Lining the streets of Jerusalem are pictures of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in the last 18 months, with the words “Until victory” scrawled across the smiling men in uniform. Juxtaposing these signs are posters reading, “Until the last hostage”, next to the faces of those kidnapped by Hamas on …

Set in the hills of the West Bank, The Teacher, written and directed by British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, tells the riveting story of Bassem (Saleh Bakri), a Palestinian high school English teacher struggling to inspire his students under the pall of Israel’s occupation. What’s it all for–the studying, the scholarship–if …

Preface: Emigre politics When writers go into exile, I read somewhere, they discuss the politics of their former countries more than before they left. I have an image of that in my head – scruffy emigres huddled over coffee and schnapps in a smoke-filled café. Voices are raised, tables are …