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FROM FREEDOM THEATER IN JENIN TO LONDON’S GLOBE THEATER
upa_c2_UPA Ad C2 6/19/12 10:41 PM Page c2
Source: Christian Peacemaker Teams
“I can rebuild my home. But our farm supports four families. Our farm is our whole life.� In the early morning hours of May 1st, the Israeli army razed Noah al-Rajabi’s cousin’s home and the adjacent dairy farm, which supported four families and three single workers. The families watched as two bulldozers methodically destroyed the barn and milking machines. As Noah’s uncle looked at the farm’s one hundred cows standing in the sun’s heat, he remarked that if the cows were not milked soon, they would die. UPA is establishing an Emergency Relief Fund to be used and replenished on a regular basis to address crises, large and small, that Palestinians face. To support the UPA Emergency Relief Fund visit:
http://helpupa.org/donate /FX )BNQTIJSF "WF /8 t 4VJUF t 8BTIJOHUPO %$ IFMQVQB PSH t 5FMFQIPOF t 5PMM 'SFF
United Palestinian Appeal
UPA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible according to applicable laws.
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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXXI, No. 5
August 2012
Telling the Truth for 30 Years… Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans
■
Interpreting North America for the Middle East
THE U.S. ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE 8 Netanyahu Tightens His Grip While Palestinians Stand Fast—Rachelle Marshall 10 An Outpouring of Anti-Migrant Racism in Israel —John Gee 11 Palestinian Politics: A Plague on Both Their Houses, or Promise for the Future?
—Mohammed Omer 12 UNESCO Procedural Issues Not Quite Equivalent to Principles of International Law—Ian Williams
22 The American Press on the Death of the “Lockerbie Bomber”—Andrew I. Killgore 34 From the Freedom Theater in Jenin to the Stage of London’s Globe Theater—William Parry CONGRESS AND THE 2012 ELECTIONS 23 House, Senate Pass Bills With War Hawks’ Language on Iran—Shirl McArthur
14 Obama Continues His Dithering—George S. Hishmeh
26 Lobby Money Talks, U.S. Congress Walks— Except This Year in New Jersey—Janet McMahon
15 “Negotiations” Means Ultimatum When It Comes To Iran—Rachelle Marshall
27 Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2012 Congressional Candidates—Compiled by Hugh Galford
20 Muslim Americans Challenge and Inspire on Memorial Day—Delinda C. Hanley
SPECIAL REPORTS
17 What Is Really Happening in Syria?—Patrick Seale 19 Egypt Votes, a Dictator Is Jailed and the Military Takes More Power—Joseph Mayton 65 In Memoriam: A Legacy of Hope: Fahim Qubain (1924-2012)—Dale Sprusansky
COURTESY JERUSALEM FUND GALLERY
16 Dangerous Games in Syria—Eric S. Margolis
One of graphic artist Rajie Cook’s signature “boxes” of found objects, from his interactive exhibition “Words,” currently on view at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washington, DC. See story p. 56.
ON THE COVER: A Palestinian farmer argues with an Israeli soldier preventing him from working on his own land in the West Bank village of Tuqua, east of Bethlehem, near the illegal Jewish-only settlement of Tekoa, May 30, 2012. MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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(A Supplement to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs available by subscription at $15 per year. To subscribe, call toll-free 1-800-368-5788, and press 1.)
Other Voices
Compiled by Janet McMahon
Applying the Six-Day War to Iran, Ray McGovern, www.consortiumnews.com
OV-1
Terrorizing Through Lawfare, OV-3
Syria’s Insurrection Is not America’s War, OV-4
Hypocrisy of the International Criminal Court,
OV-8
Jay Cassano, Inter Press Service
OV-10
Imprisoned Aref Says his Heart Is OV-5
Fate Unites, Israel Separates,
“Full of Peace,” Sara Foss, The Daily Gazette
OV-11
How the Media Created the Muslim Monster OV-6
At Home, Israelis Attack Africans, Mya Guarnieri, Inter Press Service
Nathan Guttman, The Forward Dam Threatens Turkey’s Past and Future,
Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate Inc.
Mya Guarnieri, Inter Press Service
OV-8
Israeli Politicians Court American Donors,
Philip Giraldi, www.antiwar.com
Tariq A. Al Maeena, Gulf News
Jews and Latinos Form Alliance but Fault Lines Remain, Steven Windmueller, The Forward
Myth, Jack Shaheen, The Nation
OV-14
An Arab Voice on America’s Airwaves, OV-7
Omar Karmi, The National
OV-15
DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
40 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: Using the Civil Rights Act to
7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE
Photographing Kandahar
Redefine “Anti-Semitism” as Criticism of Israel
32 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI-
55 MUSIC AND ARTS:
—Allan C. Brownfeld
58 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS
STATE NEWS: “Proud Palestinian” Archbishop Elias
59 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL 42 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM:
Chacour Seeks Friendship and
Nakba Remembrance Ceremony
Solidarity in U.S.—Jane Adas
At White House
61 BULLETIN BOARD 62 BOOK REVIEW:
36 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
43 MUSLIM-AMERICAN
Born in Jerusalem, Born
CHRONICLE: Jordanian
ACTIVISM: Georgetown
Palestinian: A Memoir
American Heritage Day
Symposium Addresses
—Reviewed by Leila Diab
Celebrated at San Francisco
Minorities and Islam 63 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE
City Hall—Elaine Pasquini 44 WAGING PEACE: 38 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Iran Nuclear Negotiations
CHRONICLE: At KinderUSA Event, Finkelstein Predicts End
53 HUMAN RIGHTS:
Game of Arab-Israeli Conflict
Iowa Veterans For Peace Screen
—Pat and Samir Twair
USS Liberty Documentary
AET BOOK CLUB 64 2012 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS 25 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
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ANDREW I. KILLGORE RICHARD H. CURTISS Managing Editor: JANET McMAHON News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEY Book Club Director: ANDREW STIMSON Administrative Director: ALEX BEGLEY Art Director: RALPH U. SCHERER Editorial Assistant: DALE SPRUSANSKY
LetterstotheEditor
Publisher:
Executive Editor:
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April, June/July and Nov./Dec. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 9396050. Subscription prices (United States and possessions): one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. For Canadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. Published by the American Educational Trust (AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers to provide the American public with balanced and accurate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states. AET’s Foreign Policy Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of Congress, including the late Democratic Sen. J. William Fulbright and Republican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Members of AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committees receive no fees for their services. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution 242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by nine successive U.S. presidents. In general, it supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, selfdetermination, and fair play. Material from the Washington Report may be reprinted without charge with attribution to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Bylined material must also be attributed to the author. This release does not apply to photographs, cartoons or reprints from other publications. Indexed by Ebsco Information Services, InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Public Affairs Information Service, Index to Jewish Periodicals, Ethnic News Watch, Periodica Islamica. CONTACT INFORMATION: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Editorial Office and Bookstore: P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 Phone: (202) 939-6050 • (800) 368-5788 Fax: (202) 265-4574 E-mail: wrmea@wrmea.com bookclub@wrmea.com circulation@wrmea.com advertising@wrmea.com Web sites: http://www.wrmea.org http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. Phone: (888) 881-5861 • Fax: (714) 226-9733 Printed in the USA
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Gaza Blockade In an unprecedented effort to break the blockade of Gaza and avoid a human catastrophe, more than 50 of the world’s largest aid groups and U.N. agencies have issued a joint appeal to the Israeli government. These include Amnesty International, Save the Children, the World Health Organization, Oxfam, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and five other U.N. bodies. Aid and U.N. officials have declared that Israel’s repeated attacks have poisoned the water supply. Ninety-five percent of the coastal aquifer, the sole source of fresh water available for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, is not safe to drink. Israel’s blockade is illegal under international law. It is cruel and inhumane and violates the basic values that we as a nation espouse to the world. It is time for U.S. taxpayers to make their voices heard and demand that this illegal blockade of Gaza be lifted. Failure to act will condemn tens of thousands of Palestinians to a slow and painful death. Our $3 billion of aid money sent to Israel makes us complicit with Israel’s unlawful policies. Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA In his article on p. 16 of this issue, Eric Margolis points out that, while criticizing the government of Syrian President Bashar AlAssad for its attacks on civilians, the U.S. sold advanced Apache attack helicopters to Israel that “the only democracy in the Middle East” used to attack civilian targets in Gaza. Thus American complicity in Israeli war crimes is direct as well as indirect. A Glimmer of Progress I write first to report a glimmer of progress. For the fourth time in three years, I talked for an hour to some 20 seniors at Western Reserve Academy who are just finishing up a one-semester elective course on the Middle East. My long-standing subscription to the Washington Report for the Academy library is finally getting some real use by both faculty and students. Per usual with this age group, the single most penetrating question came from one of the young women—challenging me on Hamas. Second, my check for $500 payable to AET Library Endowment is enclosed. Please add these additional dollars to the (steadily growing, I hope!) 25th Anniversary Endowment as indicated on the Memo Line. Holsey G. Handyside, Bedford, OH THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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A “Jewish Spring”? Does the growing unrest and dissatisfaction with life in Israel indicate the likehood of a coming “Jewish Spring”?
If so, one wonders if the Israeli government will react to such an eventuality with the same degree of force as it has in the past against Palestinians. Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA It certainly has responded that way to its Arab citizens, ruling out the possibility of a unified “Israeli Spring.”
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Buchanan, Andrew Killgore, Richard Curtiss, John Quigley, et al., managing editor Janet McMahon and news editor Delinda Hanley. I hope this donation helps—perhaps provides several libraries with a yearly subscription, or offsets mailing costs in some small way. Loretta Krause, Wayne, NJ Any and all donations help spread the word, for which we are most grateful. Since libraries, despite their literate nature, are not known for writing letters, we thought we would print several from people who are able to receive the Washington Report thanks to readers and angels such as yourself.
agement Unit) Program with no possibility of mailing the money necessary to buy my own. Your publication is the most objective source of information available on today’s issues and every new edition is like a breath of fresh air. I share each copy with those around me and perspectives are continually shifting . I know times are tough. Please keep them coming if you can. It is greatly appreciated! Richard Harper II, USP Allenwood, White Deer, PA From what you and other recipients (see above and below) say, the Washington Report and members of the AET Choir of Angels are getting a bang for their buck!
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What’s Going On You do not know how much I thank you—in fact “I love you”—for publishing the Washington Report. God bless you thousands of times. It is a very valuable magazine. And I let other inmates read it. Many others love it and support it—they know what is going on. God bless you again and keep up the good work. All I am sorry about is that I can’t support you much financially. I am very poor. My friends, I am transferring into another institution. I would like you to send the next issue to my new address: Tariq S. Isa, Terre Haute FCI SCP, Terre Haute, IN 47802 The Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution (FCI)first appeared in our pages five years ago, when Katherine Hughes wrote A Breath of Fresh Air about Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir and the then-new I have been receiving a gift subscription Communications Management Unit (CMU) to your magazine for a few years now as I where he was being incarcerated (see am in federal prison’s SMU (Special Man- May/June 2007 Washington Report, p. 12). If we’ve looked up our acronymns correctly, it looks like Other Voices is an optional you’ll be in a minimum-security sat16-page supplement availellite camp. Unforable only to subscribers of the t u n a t e ly, Te r r e Washington Report on Haute’s CMU no longer is the only Middle East Affairs. For an one in the prison additional $15 per year (see system.
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
letter by Ph.D. Tarek Mehanna (June/July 2012 Washington Report, p. 29) is one of the most poignant letters I’ve read in 10 years. It reminds me of the exhortation Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered to the American people a few years ago. Truth to power. So necessary in building our movement against dominance and genocide. You know you are our lifeline. It is with deep regret I must say to you I have no money to continue my participation in our discussion and broadcast. I am with you in spirit and physically in my own broke way. I want to win so bad! Not just analyze, but win the contest. Yet there is no action without firm ideology. The Washington Report gives us that evidence, that other side of the story the puppet masters don’t want us to know. I send my love, my devout ardent desire to help. They can’t kill us forever! Abu Dawud Massette, Corcoran, CA We plan to send Dr. Mehanna a subscription to the Washington Report, along with a copy of the last issue, when he arrives at the federal prison where he will be spending the next decade and a half. Project Salam (<www.projectsalam.org>) does an excellent job of keeping track of and advocating on behalf of prisoners who have been entrapped by the government.
A Welcome Release I’m about to get released from prison on June 27, 2012 so with all due respect would you please change my mailing address to Cleveland, OH? Wahdan Wahdan, Colemon, FL We congratulate you and would like to extend your subscription for an extra year. We rarely hear from prisoners who have completed their sentences (which means that the issues we mail simply get returned to us), so your letter is all the more welcome. We wish you the best as you return to your community. The Lights Are Still On Please don’t turn off your lights. It would be a victory for AIPAC and all ill-minded institutions and people who lack any kind of common decency. There is no honor, no glory, and no self-respect in the pursuit of destruction of the Palestinians’ right to exist in their ancient homeland. Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Thanks to the much needed and appreciated help of our wonderful subscribers, angels and friends, our lights are still on. The last thing we intend to do is snatch defeat from the jaws of victory! ❑ AUGUST 2012
publishers_7_August 2012 Publishers page 6/21/12 1:37 PM Page 7
American Educational Trust Promoting Support for Settlers. It’s no accident that many Americans have the wrong idea when it comes to Israeli settlers and their illegal colonies on the West Bank. According to a June 18 story published in YNetnews, the online outlet for Israel’s daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot, the Caliber 4 shooting range in the Gush Etzion settlement south of Jerusalem is a “hot destination for tourists seeking an Israeli experience like no other: The opportunity to pretend-shoot a terror operative. Settlers offer day-trippers a chance to hear stories from the battleground, watch a simulated assassination of terrorists by guards, and fire weapons at the range.”
A Five-Year-Old Sniper. Miami banker Michel Brown told reporter Akiva Novick that he took his family to the range, staffed by instructors who have served in elite IDF units, to “teach them values” and to “know where they come from and feel some action.” When Tamara, 5, first entered the firing range she burst into tears—but within half an hour she was shooting clay bullets like a pro. Tamara’s mother, Olga, gushed, “We heard on the news about shootings in the West Bank. We came to see it in person.” Son Jacob Brown explained that knowing how to kill a terrorist and rescue hostages will come in handy back in Miami: “Now when I find myself in distress, I will know how to deal.”
An Escalating Campaign of Terror. But who are the real terrorists? Israel’s extremist settlers are escalating their campaign to resist government attempts to remove five illegally built houses on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah. The Jewish terrorists tried to torch a mosque at the nearby Palestinian village of Jabaa, and left graffiti reading: “the war has begun,” and “you shall pay the price.” For Palestinians, of course…
Five Houses Is Small Potatoes. On June 17 Israeli authorities distributed demolition orders to Palestinian residents of Susiya, in the South Hebron Hills. According to the orders, 50 residential structures, 8 fences for herds, a solar power system, a kindergarten and a health clinic will be demolished to protect “the security of Israeli settlers.” On June 18 Israeli forces demolAUGUST 2012
Publishers’ Page
ished several buildings three miles east of Bethlehem. Al-Ubeidiya municipal deputy Mohammad Matar Radaydeh warned that the demolitions are intended to transfer local residents from the area.
Betraying Egypt’s Revolutionaries. Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt (with help from the country’s Supreme Court) have tightened the military’s grasp on power, dissolving parliament, curtailing the incoming president’s power (he’ll have no say on foreign policy), and preventing the formation of a genuinely democratic government. (See story on p. 19 of this issue.) Yet Washington has continued to support the Egyptian military, to the tune of $1.3 billion in annual military aid—not to mention American-made tear gas canisters still being used by Egyptian authorities to…
Suppress Anti-Military Protesters. As Egyptian journalist Sara Khorshid wrote in The New York Times on June 18, “America could have sided with the Egyptian people if it had wanted to.” Instead, the Obama administration waived a congressional requirement linking military assistance to the protection of Egyptians’ basic freedoms. Khorshid wonders “whether the American government really has the will to see Egypt become a democracy.” What the U.S. really has the will to do, of course, is…
Pander to the Interests of Israel. Not Helping in Pakistan, Either. When he was growing up in his faraway village, a 63-year-old Pakistani-American subscriber told us, an American diplomat used to pull up in a station wagon, project a movie onto a big screen that “showed good things about America” and leave powdered milk, medicine and wheat seed to improve life for the Pakistani people. “Nowadays America gives weapons and $12 billion to corrupt officials,” our reader said. “If we’d built a new road, like I-95, in Pakistan and posted a sign saying ‘this is a gift from America,’ we’d win friends in my homeland and make me proud to be an American. U.S. tax dollars haven’t helped the Pakistani people, just the military and politicians,” he lamented.
Yemen and Somalia finally is being questioned by a U.N. investigator. According to the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, in 2010 U.S. drone strikes killed at least 957 people in Pakistan alone. Out of the thousands killed by drones since 2004, roughly 20 percent are believed to be civilians. Washington is being asked to clarify the legal basis for its policy of killing suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders and associates rather than trying to capture them, Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, said in a report.
Drones vs. Diplomacy. A few columnists also are beginning to question CIA covert actions and use of drones. In a June 21 Washington Post column, David Ignatius pointed out that there has been “little public examination of how these covert weapons should coexist with the goals of statecraft.” Ignatius hinted that suddenly soon-to-retire U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter appears to have lost his fight to veto CIA covert actions and the drone attacks that are fueling public anger and “dissipating long-term U.S. interests in Pakistan for short-term counterterrorism gains.” Ignatius and others think it’s past time for a discussion when strikes don’t even distinguish between “high-value target attacks” on named individuals who posed an “imminent threat”and so-called “signature” strikes against a target whose name is not even known. Send this issue’s postcard to the president and your representatives to…
Register Your Opinion. New Web Site Address. Our Web site is shifting 30 years of stories from <www.wrmea.com> to <www. wrmea.org>, and livening up its content and accessibility. Our readers (both paper and digital) now can manage their subscriptions and donations online. Let us know what you think.
Angels Remarking on 30 Years.
U.N. Questions Use of Drones.
