Ramzi Salti's Arabology

The Jordan band El Morabba3 performed at Souq Jara in Amman, Jordan in 2011--before the release of their album earlier this year.

Amer Zahr is one of the most popular Arab-American comedians around. He has traveled the world performing, and loves making people LAUGH!  He is also a writer and commentator. See his site and blog at http://www.amerzahr.com/ Amer Zahr's latest video is his rendition of a song he calls "We Wish You a Happy Ramadan." Here is his video clip: Other hilarious videos by Amer Zahr in the past have included this "Dance Like an Arab" video: For more on Amer Zahr see  http://www.amerzahr.com/ Amer Zahr's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/remarhaz

Info below partially taken from www.hanamalhas.com Hana Malhas likes to describe her music as borderless indie folk-pop. She chases summer every year from the US (her current residence) to Amman, Jordan (the hometown she hails from). She sings mostly in English (but sometimes in Arabic) and performs solo and/or with her band The Overthinkers (which varies from duo to full band) on stages in both the US and the Middle East.  She is a storyteller with an expressive vocal delivery. Her shows over the past year have included such venues as The Ark in Ann Arbor, Top of the Park at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and the Citadel in Amman. Places performed include: Michigan (Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Albion), New York City, Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, Jordan (Amman), and Lebanon (Beirut). In September 2011 Hana Malhas performed live with the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila at the Citadel in Amman. While Hana's 2010 debut LP Shapeshi

Here are the Arabic lyrics to Mashrou' Leila's version of the Jacques Brel classic 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' titled 'ما تتركني هيك' [Don't Leave Me Like This] See video clip of the group performing this song live in concert after the lyrics below. ما تتركني هيك عم بفتّش عليك بأسفل كل كاس بين تخوت هالناس اتوهّم وجهك وبنادي اسمك كأنه موشوم عشفافي اسمو مزاجها عفريت بحبر مميت ما إلو دوا خيبة الهوا ما تتركني هيك ما تتركني هيك  ما تتركني هيك  ما تتركني هيك  حبيبي خليك و بيحلى السمر بنشرب القمر و نوره بيِرْويك بقتفلك النجوم بركّبها عتاج ببني لنا ملاج ورا الغيوم واذا هجرت  خد قلبي معك خد روحي معك و اتركني بالمُر ما تتركني هيك  ما تتركني هيك  ما تتركني هيك  ما تتركني هيك  Here is a video clip of Mashrou' Leila performing the song in 2012:

Palestinian judoka Maher Abu Rmeileh, who trains at the Al Quds sports club in Jerusalem. Photograph: Gali Tibbon for the Guardian Maher Abu Rmeileh is making history. The 28-year old judo champion from East Jerusalem is the first Palestinian to ever qualify on points for the Olympics. On July 30, 2012, he will compete for Palestine in the London Games. Until now, the Olympic Committee, which recognizes Palestine as a state, had invited Palestinian athletes only as honorary participants.  Here is the video clip by Al-Monitor's meeting with Maher Abu Rmeileh on June 17, 2012 (Story by Sophie Claudet, Muayad Alayan and Raed Khoury): Other Palestinian Athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games:

Hamed Sinno, lead singer for Mashrou' Leila, live in Switzerland July 2012    Here is Mashrou' Leila's version (in Arabic) of the Jacques Brel song 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' ما تتركني هيك 

A double DVD set of Syrian poet Adonis titled 'Mounchidan' أدونيس منشداً has recently been released and is also available in audio format on Amazon, iTunes, etc.  This is a project that was overseen by the poet's daughter Ninar Esber and comes a few years after Esber's book titled Conversations avec Adonis mon père , [Conversations with Adonis, my Father] which was published by Editions du Seuil, Paris, in 2006. Adonis or Adunis (Arabic: أدونيس), is a Syrian poet, essayist, and translator who was born on January 1, 1930. His real name is Ali Ahmad Said Esber (Arabic: علي أحمد سعيد إسبر‎; transliterated: alî ahmadi sa'îdi asbar or Ali Ahmad Sa'id).  He has written more than twenty books and volumes of poetry in the Arabic language as well as translated several works from French. Quote about Adonis by his daughter, artist Ninar Esber: "My work as an artist has always driven me towards themes that are related to performance. For this project (which requir

