Tag Archives: arabic

In West Bank, John Kerry Tries Out Turkey Schawarma

Posted on May 24, 2013

By Keith Johnson

Secretary of State John Kerry, in the middle of his fourth trip to the Middle East, is deeply invested in the peace process. On Thursday, he went all instopping his motorcade on a busy street in Ramallah, in the West Bank. He chose a popular schawarma shopSamers Restaurantto sample traditional Palestinian fare.

Well, fairly traditional. Mr. Kerry asked the owners what they recommended, and he got a turkey schawarma, which he dutifully tried to eat without making a mess in front of a swarm of cameras. After he got to talking with the Egyptian-educated owner of the place, Mr. Kerry gave his security team a fillip, and his sweet tooth a fix, by dashing across the street to Samers pastry shop. There he sampled a few Palestinian sweets and piping hot Arabic coffee, grilling the same owner about prospects for peace in the region. (Hed like some.)

Mr. Kerrys unscheduled visit, a rare stop indeed for the countrys top diplomat and especially so given concerns about diplomatic security overseas, underscores the kind of outreach that the U.S. is trying to make to jumpstart an apparently moribund peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.

He flew into Israel from Jordan Thursday morning, met with Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, then drove over to the West Bank for a chat withMahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. In both meetings, Mr. Kerry stressed the need for economic development of the Palestinian territories as a way to nudge peace talks along, though concrete proposals remain scanty.

Mr. Kerry has sought since taking office earlier this year to pump fresh life into a peace process that all but collapsed during President Barack Obamas first term, but so far he has little to show for it other than abundant criticism from both sides in the local press. Israel right now is more concerned about the knock-on effects of a disintegrating Syria, not to mention Iran, while Palestinian leaders have plenty to worry about with Hamas.

Hell meet Mr. Netanyahu again Friday, as well as more Palestinian officials, before taking flight for Ethiopia to deal with Africas future, before doubling back to Jordan yet again.

In the end, Mr. Kerrys seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm for taking on problems that have long vexed his predecessors may collide with the crude realities of the region. As he told the owner of Samers, Inshallah.

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In West Bank, John Kerry Tries Out Turkey Schawarma

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West Bank Hebrew language study is growing

Posted on March 28, 2013

Live from the Arab Spring

March 27, 2013

by Diana Atallah, The Media Line

Hebrew alphabet

Listening to Hebrew songs is officially frowned upon by many West Bank residents, but interest in learning the language of the other society that is very close but still far away is clearly picking up among Palestinians wishing to understand Israelis. One example is the Mohammed bin Rashid Bin Al-Maktoum School in Al-Bireh, a town adjacent to Ramallah, where many students in grades 7 through 10 are opting to study the Hebrew language.

A somewhat strategic explanation for this little-known fact was offered by Samer Nimer, a director of the private school, who told The Media Line that, We want to know what is going on in Israel first hand, not what others are saying about Israel. Perhaps even more surprising is Nimers revelation that we use the curriculum issued by the Israeli Ministry of Education.

Interaction between Palestinians and Israelis is often limited to conflict-related situations, such as Palestinians passing through Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank; or Palestinian laborers who are permitted to work inside of Israel finding themselves in need of a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew.

For these reasons, the administration of the 600-pupil school, considered to be conservative with boys and girls separated, made the decision to offer Hebrew as the third language, after Arabic and English. We found support from the parents who thanked us, Nimer explained. Some parents said they preferred their children to learn French, but we think the use of French is limited here, he said.

According to Nimer, there are presently around 120 Hebrew students in the school, including eighth-grader Lana [her name is changed for her safety], who is in her second year of study. Her mother told The Media Line that, This is the language of the enemy, and its important for us to learn it. Nevertheless, Lana herself offers a more optimistic outcome from her Hebrew study. She said, I visit Israeli websites and try to read. Also, on school trips, we try to speak with Israelis in Hebrew.

Although Hebrew is mostly viewed as a practical language, many Palestinians apparently agree with Lanas mother, and are interested in following Israeli affairs in order to gain an insight of what is going on in Israel.

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West Bank protesters evicted

Posted on February 9, 2013

West Bank protesters evicted

(AFP) / 9 February 2013

Israels army on Saturday forced Palestinian activists to evacuate a West Bank encampment they tried to set up to protest against settlement building, witnesses said.

Soldiers dismantled tents that were being erected in two different areas near the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank, and forced activists to leave, the Palestinian witnesses said.

At the first site no arrests were made, but soldiers used water cannon to disperse activists at the second and arrested six people, including two photographers.

Two protesters were injured and taken to hospital in nearby Hebron.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed to AFP the evacuation of the first encampment before it had been set up.

She said later that during the second operation, five Palestinian and two Israeli activists were arrested and that 100 Palestinians were dispersed after the site was declared a closed military zone.

