Blog posts tagged "Gaza"

August 25, 2010 10:43 am 112 Comments

To Amnesty International last night for a session with Gideon Levy the iconic columnist (the Twilight Zone) of the widely regarded Haaretz newspaper. He’s an increasingly lone voice in Israeli journalism, urging his fellow countryman to recognise what their illegal occupation of Palestinian lands is doing to their own society, their own country.

June 9, 2010 8:28 am 6 Comments

A short blog to start the day. I’m just off on the bike to chair an intriguing session for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Don’t often get the call from the military. But two very special guests today: Generals David Petraeus (US) and Peter Wall (UK) are to speak and interact with an audience.

March 18, 2010 9:39 am 29 Comments

Today’s visit to Gaza by the EU’s foreign affairs chief is as important for the EU as it is for Gaza. So far the appointment of the obscure Baroness Ashton has attracted something between deep scepticism and ridicule.

July 15, 2009 5:30 pm No Comments

Breaking the Silence is one of the myriad groupings in Israeli civic society that offers a thread of hope in the current impasse in the Middle East.

June 4, 2009 5:07 pm No Comments

You had to pinch yourself to remember that he IS an American president, I mean a president of the United States of America. The world view Obama laid out in Cairo today was something it is almost impossible to imagine any other US leader ever attempting. I urge you to read it or watch it [...]

June 2, 2009 11:08 am No Comments

US president Barack Obama heads for the Middle East and Europe this week. Having inaugurated his “opening” to the Muslim world during his inspired stop in Turkey on his first foreign foray, he heads for Egypt to make his keynote speech setting out his Middle East ambitions. The Turkey trip remains a touchstone of his [...]

May 6, 2009 4:05 pm 67 Comments

Getting on for 100 phone calls last night about our interview with Mark Regev, the Israeli Government spokesman. This after the United Nations had accused Israeli forces of “negligence and recklessness” in their attacks on UN compounds in Gaza during the January assault. Reasonably evenly balanced between those who thought it was too hard and [...]

March 24, 2009 5:36 pm No Comments

Twice in the past week I have attended events focusing on Israel’s assault on Gaza. Last week an organisation called Just Journalism invited me to participate in a debate at Hampstead Town Hall. Yesterday another organisation called Hoping invited me to a private gathering in Notting Hill to hear the UNRWA director in Gaza, John [...]

March 6, 2009 3:02 pm No Comments

People are incredibly generous. Last night I attended a concert to raise money for the children of Gaza. Sir Colin Davis, the 81-year-old conductor, and the English Chamber Orchestra gave their services free, and the Barbican in London provided the venue. The redoubtable Syrian ambassador provided the support for getting it staged, with what seems [...]

February 11, 2009 3:46 pm 3 Comments

Given that Israel voted yesterday on the heels of the recent Gaza conflict, I thought I would return to a blog I did during my visit to shoot a Dispatches programme, Unseen Gaza, last month. Here it is. There is nothing quite so instructive as the 5.00am start from Jerusalem down the highway to Ben [...]