The short film ''They came in the morning'' by Palestinian director Laila Sansour, has achieved the highest voting percentage in a short film competition that was organized by ''Virgin Media'' in England. 750 short films participated in it. The short documentary film (2 min 19 sec) revolves around the city of Bethlehem and was born from some of the footage shot over 5 critical years in the life of Bethlehem during the making of an upcoming feature film titled "Operation Bethlehem". Here is the short film clip:

Kachf el Mahjoub / Unveiling the hidden is a musical collaboration between Lebanese poet and musician Mazen el Sayed, otherwise known as El Rass (The Head), and Lebanese electronica artist Jawad Nawfal aka Munma. El Sayed is a prolific writer and musician, at ease with a variety of instruments, while Nawfal has previously released a number of albums and EPs, exploring downtempo electronica and ambient dubstep. The collision of harsh beats and brazen, slammed vocals works wonders on Unveiling the Hidden, produced and released by independent Lebanese label Ruptured. Notorious for his masterful flow in the classical Arabic language, quite an uncommon phenomenon in Lebanon's exuberant rap scene, El Rass' lyrics tackle both social and political sensitive subjects. Munma, on the other hand, creates a sound-world perfectly fitting El Rass’ agitated discourse, alternating between broken beats, elaborate percussion, and ambient layers of synths. At times reminiscent of mutant hiphop out

Mike Massy, whose album Ya Zaman has received much critical acclaim, will be performing live in concert on July 28 at 8:30 at the Anfeh Festival in Lebanon.  Entrance is free. The Anfeh Festival is an annual 2 day entertainment event that takes place in the Lebanese village of Anfeh. It hosts famous singers and is ground to many fun activities.  For more info see https://www.facebook.com/AnfehFestival

Yasmine Hamdan will be performing live at El Genaina Theater (Egypt) on,Thursday and Friday, August 9-10. For more see Event page on Facebook at this link or read below: Yasmine Hamdan - Lebanon Thursday and Friday, August 9-10 Writer, Composer and singer, Yasmine Hamdan was born in Beirut. She formed the indie electro-duo group “Soapkills” along with Zeid Hamdan in 1998. Between 1998 and 2005, Soapkills released 4 albums including a Live recording.. Her encounter in 2005 with Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the electronic music producer who composed Madonna’s album “Music”, results in the birth of Y.A.S. In 2009 she released her album “Arabology” by Universal Music. In September 2011, Marc Collin and Yasmine met in Marc’s studio, Yasmine brought along some songs she’d written and some of her favorite rare Arabic classics. Their collaboration goes beyond the mere idea of making a remix, not a tribute nor a modernization, but rather a remote memory of a melody. 9:30pm Ticket: 20 EGP (Excluding Par

Yasmine Hamdan's new album peaked at number 18 on the World Charts (Most Airplay) for KZSU 90.1 FM (Stanford University) for the week ending in July 1, 2012). That same week saw four other Arabic CD's in the Top 20 World Charts including Mike Massy's album at number 13, Lebanese band Adonis at number 13, Jordanian group/band JadaL at number 11 and Marcel Khalife at number 17. See screen capture below or go to THIS LINK .

The 2009 Egyptian film 'Ein Shams' عين شمس [Eye of the Sun] is available in its entirety on YouTube. This independent feature length film, which was initially banned in Egypt, premiered at the Cannes Film festival and was given awards and otherwise recognized at the London Film Festival, Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, Carthage Cinema Days Festival, Taormina Film Fest and the British Academy Film Awards. The film stars Tamer Hosny and directed by Ibrahim Al-Batout. Here is the trailer for the movie followed by the film in its entirety.   تريلر فيلم عين شمس إخراج إبراهيم البطوط FILM IN ITS ENTIRETY:

Yemen Blues performed in concert at this year's Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland) in July 2012: Yemen Blues at Paléo Festival 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Here is the video of the concert by Yemen Blues at this year's Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland): Yemen Blues, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012 (concert... by paleo

Le Trio Joubran performed at this year's Paléo Festival in July 2012. Le Trio Joubran at Paléo Festival Nyon 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Here is the complete concert by Le Trio Joubran Complete at the Paleo Festival, Switzerland (July 19, 2012): Trio Joubran, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012 (concert... by paleo

Omar Souleyman performed at the 2012 Paléo Festival (Switzerland) in July 2012. Omar Souleyman at Paléo Festival 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Here is Omar Souleyman's complete c oncert at Paléo Festival Nyon (July 2012): Omar Souleyman, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012... by paleo