We thank our readers who haven’t waited for our very late biannual donation appeal to send contributions. Thank you for observing the Washington Report’s 30th birthday with your gifts. We celebrate our steadfast readers as we all try to…
The use of drones by the CIA to carry out targeted killings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq,
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7
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Netanyahu Tightens His Grip While Palestinians Stand Fast SpecialReport
ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
By Rachelle Marshall
A Palestinian boy from the West Bank village of Jabaa, east of Ramallah, looks at Hebrew graffiti reading “revenge” (l) and “the war has begun” (r) on a mosque which Jewish settlers tried to burn overnight on June 19, 2012. While the international community has failed to pay attention, the third Palestinian intifada has begun...and it is characterized by volunteerism and nonviolence. —Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, member of the Palestinian legislature. ot until four Palestinians had gone
Nwithout food for 70 days, and seven
for 50 days, did the world take notice of an act of nonviolent resistance that is certain to have a prominent place in the history of the Palestinian people. What began this spring when a Palestinian prisoner demonstrated his willingness to starve to death in order to achieve justice, eventually became a massive hunger strike by thousands of fellow prisoners and by sympathizers around the world. The protests ended on May 14 with an agreement brokered by Egypt and Jordan by which Israel would release prisoners now being held in solitary confinement into the general prison population. Israel also agreed to restore family visits and other rights that prisoners have been denied ever since the capture of an Israeli Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East. 8
corporal, Gilad Shalit, more than five years ago. It was anything but an unalloyed victory, however. At least 330 Palestinians who were being held without charges have not been released, and 40 more have been incarcerated since the agreement. Hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners have in the past gone largely unnoticed by the press, even though hundreds of prisoners have taken part in them and two have died. The latest strike was started in April by Khader Adnan, who months before had been dragged out of bed by Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night and taken away blindfolded and shackled as his wife and two little girls looked on. After being held for months without a trial, Adnan began a fast that lasted for 66 days, until an Israeli court ordered his release. He was followed by Hana Shalabi, who took no food for nearly two months and was finally released but exiled to Gaza for three years. (She is pictured on the cover of the May 2012 Washington Report.) As of early June, 25-year-old Mahmoud Sarsak had gone more than two months without food. Sarsak, a football star, was arrested at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza in July 2009 while he was on his way to join the Palestine National Football team in the West Bank. Israeli authorities claimed he was an “enemy combatant,” but have filed no formal charges THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Over the years tens of thousands of Palestinians have spent time in Israeli prisons without being tried. Some have endured years in solitary confinement, many have been tortured. Almost every Palestinian family has or has had a relative in prison, and more are arrested every day, most of them for taking part in peaceful protest. Zacharia Zubeida, co-founder of Jenin’s Freedom Theater, has been held without trial since last winter, and more recently the theater’s artistic director, Nabil Al Raee, was seized from his home at gunpoint in a 3 a.m. raid. The theater has recently shown adaptations of “Alice in Wonderland,” “Animal Farm” and “Waiting for Godot”—all apparently considered dangerous by the Israelis. Israel’s alarm at the growing nonviolent resistance movement is reflected in its refusal to allow entry to any foreign visitor suspected of harboring sympathy for the Palestinians. Arabs and Muslims have for years been subject to invasive searches and long waits at the borders; journalists and members of some tour groups are now subject to the same treatment. In May Israel denied entry to four American women, including Sandra Tamimi, who was jailed and then deported when she refused to open her e-mail account for inspection. The region’s most heavily armed nation regards a 42-year-old Quaker and member of a peace delegation as a security threat. The challenges to Israeli and Palestinian peace activists became even more daunting in early May, when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the center-right Kadima party headed by Shaul Mofaz agreed to form a new coalition. Together, the two parties will now control 120 seats in the 196-member Knesset, assuring Netanyahu a comfortable margin of support for the foreseeable future and depriving the once powerful minority parties of their influence over the budget and other legislation. On being elected head of Kadima in March, Mofaz had pledged that “Starting from tomorrow, Israel will have a fighting and relevant opposition.” Instead, as Netanyahu’s deputy prime minister, he is proving to be a loyal ally—especially in his hard-line stand toward the Palestinians. The former army chief of staff was minisAUGUST 2012
ter of defense during the second intifada in 2002, when in March of that year the Arab nations offered Israel a comprehensive peace in return for Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders. Israel rejected the offer, and within days launched an invasion of the West Bank called, with Orwellian doublespeak, “Operation Defensive Shield.” (For extensive coverage of the Israeli invasion see the May and June/July 2002 issues of the Washington Report.) The operation was anything but defensive. The day after Israeli tanks, bulldozers and helicopters stormed into the territory, Serge Schmemann of The New York Times reported in a front page story that the Israelis had created “a landscape of devastation from Bethlehem to Jenin.” Schmemann described “husks of savaged computers littering ministries in Ramallah, rows of storefronts sheared by passing tanks in Tulkarem, broken pipes gushing precious water, flattened cars in fields of shattered glass and garbage, electricity poles snapped like twigs, tilting walls where homes once stood, gaping holes where rockets pierced office buildings.” The damage done to a vibrant society by a nation that claimed to have “made the desert bloom” was impossible to fully estimate. “It is safe to say,” Schmemann wrote, “that the infrastructure of life itself and of any future Palestinian state—roads, schools, electricity pylons, water pipes, telephone lines—has been devastated.” No target was out of bounds or too small. A professor at Birzeit University told this writer of watching helplessly as soldiers wrecked the science library he had spent years collecting; a Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem told of soldiers tearing up the books in his church’s kindergarten and smashing play equipment. The disaster was compounded by the fact that until Israel’s assault, the Palestinian Authority was “highly functional, and delivering good services,” according to Nigel Roberts, the World Bank representative on the West Bank. The economy was growing by 6 percent a year, the airport in Gaza was in full operation, industrial zones were being developed, and new jobs were being created at a steady rate. “Municipalities were working, there was a government out there that was functioning,” Roberts said. But then or now, a functioning Palestinian state is the last thing Israel’s leaders want. Mofaz, the hit man for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Operation Defensive Shield, will now join Netanyahu in seeing to it there is no prospect of such a state. The government approved plans for 4,300 AUGUST 2012
SAID KHATIB/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
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A Palestinian boy from the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah plays with a soccer ball in front of banners forming part of a protest tent in solidarity with Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud Sarsak, June 10, 2012. A member of the Palestinian national soccer team, Sarsak was arrested in July 2009 as he was traveling from Gaza to the West Bank for a soccer match, and has been held since then without charges or a trial. On June 18 he agreed to end a hunger strike of more than three months in exchange for his release on July 10. new Jewish-only settlement units in May and is proceeding to turn more and more of the 400 unauthorized outposts on Palestinian land into full-scale communities. Mofaz’s own peace plan, which he favors imposing in the absence of negotiations, calls for giving 60 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians for a state. All of the large settlements would stay in place, including those in the Jordan Valley. There would be no construction freeze and Jerusalem would remain “united” under Israeli rule. Settlers remaining in the enclave allotted to the Palestinians would be offered incentives to move. Several cabinet ministers, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and the Institute for National Security Studies close to the military, also favor taking unilateral action. The only significant change in Israeli government policy resulting from the new coalition will be a lifting of the exemptions from military service that until now have been granted to ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews. The chances are, however, that requiring the ultra-devout Jews to serve will only add to the ranks of occupation forces that support the settlers and ignore their increasing violence against the Palestinians—violence that is almost never punished. In an article entitled “Israel in Peril” in the June 7 issue of the New York Review of Books, David Shulman refers to the West Bank as “a mini-state run by settlers,” one “that disenfranchises a huge Palestinian population and continually appropriates Palestinian land in the interests of expandTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ing and further entrenching the colonial project of the settlements.” Shulman, a professor of Humanistic Studies at Hebrew University, describes his encounter with Halima Ahmad al-Hadhalin, a widow with nine children living in a shack in Umm al-Kheir in the Hebron hills. In mid-January Israeli bulldozers accompanied by a group of soldiers suddenly arrived at the shack and in only a few minutes destroyed it, along with all of the family’s possessions. When Shulman met Halima on a freezing rainy day a few days later she was standing barefoot in a neighbor’s tent, still shocked and traumatized. “Such demolitions happen regularly at Umm alKheir,” Shulman writes. During the first five months of 2012, 78 Palestinian homes were destroyed and demolition orders issued for some 345 more. On May 1 a Caterpillar tractor and a Hyundai bulldozer, accompanied by 12 army vehicles, leveled a farm owned by the Rajabi family near Ben Naim, leaving a family with 15 children homeless, and 100 cows without shelter in blazing heat. Thousands of dollars worth of milking equipment was destroyed. When witnesses asked a soldier why, he replied, “Because we are the army.” Shulman’s explanation is more convincing. He maintains that house demolitions and other abuses “are part of a malevolent campaign to make life as miserable as possible for the Palestinians...in the hope that they will go away.” Continued on page 13 9
gee_10_Special Report 6/21/12 1:15 PM Page 10
An Outpouring of Anti-Migrant Racism in Israel SpecialReport
REUTERS/BAZ RATNER
By John Gee
Ismail, a Sudanese migrant who was attacked by Jewish Israelis, at his home in south Tel Aviv, June 13, 2012. he May 23 riots in Tel Aviv against
TAfrican migrants in Israel resulted in
the injury of dozens of asylum seekers and the wrecking and looting of shops that served them. The riots were followed by firebombings of apartments and a nursery in Tel Aviv, as well as one firebombing in Jerusalem. The violence was preceded by incitement reminiscent of the language used by agitators on the extreme supremacist fringe of U.S. and European politics. A thousand Israelis rallied in south Tel Aviv against the migrants’ presence. There is a large concentration of African migrants in the area, where some sleep out in the parks at night. A large bus station there is also known as a place where African migrants congregate. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Likud Member of the Knesset (MK) Miri Regev described the asylum seekers as “a cancer in our body” and pledged to do everything possible “in order to bring John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. 10
them back to where they belong.” Fellow Likud MK Danny Danon reportedly said, “We must expel the infiltrators from Israel. We should not be afraid to say the words ‘expulsion now.’” The riot occured after the demonstration broke up, fueled by the speakers’ incendiary remarks. The violence took place in the context of a climate of anti-African hostility that has been particularly marked since Binyamin Netanyahu formed the most right-wing government in Israel’s history in 2009. In 2010, Netanyahu said it was time “to stop this growing influx that threatens Israelis’ jobs and changes the character of the state.” He reiterated that point just days before the riots, saying that “illegal infiltrators” were threatening the state’s identity. In April 2010, Yaakov Katz, an MK of the National Union party and chair of the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers, issued an open letter to Tel Aviv residents in which he called for the declaration of a state of emergency to deal with the high number of Africans entering Israel from Egypt—where many first fled but where they cannot THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
legally work—ignoring the fact that there has been a state of emergency in Israel ever since the state was declared in 1948. According to Katz, the state of Israel was being killed after all its citizens’ hard work, and “in ten years, the infiltrators could ruin it all.” He called Tel Aviv residents “dull and witless” for allowing the African presence in their city to grow. In November 2009, Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the leader of Shas, a religious party based primarily on Moroccan Jewish support, said that the migrants should not be allowed to settle in Israel because they would bring in “a range of diseases such as hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis and AIDS.” In a May 3 interview with the Israeli daily Ma’ariv, Yishai said, “Muslims that arrive here do not even believe this country belongs to us, the white man.” After the Tel Aviv riots, Yishai told Ma’ariv that many Israeli women had been raped by the migrants but that they did not complain “out of fear of being stigmatized as having contracted AIDS.” The solution to the problem of the African migrants was “more prisons and detention camps,” he said, adding that they all should be jailed, “without exception,” and sent home. Visiting the new Sinai border fence, National Union MK Aryeh Eldad declared: “Anyone that penetrates Israel’s border should be shot—a Swedish tourist, Sudanese from Eritrea, Eritreans from Sudan, Asians from Sinai. Whoever touches Israel’s border—shot.” He later conceded that this might not be possible “because bleeding hearts groups will immediately begin to shriek and turn to the courts.” In other words, it is not morality that is at issue, but “feasibility.” Aryeh Eldad is the son of Israel Eldad, a former leader of the Zionist underground group Lehi, known by the British as the Stern Gang, and later a prominent settler ideologist. In 1970, the elder Eldad wrote to Meir Kahane, inviting the extremist rabbi to come to Israel from the U.S. and join him in campaigning to build settlements in the West Bank. Clearly the fruit has not fallen far from the tree. According to Israel’s Ministry of Immigration, 62,000 people have crossed into the country illegally from Egypt since Continued on page 21 AUGUST 2012
omer_11_Gaza on the Ground 6/21/12 11:10 AM Page 11
Palestinian Politics: A Plague on Both Their Houses, or Promise for the Future? Gazaon the Ground
ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
By Mohammed Omer
A protester holding a banner and the Palestinian flag takes part in a demonstration in Ramallah calling for unity between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, May 30, 2012. aza’s de facto Hamas government has
Ggiven the green light to the Palestin-
ian Central Election Commission (PCEC) to begin updating voter registration data in the Gaza Strip—an electoral requirement not undertaken since the 2006 parliamentary election, in which Hamas received a majority of votes in the West Bank as well as Gaza. At a May 28 news conference following a meeting with Hamas leader and de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, PCEC president Hanna Nasser described this longoverdue task as a first step in the right direction, paving the way to a long overdue election. Although the PCEC, appointed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President MahAward-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza. AUGUST 2012
moud Abbas, reopened its Gaza offices in January, it could not begin updating voter data until it received permission from the Gaza Ministry of Interior. The new data will include as many as 250,000 eligible but not yet registered voters, according to Nasser. “The commission starts its latest operations with an office in each of Gaza’s five governorates,” Nasser said, adding that he expects data collection in Gaza and the West Bank to take five weeks. The long-delayed updating of voter registration is the result of a May 20 meeting in Cairo between leaders of Fatah and Hamas, who agreed that the PCEC’s work in Gaza would begin by month’s end. They further agreed to nominate an interim “government of independent technocrats.” Previous agreements—such as the one signed by Hamas and Fatah in Cairo in April 2011 and the February 2012 agreeTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ment signed in Doha—failed at the 11th hour because of Israeli interference, including a threat to cut aid to the PA and withhold taxes Israel collects on behalf of the PA. This left many Gazans with the impression that Palestinian unity is opposed by Israel and the U.S., which cuts aid to Palestinians if Hamas becomes part of a coalition government. Palestinian youth groups in Gaza and the West Bank have begun campaigning under the slogan, “This time, it must work.” At the May 28 press conference, Haniyeh’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Awad expressed his hope that allowing the commission to begin its work is the first step to building trust among the people and that true unity is indeed on the horizon. “I hope that this will be the foundation for ending Palestinian division,” he said, “and that Palestinian citizens will really Continued on page 66 11
williams_12-13_United Nations Report 6/20/12 5:18 PM Page 12
UNESCO Procedural Issues Not Quite Equivalent to Principles of International Law
United Nations Report
By Ian Williams
MUSA AL-SHAER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
BETHLEHEM:The belltowers of the Church of Nativity are seen behind the machine gun barrel of an Israeli armored personnel carrier stationed at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 27, 2002, during a military offensive on the town.
srael supporters usually downplay the
Isignificance of the United Nations, but
when they crow about alleged victories— no matter how small—it is an oblique testimony to how much U.N. resolutions hurt. Most recently, U.N. Watch, which scrutinizes with halachic detail every move the world body makes on the Middle East, was claiming a victory because UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee had decided not to accept an emergency resolution listing the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as a World Heritage site. The World Heritage Committee secretariat ruled against a PA move to use an emergency procedure to register the church marking the birthplace of Jesus under the country of “Palestine.” “At the U.N., where the General Assembly each year adopts more resolutions criticizing Israel than on the rest of the world combined, this is a spectacle as rare as Halley’s Comet,” U.N. Watch executive director Hillel Neuer jubilated. In fact, however, the secretariat did not rebut any of the substance of Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www. deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>. 12
Palestine’s application—it merely said that it should go through the regular procedure. In classic bureaucratese, the secretariat recommended a resolution to the committee saying Palestine should “resubmit the nomination in accordance with normal procedures for nomination, to allow a proper assessment of integrity, authenticity and conversation, and proper consideration of management arrangements and appropriate boundaries for the property.” There is not a hint there of any evidence of Israeli triumph—after all, UNESCO already accepted Palestine as a state member last year. Palestine went on to ratify UNESCO’s Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage earlier this year, and asked the World Heritage Committee to register the church and the pilgrimage route in Bethlehem as an emergency because of “the combined effects of the consequences of the Israeli occupation and [because] the lack of scientific and technical measures for restoring and preserving the property are creating an emergency situation.” Israel wants the site registered as a World Heritage, but wants to do so jointly with the Palestinians—which would, of course, involve accepting that Israel has rights there. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Israel certainly has financial interests there: its tourism industry has made immense amounts of money from Christian pilgrims and tourists visiting the Christian holy sites. Since Neuer is so solicitous of United Nations views when they suit his tightly focused world view, one wonders what his reaction was to the interestingly forthright statement from the U.N.’s under secretarygeneral for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos. (Adding interest to the statement’s contents, Amos was a Blair appointee in the British cabinet before taking up her current U.N. position.) In mid-June, she reinforced a joint statement from seven U.N. agencies and NGOs on Gaza, declaring that Israel’s blockade “amounts to a collective punishment of those living in Gaza and is a denial of basic human rights in contravention of international law.” She reinforced that conclusion: “The blockade of Gaza now entering its sixth year has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of the 1.6 million Palestinians who reside there. More than 80 percent of families are dependent on humanitarian aid, and Gaza remains subject to severe restrictions on imports, exports and the movement of people, by land, air and sea.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also frequently deplored the blockade and demanded an end to it—but then he has also repeatedly stated the official U.N. position that “all Israeli settlements are contrary to international law.” None of those irrefutable statements, however, seems to have excited Neuer as much as a procedural hiccup in UNESCO. On the recognition front, the signs are that the Palestinians will be pushing for that again. Of course, it is a forlorn hope at the Security Council, where President Barack Obama will be looking over both shoulders at the Israel lobby as he orders any resolution vetoed. The chosen route will be via the General Assembly, which could accept Palestinian statehood without accepting it as a member. Every such step annoys Israel’s leaders, since, insofar as there has been an Israeli diplomatic strategy, it has been to persuade the Palestinian leadership to sign away their people’s legal patrimony. That patrimony, of course, includes the beachfront property 100 feet deep between the Golan Heights and Lake Tiberias. OverAUGUST 2012
williams_12-13_United Nations Report 6/20/12 5:18 PM Page 13
looked in all the negotiations—although Syria held it from 1948 to 1967, as part of Mandatory Palestine—it was clearly seized and occupied by Israel in 1967. Moreover, it was as clearly Palestinian as the Gaza Strip, which was occupied by the Egyptians. It is possible that whoever rules in Damascus in the years to come might be prepared to discuss this with the Palestinians, perhaps for a joint venture Club Med, or even as a trading card for negotiations with the Israelis. But one thing is sure, no one in Damascus is going to relinquish Syria’s claim to the Golan Heights, whose annexation by Israel, like that of East Jerusalem, is not recognized by any nation in the world. It was occupied by force, and thus its annexation under international law is “inadmissible,” and it has been occupied by Israel in contravention of all the conventions that apply to the occupied Palestinian territories—although the nature of successive Syrian regimes has made many countries less zealous in actively pushing the issue. But the big question is what regime is going to succeed? It is clear that the longer the imbroglio in Syria continues, the more the risk of the country fissioning along sectarian grounds, despite the best efforts of some of the the opposition leadership to reassure the minorities. As we go to press, the U.N. observer mission has suspended its monitoring work— and not because its work is over, by any means. Its reports, even given the traditionally obsessive U.N. neutrality, not to mention the overall reporting, make it plain that despite the welter of competing claims, the blame for the balance of violence is overwhelmingly tilted toward the Assad regime. Until recent defections, tanks, artillery and helicopters were the property of the regime, provided by Russia, and it is the shelling of cities and villages that really demonstrates the government’s moral bankruptcy. The suspension of the observer mission could appear as an act of cowardice, but it is more likely to be a signal to the world in general, and to Russia and China in particular, that there are no more options. Moscow’s invocation of armed rebels as the problem recalls the sign that allegedly was on the lion cage in the Paris Zoo: “This animal is dangerous—when attacked.” One of the basic principles for intervention has been the Hippocratic injunction to doctors, “First do no harm,” but it is difficult to see how anyone could worsen the present condition of Syria. Clearly inaction has more perils for all concerned. As with Libya, Russia’s support for the regime prolongs the agony and is becoming totally AUGUST 2012
counterproductive as the old administration collapses and the welter of different political, confessional and regional factions take parts of power. The support for Damascus loses Moscow support in the region, in the country and in the world. It is guaranteeing that it loses its Mediterranean naval base and future arms contracts while risking huge humanitarian damage to the country. A clear signal to Bashar Al-Assad that the game is up might help a negotiated settlement and a relative peaceful transfer of power. Soon, the question is likely to be not whether there is intervention, but just who can do the intervening. Once again, Russia and China could be part of the solution, since a U.N. resolution would be necessary and they could help frame its terms of reference. Certainly the various Western powers, not to mention Israel, are out of the question, which points toward Turkey as the only country that would not be suspected of being part of an anti-Islamic Western plot. There is no painless or good outcome possible at this stage. But a shorter endgame has to be better.
