IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
Literature
The Parachute Paradox, a new book from Palestinian author Steve Sabella, provides a unique insight into the individual pursuit of global citizenship through the author’s life story. Sabella begins in Jerusalem’s Old City, where he was born, and he quickly learns that only his unfettered imagination and bold spirit will enable him to see beyond his identity...
on December 21, 2016
Thursday night will mark the end of a pretty awful year. There weren’t any wars for a change, leaving Israel free to deal with itself. There are times when launching a decent war, as Israel knows and loves, seems to be the best thing to do. Dealing with itself does Israel no good. When it cannot hide behind the routine “unavoidable war,” all its wounds and scars are revealed.
on December 31, 2015
It was just like a Bollywood movie, the man said. He, a Palestinian groom, was smuggling his bride from Jordan into Gaza. The whole wedding party was with them, underground in the tunnels. And she was standing there, trembling, in her white dress and under erratic lights, dust falling into her hair, when he ran to her and kissed her.
on October 12, 2015
Palestinian-American Profiles
Basma Alsharif is Palestinian-American visual artist who works in film, photography, and installation, and who explores the human condition as it relates to geopolitics through her art. Her work has been shown at major exhibitions all over the world, including at Les Modules at the Palais de Tokyo, Here and Elsewhere at the New Museum, and the Riwaq Biennial in Palestine.
on August 3, 2015
Opening at Jaffa Theatre on Thursday as part of Tel Aviv’s Solidarity Festival, an exhibition will feature the work of Activestills, including Gaza photographer Basel Yazouri. Having joined Activestills a few months before last summer’s offensive, his work has been published in various international platforms, including +972 Magazine.
on April 29, 2015
Last week, Palestinian nonprofit the Welfare Association for Youth announced the results of its 2014 photography contest called "Gaza in Your Eyes." Out of hundreds of submissions, 13 young people were named winners. Each of their photos is strikingly different, but they all manage to capture the perseverance of beauty and hope against a backdrop of destruction.
on February 18, 2015
Testimonies
Khuza’a, a village in Khan Younis, was one of the many villages attacked during Israel’s ground invasion and aerial bombardment of Gaza in July and bore witness to horrific incidents of brutality. Two paramedics with the Palestine Red Crescent Society branch in Khan Younis share what they experienced during the few hours they were allowed to work in the village.
on December 12, 2014
Combining photography and oral history recorded onto audio, the Home Away from Home project by Najib Joe Hakim shines light on the experience of Palestinians living in the United States. Hakim interviewed more than two dozen Palestinian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area about their relationship to the US and to Palestine, and asked them what home means to them.
on December 3, 2014
When Palestinian Osama Silwadi was crippled by gunfire it ended his career as a war correspondent, but the now wheelchair-bound photographer has found a new calling documenting his people's heritage. After two decades covering the violence of the first and second uprisings against the Israeli occupation (in 1987-1994 and 2000-2005), Silwadi's life took a dramatic turn in 2006 when he was hit by a stray bullet fired by Palestinian gunmen.
on October 23, 2014