The Palestinian rap/hip hop group DAM performed at this year Paléo Festival (Switzerland) in July 2012. DAM in concert at Paléo 2012 (photo courstesy of Paléo) Here is the complete footage of DAM in Concert at the Paleo Festival Nyon, Switzerland in July 2012: DAM, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012 (concert complet) by paleo

Ibrahim Maalouf performed in this year's Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland). Ibrahim Maalouf at the Paléo Festival 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Ibrahim Maalouf Complete Concert at the Paléo Festival Nyon, Switzerland (July 20, 2012) Ibrahim Maalouf, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012... by paleo

The ultra-hip Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila was among the musicians who participated in this year's Paléo Festival Nyon (Switzerland) where they literally rocked the house. Hamed Sinno of Mashrou' Leila at Paléo Festival 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Here is a clip from the concert followed by the entire Mashrou' Leila Concert at the 37th Paléo Festival Nyon, Switzerland on July 19, 2012 (including the group's Beiruti version of Jacques Brel's 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' in Arabic and many other new and unreleased gems): MASHROU' LEILA singing 'Habibi' at the Paléo Festival, July 2012: MASHROU' LEILA COMPLETE CONCERT in HD (Paléo Festival 2012): Mashrou'Leila, Paléo Festival Nyon 2012 (concert... by paleo

Natacha Atlas at the Paleo Festival 2012 (photo courtesy of Paléo) Here is the video of Natacha Atlas performing at this year's Paleo Festival:

The 37th Paléo Festival Nyon in Switzerland took place this month from the 17-22 July 2012 and inclkuded a wide array of performers from all over the globe. With six days and nights of festivities, 230,000 spectators, over 210 concerts and shows taking place on six stages, and a total of 200 stalls on site, Paléo Festival Nyon is the biggest open-air festival in Switzerland and one of Europe’s major musical events. The 'Village du Monde' [World Village] Category this year showcased an array of amazing musicians from the Middle East including Trio Joubran, Mashrou' Leila, Broukar, Omar Souleyman, The Alaev Family, Baba Zula, Ibrahim Maalouf, DAM, Niyaz, Avishai Cohen, Balkan Beat Box, Yemen Blues, Egyptian Project, Jack is Dead and His Iranian Orchestra. Here is a detailed schedule of this year's 'Village du Monde' performances. Note that all of these were sold out! For full schedule see http://yeah.paleo.ch/en/village-du-monde On the menu of the gourmet fe

Musician Moe Kabha's latest video is for the popular folk song “Wen Ala Ramallah” (“We’re going to Ramallah”) and in this clip he uses street protest footage from Chicago and Ramallah while showcasing Palestinian dabke. Moe Kabha - Wen Ala Ramallah (Official Music Video) from Yasmeen Haleem on Vimeo . وين ع رام الله   -  محمد كبها For more on Moe Kabha: iTunes: iTunes.com/MoeKabha Facebook: facebook.com/moe.kabaha Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/moe-kabha

Naseer [Naser] Shamma (Arabic: نصير شمه‎) is a renowned Arab Iraqi musician and oud player.  He was born in 1963 in Kut, a city on the Tigris River, to a Fayli Kurdish father and a Khazrajite Arab mother.  He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad,and received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television. (Wikipedia) Here he is playing Rossini's 'Barber of Seville' with Oud at the Opera House in Cairo in 2011: نصير شمه يعزف لأول مره (حلاق اشبيليه) لروسيني في دار الاوبرا المصريه 2011/3/22 تحياتي سيف عريبي  For more on Naseer Shamma see  http://www.naseershamma.com/  (This site is in English, French and Arabic).

The holy month of Ramadan officially began today and I would like to take this opportunity to say 'Ramadan Mubarak' to all my Muslim readers, friends, students and colleagues. Ramzi Salti, Ph.D. Stanford University

In the spirit of highlighting Arabic versions of well known Western songs, here is Sapho's version (in Arabic) of Léo Ferré 's famous song 'Avec le temps' which was released as part of Sapho's 2006 album titled Sapho chante Léo Ferré – Ferré Flamenco: BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF SAPHO: Born in 1950 to Jewish parents in Marrakech (Morocco), Sapho (real name Danielle Ebguy) emigrated to France when she was 16.  By 18, she was living on her own in Paris, taking acting lessons, playing guitar and singing on the streets. A short time later, a musician friend convinced her to audition for famed music school, Le Petit Conservatoire de Mireille. Sapho soon abandoned her acting studies in favor of music. Her first LP, Le Balayeur du Rex , was released in 1977 by RCA. In 1985 Sapho realeased Passions, passons , which saw her leaving the rock sound of her previous albums to embrace the Middle Eastern sounds she had grown up with, leading to a series of concerts at Le Bataclan