Obstructionism in Western Sahara Of course, while Russia, rightly, bears the contumely of the U.S. and France for its obstructionism, it is worth remembering that, on the other end of the Middle East, in Western Sahara, it is Paris and Washington that have been running cover for Morocco’s illegal occupation of the territory—whose endgame has now taken 40 years! It was 20 years ago that Morocco agreed to a census and a referendum. It has been another 20 years of prevarication, backpedaling and defiance of U.N. decisions, with France and America ensuring that Morocco’s defiance has no negative consequences. Perhaps one positive sign is that that Ban Ki-moon has faced down Rabat. The Moroccans had objected to his appointment of Germany’s Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber as his special representative and head of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Perhaps because of his experience in East Timor, which for so many years was Western Sahara’s companion in international limbo, Morocco was pushing very hard to stop his appointment, but in June, Ban went ahead anyway. It is a small but useful sign that some in the U.N. will not automatically kow tow to Rabat and its allies—certainly more successful than the UNESCO decision that so excited U.N. Watch’s Neuer. But he, of course, would have applauded Morocco’s defiance! ❑ THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Netanyahu Tightens Grip… Continued from page 9
The same explanation applies equally well to Israel’s plans to extend its separation wall southeast of Jerusalem in such a way that it will destroy a 2,000-year-old irrigation canal that serves 6,000 residents of Battir. The stone retaining walls built into the hillsides have for centuries turned the hills into terraced agricultural land for olive trees and vegetable gardens. Last year UNESCO granted the villagers $15,000 for safeguarding the historic landscape, but because the extension to the separation wall will cut off part of the irrigation network, the integrity of the terraces “will be totally dismantled,” a UNESCO official said. Meanwhile the shortage of fuel going to Gaza has become more severe. Israel held up an emergency shipment of fuel from Qatar for two months, forcing the tanker to remain docked in Egypt until early April. Dirar Abu Sisi, the skilled engineer who was able to keep Gaza’s one functioning power plant running, was kidnapped by Israeli agents in Ukraine more than a year ago (see May/June 2011 Washington Report, p. 18) and remains in solitary confinement, for reasons Israel has never announced. Food supplies remain limited not only by border restrictions but as a result of Israeli military attacks. Gaza fishermen are restricted to staying within three miles of the coast and are constantly harassed by Israeli gunboats. Three years ago air strikes destroyed Gaza’s main food warehouse and a large chicken ranch. In response to the shooting of an Israeli soldier in early June, Israeli forces launched several days of air strikes that flattened a dairy factory and a large poultry and cattle farm as well as several homes. Thirteen people were wounded, two of whom died. The army has little need to worry about Palestinian civilian casualties. In early May a military court declined to prosecute the soldiers involved in killing at least 30 members of the Saumont family on Jan. 5, 2009 during Operation Cast Lead. The day after the army had ordered 100 members of the extended family into a house in Gaza City it was bombarded by Israeli tanks and Apache helicopters. Paramedics were barred for several days from reaching the house to treat the wounded. Nevertheless, in announcing the decision to exonerate the soldiers, an Israeli military spokesman denied they had acted recklessly, admitting only that “some mistakes were made.” ❑ 13
hishmeh_14_Special Report 6/21/12 11:11 AM Page 14
Obama Continues His Dithering SpecialReport
MANDEL NGAN/AFT/GETTY IMAGES
By George S. Hishmeh
President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Israeli President Shimon Peres in the East Room of the White House, June 13, 2012. Having been appointed interim prime minister following the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, Peres was running for the office—to which he never was elected—in 1996 when he ordered the bombing of southern Lebanon. Israeli warplanes bombed the U.N. peacekeeping mission outpost in Qana, where many Lebanese residents had taken refuge. Among the 100 civilians killed in the attack were two American boys from Dearborn, MI, AbdulMuhsen Abboud, 9, and his brother Hadi, 8, who were visiting their grandmother in Qana. arack Obama raised great hopes in the
BMiddle East when he was one of only
four American presidents to be awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” But now, almost four years later, he has yet to show any signs of achievement in ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In fact, the Washington-based correspondent of the liberal Israeli paper Haaretz wondered aloud in her June 7 article, at the beginning of the presidential election here George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He was the former editor-in-chief of The Daily Star of Lebanon. 14
in which Obama remains the front-runner, whether his neglect means that he is “throwing the Palestinians under the bus.” Natasha Mozgovaya based her point on the fact that there weren’t many meetings in the first two weeks of June between White House officials and Palestinian or ArabAmerican delegations that were “crashed” by the president. This was a reference to the American president’s staged practice of breaking into scheduled meetings between his senior staffers and visiting delegations, as when he “dropped by” two recent but separate sessions at the White House with groups of American Jews, one Orthodox and the other Conservative. Obama’s “dithering” was also noted reTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
cently by Nicholas D. Kristof in the president’s handling of U.S. policies toward both Syria and Sudan, which the New York Times columnist described as “increasingly lame, ineffective and contrary to American interests and values.” In the Haaretz account, Obama assured his Jewish audience that “there is no justification for Israel’s feeling ‘lonely, pressured and pushed back.’” He went on: Compromise is required from both sides, but his administration is decidedly more attentive to Israel than to the Palestinians and repeatedly stresses Israel’s security needs. Nevertheless, Obama reportedly told one of the Jewish groups that he was “cautiously pessimistic about the prospects of peace under current circumstances [and] he somberly noted, in fact, that the window of opportunity for making peace might be closed already, because Palestinian positions have ‘deteriorated.’” But he vowed, “We’ll keep trying.” According to the Haaretz report, Obama underlined that “his administration believes that Israeli security is more important than even-handedness.” It was noticeable that Haaretz carried an incriminating headline for the report: “In an attempt to garner votes, Obama is ignoring the Palestinians.” Adding oil to the fire, the Obama administration in mid-June played host to Israeli President Shimon Peres, one of the longest surviving founders of Israel who is well-remembered for his hawkish policies. Peres has surprisingly been awarded by President Obama the coveted U.S. Medal of Freedom, when all are aware that the Israeli leader does not wield any significant power in his ceremonial position. At a meeting at the Defense Department, Secretary Leon Panetta congratulated the visiting Israeli leader on the award. His unbelievable assessment: “It’s a fitting recognition of your life’s work...[which] has been to advance peace, human dignity and freedom.” But top on the visiting Israeli leader’s Washington agenda is reportedly another attempt to seek the release of the convicted spy Jonathan Pollard from his U.S. prison. Pollard was found guilty in the 1980s for Continued on page 66 AUGUST 2012
marshall_15_Special Report 6/21/12 11:05 AM Page 15
“Negotiations” Means Ultimatum When It Comes to Iran SpecialReport
By Rachelle Marshall alks on Iran’s nuclear program between
France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany—were scheduled to resume in Moscow in late June. But hopes that the two sides will come to an agreement have diminished to the vanishing point. Those hopes were raised in late May, when Iran offered to limit its enrichment of uranium to the 20 percent it needs to fuel its medical reactor. Since that percentage is lower than the percentage required for developing a nuclear weapon, the Iranians expected the Western nations to reciprocate by lifting the painful economic sanctions they have imposed on Iran. Instead they offered only to provide spare parts for Iran’s civilian aircraft and assistance with nuclear safety. Harsh sanctions on oil exports and banking transactions remain scheduled to go into effect in July. In adopting Israel’s maximalist demand that Iran abandon its nuclear program entirely and send its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad, the six powers are in effect requiring Iran to give up the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, a right guaranteed to all other signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (Nuclear-armed Israel is not a signatory.) Although the negotiators offered to supply Iran with medical isotopes, Tehran turned down the demands and again called for nuclear disarmament throughout the region. As Republicans accused President Barack Obama of being too soft on Iran for negotiating at all, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro spoke to the Israeli Bar Association in Jerusalem reassuring the Israelis that not only was Washington willing to use military force to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but that plans for such an attack already had been made. Shapiro was one of a series of U.S. officials who have reassured Israel of the administration’s readiness to use military action against Iran if negotiations fail. “The goal is to raise pressure, not relieve Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East. AUGUST 2012
ALEXANDER KLEIN/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
TIran and six world powers—the U.S.,
Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Rostam Ghasemi (l) and its ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, before the start of the 161st meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, June 14, 2012. it,” according to Dennis B. Ross, a former adviser to President Obama who is now at the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy. But a Iranian political analyst close to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said such threats would have no effect on Iran’s policy. “When Americans understand there will be no Iran nuclear weapon...there will be no need for threats.” Meanwhile a report released by the RAND Corporation in mid-May strongly advised against a military attack on Iran, saying such an attack would only spur Iran’s determination to develop a nuclear weapon and arouse more hostility in the region. According to RAND analysts, “a post-attack Middle East may result in the worst of both worlds; a nuclear-armed Iran more determined than ever to challenge the Jewish state, and with far fewer regional and international impediments to doing so.” In fact, Israel and the U.S. already are waging a hidden war on Iran. Israel is strongly suspected of being behind the assassination of five Iranian nuclear scientists and an explosion at a nuclear laboratory. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
On May 31 The New York Times revealed a joint effort by the U.S. and Israel to penetrate and damage Iran’s computer network. Two viruses developed by the U.S. called Stuxnet and Duqu have disabled 1,000 of the 5,000 centrifuges Iran uses in the enrichment process, and they are still causing havoc. A third and more powerful virus developed by American and Israeli experts called Flame not only erases data but records e-mails and telephone conversations and monitors all network traffic. It also spreads rapidly. According to the Times, the U.S. and Israel are “achieving with computer code what until [now] could be accomplished only by bombing a country or sending in agents to plant explosives.” In view of Israel’s insistence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, it is worth noting that the penetration of Iran’s computer network apparently has revealed no evidence that it is doing so. The absence of any smoking gun, and the fact that Iran’s use of nuclear weapons would bring on devastating retaliation by Continued on page 66 15
margolis_16_Special Report 6/21/12 1:18 PM Page 16
Dangerous Games in Syria SpecialReport
By Eric S. Margolis
copters to Israel that were used to attack civilian targets in Gaza. Syria has long been a close ally of Moscow. U.S. attempts to overthrow the Assad regime were sure to infuriate and alarm Moscow, which sees U.S. plots everywhere to undermine Russia. The Kremlin must find a way to answer the U.S. challenge or lose face.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
From Georgia to Azerbaijan
(L-r) European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russia-EU summit outside St. Petersburg, June 4, 2012. The EU was expected to pressure Russia to harden its positions on Syria and Iran. merica’s most vital national security
Aconcern is to maintain calm, produc-
tive relations with Russia. The reason is obvious: Russia and the United States have thousands of nuclear warheads targeted on each other. Many are ready to launch in minutes. Compared to this threat, all of America’s other security issues are minor. Avoiding confrontations with a major nuclear power is obvious. Yet the United States and Russia are ignoring such common sense in their increasingly heated war of words over Syria’s civil war. The U.S. and its allies have been actively trying to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria for over a year. They have been pouring arms, money, communications gear and fighters into Syria to take advantage of a popular Sunni uprising against the Alawite-dominated regime. Washington’s intervention in Syria is driven by its obsession to undermine Iran by bringing down its most important Arab ally. Israel, which exerts enormous political presEric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist. Copyright © 2012 Eric S. Margolis. 16
sure over U.S. Mideast policy in an election year, sees destabilizing Syria as a triple win: a blow to its arch enemy Iran; a blow to Syria’s efforts to regain its strategic Golan Heights that Israel captured in 1967, then annexed; and wrecking the key backer of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinians. In June, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose presidential ambitions are increasingly evident, accused Russia of selling MI-24 helicopter gunships to Syria. Russia angrily denied the charge and asserted that U.S. anti-riot gear was being used against demonstrators across the Mideast. Washington scourged Syria for attacking civilian targets. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. The same week, the U.S.installed president of Afghanistan pleaded with Washington to stop its air strikes that are killing many civilians. Pakistan’s feeble government begged Washington to halt its drone attacks. The angry Russians could have added that the U.S. has been buying rocketarmed Russian-made MI-17 combat helicopters from them for use by Afghan government forces, and using helicopter and AC-130 gunships in Afghanistan. Or citing U.S. sales of advanced Apache attack heliTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Meanwhile, another U.S.-Russia fracas is brewing up in the Caucasus. Relations between the two great powers are still raw due to the 2008 mini-war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia. Washington helped overthrow the former Georgian government of Eduard Shevardnadze in the socalled “Rose Revolution,” replacing him with close U.S. ally Mikhail Shakashvilli. The new Georgian leader quickly turned his small Caucasian nation into a base for U.S. and Israeli intelligence and military operations. In 2008, Shakashvilli foolishly picked a fight with Russia. U.S. warships were moved into the Black Sea, setting off a war scare in the region before tempers cooled. Now, the U.S. is back playing the Great Game in the Caucasus while the Georgia feud still simmers. This time it’s in oil-rich Azerbaijan, which has become a key American and Israeli ally. The Baku regime just bought $1.6 billion worth of Israeli arms. Azerbaijan and Armenia, a close Russian ally, have been warring for a decade over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. This obscure conflict is heating up again as Russia and the U.S. back opposite sides. The CIA has been busy for some time trying to stir up Azeri separatists in northern Iran. The U.S. and Israel might use Azerbaijan as a base to attack Iran. As if Russo-American relations were not bad enough, U.S. Republicans demand President Barack Obama “get tough” with Moscow. Threats fly back and forth over the planned U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe that enrages the Kremlin. Provoking or antagonizing Russia over areas that are of no vital U.S. strategic interest is dangerous and childish. Moscow and Washington should be seeking peaceful resolutions in Syria and the Caucasus, not playing silly Cold War games. ❑ AUGUST 2012
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What Is Really Happening in Syria? By Patrick Seale
SpecialReport t is undeniable that President
IBashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
has, over the past 15 months, made many mistakes and committed many crimes. An early example was the savage punishment of a dozen children who had scrawled anti-regime graffiti on a wall in the southern city of Daraa in March 2011. This ugly incident was soon made far worse by the use of live fire against peaceful protesters. Had the president raced to Daraa, apologized to the parents of the brutalized children, sacked the governor and severely disciplined his security services, he would have been hailed as a hero. Instead, he adopted a policy of indiscriminate repression which has continued to this day. The large-scale killings have cast a dark shadow over his timid and long-delayed reforms, such as last month’s multi-party elec- Syrians walk past damaged vehicles outside a Shi’i shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb of Damascus tions, which were held once the after a June 14 suicide car bomb explosion wounded at least 14 people and damaged one of Shi’i Islam’s holiest shrines. Constitution had been amended, putting an end—at least in theory—to the Ba‘ath party’s half-century guerrilla warfare against the Syrian half a dozen countries, including 18 regime. Money is flowing in from Gulf women and children in Afghanistan alone stranglehold over Syria’s political life. The opposition has also made mistakes states and from Syrian businessmen in early June). The rebels know they canand been guilty of serious crimes. Its first abroad, fueling a brisk black market in not defeat the Syrian army without outmistake was to take up arms against the weapons. Large numbers of jihadis, armed side help. The recent massacres at the vilgovernment. This may have been an un- Islamic extremists, have crossed into Syria lages of Hula and al-Qubair have raised derstandable response to the regime’s re- from neighboring countries—and also their hopes that the United States and its pression, but it was also an act of political from Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria and Pak- allies are now one step closer to military insanity, since it provided the regime with istan—to swell the ranks of the fighters. action. But who was really responsible for the the justification to crush any pocket of Muslim clerics in several Arab countries armed rebellion, wherever and whenever are inciting young men to go to Syria to reported smashing of skulls and slitting of it might appear. The result was the fight. Rebel groups conduct ambushes, at- children’s throats at these two villages? tragedy of the Baba Amr quarter of tack checkpoints, destroy public property, The opposition puts the blame squarely Homs—seized by the rebels, then de- kill government troops—about 250 were on the regime’s shabbiha, a notorious stroyed by the regime’s heavy weapons—a killed in 10 days in late May and early armed militia made up largely of Alawis— June. They also kidnap, rape and slaugh- a view adopted uncritically by Western pattern repeated elsewhere. leaders and much of the Western press. There are now said to be about 100 ter pro-regime civilians. The regime’s strategy is to prevent The U.N. has been more cautious. After armed rebel groups engaged in urban armed rebels seizing and holding terri- monitors reached al-Qubair, a spokesPatrick Seale is a leading British writer on tory, even if this means shelling residen- woman for the U.N. supervision mission, the Middle East. His latest book is The tial quarters when rebels hole up in them. Ms. Sausan Ghosheh, said, “The circumStruggle for Arab Independence: Riad el- The rebels’ strategy is to trigger a West- stances surrounding the incident are not Solh and the Makers of the Modern Mid- ern military intervention to stop the clear.” Meanwhile, a very serious newspaper, dle East (Cambridge University Press). killing on humanitarian grounds (alCopyright © 2012 Patrick Seale. Distributed though no one mentions the large num- the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (FAZ), bers of civilians killed by U.S. drones in Germany’s leading daily, has reported that by Agence Global. AUGUST 2012
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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the massacre was not carried out by the regime’s shabbiha after all, but by antiAssad Sunni militants. According to sources FAZ interviewed, the victims were almost exclusively from the Alawi and Shi’i communities. The gruesome events took place after rebel forces attacked three army-controlled roadblocks outside Hula. It was during the ensuing firefight of some 90 minutes that the massacre occurred. According to FAZ, the perpetrators then filmed their victims and, in videos posted on the Internet, presented them as Sunni victims of the regime. An independent investigation is clearly needed to establish which of these two versions is correct. It would not be surprising if both sides were found guilty of acts of savagery in what is fast becoming a sectarian civil war. What role are outside actors playing? Each is pursuing its own strategic interest. The keys to the Syrian crisis lie outside Syria. Indeed, the Syrian crisis cannot be separated from the massive pressures being put on Iran. U.S. President Barack Obama is now fully mobilized against both regimes. He seems to have given up trying to secure a win-win deal with Iran over its nuclear program, and he is sabotaging Kofi
Annan’s Syrian peace plan by conniving in the arming of the rebels. He seems to want to bring down the regimes in both Tehran and Damascus—either because he sees Iran as a rival in the Gulf region or to win the favors of Israel’s American supporters in an election year. Israel has openly declared its keen interest in Assad’s overthrow. President Shimon Peres—a wolf in sheep’s clothing whose deal with the French back in the 1950s provided Israel with its first nuclear weapons—declared that he hoped the Syrian rebels would win. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu went one better. Borrowing a phrase from George W. Bush, he has called the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah resistance alliance an “axis of evil.” Clearly, Israel is pushing the United States and its allies to bring down the whole axis which has dented its supremacy in the Levant. Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the main Arab backers of the Syrian rebels, seem largely driven by sectarian passions. They see Shi’i Iran as a threat to Sunni primacy. They, too, seek to bring down the regimes in Iran and Syria. However, it might be wiser for them to support, rather than subvert, these regimes, which have tried to stand up to Israel. Without the protection
they afford, the oil-rich Gulf states might one day wake up to find themselves the next target of unchecked Israeli power. Many problems in Syria remain to be solved. If Assad himself were toppled, would not the officer corps and the Ba‘ath party carry on the fight? If the whole state were brought down—as happened in Iraq—what would the next regime look like? Would extremist Islamists, bent on revenge, come to power? Would the country be dismembered, with the Alawis driven into their mountains, as Iraq was itself dismembered by the creation of a Kurdish statelet? Who will protect the minorities? Will Syria’s Christians, 10 percent of the population, suffer the same fate as Iraq’s Christians, dispersed around the world? And would Lebanon and Jordan, not to speak of the unfortunate Palestinians languishing under Israel’s occupation, survive the shock waves of a Syrian tsunami? The Western powers would be well advised to unite with Russia and China in putting maximum pressure on both sides to put up their arms and come to the table. Diplomacy, rather than war, is the only way to preserve what is left of Syria for its hard-pressed citizens. ❑
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AUGUST 2012
mayton_19_Cairo Communique 6/21/12 11:17 AM Page 19