Palestinians and activists were on February 2 forcefully removed from a new camp near a West Bank village, after a third attempt at the novel form of protest against Jewish settlement.

In January, Palestinians put up a 24-tent protest camp on disputed land on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, dubbed Bab al-Shams, or Gate of the Sun in Arabic, in a bid to draw attention to Israeli plans to build in the area, known as E1.

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West Bank protesters evicted

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Palestinians form new West Bank protest camp

Posted on January 18, 2013

Palestinians set up tents and began work on a permanent structure in a West Bank village on Friday to protest Israel’s intention to confiscate land, an activist said.

“We pitched two tents and began building a new structure using concrete and stones in an area in Beit Iksa which Israel wants to take for settlement,” Said Yaqine told AFP.

“This action is not limited to today but will go on for several days, to declare our refusal of the Israeli decision to take the land,” he said.

Yaqine said the Israeli army recently announced it would confiscate 500 dunams (124 acres, 50 hectares) of land by the village, located on the northwestern outskirts of Jerusalem.

“The only response to this could be to create facts on the ground, like Israeli settlers do,” he said.

Activists said they were naming the village extension Bab al-Karama, Arabic for Gate of Dignity.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli army did not indicate the military would be seeking to evacuate the encampment.

“Dozens of Palestinians are rioting near Beit Iksa and erected a structure at the location,” she said. Israeli “soldiers were deployed in order to maintain the security in the area.”

During the night between Wednesday and Thursday, Israeli police dismantled a Palestinian protest camp of 24 tents set up on a controversial piece of land on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Activists established the camp, which they dubbed Bab al-Shams, or Gate of the Sun in Arabic, in a bid to draw attention to Israeli plans to build in the area, known as E1.

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Israel evicts Palestinians from West Bank protest site

Posted on January 14, 2013

Israeli police evicted dozens of Palestinian activists early Sunday from a first-of-its-kind protest camp they set up in a West Bank area slated for Jewish settlement.

Police and activists confirmed that hundreds of Israeli police entered the campsite in the controversial E1 area on the outskirts of Jerusalem at around 2:30 am (00.030 GMT) on Sunday.

They quickly bundled around 200 Palestinian activists at the Bab al-Shams (Gate of the Sun in Arabic) camp into buses and drove them from the site.

The camp been set up on Friday in the E1 area between Israeli annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement.

Israel recently moved forward with plans to build in the area, drawing international criticism for the move, which Palestinians say would effectively end the chances for the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.

“Hundreds of Israeli police came from all directions, surrounding all those who were in the tents and arresting them one by one,” Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti told AFP.

But police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that no arrests had been made.

“They were told they were trespassing and carefully escorted from the site one by one,” he said.

“Nobody was hurt on either side,” he added, saying around 500 police took part in the operation.

Protest organisers said that six people were injured during the operation, and that those detained were taken elsewhere in the West Bank by bus and released.

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Israel evacuates Palestinians from tent outpost in West Bank

Posted on January 13, 2013

E1, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli security forces evacuated about 100 Palestinians early on Sunday from an outpost of tents pitched in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel has earmarked for a new settlement.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Palestinian outpost, built in the geographically sensitive area known as E1, could remain for six days while the issue of the removal of the tents was being discussed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the meantime, ordered those gathered there to be evacuated. A police spokesman said the court allowed for the removal of the protesters even if the tents, for now, will stay.

Netanyahu’s pledge last November to build settlements on E1 caused an outcry, with European diplomats warning it could kill off any hope of creating a contiguous Palestinian state.

The prime minister’s office said in a statement on Saturday that the government was petitioning the court to retract its ruling on the outpost, and had instructed security forces to block off roads leading to the rocky desert terrain.

Hours later, Israeli police and border guard officers entered the compound and told a crowd of about 100 to leave the 20 large, steel-framed tents that were erected a day earlier in an effort to preserve the land for a future Palestinian state.

Those protesters who refused to leave were carried down the hill by Israeli officers, but there was no violence.

“Everyone was evacuated carefully and swiftly, without any injuries to officers or protesters,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

The encampment’s name, “Bab el Shams,” which means “Gateway to the Sun” in Arabic, was taken from a novel by Lebanese writer Elias Khoury that tells the history of the Palestinians through a love story. Earlier, the writer called the protesters in solidarity.

For years, Israel froze building in E1, which currently houses only a police headquarters, after coming under pressure from former U.S. President George W. Bush.

