadly relate this reality to the abilities we have developed in the past and to our own projection of an abstract, strategic future as a recurrent concern! These are frequent statements shared with the international community which triggered a UNDP project initiative to strengthen the resilience of young people. UNDP, supported by Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, introduced and explored an innovative approach called SANAD to address some of the recent challenges that Palestinian youth face and in particular to promote the integration of social responsibility into education to allow youth to transition to employability and self-sufficiency. UNDP and its partners introduced a new common reference framework associated with the shift from education as an academic institution to education as a social entity. Scholarships were offered to students from Palestinian universities, conditional on the completion of several working hours with young students (ages 8 to 12) from schools in East Jerusalem. Selected university students were trained as mentors. In order to acquire the necessary mentoring skills, training was focused on intensive capacity-development competencies in math and English tutoring and psychosocial support. 24

A SANAD scholarship is unlike any other form of financial aid. It lays the foundation for collaboration that would require universities to teach students the necessary skills for entering and adapting to the demands of the labor market, governments to nationalize such innovative models, the public/ private sector to participate in allocating resources for student training, and youth to be socially aware of how important they are in contributing to society and to the future Palestinian state. Youth play a fundamental role in the development and state building processes. Palestinian youth (aged 15 to 29) currently comprise 30 percent of the population in the occupied Palestinian territories, with one-third unemployed and nearly half with college degrees.* This can be seen either as a challenge or a great opportunity for the future. If Palestinian youth were to receive quality access to education and economic opportunities, their potential would lead to significant growth for the State of Palestine as a whole. Such youth civic engagement and the creation of a nexus between education and employability could be the answer to address the issues that Palestinian youth and children are struggling with. SANAD started with the acknowledgement that the problem is not only in the education

system or in the lack of financial resources, it is also related to the absence of the role of the youth as engaged actors in civil service. If youth participation in service provision could be systematically encouraged and supported, it would strengthen the link between formal education and the world of work. “This scholarship is not about access to cash only! It offers that sense of commitment and accomplishment that I really lacked. Sameeh, the nine-year-old student I mentored, looked up to me, so I had to be responsible. I think I was Sameeh’s role model!” Sundos Faraj, a third-year student at Al-Quds University After the first year of successfully implementing SANAD, we can proudly confirm that the creative potential of empowered Palestinian youth is evident. And now you know how Reem Shweiki was able to pay off her tuition debt! Reem Ghattas is a program manager at the Austrian Representative Office.

*Salto-Youth, Youth work in Palestine and surrounding challenges, 2013, available at https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/4-17-2946/Work%20in%20Palestine%20%28site%29.pdf. 25

French-German Cooperation in Palestine

on joint projects while benefitting from each other’s areas of expertise and networks. This cooperation between the two former archenemies remains unique worldwide. Being a meeting ground, an art space, and a point of connection between Palestine and Europe, the center particularly attracts a young audience through its rich program in the fields of language, culture, and education. Named after Robert Schuman, the former French foreign minister and one of the founding fathers of what is known today as the European Union, which was in its very essence a peace project after the Second World War, FGCC’s library offers more than 11,000 different kinds of media in

with reading material. Yet, on board is not only a wide selection of books and audiovisual materials but also FGCC’s Bibliobus coordinator, Hamza Bakri, who has a number of ice-breakers, language games, and body exercises up his sleeve. “When I take the bus to schools in Jenin, Hebron, or Tulkarem, I leave Ramallah very early in the morning. Getting up has never been easier because I see my work as truly meaningful. The kids are often waiting at their school gates. My goal is to make their learning enjoyable and enriching. I believe that we need safe learning environments where selfexpression is welcome.”

he cultural institutions of France and Germany exist together under one roof. What could seem to be a carefully mapped out endeavor happened by sheer coincidence. At the beginning of 2004, the Institut Français and the Goethe-Institut were looking for new and larger office spaces. Nobody knew then that this rather spontaneous decision would turn into a manifest of German-French friendship in the form of a four-story building located in the heart of Ramallah. For 15 years now, both institutions have been working as the French-German Cultural Center (FGCC) A library that crosses borders and breaks boundaries. As a joint German-French project, the Bibliobus visits schools throughout Palestine. Photo by FGCC.

Credit FGCC. Under one roof. The German-French cooperation in Ramallah between the GoetheInstitut and Institut français has existed since 2004 and is unique worldwide.

FGCC makes concepts such as freedom of expression, artistic courage, and creativity come alive while highlighting the linkages between France, Germany, and Palestine. Its rich cultural program takes place primarily in its in-house gallery, one of the very few white cubes on site. Michael Jabareen, a graduate of Birzeit University in architecture and engineering, recently presented his art in an exhibition of upcoming Palestinian artists. “When I brought along some of my works to

French, German, and Arabic. “I enjoy coming to the library for its calm atmosphere,” says Haneen Esnaf from Birzeit. “I am enrolled in a French course at the moment, so I like to browse through French books in order to see what I can already understand.” For everyone whose way to Ramallah is either too long or closed by Israeli checkpoints, FGCC offers an alternative on wheels: The “Bibliobus” regularly visits schools in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip to provide children and teenagers 27

FGCC offers a rich language program. Photo by FGCC.

my German class at the center, my teacher noticed them. This is when my connection with FGCC as an artist began to develop,” remembers the 26-year-old from Jenin. “What is special about FGCC is the exposure I get as a young artist. Many people come to the gallery, even those who are not primarily interested in art. This gives me the opportunity to present my work to a much broader audience.” Last year’s “En Chemin” (French for “on the way”), a two-week residency program in Sebastiya curated by Jack Persekian and supported by Raja Shehadeh, brought together artists who reside in Palestine, France, and Germany to focus on the notion of movement. Among them was Dima Srouji, whose contribution explored the human breath as a tool of freedom through the artistic craft of glass blowing. “The residency was one seed out of which many new connections, ideas, and projects

have been sprouting ever since,” says Dima who also collaborated with local craftspeople from Jaba. “Meeting artists with similar interests and passion for the region while being introduced to Sebastiya, a place by which I was enamored, was truly eyeopening for me and very influential for my practice today.” Every other month, FGCC’s backyard turns into a vivid meeting point for language enthusiasts: Sitting areas are set up, drinks and snacks are prepared, and fairy lights create a cozy atmosphere, all of which sets the base for an evening dedicated to languages. In cooperation with BlaBla Language Exchange, FGCC invites everyone who studies a foreign language to converse, learn, and share what they know. “I come to FGCC because in a second, I meet like-minded young people who share my joy in languages,” says Haneen Tafesh who regularly joins the gatherings. “Learning a second

The FGCC team.

by 2020. The success of the FrenchGerman cooperation in Ramallah has made it a one-of-a-kind model for serving youth worldwide and achieving greater impact in all areas of cultural action. In Palestine, FGCC could serve as a model for expanding cooperation in the Gaza Strip where joint efforts aim to provide space for open debate, expression, and free thought. In August, the Goethe-Institut will offer the first summer camp for children hosted by the Institut français in Gaza. This initiative paves the way for further Franco-German cooperation all over Palestine.

language really helps to see the world from a different perspective.” That learning languages opens up doors to whole new worlds is well known to Iyad Fuqaha, too. The 24-year-old from Ramallah, who finished his first German courses at FGCC in 2013, is now about to graduate from a bachelor-degree program in mechatronics at one of Germany’s leading technical

Caged Forms. Dima Srouji participated in FGCC’s Artist Residency in Sebastiya in 2018 and explored the notion of breath as a door to freedom through the tradition of glass blowing. Photo by Ulla Marquardt.

An Art Space for Everyone. Michael Jabareen presented a selection of his work at the recent exhibition of upcoming Palestinian artists at FGCC’s gallery. Photo by Michael Jabareen.

universities (TU9), and his study program is entirely in German. “Studying in Europe is a challenge. Frankly, it requires a lot of courage and a clear mindset. The atmosphere at the institute is a reflection of Europe. When I arrived in Germany five years ago, I immediately started to notice some things that were familiar. This helped me a lot at the beginning.” Whenever Iyad returns to Palestine, he pays FGCC a visit: “I like to share my experiences with those interested and to talk about what is possible.” Scaling-up FGCC’s spirit of European community and friendship, France and Germany signed the Treaty of Aachen on January 22, 2019, and agreed to open ten new joint cultural centers

Guillaume Robert Director of the French Institute of Jerusalem Mona Kriegler Director of the Ramallah

Goethe-Institut

The French-German Cultural Center in Ramallah was established in 2004 and brings together the GoetheInstitut and the Ramallah branch of the Institut français of Jerusalem. For fifteen years, we have been working on cultural projects in various artistic fields. We look forward to your visit to our center!

Courtesy of

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Empowered Youth, Transformed Society

interventions are sustainable and effective in responding to the needs and rights of Palestinian youth.

will also strengthen the national capacity by engaging with the teachers, counselors, and parents at the targeted schools for better protection of young women and men from digital violence, including sexual harassment, and will carry out awareness-raising campaigns to prevent and combat child marriage in Jerusalem. Among the various activities and campaigns foreseen are the “brave girl and boy diary,” statistical school competitions, and an exchange of good practices between Belgium and Palestine.

With the support of Belgium, UNFPA Palestine is also implementing a twoyear project on gender and education that aims to create a violence-free environment in 15 schools in East Jerusalem. The project focuses on promoting behavioral change by addressing the traditional patriarchal norms and values from a development perspective in order to promote gender equality and contribute to reducing gender-based violence among male and female students between 10 and 18 years old in East Jerusalem.

oung people are at the heart of development and positive change. They are the leaders of tomorrow but – most importantly – members of society who deserve attention right now. It is only by being supported, invested in, and empowered with knowledge, tools, and services that youth will be able to know about and defend their rights, realize their full potential, and transform their society for the better.

When young people are empowered concerning their sexual and reproductive health and rights, the entire society benefits: family poverty levels decrease and so do genderbased violence and domestic violence.

The fight to end gender-based violence, poverty, and discrimination and achieve justice and equality for all cannot overlook sexual and reproductive health rights. This applies also to the Sustainable Development Goals, the global agenda that leaves no one behind.

Violence-free and equality-driven families and communities are the backbone of a just, fair society, where every individual is valued and contributes to development. Young people are the engine of positive change.

European Union member states such as Belgium, Italy, and Spain are actively investing in Palestinian young people to support their full development and empowerment, promote their rights, and achieve gender equality. Their support is provided through various actions that address multiple aspects of development, fostering cooperation and collaboration with active local and international organizations, institutions, and agencies, and with a view to ensuring that all 30

More specifically, through this project, UNFPA will be working closely with Enabel, the Belgian development agency, UNRWA, civil society, and Y-Peer, the Youth Peer Education Network, to increase the opportunities for positive and active engagement of young men and women in promoting gender equality and creating a peaceful environment through technology-related methods and peer education. The grant

The project builds on UNFPA and Enabel expertise towards building resilience of young people in the most affected communities in East Jerusalem. The project complements efforts undertaken by UNFPA and Enabel that aim to create an enabling educational environment through Enabel’s work on school rehabilitation, STEAM, and life skills in East Jerusalem, and UNFPA’s interventions with the national 31

curriculum and the pilot “Brave Man” campaign, currently being implemented in ten boys’ schools in the West Bank.

successful in promoting sustainability and long-term impact, is the active participation of young people in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project’s components and deliverables. With their direct engagement, young people take up their role as agents of change and bring their voices, initiative, and potential to the table. Youth play a key role in the design, establishment, and management of Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) centers at universities; they are members of the national and subnational steering committees of the project to coordinate and jointly lobby for SRHR; they lead in community mobilization, working hand in hand with women leaders, healthcare providers, religious leaders, and NGOs; and conduct peer-to-peer SRHR education inside universities, schools, and marginalized communities.

In line with its longstanding support for the Palestinian people in the field of healthcare and gender equality, Italy has been supporting UNFPA since 2017 in its work to empower young Palestinians on sexual and reproductive health services and rights (SRHR). The project – the first of its kind in Palestine – works with Al-Azhar and Al-Quds universities, schools, civil society, and students to ensure that young people, especially young women and girls, fully enjoy their sexual and reproductive health rights, addressing taboos, social stigmas, and other barriers. It focuses on enhancing capacities to develop and implement policies and mechanisms that prioritize access to information and services for SRHR for young people, especially those furthest behind; developing, promoting, and institutionalizing tailored health services for young people; and improving leadership and participation of adolescents and youth on SRHR interventions. A total of 34,000 young people have benefited directly from the project, with an additional 20,000 followers on Facebook, which increases their access to information about SRHR.

