Voltaire Network

Silvia Cattori

Swiss journalist. After having extensively written about diplomacy in South-East Asia and the Indian Ocean, she was witness to operation « Protective shield », launched by the Tsahal against the Palestinians. Ever since, she has devoted her work to raising global awareness of the conditions endured by the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

183 articles

français 58 English 29 عربي 10 Español 43 русский 4 italiano 20 Deutsch 11 Português 8

Exclusive Interview

Mordechai Vanunu: "Iran poses no threat"

by Silvia Cattori

Mordechai Vanunu: "Iran poses no threat"

10 November 2011
Against the current backdrop of Israeli talk of pre-emptive strikes against Iran’s alleged military nuclear facilities, Voltaire Network is republishing this exclusive 2005 interview of Israeli whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu. Twenty-five years ago, this former Israeli nuclear technician exposed the existence of his country’s nuclear arsenal, tearing down the wall of Israel’s secrecy and hypocrisy. To this day, Israel - in unison with the United States - refuses to confirm the existence of its nuclear arsenal.

Interview with Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-born musician, author and philosopher

Gilad Atzmon talks about his latest book “The Wandering Who?”

by Silvia Cattori

Gilad Atzmon talks about his latest book “The Wandering Who?”

Geneva (Switzerland) | 30 September 2011
In his book, "The Wandering Who?", Gilad Atzmon goes where no one else dares to tread. He challenges what he considers to be the myths and the tribal mindset underpinning the founding of the Zionist state and its racially-driven policies. Repudiating the concept of ’chosen-ness’ that separates the Jews from the others, he has abandoned his to ’become an ordinary human being.’ His book has been acclaimed by eminent Jewish intellectuals. He responds to Silvia Cattori’s questions.

Freedom Flotilla 2

Too many headwinds to take to sea but the struggle goes on

by Silvia Cattori

Too many headwinds to take to sea but the struggle goes on

5 July 2011
Under pressure from Israel and the United States, the embattled Greek government has prohibited the Freedom Flotilla from sailing to Gaza from its ports. But for its organizers, the fight has just begun and Israel will be kept under pressure by civil society who will continue to denounce the illegality of the blockade, and endeavor to reach Gaza. Dimitri Plionis, one of the Greek spokesmen for the Flotilla, responds here to the questions of Silvia Cattori.

An Interview with Gilad Atzmon

Israeli occupation: Calling A Spade A Spade

by Silvia Cattori

Israeli occupation: Calling A Spade A Spade

Geneva (Switzerland) | 27 February 2011
Gilad Atzmon is an outstandingly charming man. He is often described by music critics as one of the finest contemporary jazz saxophonists. But Atzmon is more than just a musician: for those who follow events in the Middle East, he is considered to be one of the most credible voices amongst Israeli opponents. In the last decade he has relentlessly exposed and denounced barbarian Israeli policies. Just before his departure on a European Spring Tour, “The Tide Has Changed “, with his band the Orient House Ensemble, he spoke to Silvia Cattori.

Interview with Hazem Jamjoum

Through piracy, Israel has revealed its true nature to the world

by Silvia Cattori

Through piracy, Israel has revealed its true nature to the world

Geneva (Switzerland) | 8 June 2010
The extraordinary brutality of the army that abusively describes itself as “the most ethical army in the world” has ended up in exposing to everyone the true face of Israel. It must be noted that such brutality would never have been possible without the complicity of Western political circles and media. Hazem Jamjoum, 28, a Palestinian scholar who passed through Geneva on the same day as Israel’s deadly storming of the Freedom Flotilla, replies to the questions of Silvia Cattori.

Khaled Amayreh: A dangerous juncture in Palestinian history

by Silvia Cattori

Khaled Amayreh: A dangerous juncture in Palestinian history

11 March 2010
While the Israeli Government is projecting an "economic peace" with the Palestinians and the French Government is calling for the recognition of a fictitious Palestinian State - deprived of land and sovereignty - Silvia Cattori has interviewed one of the leading intellectuals of the Palestinian resistance: Khalid Amayreh. According to him, the Western countries are in deep denial over the colonial reality of Palestine, which they only perceive through the prism of their Palestinian collaborators.