Egypt Votes, a Dictator Is Jailed and the Military Takes More Power CairoCommuniqué
By Joseph Mayton or decades the battle between the Mus-
of Hosni Mubarak represented the status quo. Now, after Egyptians have voted in their first contested presidential election, the Brotherhood and the deposed regime once again battle it out for the country’s top job. As results from the presidential run-off began to come in, it became clear that the Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Morsi, would come out on top—but the surprise was that the race was so close. After all, Ahmed Shafiq was the last prime minister to serve under ousted President Mubarak, who will now serve a life sentence for his actions that left more than 1,000 people dead in the 18 days of protests that led to the end of his regime. Shafiq’s candidacy in itself had already generated much anger and frustration. In April, Egypt’s parliament had passed the “Azl” law, barring top officials from the Mubarak era from participating in politics for a decade, but somehow the ruling military council’s electoral committee overseeing the eligibility of candidates failed to bar the man who headed the government during much of those 18 days of protests. “He is the man who was in charge during the Battle of the Camel, so how can this even be happening?” asked Tamer Othman, a Cairo University political science major and liberal activist. He was in Tahrir Square in early June to join tens of thousands of Egyptians in condemning the failure of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to uphold the apparently straightforward law: no former Mubarak figures in politics. The situation in Egypt had intensified on June 2, when Mubarak and his interior minister, Habib al-Adly, were handed life sentences for their role in the murder of protesters in January 2011. It was the acquittal of top police officials that sparked the latest round of demonstrations in Tahrir and across the country, with many Egyptians believing that their hope for change and demand for the complete reJoseph Mayton is a free-lance journalist based in Cairo, where he administers the Web site <http://bikyamasr.com>. AUGUST 2012
DANIEL BEREHULAK/GETTY IMAGES
Flim Brotherhood and the government
An Egyptian protester shouts slogans outside parliament as riot police block the building entrance to prevent members of the recently dissolved legislature from entering, June 19, 2012. moval and justice for Mubarak-era politicians and police would be realized had been turned into a farce. The activist community especially lamented the fact that Ismail al-Shaer, the Cairo police chief during the uprising, was let off the hook. Most observers believe he was the mastermind behind the police crackdown on protesters. Egyptians increasingly feared that their revolution was at an end—that the military council, Shafiq’s candidacy and the lack of justice for the victims of the uprising are omens of a return to the politics that had led to January 25. A Shafiq victory could propel the country into chaos unprecedented since those 18 days last January and leave the country once again teetering toward collapse. “We demand an end to the Mubarak era. We are angry that those responsible for killing Egyptians are let off without going to prison. Is this justice?” asked the mother of one of those victims, Etidal Hossam, who, like many other family members of those killed last year, had joined with the activists in Tahrir to demand an end to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
military rule, the implementation of the law banning Shafiq, and the change desired by the vast majority of Egyptians. Still, there are those who are increasingly frustrated by the demonstrations in Tahrir, the blocking of roads and the perception that the activist community is attempting to co-opt democracy because they are unhappy with the result. Protest fatigue has set in. Coupled with parliament’s apparent inability to improve the average Egyptian’s life, people once again are questioning where the country is headed. In many ways it all became moot on June 14 and 17, when the military showed its muscle and clenched its fist around the country’s future. The Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo ruled that one-third of parliament was invalid, effectively dissolving the legislative body, in which the Muslim Brotherhood holds a majority of seats, and handing power to the military junta. The court also ruled that Ahmed Shafiq could be a candidate in the presidential run-off, declaring the “Azl” law “unconstiContinued on page 66 19
hanley_20-21_Islam in America 6/21/12 1:19 PM Page 20
Muslim Americans Challenge and Inspire On Memorial Day Islam in America
By Delinda C. Hanley
trast to other faith groups any Americans celein America. Mosques inMemorial creasingly are involved in Day at a backyard barbeinterfaith projects and cue, shopping mall or, percommunity service prohaps, a cemetery—rememgrams, Bagby noted, from bering the men and women cleaning up their neighwho have sacrificed their borhoods to volunteering lives for our freedom. This at food pantries and health writer joined more than care centers. 16,000 Muslims attending Suzy Ismail, author of 9 the Islamic Circle of North to 5: Muslims in the WestAmerica (ICNA) and Musern Workplace and Modern lim American Society’s Muslim Marriage, called 37th annual convention in on her audience to “care Hartford, CT from May 26more about our neighbors, 28. It felt good spending or people dying in Syria, the weekend with our than where we’re going Muslim fellow citizens— shopping.” An officer on both new immigrants and her children’s school board people who’ve been here of directors and other nonfor generations—who especially value the freedom CAIR executive director Nihad Awad and other speakers suggest concrete steps profits in New Jersey, Ismail worked to motivate to worship, work, raise a for Muslims to take to defend religious freedom in America. her audience: “Our acfamily and the other rights tions represent Islam—we that Americans fight—and are a living billboard for die—to protect. ThroughIslam. We are living under out the weekend I heard a microscope,” she added. Muslim Americans discuss “Build bridges,” Ismail how to protect these cheradvised. “Visit churches ished rights. and synagogues—don’t The Hartford Convention just invite people to your Center morphed into a mosque.” She challenged bustling bazaar where famMuslims to get out of their ilies shopped for clothes, comfort zone: 40 percent books, toys and food, and of students studying Arachildren played games, inbic in college are Jewish, cluding rockclimbing, she pointed out, while jumping on moonwalks or there are zero Muslims in even playing Wii tennis or Hebrew classes. “Serve on bowling video games. While staffing our Wash- Shoppers fill Amirah Aulagi’s booth at the ICNA bazaar. Aulagi (c) launched boards. We need to speak ington Report booth I talked her custom-made clothing line, Amirah Couture, this year, and guarantees that out. This is our country,” she concluded. with potential readers and each purchase helps send a girl to school in the Greater Middle East. Ahmadullah Siddiqi, a advertisers, as I passed out hundreds of copies of this magazine—and phobia in America or how Muslims can journalism professor at Western Illinois University, and I were panelists in a lively occasionally slipped away to hear speakers. help the communities in which they live. Dr. Ihsan Bagby described his recently discussion about anti-Muslim bias in corThousands of convention attendees, as well as nearly 7,000 additional viewers updated report, “The American Mosque porate media. We agreed that Americans’ who watched online from home via 2011: Basic Characteristics of the American knowledge of other cultures comes from livestream, heard panel discussions focus- Mosque, Attitudes of Mosque Leaders,” what they see on TV or read in the newsing on how to counter the rise of Islamo- which is part of a larger study of American papers, and that our biased media is brimcongregations called “Faith Communities ming with negative stereotypes. Just look Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Today.” He found a surge in mosque atten- at the anti-Muslim campaigns at home dance in the past 10 years, in startling con- waged by the Tea Party movement, Siddiqi Washington Report. STAFF PHOTOS D. HANLEY
Mbrated
20
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AUGUST 2012
hanley_20-21_Islam in America 6/21/12 1:19 PM Page 21
Dr. Ihsan Bagby.
Suzy Ismail.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest non-profit Muslim civil rights organization in America, offered some concrete steps Muslims can take to combat misinformation and even hatred. “Don’t just complain—take action to educate the American public,” he urged listeners. “Be yourself...Smile to unlock a heart...extend your hand and tell them who we are...If they know us they’ll respect and accept us,” he promised. “This is the greatest time to be a Muslim in America,” Awad insisted. “You don’t have to be an imam. You are the people to give that message.” Speak up. Be visible. Be active in your PTA, public library or fire station. “Give up some quality time,” he urged. Open your home, join the civic discussion, be generous. “If Muslims in America light a candle in this darkness,” he concluded, “Islamophobes who profit from fear and ignorance in the U.S. will go out of business.” Spending Memorial Day with Muslim Americans in Hartford reminded me that it’s up to all of us—not only soldiers—to defend the freedoms on which our country was founded. ❑
Anti-Migrant Racism…
STAFF PHOTOS D. HANLEY
Continued from page 10
Prof. Ahmadullah Siddiqi. warned: “Muslims don’t understand the gravity of this situation. If a tornado is coming don’t we look for protection?” “Send someone from your family into the media field,” we both urged. “We complain about our treatment by the media but no Muslims want to study media,” Siddiqi lamented. “We have to join the discussion if we live in this country. Media is power, money and protection,” Siddiqi stated, noting that Muslims invest almost nothing to support or build our media. (“I consider the Washington Report our own media,” he emphasized.) Muslims raise funds for mosques “but people will destroy these mosques unless we change the discourse and support fair magazines, newspapers, TV and radio shows,” Siddiqi concluded. AUGUST 2012
2006; about two-thirds came from Eritrea and one-third from Sudan. They claimed a fear of persecution in their home countries and sought a better life in Israel. Most were assisted—for a high price—by Bedouin, and arrived in Israel destitute. They often support themselves by working illegally, but are accused by some of being responsible for much of the crime in areas where they are present. In January 2010, Netanyahu announced that a new fence would be built along the Egyptian border to keep the migrants out. It is now well under way. Except for the border with Jordan south of the Red Sea, Israel will be surrounded on land by walls and fences to keep “infiltrators” of various descriptions out. Plans were also announced in 2010 for the construction of the world’s largest detention center for migrants. The government wants to return the unwanted Africans to their countries of origin, but it does not have diplomatic relations with Sudan. Many Israelis and members of Zionist organizations abroad, disturbed at these developments, have voiced their condemnation of the riots and the inflammatory THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
words of certain Israeli leaders. This was true of U.S. Zionist groups, with the notable exception of the right-wing Zionist Organization of America, which maintained its usual supportive attitude toward Netanyahu and his cohorts. The riots were widely reported in the international media, but few made the connection between Israeli hostility toward African migrants and fear and enmity toward the Palestinians. Anxieties over the dilution of the Jewish character of the state, which was established through the expulsion of most of its Palestinian Arab population in 1948, are an abiding feature of Israeli political culture. Since the 1980s, parties that openly call for Israel’s Palestinian citizens to be expelled have had only very limited support, but their extremism has legitimized the expression of broader support for “transfer.” It is backed by Yisrael Beitenu, the Russian immigrant-based party of Israel’s current Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for example. Even the tools of repression used against migrants hark back to the Palestine conflict. The new detention center is to be located at Ketziot, which came to international attention during the first intifada, when thousands of Palestinian prisoners passed through it. On Jan. 10 of this year, the Prevention of Infiltration Law was amended to allow asylum seekers to be detained for three years without trial, or indefinitely if they came from “enemy” states such as Sudan. Both the “infiltration/infiltrators” terminology and the law itself go back to the 1950s. Palestinians expelled in 1948 tried to return to recover possessions hidden when they left, and there were fears in Israel that some were managing to return permanently and find shelter in surviving Palestinian communities. If intercepted, the lucky ones were sent back to their place of refuge, but it became more normal to shoot them. In response, Palestinians started to come back with guns. The Prevention of Infiltration Law was passed in 1954, ostensibly to deal with armed infiltrators on sabotage missions, but it allowed “infiltrators” to be imprisoned for five years, whether armed or not. The latest amendment to the law provides for it to be de-linked from the state of emergency, so that if Israel one day decides to lift the latter, this law will remain in force. The “original sin” of the dispossession of the Palestinians thus continues to be the primary source of rottenness in the state of Israel. ❑ 21
killgore_22_Special Report 6/20/12 12:21 AM Page 22
The American Press on the Death of the “Lockerbie Bomber” SpecialReport
MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
By Andrew I. Killgore
Friends and relatives pray over the body of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi during his funeral in the Tripoli suburb of Janzur, Libya, May 21, 2012. he Washington Post, New York Times
Tand the U.S. edition of the Financial
Times all carried articles on the May 20 death in Tripoli, Libya of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, convicted of bombing Pan American Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. The Post, whose pro-Israel sympathies cause its Middle East coverage to be unreliable at best, had a straight one-column article. It expressed no doubts that the bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103 was transported from Valletta, Malta to Frankfurt, Germany to London, where it was loaded onto the doomed plane. Determined to publish as little as possible on the Lockerbie tragedy, the news of Megrahi’s death was published in the Post’s little-read obituary section—alongside the death of singer Robin Gibb of the disco group the Bee Gees. In a stunning example of the paper’s priorities, the Post devoted nearly twice as much space to Andrew I. Killgore, a retired foreign service officer and former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, is publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 22
Gibb’s obituary as it did to Megrahi’s. The Financial Times article is better, and much less linear. “Discrepancies at the trial led many to believe in Megrahi’s innocence,” it informs its readers. The former Scottish lord advocate, Lord Fraser of Carmillie, in expressing his doubts about Maltese shopkeeper Tony Gauci’s identification of Megrahi as having bought certain clothes from his shop in Valletta, remarked that Gauci was “an apple short of a picnic.” The Financial Times also notes that “there were reports that Gauci received at least $2 million from the U.S., possibly via the CIA.” As a result, the paper concludes, “we may never know who placed the bomb that brought down terror and death to a planeload of passengers, to the crew that served them, and civilians in a sleepy Scottish town [Lockerbie] below.” The New York Times carried two articles on Megrahi’s death, one by John F. Burns and the other by Robert D. McFadden. Neither is bad, given the American media’s strange silence on the Lockerbie issue. Burns writes, “Even Megrahi’s death may not end the saga of Flight 103.” THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Dr. Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the Pan Am 103 crash, is mentioned by name, but Dr. Robert Black is not. It was Black, professor emeritus of Scots Law at the University of Edinburgh, who originated the idea of holding the Lockerbie trial in The Netherlands with Scottish judges under Scottish law. Nor is any mention made of the Justice for Megrahi Committee (of which this writer is a member). Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, noted in a television interview that the Scottish police investigation of the bombing had never been closed, and that Libya’s new government had “promised to cooperate” in an effort to settle who was responsible. Dr. Swire, whom Burns describes as “the most persistent—and most controversial— of Megrahi’s defenders in Britain,” fainted in court when Megrahi was convicted and his indicted co-defendant Lamen Khalifa Fhimah acquitted. Swire is a vigorous advocate of an independent inquiry into the bombing, Burns writes, and was reported to have said in broadcast interviews on May 20 that there were two false pieces of evidence in Megrahi’s conviction. According to Swire, shopowner Gauci had been paid “millions of dollars” by Western intelligence agencies. Also, the bomb’s circuit board was one used by Iranian—not Libyan—intelligence. McFadden provides much evidence on doubts about Megrahi’s guilt. The Lockerbie court “found the case circumstantial, the evidence incomplete and some witnesses unreliable,” he writes, but nevertheless left “no reasonable doubt” on Megrahi’s guilt. He quotes Hans Kochler, a United Nations observer at the trial, as calling it “a spectacular miscarriage of justice.” McFadden continues: “Many legal experts and investigative journalists challenged the evidence, calling Megrahi a scapegoat for a Libyan government long identified with terrorism.” While denying involvement, he writes, Libya paid $2.7 million to the victims’ families in 2003 in a bid to end years of diplomatic isolation. ❑ AUGUST 2012
mcarthur_23-25_Congress Watch 6/20/12 5:22 PM Page 23
House, Senate Pass Bills With War Hawks’ Language on Iran CongressWatch
By Shirl McArthur s described in the Washington ReA port’s June/July issue, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had asked unanimous consent (meaning no debate and no amendments) to pass H.R. 1905, the far-reaching Iran sanctions bill passed by the House and sent to the Senate in December, with its text replaced by that of S. 2101, the “Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Human Rights” bill introduced in February by Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD). S. 2101 is a pared-down version of H.R. 1905 and its Senate counterpart, S. 1048, introduced in May 2011 by Sen. Robert Menendez (DNJ). Reid’s effort failed, however, because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) objected to unanimous consent, saying he wanted to propose an amendment saying that “nothing in this act is to be construed as a declaration of war or as an authorization of the use of military force in Iran or Syria.” To satisfy Paul, Reid added that language to the bill—but Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), on behalf of several Republican war hawks, then said that if the Paul language was included, there must also be language saying that military options remained on the table to “compel Iran to abandon efforts to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.” Reid then added that language as well, but as a nonbinding “sense of Congress” clause. Kyl lifted his objection, and the bill passed by unanimous consent on May 21. The bill, as H.R. 1905, now goes to conference to reconcile the House and Senate versions, where it’s likely to meet a renewed push by the Israel-first war hawks to further toughen it. Already Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Kyl and Menendez have said they will urge that additional sanctions be included, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (RFL) has said she wants it to include a version of H.R. 4179, the “Financial Sanctions Improvement” bill she and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) introduced in March (although H.R. 4179 still has received no further support). The bill’s fate is unsure. Conferees have not been named, and the war hawks’ efforts will likely be resisted by more responsible members. Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service officer living in the Washington, DC area. AUGUST 2012
Even if it gets through conference and is passed by both houses, it faces an uncertain future at the White House. However, the war hawks, with H.R. 1905 and H.Res. 568 (see below), have sent two messages: first, to Iran’s leaders, that, in Kirk’s words, “they must halt all enrichment activities or face further sanctions,” and, second, to President Barack Obama’s administration, that pursuing diplomatic efforts will not stop Congress from imposing harsher sanctions.
.Res. 568 would give H the “sense of Congress” that “containing” a nuclear Iran is not an option. On May 17, the House passed the AIPACpromoted H.Res. 568, introduced by RosLehtinen in March, on a roll call vote of 40111, with nine members voting “present.” The measure would give the “sense of Congress” that “containing” a nuclear Iran is not an option, and would “urge the president to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability,” which could be seen as a call for war with Iran. However, prior to the vote, Rep. Howard “even-before-I-was-a-Democrat-I-was-a-Zionist” Berman (D-CA), a lead co-sponsor of the bill, addressed concerns raised by some members with two important statements, neither of which was challenged by Ros-Lehtinen. First, he said “this resolution is no way intended and in no way can it be interpreted as an authorization for the use of military force. It is a non-binding resolution that endorses a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear program.” Second, he defined “nuclear weapons capability” as including three elements, as defined by the Director of National Intelligence: fissile material production; design, weaponization, and testing of a warhead; and a delivery vehicle. “While Iran has the delivery system,” he said, “they have not yet mastered” steps one and two. “And if one day, when they’ve mastered all the other elements and they kick out the inspectors and they shut off the cameras, I will consider them nuclear-capable.” When passed, H.Res. 568 had 332 coTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
sponsors. In the Senate, the identical S.Res. 380, introduced in February by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), has gained eight cosponsors, and now has 78, including Graham. A new anti-Iran bill, H.R. 4485, the “Credible Military Option to Counter Iran” bill, was introduced April 24 by Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and 13 co-sponsors. It would claim to make it “the policy of the U.S. to take all necessary measures, including military action if required, to prevent Iran from threatening the U.S., its allies, or Iran’s neighbors with a nuclear weapon.” It goes on to describe several aggressive steps the U.S. should take in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf, “in support of the above policy.” And on May 17 Reps. Ros-Lehtinen and Bruce Braley (D-IA) introduced H.R. 5796, “to establish a common fund to pay claims to the Americans held hostage in Iran.” RosLehtinen introduced similar measures in the past three sessions. In the Senate on May 24, Graham introduced S.J.Res. 41, “expressing the sense of Congress regarding the nuclear program” of Iran. This updated and slimmed-down version of S.Res. 380 is Graham’s attempt to get it passed by unanimous consent. It would reject “any policy that fails to prevent the Iranian government from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability and instead relies on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons capable Iran,” and it “urges continued and increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian government,” but it makes no mention of a military option. Like S.Res. 380, it has 78 cosponsors, including Graham. Of the previously described anti-Iran measures, only H.R. 3783, introduced in January by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), which would proclaim that ”it shall be U.S. policy” to counter Iran’s presence and activities in the Western Hemisphere; H.R. 4070, introduced in February by Rep. Bob Turner (R-NY), which would “clarify” certain provisions relating to blocked Iranian assets in the U.S.; and H.R. 4228, introduced in March by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), “to direct the secretary of state to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary 23
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Guard Corps Qods Force as a foreign terrorist organization,” have gained support. H.R. 3783 has gained four co-sponsors and now has 80, including Duncan; H.R. 4070 has gained 16 co-sponsors and now has 41, including Turner, and H.R. 4228 has gained seven co-sponsors and now has 19, including McCaul.
