2024 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 May 2024 She’s a correspondent in Palestine. ‘Their goal is to keep us out of the picture’ Clothilde Mraffko · 16 May One hundred and three Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza: Israel is far from being a paradise for critical voices, as shown by the country’s recent downgrading in Reporters without Borders’ press freedom ranking. As for the dominant rhetoric in the European media, it often excludes (…) Tunisia: Media Under Pressure Lilia Blaise · 10 May Since 25 July 2021, freedom of the press is dwindling in Tunisia. Pressure is brought to bear on journalists critical of the government, new laws are passed with an eye to criminalising their reporting activities, it has become impossible to communicate with the authorities… These are some of (…) From Tel Aviv to Haifa: ‘Do you believe this is the end of Israel?’ Jean Stern · 3 May After six months of war in Gaza, Israeli opinion is wracked with fear, wondering about what comes next in a country where the messianic far right is agitating in favour of ethnic cleansing. As for the left, it is hard-pressed to find its way, while the public freedoms of Israeli Palestinians are (…) April 2024 Egypt: The Shawarma Dispute Dalia Chams · 25 April They can be seen everywhere those thin slices of meat, grilled on a rotating vertical spit. A globalised and fascinating dish, the shawarma is an object of exchange but also one of discord. In Cairo, it has become the symbol of an identitarian rejection of immigrants, particularly those from (…) In Palestine, Rebellious Nablus Refuses to Bow Down Jean Stern · 19 April Cut off from the world by the occupation, hemmed in by the many colonies, this big city in the northern West Bank looks on sorrowfully while Gazan society is demolished by the Israeli army. Nablus embodies a certain art of living but also the spirit of Palestinian resistance, and its population (…) The Campaign Against TikTok or the Rivalry of Hypocrites Martine Bulard · 12 April Armed conflicts are also conflicts between narratives. The social networks play an active role and they are all controlled by US groups, with a single exception: China’s TikTok. For years now Democrats and Republicans have been trying to bring it into the US fold or ban it. The latest pretext is (…) March 2024 Egypt Stalls for Time and Refuses to Reconsider its Relations with Israel Chérif Ayman · 25 March Since 7 October 2023, Egypt has been spectacularly silent about events in Gaza. Not only have the public turnout and the media coverage been feeble, but Cairo seems to bow down to Israel’s dictates concerning the entries and exits to Gaza of persons and humanitarian aid via Rafah. Although a (…) Turkey and Israel: The Endurance of an Ambiguous Relationship Jean Marcou · 18 March While the war on Gaza led to a verbal escalation between Ankara and Tel Aviv, relations between Israel and Turkey have survived, given the strong links and similarities between the two countries. Turkey’s first reaction to the unleashing of Israel’s war on Gaza surprised observers by its (…) The Hushed Ordeal of Palestinian Women Meriem Laribi · 15 March On March 4, the UN released a report on the rapes and sexual aggression on Israeli women perpetrated on October 7. While this text encountered a vast echo in the media, another UN report was not so fortunate. It dealt with the treatment of Palestinian women, in particular the rapes and sexual (…) Egypt 1906: Denshawai or the Peasants’ Forgotten Resistance Didier Inowlocki · 15 March For today’s Egyptians, the incident that occurred at Denshawai in the British Egypt of 1906 is still a symbol of national resistance to colonial brutality. But the narrative of the event, constructed mainly by colonial and national elites, neglects the long history of Egyptian peasants’ (…) The Twists and Turns of China’s Strategy Martine Bulard · 1 March A few days after the attacks of 7 October 2023, a delegation from the Arab countries landed in Beijing at the same time as the latter’s special envoy for the Middle East began a grand tour of the region. All eyes were turned towards China which had recognised the State of Palestine since 1988. (…) February 2024 In Marseille, the Gaza Tragedy Calls to Mind the History of Anti-Arab Racism Sophie Boutière-Damahi · 16 February In the 1970s, immigrant workers in Marseille turned out in large numbers to demonstrate their support for Palestine. In 1973 the city was also the focus of an unprecedented wave of racist crimes. Today, when the left-wing city government maintains its contribution to UNRWA, various initiatives (…) Gaza: Serious Static on the Line in the French communist Party Jean Stern · 13 February Many French Communists are worried about what they see as the squeamishness of their party’s riposte since 7 October. And they also say that if a part of their leadership is adopting a low profile on solidarity with Gaza, it is mostly to prepare the membership for a change of line in the (…) A Slap in the Face for Israel at the International Court of Justice Rafaëlle Maison · 2 February Although the order handed down on 26 January 2024 by the International Court of Justice in the case opposing South Africa and Israel does not call for a cease-fire, it does consider the possibility that the Gaza offensive is genocidal. This constitutes a setback for the Tel Aviv authorities who (…) January 2024 ‘Telk Qadeya’, anthem of divorce from the Western world Sarra Grira · 24 January The song ‘Telk Qadeya’(‘This is an issue’) by the Egyptian rock group Cairokee has been a big hit ever since the single was issued at the end of November 2023. By denouncing the selective indignation of a Western rhetoric which claims to laud all progressive struggles but disregards the ongoing (…) The Houthis in Yemen Gain the World’s Attention Helen Lackner · 10 January By bombing Yemen and risking an extension of the conflict, the United States and its allies claim that they want to stop the attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea by the Houthists. The Houthis, who set themselves up as the sole defenders of the Palestinian cause, have solid assets at home and (…) Gaza: The Media Accompaniment to a Genocide Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · 9 January ‘For 90 days now, I’ve failed to understand. Thousands of people are killed or mutilated, overwhelmed by a storm of violence that can scarcely be called a war, except for a lazy mind.’ In his letter of resignation after twelve years of good and faithful service, in protest against the way his (…) Anti-Semitism: the Far Right Whitewashed by its Support for Israel Alain Gresh, Sarra Grira · 4 January The episode would have been unthinkable not so long ago: MPs and fans of the far right, some of them fellow travellers of the Groupe Union Défense (GUD) demonstrating side by side with Jewish extremist groups like the Jewish Defence League (JDL) or the Betar in the “march against anti-semitism” (…)