Joseph Dana

Historic elections begin in Egypt

May 242012
 
Campaign poster for Moussa in central Cairo on election day. Photo by Joseph Dana

Campaign poster for Moussa in central Cairo on election day. Photo by Joseph Dana

On the streets of a steamy Cairo, Egyptians queued to vote in the country’s first free election in more than 5000 years. Anxiety about the long arm of the Egyptian military over the country’s election and fears that revolutionary violence might return to the streets hung over conversation throughout Cairo.  Yet, one could not avoid the sense of hope and pride filling the stuffy air  and clearly seen on the faces of Egyptians emerging from polling stations.  Concrete results will take time to trickle in but Egypt, and the Arab world, has opened a new chapter of democracy.

I was on the ground witnessing the events unfold in Cairo for Monocle 24. You can listen, stream or download  my early morning interview for The Globalist by clicking here (Episode 148).

My evening package including interviews from local Egyptians and election observers aired on the Monocle Daily and was followed with another live interview describing the situation on the ground. You can listen, stream or download by following the links (Episode 148).

  •  24/05/2012

Palestinian Airlines returns to the skies

May 172012
 

A national carrier without a state? Palestinian Airlines, the national carrier of a stateless Palestine, has resumed flights after a seven year absence. Flying from Al-Arish, an Egyptian port city in the Northern Sinai, to Amman, the airline is reportedly sold out for the next two months.

Yesterday, I spoke about the airline, its history (did you know one of their first planes was donated from Saddam Hussein’s private flight?) and what the airline might mean for the nascent Palestinian state with Monocle news editor Tom Edwards on the Monocle Daily. Included in the interview were select clips with Palestinian Airlines director General Ziad Albad which were completed in his Ramallah office.

You can listen, stream, or download this interview here (Episode 143, interview begins at minute 43:25) 

  •  17/05/2012

Hummus, in Israel & Palestine

May 122012
 

Hummus, a chickpea dish from the Middle East, is slowly becoming popular in the West.  Eaten throughout Middle Eastern countries, Hummus has special significance in Israel and the Palestinian territories where both Israelis and Palestinian enjoy the filing dish as a centerpiece of their day.  In my latest piece for Monocle 24′s The Menu, I visit two humus restaurants, one in Tel Aviv and one in Ramallah to find about the differences and similarities of this beloved food.

As Hummus gains popularity in cities from London to New York, there will surly be renewed interest in its origins in the Middle East. For the adventurous food traveler, seeking out the small Hummus places that hid in forgotten ally’s of West Bank cities and near the beaches of Tel Aviv can be a satisfying and delicious way to explore the cultural differences which exist between Israelis and Palestinians.

You can listen, stream or download this episode of The Menu (Episode 30) by clicking here. 

  •  12/05/2012

West Bank Mosque Raises Questions about Donor Aid in Palestine

May 112012
 

The Palestinian economy is characterized by a reliance on huge sums of international foreign aid – they are one of the largest recipients in the world. But where exactly this money gets spent is not always so obvious. In a small town just outside the boundaries of Jerusalem, a construction project is nearing completion which has been funded by the president and emir of the United Arab Emirates, Shiekh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan. When finished it will be one of the largest mosques in the Middle East,  and it’s raising questions among local residents about the role and necessity of donor aid in the West Bank, as I report in my latest audio piece for Monocle 24.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that the Khalifa mosque exudes excess in a area which is otherwise characterised by a lack of municipal services. The 25,000 residents of  the small town have access to only one underequipped  health clinic. For some, it’s an example of the complexities and contradictions often underlying the donor aid which pours into Palestine. And while on one hand the mosque will bring prestige and beauty to the town of Azaiyah, critics may be left wondering whether other very real problems faced by the area are being ignored

You can listen, stream or download the piece here (Episode 139 Minute 101:00)

  •  11/05/2012

Decaying and neglected Bauhaus in Tel Aviv

May 092012
 

The Bauhaus style is one of the most important contributions to the field of architecture in the 20th century. While the functional buildings tend to dot the outer boroughs of European cities from Berlin to Prague, the city of Tel Aviv has the densest collection of Bauhaus buildings in the world. In 2003, UNESCO recognised the importance of Tel Avivian  Bauhaus and designated the Middle Eastern city a world heritage site.  Advances in architecture and natural population growth are presenting a problem for city planners who are struggling to preserve the Bauhaus character of the city as I found out in my latest piece for Monocle 24′s Section D.

