Wednesday, October 14, 2009
demo over israeli settlement produce in sainsbury's
From International Solidarity Movement:
Activists occupy British supermarket in opposition to the sale of settlement produce
Posted on: October 14, 2009 ShareThis
ISM London
11 October 2009
On 11th October 2009, a swarm of activists descended upon Sainsbury’s on Cromwell Street, West London to highlight the sale of Israeli and illegal Settlement produce by both Sainsbury’s and other major supermarket chains. Coming from a diverse range of campaign organisations, around 40 activists stood in solidarity with the Palestinian call for a global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign.
Entering the store, protestors held up an array of settlement and Israeli produce demanding that the supermarkets put a halt to their sale and reminding consumers of their capacity to effect change by not buying these goods.
Popping up a tent and claiming it to be an “Israeli Settlement”, the actions demonstrated the ridiculous ease at which Israeli Settlements pop up around the West Bank, protected by the military and evicting Palestinians from their land and homes.
They proceded to chant against the occupation and the sale of Israeli goods, following this they went on a tour of the store so that all staff and customers were made aware of Sainsbury’s role in supporting illegal settlements. Handing out leaflets and engaging with customers, many of which were supportive, the actions communicated the need for greater citizen action.
Management and security were keen to encourage the protestors to leave but with no success. After twenty minutes within the store, demonstrators left of their own accord, clapping hands and chanting “Free Free Palestine”, feeling that their efforts had been succesful in communicating to the store and the general public.
Police arrived soon after and despite a brief interaction with protestors there were no arrests and no signs of aggression.
Activists then left the scene and were followed for some time afterwards, however no further action by the police was taken.
———————–
This non-violent initiative seeks to challenge the economic and political infrastructure that supports the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Similar to the efforts against Apartheid South Africa, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign hopes to undermine the apartheid in the West Bank and Gaza whereby checkpoints, Israel only roads and the Apartheid all segregate and impoverish Palestinians. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, over 60% of Palestinians live below the poverty line, and in Gaza the figure sits at 70%.
Illegal Israeli Settlement produce is on sale in most of the high street supermarket chains, including Tesco’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Marks and Spencers, and Asda as well as Sainsbury’s. According to the 2004 judgement by the International Court of Justice, Settlements are illegal and in violation of the Fourth Geneva Conventions. Sale of produce from these Settlements reinforce their existence and financially contribute to Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and violent oppression of Palestinians themselves.
This mass action follows a number of smaller protests that have taken place across in London and across the UK which make explicit public opposition to the sale of Settlement goods in British stores. It also follows the September 2009 decision by the Trade Union Congress to commit to building a mass boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
iraqi author hassan blasim's book of stories launched in london 23 oct
Comma Press launches
The Madman of Freedom Square
by Hassan Blasim
Friday 23rd October 7pm
Calder Bookshop.
51 The Cut,
London SE1 8LF
Admission Free. All Welcome
Celebrating a unique short story collection from a young filmmaker, writer and refugee of the Iraq War. Hassan's debut collection is a dark excursion into the chaos of contemporary Baghdad, an allegorical snapshot of recent Iraqi history (spanning over twenty years from the Iran-Iraq War through to the Occupation), and a rare critique of the refugee experience in Europe.
"At first you receive it with the kind of shocked applause you’d award a fairly transgressive stand-up. You’re quite elated. Then you stop reading it at bedtime. At his best Blasim produces a corrosive mixture of broken lyricism, bitter irony & hyper-realism which topples into the fantastic & the quotidian in the same reading moment." - M John Harrison
'The Madman of Freedom Square' has been selected to receive financial assistance from English PEN's Writers in Translation programme, supported by Bloomberg.
Comma Press
www.commapress.co.uk
http://www.versionfestival.co.uk/
Comma's previous titles include 'Madinah: City Stories from the Middle East' edited by the Lebanese poet, translator and journalist Joumana Haddad.
Monday, October 12, 2009
bloomsbury qatar foundation publishing
British-Qatari publishing venture gathers pace
by
Susannah Tarbush
A year after independent London publisher Bloomsbury and the Qatar Foundation signed an agreement to set up Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), the joint venture is gathering momentum. A few days ago BQFP published its first catalogue, with a strong list of books in Arabic and English.
BQFP’s Consultant Publisher Andy Smart told Saudi Gazette that the joint venture has so far focused mainly on fiction for adults and children. By the end of the year its list will expand to include adult non-fiction, monographs and academic books; further down the line it is to add school and university textbooks.
