Art, Music & Culture

Gaza attacks replayed on Edinburgh stage



In the august surroundings of Rainy Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland with its wood-paneled walls, lofty beams and grey stone architecture, Israel’s devastating attack on Gaza is being replayed. The university dining hall has been reincarnated as a temporary theatre for the duration of Edinburgh’s festival season with the drama, Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea, performed daily to a mixed audience of the concerned and the curious. Neville Rigby reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Despite obstacles, Gaza students score well on exams



AMSTERDAM (IPS) - Call it that choice between looking at the half-full or half-empty part of the results. And it is almost half; 55 percent of schoolchildren passed their general secondary school examinations in Gaza this year. The results in the humanities section in the exams, the tawjihis as they are called, were four percent better than last year, and in the sciences they were better by two percent. So much for the impact of the Israeli bombardment last December-January, on most of the children anyway. 

Gaza play highlights difficulties for artists under siege



The question of the arts in times of siege and occupation is one of the main themes in Gaza’s newest theatre production, Film Cinema, which opened on 4 August in Gaza City. A stage buried in film negatives, and adorned with a lone plump teddy bear, sets the scene of the three-person play. Eva Bartlett reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Book review: "Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner's Guide"



In pondering “a different kind of future,” author Ben White in his new book Israeli Apartheid: A Beginner’s Guide stresses that there is no point in “trying to ‘undo’ things that cannot be undone.” He castigates rhetoric about a “two-state solution” or demands that Palestinians should “compromise,” as if the solution could bypass the dissolution of Israeli apartheid. Raymond Deane reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Gaza artist, survivor finds power in paint



Ziad Deeb, a young artist, lost his entire family and both his legs in the Israeli attack on Gaza six months ago. In his grief, Deeb has found solace in his work. Memories of the massacre inspire him “to keep painting more and more, I believe this is the only thing that can’t be taken away from me and my disability can’t be an obstacle.” Eman Mohammed reports for The Electronic Intifada from Gaza. 

"Visit Palestine" says West Bank's growing alternative tourism industry



Palestine should not have problems attracting tourists, with its rich blend of history, religious significance, local culture, as well as the varied and breathtaking scenery. But of course, the political context of the Israeli occupation means that the vast majority of tourists in the “Holy Land” only see Palestinians through the window of a tour bus, as they dash in and out of Bethlehem for a couple of hours. Ben White reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

Book review: Lebanon's political posters as sites of struggle



The power of posters, as not merely symbolic weapons but also sites of hegemonic struggle during Lebanon’s civil war, is a central theme of Zeina Maasri’s new book Off the Wall: Political Posters of the Lebanese Civil War. A mix of text and image, the book is a rich and visually engaging work that tackles a dimension of war long-neglected by Lebanese historians. Hicham Safieddine reviews for The Electronic Intifada. 

Ali Jabri retrospective: a life recorded in sketchbooks



Ali Jabri locked his paintings in a trunk. It had been more than 20 years since the artist had opened it, but after he was murdered in his Amman, Jordan apartment in December 2002 his friends decided it was time to tell Jabri’s tale. Six years in the making, Fadi Ghandour, a philanthropist and friend of Jabri’s, set up a foundation to document and preserve the late artist’s work. In a home Jabri had wished to one day own, the Ali Jabri Human Heritage Foundation was launched in Amman. Sousan Hammad reports for The Electronic Intifada. 

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