This year, the project will scale up interventions with and for Palestinian youth, especially those left behind in fragile locations, through establishing a national Adolescents Health Coalition to advocate for policy change and to join efforts to ensure a healthy transition into adulthood for Palestinian adolescents; scaling up interventions at YFHS centers in universities through nontraditional innovative service-provision tools and methodologies; opening a new center in Hebron University to reach vulnerable youth; empowering

A unique component of the project, which has proven to be very

and equipping young people with knowledge and tools to advocate for their rights through leading innovative initiatives in partnership with universities, community leaders, and civil society organizations.

In 2017 and 2018, UNFPA Palestine implemented youth-led campaigns and activities within a project funded by Spain: “Communicate against Gender-Based Violence.” The overall objective of this proposal was to prevent gender-based violence in Palestine through behavioral change communication. The activities included the Brave Man Campaign, developed by Sharek Youth Forum and piloted in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which aimed to include noncognitive methods of learning regarding gender issues for

“My participation in this project has empowered me to realize my right to freely and responsibly make my own decisions regarding my future and to advocate for these rights in my community and within my family.” Ola, a 22-year-old young woman from Gaza, beneficiary of the Italy/UNFPA program

school students, counselors, and youth activists; Y-Peer Caravan, prepared by students in the West Bank and Gaza, with messages about gender-based violence and gender quality. Y-Peer members travelled for more than a month around the Gaza Strip and West Bank, reaching marginalized communities and refugee camps to raise awareness and create dialogue about these topics. A youth summit was held in East Jerusalem with 340 participants, organized by Burj al-Luq Luq in partnership with the Directorate of Education and the Jerusalem Legal Court. It focused on combatting child marriage and the importance of educating girls and young women. Early marriage plays by the Y-Peers, which targeted parents and adolescents to raise awareness about the negative consequences of early marriage, reached 982 community members in the West Bank and Gaza, and was presented in two safe spaces for women and girls and in marginalized communities, in cooperation with local community-based organizations. In partnership with Ma’an TV, eight reality TV show episodes and nine talk shows were produced that featured nine influential Palestinian fathers as they spent one day alone with their children, in order to raise public awareness of gender equality and the value of domestic work. After each reality TV episode, a talk show featuring the public figure was produced and broadcast. On these talk shows, the public figures spoke about their experience, and experts were invited to further discuss gender-equality issues. The episodes, which were broadcast in 2017 and 2018, were viewed 211,700 times on Ma’an TV’s Facebook page.

“It was a unique experience in our community. It has made me more cooperation-oriented inside my house and inspired me to use my work to change the inherited concepts and stereotypical views that I had of women.” Khaled al-Masou from Bethlehem, a Palestinian actor and one of the heroes of the famous series Watan on Watar, one of the participants in the reality TV show

When countries work together to support each other, change happens. EU member states have been proudly stepping up their efforts to collaborate, optimize, and strengthen their support to realize the sexual reproductive health and rights of Palestinian youth, because no one should be left behind on the path to development, and everyone can be part of the solution. “This project is like a movement led by young people: it has equipped me and motivated me to speak out and become a change-maker in my community.” Isaac Hillis, 21 years old

“Despite all the difficulties and challenges that we face in advocating for our SRHR in our community, we will keep working to break down all barriers that prevent us from reaching our full potential.” Dalia from Gaza, 20 years old Article photos courtesy of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Jerusalem funds development and humanitarian programs and projects in favor of Palestinian people in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. In the framework of EU joint programming, AICS Jerusalem is a lead donor for health care and gender equality and an active donor for economic development. In addition, it supports Italian, international, and local civil society organizations.

BISTECCA - Steakhouse

Bridging Cultures through Music, Theater, and Drama Palestine Meets Europe

By Tatenda Malan

hink of anything an accomplished musician can do – write songs, sing, and produce – and you will find that Ahmad Sharabati genuinely fits the description. That may sound ordinary for anyone who is into music, but Ahmad’s unique attribute is that he taught himself to do all three.

“United beyond Borders,” launched by the European Union and implemented by Sharek Youth Forum 2019. It aims to support intercultural exchanges and awareness-raising about Palestinian culture.

Polish and Palestinian music pointed towards differences in cultures. The style and genre were totally different, lacking any similarities whatsoever. But then we worked and focused on finding something special that would link the two cultures, and we managed, finally, to do that.”

Ahmad and Magdalena’s exciting yet-to-be released music video in the form of “Ma Anti” has a vocal duet. The video encapsulates everything about Ahmad’s values, culture, and purpose in a powerful message. His style and genre encompass the traditional oud, epic vocals, haunting, dreamlike melodies, and celestial drops.

“By evoking emotions with music, the collaboration brought the two cultures closer and connected them,” states Ahmad. This is evident in both the music and the music video, which, according to Ahmad, is about three imaginary characters – a young man who speaks only Arabic, a young woman who speaks only Polish, and the oud. The oud is the central character in the music

Ahmad explains that the collaboration is about bringing different cultures together: “In the beginning everything about

Ahmad Sharabati, a Palestinian singer, songwriter, and producer, is trying to transform the Palestinian music scene. He hails from Hebron – a politically segregated city – and one would expect him to write protest songs or hold rousing concerts to draw attention to the oppressive conditions of his city. Instead, the soft-spoken multi-talented musician raises his voice in quite a different way and in so doing has achieved great things by trying to bridge cultural gaps using music. The four duet music videos that are currently in the works with Polish singer Magdelana Pamula and a 15-track solo album are a testament to his mission. The 25-year-old musician’s collaboration with Pamula on their upcoming video project is thanks to an initiative dubbed 36

“Since I started to work with children, I have become more creative and have devised a pedagogical methodology. I learn a lot from them,” said Ahmad who prefers to be called a musician. Through fun games, challenges, and activities, children learn to connect with a variety of musical styles and expand their knowledge and appreciation of music. For Ahmad, this is a huge success. His work with children is influenced by how he grew up. “We live in a traditional and closed society where people are not usually allowed to play music. Young people prefer to go into other fields and professions instead of music. I didn’t have a head start. I didn’t have a mentor when I started learning to play instruments at the age of nine. Family and society threw spanners into the works.” Article photos courtesy of the author.

Tatenda Malan, from Zambia, is currently an intern at Sharek Youth Forum and is pursuing a master’s degree in international development. Tatenda is a humanitarian and development practitioner with years of experience in Africa and the Middle East.

and plays the role of facilitator. “It interprets the messages conveyed between the man and the woman,” explains Ahmad. “Similarly, the video content has the same plot. The man and woman don’t see eye to eye. They don’t agree on much. But the sequence of the chords creates a melody that facilitates the task of blending the two together.”

Ahmad has also ventured into theater. His role has been to create new tunes and vibes for the plays. “These workshops have expanded my knowledge, horizons, and worldview and, more importantly, they have opened more opportunities for me,” he explains. “This has had a positive effect on me, and I have started new initiatives in performing and scenic arts. In addition, I have become more courageous in voicing my feelings rather than sticking to traditional Arabic and classical music. Because of this experience I have become more aware of the needs and challenges within my community.”

Ahmad has no intention of bringing this project to an end. The experience has helped to confirm the role of music in augmenting cultural relationships. He has since founded a music group called Meem and created a café in Hebron as a space for people who want to learn music, theater, and drama. He spends at least two hours a day teaching music at seven of Hebron’s private primary schools and to people living in the outlying areas of Hebron.

Through his music, Ahmad has reached out to about 2,000 children. He tries to creatively engage each and every child no matter how much or how little experience they have with music. 38

My Palestine in One Act Mahmud, Abu Zaki, and Mama Omar

By Enrico Barone

he sinuous curves of the Palestinian deserts delicately welcome the awakening eyes, still dazed from sleep, which with astonishment linger on admiring these lands rich in history and yet so contentious. “History connects us all.” I must have read that somewhere. Along the curves of the long rural paths, veiled women, shepherds with their flocks, and children on camels or donkeys appear, offering a harmonious composition for the eye and the camera. The arid summer earth leads your soul to painful introspection. The corporal detachment of the winter cold is lacking, the warmth of the air pushes you towards the earth, and during the journey it finds evidence in the human warmth of the Palestinians. I woke up in the desert near Beit Sahour and Beit Jala – Wadi al-Rais is the name if I am not mistaken, in the Bethlehem district, between the buzzing of flies and the bites of mosquitoes. The night before, some local friends had cooked meat and vegetables using a zarb, a deep and fairly wide hole in the earth. Circular barbeque mini-grills laden with food are placed in the hole which contains wood that has been burned and turned into hot coals. The hole is then covered for a couple of hours to allow the food to cook. 40

Dhaikha. Photo by Enrico Barone.

We ate really late that night, I would say past midnight.

aggressive control of the “stage” revealed his histrionic and tender character at the same time. It is thanks to Abu Zaki that I understood that arba in Arabic does not mean “three” but “four,” and it was the same Abu Zaki who that night gave me the Palestinian name “Mahmoud,” which made me glad and proud. In my previous volunteer work in Gulu, Northern Uganda, I was given the Acholi name Omara – the one who is loved. Pretty exciting to receive a different name for each deployment.

That evening, Abu Zaki, a nearly thirty-year-old father of two from Beit Sahour, looking younger than his real age, had put on a great show, telling stories in English and alternating with long comments in Arabic followed by roaring laughter. Abu Zaki reminded me of one of the many Neapolitan street urchins. And I must admit that walking in the streets of Ramallah among the locals playing football and the women with frosted hair that is still in fashion here bear a striking resemblance to the lively Spanish quarters in Naples (Southern Italy). Abu Zaki’s hyperactive way of behaving and his self-confident and

True, the name Mahmoud might not sound very original, but it’s doubtless still an important name. Even now in certain circles in Palestine I am known as Mahmoud. 41

The zarb was delicious, and so was Umm Omar’s shawarma in Salfit. This thick meat ragù in a long bun really reminded me of our Ragù alla Genovese – which, despite the name, seems to have been born in Naples thanks to chefs from Genova. The boys from Salfit Youth Council had taken us on a tour around the small but delightful old town of Salfit, about 50 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. Despite being unfortunately not very well kept, the location has its own intense charm, and our guides Amro and his friends were able to show us their site-revaluation interventions while they talked about their insightful plans for the future. At the end of the day, among the celebrations for the fresh university graduates and the many fireworks to celebrate the various marriages around the town, we were warmly welcomed by Mama Omar, the owner of a very small but cozy food place, who took care of our stomachs for dinner. If you go to Salfit or even just plan to drive through it, you should definitely stop to enjoy her homemade cooking.

Khirbet Yarza. Photo by Enrico Barone.

One starts to understand Mahmoud Darwish’s verse in depth: “We have on this land that which makes life worth living.” An earth whose landscape is being continuously contested and altered, its paths reshaped to never meet again, dismantled in its originality for a capricious vice of belonging. Unwilling travelers, whose suitcases now rest beside signposts that indicate military zones or natural reserves, are living testimonies that “exile is more than a geographical concept. You can be an exile in your homeland, in your own house, in a room.” (Mahmoud Darwish) “The act of naming is the great and solemn consolation of mankind,” Elias Canetti once spelled out. In these three months, I have met many 42

people of heart, strong but tender, determined but flexible, burdened but jovial.

“Filastina jamila kteer…Alfilastiniu shaeb latif.” (“Palestine is very beautiful…its people are nice.”)

The man asked us to leave the bag there. He would wait for a relative to pick him up and bring him home.

A few days after the experience with Mama Omar, as I was returning home from Jerusalem, I crossed the Qalandia checkpoint on foot with a Catalan friend. While leaving the bus that had brought us from East Jerusalem, a middle-aged man with a few heavy shopping bags asked me in Arabic to help him carry them to the other side. I understood the question immediately, but I hesitated for security reasons. Like when I was a child, my mother used to say, “Don’t accept candy from strangers.”

Meanwhile, I could see what was in the bag he had given me – grapes, potatoes, plums, broad beans.

