IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
News Roundup
For a Palestinian insurgent supposedly determined to see Israel destroyed, Paul Hadweh looks remarkably like his fellow students at the University of California, Berkeley. I met the 22-year-old senior on the rooftop of a campus building...
on October 5, 2016
News Roundup
For a Palestinian insurgent supposedly determined to see Israel destroyed, Paul Hadweh looks remarkably like his fellow students at the University of California, Berkeley. I met the 22-year-old senior on the rooftop...
on October 5, 2016
News Roundup
A team of leading British music executives have lent their backing to the first ever Palestine Music Expo -- a three-day live music showcase that aims to shine the spotlight on the sovereign state's burgeoning...
on October 3, 2016
Op-Eds & Analysis
A stunning video of a talented duo playing and dancing to Palestinian Dabke in a CTA Tunnel has gone viral, and rightfully so. The Gozamos crew loved the video so much, we reached out to the local artists to hear more about the inspiration behind it: “The idea for the video was very spontaneous. Hamze and I had just gotten back from a jam session with some local Chicago musicians on the south side...
on July 26, 2016
News Roundup
“Open up your heart and mind and just listen,” singer Philip Lawrence crooned against a gentle piano accompaniment before slipping into a falsetto sigh during a performance at Los Angeles nightspot The Study late last month. Lawrence – part of Bruno Mars’ songwriting trio The Smeezingtons – has helped pen hits such as Flo Rida’s “Right Round” and Snoop Dogg’s “Young, Wild, and Free.”
on May 18, 2016
News Roundup
“Turn them off? Off?” asked an employee of the Rashad Shawa Cultural Center in Gaza City repeatedly as he talked on his cellphone. Once he received a clear answer from the director of the center, he headed to the small control room at the far end of the hall teeming with more than 1,000 attendees, who sat on chairs, lay on the floor or stood leaning against the walls.
on May 17, 2016
News Roundup
On the big screen, a Palestinian was trying to audition for a singing contest over the Internet, because he was unable to leave the Gaza Strip. But the shoddy connection kept freezing, and the plucky hero eventually disappeared into a hazy cloud of belching smoke, as the generator he was using broke down.
on May 13, 2016
News Roundup
Palestinian students at an elementary school for the blind in the West Bank are learning English through song. For the youngsters, it's a welcome departure from the usual braille textbooks and memorising the rules of grammar. "In specific subjects, I like to motivate them (to learn) so I teach them grammar or vocabulary by creating a song, because they feel better and they keep repeating it," said Hind Al-Tamimi.
on March 2, 2016
News Roundup
The Cordoba Students' Center started a recent meeting with the sounds of musical instruments and Arabic melodies. The attendees gathered in the Cordoba Restaurant, in southern Gaza City, where the meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month in a private room. Arab originality and Palestinian heritage are showcased in the room's books, photos and other decorations.
on December 24, 2015