Two Letters, Only One Positive The previously described H.R. 4173, introduced in March by Rep. Barbara Lee (DCA), which would urge that the U.S. pursue all diplomatic avenues to avoid a war with Iran, still has only 28 co-sponsors. On May 22, however, prior to the May 23 resumption of multilateral discussions with Iran, 71 representatives wrote to Obama expressing “strong support for the prevention of a nuclear weapons-capable Iran through diplomacy.” The letter, originated by Reps. David Price (D-NC) and David Dreier (RCA), also says “we are aware of the possibility that the Iranian regime is simply ‘buying time’ to further its nuclear ambitions, but we believe that Iran’s declared openness to multilateral discussions—coupled with verifiable intermediate steps to bring its program toward compliance with international obligations—is sufficient to warrant renewed determination.” But on the same day, 12 war hawk senators, led by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), issued a statement saying that “given the Iranian regime’s long track record of delay and deception…we remain extremely skeptical about its willingness to engage in good faith diplomacy.” The statement concludes with, “it is a vital national interest of the U.S. to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. No option should be taken off the table to achieve this goal.”
House Passes Defense Authorization Bill, With Some Problematic Provisions On May 18 the House passed H.R. 4310, the “National Defense Authorization” bill, with several Middle East-related provisions, most of them unhelpful. Among them is Sec. 1221, “Declaration of Policy,” which says that “to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the U.S., in cooperation with its allies, must utilize all elements of national power including diplomacy, robust economic sanctions, and credible, visible preparations for a military option.” Sec. 1221 also includes language from Conaway’s H.R. 4485 that “it shall be the policy of the U.S. to take all necessary measures, including military action if required, to prevent Iran from threatening the U.S., its allies, or Iran’s neighbors with a nuclear weapon.” 24
Sec. 1222 includes other language, similar to that in H.R. 4485, describing several aggressive steps the U.S. should take in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf, in support of that policy. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) spoke against these provisions on the House floor, saying the bill “authorizes war under the pretext that Iran is threatening to launch a nuclear attack, even though Iran does not have nuclear-weapons capability, and is not building a bomb.” A White House “Statement of Policy” also objected to Secs. 1221 and 1222, saying, “taken together, these provisions would infringe upon the president’s prerogative to plan for military activities, including the deployment of U.S. forces. Section 1221 also purports to declare U.S. policy toward Iran, challenging the president’s well-established constitutional prerogatives with respect to U.S. foreign policy.” Among the amendments that passed was one positive one, no. 123, offered by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), that “clarifies that nothing in the bill shall be construed as authorizing the use of force against Iran.” Less helpful were amendments no. 122 by Conaway that would seek ways to strengthen cooperation with U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Israel, and no. 125 by Duncan that would limit funds for Egypt to participation in joint U.S.-Egyptian military exercises if Egypt abrogates, terminates, or withdraws from the 1979 IsraelEgypt peace treaty. However, Lee’s amendment, no. 161, similar to her H.R. 4173 described above, which would urge the U.S. to pursue diplomatic avenues to avoid a war with Iran, failed on a vote of 77-344.
House Passes U.S.-Israel Security Cooperation Bill; Other Pro-Israel Bills Gain Support On May 9 the House passed H.R. 4133 by a roll call vote of 411-2, with 9 voting “present.” Introduced in March by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and strongly pushed by AIPAC, the bill’s stated purpose is “to enhance strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Israel,” and its provisions amount to a wish-list of mostly defense-related goodies for Israel. Ignoring the Constitution’s granting of foreign policy authority to the president, the bill also includes a list of pro-Israel “policy” statements, including one “to reaffirm the enduring commitment of the U.S. to the security of Israel” and one “to help Israel preserve its qualitative military edge amid rapid and uncertain regional political transformation.” The only one even THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
suggesting peace with the Palestinians would declare it to be U.S. policy “to assist Israel with its ongoing efforts to forge a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that results in two states living side by side in peace and security, and to encourage Israel’s neighbors to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.” When passed it had 305 cosponsors. H.R. 4133’s Senate companion, S. 2165, introduced in March by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), now has 51 co-sponsors, including Boxer. One provision in S. 2165, but not in H.R. 4133, would extend the Israel loan guarantee authority until Sept. 30, 2015. The previously described, and troublesome, H.Con.Res. 115, introduced in March by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), “recognizing the 64th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel,” continues to gain co-sponsors, and now has 128, including Buerkle. After 17 problematic, and sometimes false, “whereas” clauses, the fourth of the six “resolved” clauses would seem to tell Israel that it’s okay to attack Iran. It says that Congress “expresses support for Israel’s right to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by Iran, defend Israeli sovereignty, and protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within a reasonable time.” However, the list of co-sponsors still includes no House heavyweights of either party, not even Ros-Lehtinen, implying that the bill is unlikely to be brought to a vote by the full House. Another measure supporting an Israeli attack on Iran is H.Res. 630, introduced April 24 by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) with seven co-sponsors. Its only “resolved” clause says the House “fully supports Israel’s lawful exercise of self-defense up to and including action to stop Iranian aggression, including a strike against Iran’s illegal nuclear program.” H.R. 4229, the “Iron Dome Support” bill, introduced in March by Berman, which would authorize the president to provide further assistance to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, has gained 41 co-sponsors and now has 108, including Berman. The Senate companion, S. 2325, introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in April, now has 20 co-sponsors, including Nelson. (The Defense Authorization bill described above also authorizes $680 million for the Iron Dome program.) H.R. 3992, passed by the House in March, was passed by the Senate on May AUGUST 2012
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Statement by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) on H.R. 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 Mr. Speaker: I rise in opposition to HR 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act, which unfortunately is another piece of one-sided and counter-productive foreign policy legislation. This bill’s real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran and Syria, and it undermines U.S. diplomatic efforts by making clear that the U.S. is not an honest broker seeking peace for the Middle East. The bill calls for the United States to significantly increase our provision of sophisticated weaponry to Israel, and states that it is to be U.S. policy to “help Israel preserve its qualitative military edge” in the region. While I absolutely believe that Israel—and any other nation—should be free to determine for itself what is necessary for its national security, I do not believe that those decisions should be underwritten by U.S. taxpayers and backed up by the U.S. military. This bill states that it is the policy of the United States to “reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.” However, according to our Constitution the policy of the United States government
24. If signed by the president, it will allow otherwise eligible Israeli investors “to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated U.S. nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel.” More problematic, H.R. 5850, “to provide for the inclusion of Israel in the visa waiver program,” was introduced by Sherman and 20 co-sponsors on May 18. Israel has not qualified for this program because the number of Israelis coming to the U.S. on tourist visas and staying on illegally is too high. Also, the AIPAC-promoted Jerusalem Embassy bill, H.R. 1006, introduced in March 2011 by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), has gained co-sponsors and now has 59, including Burton. Among other things, it would remove the presidential waiver authority included in the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
New Bill Would Prohibit Aid to PA On April 27, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and 28 co-sponsors introduced H.R. 5303, strangely titled the “Palestinian Peace Promotion and Anti-Incitement” bill. Ignoring the fact that Israel considers U.S. aid to the PA to be in Israel’s interest, the bill says that no funds may be provided to the PA unless the secretary of state certifies that certain accounting provisions have been met and “the PA no longer engages in a pattern of incitement against the U.S. or Israel and is engaged in peace preparation activities aimed at promoting peace with the Jewish State of Israel.” The bill then defines “peace preparation activities” as including several unlikely steps, including “public acknowledgments of the State of AUGUST 2012
should be to protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country. In fact, our own Constitution prohibits the establishment of any particular religion in the U.S. More than 20 years after the reason for NATO’s existence—the Warsaw Pact—has disappeared, this legislation seeks to find a new mission for that anachronistic alliance: the defense of Israel. Calling for “an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO headquarters and exercises,” it reads like a dream for interventionists and the military industrial complex. As I have said many times, NATO should be disbanded not expanded. This bill will not help the United States, it will not help Israel, and it will not help the Middle East. It will implicitly authorize much more U.S. interventionism in the region at a time when we cannot afford the foreign commitments we already have. It more likely will lead to war against Syria, Iran, or both. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. —May 9, 2012
Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.” Also, on May 8 Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Steve Israel (D-NY) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) wrote to the General Accountability Office’s comptroller general asking him to investigate what U.S. funds were given to the Palestine Investment Fund and for what purposes. They said they were concerned about reports that Hamas has taken control of PIF assets in Gaza. On a lighter note, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) demonstrated his grasp of the Israel-Palestine situation in an April 20, 2012 letter to a constituent, saying “it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists.”
Syria Continues to Receive Congressional Attention, but Little Action Uncertainty over how to react to the unfolding events in Syria resulted in little congressional action. The Senate did pass, on May 9, an amended S. 2224, introduced in March by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). In addition to requiring presidential reports on opposition groups operating inside or outside of Syria to oppose the Syrian government, and on the size and security of conventional and non-conventional weapons stockpiles in Syria, the amended bill would also require a report “describing all support provided [by the U.S.] to opposition political forces in Syria.” A new resolution, S.Res. 435, “calling for democratic change in Syria,” was introduced on April 25 by Sens. Bob Casey (DPA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), with eight other co-sponsors. Among other things, it THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
would “reaffirm U.S. policy that [President] Bashar al-Assad must relinquish power and step aside,” and call upon the president to support organizations in Syria that “are representative of the Syrian people, protect human rights and religious freedom, cooperate with international counterterrorism and nonproliferation efforts, and abstain from destabilizing neighboring countries.” Of the previously described measures, only H.R. 2106, introduced by Ros-Lehtinen in June 2011, which would, among other things, impose a wide range of export, financial, procurement, banking and property sanctions aimed at Syria’s energy sector, has gained co-sponsors. It now has 68, including Ros-Lehtinen. ❑
IndextoAdvertisers Dish Network. . Inside Back Cover Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Kinder USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Muslim Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Radio Baladi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Zakat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 25
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ELECTION WATCH
By Janet McMahon
Lobby Money Talks, U.S. Congress Walks—Except This Year in New Jersey alk about the best of both
Tworlds—not only has Rep. Shel-
TOP TEN 2012 AND CAREER RECIPIENTS OF PRO-ISRAEL PAC FUNDS
ley Berkley (D-NV) received more money from pro-Israel political acCompiled by Hugh Galford tion committees (PACs) than any other member of the House of RepreHOUSE: CURRENT RACES SENATE: CURRENT RACES sentatives, but she also has received more pro-Israel PAC money than any Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) $49,500 Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) $62,500 2012 candidate for the U.S. Senate. Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) 31,000 Casey, Robert P ., Jr. (D-PA) 59,300 She must be doing something Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 25,750 Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) 56,000 right—for Israel. If the lobby has its Berman, Howard L. (D-CA) 25,500 Cardin, Benjamin L. (D-MD) 55,680 way, she’ll join fellow Israel-firster Cantor, Eric I. (R-VA) 21,500 Nelson, Bill (D-FL) 42,650 M ark Kirk (R-IL) in the “world’s Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D-FL) 21,000 Klobuchar, Amy J. (D-MN) 42,500 greatest deliberative body,” where Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 17,500 Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) 40,800 they’ll continue ardently to advance Rothman, Steven R. (D-NJ) 17,000 McCaskill, Claire (D-MO) 39,500 the agenda of a foreign country. In other races around the counAndrews, Robert E. (D-NJ) 16,500 Whitehouse, Sheldon, II (D-RI) 36,500 try, lobby favorites include Rogers, Michael D. (R-AL) 14,000 Brown, Sherrod (D-OH) 28,750 Howard Berm an over fellow Democratic Zionist Brad Sherm an, who will face off against each other House: Career Totals Senate: Career Totals again in November; and incumbent Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) over DeBerkley, Shelley (D-NV) $388,555 Levin, Carl (D-MI) $729,937 mocratic challenger El iz ab e th Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) 300,418 Harkin, Thomas R. (D-IA) 552,950 Warren. While in Virginia pro-IsHoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) 261,025 Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ) 503,578 rael PACs are contributing relaRos-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) 258,240 McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) 498,141 tively even-handedly this year to Cantor, Eric I. (R-VA) 239,230 Reid, Harry (D-NV) 393,001 Senate candidates George Allen (the Republican former senator) Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) 194,738 Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) 375,421 and Tim K aine (the Democratic Berman, Howard L. (D-CA) 150,050 Lieberman, Joseph I. (Ind-CT) 366,851 former governor), the candidates’ Burton, Danny L. (R-IN) 146,836 Baucus, Max (D-MT) 351,648 career totals are evidence of Allen’s Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) 132,800 Wyden, Ronald L. (D-OR) 345,962 long-time backing by the lobby. Crowley, Joseph (D-NY) 109,157 Kirk, Mark (R-IL) 337,386 The Israel lobby doesn’t always have its way, however (indeed, Adding a national spin to the race, Allen’s defeat in 2006 was evidence of papers and blog posts.” (Garrett has rethat). In New Jersey, two House incum- ceived a career total of $41,200 in pro-Is- Rothman, the first member of the New bents vied for a single seat in the state’s rael PAC contributions—although, as of Jersey congressional delegation to endorse Barack Obama in 2008, campaigned new 9th congressional district, the result April 15, none for this year’s election.) Rather than run against Garrett, how- with top Obama political adviser David of the loss of a House seat following the 2010 census. The new district comprised ever, Rothman decided to move to Engle- Axelrod. Meanwhile, Pascrell, who had 57 percent of the district formerly repre- wood, where he had once been mayor, endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2008, was sented by Rep. Steven R. Rothm an of and run against his fellow Democrat and joined by former President Bill Clinton at Fair Lawn and 43 percent of that repre- soon-to-be-former friend, who once was a June 1 campaign rally, days before the sented by his fellow Democrat, Rep. Bill mayor of Paterson. According to the primary election. Pascrell of Paterson. But the borough of Times, “The party’s congressional leaders Israel’s lobby clearly favored Rothman, Fair Lawn was moved to New Jersey’s 5th beseeched Mr. Rothman to challenge Mr. who is Jewish. Not only did the 30-odd congressional district, represented by Re- Garrett instead of one of his own,” but to pro-Israel PACs shower him with $17,000 publican Scott Garrett, whom The New no avail. Apparently emulating Sen. (for a career total of $100,503) compared York Times described as “almost invari- Joseph Lieberm an (I-CT), Rothman put to a measly $2,000 for Pascrell ($11,853), ably labeled ‘a Tea Party darling’ in local his own ambitions—or perhaps Is- but an article in the New Jersey Jewish rael’s—ahead of the needs of his party, Standard which, according to commentaJanet McMahon is managing editor of the which is trying to win 25 House seats in tor M.J. Rosenberg, “went out, in one form or another, to every Jewish voter in order to retake the majority. Washington Report. 26
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AUGUST 2012
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the district,” quoted AIPAC spokesman Josh Block as saying that “Rothman’s ‘record of pro-Israel leadership is second to none, and in this particular race the differences couldn’t be clearer.’” Islamophobe and discredited “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson added his vile two cents’ worth, “depicting the Roman Catholic Pascrell as an ‘Islamist Fellow Traveler,’” wrote Rosenberg, who declined to quote Emerson further. Although Herb Jackson, writing on the Web site NorthJersey.com, noted that Pascrell and Rothman “had nearly identical voting records [on Israel]…Pascrell had questioned Israeli tactics during its [siege of Gaza] and had defended American Muslims when a House committee held hearings on domestic ‘radicalization.’” In its June 5 article on the election, the New York Times described Paterson as “a largely poor, immigrant city.” What the Times story failed to inform its readers, however, was that, in the words of Arab American Institute president James Zogby, Paterson is “home to one of the United States’ largest Arab-American
communities.” (Nor did the Times story report on the Rothman campaign’s focus on his support for Israel.) With Zogby’s help, Rosenberg wrote, Paterson’s Arab- and Muslim-American residents got to work. Zogby described that work as “raising money for the [Pascrell] campaign, registering well over 1,000 new voters, and compiling a list of almost 10,000 voters which they used in phone banking and door-to-door direct contact to get out the community’s vote.” “That strategy appeared to have worked,” the Times reported, “with campaign operatives reporting high turnout in the city and relatively low turnout in Englewood, where Mr. Rothman was once mayor.” Elaborates Zogby: “The Paterson turnout was decisive, with Arab precincts recording such lopsided totals as 134 for Pascrell to 3 for Rothman, and 222 to 6 and 195 to 6 and 290 to 20.” As a result, Pascrell won more than 60 percent of the vote, and is now the Democratic nominee for New Jersey’s new 9th congressional district. His Republi-
can opponent in November will be Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood, author of such books as Kosher Sex and Kosher Jesus and a memoir of his time as spiritual adviser to the late Michael Jackson, and host of the former reality TV series “Shalom in the Home.” Both Zogby and Rosenberg are adamant that the Pascrell-Rothman contest was not about Israel or “Arabs versus Jews.” Indeed, in Rosenberg’s opinion, the Pascrell victory may “represent the day progressive Jews joined progressive Arab Americans to push back against a Muslim-baiting candidate.” But the precedent-setting primary has implications that cannot be ignored. “When Pascrell returns to the House,” Rosenberg explained, “he will be greeted as a well-loved victor (his colleagues supported him, not Rothman). But he will also be greeted as a member of Congress who stood up to AIPAC’s lies and smears and won. Big. Don’t think his colleagues won’t recognize what this may mean: that, just perhaps, they can vote their consciences, too.” ❑
PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2012 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State Alabama
Arizona
California
Office District H H H H S H H H S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
1 2 3 6 3 6 9 2 3 5 11 12 14 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 25 26 26 26
Candidate Bonner, Josiah R. Roby, Martha Rogers, Michael D. Bachus, Spencer T., III Flake, Jeff*# Grijalva, Raúl M. Schweikert, David Cherny, Andrei Feinstein, Dianne* Woolsey, Lynn C. Garamendi, John Thompson, Mike Miller, George Pelosi, Nancy Speier, Jackie Honda, Mike Eshoo, Anna Lofgren, Zoe Farr, Sam McCarthy, Kevin Capps, Lois G. McKeon, Howard P. (Buck) Rogers, Lee C. Brownley, Julia Gallegly, Elton Strickland, Anthony A.