Algerian singer Mariem Labidi مريم العبيدي has recorded Jacques Brel's classic 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' in Arabic. Here is her version titled ما تودعنيش  which I hope you will enjoy: Mariem Labidi has also recorded French versions of these Arabic songs: 'Kan Ezzaman' and 'Habbaytak bissayf' and 'Aatini Ennay' by Fairuz . You can hear those as well as other classics for free at http://soundcloud.com/mariem-labidi or download for free at http://www.reverbnation.com/mariemlabidi For more on Mariem Labidi مريم العبيدي see: https://www.facebook.com/mariemlabidi.official http://www.myspace.com/mariemlabidi http://soundcloud.com/mariem-labidi http://www.reverbnation.com/mariemlabidi Mariem Labidi's videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=023Z_o2PehY  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoGUTBnMjqg  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU-E0lBaJ5U

Words of Witness is a feature-length documentary that follows Heba, a 22 year-old journalist, as she navigates Egypt’s Revolution. Every time Heba heads out to cover the historical events shaping her country’s future, her mother is compelled to remind her, “I know you are a journalist, but you’re still a girl!” Defying cultural and gender norms and family expectations, Heba takes to the streets to report on an Egypt in turmoil, using tweets, texts, and Facebook posts. Her coming of age, political awakening and the disillusionment that follows mirrors that of a nation seeking the freedom to shape its own destiny, dignity and democracy. Described as “RAW AND FASCINATING” by the Wall Street Journal , the film was shot on site in Egypt as the historical events surrounding the revolution unfolded. Here is the trailer for this film followed by more info about it as well as on ways to get involved if you wish. Words of Witness premiered with much acclaim at the Berlinale Film

The documentary Garbage Dreams screened on July 18 at Stanford as part of the Division of International, Comparative and Area Studies' INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, SUMMER 2012: FEAST TO FAMINE: Global Politics of Food and Water.  The event included a post-screening discussion led by Prof. Lisa Blaydes (Department of Political Science, Stanford). Garbage Dreams (2009; directed by Mai Iskander) follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world's largest garbage village, on the outskirts of Cairo. It is the home to 60,000 Zaballeen, Arabic for "garbage people." Far ahead of any modern "Green" initiatives, the Zaballeen survive by recycling 80 percent of the garbage they collect. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.  Here is the trailer for the movie followed by the film'

Director Rami Alayan's 2011 short film titled 'Private Sun' will be screening on August 8 at 4pm in Providence, Rhode Island.  For more infio about this screening please see http://riff.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/privatesun_ramialayan_riff2012 'Private Sun' (Run time: 25 min. | Palestinian Territories | Language: Arabic) tells the story of Mariam who is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that is causing her a bone illness. But with nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, private moments under the sun are precious and rare. The film is directed by Rami Alayan and includes cast members Abeer El Masou (Lead Actor), Mohammad Awwad (Lead Actor), Nicolas Jarad (Lead Actor), and Shaden Saleem (Lead Actor). Here is the trailer for the movie: PRIVATE SUN - a film by Rami Alayan from Palcine Productions on Vimeo .

One of the most exciting new projects to step out of the Arab world, Alif Ensemble brings together musicians from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq in a beguiling blend of inspiring acoustic and contemporary electronic sounds. Conceived by multi-talented oud player Khyam Allami, Alif Ensemble sees him team up with two of the most inventive and independent Arabic musicians; Palestinian composer and vocalist Tamer Abu Ghazaleh and Egyptian electronica musician Maurice Louca. Together they work on new music with a band of musicians from both traditional and contemporary Arabic music disciplines, including Ayman Mabrouk (Egypt) on percussion, Khaled Yassine (Lebanon) on percussion, Khaled Omran (Syria) on bass and Yarob Smarait (Jordan) on violin. "Alif Ensemble proved themselves nothing less than revelatory" The Double Negative (on the group's premier at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 15 July 2012) http://www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2012/07/alif-ens