Functionalist Bauhaus architecture came out of an experimental relationship with modernism in the early 20th century. The city of Tel Aviv, a modern European city in the heart of the Middle East, is also a product of this radically bold period of change. Understood as an architectural treasure, a tourist attraction and world heritage site, Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus is a profoundly vibrant monument to modernism.  Its slow decay is yet another reminder of our increasingly growing disinterest in the modernist foundations of contemporary society.

Listen or download this piece here (Episode 30). 

  •  09/05/2012

European Modernism, in Hebrew

May 022012
 

The development of Modern Hebrew literature is full of contradictory and competing narratives of national identity. The bespectacled Jewish writer, carrying with him the traditions of biblical Hebrew literature as he negotiates the fast-paced capitals of Europe, narrowly avoiding anti-Semitism lurking around every corner, is thinking of Palestine. The Modern Hebrew novel features protagonists who address themes steeped in land, sun, sweat; literature is understood as an extension of the project of building a new state.

Yet, there are Hebrew writers who kept their focus on Europe, or even the United States, and in the process modernized the ancient language for use in the secular world. One writer in particular, David Vogel, who has largely remained invisible in the United States, developed an Austro-Viennese literature in the Hebrew language free of nationalist themes and connotations: He is now credited by some in Israeli academia as playing a crucial role in the development of secular Hebrew literature—a pioneer of a modern Hebrew language unmoored from nationalism.

Two years ago, an Israeli scholar named Lilach Nethanel was riffling through the stuffy spaces of the Genazim, the archive of the Hebrew Writer’s Association in Tel Aviv. Researching a thesis about Vogel, Nethanel stumbled across what appeared to be an innocuous manuscript of Vogel’s classic 1934 novella Facing the Sea. The book, written in Paris in the early 1930s, tells of a young couple’s summer on the French Rivera. Awash in sun, sand, and sea, the book highlights Vogel’s lyrical talents as one of the 20th century’s greatest Hebrew poets while tackling the eternal complexities of romantic relationships.

As Nethanel inspected the handwritten manuscript, the descriptions of street lamps, a typical fixture of Vogel’s other novels set in Vienna, caught her attention. Struggling to decipher the tiny script, which lacked margins and required a magnifying glass to read, Nethanel realized that she was not reading Facing the Sea but an entirely new manuscript, one that scholars had speculated about but had actually never seen. An entirely original unpublished novel has been found in the quiet Genazim archive. Left untitled, the manuscript has just been published in Israel to much fanfare under the title Viennese Romance.
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  •  02/05/2012

How to brand Jerusalem

Apr 262012
 

Jerusalem is a branded city, perhaps the world’s first. But city planners, under the direction of a new mayor, are working hard to rebrand Jerusalem for its cultural appeal and downplay the political tension, which has become synonymous with the conflicted capital in recent years. Instead of ignore the political reality; some Jerusalemites would like to see it embraced by city branders. For my latest piece for Monocle 24, I asked Jerusalemites, both Palestinian and Israel, how they would like to see their city branded. What I found was a city in the middle of an identity crisis.

You can listen to the piece here (starts at minute 24:00 but try to catch the entire program) or, my personal favourite way of listening to Monocle 24, download the podcast directly from iTunes.

  •  26/04/2012

Spring in Palestine for GQ

Apr 262012
 

Spring in Palestine 

Fadi Quran’s first memory of the Israeli occupation is the Second Intifada. Ramallah, the de-facto capital of the West Bank and Quran’s home town, was under military curfew for weeks on end. Unable to buy necessary food staples because of the constant presence of Israeli tanks and soldiers, Quran’s family was literally starving. Driven by childhood immaturity and anger, Quran would collect trash in large boxes and place the boxes at the entrance to his neighbourhood. Suspecting the mysterious packages were bombs, the Israeli military would send in advanced robots to inspect the bags of trash. The operation would take hours, giving Quran’s neighbourhood valuable time to run out and resupply groceries before the tanks and soldiers returned and the curfew resumed.

