tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66421775252821700392024-03-13T01:16:54.230+01:00Without a road map - travels in Israel & PalestineThis blog provides an account of Egyptian journalist Khaled Diab's trip through Israel and Palestine on a personal quest for peace and understanding between Arabs and Israelis. It also contains reflections and encounters after the event.Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-34571658647462889242008-04-24T16:19:00.000+02:002008-04-24T16:20:08.697+02:002048: a peace odysseyIsrael is 60 years old and the conflict still rages on. Can we look forward to peace by the 100th anniversary?http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2008/04/2048_a_peace_odyssey.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-84586889088999683692008-04-24T16:18:00.000+02:002008-04-24T16:19:21.524+02:00Glimmers of hopePalestinian and Israeli peace activists have joined forces to demand the lifting of the Gaza blockade.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2008/01/glimmers_of_hope.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-10521255190400356032007-11-22T21:26:00.000+01:002007-11-22T23:29:02.282+01:00Annapolis or bustBy Khaled DiabAhead of the Annapolis conference, a TV debate in which I appeared was broadcast on Wednesday 22 November. In it, I argued that Annapolis was little more than a photo op and that the hopes it raised would be dashed in a camera flash. If the gathering fails, then the time would be ripe to experiment with creative and radical approaches to peace.Nadia Abu Zahra hosted Middle East Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-20989900261946144472007-11-19T14:46:00.000+01:002007-11-19T14:48:27.130+01:00A civil solution?If the Annapolis peace conference fails, then Palestinians should abandon their national struggle and demand their civil rights.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/11/a_civil_solution.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-13838223329909585282007-11-17T11:49:00.000+01:002007-11-17T12:14:51.486+01:00Desiring recognition of Palestinian gaysMarhaba Prof Joseph Massad,Allow me to express my deep gratitude for your articles, research and advocacy on behalf of my/our people, the Palestinians. After Edward Said, we do need an advocate for a truly downtrodden people, their shattered identity and a pillaged existence. Whereas we are not the only population to suffer, I am allowing myself a certain selfishness after the thorny mess of the Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-43295725233598784972007-10-04T13:37:00.000+02:002007-10-04T13:38:25.024+02:00Middle Eastern cult heroesWith political disillusionment at an all-time high, a certain brand of hardline Middle Eastern leader is being elevated to the status of cult hero. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/10/middle_eastern_cult_heroes.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-54344349389489686142007-09-20T16:48:00.000+02:002007-09-20T16:49:47.537+02:00A perfect spy?An ageing billionaire falls to his death in Mayfair. Vital evidence disappears. The latest Le Carré novel? No, a real life Middle Eastern spy thriller.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/09/a_perfect_spy.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-40207712830090865542007-09-13T10:08:00.000+02:002007-09-13T10:16:46.031+02:00Ramallah for real: Taybeh Oktoberfest 2007By Tom KenisWe’re in a small village called Taibeh, a stone’s throw north of Ramallah. Here, an eponymous brewery was set up in the middle of the nineties by two Palestinian brothers, returning from the United States in the optimistic wake of Oslo. Since then, among connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike, their brew has gained an unshakable reputation. It’s on sale, bottled or draft, in most of Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-9991974267120642412007-09-07T17:22:00.000+02:002007-09-07T17:23:36.391+02:00The art of peace (2)Last week, I invited Arabs to come out of their trenches and explore the no-man's-land of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Now it's the turn of the Israelis.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/09/the_art_of_peace_2.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-45961387968245169902007-09-01T09:25:00.000+02:002007-09-01T09:26:38.330+02:00The art of peaceIt is time for Arabs to come out of their trenches and explore the no-man's-land of the Arab-Israeli conflict.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/08/the_art_of_peace.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-53053206016943349732007-08-22T10:44:00.000+02:002007-08-22T12:18:19.281+02:00Back to GazaBy Khaled DiabEarlier this week, the BBC’s Panorama programme featured a depressing episode entitled Return to Gaza in which Jane Corbin bravely returned - six weeks after kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston’s release - to that strip of land forsaken by the entire world .In introducing the episode, Jeremy Vine observed that Gaza “could be a holiday destination like Turkey or Egypt”. And, in anKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-90302048512272013262007-08-22T09:48:00.000+02:002007-08-22T09:50:24.812+02:00Ramallah for real: a different generationBy Tom Kenis I am horrible at time-keeping. It is eight o’clock, and I’m standing at the bar. Muhammad, the bartender, greets me with a smile. “Kif halak?” “I’m fine,” I say, scanning the room. Ol’ Blue Eyes stares down at me from the wall, framed black and white. Welcome to Sinatra’s. On weekdays you can hear The Voice, crackling from a small array of speakers, while you check your Gmail over Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-35924275625016246632007-08-11T12:51:00.001+02:002007-08-11T12:51:58.721+02:00Castles made of sandThe spirit of the 1960s touched the Arab world too, but rapidly faded away.