We said goodbye, but he asked us to wait a moment longer. He turned and took something from one of the bags. A few moments later, he handed us two bunches of grapes.

“Welcome to Palestine,” he repeated with a captivating smile.

“Welcome to Palestine.”

A moment later an Israeli policeman shouted aggressively at a Palestinian driver in the background. We didn’t understand the reason, if there was one. He was so aggressive that four of his colleagues tried to stop him by pushing him away from the car.

What am I supposed to do now? I asked myself.

“Welcome to Palestine” acquires a different meaning and tone depending on the situation.

Frightened by my own thought and my hesitation, I finally accepted with a smile. In the short walk, he asked us in English about our country of origin and commented on our answers in Arabic, to which I replied by putting together all the Arabic words I knew:

We reached the closed tunnel; we could hear the newly installed lounge music from the “departures hall” in the background. We crossed through the turnstiles and exited onto the wide square in front of checkpoint, or “crossing,” as it is called by Israelis.

“Shukran kteer,” we replied. “Ma’assalaama.” “Ma’assalaama.” Enrico Barone (1981) is a freelance photographer, videographer, and designer from Italy and Estonia. After being deployed in Kampala and Gulu, Uganda for seven months as a Senior European Union Humanitarian Aid volunteer in Resilence Building, he currently lives in Jerusalem.

Palestine Marathon

By Sara Dominoni

and started training three full months in advance. The daily run around Jerusalem’s old town walls is indeed breathtaking, and I must admit, it soon became a rather intoxicating habit, which included quite a few joint runs with friends also planning to run the marathon in Bethlehem. A few days before the marathon, my friend apologized. For work reasons, she would not be in the country on the day of the marathon. I, of course, panicked, thinking: I will never make it…It will be boring to run alone… The crowd will swallow me up in a

What was waiting for me there, on that day, was something I would have never expected. The sun was (obviously) shining, Bethlehem’s old city looked as beautiful as ever, and all these people, coming from all over the world, were slowly filling every corner of Manger Square. Smiles, laughs, music, children, happy voices, colored balloons: it looked like I had been pushed into one of Mary

big gulp… But after all those months of training, the anticipation was too strong to allow me to give up so close to the finish line. The day of the marathon came, and I admit, I was rather nervous. Probably more about where I was going to park my car in Bethlehem than running, but adrenaline was high as I drove excessively early in the morning from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, in my very blue branded EU technical t-shirt.

Poppins’ animated drawings. The atmosphere was magical. And all of a sudden, running was the ONLY thing I wanted to do. It just made perfect sense. The lead-up to the beginning of the run was charged with energy. The start was messy, but I felt like one big running spirit with the rest of the participants. There I was, part of this very special moment, absorbing all that was happening around me second

o be honest, I am not very fond of running, and I never have been. It is hot and tiring, and you get injured easily if you don’t practice appropriately with the right gear. Nevertheless, doctors seem to suggest that it is good for your health, keeping your heart healthy and your body fit. So I have picked up jogging many times, regularly when I was younger, less so when I started to lead a busy adult life, but that doesn’t mean that I was loving it. I had never jogged seriously let alone participated in a marathon. Those were things for skinny runner geeks and had nothing to do with me. Until one day, about three years ago, a dear friend and neighbor offered an invitation: “You must join the Palestine Marathon with me; it’s the best, trust me!” I thought, dear me, running in a marathon? It sounds scary and terribly taxing, especially under the bright Palestinian sun. But since I really like that friend and trust her judgment, my curiosity got the best of me, and I signed up for the 10K. It felt like the minimum I could do to really feel that I had taken this seriously, but it was definitely above my punching weight. Thus, I had to do this properly or I was going to get injured and be out of commission for the rest of the year. I read online all about joining marathons

after second. Dancing and singing shows, volunteers handing out fruit and water, the crowd of bystanders cheering, so many inspiring slogans shouting from the runners’ t-shirts. Among all this, the future generations of Palestine looked wonderful and full of hope, against the many colors of the separation Wall graffiti. Together with numerous foreigners like me, we were all running together for peace.

Last year I lowered my expectations as a runner to be able to take my seven-year-old son. I knew he would love every second of it. He has been wearing the EU branded t-shirt and cap since, the 5K medal is proudly hanging from his bedroom wall. I am dreading the next marathon as I know that my much younger daughter will surely also want to join! But trust me: it is worth it, every drop of sweat.

At the end, 10K in the blazing heat left me with a purple face and sore calves, but the feeling of accomplishment was incomparable. Loads of water and a few sugary dates later, with my medal around the neck, I knew I would come back every single year to join this feast.

Article photos courtesy of the European Union.

Sara Dominoni is an Italian who has been living and working in the Middle East for over 13 years. She has worked with the United Nations and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation. Currently, she is with the European Union in Jerusalem.

My Erasmus Story

By Haneen Salameh

n my last year of studying law at university, I was looking for a scholarship to pursue a master’s degree and was about to lose any hope of getting this chance. Time passed, and three years later I gained admittance to the Bar. I seriously doubted, though, that I would have an opportunity to travel abroad to continue my higher education even though my academic records and English language skills are very good.

arrange accommodations, etc. And the next thing I know, the Erasmus experience had started.

diploma in gender studies – in Iceland! This turned out also to be a great opportunity for me. I stayed there for five months and had the opportunity to give a speech on behalf of my colleagues and the program staff in front of the president of Iceland, Mr. Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson. This experience helped me to become who am I today, a legal researcher at the Palestinian General Prosecution. Time continued to pass, and I started to mature and develop my passion for international relations and my desire to support my local community.

In January 2016, in a temperature colder than I have ever known, -28°C, we had our first meeting – 150 people from different countries gathered in one place. At Tallinn Technical University, all of us new students from a variety of cultures and countries throughout the world began our first language and cultural exchanges and international dinner nights. Time passed very quickly, and after weeks of lessons, meetings, exams, and language courses, we became one big family!

I registered for a master’s program at Birzeit University, and during my first year, when I was checking the webpage of the external relations office, a post suddenly caught my attention: “An Erasmus Exchange semester in Estonia is available for enrolled master’s students at the college of law and public administration.” I couldn’t stop thinking about this post, so I went to the office and applied! And I have never regretted it. It seemed a kind of miracle that I was accepted, and I was really afraid of the experience. Numerous obstacles emerged: how to convince my family that this would be good for me, how to get used to the idea of living abroad alone, how to organize my schedule,

Erasmus students used English in their daily and academic life, which improved my English skills. This first Erasmus was great. I learned some new things, was offered various opportunities, and faced some potential problems. I met new incoming foreigners, and I started to become part of Estonia’s Erasmus community. Erasmus finished in June, but I had already decided to apply for a second Erasmus semester. I looked for another opportunity, and suddenly I found an announcement about an Erasmus program leading to a high

My limit is the sky, everything else is just the weather.

The coldest day in the world.

Living abroad for a limited period of time is different from traveling, but it is also different from permanently moving to another country. It is too long a time to spend simply focusing on yourself and having fun, but it is too short to consider yourself settled enough to begin long-term projects. You learn about people, about life, about cultures, and about how important it is to embrace new ideas and be open-minded. Erasmus is not just a simple exchange experience, it is, by far, the best experience you could ever have! I’m grateful that during my master’s degree program I studied in Estonia and super mega grateful that I went to Iceland. Both experiences were awesome, and I hope that through this post, maybe I can convince whoever you are to go for it because life is too short, and staying in your comfort zone is the biggest mistake you could ever make. The Erasmus experience will change you. It will become a way of life. I believe that it’s important to be part of the European community, which offers young people an unforgettable opportunity to study abroad and get to know other people and cultures. The Erasmus experience doesn’t have to end; you will see it as the beginning of a new chapter of your life. You will

Those were the days, my friend.

experience things you never thought you would experience, and these little things have the potential to change your life for the better – the way you think, the way you behave, and even the way you live.

And because of all of that – once Erasmus, always Erasmus! Article photos courtesy of the author.

Haneen Salameh is a Palestinian female lawyer and feminist political activist. She earned a BA in law from Al-Quds University (2013), obtained the Palestinian Bar license in 2015, and earned an MA in business law from Birzeit University (2018). She also holds a high diploma in gender studies from the University of Iceland (2017), under the Gender Studies and Training Program, funded by the United Nations University.

Erasmus gives you valuable skills and helps with your professional career. Studies may be only a small part of the Erasmus experience, but they’re a crucial part. You will study at a different university, you will try new extracurricular activities, meet a variety of students and teachers, and do it all in a language other than your mother tongue.

Graduation meeting with the first female president of Iceland.

Erasmus+ First European Student Hosted by Gaza’s Islamic University

By Riccardo Corradini

rasmus+ is one of the main programs of the European Union in the fields of education, youth, training, and sports, and contributes to strengthening EuropeanPalestinian relations in the field of education and academic exchange. The program aims to develop the capacities of higher-education institutions, strengthen the relations between Palestinian and European institutions, and open academic exchange opportunities for students and employees.

Riccardo Corradini is the first Erasmus+ European student to be hosted by the Islamic University in the Gaza Strip. A student at the University of Siena in Italy, Corradini tells us about his experience, his achievements, and the new insights he has acquired within the Erasmus+ program. “I’m a medical student at the University of Siena in Italy, and I’m in the last semester of my sixth year. I arrived here last February for the first time, and I’ll stay for four more months,” explains Corradini. “When I learned that I would go to Gaza, I felt that it would be a great opportunity because I expect to learn a lot and to contribute to emergency surgery as there are so many such cases due to the complicated situation here. Moreover, this experience is very useful to overturn a number of stereotypes

about Gaza and to show the pleasant reality of everyday life that usually is not told by mainstream media. “I would advise other students to join the Erasmus+ program in order to share their experiences with others, become more mature, and learn about the facts behind many things that are happening in our world. I can truthfully say that I have become more open to others and that my confidence level and skills have increased.”

“I received a lot of support from the Islamic University and my colleagues, and I was able to easily engage with them. I was surprised by the development of the university campus and the wonderful buildings, especially the medical school, which meets all the students’ needs. There are laboratories and places that contribute to the development of medical skills, including the library, with books from all disciplines.

Article photos courtesy of the author.

Riccardo Corradini, 25, is the first European exchange student in the Gaza Strip as part of the Erasmus program. His home university is in Siena, Italy, where he is in his sixth year of medical school.

“In Italy, I spent my time in the hospital, but here you can find a specialized college of medicine and more practical methods of education, and this is very helpful for me. “I do not feel different from the other students; on the contrary, I can communicate easily with my friends and colleagues. It is very helpful that students speak English and that the curriculum is in English. Moreover, my teachers and colleagues prefer to speak in English to make me feel comfortable. “I am still in touch with my university and colleagues in Italy, and they are impressed with what I’ve shared with them. I’m sure that I will gain unique skills and experience through my studies in Gaza, and I believe that the duration of my time here is sufficient as I would like to go to other places to gain a variety of experiences. Previously, I studied at Al-Quds University in the West Bank, which was also a useful experience. “Some of the main challenges I face here are related to the electricity cuts, but there are generators that work continuously. I feel safe because I see that my colleagues from Gaza have witnessed three wars and still have the ability and persistence to survive.

My Catch-22 with Europe By Enas I. aL-Muthaffar

hen I was a child growing up in East Jerusalem, my knowledge about the world drew more on folktales than history lessons. Our school curriculum, which was authorized by the Israeli occupation, didn’t provide lessons about the history of Palestine or the world. Instead, it mainly focused on consecutive Islamic caliphates. Fortunately, we had the old Japanese animated series from the late seventies, which offered more than 150 tales from around the world. This series, which was dubbed in Arabic, was my first window to the outside world.

more about who we are and how we identify and connect with one another, share ideas and ideals, entertain and educate, and inspire each other’s thinking and actions.

What future is there for humanity when there is in Europe’s backyard an apartheid regime that stands at odds with Europe’s respect for human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law?

People stories, in folktales and movies, have greatly contributed to my understanding of Europe and my appreciation of its values, culture, and people. But not its politics – specifically when it comes to Palestine. Palestinians are more than news headlines: we are the heroes in our story towards freedom – not the problem. Palestine is where we are and who we are; it is the embodiment of the different ways we celebrate life with our loved ones, pursue our dreams, rejoice in our accomplishments, resist the injustices that befall us, deal with anger and pain, and worry about the future of our children. What future then do we have when we Palestinians continue to be subjected to a belligerent military occupation?