Bloomsbury’s highest-profile activity in Qatar so far was the launch on 1 October, in partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre, of the free access online financial resource QFINANCE.com. It includes contributions from 300 of the world’s leading financial practitioners and others on the crucial issues facing finance managers and executives. QFINANCE is also available as an annually-updated reference book, which BQFP will publish in the Middle East.
Bloomsbury has enjoyed much success in its 23-year history, especially with J K Rowling’s extraordinarily lucrative Harry Potter series. But the ending of the Harry Potter series has been one reason for a decline in Bloomsbury’s profit, which in the first half of this year were down to £1.8 million, from £3.5 million in the same period of 2008.
Bloomsbury has sought to diversify into more stable sources of profit, and it described the formation of BQFP as “an important strategic partnership”. The BQFP agreement initially operates from October 2008 to June 2014, with a contract value of £7.55mn.
Smart says that BQFP is “unique in lots of ways”. It is a publisher that publishes in both Arabic and English equally, and it has the advantage of being a joint venture involving a very well-established publisher in London.
Another special feature is that it has two budget lines: the publishing side, and the “community development” side. An early appointment by BQFP was that of its reading and writing development director, Mohana Rajakumar.
BQFP’s first step in encouraging young readers and writers was organizing the first World Book Day Qatar on April 23 this year, in collaboration with Qatar University and UK World Book Day. To mark the day BQFP published its first book: a dual Arabic-English edition of Bloomsbury’s best-selling children’s picture book “The Selfish Crocodile” by Faustin Charles, illustrated by Michael Terry. There were readings from the book at events in local schools, and children were able to take copies home with them.
One way in which BQFP is nurturing new writing in Qatar and the region is by holding writing workshops in Arabic and English. “We hope to have an interactive BQFP website up and running by the end of the year” says Smart. As well as articles and coverage of events, it will include forums and blogs.
At the forthcoming Qatar Book Fair from 30 December to 9 January, BQFP is planning a venue known as “The Tent”, where kids will work with writers and illustrators to create their own books in English and Arabic. BQFP will also organize activities in poetry for young people at the Fair.
The Bloomsbury Qatar Literary Salon founded by BQFP in London and Qatar has proved to be a hit with attendees. The salon’s inaugural meeting was held in London on 30 July with Egyptian-British novelist Ahdaf Soueif, a Bloomsbury author, as the guest interviewee.
The second salon took place in Doha on 9 September at the BQFP villa in Education City. It took the form of an iftar with readings in Arabic and English by three local poets: Abdullah Salem, Maryam al-Subaiey and Rana al-Tonsi.
Last Wednesday the third salon, featuring the Lebanese novelist, short story writer and dramatist Hanan Al-Shaykh [pictured], was held at the House of St Barnabus in Soho, central London. Bloomsbury has published several of Al-Shaykh’s novels and recently issued her frank and moving memoir “The Locust and the Bird: My Mother’s Story”.
Al-Shaykh has clearly inherited the storytelling gifts of her late mother Kamila, and she captivated the audience with her perceptiveness and humor. As at the inaugural salon, the interviewer was Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.
Bloomsbury founder and chief executive Nigel Newton introduced the salon, and Andy Smart gave a welcoming address in fluent Arabic. Bloomsbury's editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle was also present.
A major highlight of the newly-published BQPF catalogue is the anthology “Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World”, in English and Arabic editions. The book is edited by Iraqi writer Samuel Shimon, deputy editor of Banipal magazine, and has an introduction by the acclaimed Lebanese author Amin Maalouf.
The anthology is published in association with Beirut World Book Capital and the Hay Festival. The Beirut 39 project involves a panel of judges selecting the 39 most interesting Arab writers aged 39 or less from more than 350 submissions.
Another BQFP title that is bound to arouse much interest is the English translation of “The American Granddaughter” by the Baghdad-born writer and journalist Inaam Kachachi [pictured], who now lives in Paris. The novel was one of the six novels shortlisted for the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), known as the Arabic Booker
“Murad Murad” by Palestinian Suad Amiry, author of “Sharon and My Mother –in-Law: Ramallah Diaries”, is an intriguing-sounding true account of how Amiry disguised herself as a man and illegally crossed the border into Israel to seek work in Tel Aviv.
BQFP’s children’s titles include three books in English from the “Hey Fafa!” series, written by Egyptian Rania Amin and illustrated by Mohamed Sayed. Among the Arabic children’s titles is a translation of “Eliza and the Moonchild” written and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark and translated by Mahmoud Gaafar.
