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The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Madeleine Thien: ‘I ran in blizzards and -20C – all I wanted was to listen to Middlemarch'
My earliest reading memoryResting in my father's arms as he read the newspaper. I must have been three or four years old. He read the paper cover to cover, and for an hour or so each night, I watched the world go by. My favourite book growing upWhen I was 11 I would go to the library downtown and request microfilm of old newspapers. I clicked the spools into place and read and read. I was horrified and baffled and amazed that there existed so many decades, so much time, in which I was … nowhere and not yet. The book that changed me as a teenagerMy parents were educated in missionary schools in Hong Kong and Malaysia; in Vancouver, they enrolled me in a Catholic school. The religious texts and sermons that we read, and the things I saw around me, made me turn away from religion when I was a teenager; but those texts instilled in me a lasting relationship with philosophy. I left religion, but not its questions. The writer who changed my mindOmar El Akkad. I used to think that, sometimes, people are made speechless by the horror of events, by fear, by grief. Perhaps the words they need don't exist. But One Day, Everyone Will Have Been Against Us reminds us that the words are there. We have the language to describe ethnic cleansing and genocide. When journalists are murdered, when 183 children are killed in a single day, when 15 paramedics are executed, and we stay silent, words don't fail us – we fail our vocation and each other. The book that made me want to be a writerPlurality! It's really all of them, isn't it? Contending with one another across time. Reading is prismatic, and a great writer shows us how to read far beyond their own works. John Berger, Canisia Lubrin, Rawi Hage, Yan Lianke, Balam Rodrigo, Yōko Ogawa, Adania Shibli, Ma Jian, Italo Calvino, James Baldwin, Alexis Wright, Kafka, my beloved Proust … and on it goes. The book or author I came back toDuring the pandemic, I ran 10km up and down a mountain every other day while listening to Middlemarch. I ran in blizzards and -20C – all I wanted to do was listen. The book I rereadBohumil Hrabal's I Served the King of England. Hrabal's knowing, sorrowful, open-hearted, gleeful, broken genius. I love him as one loves a friend. The book I could never read againFor now but not forever, the work of a writer who shaped me, Alice Munro. Yet often I find myself thinking about the experience of reading her – this feeling that I knew the women in her stories, had lived among them, had loved them or fled them. The memory of reading, the imprint of the encounter, is a lifelong confrontation. The book I discovered later in lifeI read The Iliad when I was 15 but I feel as if I experienced it for the first time when I read Emily Watson's 2023 translation, which overflows with names and lives and which records the utter waste of war. Simone Weil's essay The Iliad, or the Poem of Force also changed me – her belief that, century after century, we've ignored or misunderstood or misrepresented what Homer was trying to tell us. Weil writes: 'Whatever is not war, whatever war destroys or threatens, The Iliad wraps in poetry; the realities of war, never.' The book I am currently readingÆdnan by Linnea Axelsson, and Ninth Building by Zou Jingzhi. Everyone read these infinitely wise and haunting books. The Book of Records is published by Granta. To support the Guardian, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Middle East Eye
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Gaza genocide: The West finds new language - but does nothing to stop Israel
Mainstream voices are changing the song sheet. After a year and a half of deafening silence and relentless efforts to discredit every voice critical of Israel's war of extermination and genocide in Palestine, liberal-conservative forces have started to mutter faint condemnations of what they can no longer deny. French President Emmanuel Macron declared that 'the humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable'. The Guardian and the Dutch newspaper of record NRC are finally reporting what Palestinians and genocide experts have told the world from the beginning of Israel's latest slaughter: that genocide is genocide. A faint admission of genocide is preferable to silence and complicity, and such statements should be welcomed until there is a total and complete proscription on genocide in Palestine or anywhere else. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters But at the same time, we must probe the intention and effects of such admissions and condemnations, to ascertain whether they truly represent a rediscovery of humanity - or are merely a last-ditch attempt to neutralise growing indignation over the breakdown of humanity in Gaza. The simultaneity and similar register of these condemnations suggests a degree of alignment between governments and establishment media. This does not exclude a genuine awakening and some sort of virtuous domino effect, amid the unbearable realities of the radical evils to which we have all been subjected. After all, speaking out encourages others to do the same. Anticipation of others acknowledging something as egregious as genocide when it can no longer be denied might also compel people to switch sides to avoid being the last ones to do so. But this sudden turn, after nearly 20 months of studied silence or manufactured impotence in the face of a live-streamed genocide, raises questions. European complicity Some have argued that this shift in tone is a too-little, too-late attempt to clear the legacy of European complicity in Israel's genocide. Gaza has been decimated, with Israel dropping more than 100,000 tonnes of explosives on a population of two million people. As author Omar El Akkad put it: 'One day, everyone will have always been against this' - reminding us that people tend to find the courage to be on the right side of history only when there are no longer personal risks involved in saying or doing the right thing. