Middle East - Anthony Ham [212]
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ARTS
Israel and the Palestinian Territories might be small in size, but they’re big in artistic output, be it literature, the visual arts, music, or, increasingly, film. For a bit of everything, check out the annual Israel Festival (Click here). In recent years, Palestinian festivals have been few and far between, victims of limited funding, but keep an eye out for events at the International Centre of Bethlehem, also known as Dar Annadwa (Click here), which regularly hosts art exhibitions, film screenings and other cultural events.
Literature
Israel’s three most popular and widely-translated contemporary novelists are Amos Oz, David Grossman and AB Yehoshua. Oz is probably the best known worldwide, with his recent How to Cure a Fanatic (2006) offering two thought-provoking essays on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For more classic literature, look up the works of SY Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Literature Prize winner, whose 1931 The Bridal Canopy remains a cherished read.
Across the Green Line, poetry has historically been the literary medium of choice, and the late Mahmoud Darwish was the leading light. Two recent collections Unfortunately, it was Paradise and Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone? are good introductions to his lyrical, often political works. Meanwhile, it’s worth getting hold of the works of Emile Habibi, a long-time Arab member of the Israeli Knesset. His novel The Secret Life of Saaed the Pesoptimist was translated into 16 languages, and tells the tragi-comic tales of Palestinians who took on Israeli identity after 1948. Another novelist – whose career was cut short by a Beirut car bomb in 1972 – worth dipping into is Ghassan Khanafani, whose debut Men in the Sun, a novella and short story collection, is simply stunning.
Cinema
Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers have been coming into their own in recent years. The acclaimed and controversial Paradise Now (2005), telling the story of two would-be suicide bombers, and the moving Syrian Bride (2004), in which a young Druze woman sets out to leave Israel forever for a marriage in Syria, are two greats. Likewise, the charming The Band’s Visit (2007), which tells the tragi-comic tale of an Egyptian marching band’s misadventures in a small Negev town, and the harrowing, animated Waltz With Bashir (2008) are international successes that you should definitely check out.
Though, as with all the arts, a lack of funding continues to plague the Palestinian film scene, change is definitely in the air. The AM Qattan Foundation (www.qattanfoundation.org www.qattanfoundation.org) has embarked on an ambitious film education program for talented young Palestinian filmmakers, and grassroots projects have sprung up across the West Bank and Gaza. Look up the West Bank’s Balata Refugee Camp Collective (www.balatacamp.net/website/balata.htm) and Gaza’s Qisat Nas Community Film School (qisatnas.org.uk/home/) to learn more.
With such a spectrum of subjects on offer, the documentary scene, too, is thriving in the region. Poignant as ever are the now classic Jenin, Jenin (2002) by Mohammed Bakri, and Death in Gaza (2005), during which British director James Miller was killed by Israeli gunfire. Tel Aviv’s annual DocAviv documentary festival (Click here) is the best opportunity to catch the newest titles doing the rounds.
Music
Though Israelis are pretty Eurovision-mad, there’s more to Israel’s music scene than Dana International. Classic performers worth listening out for include Shlomo Artzi, Arik Einstein, Matti Caspi and Shalom Hanoch, all of whom produce anthemic-type songs that will have you humming along in no time. Idan Raichel, who introduces Ethiopian influences into his music, is a popular younger figure, as are Assaf Amdursky and Aviv Geffen, both of whom you’re likely to spot frequenting the bars and cafés of Tel Aviv.
Israel also has a particularly strong classical music tradition, largely as a result of Jewish musicians