Mohammed describes the human tragedy behind the cold statistics of the occupation

“Freedoms” are a pretty tricky concept, apparently. In a country that uses its human rights record as rhetoric against less democratic or accepting leaders, it’s probably one that we should be a little more frank about. Free speech is fundamental not only to any sort of progressive attitude, but surely also to demonstrate conviction that […]

There is a story and a long road that every student in Palestine goes through to reach university. This challenge is not only academic. Of course, students have to work hard in high school in order to be accepted and then double their efforts in the university as all students in the world must do, […]

At 28 years old, Amjad Sofan feels he has missed the train of education and, at this point in his life, will not be able to catch it again. Amjad is the second oldest son of the Sofan family, one of the families most terrorized by Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. The Sofan […]

Taking a look at our favourite sportsman of the 90’s…

Josephine Lane talks with students Elisha Mansuroglu and Sophie Taylor about their upcoming performance.

With European leaders toppling left, right and centre, the Arab Spring has given way to the Mediterranean Autumn – and it’s nothing if not entertaining, writes Cat Hanson

There is a story and a long road that every student in Palestine goes through to reach university. This challenge is not only academic. Of course, students have to work hard in high school in order to be accepted and then double their efforts in the university as all students in the world must do, but this is only one part of the challenge.

Hisham Omara leads our coverage of UMSU’s Middle East and North Africa Week with a deeply personal account of the ongoing uprising in Syria

The 2011 Nobel Prizes in Physics, Medicine and Chemistry respectively were announced in October, awarding the international researchers acclaim for their leading research.

All Blacks rise to achieve destiny…

By Dan Hart Here to explore controversial topics and provide a forum for progressive thought and dialogue, inviting speakers of the highest quality, it’s COS.

Zeina Ramadan shares her experiences of growing up in Nablus, Palestine

On 23 September Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and head of the Palestinian Authority, officially submitted a bid to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for Palestine to be recognised as a state and granted full membership of the United Nations. This bid has precisely a zero per cent chance of succeeding. […]

“With our souls, with our blood, we will defend Palestine,” cry those for whom Western rhetoric has become a rare beacon of hope in the ongoing battle for Palestinian statehood. Tired of the empty rhetoric of Barack Obama and others, and determined to bring an end to this most enduring of conflicts, President of the […]

Ben Moore in defence of the University, and city, of Manchester

Hide and Seek

Last year the University of Manchester Students’ Union mandated The Mancunion to feature the stories of students at Al-Najah University, which our students’ union is twinned with. Al-Najah is based in Nablus, in the West Bank. The aim of this is to show the everyday experiences of students in the Palestinian territories. Here is an account given by student Sa’ed Abu Ayash.

Lucy Hall “What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the cold war, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the endpoint of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” […]

Tom Hurndall, a Manchester Metropolitan University student, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper in April 2003. Hurndall was a photographer, and a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), an organisation that use non-violent protest against the Israeli military in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.