Party
Status
2011-2012 Contributions
Career
Committees
R R R R R D R D D D D D D D D D D D D R D R D D R R
I I I I O I I O I N I I I I I I I I I I I I C O N O
2,500 2,500 14,000 5,000 7,500 4,000 1,000 2,000 5,000 2,500 5,500 2,500 2,500 10,500 3,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 7,500 10,000 1,500 2,000 4,000 1,000 2,500
13,650 2,500 32,325 24,500 8,250 10,000 1,000 2,000 152,342 6,000 5,500 3,500 11,693 132,800 7,000 12,500 6,750 4,250 11,650 9,000 27,917 7,000 2,000 4,000 51,250 2,500
A(D) AS AS, HS, I x A x x x A(D), I x AS W x Min. Ldr. AS A, B C x A Maj. Whip C AS x x FR x
KEY: The “Career Total” column represents the total amount of pro-Israel PAC money received from Jan. 1, 2009 through April 15, 2012. S=Senate, H=House of Representatives. Party affiliation: D=Democrat, R=Republican, Ref=Reform, DFL=Democratic Farmers Labor, Ind=Independent, Lib=Libertarian. Status: C=Challenger, I=Incumbent, N=Not Running, O=Open Seat (no incumbent). *=Senate election year, #=House member running for Senate seat, †=Special Election. Committees: A=Appropriations (D=Defense subcommittee, FO=Foreign Operations subcommittee, HS=Homeland Security, NS=National Security subcommittee), AS=Armed Services, B=Budget, C=Commerce, FR=Foreign Relations (NE=Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs subcommittee), HS=Homeland Security, I=Intelligence, IR=International Relations, NS=National Security, W=Ways and Means. “–” indicates money returned by candidate, “0” that all money received was returned, “[]” = independent expenditures on behalf of candidate (not included in candidate totals). AUGUST 2012
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
27
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2012 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii Illinois
28
Office District H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H S S S H S S H S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H S S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
27 28 29 30 30 38 44 44 46 47 48 53 1 2 5
3 At-L 1 3 7 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 1 4 6
2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 11 12 14 16 16 17 18
Candidate Chu, Judy Schiff, Adam Cardenas, Tony Berman, Howard L. Sherman, Brad Sanchez, Linda Hahn, Janiceâ&#x20AC; Harman, Jane Sanchez, Loretta Lowenthal, Alan Rohrabacher, Dana Davis, Susan A. DeGette, Diana L. Polis, Jared Lamborn, Douglas Lieberman, Joseph I.* Shays, Christopher* Blumenthal, Richard DeLauro, Rosa L. Carper, Thomas R.* Coons, Christopher A. Carney, John C., Jr. Nelson, Bill* Rubio, Marco Miller, Jefferson B. Stearns, Clifford B. Mica, John L. Nugent, Richard B. Bilirakis, Gus Castor, Kathy Ross, Dennis A. Buchanan, Vernon Rooney, Tom West, Allen B. Hastings, Alcee L. Deutch, Theodore E. Hasner, Adam Wasserman Schultz, Debbie Wilson, Frederica S. Diaz-Balart, Mario Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Kingston, Jack Johnson, Henry C. (Hank) Price, Thomas E. Lingle, Linda* Kirk, Mark S. Durbin, Richard J. Jackson, Jesse, Jr. Lipinski, Daniel Quigley, Mike Roskam, Peter Davis, Danny K. Duckworth, L. Tammy Schakowsky, Janice D. Dold, Robert J., Jr. Schneider, Bradley S. Foster, G. William (Bill) Costello, Jerry F. Hultgren, Randy Manzullo, Donald A. Kinzinger, Adam Bustos, Cheri Schock, Aaron J.
Party
Status
2011-2012 Contributions
Career
Committees
D D D D D D D D D D R D D D R Ind. R D D D D D D R R R R R R D R R R R D D R D D R R R D R R R D D D D R D D D R D D D R R R D R
I I O I I I I N I O I I I I I N O I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I O I I I I I I I O I I I I I I I C I I C C N I N I C I
1,000 3,500 2,500 25,500 7,500 4,000 3,500 -2,500 3,000 4,000 10,000 3,500 2,000 0 1,000 -2,000 500 1,500 10,000 22,800 1,000 500 42,650 10,500 3,000 4,000 1,500 6,600 3,000 5,000 7,000 1,000 1,000 9,500 8,000 13,000 5,000 21,000 2,000 7,250 49,500 5,000 5,000 6,000 24,000 1,000 2,000 3,500 2,500 500 6,000 2,500 2,500 2,000 4,000 2,600 1,000 -500 1,500 2,000 4,000 1,000 5,500
1,000 70,917 2,500 150,050 79,930 22,950 3,500 121,271 66,450 4,000 11,250 13,663 2,000 0 3,500 366,851 50,550 25,500 57,400 60,400 19,000 4,500 179,871 15,600 5,500 17,500 14,150 14,600 44,316 14,900 16,500 1,000 1,000 12,000 102,850 56,600 5,000 74,300 7,000 53,750 258,240 5,500 37,200 11,500 24,000 337,386 375,421 19,350 7,900 1,500 21,750 8,750 11,474 34,145 11,000 2,600 17,000 8,500 2,000 9,000 7,000 1,000 20,000
x A(FO), I x FR FR x HS x AS, HS x FR(NE) AS C
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AS x AS A HS B, FR(NE) x B, C, I C, FR(NE), I AS, I x x x FR(NE), HS B, C x W AS, I AS x FR(NE) x B FR A(FO) FR x AS B, W x A(FO) A(D, FO), FR A(FO) x x W HS x C, I x x x x x FR(NE) x x W AUGUST 2012
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2012 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
S S S S H H H H Iowa H H H Kentucky S H H H Louisiana H H H H H Maine S S H H Maryland S H H H Massachusetts S S H H Michigan S S H H H H Minnesota S H H H H Mississippi S Missouri S H H H Montana S S S Nebraska S Nevada S S H New Hampshire H New Jersey S H H H H H Indiana
AUGUST 2012
2 4 5 6 1 2 3 3 5 6 1 3 4 5 6 1 2 4 5 8 2 7 8 13 14 15 2 4 5 8 3 5 7
2 1 1 2 3 6 7
Candidate Bayh, Evan Donnelly, Joseph S.*# Lugar, Richard G.* Mourdock, Richard E.* Mullen, Brendan B. Rokita, Theodore E. Burton, Danny L. Pence, Mike Braley, Bruce L. Loebsack, David W. Boswell, Leonard L. McConnell, Mitch Yarmuth, John A. Rogers, Harold D. Chandler, A. Ben, III Scalise, Steve Landry, Jeffrey M. Fleming, John C., Jr. Alexander, Rodney M. Cassidy, William Collins, Susan M. Snowe, Olympia J.* Pingree, Chellie M. Michaud, Michael H. Cardin, Benjamin L.* Edwards, Donna Hoyer, Steny H. Van Hollen, Chris Brown, Scott P.* Warren, Elizabeth* McGovern, Jim Capuano, Michael E. Stabenow, Debbie* Levin, Carl Rogers, Michael J. Conyers, John, Jr. Peters, Gary Dingell, John D. Klobuchar, Amy J.* Kline, John P., Jr. McCollum, Betty Ellison, Keith M. Noland, Richard M. Wicker, Roger F.* McCaskill, Claire* Carnahan, John R. (Russ) Cleaver, Emanuel, II Long, Billy Baucus, Max Tester, Jon* Rehberg, Dennis R. (Denny)*# Nelson, E. Benjamin* Berkley, Shelley*# Heller, Dean* Marshall, Kateâ&#x20AC; Shea-Porter, Carol Menendez, Robert* Andrews, Robert E. LoBiondo, Frank A. Runyan, Jon Pallone, Frank, Jr. Lance, Leonard
Party D D R R D R R R D D D R D R D R R R R R R R D D D D D D R D D D D D R D D D D R D DFL DFL R D D D R D D R D D R D D D D R R D R
Status
2011-2012 Contributions
Career
Committees
N C N C O I N N I I I I I I I I I I I I I N I I I I I I I C I I I I I I I I I I I I C I I I I I I I C N C I O C I I I I I I
-10,000 2,000 25,000 2,500 1,000 3,000 3,500 1,000 3,500 3,500 2,000 13,000 2,500 8,500 4,000 8,000 7,000 2,500 2,500 6,000 1,000 20,000 2,000 1,000 55,680 5,000 25,750 -500 11,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 40,800 1,000 2,500 2,500 7,000 2,500 42,500 5,500 3,000 2,500 1,000 10,500 39,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,000 28,500 5,000 11,000 62,500 12,500 2,500 2,500 56,000 16,500 4,000 1,500 12,000 4,000
82,500 12,000 95,450 2,500 1,000 4,500 146,836 83,250 9,500 10,500 40,675 498,141 13,000 16,000 28,500 27,000 9,500 10,000 18,500 10,000 112,000 104,500 5,676 15,250 148,695 9,500 261,025 4,000 15,000 2,500 9,575 4,500 167,406 729,937 6,000 5,000 35,000 15,200 75,335 23,000 8,750 5,500 1,000 60,400 58,835 31,600 8,000 2,500 351,648 38,724 7,500 105,260 388,555 12,500 2,500 9,500 184,318 102,025 29,750 1,500 88,550 11,000
x x FR(NE) x x B FR FR(NE) x AS x A(D, FO), I B A FR(NE), I C x AS A C A(D), AS, HS C, I AS x B, FR(NE) x Min. Whip B AS, HS x x x B AS, HS, I C x x C C AS A, B x x AS, C AS, C, HS FR x HS x A(HS), HS A A, AS W C x x FR(NE) AS AS, I AS C C
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
29
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2012 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
New Jersey
New Mexico New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
H H H H S S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H S S H
Northern Mariana Islands Ohio S S S H H H H H H Oregon S H H Pennsylvania S S H H H H H H Rhode Island S S H South Carolina H South Dakota S H Tennessee S H H Texas S H H H 30
9 9 10 11
1 2 3 4 6 6 8 10 13 14 16 17 22 23 25 26 4 5 8 At-L
1 2 3 8 14 16 1 3 3 8 12 13 15 17 1 1 At-L 5 9 2 12 20
Party
Status
2011-2012 Contributions
Career
Committees
Pascrell, William J., Jr. Rothman, Steven R. Payne, Donald M. Frelinghuysen, Rodney P. Heinrich, Martin T.*# Gillibrand, Kirsten E.* Schumer, Charles E. Altschuler, Randolph King, Peter T. Israel, Steve J. McCarthy, Carolyn Ackerman, Gary L. Lancman, Rory Weprin, David I.† Nadler, Jerrold L. Rangel, Charles B. Crowley, Joseph Engel, Eliot L. Lowey, Nita M. Hinchey, Maurice D. Reed, Thomas W., II Slaughter, Louise M. Higgins, Brian Price, David Foxx, Virginia Kissell, Larry W. Berg, Richard A.*# Heitkamp, Heidi* Sablan, Gregorio K.C.
D D D R D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D R D D D R D R D D
I N N I O I I C I I I N O O I I I I I N I I I I I I O O I
2,000 17,000 5,000 1,000 3,000 15,500 -500 5,000 2,500 6,000 1,000 1,500 1,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 3,500 31,000 17,500 2,500 1,000 2,000 2,000 5,000 1,500 500 17,500 2,500 2,000
11,853 100,503 33,750 12,350 14,000 77,950 83,885 12,500 29,000 57,059 7,825 56,850 1,000 2,000 29,000 25,500 109,157 300,418 194,738 9,780 1,000 63,880 11,600 60,827 5,000 8,500 17,500 2,500 2,000
B, W A(D, FO) FR A(D, HS) AS AS x x HS, I x x FR(NE) x x x W W C, FR A(FO, HS) A(D) W x FR(NE), HS A(HS) x AS W x x
Brown, Sherrod* Brown, Warren P. Mandel, Josh* Chabot, Steve Schmidt, Jeannette H. Kilroy, Mary Jo Boehner, John A. LaTourette, Steven C. Sutton, Betty S. Wyden, Ronald L. Bonamici, Suzanne† Blumenauer, Earl Casey, Robert P., Jr.* Toomey, Patrick J. Kelly, George J., Jr. (Mike) Fitzpatrick, Michael G. Critz, Mark Schwartz, Allyson Y. Dent, Charles W. Holden, Timothy T. Langevin, James R. Whitehouse, Sheldon, II* Cicilline, David N. Scott, Timothy Thune, John R. Noem, Kristi L. Corker, Robert P., Jr.* Cooper, James H.S. Cohen, Stephen I. Dewhurst, David H.* Poe, Ted Granger, Kay Gonzalez, Charles A.
D Ind. R R R D R R D D D D D R R R D D R D D D D R R R R D D R R R D
I N C I N N I I I I I I I I I I I I I N I I I I I I I I I O I I N
28,750 7,000 7,000 3,500 10,000 5,000 2,000 1,000 4,500 1,000 7,000 2,500 59,300 1,000 10,000 1,500 2,000 12,000 500 1,500 9,500 36,500 12,000 1,000 -500 500 18,500 4,000 2,500 1,000 10,000 3,000 4,500
92,500 7,000 7,000 20,000 14,000 21,012 86,000 28,000 24,000 345,962 7,000 6,500 76,300 31,250 12,500 20,000 8,000 60,650 13,750 13,000 32,000 108,500 18,000 1,000 54,230 3,000 32,500 30,250 24,000 1,000 15,000 18,500 5,500
A(FO) x x FR(NE) FR x Spkr of House A AS B, I x B, W FR(NE) B, C FR x AS B, FR(NE) A(FO, HS) x AS, I B FR x B, C x FR AS x x FR A(D, FO) C
Candidate
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AUGUST 2012
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2012 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State Utah Vermont Virginia
Washington
West Virginia Wisconsin
Wyoming
Office District S H H S S S H H H H S H H H S S H H H S
3 At-L
6 7 10 11 1 5 7
3 4 7
Candidate Hatch, Orrin G.* Chaffetz, Jason Welch, Peter Allen, George* Kaine, Timothy M.* Warner, Mark R. Goodlatte, Robert W. Cantor, Eric I. Wolf, Frank R. Connolly, Gerry Cantwell, Maria* Inslee, Jay R. Rodgers, Cathy McMorris McDermott, James Manchin, Joe, III* Baldwin, Tammy*# Kind, Ron Moore, Gwendolynne Duffy, Sean Barrasso, John*
Party
Status
2011-2012 Contributions
Career
Committees
R R D R D D R R R D D D R D D D D D R R
I I I O O I I I I I I N I I I O I I I I
17,500 6,000 2,500 8,000 5,000 2,500 4,500 21,500 1,000 2,500 3,500 2,000 1,350 4,000 22,500 9,500 2,500 2,500 4,000 16,491
75,200 11,000 6,500 60,400 5,000 41,500 4,500 239,230 74,000 16,500 6,344 5,500 1,350 6,000 31,500 14,500 3,500 2,500 5,500 27,491
x B x x x B, C, I x x A(FO) FR(NE) C C C W AS C W B x FR
2011-2012 Total Contributions: Total Contributions (1978-2012): Total No. of Recipients (1978-2012):
$1,665,021 $52,825,354 2,338
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AUGUST 2012
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
31
adas_32-33_New York City and Tri-State News 6/20/12 5:30 PM Page 32
“Proud Palestinian” Archbishop Elias Chacour Seeks Friendship and Solidarity in U.S. By Jane Adas
STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS
the Israeli army evacuated their village, Kfar Bir’im, in 1948. Five years later they razed it. Chacour, as Archbishop of all Galilee, considers himself “the luckiest man in Christendom,” but his career began modestly. In 1965, when he was a newly ordained priest, he was sent temporarily to the village of Ibillin. His bishop forgot about him, however, and “temporary” became 38 years. When Chacour first arrived in Ibillin, Palestinians in Israel were still under martial law, he told his audience—no one could leave the village without a military escort. The young priest thought reading might be a means of escape and began a project to collect and redistribute books. This became the first Arab public library in Israel. He then established summer camps with the help of Muslim and Christian mothers, and this grew into a kindergarten. Ibillin had no high school, so Chacour set out to build one. He added a college, an elementary school, a junior high and, in 2002, the first Arab university in Israel. These together constitute the Mar Elias Educational Institutions, which are coeducational and open to all faiths. Of their 4,500 students, 60 percent are Muslim, and in 2000 Mar Elias received its first Jewish students. All of this required ever more classroom space, which meant applying for building permits from the Israeli government, which routinely denied them. Chacour built anyway, then was taken to court for building without a permit—37 times so far. He learned that the shortest route to Jerusalem is through Washington, DC, so in 1991 he decided to “pop in” on then-Secretary of State James Baker. Chacour went straight from the airport to the Baker residence. Baker was not home, but his wife, Susan, opened the door. She asked who he was and whether he had an appointment. “We men from Galilee don’t make appointments,” Chacour replied, “we make appearances.”
Archbishop Dr. Elias Chacour. s the author of the AET Book Club’s
Aperennial bestseller Blood Brothers,
Elias Chacour hardly needs an introduction. Nevertheless, so that those who filled the sanctuary of the Catholic Community of St. Matthias in Somerset, New Jersey on April 27 might “know with whom [they] have to deal,” Chacour identified himself as a “proud Palestinian Arab Christian.” He recognized that this might pose a problem: Americans are told there are no such people as Palestinians, but if they do exist, they are Muslims and said to be prone to violence. Chacour is an Arab because his mother tongue is Arabic, but, he stressed, “Arabic is not only a vocabulary, but a civilization, an approach to human beings.” As for his religion, he credits Jesus Christ with being the Christian missionary who converted him. A fourth ingredient in Chacour’s identity is that of Israeli citizen. His family became internal refugees after Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area. 32
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
New York City and Tri-StateNews Mrs. Baker invited Father Chacour into the kitchen for iced tea, and to stay for a women’s Bible study session. After Chacour returned to Ibillin, he and the Bakers became long-distance prayer partners. Three months later, Chacour remembered that the purpose of his trip was not iced tea or Bible study, but to get a building permit. The Bakers swung into action and a permit Chacour had sought for six years finally was granted. He is on a U.S. speaking tour sharing stories of a school, Chacour explained, because he is “an international beggar, but for more than money.” He asked for friendship and solidarity, which require challenging certitudes and examining relationships. Being friends with Jews, he stressed, does not require antipathy to Palestinians; solidarity with Palestinians does not mean justifying everything Palestinians do, nor being against the Jews. “We don’t need more enemies,” Chacour concluded. “We Jews and Palestinians need common friends. We need you to be a simple, modest bridge.”