There are no more curfews in Ramallah but for Quran the occupation is still a facet of his daily life. He relayed his childhood experience as we drove to the Qalandia checkpoint, the unofficial Israeli border between Ramallah and Jerusalem, which he is barred from crossing. For many Palestinians, Qalandia, with its imposing guard towers and military jeeps, is the physical embodiment of Israel’s control over their lives. Last May, 23-year-old Quran, along with other young political activists staged a massive demonstration at Qalandia. The goal of the demonstration was to enter Jerusalem but they were stopped by a hail of Israeli bullets and tear gas canisters.

The blue green mountains of the West Bank, the physical landscape of the Bible, have slowly transformed since Israel’s conquest of the territories in 1967 from idyllic rolling mountains into a series of disjointed hilltop Israeli settlements, settler only highways and Israeli checkpoints. The contrast between Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements is stark. The villages lazily fit into the landscape, often using mountaintops as protection from the harsh winds which rattle the area year round. Israeli settlements, in an audacious demonstration of their presence, sit squarely on mountains tops. Connecting these far flung villages and settlements are a system of roads and checkpoints which are constantly, relentlessly monitored by Israeli military jeeps.

Twenty four year old Diana Alzeer was almost born at an Israeli checkpoint. During the First Intifada, Alzeer’s village of Salafit, which sits quietly below Ariel, one of the largest settlements in the West Bank, was under constant curfew. As she went into labour, Alzeer’s mother was stopped at the entrance to the village by soldiers. While in labour, she was forced to sneak around the checkpoint, running through a ravine to a main road, until she reached a family friend who drove her to a local hospital.
Continue reading »

  •  26/04/2012

Israel’s strategy to seize Jerusalem on display for all to see

Apr 262012
 

By now, news of Palestinian being evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem is routine. Last week, two more Palestinian families were thrown into the street to make way for Jewish settlers in the neighbourhood of Beit Hanina. The mechanism of land confiscation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank has become a near science for Israeli authorities, ensuring that the exact borders of Israel remain unclear and constantly shifting.

During the last days of the peace talks in 2001, Israel’s then-prime minister Ehud Barak is rumoured to have informed former president US Bill Clinton that Israel had no intention of relinquishing sovereign control over Jerusalem and delineating clear borders around the holy city. The Palestinians of East Jerusalem, Mr Barak purportedly told Mr Clinton, were an unfortunate reality that Israel would deal with in due time.

More than a decade later, Israel is demonstrating exactly how it intends to deal with the Palestinians of East Jerusalem. The strategy has a number of fronts: dispossess Palestinians through the creation of national “heritage parks” that lay claim to land through archaeological speculation; deprive Palestinian areas of necessary municipality services; and deny almost every building permit required for natural Palestinian growth in the city. In short, take as much land as possible while making Palestinians’ lives as difficult as possible.

These tactics have been successful throughout the West Bank for nearly 45 years, especially in the impoverished areas around Hebron. Yet, there is another element that Israel is employing in Jerusalem, one not commonly found in Israel’s colonial practices in the West Bank. The Israeli court system has been called upon to review cases claiming Jewish ownership over properties in East Jerusalem before Israel’s 1967 annexation.
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  •  26/04/2012

The Crisis of Zionism: Undeterred by unavoidable realities

Apr 262012
 

On my first trip to the West Bank, I was struck with a strange sense of familiarity. I left my apartment in Jerusalem and set off driving south, passing Bethlehem on my left and Israeli settlement blocks on my right. Driving through the Occupied West Bank, I stopped at an Israeli petrol station, just like the ones in my neighbourhood. I stopped at an Israeli national grocery chain and was almost apprehended by Israeli traffic police for speeding as I rejoined the well-maintained road. Despite the fact that I was in the middle of Occupied Palestinian Territory, I felt as though I was still in Israel and, according to the Israeli legal system, I was.