"What is the lesson to be learned from the Holocaust?": an interview with Hedy Epstein

by Silvia Cattori

"What is the lesson to be learned from the Holocaust?": an interview with Hedy Epstein

Lausanne (Suisse) | 9 January 2010
85-year old Hedy Epstein is back in the limelight. Last week in Cairo, she embarked on a hunger strike to protest the ongoing blockade of Gaza. A Jewish Holocaust survivor whose parents perished in Auschwitz in 1942, she emigrated to the US in 1948 and first visited Palestine in 2003. Revolted by the Israeli Government’s oppression of the Palestinians, she has devoted her life to drawing public attention to this reality. Back from a visit to Palestine in January 2008, she was interviewed by Silvia Cattori.

Sami El Haj creates the Guantánamo Justice Center

by Silvia Cattori

Sami El Haj creates the Guantánamo Justice Center

Geneva (Switzerland) | 30 July 2009
On 29 July 2009, we had the privilege of meeting with Sami al-Haj, an Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman who was imprisoned in Guantánamo for more than 6 years and who was passing through Geneva. On that occasion he told us about the foundation of the London-based humanitarian organization « Guantánamo Justice Center" which he chairs, as he will formally announce at the press conference taking place in that capital on 30 July 2009. This NGO will be steered by the former British prisoner, Moazzam Begg, in his capacity as Secretary-General and will have branches in Geneva and Paris.

Guantanamo

Sami El Haj, Al Jazeera journalist, tells his story

by Silvia Cattori

Sami El Haj, Al Jazeera journalist, tells his story

Geneva (Switzerland) | 30 July 2008
Standing straight and tall, an impressive and deeply introspective man, Sami El Haj walks with a limp and the help of a walking stick. Neither laughter nor smiles light up the refined face of this man, old before his time. A deep sadness pervades him. He was 32 years old when, in December 2001, his life, like that of tens of thousands of other Muslims, became a horrific nightmare.

The Incredible story of Youssef Nada

by Silvia Cattori

The Incredible story of Youssef Nada

Geneva (Switzerland) | 25 July 2008
Under the cover of the « war against terror », the United States and the European Union have granted unlimited powers to secret services and police. Emergency measures which were introduced on a provisional basis in 2001, outside any judiciary control, have become permanent. Since September 2001, at least 80,000 people, mainly Muslim, would have been kidnapped, kept in secret prisons, and tortured by CIA and FBI agents. Hundreds of others have been put on the UN « black list ». That’s what happened to the businessman Youssef Nada, 77 years old, an Italian citizen of Egyptian origin, accused by U.S. President, G.W Bush of financing Al-Qaeda. Two judiciary investigations resulted in a non-suit, but Mr. Nada didn’t get his name deleted from the UN « black list » (*). His assets remain frozen; he is barred from travelling to or transiting in any country. He can’t go outside the tiny enclave of Campione - an Italian enclave inside Swiss territory - where Silvia Cattori went to meet (...)

An Interview with Aharon Shabtaï

Israel, “guest of honour” in Paris and Turin, does not deserve to be invited

by Silvia Cattori

Israel, “guest of honour” in Paris and Turin, does not deserve to be invited

Jaffa/Tel Aviv (Palestine/Israel) | 27 February 2008
When the announcement that Israel would attend the "Fiera del libro" of Turin, (*) came out, an immediate wave of protest arose in Italy; and many personalities supported the boycott call, made by the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian Writers’ Associations. In France, strangely enough, the same invitation, to the "Salon du livre" of Paris, did not make much noise. Alone, the Israeli poet Aharon Shabtaï has refused to participate in these events, contrary to the 39 Israeli writers who accepted to be part of the Israeli delegation to these two exhibitions. Aharon Shabtaï explains here why these events –which he qualifies as "promotion of propaganda" for Israel-, must be boycotted, as well as any cultural event where this apartheid State is celebrated.

