Trauma unit

Review of Anita Diamant’s Day After Night Haaretz, December 4, 2009 After the darkness of the Shoah, in the last days of the British Mandate, waves of Jewish immigrants flooded Palestine’s shores. Their numbers far exceeded the quotas set by the British, and these new arrivals — most coming by boat from Europe, a few …

A taste of home

The Jerusalem Post, November 20, 2009 Halo-halo, the Filipino dessert of American-style shaved ice, Spanish dulce de leche, and Asian mung beans is an edible example of the Philippines’ unique layering of cultures. On the weekends, you’ll find halo-halo at impromptu stands in Tel Aviv’s Tachana Merkazit—and if you take a stroll through the surrounding …

Young Israeli women follow their consciences into prison

The National, November 14, 2009 At a time when most Israeli girls her age are fantasizing about their post-army travels, Emelia Markovich, 19, is considering the jail time that looms ahead. Markovich is a member of a group of shministim, Hebrew for 12th graders. But these shministim aren’t your average high school students. They are …

Examining genocide

The Jerusalem Post, November 13, 2009 Tel Aviv University will host the International Conference on Genocide Prevention from November 17 to 18. The two day event will bring experts and activists from around the world to Israel which, according to two of the organizers, Romi Kaplan and Nikki Levitan, is a natural place to examine …

Israel targeting the boycott movement

The Electronic Intifada, November 9, 2009 Is Israel threatened by the BDS movement? Maan News Agency, November 11, 2009 For over six weeks now Mohammed Othman, a prominent Palestinian activist and an outspoken advocate of the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, has been held in an Israeli military prison without charges. On 22 …

Starting a new chapter

The Jerusalem Post, November 6, 2009 The pulse of drums pounded through Levinsky Park Saturday evening, kicking off the opening of The Garden Library for Migrant Communities in Tel Aviv. The project was initiated by Arteam, an Israeli nonprofit organization, in an attempt to address the intellectual and cultural needs of the many foreign workers …

Raising their spirits

The Jerusalem Post, October 30, 2009 A Star-of-David-wearing Batman chased a Hebrew-speaking Spiderman. The pair wove their way through a crowd of dancing ghouls, singing witches, and smiling princesses—including a blonde Snow White. Orange balloons bobbed overhead and children toted pumpkin-shaped plastic buckets full of candy, reminding the partygoer that it wasn’t Purim, it was …

Israeli blockade strangling Gaza agriculture

The Electronic Intifada, October 29, 2009 Recently, Israel announced that it would import palm fronds from the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The move came at the behest of Minister of Religious Services, Yakov Margi, who feared that a shortage of palm fronds and a local monopoly on the item would send …

Village a symbol of resistance

The National, October 31, 2009 Hebrew translation: here. Every Friday, as midday prayers draw to a close, a few dozen protestors meet outside Bilin’s humble mosque. From there, they march though the village, calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. By the time they enter a thin, dusty grove of olive …

Casting out its own children

Mondoweiss, October 24, 2009 South Tel Aviv, home to foreign workers and African refugees, is in turmoil again after Interior Minister Eli Yishai recently indicated that children of illegal residents will be deported by the end of the school year. They won’t be going alone—their parents will be deported, too—but that’s beside the point. Many …