So, here’s my Catch-22 with Europe: Why does Europe find more in common with our occupier than with us? Which window in Europe do we need to open in order for Europeans to learn anew about the land and people of Palestine? What would it take for Europeans to identify with Palestine without the politicking that uses accusations of incitement, violence, or otherwise and, instead, see Palestine and Palestinians through our shared values, specifically, the belief that we are all born free and equal in dignity and rights? Mother’s Day by cartoonist Mohammad Saba’neh.

I first got to learn about Europe through these stories and its cartoon characters. I understood at an early age how much we have in common, with all our positive and negative human traits. I grew up with curiosity about this continent, especially since it’s closer to Palestine than many other places, and I discovered much about its history, literature, society, and arts. Granted, I can’t homogenize all of Europe and Europeans, but I can say that despite the differences, Europe has evolved to highlight commonalities to define its values, politics, economy, literature, cinema, art, etc. I often wondered what tale or more the world tells about us. The Japanese series only included one episode from the Arab world – not exactly from Palestine. That one tale was, of course, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. Be sure, such a lamp only exists in this one story. The foundation of every story we tell, wherever we are in the world, is based on a hero and a problem, and the journey to solve it makes the story. Magic is not always there to answer every problem we have, precisely because our stories are less about the problem and 54

I have no doubt that Palestine’s story will end with freedom. The question is, How? This story will one day be written in history books and narrated through folktales and beyond. I wonder what Europe’s part will be in this story. While it’s still being inscribed today – particularly at this precarious junction whereby international norms and principles are being threatened by the ideology of colonization, oppression, and hegemony – Europe’s part in the quest for freedom in Palestine, as I see it, has two possible trajectories: to be defined as part of the problem if Europe continues to sit idle and wait for something to happen or someone else to act, or for Europe to stand up for its own values with courage and persistence, and be part of the solution and the journey that creates the story we all should aspire to write in order to inspire future generations.

Europe should make no mistake: Aladdin’s Lamp will not just appear to solve this. Enas aL-Muthaffar was born and raised in Jerusalem. She has a BA in film directing from the Academy of Arts in Cairo, Egypt, and an MA in media and communications from Goldsmiths College, University of London. For nearly 20 years, she has worked on numerous Palestinian and international film productions, in addition to writing, directing, and producing a number of short and feature-length films that have participated in several international film festivals. Throughout her career, Enas has also served as a news producer for major international media outlets and a freelance communications consultant and adviser.

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Youthful Palestine

By Diana Buttu

United States have elected national leaders who are in their forties, our youth do not even have the prospects of voting, much less taking on positions of leadership. Leaders brag about how many years they have been actively involved in the struggle and not about how many youths they have recruited to lead. In education and employment, it is not much better. While we have the highest literacy rate in the Arab world and are counted among those with the highest number of women in post-secondary education, these staggering figures have not translated

needs to be revamped so that the Palestinian Authority is no longer the single largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Our education system needs to be revamped to meet the needs of a technologically changing world. We must invest in initiatives that break our dependence on working in the settlements or in Israel. Most importantly, we need to make way for youth to finally take their role in leading institutions – political,

nvariably, in Palestine, when I meet a person for the first time, I am asked one of two questions: “Are you crazy? Why would you choose to live in Palestine when you can live in Canada (my place of birth) instead,” or, more frequently, “How can I emigrate?” Both of these questions trouble me for reasons that are much the same, for they imply that Palestine is not a place where one makes a career, lives a life, or plans a future. They are both perfectly understandable, for why would someone choose to live under military rule or a system of apartheid? Why wouldn’t young people seek to have a better life in a different place where they are free, instead of living behind walls and surrounded by checkpoints? But this is only part of the story, since our people have lived for decades under a crushing occupation and have not only survived, they have thrived, despite whatever cruelty Israel has thrown our way. So why the change? Why the desire to emigrate? The difference between previous generations and our youth today is not their resilience – for this is a generation that has had to endure some of Palestine’s most challenging days while watching their peers around the world soar. Rather, the difference lies in the fact that Palestinian youth have been sold a false bill of goods from virtually everyone around them. Whether the false promises of liberation following negotiations, the false promises of international law and human rights, or the false promises of democracy and transparency, this generation has borne witness to complete stagnation, in the face of some of the most significant advances in technology and society. With this in mind, and with no prospects for change, it is unsurprising that our youth see their futures in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Gulf countries, or elsewhere – in places where there is freedom from occupation, checkpoints, and apartheid. In Palestine, however, we live with the knowledge that today is better than tomorrow. And here lies the problem: we have come to realize that phrases such as “empowering youth” or “creating a better life for Palestinian youth” are empty of meaning. While Canada and the 58

legal, and civil-society, among others.

into decreased unemployment for Palestinian youth. Our youth remain saddled by an antiquated tawjihi system that does little more than encourage memorization rather than learning.

For decades, Palestinians have built countries around the world; now is the time to build our own and leave a legacy that will withstand the next wave of Israeli abuses. After all, we do not have another country: this one is ours and will remain ours… no matter what.

More than anything, I fear the Palestinian “brain drain” and “energy drain,” for without our youth, our future as a nation on our land is bleak. This is precisely what Israel wants: to make life so difficult that Palestinians eventually leave. But we can (and must) stop this project. It begins by ensuring that opportunities be given to enable people to thrive, not simply survive. Our economy

Diana Buttu is a lawyer who moved to Palestine from her place of birth, Canada. She served as a legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team and later to the Palestinian president. She continues to reside in Palestine. 59

Kamal Boullata A Tribute

orn in Jerusalem in 1942, Kamal Boullata was a pioneer in both the practice of and scholarship on contemporary Arabic art, renown for evocative works across a variety of artistic mediums, in addition to his steadfast dedication to the people, history, and rich culture of Palestine. As a young man, his promise was recognized with a scholarship that took him to Europe, where he graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Upon returning home, he was at the forefront of a general art awakening in the region; however, the 1967 War forced Boullata to leave Jerusalem. “Kamal Boullata created new possibilities for employing sociopolitical heritage in visual culture. In addition to his tremendous and varied outputs as a visual artist, Kamal must also be remembered for his profound impact on the scholarship of Arab art and culture. He was the recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award in the 1993–1994 academic year, where he researched Islamic art in Morocco, and in 2001, he received a Ford Foundation grant to pursue research on the influence of post-Byzantine art on Palestinian painting. One of his foremost Arabic language publications was Recovery of Place: A Study of Contemporary Palestinian Art, published in 2000. In 2007, he returned to his collaboration with Kathy Engel to revise and re-release their anthology, co-editing We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon, a compendium of outstanding

American writing on conflicts in those places. The following year, Palestinian Art: From 1850 to the Present was released; this volume is sure to be remembered as one of the greatest contributions to the study of the history and culture of Palestine, and it has been described as Kamal’s magnum opus. Also in 2008, he edited Belonging and Globalization: Critical Essays in Contemporary Art and Culture. In 2012–2013, Kamal was elected a Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, during which time he published Between Exits, the first monograph to trace the career of Palestinian artist Hani Zurob.”* The following testimonies are selected excerpts from articles published in the cultural section of the Londonbased Arabic-language newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on 19 August. (Translated by Razan Anabtawi.) A life of passion for Jerusalem. Nasser Rabbat There is in Kamal Boullata’s art, and in all his written or painted work, in fact, an urgent and clear awareness of the double marginality that the vagaries of our times have assigned to him and his people: the marginality of “the Other,” and the marginality of art as that of “the Other.” Boullata is an expert in the existential impact of “the Other,” particularly the Other exiled from his home by brutal force. He has wandered the earth not only in search of a safe harbor but to recast the many contradictions and ruptures that have shaped his life in Jerusalem and elsewhere as a howl brandished in the face of the entire world to heighten his personal, national, and, of course – since we are talking about Kamal – human tragedy. The marginality of the Other’s art, on the other hand, is the product

of the historical context in which Kamal operated: the long-standing marginality of the painterly art in comparison to other areas of expression, such as poetry and music in Arabic culture, as well as the historical context faced by Palestinian and Arab art confined to the margins of the Western-dominated global art culture.

that of the novel, poetry, critique, and political and intellectual mobility. This scholarly endeavor confirms that the Palestinian diaspora was accompanied by fragmentation on every other level as well, and it is not possible to write about any Palestinian act or activity without alternating between the past and the present, between this place and that. This approach recognizes the Palestinian reality and affirms an indelible, unwavering identity in the face of nearly a century of fragmentation and exile.

Nasser Rabbat is the Aga Khan Professor and director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mohammed Al-Asaad is a Palestinian poet, novelist, and literary critic.

Kamal Boullata: letters in a renewed lifecycle. Khélil Gouia

Kamal Boullata… the American years. Ibtisam Azem

Kamal Boullata contributed to the accumulation of the consciousness of the aesthetic of modernity through a cycle of creatively rooting and modernizing heritage. Boullata did not import Western vocabulary either from Cezanne’s expressionism or from the cubism of Barak or Picasso. Instead, he utilized his cultural wealth to refine his terminology of the abstract that is unique to ArabIslamic art, asserting once again the capacity of this heritage (originally, the heritage of the craft industry) to meet the challenges of today and contribute to it. That is the creative risk of simultaneously rooting the self and modernizing it, a lesson that can benefit young artists in our countries.

Boullata moved from painting and diagnostic drawings appended with letters and quotes to a more abstract stage where the letter began to take on a geometric shape. In a number of lectures and interviews, he spoke of the square and the circle as symbols of the earth and the sky. At the beginning of the eighties, Boullata’s interest in shapes and geometry shifted as he started to pay attention

Angelus II-1, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 100x100cm.

Within this horizon, we touch upon the meaning of resistance, a secondary dimension that is inseparable from the journey of a leading Palestinian intellectual who lived in America and exhibited his works around the world. Between Kamal Boullata and Edward Said a possible kinship exists, at least at the level of their revolutionary thought.

Kamal Boullata – Palestine: a boat and an anchor. Hanan Ashrawi

and the development of the global cultural, artistic, and critical scene.

With a brush and a pen, Boullata was able to combine humanity and nationality, courage and compassion, bravery and humility, nostalgia and devotion. Through all his roles and positions, he maintained the momentum of word and sound, the firmness of his stance, the willpower, the clear vision, and the depth of perception.

Hanan Ashrawi is a member of the PLO Executive Committee.

The late, great Boullata aimed his compass towards the homeland and confronted the Israeli occupation policies of distortion, theft, and forgery. Through his artistic accomplishments and his critical works, he contributed to the affirmation of Palestinian identity

Khélil Gouia is a Tunisian critic and a professor at the Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts of Sfax. 62

A traveler between cultures. Mohammed Al-Asaad Boullata’s intellectual achievements, marked in his books Palestinian ArtFrom 1850 to the present (2009) and Recovery of Place: A Study of Contemporary Palestinian Art (2002), presented a much-needed intellectual revival of both Arab and Palestinian cultures. Boullata created an unprecedented account of the history of Palestinian art, highlighting the importance of traveling between times and places, not to write the story of Palestinian art alone but also 63

has come to be known as semantic lettering, observing through it the fine art potential embedded in the rules of Arabic calligraphy – a method through which the diacritical marks are combined with color, and traditional Palestinian embroidery with the geometric abstraction of Western modernity, arranging letters as visual elements that express cultural heritage.

contrast of color and architectural lines, a visual conversation that explores the relationship between light and darkness, a duality that provokes the central concerns of the Palestinian identity, particularly the idea of exile and exclusion, which is deeply embedded in the Palestinian mind. Ameer Dawood is a Palestinian writer and journalist.

His later works were described in what can be referred to as “stability engineering” art, which Boullata founded using translucent paper and “crystallized flicker on canvas” – attempts to shed light on the striking

Ascension III, 2001 (Mare Nostrum series). Acrylic on canvas, 132x132cm.

to colors and color schemes, dedicating a larger space for these in his works. Perhaps his continued fascination with color was another way to return to the Jerusalemite light that he spoke of on more than one occasion.

Tess Waggoner, AAI Remembers Kamal Boullata [online], Arab American Institute, August 7, 2019, https://www.aaiusa.org/aai_remembers_kamal_ boullata [Accessed 20 Aug. 2019].

