Palestine's 2015 Oscar entry, the Wanted 18, tells a tragically absurd story of how a herd of cows are hunted down by Israeli authorities, who did not look fondly on the community's attempts to be self-sufficient. Through archival footage, re-enactments and claymation, film-makers Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan use dark humour to tell this lesser-known tale of a farm gone rogue...

He broke down European opinion on Israel into three broad camps: "One third of the population is very Left, they hate Israel and won't be persuaded otherwise. Another third are essentially pro-Israel, and another third just don't care [...] Focusing on the latter two camps should be the aim of Israeli public diplomacy, he advised, not trying in vain to sway the haters within the EU or elsewhere. 

See our interactive map of the 2015 World Expo in Milan!

A new Palestinian PR campaign attempts to recast the conflict by comparing Israeli violence against Palestinians to methods used by Islamic State.  [...] Palestinian public diplomacy increasingly contests the interchangeability of terms in the media for the Haram al Sherif (Noble Sanctuary) and the Temple Mount, which is the Jewish term for the site.

Maya Kravat, whose public relations agency has been helping to organize the event, said that none of the chefs have replied. Kravat said “We’ve worked incredibly hard to pull this off,” expressing that the goal of Round Tables is gastro-diplomacy, she emphasized that the culinary project is a way to showcase national cuisine in order to change public image and perception.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, known as BDS, is calling on top chefs from around the world to refrain from participating in the upcoming Round Tables culinary show, a "Gastro-diplomacy” event "which aspires to improve trade and cultural relations between countries."