Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Jehan Alfarra
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EMWAS: Restoring Memories
MEMO speaks to Palestinian Film Director Dima Abu Ghoush about her award-winning film ‘Emwas: Restoring Memories’...
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The Palestinian Table
“The Palestinian Table” is a fitting title for a cookbook which captures the essence of Palestinian culinary heritage, culture and reality. It is what ties all Palestinians together in spite of their political circumstances and global dispersion. But it stands for “more than just food,” as author Reem Kassis...
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Arab tradition meets modern glamour at London Fashion Week
Arab designers take to the catwalk at London Fashion Week...
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The ballet flat shoes sending Palestinian girls to school
With her unique social enterprise Ballare, entrepreneur Amira Nimerawi has managed to solve a problem for busy working women while helping to provide an education for young girls living in refugee camps in Palestine. Growing up in a remote mountain area of Australia, Nimerawi’s parents made sure that they...
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Palestine ambassador to UK: Israel’s actions against Flotilla are piracy
The mission of Palestine to the UK hosted a press conference yesterday with two international activists who were on board the Gaza-bound 2018 Freedom Flotilla. The two boats making up the flotilla, one Swedish and another Norwegian, made their way to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break...
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The Palestinian Table: Serving up Palestinian food and culture
Born in Jerusalem to a Palestinian family, Kassis grew up surrounded by the distinct flavours of Palestinian food and a vast culinary heritage. ...
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Controversy over Dutch TV parody of Israel's Eurovision winner song
A Dutch parody of Israeli Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai has caused a diplomatic stir after Israel's Embassy in the Netherlands lodged a formal complaint to the Dutch TV channel that broadcast the video....
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'Every Palestinian is subject to arrest'
Since Israel began its military occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 1967, it has imprisoned more than 800,000 Palestinians. It is, thus, no surprise that Palestinians have an annual day dedicated to Palestinian prisoners – 17 April. Today, more than 6,000 Palestinians...
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Cycling 1,300km in 48 hours because ‘humanity is a wonderful thing’
To the joyous cheers of Omani locals, British cyclist Jonathan Shubert rode into the southern city of Salalah shortly after 4:00am (00:00GMT) following two days during which he cycled 1,300 kilometres across the country, beating a world record of six days for this distance. 30,000 calories burnt during the...
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Twitter campaign shines light on Saudi prisoners of conscience
Prominent Saudi cleric Sheikh Salman Al-Ouda, who was arrested on 7 September 2017, has been hospitalised in the Saudi city of Jeddah after more than four months in solitary confinement. “Despite the deliberate blackout and poor communication it was confirmed that my father has been seen in hospital,” Al-Ouda’s...
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Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution
On this day in 2011, Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stepped down after the Jasmine Revolution broke out in the country, giving birth to what became known as the Arab Spring. What: The Jasmine Revolution Where: Tunisia When: 17 December 2010 – 14 January 2011 What happened?...
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How did Twitter react to Trump’s threats of aid cuts to the PA?
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump threatened to withhold future aid payments to Palestinians, accusing them of being “no longer willing to talk peace” with Israel”. …peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but...
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Samah Jabr on being one of only 22 psychiatrists in the West Bank
Samah Jabr is one of the first female psychiatrists in Palestine, and one of only 22 psychiatrists serving the occupied West Bank’s 2.5 million strong population. Born in Jerusalem, Jabr grew up as a resident with no citizenship rights. Throughout her life, she was exposed to life under military...
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Syria: Recipes from Home
Syria has become overshadowed by the clutches of conflict and war, leaving millions scattered across the world. Yet amidst the destruction, Syrian culinary culture has endured, because wherever they go, Syrians endeavour to recreate dishes that remind them of home; that is the essence of Dina Mousawi and Itab...
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Saudi women are the driving force behind Twitter storm
The news took us all by surprise yesterday when Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a royal order that will allow women to get behind the wheel, ending the long-standing ban on women driving in the Kingdom. The decree ordered the establishment of a high-level committee which will be tasked...
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Dubai flies in to the future with new air taxis
Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that it will begin testing a two-passenger autonomous aerial taxi (AAT) later this year. You might think the photos are out of a science fiction film or a futuristic cartoon, but they are not. This is actually happening in Dubai in 2017....
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Galilee Quartet: Playing for peace, love and humanity
From Beethoven symphonies to songs by legendary Arab singers such as Fairuz and Um Kalthoum, the Saad siblings’ exceptional performances have captivated crowds in Europe and in the Middle East...
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The UK has woken up to a hung parliament: #GE2017 explained
Here is what you need to know about the 2017 UK General Election....
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Is British policy shifting more towards Israel under Theresa May?
Europal Forum held a round-table discussion in London on Tuesday looking at British policy on Palestine as well as the current reality and possible future directions. The aim of the event was to “explore the UK’s stated position but also consider whether the public statements are in line with...
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#PayPal4Palestine
A massive campaign has been making the rounds on social media calling on the global online payments system PayPal to offer its services to Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. To work around the physical barriers and trade restrictions imposed as a result of the...
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Dressed as a chef, Palestinian completes London Marathon
MEMO's Jehan Alfarra speaks to Mohammed AlQadi, the Palestinian chef who ran the London Marathon holding the Palestinian flag and carrying a 3kg pot, shortly after he crossed the finish line...
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Trump’s Syria strikes: Yea or nay? Twitter is in two minds
Earlier this morning, US President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike on the Syrian regime’s Shayrat airbase in Syria’s Homs governorate. According to a press release issued by Trump, the military action came in response to Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad’s chemical attack on the people of Khan Sheikhoun in...
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#PepsiLivesMatter and the Pepsi solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict
Pepsi yesterday pulled a commercial after generating fury and ridicule online. From being called “tone-deaf” to “racially exploitative”, the ad was said to have trivialised social justice and rights movements, and belittled anti-police brutality protests over recent years. It's scary to think how many people this #PepsiLivesMatter ad had...
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Topshop forced to shut down ‘kuffiyeh’ playsuit line following backlash
British fashion retailer Topshop came under fire yesterday for selling a “festival-ready” romper that mimics the Palestinian kuffiyeh, forcing the multinational chain to remove the item from sale. Calling it a “Scarf playsuit”, the item quickly drew accusations of cultural misappropriation of the scarf’s “history of hardship and bloodshed”....