No to the apartheid 2 states solution

Omar Barghouti: « No State Has the Right to Exist as a Racist State »

by Silvia Cattori

Omar Barghouti: « No State Has the Right to Exist as a Racist State »

Rome (Italy) | 7 December 2007
Omar Barghouti belongs to a new generation of Palestinians who never adhered to the solution of « Two States, Two peoples ». They are advocating, instead, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) of Israel as well as a «secular, democratic state» solution, where Palestinians and Israelis would share equal rights, after historic injustices are redressed and the refugees are allowed to return.

Hedy Epstein and Greta Berlin: “We Are Committed to Sailing to Gaza – Ahoy!”

by Silvia Cattori

13 August 2007
Hedy Epstein and Greta Berlin, two among other personalities promoting the project, "Sailing a boat to Gaza" explain, in the interview they gave to Silvia Cattori, why the boat "Free Gaza" will not sail this summer as initially planned, but next spring.

An Interview with Greta Berlin

Sailing to Gaza

by Silvia Cattori

Sailing to Gaza

Lausanne (Suisse) | 7 June 2007
Greta Berlin, 66 years old, is a businesswoman from Los Angeles, CA. She is the mother of two Palestinian-American children and has been to the occupied territories twice in the past four years with the International Solidarity Movement. She is also a member of Women in Black Los Angeles. She is one of many other people, who have organized an unusual project, sailing a boat to Gaza. They intend to challenge Israel’s claim that they no longer occupy Gaza. Talking to her, she explains why she and the other courageous people are going.

Interview with Count Hans-Christof von Sponeck

United Nations implications in war crimes

by Silvia Cattori, Hans von Sponeck

United Nations implications in war crimes

23 March 2007
For Hans Christof von Sponeck, the former assistant secretary-general of the UN, the United Nations, far from garding the respect for international law and the consolidation of peace, have themselves become a factor of injustice. Thus, the sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq caused a human disaster, whereas treaties such as the nuclear non-proliferation treaty are used to ensure the domination of certain powers and to threaten others. It is time to change the system completely.

The 2007 French Presidential election

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan : "France must withdraw from NATO"

by Silvia Cattori

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan : "France must withdraw from NATO"

Paris (France) | 16 March 2007
The merger between the main French right-wing parties permitted to the Atlanticists to gain the upper hand over the Gaullists and to their champion, Nicolas Sarkozy, to become the UMP candidate. Getting in resistance, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan resigned from the only party of the right and announced his candidacy in the presidential election. He replies below to the questions of the Swiss weekly paper Horizons et débats.

The Strategy of Tension

NATO’s Hidden Terrorism

by Silvia Cattori

NATO's Hidden Terrorism

Zurich (Switzerland) | 22 January 2007
Daniele Ganser, professor of contemporary history at Bale University (Switzerland) and chairman of the ASPO - Switzerland, published a landmark book about "NATO’s Secret Armies." According to him, during the last 50 years the United States have organized bombings in Western Europe that they have falsely attributed to the left and the extreme left with the purpose of discrediting them in the eyes of their voters. This strategy is still present today, inspiring fear for the Islam and justifying wars on oil.

The “War against Terror” is a War against the People

by Silvia Cattori

The “War against Terror” is a War against the People

6 November 2006
In this interview recorded by Swiss journalist Silvia Cattori in November 2005 - more than six months before the war launched against Lebanon by Israeli army in summer 2006 – Youssef Aschkar was warning that the destabilization of Lebanon, Syria and Iran was under way, and that Lebanon was the country most threatened and most vulnerable to the Israeli menace. In the light of the recent developments in the region, the accuracy of his analysis appears impressive and almost prophetic.

Judicial Colonialism

The Assassination of Rafik Hariri: A Biased Investigation

by Silvia Cattori

The Assassination of Rafik Hariri: A Biased Investigation

Berlin (Germany) | 15 September 2006
A former criminal investigator of the GDR, who became a journalist after the reunification of Germany, Jürgen Cain Külbel is the author of a counter-investigation on the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, which the Voltaire Network presented to the Arab public during a widely covered conference in Damascus, May 7, 2006. In this interview, he discusses the political role of the UN Commission and the unexploited leads pointing to Israeli responsibility.

