Writing at Al-Monitor, Dalia Hatuqa reviews the graphic novel about Budrus, a small West Bank village that waging a non-violent protest against Israel’s separation wall. The graphic novel is based on Julia Bacha’s award-winning documentary (see the trailer).
In Al-Monitor’s weekly round-up of news out of the Middle East,
In today’s Al-Monitor photo of the day, a group exhibit at Opera Gallery in London called “Peace From the Bottom of My Art” features the work of major Iranian artists from Parviz Tanavoli to Koorosh Shishegaran. Above is a painting by Shirazi artist Afarin Sajedi. Meanwhile, visit Al-Monitor’s new Iran Pulse.
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Daniel Abraham, founder of the Center for Middle East Peace, speaking to Al-Monitor’s Ben Caspit. Abraham told Caspit that without an agreement with the Palestinians, Israel will find itself with a non-Jewish majority:
“You have to get rid of the Palestinian issue,” he emphasized. “It’s like something in your stomach that causes an ulcer, it’s an ulcer, a wound that won’t disappear, won’t heal. It simply needs to be removed. You don’t understand what could be here if you resolve this problem, if you establish a state with a solid Jewish majority, the sky would be the limit.” Read the full interview at Al-Monitor.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may become the first former president under Ayatollah Khamenei to spend part of his retirement under house arrest, writes Meir Javendanfar in Al-Monitor:
Ahmadinejad has two options: to defend himself now, with all his might, to try to deter his rivals from attacking him after he leaves office or to hold his fire until after he steps down. Both options have advantages and disadvantages.
In today’s Al-Monitor photo of the day, Mohammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square has been a renewable canvas since Egypt’s 2011 revolution. As clashes continue there, a woman walked passed the graffiti denouncing the Interior Ministry and members of the Muslim Brotherhood on April 29, 2013. (photo by Reuters)
In Al-Monitor’s weekly roundup of news from the Middle East, the US statement about Syrian chemical weapons; Israel weighs in; the debate within Hezbollah about Syria.
Gazan brothers Arab and Tarazan Nasser’s short parody “Condom Lead” has been nominated at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for producers from the Gaza Strip, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul:
“We were mainly inspired by the tragedy of the first war on the Gaza Strip, which lasted 22 days. Our message is aimed at awakening the international community and the collective conscience of the Arab World to the Gaza Strip and the importance of protecting the people’s rights and culture from the hegemony of politics,” Arab said.
| — | Sr. Fides, the directress at Cremisan Monastery in the Palestinian town of Beit Jala. After a seven year legal battle, the Catholic monastery lost its fight this week against the building of the Israeli wall on its land, which will take up most of the Church’s lands as well as that of 58 families, most of them Palestinian Christians. Daoud Kuttab has more at Al-Monitor. |
Mohammed’s singing talents were evident from an early age, according to his father Jabber Assaf.“I discovered Mohammed’s talent when he was only five years old. I decided to make sure such a talent was developed,” Jabber told Al-Monitor from his home in Khan Younis. Jabber persisted with his son’s training despite the absence of music schools in Gaza, he explained.
Excerpts of speeches from jihadist Sheikh Feiz Mohammad were allegedly found on the YouTube account of one of the Boston Marathon bombers, Jean Aziz reports in Al-Monitor:
Preliminary information indicates that Mohammad was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1975, and is the son of two Lebanese citizens who emigrated from Dinniyeh, an area located near Tripoli in Northern Lebanon. … Previous Al-Monitor articles have mentioned this jihadist stronghold [Dinniyeh]…a safe haven for Sunni jihadists who are sent from Lebanon to Syria, or as a center for regulating the withdrawal of Jabhat al-Nusra fighters — including those who have been injured — from Syria to northern Lebanon.
Far away from the prying eyes of a very-conservative society, dozens of Gaza women of different ages and neighborhoods rush to their three-hour shift to get a relaxing treat — with no dress-code restrictions…“It took much time to save some money and convince my husband to allow me to come here today, but I desperately needed a massage,” one woman said.
| — | Mehdi Qotbi, the head of the Museum Foundation of Morocco, which has unveiled ambitious plans for the country to build several new museums and train Moroccans in museum curation, writes our partner newspaper TelQuel in today’s Al-Monitor. |
