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Sherine Tadros
Correspondent | Palestinian Territory
Biography

Sherine Tadros has reported for Al Jazeera from Europe, the US and the Middle East. Highlights include the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza, the last US presidential race, the seizure of Beirut by Hezbollah and the 2008/9 War on Gaza, where she was one of the only foreign journalists reporting from inside the territory.

Sherine holds two degrees in Middle East politics and previously taught undergraduate politics at SOAS, University of London.

Latest posts by Sherine Tadros

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on July 2nd, 2010
Photo by AFP

Thursday night’s speech was one of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s best performances yet. Standing at his podium, he addressed the public live, in Hebrew at prime time and just before the start of the weekend (to make sure good moods all round). His speech was watched by millions. The Shalit family and fellow protesters listened to the speech via loudspeakers mounted on cars as they continued their protest march. They waited for a hint their son Gilad – who’s been in captivity for four years – may be coming home. They were disappointed, but then again anything other than an announcement of a deal would have had the same effect.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on June 21st, 2010
Photo by AFP

What should we make of Israel's change in strategy towards the Gaza blockade?

It really depends on what you see as the aim - saving face amidst intense international (Turkish and US) pressure or allowing people in Gaza to live a normal life. 

Not only is it clear that it is the former not the latter (otherwise why not let people leave the Strip?) but through a change in semantics, Israel has managed to checkmate the world.

In the lead-up to what became Israel's Freedom Flotilla PR disaster, a debate erupted as to the arbitrary and ambiguous nature with which goods are allowed into Gaza. 

In the press conferences I attended days before the flotilla's arrival, journalists grilled the army on why there was seemingly no logic b

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on May 10th, 2010
Photo from Reuters

I turned up outside the Prime Minister's Office in West Jerusalem two and a half hours before his press conference was due to begin.  His press people insisted we had to arrive that early for security reasons  – I don't even turn up two and a half hours before an international flight I argued, but it was no use.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on May 5th, 2010
Photo by AFP

On, off and now on again... well almost.

The so-called “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinians have already experienced more ups and downs than the new Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride at Disney World.

They’ve also received a lot of criticism from politicians, analysts and almost everyone else who cares enough to still be following this story.

Why? A simple dictionary definition shows how farcical these talks are.

Proximity means “close, near, adjacent, and next to”. These talks, if and when they happen, won’t even see the two sides in the same building, let alone in the same room, or around the same table.

So what is so proximal about them? It’s certainly not their stances.

The term was invented by the Obama administration to describe what they were already doing.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on April 28th, 2010

File 2371

I recently jumped at the chance to take an all expenses paid helicopter ride over Israel and part of the West Bank.

The trip was courtesy of The Israel Project (TIP) which describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan group working to impact world opinion for the sake of Israel's security.

The helicopter ride is meant as an "educational tour" for journalists and was inspired by George Bush, the former US president, who took a similar ride and reportedly said it opened his eyes to just how vulnerable Israel is.

The tour operates twice a month and has taken up over 1,400 journalists.

We (AJE cameraman Brad McLennan and I) met our guide and fellow journalists early in the morning, were bussed to an airport near Tel Aviv, treated to breakfast, and (after a security check that happened only to involve Brad and I and not the other two Israeli journalists) were taken up on a civilian helicopter for 45 minutes.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on April 25th, 2010

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It can handle the flak from the international community, condemnation from powerful states and the scrutiny of the world's press, but when Israel's technorati decided to go to war with the state over its ban of Apple's iPad, something had to be done.

And it was.

Two weeks after imposing a ban on bringing iPad's into the country, the communication ministry on Sunday decided to lift the restriction. 

They provided as little information as to why they lifted the ban as they did about why they imposed it in the first place. The bottom line - iPads are now kosher.

Authorities say they have carried out "intensive technical scrutiny" on the little shiny tablet which appears to no longer be the security threat it was yesterday.

Confiscations

Tags: Israel