Nancy Updike

Photos by Nancy Updike It’s strange that the peace plan known as the road map, which is a very detailed document, doesn’t mention the 90-mile fence/wall that Israel is building right now. This barrier — which is a fence at some points and a wall at others — is not......

The awful premise of suicide bombings is that there is no such thing as a civilian. A witness to last week’s attack in Jerusalem described to The New York Times a victim on the burning bus: “Her face was on fire, her chest, her legs, and at least another five......

Samya is 21 years old, and her life is already so screwed up I can’t tell you her real name. Four years ago, she married a man who was wanted by the Israel Defense Forces. The fact that he was wanted didn’t faze her; her brother was also wanted. She’s......

RAMALLAH — Palestinians, as a rule, do not trust their leaders. Even Palestinian leaders do not trust their leaders. “We need new leadership,” one member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) told me. “We must all resign.” He didn’t volunteer, though. The day before the deadline for the new Palestinian......

On the first weekend of the war, there were at least four anti-war protests on Saturday in Ramallah. The two I saw were energetic but sparsely attended: about 120 men and boys (and a few women) at the first one and maybe 40 at the second. During each march, at......

In the parking lot of a Jack in the Box on Glendale Boulevard a few months ago, I got my body fat tested. We did it at the Jack in the Box because the Winnebago with the testing equipment in it needed a power source, and the manager at the......

Driving through Atwater Village the other day, I passed a store whose only sign was a big black board painted with white letters that read ”CASKETS.“ It stuck out, in the middle of a block of nail salons, dentist offices and taquerias. I turned around, parked, and walked over. In......

Illustration by Rob Clayton TO UNDERSTAND THE RISKS ANY ARTIST -- MARTIN SCORSESE, Courtney Love, you -- takes when signing a contract, it helps to start with Dr. Seuss. In 1968, Theodor Seuss Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) sued a toy company called Poynter Products Inc. because it was marketing dolls......