On the surface, every sector of Israeli society, except religious settlers and the military establishment, understand the occupation to be an ephemeral security measure necessary only in the absence of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Likewise, many in the international community, especially American Jews, believe that Israel is desperately working towards a two-state solution which will finally end Israel’s colonial project in the West Bank and Gaza. Yet, the reality on the ground is markedly different.

Settlements continue to grow despite the attention they receive in the media. New immigrants from the United States, France and South Africa as well as Israelis from Tel Aviv pour into the steady supply of homes over the 1948 Green Line in search of a modest house with a garden at a reasonable price.

New settlers are only part of the Israeli mosaic in the West Bank. Israel’s economy is deeply entrenched beyond the Green Line. Recently, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Israeli companies could extract natural minerals from the rich land of the West Bank. The main water aquifers which supply thriving Tel Aviv and Haifa are found under the mountain top city settlement of Ariel. The captive economy of Palestine is a central and lucrative focal point for Israeli exports.

Given this entrenchment of infrastructure, the cornerstone of Israeli society, the army, is symbiotically connected to the West Bank. Israel’s famed conscription is maintained at such high levels, in part, to allow for a constant supply of soldiers needed to patrol the dark corners in between the hills of the West Bank.
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  •  26/04/2012

A New South African Pride in Design?

Apr 112012
 

Beating out Dublin and Bilbao, Cape Town has secured the World Design Capital for 2014. While South African design is still struggling to emerge from the days of political isolation which plagued all aspects of society, Cape Town is taking the initiative to rebrand the city as a world design centre with the hopes that South African designers will find a new pride in their ability to address social problems through design innovation. In my latest report for Monocle 24, I speak with some of the leading design voices in Cape Town to find out how the World Design Capital might change South African design. You can listen to the piece here- my segment starts at minute 16:00, but do yourself a favor and listen to the hour hour. Likewise, you can subscribe and listen to the piece via iTunes.

  •  11/04/2012

Can Gentrification Mend the Urban Divide in Cape Town?

Mar 302012
 

South Africa has a long history when it comes to division. Since the election of a democratic government in 1994, the country has been working hard to heal its urban divisions. In Cape Town, young entrepreneurs and designers are moving into Woodstock, a developing district just outside the city’s downtown with that hopes that gentrification might be able to bridge the racial divide in the city. But is it working? For my latest piece for Monocle 24, I talk to some of the leading figures working in Woodstock and on urban theory in Cape Town to find an answer.  You can listen to the piece here (first segment) or download the podcast here.

  •  30/03/2012

West Bank Green Energy Project Creating Tension between Israel and Germany

Mar 142012
 

Germany has long been a leader in sustainable energy projects throughout the world. Last month, a German funded green energy project in the West Bank ran into some trouble when Israeli authorities ordered its demolition. Questions about the project’s future, which supplies various Palestinian communities with green energy, have started a spirited debate in the German press leading to a political row between Israel and Germany. For Monocle 24, I interview the director of the project and some representatives of the German government. You can listen to the piece here (starts at minute 19:30) or download the podcast via iTunes.

  •  14/03/2012

East Jerusalem Cinema Reopens after 25 years

Mar 062012
 

A storied cinema has just reopened its doors after 25 years of being closed in the Palestinian part of Jerusalem. The al-Quds cinema is now on its way to becoming one of the major Palestinian cultural institutions in the eastern part of the city. It is part of growing campaign to encourage and expand Palestinian film and culture often overshadowed by conflict. You can listen to  my radio piece here (starts at minute 33:00) or you can download the podcast here.

  •  06/03/2012

Crushing Palestinian Protest Through Detention without Trial

Mar 022012
 
Why has Israel remained quiet in the face of increasingly harsh international criticism of its legal policy towards Palestinians in the West Bank?

By now, many in the international community are aware of a Palestinian baker from the northern West Bank who embarked on a 66-day hunger strike in protest against detention by Israeli forces.
Continue reading »

  •  02/03/2012

Khader Adnan takes aim at Israel and gives Palestinians hope

Feb 222012
 

Since 1967, Israel has maintained a framework of laws and statutes to govern all aspects of life in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israel’s occupation law is enforced by soldiers and administered in court rooms by military judges in uniform. Many, if not most, of the laws governing movement of Palestinians, freedom of speech and association are draconian in nature; none is more alarming than the administrative detention order. The order enables Israel to hold prisoners indefinitely without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.