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war It could be that this day has come - except the genocide in Gaza is still ongoing, and expanding towards the occupied West Bank, as these Johnny-come-lately critics of Israel, especially EU institutions and governments, do nothing to stop it. Quite the contrary; they are still politically, economically and militarily supporting the genocide. In short, we are witnessing a sudden change of language without an equally sudden change of policy. It is this ideological critique that European governments fear and are targeting, by seemingly relaxing their control over how we can criticise Israel Significantly, this rhetorical conversion is happening at a moment when European publics no longer buy the genocidal hasbara of 'self-defence' and 'demilitarisation of Hamas', by which Israel and its western allies have justified the extermination of more than 53,000 people so far. It cannot be ruled out that establishment forces within the European Union are seeking to restore the monopoly of the critique of Israel in order to neutralise the critique advanced by the global movement of solidarity with Palestine: the exposure of Israel's settler-colonialism and apartheid structure, and Tel Aviv's central role in preserving a global economic system based around the expansion of military capabilities and surveillance technologies, rather than around people. It is this ideological critique that the EU establishment fears and is targeting, by seemingly relaxing their control over how we can criticise Israel's transgression of fundamental norms. The timid distancing of some EU states from 'the Netanyahu government' - the phrase itself being an attempt to hyper-personalise responsibility for the genocide, while shielding the settler-colonial infrastructure that enables it - has amounted to a mere review – not a suspension – of trade ties with Israel, as if this is the only or most significant way to meet their obligations under international law - to prevent, stop and refrain from committing genocide. Machinery of war Establishment forces are enticing us to focus on a measure that is almost certain not to come to pass, as a suspension of the agreement would require the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU states, including staunch allies of Israel, such as Germany and Hungary. EU states have offered unconditional support to Israel's war of extermination unilaterally and can withdraw it in the same manner. They did not pursue the multilateral path to support Israel for the same reason they are now pursing the multilateral path to supposedly sanction it - because it does not work when rapid response is required. Why the wall of silence on the Gaza genocide is finally starting to crack Read More » Hence the choice for the EU multilateral level, which serves to deflect the growing public pressure to do something about the acceleration of the genocide in Gaza, whilst keeping things as they are. Nowhere do we see establishment forces discussing even remotely the possibility of unilateral measures similar to those adopted in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine since February 2022, which include arms embargoes, unilateral trade freezes, and encouraging universities to cut ties with institutions whose research enables the machinery of war. There is a simple way to discern whether these sudden conversions are last-resort attempts to control public thought on the genocide in Palestine - given that it is no longer possible to deny the genocide - or a first step towards ending EU complicity in the ongoing atrocities. If these voices call for urgent and concrete measures to halt both the genocide and the complicity of EU states, then we must welcome their support, and use it to galvanise more people to work towards ending the genocide and addressing its structural causes. But if these sudden condemnations are limited to admitting what is no longer deniable, without supporting any measures to fight impunity for genocide, then we must treat them as what they are: a treacherous attempt by accomplices of the Israeli genocidaires to preempt the social opprobrium with which they will ultimately have to reckon with the day after tomorrow. We must therefore denounce efforts to neutralise the effects of indignation about the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and to return to business as usual, as if nothing had happened. This will allow the same establishment forces that have enabled the genocide to continue safely exercising the power of their privilege to pontificate about how we should live our lives and tell right from wrong. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Middle East Eye
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Gaza genocide: Europe finds new language - but does nothing to stop Israel