The Palestinian Vice-Prime Minister kidnapped by Israel

Tasneem Shaer: “My father is not a terrorist”

by Silvia Cattori

Tasneem Shaer: “My father is not a terrorist”

Nablus (Palestine/Israel) | 29 August 2006
The Palestinian Vice-Prime Minister, Mr Naser Shaer, was kidnapped on 19 August by Israeli soldiers. Few weeks ago, Voltairenetwork published an exclusive interview with this very respectful personality by the Palestinians. Mr Naser Shaer, 45 years old, became Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Education in the new Palestinian Government formed by Hamas on March 2006. Former rector of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Al Najah in Nablus, Mr Shaer is a moderate person. He does not belong to any political party, and is not a member of Hamas as widespread in the media. Tasneem, his eldest daughter, gives to Voltairenetwork, in a very simple and sober way, her account of the abduction of Mr Shaer and the bad and humiliating conditions of his (...)

The Yugoslav Caldron

Jürgen Elsässer: “The CIA recruited and trained the jihadists”

by Silvia Cattori

Jürgen Elsässer: “The CIA recruited and trained the jihadists”

14 August 2006
In his latest book, “How the Jihad Came to Europe”, German journalist Jürgen Elsässer unravels the Jihadist thread. Muslim fighters recruited by the CIA to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan were used successively in Yugoslavia and Chechnya, still supported by the CIA, but perhaps sometimes out of its control. Basing himself on diverse sources, mainly Yugoslavian, Dutch, and German, he reconstructed the development of Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants at the side of NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovinia.

Exclusive interview with the Palestinian Vice-Prime Minister

Naser Shaer : "The Palestinians are strongly united against the sanctions"

by Silvia Cattori

Naser Shaer : "The Palestinians are strongly united against the sanctions"

Ramallah (Palestine/Israël) | 4 August 2006
Doctor Naser Dine Muhammad Ahmad Shaer is the Vice- Prime Minister and Minister of Education and higher learning in the Palestinian government formed by Hamas. Born in 1961, originally from Nablus, father of six children, this professor of law and legislation, rector of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Al Najah, hunted by Israel, finds himself obliged to live in clandestinity. He talks here about a subject the “West” refuses to admit: that Hamas is well integrated into the social fabric and that, confronted with Israeli oppression — as with the Lebanese and Hezbollah —Hamas is “like a fish in water” in Palestine.

A Palestinian reports from Gaza

Gaza: "Israel wants to drive us out our lands"

by Silvia Cattori

1 August 2006
Khaled lives precariously in a refugee camp in Gaza. His poignant reports have been translated into many languages. Today, his voice, usually cheerful, was filled with revolt and a great lassitude.
Silvia Cattori: The Israeli bombings have already killed over 500 people and have wounded thousands in a few weeks in Gaza and Lebanon. Don’t the Israeli authorities have any human consideration?
Khaled: Now the soldiers are in the process of bombing us from all sides, from the sky, from their (...)

Dispatch from Palestine - Nablus: "It is our life"

by Silvia Cattori

Nablus (Palestine/Israel) | 19 July 2006
While the world witnesses the destruction of Lebanon by Israel, the occupation of Palestine goes on its way . While the cameras are turned towards Beirut, all elements are brought into play to suffocate the Palestinians and to force them to flee their shelters. Sylvia Cattori went to the field and described the terror to which the Nablus inhabitants are subjected.

From colonisation to interference

For Ahmed Ben Bella, the liberation of the people in the South is still unachieved

by Silvia Cattori

For Ahmed Ben Bella, the liberation of the people in the South is still unachieved

9 May 2006
While a debate is underway in France on the benefits of colonisation and responsibility of Arabs in the digression of their societies, the former Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella recalls several historical truths: the illegitimacy of one people dominating over another - that took place formerly in Algeria and today in Palestine; the global reality, and not an Arab one, of colonisation and the struggle for national liberty; Western interference by overthrowing nationalist governments and revolutionaries in countries in the south of the world; and maintaining the aftermath of colonisation. He emphasizes that today, it’s the Christian Evangelical fundamentalists who export violence.