Qasida, 2018. Silkscreen, 28.5x30cm. “The composition of this Qasida silkscreen print evolved from studies I had originally undertaken between 1987 and 1990. At the time, I was living in Washington, DC. The media was dominated by the outbreak of the first popular uprising against the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The national flag of Palestine, which had been banned by the Israeli authorities, could be seen in every street manifestation. The list of children killed by Israeli sharpshooters for carrying the flag was extensive. Today, other children from the Gaza Strip continue to be targeted for carrying the flag in the Great March of Return. This pattern composition of the Qasida silkscreen print is dedicated to the imperishable spirit of resistance of the people of Palestine. It was created in support of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.” Kamal Boullata.

used the straight line to symbolize masculinity and the straight angle to symbolize femininity in a cosmic unity, combining the principles of masculinity and femininity, the spiritual and the material, incarnation and abstraction… while for Boullata, the circle is a symbol of sky and femininity, close to the Freudian symbols.

Ibtisam Azem is a Palestinian novelist based in New York.

Khaled Najjar is a Tunisian poet, translator, and publisher.

Kamal Boullata: The dreamer of geometric moons. Khaled Najjar Kamal’s striking works in modernity are based on our mathematical heritage, through Ibn Al-Haytham whom he regards as his first teacher. Kamal tells Westerners: We had an art heritage based on geometry and its cosmic symbols before Victor Vasarely, before the French painter of Russian origin Sergey Polyakov, who also employed mathematical construction, and before Dutch artist Piet Mondrian

Kamal Boullata... Reclaiming the light of Jerusalem. Ameer Dawood In the works of Kamal Boullata, specifically, And There Was Light (2015), we witness his artistic and intellectual preoccupation with creating an artistic blend between the Arabic letter as the most indicative extension of sound and what can be put to canvas. Boullata accomplished this through what 64

Personality of the Month

Estephan Salameh Estephan Salameh can best be described as the unknown soldier of the Palestinian Authority. Since 2007, he has worked with three Palestinian prime ministers, drafted key strategies for the Palestinian government, most notably the National Policy Agenda 2017–2022, “Putting Citizens First,” been responsible for implementing key structural reforms in Palestinian public institutions, and is behind channeling hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit the Palestinian people through development agreements with international donors. When asked about what keeps him motivated working for the Palestinian government, Estephan replied: “Though the PA is sometimes seen in a negative light, the Palestinian government has good and decent people who strive to do the right thing every single day. Working with individuals who want to serve our country and our people despite the hardship of the occupation has been both an honor and a source of my motivation.” In a fast-changing world and as head of the EU-Palestine Joint Committee, Estephan believes that the EU has the power to change the dark reality in Palestine, not only by contributing financial resources but by protecting Palestinian legitimate rights for freedom and independence. For many years, as the head of aid management and coordination for the Palestinian Authority, Estephan and his team met regularly with over 50 donor countries and agencies, particularly EU development partners, with the aim of negotiating development agreements that meet the needs and interests of the Palestinian people. “Over the years, I have met with hundreds, m a y b e thousands of public officials, including UN officials, who come to serve in Palestine and leave at the speed of light. 66 66

This is one of the most charged and politically complex posts. However, I have found that the majority of them genuinely feel the pain of the Palestinian people and are working hard to bring peace and justice to Palestine. My hope is that when they go on to higher postings, they will use their experience and influence to continue to bring justice and dignity to our people.”

hearing his family’s narrative. And sadly, also like many Palestinian families, Estephan’s family was forced from their seaside home in Jaffa in 1948. After losing everything, his family rebuilt themselves with two principles in mind: to educate their children and to serve the public good. Estephan embodies these principles in both his personal and professional life.

Immediately after finishing his PhD in 2006 at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Estephan returned to Palestine with his wife Laurie. They returned with a dream to open public libraries in Palestinian villages and refugee camps. They founded Seraj Library Project, and so far, as volunteers, Estephan and Laurie, along with the help of many friends in Palestine and the United States, have established 10 libraries that serve over 70,000 people who otherwise would have no access to education outside school hours.

“I’m hopeful for the future of Palestine because I believe in the power and capacity of the new generation. I see it in my three children – Luca, Sabrina, and Elena – and in the faces of all Palestinian children, who are bright and capable but lack fair opportunities, free from the restrictions and the hardship of the occupation. We have a national and moral responsibility to support the young generation to reach their potential and bring freedom, independence, and prosperity to our people.”

In 1975, Estephan was born to a refugee family in Jerusalem. Like all Palestinian children, he grew up 67

Book of the Month

Praise for the Women of the Family By Mahmoud Shukair Translated by Paul Starkey Interlink Books, Massachusetts, 2019, 238 pages, $25 Reviewed by Mahmoud Muna The bookseller of Jerusalem, The Educational Bookshop

In the large Al-‘Abd al-Lat clan that lives on the outskirts of Jerusalem, namely Jabal al-Mukabbar, a senior figurehead called Mannan has many sons and grandsons from several marriages. Through the lives of Mannan’s wives, in-laws, and daughters, Mahmoud Shukair writes one of the most honest accounts of Jerusalem’s social history and the changes that shaped Palestinian society between 1930 and 1980. The character development in this novel is exemplary and fresh, especially now, when many writers in the Arab world are writing about women in ways that either reproduce stereotypical Western images or superficially portray a progressive society that is more like fantasy than reality. In this book, the characters and their contradictions are real, honest, and genuine. The author is not yet well-known to English readers but has written 45 books, 6 television series, and four plays in Arabic. He has been a leading member of the Jordanian Writers’ Union and a senior member of the Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists. In 2011, he was awarded the Mahmoud Darwish Prize for Freedom of Expression.

B oo k

Perhaps what makes this novel an important work is the way in which the role of women in the family is depicted, not in isolation but rather within its wider social and economic dynamics. Without fear or censorship, the author digs deep into issues of polygamy, infertility, underage marriage, abandonment of women in order to work abroad, and the oppression of women by women. As in many other Palestinian families, the members of Al-‘Abd al-Lat clan are also in the diaspora, living and intermarrying with others. This defragmentation, its motivations as well as the consequences, are presented to reveal the complexities of Palestinian identity, the challenges but also the opportunities. It is perhaps sad to read about the unpatriotic Palestinian who leaves his country in search of a better economy in Brazil, but then it thought-provokingly contrasts beautifully with the love and solidarity relationship that develops between his halfBrazilian son and Palestine. Through the main characters, the author has managed to brilliantly place us in the nomadic life of the southeastern desert of Jerusalem, documenting the community habits, customs, and societal traditions 68

that shape the lives of both women and men. But he also highlights the changes of such norms over time. Politics, the economy, and modernity, among other factors, have been important in the transformation of these traditions. The social transformation becomes much clearer towards the end of the novel when it opens up to address the broader issues of urbanization, globalization, and economic “development.” New realities are pushing against established ethics and cherished values: old vs. new, beliefs vs. myths, culture vs. education. Although the author narrates most of the story through the prism of the women, he in no way neglects the role of men. On the contrary, he describes their conditions and the hardships they often experience in the context of Palestine. It is precisely this balance that makes the novel the most honest, open, and explicit read about Palestinian family interrelations. The original novel’s Arabic language is simple and clear, neither exaggerated nor ornamented. Paul Starkey’s English translation adds charm and fluidity. Keep your eye on this author. After this elegant and captivating novel, many more of his works will be translated into English. 69

Artist of the Month

Al Raseef Band By Tamer Nasser Introducing a band is not as easy as it may seem, and Al Raseef makes it even harder. Guido Festinese (an Italian music critic) once noted, “Al Raseef’s members feel like citizen-musicians of the world and ambassadors of the Mediterranean!” That could probably be the best way to describe us because, regardless of identity cards and passports, we have managed to break through all borders. The idea of Al Raseef was born in the summer of 2011 when Ahmed Eid, a Palestinian bassist, picked up the trumpet and called us, his friends, to jam with him. He was fanatic about Balkan music at the time and was very excited about creating a brass band to play with him. The band took off and managed to be integrated into the cultural and musical scene in Palestine from the very beginning, due to the freshness of the sound and the joy that the music brought to everyone – from all ages, genders, cultures, and social backgrounds alike. That support from the community gave the members a push forward to pursue even greater goals. In 2013 and 2014, most of the founding members, namely me, Tamer Nassar (saxophone), along with Ayham Jalal (clarinet), Midhat Husseini (tuba), and Yassar Sa’adat (trombone), relocated to Genoa, Italy, sadly leaving behind Muhammed Al Qutati (accordion) and Hussein Abul Rub (percussion). And there began the true journey of Al Raseef. Joined by the Syrian guitarist Alaa Alshaer from the Occupied Golan Heights and two Italian musicians, Lorenzo Bergamino (drums and percussion) and Mario Martini (trumpet), the band took a different turn, proposing traditional Arabic music infused with a Mediterranean, Balkan, Turkish, and Armenian repertoire from a different perspective.

Arti st

I call it a journey, we all do, because we keep moving. We never stay still. It is an ongoing search for sound, whether as a group or as individuals. Each and every one of us has his own musical background

and influences that, together, helped to create the musicians we are. This has paved the way to a unique sound that makes Al Raseef a very difficult band to introduce and define. The influences can vary from classical music to extreme and radical free jazz, from simple ska to an upbeat drum’n’bass, from traditional Middle Eastern music to the hypnotic ambient trance of the Southern African Sahara and Tuareg music with a hint of funk.

Al Raseef has one released album called Mina Zena, which is a wordplay that goes perfectly with the band’s idea of breaking borders, or as the above-mentioned Guido Festinese defined us, “ambassadors of the Mediterranean.” Mina is “port,” and Zena is “beautiful,” in Arabic, which coincidentally is also the ancient name of the Italian city of Genoa where we reside. The album concludes a chapter of our story and puts us on the road to even greater adventures and harder journeys, such as the one we are now about to embark on – a new journey of collaboration with NAWA Institute for Cultural Development and Nader Jalal, Palestinian researcher and founder of NAWA, to record a new album arranged by myself and Alaa Alshaer, documenting Palestinian music from before Al-Nakba of 1948 in a way that would attract young audiences to our classical heritage.

But does a single band have space for such individuality? The answer is defiantly yes. That space for the individual created the unique sound of Al Raseef; something that we like to call “AraBrass” (“Arab Brass Band”), which is equivalent to the Balkan fanfare and the New Orleans’ Dixieland jazz in other cultures. That space for improvising, that space Al Raseef gives us to express ourselves is exactly what defines the original idea of the band and helps us to grow and to keep growing, staying on a neverending journey in search of sound and uniqueness.

Could that be all? Definitely not! But all in good time. Tamer Nassar is a saxophone player and the media liaison for Al Raseef.

Exhibition of the Month

Take My Hand… O, Impossible By Sameh Abboushi Curated by Khaled Hourani Zawyeh Gallery

exhibition

The exhibition that took place in Zawyeh Gallery on August 5, had a special meaning. Sixteen young artists had finally succeeded, some for the first time, in exhibiting their artworks at an established art gallery, hoping to sell their art. The exhibition was the culmination of a journey that started 15 months ago. Most of the artists who participated in the exhibition had studied art at the Visual Arts Forum (VAF), previously known as Young Artists Forum, when they were children. They went on to complete their education in universities here and abroad. Some chose architecture and design, others chose visual arts, graphic design, or filmmaking. When we revisited them 15 months ago for breakfast under a Palestinian fig tree, we shared memories and listened to their hopes and dreams. They expressed their frustration and felt discouraged by the fact that established art galleries declined to exhibit the artworks they produced. We at VAF made a promise and painted a window of hope. Our sponsors, Dr. Abdulmalek Jaaber and his wife Ms. Rania Ghosheh, opened that window. Six months ago, curator artist Khaled Hourani started discussions and deliberations with the artists to create a theme to reflect the realities, hopes, and dreams of this generation – a homeland divided by barriers and walls, no peace or security on the horizon, a region torn apart by civil wars, and the hope for a better future, which felt like the impossible. All these pressing questions were summarized by a verse from a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, “Take our hands… O, Impossible.” 72

No Sight by Jasem Shuman

Hayati by Munther Qariouti

As one walks into the gallery, the first painting that meets the eye is a modern icon painting of Eve, with a red apple in one hand and a golden halo around her head. To the right is Hayati…My Life, summarized by the artist Monther Qaryuti’s open wallet with photos, credit cards, ATM cards, an ID card, and a few banknotes. While Haneen Rayan expresses a colorful Prayer for a better life.

