Stories about Palestine from September, 2008
Palestine: Why Arabs Performed Badly at the Olympics
Palestinian Rantings of an Arab Chick links to an op-ed on why Arabs performed badly at the Olympics – and at other things.
Palestine: Retaining a sense of humanity in Gaza
As the situation in Gaza deteriorates from one day to the next, many are struggling not only with the enormous difficulties of daily life, but with the change in values they see around them, in a society that has become dominated by Islamist thinking. In this post, a blogger in Gaza writes a passionate cry of despair.
Palestine: Ramallah bling
In the West Bank, Alajnabiya describes shopping for her daughter's wedding: “The problem is that I like looking at this stuff, but I really want to buy it and hang it on the wall to look at, not wear!”
Palestine: Prejudice in the USA
Palestinian blogger Laila El-Haddad has had an unpleasant encounter with a man in Virginia: “Free Palestine? Palestine's already free!!” he raged, gesturing to a bumper sticker on the back of my windshield as he began to walk away. … He then turned around and bellowed out “Why don't you go...
Arabeyes: Daily life during Ramadan
In this post we look at different experiences of everyday life across the Arab world during Ramadan. We hear how Palestinians are coping in Gaza, how an Italian deals with Ramadan in the West Bank, have a glimpse into a Saudi household about to break the fast – and get tips from Bahrain on how to curb profanities during the holy month.
The Middle East Remembers 9/11
Today marks the seventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the US, a pivotal day in history and a day which brought about so much heartbreak and destruction not only in the US but around the world. Bloggers from the Middle East reflect on the disaster.
Jerusalem: Varieties of headwear
Vika in Jerusalem describes the different form of head covering she sees around the city, including the kippah, shtreimel, taqiyah, keffiyah, and niqab.
Palestine: The siege of Gaza was broken – and then?
On August 23, two boats carrying international activists broke the siege of Gaza by landing in Gaza's harbour. The boats have since left again, leaving some of the activists behind, and taking some Palestinians with them back to Cyprus. However the activists plan to return to Gaza on September 22 - amongst other things, delivering mail to the Palestinians. In this post, we look at some Gazan reactions to the breaking of the siege, as well as accounts by the activists.
Palestine: The Excellence of Iranian Universities
Palestinian Random Consistent Ideas links to an article on the excellence of Iranian universities. “The question that begs itself is: how can they do it? The article's explanation is rather shallow: all these top students want to leave Iran so bad, education excellence is their ticket out,” he notes.
Chrome Welcomed with Accolades and Controversy in the Middle East
On Tuesday, Google joined the browser game by launching its very own browser, Chrome, to positive accolades and a bit of controversy. The free browser, which is currently only available for Windows, caused not only a media storm, but a blog storm as well, from nearly every corner of the globe. The Middle East and North African blogosphere, always quick to react to big stories, immediately began buzzing about Chrome yesterday, and haven't stopped since.
Palestine: No Student Associations
Rebellious Arab Girl explains her dislike for student associations in a humorous account of her involvement in an Arab student group.
Palestine: Ramadan Mubarak
Originally from Gaza, Palestinian Alaa Annan, who is now based in Belgium, wishes his readers a blessed Ramadan [Ar] with this drawing.
