CrossFireArabia
Well-known English actor Michael Caine finally cuts through the silence, showing sympathy for the children of Gaza who are being starved to death due to the ongoing, crippling Israeli siege on the Strip.
“Feed the children of Gaza, no child should be starving,” he rebukes Israel.
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CrossFireArabia
Top Indian writer Arundhati Roy has pulled out of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) after criticizing “unconscionable statements” by members of the festival jury, who said that art should not be political when asked about the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Roy had been scheduled to attend a screening of her 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones in the Classics section of Berlinale 2026.
In a strongly worded statement, Roy said the selection of the film had initially filled her with warmth and nostalgia. She noted that she had long felt disturbed by the positions of the German government and several cultural institutions on Palestine. Still, she said she had consistently received solidarity from German audiences when speaking about Gaza, which encouraged her to consider attending the festival.
However, Roy said she changed her decision after hearing comments from members of the Berlinale jury earlier that day.
“Like millions of people across the world, I heard the unconscionable statements made by members of the jury of the Berlin film festival when they were asked to comment about the genocide in Gaza,” Roy wrote.
She described labeling the genocide a political issue then insisting that art should remain separate from politics as “jaw-dropping.” She added that such framing shuts down urgent conversations about a crime against humanity.
Roy stated clearly in her message that she believes events in Gaza amount to genocide against Palestinians by Israel. She further added that the United States and Germany, along with several European governments, support and fund Israel and therefore share responsibility.
“If the greatest film makers and artists of our time cannot stand up and say so, they should know that history will judge them,” she wrote, adding that she felt “shocked and disgusted.”
Roy concluded her statement by confirming that, “with deep regret,” she would not attend the Berlinale.
The controversy emerged after journalists asked Berlinale jury members to comment on the genocide in Gaza and Germany’s support for Israel, which also funds the festival.
Polish producer Ewa Puszczyńska, a member of the jury, refused to answer.
“There are many other wars where genocide is committed, and we do not talk about that,” Puszczyńska said. She described the issue as “complex” and claimed that it was unfair to ask jury members to comment on government policies.
Roy’s withdrawal adds to rising tensions within European cultural spaces over the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Artists, writers, and filmmakers have increasingly debated whether cultural platforms should take political positions. – Quds News Network
CrossFireArabia
Broadcaster Rami Al-Sharafi works on a laptop inside the damaged Zaman FM radio station building in Gaza, marking what may seem an unlikely return to the airwaves amid the rubble of the deadly two-year Israel-Hamas war.
While 23 local radio stations were operating in Gaza before the conflict erupted, they were all destroyed and ceased broadcasting, he told UN News.
“Today, we are the only radio station broadcasting on FM from within Gaza after this widespread destruction,” he said. “We hope that other local radio stations will resume broadcasting, thus allowing competition in providing media services to the people of the Gaza Strip.”
Ahead of World Radio Day, observed on 13 February, the resumption of broadcasting comes at a time when Gaza’s media infrastructure still faces significant challenges amid local and international calls to support journalism as part of broader recovery and reconstruction efforts in the sector.
UN News
A journalist works in the damaged office of Zaman 90.60 FM radio station in Gaza City.
After a hiatus of nearly two years due to the war, some local radio stations in the Gaza Strip are transmitting again, in a move showing gradual efforts to revive the media landscape in the war-ravaged Strip – much of which has suffered widespread destruction of infrastructure and civilian institutions from Israeli attacks.
Zaman FM operates in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood of Gaza City, where Israeli attacks triggered a famine and left mountains of debris in the streets.
The cracked walls of the station’s building tell a story of immense destruction and the scene inside is unlike any other radio studio in the world.
Employees dig through the rubble to keep the station broadcasting, working with minimal technical resources while behind them, awareness posters warn people of the dangers of dilapidated buildings.
Local radio remains vital in Gaza as humanitarian crises persist, power outages continue and access to other media remains limited. This makes radio one of the most effective ways of getting key messages out to the public, along with health guidance and information about other services.
Gaza is in dire need of professional local radio stations capable of broadcasting awareness messages and guidance bulletins in light of the spread of diseases, the deterioration of the education system and the disruption of many basic services, said Mr. Al-Sharafi, director of the radio station and host of the morning programme, An Hour of Time.
“We need to deliver information to the population and guide them to the services that have stopped and are gradually being resumed,” he said, “especially in light of the difficult health conditions and the spread of epidemics.”
Amid the destruction all around, Mr. Al-Sharafi sits behind his dust-covered microphone and does just that.
He sends morning greetings to Gaza residents and provides them with important information and updates, bringing some much-needed hope to the airwaves across a devastated landscape that has only just begun to recover – UN News