For Arabic-reading young adults there is a translation of “Where the Streets Had a Name” by lawyer Randa Abdel-Fattah [pictured] born in Australia to Egyptian-Palestinian parents. This book is highly topical given recent events: a 13-year-old Palestinian girl believes a handful of earth from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Jerusalem will save the grandmother’s life, and she is determined to get there despite the wall, checkpoints and other hazards of West Bank life..
by
Susannah Tarbush
A year after independent London publisher Bloomsbury and the Qatar Foundation signed an agreement to set up Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), the joint venture is gathering momentum. A few days ago BQFP published its first catalogue, with a strong list of books in Arabic and English.
BQFP’s Consultant Publisher Andy Smart told Saudi Gazette that the joint venture has so far focused mainly on fiction for adults and children. By the end of the year its list will expand to include adult non-fiction, monographs and academic books; further down the line it is to add school and university textbooks.
Bloomsbury’s highest-profile activity in Qatar so far was the launch on 1 October, in partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre, of the free access online financial resource QFINANCE.com. It includes contributions from 300 of the world’s leading financial practitioners and others on the crucial issues facing finance managers and executives. QFINANCE is also available as an annually-updated reference book, which BQFP will publish in the Middle East.
Bloomsbury has enjoyed much success in its 23-year history, especially with J K Rowling’s extraordinarily lucrative Harry Potter series. But the ending of the Harry Potter series has been one reason for a decline in Bloomsbury’s profit, which in the first half of this year were down to £1.8 million, from £3.5 million in the same period of 2008.
Bloomsbury has sought to diversify into more stable sources of profit, and it described the formation of BQFP as “an important strategic partnership”. The BQFP agreement initially operates from October 2008 to June 2014, with a contract value of £7.55mn.
Smart says that BQFP is “unique in lots of ways”. It is a publisher that publishes in both Arabic and English equally, and it has the advantage of being a joint venture involving a very well-established publisher in London.
Another special feature is that it has two budget lines: the publishing side, and the “community development” side. An early appointment by BQFP was that of its reading and writing development director, Mohana Rajakumar.
BQFP’s first step in encouraging young readers and writers was organizing the first World Book Day Qatar on April 23 this year, in collaboration with Qatar University and UK World Book Day. To mark the day BQFP published its first book: a dual Arabic-English edition of Bloomsbury’s best-selling children’s picture book “The Selfish Crocodile” by Faustin Charles, illustrated by Michael Terry. There were readings from the book at events in local schools, and children were able to take copies home with them.
One way in which BQFP is nurturing new writing in Qatar and the region is by holding writing workshops in Arabic and English. “We hope to have an interactive BQFP website up and running by the end of the year” says Smart. As well as articles and coverage of events, it will include forums and blogs.
At the forthcoming Qatar Book Fair from 30 December to 9 January, BQFP is planning a venue known as “The Tent”, where kids will work with writers and illustrators to create their own books in English and Arabic. BQFP will also organize activities in poetry for young people at the Fair.
The Bloomsbury Qatar Literary Salon founded by BQFP in London and Qatar has proved to be a hit with attendees. The salon’s inaugural meeting was held in London on 30 July with Egyptian-British novelist Ahdaf Soueif, a Bloomsbury author, as the guest interviewee.
The second salon took place in Doha on 9 September at the BQFP villa in Education City. It took the form of an iftar with readings in Arabic and English by three local poets: Abdullah Salem, Maryam al-Subaiey and Rana al-Tonsi.
Last Wednesday the third salon, featuring the Lebanese novelist, short story writer and dramatist Hanan Al-Shaykh [pictured], was held at the House of St Barnabus in Soho, central London. Bloomsbury has published several of Al-Shaykh’s novels and recently issued her frank and moving memoir “The Locust and the Bird: My Mother’s Story”.
Al-Shaykh has clearly inherited the storytelling gifts of her late mother Kamila, and she captivated the audience with her perceptiveness and humor. As at the inaugural salon, the interviewer was Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.
Bloomsbury founder and chief executive Nigel Newton introduced the salon, and Andy Smart gave a welcoming address in fluent Arabic. Bloomsbury's editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle was also present.
A major highlight of the newly-published BQPF catalogue is the anthology “Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World”, in English and Arabic editions. The book is edited by Iraqi writer Samuel Shimon, deputy editor of Banipal magazine, and has an introduction by the acclaimed Lebanese author Amin Maalouf.