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Muslimgauze – Mosul – Mazar-I-Sharif – 1998 – Video

Posted on December 16, 2012



Muslimgauze – Mosul – Mazar-I-Sharif – 1998
Mosul (Arabic: الموصل lrm; al-Mawṣil; North Mesopotamian Arabic: el-Mōṣul; Syriac: ܢܝܢܘܐ Nnwe; Kurdish: Msil/Nnewe; Turkish: Musul), is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Nineveh Province, some 400 km (250 mi) northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. The majority of its population is Arab (with Assyrians, Turcoman and Kurdish minorities). It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad and Basra.This is an extract from Wikipedia. This video features the artwork of Ayad Alkadhi,Arabic (اياد القاضي), (born 1971), An Iraqi born artist. Alkadhi's work focuses on cultural and political topics of Iraq and the Middle East. The work is mainly biographical and sometimes incorporates his painted image. Overall, his work expresses the intersection of Near Eastern and Western culture, politics and religion.From:Tarabulus2009Views:2 1ratingsTime:12:14More inMusic

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Muslimgauze – Mosul – Mazar-I-Sharif – 1998 – Video

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Anti-Semitic cartoons in Toronto-area muslim newspaper – Video

Posted on December 14, 2012



Anti-Semitic cartoons in Toronto-area muslim newspaper
(Hat Tip blazingcatfur.blogspot.ca www.sunnewsnetwork.ca Editor of Toronto Arabic newspaper calls on Palestinians to thank Iran, Syria and Hizballah for weapons used to bomb Israeli cities; warns that in future Palestinians will get even with Israel for all its 'crimes' By Jonathan D. Halevi An Arabic newspaper published in Toronto expresses support for Hamas and Palestinian organizations that participated in recent conflict with Israel, during which thousands of rockets and mortar shells were launched from the Gaza strip toward Israeli towns and villages. The newspaper editor Dr. Nazih Khatatba, who is also a board member of the 'Palestine House' in Mississauga, deems the shelling of Israeli towns a very important achievement of the 'Palestinian resistance', and calls on the Palestinian leadership to openly thank Iran, the Assad regime in Syria, and the Hizballah for the weapons they transported to the Gaza strip, then used to attack Israel. Looking to the future, Khatatba foresees that the Palestinian people will continue to make political and military gains due to the new reality in the Middle East, and in the end will bring those supporting Israel, headed by the US and Britain, to apologize to them and grant them reparations. As for Israel, the newspaper editor notes that apologies and reparations are not enough, alluding in effect to future Palestinian revenge. Following is a translation of the main points in the op-ed column by Dr. Nazih Khatatba in the 'Meshwar …From:SDAMatt2aViews:31 2ratingsTime:03:16More inNews Politics

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News for December 9, 2012 – in VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH – Video

Posted on December 10, 2012



News for December 9, 2012 – in VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH
News for December 9, 2012 Thanks to gandalf.ddo.jp for text conversion From Washington I'm Christopher Cruise. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has canceled a disputed order that gave him many emergency powers. The announcement about the cancellation was made late Saturday in Cairo. But a spokesman for the president said a vote on the disputed proposed constitution will continue as planned for December 15. The country's leaders are trying to calm political tensions and end deadly violence that has happened during protests around the country. The top UN human rights official, Navi Pillay, says she is concerned about the violence in Egypt and the deaths of people opposed to Egypt's new proposed constitution. She also says she has several concerns about the constitution itself. She believes it weakens many of the human rights and freedoms of the Egyptian people. And she says many parts of it do not follow international human rights laws. The leader of Hamas, Khalid Mashaal, says he will never give any territory to Israel or recognize the Jewish state. He spoke in the Gaza Strip on Saturday during the 25th anniversary celebration of the creation of Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian militant group that Israel and the West consider[s] terrorists. Mr Mashaal spoke to more than 100000 people in Gaza City. He said Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people. He said the land will remain Islamic and Arabic from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. And he said armed resistance is …From:ListenAndReadAlongViews:0 0ratingsTime:08:05More inEducation

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News for December 9, 2012 – in VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH – Video

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At Gaza paintball zone, a different sort of combat

Posted on December 10, 2012

Deadly weapons are hardly in short supply in the Gaza Strip, but at this paintballing centre in the coastal Palestinian territory, the arms are strictly non-lethal.

“You’re not here to make war, but to have fun,” the young instructor tells customers as he hands out paintball guns stocked with cartridges that are propelled towards their target by compressed air inside the weapons.

“It’s a bit like a Kalash!” Mahmud says, referring to a Kalashnikov assault rifle, the weapon of choice for many of Gaza’s militants.

He smiles as he handles the weapon, a short black gun with a cannister on top holding the paint, leaning against a board with the Arabic rules of the game.

His enthusiasm doesn’t impress the instructor, who is eager to stress the game is strictly play, and to keep his young customers in line.

“You must respect your opponents and you stop firing at the sound of my whistle,” he says.

“The safety catch will prevent you from firing in error,” he adds. “Don’t point your gun until the game starts.”

This small centre, located in the middle of an amusement park, opened up last July.

In a bid to add a touch of the exotic, the owners decided to give the place the somewhat nonsensical name: “C’est l’ami” — French for “It’s the friend.”

But the intention went somewhat awry, and the sign above the entrance now reads “Ce l’ami.”

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At Gaza paintball zone, a different sort of combat

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