The Camp by Alaa Al Baba

The fourteen paintings of Taqi Sabateen, Bring It Back, is a documentation of a landscape that is being fragmented by extensive settlements, which makes Lara Salous reflect in one of her posters a verse from a well-known national song Mawtinee, “Will I ever see you, my homeland?” Further on, we meet Alaa Albaba in front of his paintings, a bird’s eye view of Al-Amari Refugee Camp where he lives. “I wanted to color the refugee camp with bright colors, critically, to draw attention to the un-colorful, densely populated camp.” Maryam Nowarah’s Cocoon brings hope of the colorful butterfly that will emerge. The impossible Rubik’s Cube for No Sight is made possible by artist Jasem Shuman. Nadia and Zoha express women in waiting, while the eyes of women in Haya Kaabneh’s paintings declare that “Nothing Is Impossible under the Sun.” The ultimate answer to our call upon The Impossible is in Du’aa Hussary’s powerful painting, The Rise of the Phoenix. Sameh Abboushi is chairperson of the Visual Arts Forum. Artwork photos by Ziad Anani

Bring It Back by Taqi Sabateen

Photo by Lara Salous

Photo by Mahmoud Fiqy

This Exhibition is supported by the A.M Qattan Foundation through the ‘Visual Arts: A Flourishing Field’ project. The Rise of the Phoenix by Du’aa Hussary

Some works are commissioned and shown for the first time at this exhibition. Works are supported by Mophradat, Culture Resource, and Edhea School of Arts.

Where to Go

The Old Town of Deir Istya By Bassam Almohor

where to go

In the heart of the central Palestinian heights lies Deir Istya in the midst of a sea of evergreen olive groves. Deir Istya lies 440 meters above sea level and is located some 15 kilometers southwest of Nablus and about 25 kilometers north of Ramallah as the crow flies. Deir Istya was part of the Nablus governorate until 1995, when the Palestinian cabinet named Salfit a governorate and included Deir Istya within its boundaries. (Location: 32.1307667, 35.1402191) During the Ottoman period, it was considered one of the important Palestinian villages, on a par with Arrabeh, Sanur, Jamain, Deir Ghassaneh, Ras Karkar, and Abu Ghosh, among others. But what is unique about Deir Istya is the well-preserved old center that dates back to the Mamluk era during the reign of Sultan Barquq in the fourteenth century. Potsherds from the Iron Age II and Crusader/Ayyubid periods have also been found. Deir Istya is also known for its rich and plentiful olive oil, surrounded as it is by an abundance of olive groves. Deir Istya was also one of the throne villages during the Ottoman Empire. An Ottoman ruler took the village as a center for government and ruled several villages in the surroundings, basically to collect taxes and keep order. The old town has four well-kept entrances where defense structures are visible even today. A modest, round tower, a low arch, a water well, a stable, and a guesthouse were built to cater for guests and to watch for enemies. Inside the old town live around 30 families at present. With narrow alleyways, roofed passageways, arched doorways, outdoor stairs, wooden doors with symbols and inscriptions from the past, and well-cut stones, the old town inspires awe. It invites you to relive the Syrian soapopera Bab al-Hara, with its architecture, structure, and houses. In the center of the old town lies the newly renovated palace, the palace of Abdel-Rahim Abu Hijleh, which dates back to the late Ottoman period. The palace has a large space of two floors, and in other parts, three floors of differing heights. There are 10 rooms of various sizes, and all have vaulted

The palace has been turned into a guesthouse, a café, and a business center equipped with everything you need, and it is open around the clock. Park your car at Martyrs Square at the western entrance, walk the narrow alleyways straight ahead until you reach the Muraba’a. Turn left, and you will see the palace to your right with a big brown sign.

ceilings. It was the seat of government, the throne, where the governor resides, and included the judge’s room with a tunnel-like entrance for convicts, thick walls with space for the governor’s cold-storage needs, and above all, very small cells. On the eastern roof is a small dome topped with a mysterious symbol that looks like a face: a circle with three triangles and two ears or horns on top of the circle with three dots. According to Said Abu Hijleh, a business entrepreneur from the village, the three triangles represent the three products that the village is famous for: wheat, lentils, and olive oil.

For more information and guidance, please contact Nijim Abu Hijleh at 059 592 6000 or nijim.woodwork@gmail.com. Bassam Almohor can be reached at almohor@gmail.com, 059 753 4681, or through Facebook: @palestinestreetlife.

TWiP Kitchen

Za’atar Bread Ingredients

TWiP Kitchen

10 gr yeast 2 tablespoons milk 1 kg flour 20 gr salt 100 gr dried za’atar 80 gr olive oil 30 gr corn oil 1 kg yoghurt 300 gr water Method 1. Mix the yeast and milk, then set it aside to rest 2. Mix the flour and salt 3. Add the yoghurt 4. Mix in the yeast and milk 5. Add the oils to the mixture 6. Slowly add the lukewarm water while kneading into a dough 7. Once it’s mixed, cover it with a damp cloth and leave it to rest for an hour and a half 8. Heat the oven to 180° C 9. On a floured surface, knead the dough into balls or shape into loaves

10. Leave it to rest another 20 minutes 11. Bake for 30 minutes

EVEN T

EVENTS

JERUSALEM

BETHLEHEM

BIRZEIT

CONCERTS

Friday 13 19:00 Music Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is a concert performed by Palestinian and Spanish women musicians and singers. The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music.

Friday 6 15:00–23:30 The 4th Palestine Alternative Music Festival, organized by PAMFEST, will gather this year’s best musical ensembles in Palestine, including Qabeela band, Apo & The Apostles, El Container, Ghazall band, Bashar Murad band, Jowan Safadi, Zenobia band, with special guests Tamer Nafar and DJ Jerry Masri. Osh Ghrab, Isteih Street, Beit Sahour.

Friday 13 19:00–21:00 Representations of Landscape in Songs is a family day with singer Dalal Abu Amneh performing a repertoire of songs that reflect the representations of land and landscape in Palestinian music. The Palestinian Museum. For participation, please purchase your ticket from the Palestinian Museum, or Shishapresso Café, Al-Tireh. Ticket prices: 20 NIS for adults, and 10 NIS for children under 16.

LECTURES Friday 6 18:00 “The Musician Wasif Jawhariyya in British Mandate Jerusalem,” a lecture presented by Dr. Salim Tamari and organized by The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, presents the rare and important memoirs of the Jerusalemite composer, musician, and historian Wasif Jawhariyya over a period of more than 60 years, from 1904–1968. The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Shihabi Building, 11 Azzahra Street.

Thursday 12 20:00 Dandanat Music and Dance Festival, organized by Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts & Culture - Diyar and Bilda. Al-Jisser, Beit Sahour.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday 14 19:00 Dandanat Music and Dance Festival, organized by Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts & Culture - Diyar and Bilda. Dar Annadwa.

Tuesday 10 16:00 Social Change Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is an interactive session between Palestinian and Spanish women sharing perspectives and experiences about different cultural exchanges. Al-Quds University. 19:00 Literature Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, brings together Palestinian and Spanish women writers sharing perspectives and experiences in literature. Imperial Hotel. Friday 13 16:00 Fashion Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is an interactive session between Palestinian and Spanish women fashion designers sharing perspectives and experiences in their field of work. Yabous Cultural Center.

Friday 13 20:00 Dandanat Music and Dance Festival, organized by Dar al-Kalima University College of Ar ts & Culture - Diyar and Bilda, in cooperation with Bethlehem Municipality. Manger Square.

SPECIAL EVENTS Saturday 7, 14, 21, 28 10:00–19:00 Souk al-Makhrour is a weekly farm-to-basket shopping market that offers Palestinian and Arabic traditional and authentic products and fresh organic fruits and vegetables, along with live music, cultural exchanges, art, nature exploration, and amazing local dishes that take into consideration vegans, vegetarians, and gluten-free options. Al-Makhrour Valley, Beit Jala.

Friday 13 19:00–21:00 Family Day Representation of Landscape in Song with Dalal Abu Amneh performing a repertoire of songs that reflect the representations of land and landscape in Palestinian music. The Palestinian Museum. For more information about registration, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ events/348276376119825/. Friday 20 14:00–17:00 Family Workshop: Preserving Our Archives at Home with Museum Registrar Baha Jubeh, for children between 8 and 14 years old with their families. The workshop will begin with a tour of the lab, followed by an overview of the conservation process in three stages: handling of conservation materials, conservation, and preservation. The workshop will also highlight the important role that family archives play in understanding Palestinian political and social history. Participation is free and registration is required at http://www.palmuseum.org/contactus/what-s-on-intimate-terrains.

EXHIBITIONS Wednesday 11 16:30–17:30 Guest Curator’s Tour, organized by the Palestinian Museum, with Dr. Tina Sherwell, to explore a long history of representations of the Palestinian landscape and its topographical changes over the years. The Palestinian Museum. 17:30-18:30 Objects–in–Focus: The Roadmap to Elimination, with artist Rana Bishara presenting the remains and ruins of the landscape using cactus that has carried a unique symbolic value as a natural delineator of areas that were destroyed and erased in 1948, and as a recognized symbol of steadfastness. In her installation, Bishara has created a chamber in which dried cacti remains are sown with the black threads that hang them from above. These fragilelooking husks cast their shadows on walls plastered with maps that convey the systematic fragmentation and disappearance of the Palestinian landscape. The Palestinian Museum.

SYMPOSIA Monday 23 12:00-16:30 Archiving in the Palestinian Context is a symposium organized by the Palestinian Museum with Dr Munir Fakhr al-Din, Dr Roger Heackok (via Skype), artist Abdullah Ghassan that examines the relationship between archive and power, and between archive and the people. The Palestinian Museum.

THEATER

SPECIAL EVENTS

Friday 27 17:00-19:30 Music and the Body’s Rhythm is dance workshop for children and young adults, organized by the Palestinian Museum with Hisham Abu Jabal and Samar Haddad King to develop the participants’ understanding of rhythm by means of their own bodies, using music that is inspired by the Palestinian landscape. The trainers will teach the children different rhythms, allowing each to create his/ her own personalized dance moves based on his/her relationship to the landscape. In the process, participants will be motivated to consider and experience the landscape using their bodies. The Palestinian Museum.

Friday 6 14:00–17:00 Armenian Ceramics in Palestine is a workshop for families organized by the Palestinian Museum and led by artisans Garo and Sonia Sandrouni to teach participants the styles and patterns of Armenian ceramics, as well as the artisanal techniques of their production. The workshop complements the book launch of Sato Moughalian’s Feast of Ashes: The Life and Art of David Ohannessian. The Palestinian Museum. Saturday 7 16:00–18:00 Experimental Art Using Recycled Materials is a workshop for young adults, where participants will produce sculptures that reflect different representations of the landscape, using papier-mâché and wire. Organized by the Palestinian Museum with artist Nabeel Anani, who is regarded as one of the foremost experimental artists in Palestine. The Palestinian Museum.

EVENTS HEBRON SPECIAL EVENTS Saturday 21 – Monday 23 12:00–20:00 Pal Food Expo 2019, organized by Hebron Expo, will offer a platform for local, regional, and international food companies to present their products. Hebron Expo Building, Dahyet Alrameh Street.

RAMALLAH BOOK LAUNCHES Thursday 6 11:00–14:00 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, organized by Palestinian Modern Stories. Beit Ardi. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook. com/events/1130821063778456/.

Wednesday 18 18:00 The Breadwinner, produced in 2017 and directed by Nora Twomey, is a 94-minute animation film that tells the story of an 11-yearold girl, Parvana, who gives up her identity to provide for her family and save her father’s life. Parvana’s father had told her imaginative stories while she helped him work in the Kabul market. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

Thursday 12 17:00 Fashion Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is an interactive session between Palestinian and Spanish women fashion designers sharing perspectives and experiences in their field of work. For more information about the venue, please visit https:// www.facebook.com/cogjerusalen/.