The anthology is published in association with Beirut World Book Capital and the Hay Festival. The Beirut 39 project involves a panel of judges selecting the 39 most interesting Arab writers aged 39 or less from more than 350 submissions.
Another BQFP title that is bound to arouse much interest is the English translation of “The American Granddaughter” by the Baghdad-born writer and journalist Inaam Kachachi [pictured], who now lives in Paris. The novel was one of the six novels shortlisted for the 2009 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), known as the Arabic Booker
“Murad Murad” by Palestinian Suad Amiry, author of “Sharon and My Mother –in-Law: Ramallah Diaries”, is an intriguing-sounding true account of how Amiry disguised herself as a man and illegally crossed the border into Israel to seek work in Tel Aviv.
BQFP’s children’s titles include three books in English from the “Hey Fafa!” series, written by Egyptian Rania Amin and illustrated by Mohamed Sayed. Among the Arabic children’s titles is a translation of “Eliza and the Moonchild” written and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark and translated by Mahmoud Gaafar.
For Arabic-reading young adults there is a translation of “Where the Streets Had a Name” by lawyer Randa Abdel-Fattah [pictured] born in Australia to Egyptian-Palestinian parents. This book is highly topical given recent events: a 13-year-old Palestinian girl believes a handful of earth from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Jerusalem will save the grandmother’s life, and she is determined to get there despite the wall, checkpoints and other hazards of West Bank life..
Sunday, October 11, 2009
arto tunçboyacıyan - zetuni zar
Zetuni Zar: composed by the great Armenian composer and percussionist, Arto Tuncboyaciyan - from the soundtrack of the film ‘Voyage en Armenie’.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
hanan al-shaykh guests at bloomsbury qatar literary salon
Hanan Al-Shaykh
L to R: back - Alexandra Pringle, Hanan Al-Shaykh; front - Andy Smart, Nigel NewtonThe third Bloomsbury Qatar Literary Salon - which featured Lebanese novelist, short story writers and dramatist Hanan Al-Shaykh - held at the House of St Barnabus at 1 Greek Street in Soho, central London.As at the inaugural meeting of the salon held in the same venue on 30th July, at which the guest interviewee was Egyptian-British novelist Ahdaf Soueif, the interviewer was Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts.
The salon was established by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP),which was launched at last year's Frankfurt Book Fair as a partnership between Bloomsbury Publishing and the Qatar Foundation.
The evening was introduced by Bloomsbury founder and chief executive Nigel Newton. BQFP's consultant publisher Andy Smith then surprised the audience by giving a welcoming address in Arabic. Bloomsbury's editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle, one of the legends of British publishing (her career started at women's publisher Virago in 1978), was also present.
The second salon was held in Doha on 9th September at the BQFP villa at Education City. It took the form of an iftar and a reading by local Arabic poets.
[more to follow...]
Monday, October 5, 2009
awa's gaza fundraiser in London 9 October
from the Arab Women's Association:
“Thousands of families across the Gaza Strip lack food and shelter; schools and hospitals have been destroyed; children are suffering from malnutrition and have been scarred psychologically, if not wounded physically. The AWA has long supported us in Gaza; I hope that the British public will help them to help us in our hour of need.” Dr. Mona el-Farra, public health physician from Gaza.
The evening’s varied programme will focus on the indigenous culture in Gaza, with contributions by Corin Redgrave and Kika Markham, eye-witness accounts by Dr. el-Farra and moving songs by Leon Rosselson, Garth Hewitt and Reem Kelani".
PLEASE MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO ATTEND AND TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT, IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN LONDON ON 9TH OCTOBER.
THANK YOU!
***********
Let Gaza Live
An evening of culture in support of Gaza Friday 9th October 2009.
Venue: Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR.
Tickets £35 & £50 - For reserved front row seats £80. Cash bar is available. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip and the Arab Women’s Association Fund for Gaza..
PLEASE NOTE THAT DOORS OPEN AT 7PM, AND THE CULTURAL PROGRAMME WILL BEGIN AT 8PM AND WILL LAST APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS.