By now, many in the international community are aware of a Palestinian baker from the northern West Bank who has refused food for two months in protest of his detention without trial. Khader Adnan is on his 64th day of a hunger strike that he began the day after Israeli forces raided his home in the middle of the night.

A 33-year-old father of two daughters who serves as the spokesperson for the militant group Islamic Jihad, Mr Adnan is conducting what is now the longest hunger strike in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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  •  22/02/2012

Fashion confronts gender segregation in Israel

Feb 182012
 

One of Israel’s major fashion magazines is jumping into the heated debate about the religious character of the country. This month’s issue of BelleMode features a racy 12 page spread depicting provocative models surrounded by ultra-religious men on a public bus. The campaign is a cheeky response to efforts by Jerusalem’s Ultra-Orthodox religious minority to segregate public buses that pass through their neighbourhoods and force women to ride in the back. The magazine spread is the latest response by Israel’s secular majority in the growing war over the role of religion in Israel. Listen to the piece here (begins minute 35:00)  or you can download the podcast via iTunes here. If you are looking for informed radio with coverage from across the globe, I recommend that you incorporate Monocle 24 into your day.

  •  18/02/2012

Geothermal Green Energy comes to Palestine

Feb 092012
 

Palestinians are not the most forward thinking people when it comes to green energy but one young Palestinian entrepreneur who was raised in Canada has returned in order to start the largest geothermal company in the Middle East.  For Monocle 24′s The Entrepreneurs, I interview Khaled Sabawi about why he is bringing green energy to Palestine and ask what challenges he faces in doing business under Israeli occupation. You can listen to the clip here (at about minute 10) or download the podcast here. If you are looking for informed radio with coverage from across the globe, I recommend that you incorporate Monocle 24 into your day.

  •  09/02/2012

Kafka im Westjordanland

Feb 082012
 
Das von Israel in den besetzten Gebieten eingerichtete Verwaltungssystem macht das Leben der palästinensischen Bevölkerung zur Qual. In den letzten Jahren wächst der Widerstand palästinensischer und israelischer Menschenrechts- gruppen. Ein Bericht von den Hügeln südlich von Hebron.

Hohe Beamte der Europäischen Union verabschiedeten im Januar 2012 in Brüssel einen internen Bericht, in dem festgestellt wird, dass die Palästinensergebiete der sogenannten C-Zone, die vollständig von Israel kontrolliert werden, aufgrund ihrer wachsenden Isolation einer stärkeren Unterstützung durch die EU bedürfen. Diese Gebiete entsprechen rund zwei Dritteln des von Israel besetzten Westjordanlands.

Das Dokument erklärt in ungewöhnlich deutlichen Worten, dass die israelische Politik der Zerstörung von Häusern und Farmen, die restriktive Erteilung von Baugenehmigungen und die beschleunigte Ausbreitung jüdischer Siedlungen die Entstehung eines palästinensischen Staates in den Grenzen von 1967 zunehmend gefährde.(1)

Die in diesem Bericht beschriebene Politik provoziert in Israel selbst schon seit längerem gewaltfreie Protestaktionen. So trifft sich jeden Sonntagmorgen eine kleine Gruppe von israelischen und internationalen Aktivisten auf einem unscheinbaren Parkplatz am südlichen Rand von Jerusalem. Sie gehören zu der israelisch-palästinensischen Solidaritätsorganisation Ta’ayush (arabisch für “Zusammenarbeit” oder “gemeinsam leben”). Leicht unausgeschlafen beratschlagen sie bei einer Tasse Kaffee und Zigaretten ihre Aktivitäten. Manchmal fahren israelische Polizeifahrzeuge vorbei, offensichtlich bemüht, die zusammengewürfelte Gruppe von ausländischen Aktivisten, Professoren der Hebrew University und israelischen Anarchisten einzuschüchtern.
Continue reading »

  •  08/02/2012

Re-branding Israeli newspapers to stay alive in a dying market

Feb 072012
 


Newspapers are fighting to stay alive in the digital age. In Israel, the billionaire casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson has turned the newspaper market upside down with his free mass daily Israel Today. The paper is known for its strong right views and support of Netanyahu’s government. Haaretz, the iconic, leftist and establishment newspaper has turned to a hip design school to re-brand its image and attract younger readers. I visit the design school to find out more for The Culture Show. You can listen here (Starts at minute 38:00) or download the podcast via iTunes here.