Wednesday 25 18:00 Samir in the Dust, produced in 2015 and directed by Mohamed Ouzine, is a 59-minute Emirati documentary that tells the story of Sidi Amar Cemetery that borders the valley that separates Algeria from Morocco. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

SYMPOSIA

LECTURES Saturday 14 18:00 “The Tyranny of Choice” is a lecture by Renata Salecl about how we are encouraged to view our lives as full of choice, but paradoxically this freedom can create anxiety and feelings of guilt and inadequacy. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

CHILDREN’S EVENTS Monday 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 15:30–16:30 Storytelling and entertainment program for children between two and five years old. Organized by the Children and Youth Public Library and Ramallah Municipality. The Children and Youth Public Library, Ottoman Court.

Saturday 21 18:00 Godefroid: the Bastard Son of Antar BinShaddad (2019) is a lecture performance by the visual artist and researcher of Palestinian origin, Samah Hijawy, who together with her grandmother and two well-known European personalities, Godefroy de Bouillon, known as the first king of Jerusalem, and the sixteenthcentury Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder, invites the viewer to look at how colonialism is deeply embedded in canonized European artworks. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

CONCERTS Thursday 12 20:00 Music Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is a concert performed by Palestinian and Spanish women musicians and singers. Al-Riad Tapas-Lounge.

FILM SCREENINGS

THEATER Saturday 28 18:00 Poetry reading by the Palestinian poet and journalist Tariq al-Arabi who was born in Nablus in 1984 and has published a poetry collection entitled 4 A.M. in the Market. He participated in the Live Voices from the Mediterranean Festival in Sète, France, and his poems have been translated into French as well as Spanish. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

Tuesday 3 11:00–12:30 “The Israeli Elections and Their Reflection on Palestinians” is a seminar organized by MADAR The Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies, with the participation of Antoine Shulhut, director of the Israeli Scene Unit at MADAR, Aida Touma, member of the Joint List for the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, and Sami Abu Shehadeh, member of the Joint List for the National Democratic Alliance. MADAR. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook. com/events/2648678131833834/.

TAYBEH SPECIAL EVENTS Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 13:00–23:00 The 15th Annual Taybeh Oktoberfest 2019, organized by Taybeh Beer, gathers thousands of beer lovers in a festive and enter taining atmosphere. The festival will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Taybeh Brewing Co. by serving over ten special brews. Taybeh Brewery.

Wednesday 11 9:30–14:00 “Governance of the Telecommunications Sector in Palestine” is a conference organized by Aman Transparency Palestine to come up with recommendations to be adopted in order to create a national policy that regulates the telecommunications sector based on the principles of transparency, accountability, and integrity to ensure inclusiveness, competitiveness, quality, and appropriate prices in the provision of telecommunications services. Palestine Red Crescent Society Hall. Children enjoying some activities at Abu Nuwwar Bedouin community before enjoying Iftar with the EU and MoSD.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Wednesday 4 18:00 Eden, produced in 2014 and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, is a 131-minute American film that tells the story of a young literature student in the 1990s in France who begins working as a disc jockey and bears witness to the rise of electronic dance music, and of course, the rave scene. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

Wednesday 11 11:00 Social Change Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, is an interactive session between Palestinian and Spanish women sharing perspectives and experiences about different cultural exchanges. A.M. Qattan Foundation. 18:00 Literature Dialogue, organized by the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem-AECID as part of Women’s Voices in Dialogue, brings together Palestinian and Spanish women writers sharing perspectives and experiences in literature. Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center.

Wednesday 11 18:00 Poisonous Roses, produced in 2018 and directed by Fawzi Saleh, is an Egyptian film that tells the story of Saqr, who is desperate to flee the Egyptian tanners’ district but is confronted by his sister, Taheya, who tries to prevent this at all costs. A.M. Qattan Foundation.

CULTURAL CENTERS Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art Al-Jawalida St.#8, New Gate, P.O.Box 14644, Jerusalem 91146 Tel: 02-6283457, Fax: 02-6272312 Email: info@almamalfoundation.org, www.almamalfoundation.org Al Mamal Foundation for Contemporary Art

Palestinian Heritage Museum Abu Obaida St., P.O.Box 19377, Jerusalem. Tel: +972 2 6272531, Fax: +972 2 6272341 Email: info@dta-museum.org website: www.dta-museum.org

The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music

The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM)

Jerusalem 11 Azzahra St, Shihabi Building Tel:+972(0)2-626-3230, Fax: +972 (0)2-627-1711 PO Box 66676, Jerusalem, 91666 Email: info@ncm.birzeit.edu, http://ncm.birzeit.edu https://www.facebook.com/esncm/ Birzeit University, Old Girl’s Hostel, Birzeit, Tel 02-281-9155/6 Ramallah Tel: 02-2959070-1, Fax: 02-2959071 Beit Sahour Tel & Fax: 02-2748704 Tchaikovsky Musical School Tel & Fax: 022778606 Nablus Tel & Fax: 09-2387773 Gaza Tel & Fax: 08-2628903 Photo courtesy of ESNCM

CULTURAL CENTERS Dar Al-Sabagh Centre for Diaspora Studies and Research

Star Street, Bethlehem, Tel and Fax: +970-2-2742225, Email: daralsabagh@cchp.ps daralsabagh Dar Al Sabagh Diaspora Studies and Research Centre

Palestine Museum of Natural History Mar Andrea, Antonya Street, Bethlehem Tel. 979-22773553 info@palestinenature.org www.palestinenature.org/visit Palestine Museum of Natural History

A.M. Qattan Foundation 27 An-Nahda Women Association Street, Al-Tira, Ramallah – Palestine, P.O. Box 2276, Postal Code 90606 Telephone: +970 2 296 0544/+970 2 296 3280, Fax: +970 2 296 0544 Email: info@qattanfoundation.org, www.qattanfoundation.org

Popular Art Centre Al -Ain Street, Box 3627, EI- Bireh, Palestine Tel: +970 2 240389, Fax: +97 0 2 2402851, Mob: +97 0 598947907 Email: info@popularartcentre.org, www.popularartcentre.org facebook.com/PopularArtCentre http://twitter.com/PAC_ArtCentre http://instagram.com/pac.artcentre

Sareyyet Ramallah- First Ramallah Group Al-Tireh Street, P.O Box: 2017, Ramallah- West Bank, Palestine Tel: + 970 2 295 27 06 / + 970 2 295 26 90 Jawwal: + 970 597 777 096, Fax: + 970 2 298 05 83 E-mail: sareyyet@sareyyet.ps / art@sareyyet.ps, www.sareyyet.ps SareyyetRamallah

The Palestinian Circus School Al Manzel Street, Birzeit Telefax: +970-2-2812000, Mobile: +972-59 2812001 Email: Info@palcircus.ps, www.palcircus.ps The Palestinian Circus School

The Palestinian Museum

Museum Street, PO Box 48, Birzeit, Palestine Tel: +970 2 294 1948, Fax: +970 2 294 1936, Email: info@palmuseum.org The Palestinian Museum ‫اﻟﻣﺗﺣف اﻟﻔﻠﺳطﯾﻧﻲ‬ @palmuseum palmuseum

Yabous Cultural Centre 10 Al Zahra St, P.O.Box 54874 Jerusalem, Palestine Tel: 009722 6261045, Fax: 009722 6261372 Email: officemanager@yabous.org, Website: Yabous.org

ACCOMMODATIONS

St. George Hotel

Ambassador Hotel Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, 91196, Tel: 541 2222, Fax: 582 8202 reservation@jerusalemambassador.com, www.jerusalemambassador.com /amb.jerusalem

(118 rooms; bf; cf; mr; res)

Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family Via Dolorosa 37, P.O.Box 19600, Jerusalem 91194 Tel: +972 2 6265800, Fax: +972 2 6265816 Email: office@austrianhospice.com, Website:www.austrianhospice.com

6 Amr Ibn Al A'as Street â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jerusalem P.O.BOX 69272 Jerusalem 91544 Tel:+972 2 627 7232 , Fax: +972 2 627 7233 E-mail: info@stgeorgehoteljerusalem.com

Tantur Hills Hotel

Hebron Road 303 (before Rachel's Tomb) P.O.Box 19250, Jerusalem 9119201 Tel: +972 2 5658800 Fax: +972 2 5658801 reservations@tanturhills.com, www.tanturhills.com

Casa Nova - Jerusalem Hospice Guesthouse Casanova Street, New Gate P.O.Box 1321 Jerusalem 9101301 Israel Tel: 02 627 1441, 02 626 2974, Fax: 02 626 4370 Email: casanovaj@custodia.org, https://casanovaj.custodia.org/

Christmas Boutique Hotel Ali Ben Abi Taleb Street, Jerusalem Tel: 02-6282588, Fax: 02-6264417 christmashotel@bezeqint.net

Caesar Hotel Al Masyoun, Ramallah Tel: 022979400 Fax: 022979401 info@caesar-hotel.ps, www.caesar-hotel.ps

Gloria Hotel Latin Patriarch St. 33, Jerusalem Tel 628 2431, Fax: 628 2401 gloriahl@netvision.net.

(104 rooms; mr; res)

Carmel Hotel

Al-Masyoun, Ramallah, Palestine Tel: 2972222 Fax: 2966966, www.carmelhotel.ps

Jerusalem Hotel

15 Antara Ben Shadad St., Jerusalem Tel: 628 3282, Fax: 6283282, raed@jrshotel.com, www.jrshotel.com

Gemzo Suites Fully Furnished Executive Apartments

Jerusalem Hotel

Al-Bireh, Ramallah, P.O. Box 4101, Tel. 02-2409729, gemzo@palnet.com, www.gemzosuites.net Gemzo Suites

Knights Palace Hotel Freres Street, New Gate, Jerusalem Tel 628 2537, Fax: 627 5390 kp@actcom.co.il

(50 rooms; mr; res)

Pontifical Institute

Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center 3 Paratroopers Road, P.O. Box 20531, Jerusalem, 91204 Tel: 627 9111, Fax: 627 1995, www.notredamecenter.org Pontificial Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center

Ritz Hotel Jerusalem

74 rooms & suites, 20 hotel apartment, Spa, Gym, 2 Bars, 6 conference rooms, 2 restaurants, and indoor parking.

Lavender Boutique Hotel Al-Nuzha Street 24 , Ramallah Tel 297 7073 reservation@lavenderboutiquehotel.com, www.lavenderboutiquehotel.com

Millennium Hotel Palestine Ramallah P.O Box 1771, Palestine, Ramallah, Al Masyoun Tel: +970 2 2985888 Fax: +970 2 2985333 reservations.mhra@millenniumhotels.com, www.millenniumhotels.com

8 Ibn Khaldoun Street, P.O.Box 19186, Jerusalem Tel: +972 (0)2 626 9900, Fax: +972 (0)2 626 9910 Email: reservations@jerusalemritz.com, www.jerusalemritz.com www.facebook.com/RitzHotelJerusalem

Taybeh Golden Hotel

Seven Arches Hotel

Main Street 100 ,Taybeh (Ramallah District) Tel 289-9440 info@taybehgoldenhotel.com, www.taybehgoldenhotel.com

Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, 91190 Tel: 626 7777, Fax: 627 1319 svnarch@bezeqint.net, www.7arches.com

ACCOMMODATIONS Nativity Bells Hotel

City Center - Manger Street Tel: 00 972 2 2748880, 2748808, Fax: 00 972 2 2748870 Email: nativitybells@palnet.com, www.nativitybellshotel.ps https://www.facebook.com/NativityBellsHotel/

Ibda'a Cultural Center Guesthouse Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bab al-Mohayem, Bethlehem Tel: +970 02 277 6444, info@ibdaa48.org www.ibdaa48.org Ibda'a Cultural Center

Al Yasmeen Hotel Nablus Tel: 09 233 3555 Fax: 09 233 3666 Info@alyasmeen.com, www.alyasmeen.com

RESTAURANTS

Borderline Restaurant Café Ambassador Ho Al Diwan Restaurant Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem 97200 Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, 91196, Tel: 541 2222, Fax: 582 8202 Tel 532 8342, contact@shahwan.org

reservation@jerusalemambassador.com, www.jerusalemambassado

Italian Cuisine

/amb.jerusalem Middle Eastern, French, and Italian Cuisine

Cheese & Wine Rooftop Restaurant

Borderline Restaurant Café

(Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center) Tel: 627 9177, rooftop@notredamecenter.org, www.notredamecenter.org

