Lebanese author awarded International Prize for Arabic Fiction

A Lebanese author has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel depicting life of a Christian egg seller after war, in exile and during imprisonment. The prize is a prestigious Arabic literary award, affiliated with the Booker Prize Foundation in London.

Rabee Jaber was awarded the prize for his novel titled The Druze of Belgrade. The author’s second historical novel is set directly after the 1860 civil war. It explores Lebanese identity when a Christian egg seller is forced to take the place of an exiled Druze fighter, accused of killing Christians. (more…)

14 students injured in Beirut over civil war history book

Clashes broke out on Saturday between security forces and students affiliated with the Kataeb party and the National Liberal Party (NLP) who were staging a demonstration against a curriculum proposal for a Lebanese history book in Downtown Beirut near the Grand Serail. Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel on Saturday held the Lebanese cabinet responsible for the clashes. (more…)

Proposed history textbook omits the Cedar revolution

Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel warned the government against approving the proposed history textbook that will be used in the Public School Curriculum because it failed to acknowledge the Cedar Revolution and other political phenomena in recent Lebanese history. (more…)

Gingrich comments provoke strong Palestinian reaction

Palestinians reacted angrily Saturday to comments by Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians were “an invented” people.

In the comments, aired Friday on the Jewish Channel cable network, Gingrich said, “I think we have had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs.” (more…)

Palestinian president :Arabs erred in rejecting UN 47 Partition plan

The Palestinian president, in a remarkable assessment delivered on Israeli TV, said Friday the Arab world erred in rejecting the United Nations’ 1947 plan to partition Palestine into a Palestinian and a Jewish state. (more…)

Lebanon: A lesson in history

A lesson in history reveals how the absence of a common history textbook in Lebanese schools highlights the lack of consensus between Lebanon’s religious communities over interpreting their past