"Feb 20's Rise and Fall: A Moroccan Story" by Ahmed Benchemsi. Developed as part of Ahmed Benchemsi's Stanford research program, this article is the outcome of a one year-long investigation on Morocco's "Arab Spring" protest movement. It explains how and why young pro-democracy activists rocked the kingdom like never before, but were ultimately outplayed by the autocratic, wily monarchy. Read more here: http://ahmedbenchemsi.com/feb20s-rise-and-fall-a-moroccan-story/ The article is a short version of a book chapter from “Taking to the Streets: Activism, Arab Uprisings, and Democratization”, a forthcoming collection co-edited by Lina Khatib (Stanford University) and Ellen Lust (Yale University), to be published in 2013 by Johns Hopkins University Press. Check out Ahmed Benchemsi's blog at http://ahmedbenchemsi.com/

Lebanese singing sensation Nancy Ajram, known for her mainstream appeal and multi-million dollar endorsements, did something quite refreshing lately during her guest spot on 'Coke Studio' (Arabic version)--a music show that airs weekly on the Arabic TV station MBC--by re-recording her classics and well as other traditional Arabic songs in a new way that fuses Eastern and Western beats in what might be labeled as an alternatively ingenious way. Coke Studio is a unique music show, hosted by Michel Elefteriades, that is different from every show that is airing on television. It is a show that brings together an Arab artist and an international artist to collaborate and record an original fusion song meshing two or more unique genres of music. The week Nancy appeared on the show, Oriental Music met Flamenco Music as Nancy Ajram met Jose Galves who comes from a pure Gypsy Spanish tradition. They came together to create a fusion where Oriental Pop met Spanish Flamenco music.

Aflamnah is a digital platform that helps independent filmmakers, artists, scientists, students, innovators, thinkers and more to raise funds for their projects by getting people excited enough to financially support their idea so that they can make it happen. Aflamnah is a digital platform that helps independent filmmakers, artists, scientists, students, innovators, thinkers and more to raise funds for their projects by getting people excited enough to financially support their idea so that they can make it happen. For more info about Aflamnah see http://www.aflamnah.com/en/faqs/ and Aflamnah.com Here are six of the films that you can help fund or promote through the Aflamnah.com site along with a bit of info and video clip from each work: 1. ABU RAMI: THE FILM ( by Sabah Haider in Lebanon ) Abu Rami – The Film: This film tells a story of how Mona, an elderly Muslim Lebanese woman is suffocating inside a tattered marriage as she is plagued with suspicions of infidelity of her taxi-d

The Jordanian film When Monaliza Smiled - لما ضحكت موناليزا    will be released soon, according to the film's Facebook page.  WHEN MONALIZA SMILED is a romantic comedy about a love story between Jordanian Monaliza, and Egyptian Hamdi, set in present day Amman among a community of nosy stereotypes and quirky characters. Starring Tahani Salim, Shady Khalaf, Haifa Al Agha, Nadera Omran, Fuad Shomali, Suha Najjar, Haidar Kfouf. Written and directed by Fadi G. Haddad Produced by Nadia Eliewat Executive Producer Nadine Toukan http://www.facebook.com/WhenMonalizaSmiled http://twitter.com/MonalizaSmiled Music from the film's soundtrack, composed by Dr. Najati Suloh, with Maestro Aziz Maraka Director of Photography Samer Nimri Production Designer Amjad Al Rasheed Art Director Rand AbdelNoor Sound Supervisor Falah Hannoun Produced through the support of the education feature film program of the Royal Film Commission-Jordan Filmed on location in Amman, Jordan

Aflamnah.com just announced that Annemarie Jacir’s second feature film “When I Saw You” is near-complete. Set in Jordan in 1967, When I Saw You (Lamma Shoftak) follows the story of Tarek, an eccentric and unbounded young boy, and his mother Ghaydaa, who have just become refugees from Palestine. Except Tarek is a boy with a free spirit and curious nature; one that doesn’t allow anyone to limit his dreams… This low budget, independent film was made possible because of the support and generosity of several organizations and people including the Sanad, AFAC, Abu Dhabi Film Commission, K. Shoman Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Dubai Film Connection, Landmark Hotel, Thessaloniki Post Production Award, ATICO, … The Director needs your support for the final part of the process….  She has begun the process of festival submissions, creating marketing materials like posters, postcards, etc., updating their very out of date website.   The success of this campaign depends on your contri