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem 97200 Tel 532 8342, contact@shahwan.org

Notre Dame Rooftop/Cheese & Wine Restaurant

Italian Cuisine

Jerusalem Hotel Restaurant (Kan Zaman) 15 Antara Ben Shadad St., Jerusalem Tel: 628 3282, Fax: 6283282, raed@jrshotel.com, www.jrshotel.com Jerusalem Hotel

Mediterranean Cuisine

La Collina Bistro and Restaurant Jericho Resorts

Bisan Street, Near Hisham Palace, 162 Jericho, Tel: 232 1255, Fax: 232 2189 reservation@jerichoresorts.com, www.jerichoresorts.com Jericho Resort Village

Oasis Hotel – Jericho Jerusalem Street, Tel : 022311200, Fax: 022311222 Email : info@oasis-jericho.ps, website : http://www.oasis-jericho.ps www.facebook.com/OasisJericho, Snapchat : oasis.hotel

Tantur Hills Hotel, Hebron Road 303 Tel: +972 2 5658800 Fax: +972 2 5658801 Email: reservations@tanturhills.com, www.tanturhills.com On Waze: Tantur Hills Hotel

Meejana Lounge

(at St. George Hotel) 6 Amr Ibn Al A'as Street – Jerusalem P.O.BOX 69272 Jerusalem 91544 Tel:+972 2 627 7232 , Fax: +972 2 627 7233 E-mail: info@stgeorgehoteljerusalem.com

Pasha's Rawabi Hotel Rental Apartments Rawabi 666, Palestine Mobile: 059 420 4378 rent@rawabi.ps

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem 97200 Tel 582 5162, 532 8342, contact@shahwan.org Oriental Food

RESTAURANTS 360

Casanova Street, New Gate P.O.Box 1321 Jerusalem 9101301 Israel Tel: 02 627 1441, 02 626 2974, Fax: 02 626 4370 Email: casanovaj@custodia.org, https://casanovaj.custodia.org/

Al Diwan Restaurant Ambassador Hotel Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, 91196, Tel: 541 2222, Fax: 582 8202 reservation@jerusalemambassador.com, www.jerusalemambassador.com /amb.jerusalem Middle Eastern, French, and Italian Cuisine

Opening Hours: 17:30 - 23:00

Zeit ou Zaater Rukab St., Ramallah (02) 295 4455, Email: zeitouzaater@gmail.com

RESTAURANTS Bab idDeir Cafe & Bar Deik Quarter - Manger square, Bethlehem Tel: 2769222 /BabidDeirCB/

zeitouzaater RESTAURANTS

Shrak Artoos

Shawerma Falafel The Art of & Gelato Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

Fawda Restaurant Chef's Table

Siroter Lilac

Shams Al-Aseel

 Qburger

A modern take on Palestinian cuisine Hosh Al-Syrian Guesthouse, off Star Street, Bethlehem Tel. 02-2747529, Email reservations@hoshalsyrian.com Bookings required at least a day in advance

Enjoy Palestine's nature and cuisine Al Makhrour Valley, Beit Jala, Tel: 059-461-6011 / 052-744-2003 www.fb.com/shams.alaseel.palestine

Azure Restaurant

Our home is yours Mediterranean and Steaks Tel and fax numbers +972-2-2957850, Email: Azure.rest@gmail.com www.facebook.com/Azure.restaurant

FrenchPasta, Café & Pizza, & Bakery Pastries Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

Quick Sandwiches Shop Burger Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

Zeit ou Zaater Tel: 09 233 3555 Fax: 09 233 3666 Info@alyasmeen.com, www.alyasmeen.com zeitouzaater

Martini Bar AlMasyoun, Ramallah Tel: 2979400 Martini Bar

Martinibar_ramallah

Zeit ou Zaater Rukab St., Ramallah (02) 295 4455, Email: zeitouzaater@gmail.com zeitouzaater

ATTRACTIONS Levantine Gallery Affordable originals, top quality prints and Arabic calligraphy

Artoos

The Art of Gelato Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

Lilac

Pizza, Pasta, & Pastries Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

16 Christian Quarter Road, Old City Jerusalem Tel: +972-2-970 7790 Mob: +972-52- 675 4276 Follow us on Facebook or Instagram!

Birzeit Brewing Co. Shepherds Beer Brewing Beer of Palestine with passion for friends Municipality street, Old town, Birzeit Tel: +972 2 2819111, Mobile: +972 56 2776665 Email: info@bbdc.ps, Website: www.shepherds.ps Shepherds Beer

Qburger

Burger Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 02 282 5599 https://www.facebook.com/QCenterRawabiOfficial/

Have you booked your tour !

Poster Making Palestinian Art Accessible to Everyone. Get yours now! 7A President Square, behind Plaza Mall, Al-Balo', Albireh Mob: 0592847732 Tel: 022426486, anani.ziad@gmail.com, poster.zawyeh, Online shop is now live at www.zawyeh.net/poster

16 Christian Quarter Road, Old City Jerusalem Tel: +972-2-970 7790 Mob: +972-52- 675 4276 Follow us on Facebook or Instagram!

ATTRACTIONS Taybeh Brewery Co. Shepherds Beer Birzeit Brewing Proudly & Bottlingwith Premium Palestinian BrewingBrewing Beer of Palestine passion for friendsBeer since 1994 Near the rotary, Taybeh Ramallah District Municipality street, Old Village, town, Birzeit Tel: taybeh@palnet.com, www.taybehbeer.com Mobile: +972 56 2776665 Tel:02-289-8868, +972 2 2819111, Email: info@bbdc.ps, Website: www.shepherds.ps https://www.facebook.com/taybehbeer/ Shepherds Beer Saturday 8 AM-3:30Have Opening Hours: MondayPM you booked your tour !

Poster Winery Taybeh

Making Boutique Palestinian Winestosince 2013 Get yours now! Palestinian Art Accessible Everyone. Main Street, Taybeh Village, District 7A President Square, behindRamallah Plaza Mall, Al-Balo', Albireh Mob: 0592847732info@taybehwinery.com, Tel: 022426486, anani.ziad@gmail.com, Tel: 02-289-9440, www.taybehwinery.com poster.zawyeh, Online shop is now live at www.zawyeh.net/poster https://www.facebook.com/Taybehwinery/

Opening Hours: Daily 9 AM-5 PM

TRAVEL AGENCIES Daher Travel, Ltd.

14 Azzahra St., P.O.Box 19055, Jerusalem Tel: +972 2 6283235, Fax: +972 2 627 1574 Email:Dahert@netvision.net.il

George Garabedian & Co. L.T.D. Tourist & Travel Bureau

24 Saladin St., Jerusalem Ticketing: +972-2-6288354, Incoming: +972-2-6283398 ggc@ggc-jer.com, www.ggc-jer.com

O.S Tours & Travel 19 Al-Rashid St., Jerusalem Tel: +972 2 6289260 / +972 2 6273687, Fax: +972 2 6264979 Email:os@os-tours.com, Web:http://www.os-tours.com

Zawyeh Gallery Current exhibition: Affordable Art Fair | Collective | 5 - 30.11.2018 7A President Square, behind Plaza Mall, Al-Balo', Albireh Mob: 0592847732 Tel: 022426486 anani.ziad@gmail.com, www.zawyeh.net

Telepherique & Sultan Tourist Center Enjoy the panoramic view of Jericho Elisha's Spring, P.O.Box 12, Jericho Tel: + 972 (2) 2321590; Fax: + 972 (2) 2321598 Info@jericho-cablecar.com, www.jericho-cablecar.com JerichoCableCar

Fun Factory Rawabi Spacious indoor amusement park that introduces fun, comfort, and happiness for all ages. Q Center, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 059 594 9026, https://www.facebook.com/funfactoryrawabi/

Raji Tours & Travel

9 Azzahra St. Jerusalem, 9720952, P.O.B: 67197, Jerusalem, 9167002 Tel: 972 2 6446279, Fax: 972 2 5787766 Email:info@rajitours.com, Website:www.rajitours.com Raji Tours & Travel

SAMARA

Tourist & Travel Agency

1 Greek Orthodox Pat. Rd., P.O.Box 14058, Jerusalem 91140 Tel: +972-2-6276133, Telefax: +972-2-6271956 info@samaratours.com, www.samaratours.com

Golden Globe Tours

Ersal St, Ersal Center, Amaar Tower, 5th floor Box 4181, El Bireh, Ramallah-Palestine Tel: +972 2 2421878, Fax: +972 2 2421879, Mbl: +972 56 2550031 Email: info@gg-tours.ps, Web:www.gg-tours.ps

TOUR OPERATORS

Rawabi Extreme

Fraternum Tours Ltd.

Exciting outdoor games in the beautiful nature of Palestine.

P.O.Box 21727, Jerusalem 9121701 Tel: +972 2 6767117 or +972 2 6767227, Fax: +972 2 6767266 Email: fraternum@bezeqint.net, Web: www.fraternumtours.com

WaDina, Rawabi 666, Palestine Tel: 059 420 4377, https://www.facebook.com/RawabiExtreme

Sa'adeh Science & Technology House- Alnayzak

We bring joy and science together! and it's for everyone! Location: Al Haq Street in The Old City of Birzeit Tel: +970 2 281 9523 +970 2 281 9040 Email: sciencehouse@alnayzak.org, www.sciencehouse.ps Al Nayzak - Science and Technology House ‫ ﺑﯾت اﻟﻌﻠوم واﻟﺗﻛﻧوﻟوﺟﯾﺎ‬- ‫اﻟﻧﯾزك‬

Laila Tours & Travel

Grand Park Hotel, Second Floor, Manger Street – Holy Land Phone: +970 2 2777997/+970 2 2764886, Fax: +970 2 2777996 Mobile: +972 528412911, Email: team@lailatours.com www.lailatours.com, Laila Tours & Travel

JErUSALEM Jerusalem

BETHLEHEM Bethlehem

ramallah Ramallah

T h e L a st Wo r

The Last Word

Europe Is in Position

Despite the huge change in the facts on the ground since the Oslo Accords, the European Union has stood firm vis-Ă -vis its position on how to resolve the Palestinian question. The European Union still believes that the best solution is two states based on relevant United Nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; resolutions. Incidentally, this position is also that of the Palestinian Authority, but it seems that hardly any other major players feel the same; certainly not the current US administration. A number of member states have already recognized Palestine, while all have diplomatic representation to the Palestinian Authority. In local politics, giving the excuse of the current Palestinian political schism, Israel claims that it does not have a Palestinian partner. The truth, however, is that with a right-wing government and its expansionist greed, it is the Palestinians who do not have an Israeli partner. As if that were not enough, it is evident that Israel is doing its best to coerce and weaken the recognized Palestinian leadership in order to extract a solution imposed by Israel. This does not bode well with the official position of the European Union, which continues to be the largest donor to the Palestinians. In 2018, total aid came to nearly â&#x201A;Ź350 million. Since 1975, when the relationship was established between the European Union and Palestine (initially through the PLO), that relationship has been cordial and based on mutual respect. Palestinians have always been grateful for the EU stand and support. That said, Palestinians today wish and hope that the European Union would take bolder steps to defend them against the smear campaign and the economic boycott that both Israel and the United States are waging upon them. The international geopolitical situation is no doubt changing, and the United States today is surely not where it was 20 years ago. At that time, over 120 countries rallied behind it when it attacked Iraq. Today, it is not able to recruit a handful of countries for a naval force to be stationed in the Persian Gulf. We should not forget that Russia and China today are a match both militarily and economically. There have been shy attempts by Europe to take a different position than that of the Americans on international issues, particularly on Iran. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, for instance, was bold to bluntly say no to the naval force; even Gibraltar stood up to the United States and refused to hold the Iranian oil vessel. But these timid voices need to be bolder, and I believe that the time has come for the European Union to break with its history of acquiescence to the United States. Admittedly for selfish reasons, Palestinians need Europe to be strong. And Europe is undoubtedly in position not only to play a bigger international role but also to lead the world when it comes to such issues as human rights, selfdetermination, the environment, culture, and other human values. Long live Palestine!

Sani Meo Publisher

Keeping the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem GREEN. A cleaning day organized by the European Union. Photo courtesy of the European Union.

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