Smartphones are not smart, and social media is neither sociable nor is it media
Note to self while writing this column: George, be very careful not to offend the majority of people who read this, as most will have smartphones and use social media to some extent. So, with that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Whose land is it really?
I was based in the West Bank, Palestine, where there’s been an increase in violence over the past few months. You probably saw it on your TV screens towards the end of 2017 – by that I mean the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Hebron – one city, two different worlds
Hebron, or Al Khalil as it’s known in Arabic, is a city in the southern West Bank. While other Palestinian cities in the West Bank are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authorities (PA), Hebron...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: An oasis of calm and tranquillity in Gaza
This was supposed to be a column all about fishermen, but I’ve simply got to let you know about this instead . . . As the area is run by militant Hamas and home to such groups as Abd al-Qadir...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Strawberries, an Imam and an Israeli drone
At certain times each day, it was just Rami and me, but we were always at some point joined by others he knew. A great bunch of guys who I got to know well. This day in question, there were five of us....
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Just another normal Friday in the West Bank
The things we take for granted? Oh, after my time in the Gaza Strip, it dawned on me, just how much we really do take for granted in our everyday lives. I woke in my apartment in Bethlehem after having...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: A people let down
What is the first image that springs to your mind when you hear the words refugee camp? I’d guess something along the lines of people crossing borders as they flee war, then ending up living in white...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Illegal? Justified? Promised by God?
“Settlements”, or as some of my Jewish friends call them, “communities”, are groups of houses built by Israel on land it has occupied since the 1967 war. These settlements are more controversial than...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: The infamous Gush Etzion junction
As mentioned last week, it’s the Israeli settlements that seem to inflame Palestinians most in the West Bank. Combine these settlements with armed-to-the teeth IDF soldiers, put there to protect said...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: The battle for Silwan
To get a real feel for division between Palestinians and Jews, I was told by friends in the West Bank to go to Silwan, a predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem’s old...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: Interviewing an ex-member of the IDF
Inon Dan Kehati is an ex-Israeli Defence Force soldier. He was recommended to me by a friend, so I personally met with him in Jerusalem. We spent two hours together talking and drinking coffee....
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Lovely boring normality in Spain
After numerous weeks in Israel and the West Bank, I actually went back into Gaza for a second time and another three days. I finally left at 8am, going once again through the immense security to enter...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Authentic, grim and fascinating: George R Mitchell inside Peterhead Prison
Built in 1888, Peterhead Prison housed some of Scotland’s hardest and most violent men for the next 125 years. The classic Victorian-built prison which looks like a backdrop to where Porridge’s Slade...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell inside Peterhead Prison: ‘I’m thran, I don’t like to get beat’
Built in 1888, Peterhead Prison housed some of Scotland’s hardest and most violent men for the next 125 years. It didn’t close its doors until 2013. There has been much violence over the years in this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Back on the road again
After a few weeks back home, visiting Peterhead Prison and interviewing the brave ex-prison warder Jackie Stuart, it was time to leave the UK again. And that’s me until Christmas. Oh, by the way, have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Entry to Gaza denied
Governed by Hamas, whose long-held aim is the destruction of Israel, the Gaza Strip is home to almost two million people. It has been under severe blockade by Israel for more than 10 years....
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: A post-truth world
“Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” This is what the Oxford English Dictionary...
View ArticleClik here to view.
George R Mitchell: Sochi – a curious and laid back mix
Do you remember the lady from my hotel in Sukhumi? The one who seemed to enjoy scolding me for treating the place “like a hotel”? Well, by day four we were best buddies. I got smiles, and on my last...
View ArticleGeorge R Mitchell: Is it ever right to steal?
My column last week was about “preppers”; ie, those who prepare for a natural or man-made catastrophe.
View Article