Mainstream voices are changing the song sheet. After a year and a half of deafening silence and relentless efforts to discredit every voice critical of Israel's war of extermination and genocide in Palestine, liberal-conservative forces have started to mutter faint condemnations of what they can no longer deny. French President Emmanuel Macron declared that 'the humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable'. The Guardian and the Dutch newspaper of record NRC are finally reporting what Palestinians and genocide experts have told the world from the beginning of Israel's latest slaughter: that genocide is genocide. A faint admission of genocide is preferable to silence and complicity, and such statements should be welcomed until there is a total and complete proscription on genocide in Palestine or anywhere else. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters But at the same time, we must probe the intention and effects of such admissions and condemnations, to ascertain whether they truly represent a rediscovery of humanity - or are merely a last-ditch attempt to neutralise growing indignation over the breakdown of humanity in Gaza. The simultaneity and similar register of these condemnations suggests a degree of alignment between governments and establishment media. This does not exclude a genuine awakening and some sort of virtuous domino effect, amid the unbearable realities of the radical evils to which we have all been subjected. After all, speaking out encourages others to do the same. Anticipation of others acknowledging something as egregious as genocide when it can no longer be denied might also compel people to switch sides to avoid being the last ones to do so. But this sudden turn, after nearly 20 months of studied silence or manufactured impotence in the face of a live-streamed genocide, raises questions. European complicity Some have argued that this shift in tone is a too-little, too-late attempt to clear the legacy of European complicity in Israel's genocide. Gaza has been decimated, with Israel dropping more than 100,000 tonnes of explosives on a population of two million people. As author Omar El Akkad put it: 'One day, everyone will have always been against this' - reminding us that people tend to find the courage to be on the right side of history only when there are no longer personal risks involved in saying or doing the right thing. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war It could be that this day has come - except the genocide in Gaza is still ongoing, and expanding towards the occupied West Bank, as these Johnny-come-lately critics of Israel, especially EU institutions and governments, do nothing to stop it. Quite the contrary; they are still politically, economically and militarily supporting the genocide. In short, we are witnessing a sudden change of language without an equally sudden change of policy. It is this ideological critique that European governments fear and are targeting, by seemingly relaxing their control over how we can criticise Israel Significantly, this rhetorical conversion is happening at a moment when European publics no longer buy the genocidal hasbara of 'self-defence' and 'demilitarisation of Hamas', by which Israel and its western allies have justified the extermination of more than 53,000 people so far. It cannot be ruled out that establishment forces within the European Union are seeking to restore the monopoly of the critique of Israel in order to neutralise the critique advanced by the global movement of solidarity with Palestine: the exposure of Israel's settler-colonialism and apartheid structure, and Tel Aviv's central role in preserving a global economic system based around the expansion of military capabilities and surveillance technologies, rather than around people. It is this ideological critique that the EU establishment fears and is targeting, by seemingly relaxing their control over how we can criticise Israel's transgression of fundamental norms. The timid distancing of some EU states from 'the Netanyahu government' - the phrase itself being an attempt to hyper-personalise responsibility for the genocide, while shielding the settler-colonial infrastructure that enables it - has amounted to a mere review – not a suspension – of trade ties with Israel, as if this is the only or most significant way to meet their obligations under international law - to prevent, stop and refrain from committing genocide. Machinery of war Establishment forces are enticing us to focus on a measure that is almost certain not to come to pass, as a suspension of the agreement would require the unanimous agreement of all 27 EU states, including staunch allies of Israel, such as Germany and Hungary. EU states have offered unconditional support to Israel's war of extermination unilaterally and can withdraw it in the same manner. They did not pursue the multilateral path to support Israel for the same reason they are now pursing the multilateral path to supposedly sanction it - because it does not work when rapid response is required. Why the wall of silence on the Gaza genocide is finally starting to crack Read More » Hence the choice for the EU multilateral level, which serves to deflect the growing public pressure to do something about the acceleration of the genocide in Gaza, whilst keeping things as they are. Nowhere do we see establishment forces discussing even remotely the possibility of unilateral measures similar to those adopted in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine since February 2022, which include arms embargoes, unilateral trade freezes, and encouraging universities to cut ties with institutions whose research enables the machinery of war. There is a simple way to discern whether these sudden conversions are last-resort attempts to control public thought on the genocide in Palestine - given that it is no longer possible to deny the genocide - or a first step towards ending EU complicity in the ongoing atrocities. If these voices call for urgent and concrete measures to halt both the genocide and the complicity of EU states, then we must welcome their support, and use it to galvanise more people to work towards ending the genocide and addressing its structural causes. But if these sudden condemnations are limited to admitting what is no longer deniable, without supporting any measures to fight impunity for genocide, then we must treat them as what they are: a treacherous attempt by accomplices of the Israeli genocidaires to preempt the social opprobrium with which they will ultimately have to reckon with the day after tomorrow. We must therefore denounce efforts to neutralise the effects of indignation about the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and to return to business as usual, as if nothing had happened. This will allow the same establishment forces that have enabled the genocide to continue safely exercising the power of their privilege to pontificate about how we should live our lives and tell right from wrong. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hunger has been weaponised as people in Gaza face mass starvation