Axis for Peace 2005

Salim el Hoss: “ America is democratic inside, despotic outside”

by Salim el Hoss, Silvia Cattori

Salim el Hoss: “ America is democratic inside, despotic outside”

Beirut (Lebanon) | 14 January 2006
In an interview granted to Silvia Cattori during the international conference Axis for Peace 2005, former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim el Hoss expresses his concern about the US-Israeli plan for the “reconfiguration of the Great Middle East”, that is the Yugoslavia-like transformation of the region. Salim el Hoss suggests that the weakness of Arab regimes turns them into easy preys for the United States, a democratic country inside, but a country that imposes its despotism on the rest of the world.

Testimony from Palestine

“Since the settlers’ pullout, the Israeli army has been using heavy artillery against the inhabitants of Gaza”

by Silvia Cattori

“Since the settlers' pullout, the Israeli army has been using heavy artillery against the inhabitants of Gaza”

7 October 2005
Although it was very publicized by Israeli media, the settlers’ pullout from Gaza does not guarantee a return to the peace process but, on the contrary, announces an intensification of repression. The departure of the Israeli population from Gaza opens the way for the army of Tel Aviv to act with complete freedom. On orders from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and with the consent of President Abu Mazen, the candidates of the Hamas movement for the legislative elections are either kidnapped or killed. The Palestinians are no longer submitted to the Israeli controls in check points, but they are now under the fire of the heavy artillery of the Israeli Army (Tsahal) that fires against urban areas. Silvia Cattori offers the testimony of a Gaza dweller.

Interview

Israel Shamir: “Equal rights in Palestine/Israel is no utopia”

by Silvia Cattori

Israel Shamir: “Equal rights in Palestine/Israel is no utopia”

Paris (France) | 27 September 2005
Writer and journalist Israel Shamir is one of the most committed Israeli personalities against the Jewish definition of the State of Israel and the system of apartheid it has created. His detractors present this former spokesperson of MAPAM (the Socialist Party of Israel) and former translator of president Herzog, as a “Self-hating Jew” whereas his supporters believe he is “one of the greatest Israeli intellectuals.” Israel Shamir answers Silvia Cattori’s questions about the defamation campaign against him and the ways of fighting racism in the state of Israel.

A protest campaign in France

Olivia Zemor: "Israel is Lying!"

by Silvia Cattori

Olivia Zemor: "Israel is Lying!"

Paris (France) | 5 July 2005
Olivia Zemor is a co-founder of CAPJO (Coordination des Appels pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient -Coordination Group Calling for a Just Peace in the Middle East), a movement which is currently known as CAPJO-Euro-Palestine. After the presentation of a list of candidates to the recent European elections, Olivia Zemor tells about the actions carried out in France to demand the respect of Human Rights in Palestine. Zemor responds to questions made by Silvia Cattori in a moment in which 60 French associations organize a protest campaign to mark the first anniversary of the condemnation of the Isareli wall by the International Court of Justice, The Hague, and against the visit of General Sharon in Paris.

To send a message

Most popular

Jürgen Elsässer: “The CIA recruited and trained the jihadists”
The Yugoslav Caldron

Mordechai Vanunu: "Iran poses no threat"
Exclusive Interview

The Assassination of Rafik Hariri: A Biased Investigation
Judicial Colonialism

For Ahmed Ben Bella, the liberation of the people in the South is still unachieved
From colonisation to interference

NATO’s Hidden Terrorism
The Strategy of Tension

United Nations implications in war crimes
Interview with Count Hans-Christof von Sponeck

Sami El Haj, Al Jazeera journalist, tells his story
Guantanamo

The “War against Terror” is a War against the People

Omar Barghouti: « No State Has the Right to Exist as a Racist State »
No to the apartheid 2 states solution

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan : "France must withdraw from NATO"
The 2007 French Presidential election

Sailing to Gaza
An Interview with Greta Berlin

Israel Shamir: “Equal rights in Palestine/Israel is no utopia”
Interview

Tasneem Shaer: “My father is not a terrorist”
The Palestinian Vice-Prime Minister kidnapped by Israel

The Incredible story of Youssef Nada

Israel, “guest of honour” in Paris and Turin, does not deserve to be invited
An Interview with Aharon Shabtaï