PALESTINE New Regional Alliances and the Palestinian
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Mixed media on canvas, 110 About the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) X 93 cm. Courtesy of Zawyeh Gallery and the artist Th e London Middle East Institute (LMEI) draws upon the resources of London and SOAS to provide teaching, training, research, publication, consultancy, outreach and other services related to the Middle East. It serves as a neutral forum for Middle East studies broadly defi ned and helps to create links between Volume 14 – Number 2 individuals and institutions with academic, commercial, diplomatic, media or other specialisations. February–March 2018 With its own professional staff of Middle East experts, the LMEI is further strengthened by its academic membership – the largest concentration of Middle East expertise in any institution in Europe. Th e LMEI also has access to the SOAS Library, which houses over 150,000 volumes dealing with all aspects of the Middle Editorial Board East. 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ISSN 1743-7598 Contents 4 15 EDITORIAL Marsm: bringing Arab musicians to British stages 5 Adam Hanieh INSIGHT LMEI Board of Trustees Israel, Saudi Arabia and the 17 Baroness Valerie Amos (Chair) United Arab Emirates: New Th e SOAS Palestine Studies Director, SOAS regional alliances and the book series Professor Stephen Hopgood, SOAS Palestinian struggle Gilbert Achcar Dr Dina Matar, SOAS Dr Hanan Morsy Adam Hanieh European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 18 Professor Scott Redford, SOAS 7 Palestine Research Seminar Dr Barbara Zollner PALESTINE Series: Palestine as an academic Birkbeck College Is Trump the Grinch who stole fi eld of study Palestinian Christmas? Dina Matar Ryvka Barnard 20 LMEI Advisory Council 9 REVIEWS Gaza in a wheelchair BOOKS Lady Barbara Judge (Chair) Professor Muhammad A. S. Abdel Haleem Yasmeen El Khoudary Th e Naqab Bedouins: A Century H E Khalid Al-Duwaisan GVCO of Politics and Resistance Ambassador, Embassy of the State of Kuwait 10 Dina Matar Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani Arab International Women’s Forum Israel as a ‘Jewish and Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa President, University College of Bahrain democratic state’? 21 Professor Tony Allan Mazen Masri Political Islam in Tunisia: Th e King’s College and SOAS Dr Alanoud Alsharekh History of Ennahda Senior Fellow for Regional Politics, IISS 12 Charles Tripp Mr Farad Azima NetScientifi c Plc Palestinian youth formations: Dr Noel Brehony a critical counter-narrative 22 MENAS Associates Ltd. Lucy Garbett BOOKS IN BRIEF Professor Magdy Ishak Hanna British Egyptian Society Mr Paul Smith Chairman, Eversheds International 14 25 Th e new in the old: Palestinian EVENTS IN LONDON musical experiments Rafeef Ziadah February – March 2018 The Middle East in London 3 EEDITORIALDITORIAL © Akbar Khan © DDearear RReadereader Old City, Jerusalem, 2016. Photograph by Akbar Khan Adam Hanieh, Dina Matar, SOAS he year 2018 marks 70 years since implications of Trump’s decision on employed by both Israel and Palestinian the Nakba (the ‘catastrophe’) Palestinian Christmas and the tourism authorities, youth movements in Palestine Tthat saw the dispossession of industry, particularly in Bethlehem. provide a critical counter-narrative to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, She notes the decreasing number of Palestinian political reality. their dispersal outside their homeland tourists and the increasing restrictions on Turning to artistic endeavours, and the loss of a large part of that historic movement, the number of land grabs and Rafeef Ziadah discusses the work of a homeland. Th is year begins with more violence at the hands of the military and new generation of Palestinian singers/ uncertainty concerning the fate of the settlers. She reminds us that this is not the songwriters who are bringing the Palestinians and their rights following US fi rst time Christmas has been cancelled new to the old, experimenting with President Donald Trump’s announcement in protest. Yasmeen El Khoudary writes diff erent genres to produce distinctly recognising Jerusalem as the capital of that the Trump announcement has contemporary sounds. Th is piece is Israel; the announcement seemed to overshadowed news of the reconciliation followed by an interview with Khaled confi rm a blatant disregard for Palestinian between Hamas and the Palestinian Ziada of Marsm, a company that rights and the peace process. Authority. In her opinion the response organises events designed to showcase the Th e Insight article in this issue, to the announcement in Gaza shows that diversity and evolution of the Arab music penned by Adam Hanieh, places the the Palestinian cause is bigger than any scene to audiences in the UK. announcement within the wider regional political party. Th en Gilbert Achcar gives details of context, including the increasingly open Mazen Masri brings in his expertise in the Centre for Palestine Studies’ (CPS) political alliance between Israel, Saudi law to question Israel’s self-defi nition as a new book series, the fi rst such series in Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He ‘Jewish and democratic state’ and suggests English dedicated to Palestine Studies. suggests that while this alliance is not a the need to approach the defi nition not And fi nally, Dina Matar follows with an new development, it has received