Memory and forgetting. Here’s why and how to remember the Nazis’ many many victims
by Rashmee
Posted on January 27, 2021
Every year, January 27 is given over to remembering the Holocaust but might there be rather more merit in the German state’s official designation of this day since 1996? For 25 years, Germany has called January 27 ‘Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism’. On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz, the largest Nazi extermination … Continue reading “Memory and forgetting. Here’s why and how to remember the Nazis’ many many victims”
Read MoreThe pandemic has hit Palestinians harder because of the health apartheid
by Rashmee
Posted on January 25, 2021
On Sunday, January 24, Israel’s health minister Yuli Edelstein went on British television and disavowed any and all legal obligation to vaccinate Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. It was really a rather shameful performance by Mr Edelstein, who until then, had answered all the other questions put to him by Andrew … Continue reading “The pandemic has hit Palestinians harder because of the health apartheid”
Read MoreHow to read the ‘Arab street’ as America pushes rapprochement with Israel
by Rashmee
Posted on August 28, 2020
This week, Donald Trump’s official and unofficial secretaries of state – Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner – fanned out across the Middle East and North Africa to push Arab-Israeli rapprochement in the aftermath of the August 13 Israel-UAE deal. The US-sponsored deal between Israel and the UAE was only the third such accord Israel has struck with … Continue reading “How to read the ‘Arab street’ as America pushes rapprochement with Israel”
Read MoreSanders or not, the US Democratic Party is increasingly turned off by Netanyahu’s Israel
by Rashmee
Posted on March 6, 2020
Whatever happens with the two-man race that is now the Democratic presidential field, one thing is clear: the positions taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel are forcing a change in the strongly bipartisan nature of US-Israeli ties. Where once both the Republican and Democratic parties shared the exact same regard for Israel – so much so … Continue reading “Sanders or not, the US Democratic Party is increasingly turned off by Netanyahu’s Israel”
Read MoreHow Suleimani’s death will affect India and Pakistan
by Rashmee
Posted on January 6, 2020 / The National
To properly consider the possible fallout of Friday’s targeted US strike on Qassem Suleimani, of Iran’s elite Quds Force, disregard the tub-thumping rhetoric from Washington and the ominous rumblings from Tehran. Listen instead for the sound of silences within disparate countries’ statements on the situation. Consider the responses offered by South Asia’s nuclear-armed neighbours, India … Continue reading “How Suleimani’s death will affect India and Pakistan”
Read MoreBut, of course, the EU Must Recognize Palestine. The alternative is more drastic
by Rashmee
Posted on December 30, 2019
With the US steadily working with Israel to obliterate hopes for a two-state solution, Daoud Kuttab, an award-winning Palestinian journalist, has suggested we are at a fork in the road. Writing in Project Syndicate, Mr Kuttab said, “If European leaders – or, indeed, any others around the world – want to advance a vision of … Continue reading “But, of course, the EU Must Recognize Palestine. The alternative is more drastic”
Read MoreSaturday rearview: How the world made it harder to be good in 2019
by Rashmee
Posted on December 28, 2019
The week was rich in sights, sounds – and tastes – of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. And then there was a piece I wrote with Jason Karaian in Quartz about how the world in 2019 made it harder to be a good person. Think about it: you can’t fly, buy fast fashion, anything plastic, … Continue reading “Saturday rearview: How the world made it harder to be good in 2019”
Read MoreAmid the dreary state of Arab-Israeli relations comes Christmas cheer and a message of hope
by Rashmee
Posted on December 26, 2019 / The National
It being Christmas, there is a certain obligation to bring glad tidings, or at least as glad as is possible in a year marked by deepening discontent and divisions in many parts of the world. This despite the Palestinian-Israeli issue ramping up a contentious notch earlier this week when Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor at the … Continue reading “Amid the dreary state of Arab-Israeli relations comes Christmas cheer and a message of hope”
Read MoreIt’s going to be a year of ‘conscious uncoupling’
by Rashmee
Posted on December 22, 2019 / The Arab Weekly
All bets are off on what lies ahead in 2020 but it probably won’t be a sober and well-judged 3M strategy on the part of the West. As 2019 hastens to an end, its defining patterns are clear. The year was marked by two rancorous relationships: between China and the United States and between Turkey … Continue reading “It’s going to be a year of ‘conscious uncoupling’”
Read MoreJerusalem in food, in pictures
by Rashmee
Posted on December 20, 2019
Resign yourself to it: unless you eat a falafel pitta sandwich (very good from the shop at Damascus Gate, opposite the bakery) or a couple of kibeh or a 15-shekel arayes, food is expensive in Jerusalem. We were shocked. The baker opposite the falafel shop at Damascus Gate sells four pitta for 5 shekel, which … Continue reading “Jerusalem in food, in pictures”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK