Inside The Middle East
SHOW #67
Best of IME Part 2
TRACING THE PHOENICIAN GENE (debuted in Show 63 Feb 4, 2009)
Politically divided they may be, but scientists believe the Lebanese are genetically united. In a departure from Lebanon's usual spot in the headlines Lebanese geneticist Pierre Zalloua says he’s isolated a gene common to his compatriots across the religious spectrum. As part of his work on National Geographic's Genographic project, he tested thousands of people across the Mediterranean which was dominated by the Phoenicians 3000 years ago and found they all shared a genetic discovery. Cal Perry meets the man behind the discovery.
OLIVES INTO OIL (debuted in Show 60, Nov 5, 2008)
After the first rains of autumn, the olive harvest in the West Bank begins; thousands of Palestinians--usually entire extended families--take to the rugged, rocky hills of the West Bank to harvest. It's a family affair in which their ties to the land are renewed. While Palestinians try to harvest the olives--which are an essential part of the rural economy--they are often confronted by Jewish settlers, who themselves claim the land as their God-given right. The Israeli army tries to keep the peace, but often fails, and is accused by Palestinians of coddling the settlers and impeding the harvest. The olive tree, a symbol of peace, has become the symbol of competing, and often clashing, claims to the land. Our package will highlight all of the above, at the same time trying to give an idea of how you get from olives on the tree to olive oil. Ben Wedeman reports.
Plus, a preview of September’s IME relaunch. (more details to come)
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