This week we feature Benjamin Pogrund. A journalist and author, Pogrund was deputy editor of the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg, which was closed down because of its stand against apartheid. He was also chief foreign sub-editor of The Independent and has lived in Jerusalem since 1997.
In the latest issue of Fathom, Pogrund argues that revising Israel’s national anthem (Hatikva) could be an important symbolic step towards achieving the integration of Israel’s Arab citizens in Israeli society.
Additionally in this issue, Pogrund’s book, Drawing Fire: Investigating the Accusations of Apartheid in Israel, is reviewed by Robert Fine, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick.
Our Voice of the Week is a panel discussion from the UK 2014 Limmud Conference entitled ‘Can democracy and peace go hand in hand?’ It features Benjamin Pogrund, Natan Sharansky, Bassem Eid and Charlotte Halle.
Our Image of the Week is of Palestinians performing Friday prayers at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip, demanding that Egyptian authorities open the crossing. Egypt has maintained strict controls of the Rafah crossing, which has remained largely closed since last October, following Islamist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
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