Re your editorial (The Guardian view on Israel's aid blockade of Gaza: hunger as a weapon of war, 4 May), what we are witnessing in Gaza is the collective punishment of a civilian population, mostly refugees, who were already living in highly vulnerable conditions following 18 months of what the international court of justice found to be a plausible risk of genocide and 18 years of an Israeli blockade. That blockade has been tightened further for the past two months, during which hunger has been weaponised, with the apparent aim of ethnically cleansing Gaza. The author Omar El Akkad describes the term 'genocide' as a 'mechanic of forewarning', not some 'after‑the-fact resolution'. The world should consider itself warned that the genocide in Gaza has entered a new phase of mass starvation with hunger, thirst and disease stalking 2 million people. The path to de-escalation lies in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire abandoned by Israel on 18 March. Israel has instead threatened to intensify its operations in Gaza, which will be catastrophic for Palestinians with two-thirds of Gaza already designated as either 'no-go areas' or 'under active displacement orders'. Only external pressure on Israel and the governments complicit in its occupation will prevent this outrage. The American academic activist Angela Davis has described Palestine as 'a moral litmus test for the world' and we as citizens need to act McCloskeyDirector, Centre for Global Education, Belfast • So much about the situation in Gaza is 'shameful' and, as your excellent editorial concludes, that it has 'been allowed to happen' is most shameful of all. It is clearly the case that as long as Netanyahu goes unpunished by the world, he will carry on the genocide of Palestinians (Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory, 5 May). Sadly, the crisis for Palestinians in Gaza is one of the many things Keir Starmer doesn't appear to 'get', but that doesn't mean Labour MPs should show similar spinelessness: at the very least they should force an emergency debate and vote on action to be taken. Aren't they ashamed to be abetting the slaughter with arms sales, ashamed that their government hasn't demanded sanctions against Israelis similar to the ones imposed on Russia, and determined to steer a government that is lost in at least one right direction? Failing that, they should be forcing a leadership contest. Bernie EvansLiverpool
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Hunger has been weaponised as people in Gaza face mass starvation
Re your editorial (The Guardian view on Israel's aid blockade of Gaza: hunger as a weapon of war, 4 May), what we are witnessing in Gaza is the collective punishment of a civilian population, mostly refugees, who were already living in highly vulnerable conditions following 18 months of what the international court of justice found to be a plausible risk of genocide and 18 years of an Israeli blockade. That blockade has been tightened further for the past two months, during which hunger has been weaponised, with the apparent aim of ethnically cleansing Gaza. The author Omar El Akkad describes the term 'genocide' as a 'mechanic of forewarning', not some 'after‑the-fact resolution'. The world should consider itself warned that the genocide in Gaza has entered a new phase of mass starvation with hunger, thirst and disease stalking 2 million people. The path to de-escalation lies in implementing the second phase of the ceasefire abandoned by Israel on 18 March. Israel has instead threatened to intensify its operations in Gaza, which will be catastrophic for Palestinians with two-thirds of Gaza already designated as either 'no-go areas' or 'under active displacement orders'. Only external pressure on Israel and the governments complicit in its occupation will prevent this outrage. The American academic activist Angela Davis has described Palestine as 'a moral litmus test for the world' and we as citizens need to act McCloskeyDirector, Centre for Global Education, Belfast So much about the situation in Gaza is 'shameful' and, as your excellent editorial concludes, that it has 'been allowed to happen' is most shameful of all. It is clearly the case that as long as Netanyahu goes unpunished by the world, he will carry on the genocide of Palestinians (Netanyahu says new offensive in Gaza focused on consolidating seizure of territory, 5 May). Sadly, the crisis for Palestinians in Gaza is one of the many things Keir Starmer doesn't appear to 'get', but that doesn't mean Labour MPs should show similar spinelessness: at the very least they should force an emergency debate and vote on action to be taken. Aren't they ashamed to be abetting the slaughter with arms sales, ashamed that their government hasn't demanded sanctions against Israelis similar to the ones imposed on Russia, and determined to steer a government that is lost in at least one right direction? Failing that, they should be forcing a leadership contest. Bernie EvansLiverpool Do you have a photograph you'd like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers' best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.