June 2012 saw a campaign titled زيي . . . زيك [Arabic for 'I Am...Like You'] overtake the streets of the Jordanian capital Amman. It included men and women holding anthems and slogans in the streets declaring freedom for women from oppreession, including marital rape. The campaign aimed at eradicating honor crimes and placing women on an equal social status with men. It also demanded the right to Jordanian citizenship for non-Jordanian husbands of Jordanian women. The campaign demanded the full application of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Arab women just as for men. This chart, according to them,  comes before any State, any culture, any tradition, any mentality. Here is a video of the peaceful demonstration in Amman followed by pictures of the slogans (with my English translation): These pictures were taken from the following Facebook Pages:  www.facebook.com/Frekeeh and www.facebook.com/intifadat.almar2a [Women's Intifada] (Arabic sl

Hamed Sinno [lead vocalist for the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila] sang 'Let Me Go'  (in Arabic!) with Erik Truffaz Quartet at MusicHall, Beirut  in July 2012.  What an amazing performance! Let Me Go - Erik Truffaz Quartet feat. Hamed Sinno [Mashrou' Leila]  performed live at Liban Jazz Festival 2012 / MusicHall, Beirut with arabic translation The original song by Erik Truffaz feat. Sophie Hunger from the album In Between is below (compare to the Arabic version): '

Jerusalem and Gaza - less than a hundred kilometers separate the two cities; home to Tal, a 17 year old recent French immigrant to Jerusalem, and Naïm, a 20 year old Palestinian confined to Gaza. After witnessing a bombing at her local café, Tal refuses to accept that only hatred can exist between these two peoples. She slips a message into a bottle, thrown into the Gaza Sea, that will be discovered by Naïm. From there begins an email correspondence and the emergence of a slim hope that their burgeoning friendship may give them the strength to face the world and to change it in their own small way. Here is the film trailer followed by info about the movie: CAST  Tal                Agathe  Bonitzer  Naim       Mahmoud Shalaby  Effrat            Riff  Cohen    Intessa    r      Hiam  Abbas  Eytan           Abraham  Belaga  Dan            Jean-Philippe  Ecoffey  Myriam          Smadi Wolfman  Ahmed            Salim  Daw    Hakim       Losi Nofi For mo

Original article appears in The Jerusalem Post  at http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=275220 The Arabic Manuscripts Digital Library of Jerusalem, inaugurated in mid-June at ceremonies in Jerusalem and Ramallah, will see the development of an online platform showcasing collections from the Khalidi Library, the Budeiri Library, Al-Aksa Library, Al- Ansari Library, and the Wakf Restoration Center in the Old City. The project’s stated goal is to “promote the written heritage of east Jerusalem and to make this heritage accessible to all with the sole caveat of an internet connection.”... July 12, 2012 Thursday Photo by: Thinkstock Arabic manuscripts from J'lem libraries to go online By RUTH EGLASH 26/06/2012 EU project aims to preserve, protect Arab heritage, language. Thousands of ancient Arabic- language documents, manuscripts and books from five Arab libraries in Jerusalem’s Old City will soon be available online, under an EU-sponsored initiative that

MAMNOU3! [Arabic word for 'forbidden' or 'banned'] is a new  Lebanese web-series about the day-to-day inner workings of the country's censorship bureau. مسلسل لبناني على الانترنت عن الحياة اليومية في مكتب الرقابة

Singer/songwriter Yasmine Hamdan ( http://on.fb.me/yasminehamdanmusic ) has become an icon in the underground scene of Lebanese. Three years ago, Yasmine Hamdan was knows as Y.A.S., duo she dormed with Mirwais. Now she's back with a solo album, produced by Marc Collin reminding us of one of the greatest productions of the fifties and sixties in Beirut or Cairo, also of the latest and sexy CHOUBI Iraq, or the soulful Samri Kuwait. Arab melodies, sometimes complex or tonal, rest here on very simple chords with pop tonalities. Here is her new video clip 'Samar' (official video) from her latest album: Yasmine Hamdan - Samar · http://www.yasminehamdan.com Lyrics: Yasmine Hamdan · http://fb.com/yasminehamdanofficial Music: Marc Collin / Yasmine Hamdan produced by Marc Collin · http://www.kwaidanrecords.net/artists/yasmine-hamdan Directed by Harvey B. Brown @HarveyBBrown Directs stuff and fabulizes people and things : · http://www.harveybbrown.com Produced by Al