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/08/castles_made_of_sand.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-59946591292070206672007-08-10T09:55:00.000+02:002007-08-10T09:58:34.293+02:00Ramallah for real: bigger than JesusBy Tom KenisAre the Spice Girls in town? No, not really. Lebanese pop-singer Nancy Ajram, then? Or perhaps eighties one-hit-wonder Charles & Eddie? If no one else can help you, and if you can find them,… maybe Palestinians hired the A-Team? Quite unlikely. And yet, the sulphuric tang of ignited powder abounds. There floats an excitement that is difficult to explain otherwise. Today, Ramallah is Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-58843090291200515482007-08-08T09:24:00.000+02:002007-08-08T13:59:44.994+02:00Ramallah for real: just a regular townBy Tom KenisI got the job. The phone interview with a crackly connection, one time zone away, had gone well. Belgian development money would pay for me to go and support a small organisation that’s active in the field of women’s rights, youth empowerment, and democracy. As I was packing my bags, TV news blared out the increasingly alarming vital signs of Yasser Arafat. I had just about finished Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-73369223045902833192007-08-07T21:25:00.000+02:002007-08-07T21:26:03.042+02:00Darfur: fighting fire with waterThere is no military solution for the Darfur conflict - but peace may be achieved by better management of the region's dwindling natural resources.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/08/darfur_fighting_fire_with_wate.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-1986155279537730672007-08-04T17:30:00.000+02:002007-08-04T17:31:18.759+02:00Faith and punishmentIn Islam, apostasy and faithlessness are sins, but they are not worldly crimes. Those who claim otherwise are making a mistake.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/08/faith_and_punishment.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-58048051062580691462007-07-28T12:09:00.000+02:002007-07-28T14:50:17.558+02:00Do we really need another Madrid Conference?By Khaled DiabUS President George W Bush's call for an international peace conference later this year has rightly been met with greater scepticism than its predecessor, the 1991 Madrid Conference. Although his father seems to be an important role model, when Bush Snr invaded Iraq or called a peace conference he did both as a relatively respected member of the international community.But is Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-84240686471475179012007-07-20T17:27:00.000+02:002007-07-20T17:29:16.322+02:00Song for the deafI'm sick of hearing the same old tune about how Muslims are silent in their condemnation of terrorism. Time for a song.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/07/song_for_the_deaf.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-46948930350078165262007-07-19T10:01:00.000+02:002007-07-19T10:27:59.051+02:00The plot sickensWhy is it that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to be able to share the euphoria at the Blair-Peres-Bush makeover of recent weeks?Perhaps it is because appointing ex-British prime minister Tony Blair as the Quartet's Middle East envoy is one way of making that foursome even more irrelevant than it already is. How can a man reviled as a warmonger in the Middle East and other parts of the Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-68791913696801560642007-07-19T10:00:00.000+02:002007-07-19T10:01:35.918+02:00A Christian jihad?Many in the west fear the threat posed by political Islam. But there is a more ominous menace closer to home. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/07/a_christian_jihad.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-8043690129877532322007-07-13T09:48:00.000+02:002007-07-13T10:37:15.935+02:00Sex and the medinaKhaled DiabThe time is ripe for a Middle Eastern sexual revolution and there are signs that a quiet one is in progress. But will young Arabs openly stand up for their right to get laid?Arab societies are in desperate need of a sexual revolution. This idea may shock religious conservatives who believe that a righteous stance (moral erectitude, if you like) is the only thing standing between Khaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-21245116359564068672007-07-06T15:14:00.000+02:002007-07-06T15:15:17.506+02:00Uri Avnery v Khaled DiabCould a 'one-state' solution end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/take_two/2007/07/uri_avnery_v_khaled_diab.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-17146464743724988612007-07-05T19:57:00.000+02:002007-07-05T19:59:29.521+02:00A history of violenceBritish-born 'jihadis' have been wreaking havoc at home and abroad for generations, lured by a heady mix of idealism, romance and rebellion.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/07/a_history_of_violence.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642177525282170039.post-60497768554864104372007-06-30T14:01:00.000+02:002007-06-30T14:02:38.784+02:00The Muslim faithlessRidiculing and questioning Islam, Muhammad, the Qur'an and religion in general is an ancient tradition in Muslim countries.http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/khaled_diab/2007/06/the_muslim_faithless.htmlKhaled Diabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05731069004836274247noreply@blogger.com0