Princeton Panelists Ask “What Can We Do Now?” The Princeton Committee on Palestine sponsored a May 3 panel discussion on “What Can We Do Now?” to further peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. Each of the three panelists focused on a particular constituency. Julia Hurley, herself a recent college graduate, addressed those new to the issue. She advised them to join a delegation to visit the area, then return to speak out about what they have learned. They should then volunteer and raise money for projects they find inspiring and contact their congressional representatives. As executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Rebecca Vilkomerson’s focus is the progressive American Jewish community. Because the U.S., no matter which party is in charge, plays the role of Israel’s lawyer, she reasoned, another way must be found to effect change. JVP therefore has chosen to support the 2005 Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) with a specific Jewish voice, which is to support BDS fully while keeping its own focus on the territories occupied by Israel since 1967. JVP is promoting a national campaign to encourage TIAA-CREF, the AUGUST 2012
adas_32-33_New York City and Tri-State News 6/20/12 5:30 PM Page 33
STAFF PHOTOS J. ADAS
the pupils matriclargest pension ulate upwards. fund in the U.S., to Damri is Hagarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divest from comexecutive direcpanies like Catertor. The school is pillar and Hewlett fully accredited by Packard that profit Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of from Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occuEducation, which pation. Specifiprovides 20 percally, JVPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal is cent of its budget. for TIAA-CREF to The rest comes change its â&#x20AC;&#x153;social from parental parc h o i c e f u n d ,â&#x20AC;? ticipation, foundawh i c h n ow i n tions and private cludes four of five donors. Initially Hagar was targeted companies, into â&#x20AC;&#x153;occugiven space in an existing Israeli p a t i o n - f r e e i nv e s t i n g .â&#x20AC;? public school, but recently the Vilkomerson suggested that stuministry gave it a rundown dent campaigns focus on a spebuilding in a tough neighborcific company, such as Veolia or hood that needed a lot of work. Sabra hummus. The important All the parents pitched in; thing, she concluded, is to do Damri described it as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jews and something, to take action. Arabs coming together to the During the second intifada, land with love.â&#x20AC;? Each classroom Nizar Farsakh spent three years has two teachers, one Arab and with a Palestinian organization one Jewish, and each class is monitoring Israeli settlement activity. He then spent five years TOP (l-r): Rebecca Vilkomerson, Nizar Farsakh and Julia Hurley. evenly divided between Arab and Jewish students. The chilas an adviser to the Palestinian ABOVE: Afnan Abu Taha (l) and Hagit Damri. dren have joint holiday celebranegotiating team on boundary issues, his academic specialty. He was disil- friend, someone with whom she could have tions, produce bilingual shows, and enjoy lusioned, but acknowledged that he learned an honest dialogue. When he was called to monthly family trips. Damri descried Hagar as a safe place for a lot. The internal politics made him realize serve with the Israeli army in Gaza, Abu that the Palestinian problem is not only with Taha didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to feel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t kill, Arabs and Jews to meet and understand each other and to overcome the gaps beIsrael. When people grow disillusioned with and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be killed,â&#x20AC;? she told him. their leaders, Farsakh noted, they disengage; Hagit Damri attended Jewish public tween the two communities that are like â&#x20AC;&#x153;a thus the key question for Palestinians is, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do schools, where she never studied Arabic transparent wall built of bricks of ignowe want to liberate ourselves?â&#x20AC;? If so, how to language or culture. She was 30 when she rance.â&#x20AC;? There have been surprises: the move forward? Farsakh urged Palestinians first made a real connection with an Arab. biggest one for Damri was learning that the and their supporters to be self-critical, to ask This writer met with the two women in Palestinian dream is not to destroy Israel; for Abu Taha, it was that her Jewish challenging questions to their own con- New York on May 11. stituencies, while also challenging AmeriToday both women are professionals: Abu friends want not to feel guilty and desire cansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; real ignorance about Israel and Pales- Taha is an attorney and Damri a Ph.D. can- forgiveness. To learn more about Hagar, tine at every opportunity. Hope, Farsakh didate. Both have young children and live in visit its Web site, <www.hajar.org.il>. â?&#x2018; concluded, means â&#x20AC;&#x153;believing in the plausi- Beersheba. Convinced that such separation (Advertisement) bility of the possible, even if there is only a 5 of communities leads to misconceptions and percent chance, and knowing that just be- fears, and wanting a different future for their cause something is probable, it is not in- children, Abu Taha was among a group of evitable. Even the powerful sometimes lose.â&#x20AC;? five Jewish and Arab families who in 2006 launched a project to educate their children Hagar: Jewish-Arab Education for in the same system, in both Arabic and HeEquality brew. They established a kindergarten with Afnan Abu Taha is an Israeli Palestinian. 20 children and called it Hagar, after the Her pre-college education was conducted in mother of Ismail, because Hagar is in both 4HERE S ALOT MORE YOU MIGHT Arabic, with a little Hebrew as a foreign lan- the Torah and the Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an. Abraham, at the NOT KNOW ABOUT YOUR guage, and some Jewish culture. As a stu- insistence of his wife, Sara, expelled Hagar MUSLIM NEIGHBORS dent at Netanya Academic College, she and her son, possibly to Beersheba. Damri 6JG /WUNKO .KPM VJG NCTIGUV PGYURCRGT HQT CPF CDQWV VJG /WUNKO %QOOWPKV[ KP &% /& CPF 8# #XCKNCDNG CV struggled to understand the Hebrew-lan- added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we who live in the southern peOQUV /QUSWGU #TCD +PFQ 2CM CPF 2GTUKCP TGUVCWTCPVU CPF guage lectures. Abu Taha finished her whole riphery also often feel abandoned.â&#x20AC;? ITQEGTKGU KP VJG ITGCVGT 9CUJKPIVQP $CNVKOQTG Today Hagar: Jewish-Arab Education for academic study without any social contact OGVTQRQNKVCP CTGC #XCKNCDNG (TGG with her Jewish classmates. It was not until Equality offers classes up to fourth grade 0HONE &AX 2001, while studying law at Beer Sheva Uni- and has 200 students. It plans to add a grade WWW -USLIMLINKPAPER COM versity, that Abu Taha made her first Jewish level each year up through high school as
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AUGUST 2012
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
33
parry_34-35_Special Report 6/19/12 10:59 PM Page 34
From the Freedom Theater in Jenin to the Stage of London’s Globe Theater SpecialReport
PHOTO W. PARRY
By William Parry
Eyad Horani in front of London’s Globe Theater. hosts play key roles in several of
GShakespeare’s plays. While there isn’t
one in “Richard II,” performed by the Ramallah-based Ashtar Theater in London this past May, there was the spirit of the late Juliano Mer-Khamis, founder of the Jenin Freedom Theater. To begin with, the troupe first performed the play at the Hisham Palace in Jericho on April 4, the first anniversary of Mer-Khamis’ cold-blooded assassination in Jenin outside the Freedom Theater. Perhaps most symbolically, a month later, on May 4, one of Mer-Khamis’ pupils, Eyad Horani, walked the boards as the character of Henry Percy at one of London’s most iconic theaters—the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater—as part of the theater’s celebrated “Globe to Globe” festival. It was Horani’s stage debut since graduating from the Freedom Theater. Following their Globe premier, the cast participated in an exchange with theatergoers about the challenges the company faces as a result of Israel’s on-going occupation. Horani, at 24 the group’s youngest William Parry is a free-lance writer and photographer based in London. His book, Against the Wall, is available from the AET Book Store. 34
member, took 15 minutes out to speak to the Washington Report. Throughout our interview, Horani repeated Mer-Khamis’ name and memory with great affection, admiration, dignity— and indebtedness. Lamenting the fact that Mer-Khamis could not witness the Globe performance, it was evident that Horani’s achievement is essentially a tribute to all that the multi-faceted Mer-Khamis taught him. “He’s thousands and thousands of people within the same body,” Horani said with fondness, “a crazy one, a Palestinian one, a fighter, a cultured person, a musical person, a theatrical person, a human. I learned humanity through Juliano and his theater, to be myself….He taught me to identify my dreams, what my message should be, what it means to be a Palestinian—and what it means to be an artist, to be open-minded, to be an activist, how to open doors in your life, and how to take control of your life.” And Horani has taken all that on. Born in Hebron in a family that originally lived in Masmiyeh before the Nakba, he is now based in Ramallah. He was drawn to acting as a child, he said, and played his first role when he was 15. In 2008 he enrolled in the Freedom Theater, shortly after learning of its existence during a visit to Jenin. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Horani’s family was initially dubious about his decision, the young actor said. “They were unsure at first,” he explained. “I would be living in Jenin and the theater was in Palestine, and they wondered if it was professional. ‘Will you find a job and do what you want to do?’ they asked. “For the first year they were worried,” Horani said, “but when we performed ‘Animal Farm’ I invited them to the performance and they saw the level of acting and the theater, and they supported me, they pushed me to go forward.” Asked how he and his family feel about performing Shakespeare in the Globe Theater he replied irrepressibly, “Oh! It’s a big, big thing! For me it’s been my dream to perform in a major theater, and to perform in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater is something else. It’s unbelievable. Often I couldn’t sleep and would keep asking myself: ‘Am I really doing this?’ My family is very proud of and happy for me.” It’s not only a dream come true for Horani, however, but also the result of his determination to succeed, of which he clearly is aware. This also is something he learned from Mer-Khamis and the Freedom Theater, he said. “I believe that nothing happens unexpectedly or falls from the sky like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “It comes from how I work myself, from deep inside me, what I want in my life as Eyad, as a Palestinian, as a human, as many things—I want to be an actor and I want to be here. It’s a gift that the Freedom Theater gave to me, and [that training] enabled me to perform here.” Recalling Mer-Khamis’ final hours brought back a flood of bittersweet memories for Horani. The night before MerKhamis was murdered, Horani was partying with him in Ramallah into the early hours of the morning. The plan was to perhaps meet up for lunch in Ramallah, he recalled—but on that fateful morning MerKhamis decided to return home to Jenin. “When I woke someone called me and he was crying. He said ‘Juliano is dead. He’s here in front of my eyes.’ I had just woken and I thought: he’s here in Ramallah, how could this be? How could he be dead in Jenin? AUGUST 2012
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“I got in my car and drove to Jenin but on the way I was playing music and smoking. I was nervous but I thought, I will see him in the hospital and he will make a joke because he was always making jokes about death. But it was true.” Horani’s alternating between present and past tenses as he spoke about MerKhamis seemed to be his way of juggling the experience of losing such an influential friend and mentor whose presence and impact remain—and seemingly always will remain—present for him. “Until now I don’t know Juliano in death, in relation to death, because the last image I have of him was dancing, having fun at the party that night,” Horani said. “I thank God that I didn’t see his dead body because I love this image of him, a powerful man, full of life and love.” Although a Palestinian man initially was convicted of Mer-Khamis’ death, doubts remain. I asked Horani who he thinks killed Mer-Khamis. Looking me directly in the eye, he responded in a measured manner. “Who killed him?” he repeated. “Life killed him. The darkness. The closeminded. The occupation. The system. The hatred. All of these dirty hands who don’t want a future, don’t want love, who don’t want humanity. They killed Juliano. I don’t want to go into specifics because until now it is still not known. But for me it wasn’t a Palestinian, an Israeli or an American—it’s people who are against what Juliano represented. For me Juliano isn’t a body but an idea, and whoever killed Juliano didn’t want to kill this person but this vision, the [prospect] of this future and this way of thinking.” The Freedom Theater’s work has suffered immeasurably as a result, Horani said. Fear and the loss of so inimitable and sizable a personality have cast a shadow over its future. Nevertheless, he is determined to contribute what he can to continue the theater’s pioneering work. Horani intends to return to England in the autumn to pursue a master’s degree in cinema—a departure from live performance, but not from acting. It’s part of his goal to develop himself so that he can, in turn, contribute what he’s learned back to the Freedom Theater to inspire other Palestinian youth to find expression through acting, despite the theater’s enormous setback. “Something [terrible] happened in Jenin but I will go back,” vowed Horani. “I will go with more education, more tools, better than I am today. I want to go back bigger than I am because when Juliano went to Jenin he was bigger than Jenin. You have AUGUST 2012
to be bigger to raise it to your level.” Mer-Khamis’ legacy lives through those, such as Horani, whom he and his theater
have influenced, transforming lives for the better. Participating in the Globe’s festival is a promising start. ❑
To Boycott or not to Boycott: That Is the Question Plays can be used to prick consciences, as Shakespeare’s Hamlet knew. And one production—Habima’s performance of “The Merchant of Venice,” performed in May at the iconic Globe Theater on London’s Southbank—did just that: to boycott or not to boycott? was the question on many people’s lips, including activists, prominent thespians and a celebrated novelist. Habima is Israel’s national theater company. While many professional Israeli theater artists have publicly supported a boycott of cultural activities in Israel’s illegal colonies in Palestine’s occupied West Bank, Habima has performed for exclusive Jewish Israeli audiences in Israel’s Kiryat Arba and Ariel colonies on numerous occasions. On March 29, 37 British actors, directors, playwrights and producers, including Emma Thompson and Mike Leigh, published a letter in the Guardian newspaper, calling on the Globe Theater to boycott Habima. “The Globe is associating itself with policies of exclusion practiced by the Israeli state and endorsed by its national theater company,” they wrote, and called on “the Globe to withdraw the invitation so that the festival is not complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonization of occupied land.” The drama continued a week later, when Booker-winning author Howard Jacobson, backed by several actors, including Simon Callow, published a stern response in the Observer newspaper, stating that with the previous week’s boycott salvo “McCarthyism came to Britain.” He argued, “If there is one justification for art—for its creation and its performance—it is that art proceeds from and addresses our unaligned humanity.” Globe artistic director Dominic Dromgoole was determined that the show would go on. And clearly the Globe seemed prepared for anything, from boisterous disruptions to serious security threats for Habima’s two performances. Ticket holders were told to arrive early for an “enhanced security process” and found an airport-style security system, coupled with scores of security personnel checking attendees’ possessions in the foyer. Dozens of burly security staff were amply placed throughout the theater itself, creating an air of menacing concern. Outside, vocal pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrations were held, each outlining why a boycott of the performances should or shouldn’t be made. Dromgoole addressed the audiences of Habima’s two performances with an opening spiel that served to explain the Globe’s decision to welcome Habima. These were actors and artists, he said, not politicians or policymakers, and were present to tell a story with the aim of making the world a better place. Palestinian artists had also participated in the festival, he said, and hoped that the audience would show Habima’s actors the same courtesy that Ashtar’s had received. That, however, was not to be. Pro-Palestinian activists repeatedly disrupted the two Habima performances, unfurling banners calling for “Israeli Apartheid to leave the stage” or shouting apposite statements at key moments, like “If you prick a Palestinian, does he not bleed?” and “Hath not a Palestinian eyes?” or simply marking a silent protest with tape across their mouths and raising their hands and fingers, proclaiming “peace.” All were promptly evicted from the theater, often with excessive force, according to several reports. Many in the audience shouted insults and jeered the protesters as they were removed. One blogger and Shakespearian academic, Peter Kirwan, wrote of attending the performance: “Whether or not the theater is the appropriate place for this kind of protest became irrelevant for a moment; the heavy-handedness of the policing, and the gentle mockery which served to bind together an audience in derision of the Palestinian protesters, came across to me as a gesture of control and display of power that quashed any hope I had of a ‘better world’…..I have never felt quite so intimidated, tense and uncomfortable at the behavior of people around me as I did tonight at the Globe, and it was the aggressive interventions of the non-protesters rather than the protests themselves that prompted most of these feelings.” —W.P.
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Jordanian American Heritage Day Celebrated at San Francisco City Hall
STAFF PHOTOS E. PASQUINI
By Elaine Pasquini sented a proclamation declaring May 25 as Jordanian American Heritage Day. Committee members include Majdi Alamat, Motasim Sirhan, Mazen Fakhouri, Joel Haddad and Roger Kubein. “I am very happy that our Jordanian commu n i t y i n S a n Francisco is involved with the process of cooperating with the mayor’s office, the
Mark Chandler (l) of the San Francisco mayor’s office and Honorary Consul of Jordan Kamel Ayoub on the mayor’s balcony after raising the Jordanian flag at City Hall. INSET: Cookies decorated with designs of the Jordanian and San Francisco flags were served at the reception celebrating Jordanian American Heritage Day. n the occasion of Jordan’s National
ODay, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office
of Protocol and the San Francisco-Amman Sister City Committee celebrated Jordanian American Heritage Day with a flag-raising ceremony on the balcony of Mayor Ed Lee’s City Hall office. “We are honored to be here today as we celebrate Jordan’s National Day and our ties to the JordanianAmerican community,” Mark Chandler, director of the mayor’s office of international trade and commerce, told the group gathered on the small balcony. “San Francisco is a city that is a tapestry of people from around the world and it is woven together in a unique way.” Thanking the Honorary Consul of Jordan Kamel Ayoub, chair of the San FranciscoAmman Sister City Committee, and committee members for dedicating their time and resources to creating closer ties between San Francisco and Amman, Chandler then preElaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 36
city government, and, hopefully, the state government,” said Consul Ayoub. “We have many projects on the burner and we will move ahead with them very soon.” The consul general, who spoke on Jordanian radio the previous evening, noted that many residents of Jordan were excited that their flag would be flown at San Francisco City Hall. On April 23, 2010, then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and his Amman counterpart Omar Maani signed a declaration establishing a sister city relationship between the two cities with the intent of engaging individuals and institutions to create sustainable cities through exchanges in such fields as urban planning, commerce, tourism, arts and culture, and other areas to promote prosperity and contribute toward the development of deeper bonds of mutual understanding between the citizens and government officials of both cities.
Sonoma-Aswan Sister City Projects At an April 30 meeting at its headquarters in downtown Sonoma, the Sonoma-Aswan THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Northern California Chronicle Sister City (SASC) Committee of the Sonoma Sister Cities Association honored retiring chair Sherri Ferris and welcomed incoming chair George McKale. Committee members then heard progress reports on two projects funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As director of the medical project, McKale discussed the endoscopes the group acquired for a cancer hospital in Aswan. Farrel Beddome reported on the sanitation project she heads to help the citizens in the El Nasereya area of Aswan improve their garbage collection. Sonoma was one of 17 U.S. cities and their African counterparts selected to develop projects to address sanitation, health, and water issues in urban areas of Africa through the Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (AUPAP) funded by a $7.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of Seattle. AUPAP, administered in cooperation with the Africa Global Sister Cities Foundation, is designed to address urban poverty through water, health, and sanitation projects developed collaboratively by U.S. and African sister city programs. This includes involvement and support from the private sector, NGOs, community-based organizations, municipal governments and traditional leaders in Africa to provide sustained technical assistance and community development strategies. “America’s greatest challenges, I think, are the misunderstandings that exist about the Islamic world,” said Sonoma Sister Cities president Bill Boerum. “And, in my opinion, it is very largely at the doing of the United States. I think it is important to continue our efforts to get the word out to our community to understand the Islamic world and the influence of the United States, and understanding the good and bad of that influence. “From the standpoint of changing the points of view of the community,” he continued, “I think we have to educate through programs, so there is the work of providing educational content. It has been very inspirational for me to be involved with people who are so dedicated and hardworking in the area of international relations and peace, which is what this truly is. The global sucAUGUST 2012
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live in exile and are prohibited from returning to their homes. According to Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that o f a ny o t h e r country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”
cess of sister cities is from the work of each of the local committees.” As incoming committee chair, McKale, an archaeologist and the city of Sonoma’s official historian, noted the need to acquire additional funds for future projects. In this regard, he has explored funding opportunities through the World Heritage Foundation. Despite the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 15 months earlier, the committee’s projects in Aswan continue, and Boerum, McKale and Beddome will be traveling to Egypt later this year. The SASC was founded in June 2008 by then-Consul General Abderahman Salaheldin—presently Egypt’s ambassador to Turkey—together with Sonoma residents Sherri Ferris and Carol Blackman.
