IMEU : Customs & Traditions

The Ramallah Centennial Project: 1908-2008 (This Week in Palestine)

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:21:01 PST

The birth of the municipality of Ramallah, which is now celebrating its centennial anniversary, was in the year 1908. The centennial celebration will not only be limited to the municipality but will extend to include the whole of the city, whose age is much greater. The municipal council recognised that its centennial could be an opportunity to highlight the city of Ramallah as a distinct Palestinian city - politically, economically, and culturally - and to invite tourism and investors.

The Moshe Dayan carpet and the beginning of the Nakba in Baq'a (David Halaby, This Week in Palestine)

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:17:00 PST

I was only six months old when this story happened, but I learned about it a generation later. I was moving house in Berkeley, California, and my father was helping in the effort. As I carried a small - by then almost antique - carpet into our new house, my father saw it and said, "Oh, so you ended up with the Moshe Dayan carpet." My ears pricked up, "What do you mean?" "This is the carpet Moshe Dayan sat on when he came to a meeting at our family home."

Worldwide events mark 60 years of the Palestinian Nakba (IMEU)

Thu, 08 May 2008 10:57:00 PST

As Palestinians prepare to mark the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, or the 1948 creation of the state of Israel that resulted in the expulsion or flight of the majority of the indigenous Palestinian population, the IMEU presents a selected list of events that will be held around the world to commemorate this tragedy.

Nazareth, the neglected city of Jesus (Christine Bo, The Electronic Intifada)

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:58:00 PST

Last weekend, Catholics in Nazareth and around the world celebrated the most holy and significant events to Christianity, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, marking the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a man in Biblical times known simply as "Jesus of Nazareth." However, today Nazareth faces a slow and painful death in the face of land theft and colonization.

Palestinians living in the diaspora (Ingrid Jaradat Gassner, This Week in Palestine)

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:11:00 PST

Sixty years ago, prior to the establishment of Israel and the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people were living in their homeland Palestine. Today the Palestinian population worldwide is estimated to be 10.1 million, with more than half (approximately 5.2 million) living in the diaspora.

Nablus' olive oil soap: a Palestinian tradition lives on (IMEU)

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:35:00 PST

Its formula is strikingly simple - a combination of virgin olive oil, water, and a basic sodium compound - but the history of the olive soap industry in the West Bank city of Nablus has been a complex one of development in the face of constant adversity, ranging from natural disasters to an ongoing military occupation.

Eitan Bronstein: Israelis confront Nakba denial (IMEU)

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:54:00 PST

Eitan Bronstein has worked for years to tell a story many do not believe. The 48-year-old, who moved to Israel with his parents when he was five, founded Zochrot, an organization that raises awareness among Israelis about the Nakba, or "Catastrophe." "When it comes to the Nakba and what was there before Israel was created, it's a big hole, a black hole and people don't know how to deal with it," he said.

The untold stories (IMEU)

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:51:00 PST

As the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, or "the Catastrophe," approaches, the IMEU presents a look at some of the untold stories behind one of the most important - and tragic - dates in Palestinian history. Several Palestinian refugees share their stories of loss, separation, and exile that illuminate the pain behind the day that changed the lives of so many Palestinians.

Al Quds Tours: A Palestinian Perspective (Mona Hajjar Halaby, This Week in Palestine)

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:07:00 PST

Do you remember the pleasure you savoured as a child when you read an exciting book and your most ardent wish was to slip between the pages of the book in order to live the extraordinary journey with your favourite characters? Well, taking an Al Quds tour satisfies that urge by instantly lurching you into the history of Palestine.

Gaza's Christian community - serenity, solidarity and soulfulness (Mohammed Omer, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs)

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:54:00 PST

As the sun rises in the east on the first day of Advent, the bells of Gaza's churches fill the air, mixing amicably with the Muslim call to prayer. There is an air of quiet serenity spiced with excitement as the faithful walk to their churches and mosques, the doors swinging open, and Christians and Muslims bid each other good morning on yet another Sunday.