The programme:
- Report from Gaza: Dr. Mona Al-Farra
- Special Guests: Corin Redgrave & Kika Markham, Ghassan Kanafani’s Letter from Gaza
- Compère: Victoria Brittain
- Shelagh Weir, Textiles, Costumes & Embroidery of the Gaza area
- Joanna Blythman, Food & Palestine
- Garth Hewitt, The Broken Heart of Gaza
- Leon Rosselson, Song of the Olive Tree
- Camilla Saunders, “Unbinding” - Piano for Gaza
- Bill & Alfie Horrocks, In Memory of Iman from Gaza
- Reem Kelani, Songs from Palestine
For details and bookings, please contact:
Ms. Shereen Nannis on 07977 146 349 or Shereen@awa-london.org.
We kindly urge our close members & friends to support us in part sponsoring this event and/or to purchase the £80 tickets to help us maximise fundraising.
This event is supported by Palestine Solidarity Campaign
AWA is a UK registered charity number 29 22 72 Registered Address: 515 Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London W1B 5TF
Shereen Nannis
AWA
515 Linen Hall
162-168 Regent Street
London W1B 5TF
Tel: 020 7039 0182
Fax: 020 7039 0183
cover of Shelagh Weir's latest book on Palestinian embroidery
“Thousands of families across the Gaza Strip lack food and shelter; schools and hospitals have been destroyed; children are suffering from malnutrition and have been scarred psychologically, if not wounded physically. The AWA has long supported us in Gaza; I hope that the British public will help them to help us in our hour of need.” Dr. Mona el-Farra, public health physician from Gaza.
The evening’s varied programme will focus on the indigenous culture in Gaza, with contributions by Corin Redgrave and Kika Markham, eye-witness accounts by Dr. el-Farra and moving songs by Leon Rosselson, Garth Hewitt and Reem Kelani".
PLEASE MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO ATTEND AND TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT, IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN LONDON ON 9TH OCTOBER.
THANK YOU!
***********
Let Gaza Live
An evening of culture in support of Gaza Friday 9th October 2009.
Venue: Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR.
Tickets £35 & £50 - For reserved front row seats £80. Cash bar is available. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Crescent Society for the Gaza Strip and the Arab Women’s Association Fund for Gaza..
PLEASE NOTE THAT DOORS OPEN AT 7PM, AND THE CULTURAL PROGRAMME WILL BEGIN AT 8PM AND WILL LAST APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS.
The programme:
- Report from Gaza: Dr. Mona Al-Farra
- Special Guests: Corin Redgrave & Kika Markham, Ghassan Kanafani’s Letter from Gaza
- Compère: Victoria Brittain
- Shelagh Weir, Textiles, Costumes & Embroidery of the Gaza area
- Joanna Blythman, Food & Palestine
- Garth Hewitt, The Broken Heart of Gaza
- Leon Rosselson, Song of the Olive Tree
- Camilla Saunders, “Unbinding” - Piano for Gaza
- Bill & Alfie Horrocks, In Memory of Iman from Gaza
- Reem Kelani, Songs from Palestine
For details and bookings, please contact:
Ms. Shereen Nannis on 07977 146 349 or Shereen@awa-london.org.
We kindly urge our close members & friends to support us in part sponsoring this event and/or to purchase the £80 tickets to help us maximise fundraising.
This event is supported by Palestine Solidarity Campaign
AWA is a UK registered charity number 29 22 72 Registered Address: 515 Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London W1B 5TF
Shereen Nannis
AWA
515 Linen Hall
162-168 Regent Street
London W1B 5TF
Tel: 020 7039 0182
Fax: 020 7039 0183
cover of Shelagh Weir's latest book on Palestinian embroidery 
lse's 'transit tehran'
LSE (London School of Economics & Political Science) Arts has launched a Transit Tehran: Art and Documentary from Iran programme of events, running from 28 September to 6 November.
On Wednesday 7th Oct there is a reception hosted by Prof Sarah Worthington with a talk by the exhibition's curator, Middle Eastern culture dynamo Malu Halasa. Halasa is co-editor, with Maziar Bahari, of the handsome pictures and text book "Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations" (pictured above) published in the UK earlier this year by Garnet Publishing.
On Wednesday 7th Oct there is a reception hosted by Prof Sarah Worthington with a talk by the exhibition's curator, Middle Eastern culture dynamo Malu Halasa. Halasa is co-editor, with Maziar Bahari, of the handsome pictures and text book "Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations" (pictured above) published in the UK earlier this year by Garnet Publishing.
The Transit Tehran events include the film "Tehran Has No More Pomegranates" (14th Oct), a lecture by Halasa on Young Iran: Pictures, politics and stories (19th Oct) and the documentaries "Online Ayatollah" and "Countdown" (21st Oct). Details are in the calendar on the LSE arts website.
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