  •  07/02/2012

Occupy Wall Street protesters driven, and directionless

Feb 012012
 

It will be remembered as a banner year for American democracy. Emboldened by economic crisis and inspired by revolutionary upheaval overseas, its citizens took to the streets in 2011 to show their frustration with stale political leadership. In doing so, they awakened a fresh discussion about the very nature of democracy in the United States and Occupy Wall Street (OWS) became an inescapable component of the international political landscape.

As an idea and a rallying cry, “Occupy Wall Street” is now a concept that has been adopted around the world. Protests from London to Tel Aviv have used its battle cry of embracing the power of the forgotten majority. Ironically, its roots can be tracked to the very consumerist trends its founders have been rallying against, most notably the marketability of a revolution in a time of global unrest.

Last July, the Canadian anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, best known for its sharp attention-grabbing stunts like “Buy Nothing Day”, began the hashtag “occupywallstreet” on Twitter and disseminated an iconic poster portraying a ballerina precariously balancing atop the Wall Street bull. With these subtle moves, Adbusters tapped into the growing discontent in North America, and provided a rallying point for activists in the United States.
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  •  01/02/2012

Cyber Attacks Heat Up in the Middle East

Jan 262012
 

Cyber attacks are heating up in the Middle East but do they pose a real threat to regional security? In my latest report for Monocle 24, I interview a number of experts and journalists in Israel to find the real story behind the attacks. You can listen to the piece here (piece starts at minute 1:11.00) or you can download the podcast of the Monocle Daily  on iTunes.  I recommend that you incorporate Monocle 24‘s live streaming coverage from around the world into your day

  •  26/01/2012

A Diaspora within a Diaspora: African Refugees in Tel Aviv

Jan 172012
 

The plight of African refugees in Tel Aviv has been covered extensively but the recent  passage of strict legislation in the Israeli parliament aimed at curbing the flow of refugees requires another visit to the subject. In my latest report from Tel Aviv for Monocle, I speak with refugees about their experience in Tel Aviv and what keeps them together as a diaspora community in the midst of a country usually associated with diaspora. You can listen to the entire program here [my report airs at the end of the show]. Additionally, I recommend that you download the podcast of The Globalist and incorporate Monocle 24‘s live streaming coverage from around the world into your day.

  •  17/01/2012

The Palestine Stock Exchange Emerges as a Regional Player

Jan 102012
 

Palestine has a stock exchange. Actually, Palestine has a privately owned but independently monitored stock exchange which performed surprisingly well last year in the climate of Middle East revolutions. Political instability is built into the cost of doing business in Palestine. While regional markets in Egypt and Tunisia were turned on their head by political instablity, Palestine emerged as an ironically secure market.

In my latest radio piece for Monocle 24, I look at the Palestine Stock Exchange in an effort to analyse the true health of the Palestinian economy. You can listen to the piece here (Begins at minute 45:00) or download the podcast via iTunes. I recommend that you  incorporate Monocle 24‘s live streaming with coverage from around the world into your day.

  •  10/01/2012

How do you build an Israeli settlement from scratch?

Jan 062012
 

In my first radio piece for Monocle 24, I address the simple yet deceptive question; what makes a city new? In order to answer this question, I traveled to the West Bank uber-settlement Ariel along with my colleague Radio France’s Emilie Baujard. The piece aired on the weekly program The Urbanist, which explores various aspects of city living and urban theory. I suggest that you subscribe to podcast here if you find these issues to be of interest. In the meantime, you can listen to my segment here.

  •  06/01/2012
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