Moroccan Music and Sudanese Dance
STAFF PHOTOS PHIL PASQUINI
Moroccan-born musician Yassir Chadly and the Shabbal Sudanese D a n c e Tro up e p e r formed in San Francisco’s Union Square before a large audience of both tourists and local residents on April 22. The event, co-presented by Jewels in the Square and the Arab Cultural and Community Center, was part of the Union Square Live free outdoor performance series. Commemorating AlA gifted musician, Nakba Chadly is proficient on many traditional MorocOn May 15 human rights can instruments, includactivists gathered in San ing the oud, gimbri, Francisco’s Union Square karkabas, darbuka, and for a candlelight vigil to fretless banjo. The multicommemorate the 64 talented artist has comyears since the Palestinposed and performed ian Nakba (catastrophe) when the state of Israel TOP: Susan Tahawi (in front) with (l-r) Bill Boerum, Hans Steuck, David original music for chorewas created by dispos- Williams, George McKale, Sherri Ferris, Farrel Beddome, Keyvan Tabari at the ographer Alonzo King sessing 750,000 indige- Sonoma-Aswan Sister City meeting; MIDDLE: Commemorating Al-Nakba in San and his Lines Ballet Company of San Frannous Palestinian Arabs Francisco’s Union Square; ABOVE: The Shabbal Sudanese Dance Troupe. cisco and for New York’s and destroying 531 Arab villages. Standing silently in the palm tree- Center, the Arab Resource and Organizing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Sporting brightly colored traditional Sulined plaza, many conveyed their feelings Center, and other human rights organizathrough signs they held reading “End Israeli tions that oppose Israel’s illegal occupation danese costumes, Shabbal performed popOccupation Now” and “Dismantle Illegal Is- of Palestinian land and also oppose the an- ular dances from different regions of raeli Settlements.” The event was organized nual $3 billion in military aid provided to Is- Sudan. Through their choreography, the young women and men strive to convey a by Al-Awda, Middle East Children’s Al- rael by the U.S. government. Today nearly 70 percent of Palestinians message of unity and peace. ❑ liance, the Arab Cultural and Community AUGUST 2012
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At KinderUSA Event, Norman Finkelstein Predicts End Game of Arab-Israeli Conflict By Pat and Samir Twair
Southern California Chronicle
STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR
KinderUSA chairperson Dr. Laila Alaid ship to Gaza, the Mavi Marmara. “It’s Marayati reviewed the organization’s taken 10 years, but achievements over the past year, including Egypt will no longer supporting women’s cooperatives which remain passive during buy produce from Palestinian farmers and an Israeli onslaught on create nutritious food baskets for needy Gaza and seal its bor- families. KinderUSA also provides medical and psychological care to children, as well der to Gazans.” Internationally, he as clinics and playgrounds in war torn areas. noted, Israel ranks in negative opinion polls Dr. James Zogby on Arab Voices beside North Korea, Dr. James Zogby discussed his book Arab Iran and Pakistan. Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Finkelstein con- Why it Matters (available from the AET cluded: “For the first book store) at a May 17 meeting of the Ortime in living memory, ange County World Affairs Council in the the public is ready to Westin South Coast Hotel, Costa Mesa. listen that Israel bears “We [Americans] don’t know the Midthe burden of respon- dle East. We don’t know Arabs. We don’t (L-r) Dr. Norman Finkelstein, Dr. Laila Al-Marayati and Dr. sibility for its actions. know Islam. Furthermore, we don’t want Mads Gilbert. We must present a to know,” averred the founder and presiclear, unified, fair and dent of the Arab American Institute in he audience of nearly 300 sat in si- reasonable solution to retain public atten- Washington, DC. “We didn’t study the history of the Middle East. We don’t lence, transfixed by the message of tion.” He defined this as a two-state solution know the people or their history, but hope which scholar Norman Finkelstein delivered May 5 at the 10th anniversary observing June 1967 borders, dismantle- we’re making important decisions that dinner of KinderUSA in the Long Beach ment of settlements, and the right of re- will affect all of us in regard to the Middle East.” Hilton Hotel. Indeed, the author of The turn. The International Court of Justice and When Americans talk about Palestine, Holocaust Industry (available from the AET Book Store) had every reason to be pes- its 15 justices concur that Israel has no title he continued, the whole Arab world hears simistic in light of his past experiences to East Jerusalem, Gaza or the West Bank us, and our blind support of Israel is hurtwith American Zionists, who led a witch and that it is illegal to transfer its Jewish ing us in the Arab world. The Arabs don’t hunt that influenced De Paul University to population onto occupied Palestinian terri- hate us, Zogby said. In fact, he discovered deny him tenure because of his criticism of tory. Furthermore, the refugee question they like us and like what we like—with has been resolved: there is no Israeli policies. Nonetheless, Finkelstein remarked that, doubt the Palestinans have a even though Gazans tell him circumstances generational attachment to grow worse by the day, he believes “there their land, Finkelstein said. “Israel is a state and it must are reasonable grounds for hope the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is entering the end obey international law—not just choose selectively those game.” He cited developments occurring re- parts of the law it likes,” he gionally, internationally and on the U.S. averred. “We have a big opscene that could muster world opinion to portunity to enforce internademand an equitable justice for both par- tional law. Now is the time to ties. “Israel has lost its last allies in the re- isolate Israel’s right-wing supgion—Turkey and Egypt,” observed porters and unmask them as Finkelstein. “Turkey no longer will toler- unreasonable fanatics.” A bonus speaker was Dr. ate Israeli rampages, “ he added, in unspoken reference to Israeli commandos lethally Mads Gilbert, who was a volcommandeering the Gaza-bound Turkish unteer at Shifa Hospital during Israel’s three-week land, sea Serge Tomassian (l), chairman of the Orange County Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journal- and aerial assault on Gaza in World Affairs Council board of trustees, greets Dr. James 2008-09. ists based in Los Angeles. Zogby. STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR
T
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late singer Ibrahim Qashoush. The non-profit Syria Sunrise Foundation collected $115,000 at the concert and sent $100,000 as relief to Houla, near Homs, Syria.
the exception of Israel’s right-wing policy toward Palestinians. “The need to listen to Arabs is important,” he urged. When asked if U.S. support for the Syrian opposition calling for the fall of the Bashar Assad regime might turn Syria into another Afghanistan, Zogby replied, “No, because it might not ease the situation.” He doesn’t advise sending weapons anywhere, he added, and would prefer the U.S. to act as a convener to a conflict rather than a leader in warfare.
Newlywed Azzams to Live in Gulf
STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR
More than 320 friends and relatives witnessed Tammy Aranki and Salim Azzam exchange wedding vows May 27 in Los Angeles’ historic St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral. The bride is the daughter of Dr. Faisal and Wafa Aranki of Fresno, where he is the chief epidemiologist of Fresno County. The MPAC Media Awards bridegroom is the son of Dr. Nabil and Suheir Azzam of Culver City. The seThe Muslim Public Affairs Committee nior Azzam is the founder and conduc(MPAC) hosted its 27th annual awards tor of the Multi Ethnic Star Orchestra presentation May 13 at the Sheraton (MESTO). Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles. This As the bride was escorted to the year’s honorees were The Learning altar by her mother and father, a new Channel’s “All-American Muslim” “wedding march” entitled “Tammy,” series, Sundance Film Festival wincomposed by the bridegroom’s faner “Kinyarwanda,” and the 2012 ther, was performed. Among the 21 Academy Award documentary winattendants in the bridal procession ner “Saving Face.” were the bride’s sister, Sunbula, who In accepting their award, TLC served as maid of honor, and best general manager Amy Winter and man Wasim Muklashy. The bridevice president Alon Ornstein said groom’s sisters, Fairouz Osborne and they didn’t aim to do a show about Noura Yanaki, were bridesmaids and religion or politics but to document their husbands, Jon and Elias, were an extended family of Americans groomsmen. who happen to be practicing MusThe bride is a graduate of the Unilims. versity of California at Berkeley and “Kinyarwanda” tells the story of U.C. Berkeley School of Law. The how Rwandan Muslims opened bridegroom graduated from the Unitheir mosques to Hutus, Tutsis and versity of California at Santa Barbara Christians during the 1994 genocide and St. John’s School of Law, New after Rwanda’s mufti forbade MusYork City. The Palestinian origins of lims to enter into the fray of vioboth families lie in Nazareth for the lence. Ishmael Ntihabose, the film’s executive producer, expressed TOP: Syrian singer Asala Nasri. ABOVE: Mr. and Mrs. Azzams, in Birzeit for the bride’s father, and in Nablus for the bride’s thanks to the mufti and to MPAC for Salim Azzam. mother. honoring a film about genocide surBenefit Concert After a wedding trip to Paris and Sri vivors sheltered in mosques. “I’m not Muslim, I’m not African,” ex- More than 800 aficianados of Arab music Lanka, the newlyweds will reside in Abu plained “Kinyarwanda” screenwriter and filled The Grove in Anaheim May 13 for a Dhabi, where Azzam is a corporate associdirector Alrick Brown, “but this is the special concert by Syrian singer Asala ate in the international law firm of White most important award because it focuses Nasri and composer pianist Malek Jandali. & Case specializing in mergers and acquion the message of the film as opposed to Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and Assembly- sitions. The bride, also an attorney, works the art.” man Chris Norby presented proclamations at New York University in Abu Dhabi, “Saving Face” chronicles the horror and to both artists. The Syrian American Coun- where she established NYU’s human retrauma of Pakistani women who were at- cil-Los Angeles and Southern California search protection program and institutacked with acid and the work of London- Syrian Coordination Committee brought tional review board in Abu Dhabi. The couple met there when they were based plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Nasri from the Middle East and Jandali introduced by a fellow attorney, Eyad Jawad, who reconstructed their deformed from Atlanta to perform. faces. In his acceptance speech via Skype, Nasri received a standing ovation for Latif, and his wife, Eman Jamal, who knew director Daniel Junge said: “I’m beginning “Ah Law hal Kursi Yehki” (“Oh, If the Tammy and Salim well and decided they to realize how powerful and enlightened Throne Speaks”). Jandali performed with were a perfect match. And so the bridal MPAC is and what free thinkers there are the Orange County Symphony Orchestra couple asked the Latifs to travel from Abu here, which is what Islam is about—to take and asked the audience to sing to the lyrics Dhabi to Los Angeles to be a bridesmaid us away from the dark.” of “Yalla Irhal Ya Bashar,” written by the and groomsman at their wedding. ❑ AUGUST 2012
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Using the Civil Rights Act to Redefine “Anti-Semitism” as Criticism of Israel Israel andJudaism
By Allan C. Brownfeld he Jewish Council for Public Affairs
T(JCPA), the umbrella organization for
the organized American Jewish community on domestic issues, has called on Congress to expand the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect students from discrimination on the basis of religion. On May 6 the JCPA voted to call for Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in programs receiving federal assistance, to be expanded to include religion. It now bars discrimination only on the basis of race, ethnicity and national origin. It was the Jewish Community Council (JCC) of Northern New Jersey which submitted the successful proposal. The real goal of this effort, it seems clear, is not to fight anti-Semitism on campus—which seems not to be a problem of any significance (no cases of anti-Semitism were cited)—but to quash criticism of Israel by labeling it as “anti-Semitism.” The JCC resolution was crafted with the input of Susan Tuchman, a member of the board who is also legal director of the farright Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). The ZOA was instrumental in getting Title VI extended to Jewish students, and has filed Title VI complaints at Rutgers University and the University of California at Irvine. According to the May 11, 2012 issue of the Jewish weekly The Forward, “Like most of the Title VI complaints filed by Jewish students, the ZOA complaints allege that anti-Israel activities turned into anti-Semitic harassment. Others believe that the events, while perhaps distasteful, in no way amount to threats to students’ civil rights.” In an October 2011 letter, Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali redefined Title VI to include religious groups on the basis of “shared ethnicity characteristics” (Sikhs and Muslims were also included). Now, the JCPA wants to make the change permanent by revising the law. One advocate of this extension of Title VI is Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a lecturer at Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated columnist and associate editor of the Lincoln Review, a journal published by the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism. 40
the University of California at Santa Cruz. The examples she provides of the need to “protect” Jewish students from “anti-Semitism” include a conference titled “Alternative Histories Within and Beyond Zionism” which took place at her school. She cites speakers who challenged Israeli policies as “apartheid” and “racism.”
ictimhood sup“V planted liberalism as the defining ideology of organized American Jewish life.” These various criticisms of Israeli policies, Rossman-Benjamin argued in the Feb. 17, 2012 Forward, “contain language that clearly meets the working definition of antiSemitism adopted by the U.S. Department of State. As a result of their experience with such university-sponsored anti-Semitic expressions, Jewish students at my university have expressed feeling emotionally and intellectually harassed and intimidated.” Mark Yudof, president of the University of California system (see June/July 2012 Washington Report, p. 48), claims that the federal complaints against the university alleging a hostile environment for Jewish students are without merit. Yudof, who is Jewish, declared: “I think it is about people engaged in abhorrent speech on our campuses. But I am skeptical at the end of the day that with those two instances we will be found to be in violation of Title VI.” The effort to redefine anti-Semitism as criticism of Israel has been going on for nearly four decades. In 1974, Benjamin Epstein, the national director of the AntiDefamation League (ADL), co-authored The New Anti-Semitism, a book whose argument was repeated in 1982 by his successor at ADL, Nathan Perlmutter, in a book entitled The Real Anti-Semitism In America. After World War II, Epstein argued, guilt over the Holocaust kept anti-Semitism at bay. But as memories of the Holocaust faded, anti-Semitism had returned—this time in the form of hostility to Israel. The reason: Israel represented Jewish power. “Jews are tolerable, acceptable in their particularity, only as victims,” wrote Epstein THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
and his ADL colleague Arnold Forster, “and when their situation changes so that they are either no longer victims, or appear not to be, the non-Jewish world finds this so hard to take that the effort is begun to render them victims anew.” In The Crisis of Zionism, Peter Beinart notes that, “At exactly the moment that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip made it essential for American Jews to reckon with the ethical challenges of Jewish power, American Jewish leaders began insisting that to even acknowledge the misuse of Jewish power was to deny Jewish victimhood and thus victimize Jews anew. The argument caught on in the 1970s. Victimhood, especially as a strategy for defending Israel, supplanted liberalism as the defining ideology of organized American Jewish life.” Illustrating the embrace of victimhood as a strategy, Beinart explains that, “In 1960, when Israel arrested and tried the former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, the ADL insisted that the trial was ‘not a case of special pleading for Jews because what happened to the Jews of Europe...can very well happen to other peoples’....But in the 1970s American Jewish organizations began hoarding the Holocaust, reselling it as a story of the world’s eternal hatred of Jews, and linking it to criticism of Israel. In 1973, the ADL embarked on a ‘new international mission’ to combat ‘Arab anti-Israel propaganda,’ and four years later created a Center for Holocaust Studies. In 1980, the ADL’s Oscar Cohen advised the National Conference of Christians and Jews to link its Holocaust programming ‘to Israel and the dangers that confront it.’ The following year, as part of its bid to prevent the Reagan administration from selling AWACS surveillance planes to Saudi Arabia, AIPAC sent a copy of the novel Holocaust to every member of Congress.” The ADL’s Abraham Foxman has argued that American Jews have no right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government: “I’m not a citizen [of Israel]. I don’t bear the consequences of my opinions.” This, however, does not prevent Foxman and other Jewish leaders from criticizing the leaders of the Palestinian Authority, or a variety of other countries such as Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, where they also do not live. AUGUST 2012
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“If taken seriously,” Beinart writes, “the claim that American Jews must live in a country in order to publicly criticize it, all public moral judgment of politics outside of the United States would be eliminated.” Foxman expresses the Jewish establishment view when he declares that, “Israeli democracy should decide, American Jews should support.” Even a commitment to “democracy” seems questionable in Foxman’s formulation. When Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council election, even though a Congressional Research Service report noted that it “was widely considered to be free and fair,” Jewish groups embraced an Israeli blockade aimed at undoing these results through economic isolation.
Jewish Critics Not Immune Jewish critics of Israeli actions are as likely to be denounced as “anti-Semites” as non-Jews. For example, columnist Caroline Glick, writing in the International Jerusalem Post of Dec. 23-29, 2011, found New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman guilty of employing “traditional anti-Semitic slurs” and “of channeling long-standing anti-Semitic charges.” She described Friedman as a “dyed-in-the-wool Israel-hater” for writing that he “sure hope[s] that Israel’s prime minister...understands that the standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his politics. The ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.” In a February 2012 Commentary article entitled “The Big Lie Returns,” Ben Cohen writes that, “The list of flagrant Jew-baiters is growing: those with Jewish names provide an additional frisson.” Among those he names are M.J. Rosenberg, a former employee of AIPAC, blogger Philip Weiss, New Yorker correspondent Seymour Hersh, and TIME columnist Joe Klein. According to Cohen, “Adherents of anti-Zionism have traditionally avoided speaking about Jews qua Jews to dodge the anti-Semitism bullet.” Cohen argues that criticizing Israel constitutes “anti-Semitism” because Israel is “the extreme embodiment of Jewishness.” In 2009, the ADL, AIPAC and other Jewish groups condemned the White House’s decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first female president and former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, because she had criticized Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza. What the Jewish groups did not mention was that Robinson had been instrumental in helping remove language about racial discrimination and Zionism from the U.N Durban Conference’s final report, thereby angering Syria and Iran. AUGUST 2012
Neither did they mention that after discovering an Arab non-governmental organization at the parallel NGO forum across the street in Durban was displaying anti-Semitic cartoons, Robinson offered an impassioned public denunciation of anti-Semitism, declaring, “When I see something like this, I am a Jew.” While American Jewish groups categorized Mary Robinson as an antiSemite, Israeli human rights groups issued a joint statement in her defense. Those who have been labeled “anti-Semitic” by Jewish groups because of their criticism of Israeli policies include former President Jimmy Carter, journalists Andrew Sullivan and Bill Moyers, and groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Calling the idea that such individuals and groups are anti-Semitic “absurd,” Beinart argues that, “If they really hated Jews, wouldn’t they express their hatred in some form other than criticism of Israeli policy? But for prominent American Jewish leaders, any criticism of Israel that is not accompanied by equally harsh criticism of other countries constitutes anti-Semitism.” According to Foxman, however, “Most of the current attacks on Israel and Zionism are not, at bottom, about the policies and conduct of a particular nation-state. They are about Jews. When other countries and
people pursue policies that are similar (or far worse than) those of Israel, do the critics condemn them? If so, do they condemn them with the fervor with which they condemn Israel? If not, it’s hard to deny that anti-Semitism explains the discrepancy.” But Foxman overlooks the fact that Jews might criticize Israel more harshly than they do Sudan, the Congo or Guatemala because they care more about it. Moreover, Israel’s misdeeds are done in the name of “the Jewish people”—in their name, so many Jews feel a need to disassociate themselves from such actions. In the case of non-Jewish Americans who are more critical of Israel than of other countries, they may feel that since our taxpayers support Israel with billions of dollars in aid each year, we, as Americans, bear some responsibility for their actions. Americans—Jewish and nonJewish—are not equally implicated in the actions of Russia, China or Iran. Clearly, charging them all with “anti-Semitism” is not an effort to understand their motives, but instead to silence their criticism. Attempting to now use Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the crusade against free speech concerning the Middle East is to compound the challenges to open debate we already face. It should be resisted by those who value freedom of speech at our colleges and universities. ❑
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Palestinian Cultural Office Honors Washington Report
Arab-American Activism
The Palestinian Cultural Office, a leading voice in defense of Palestinian rights since 2004, and friends in Dearborn, MI commemorated the Nakba (“catastrophe”) at a May 20 dinner in the Dearborn Hyatt Regency. Hassan Nawash, who was 6 when his family fled their home in the Palestin- Participants in the Palestine Cultural Office event in Dearian village of Ein Karem in born symbolically pass the “Key of Return” from the older 1947, founded the cultural generation to the younger. office to promote greater awareness and understanding of issues AFSC Iowa Hosts AMPAL President concerning Palestinian rights in the U.S. John Dabeet and abroad. The Palestinian Cultural Office honored John Dabeet, president of Americans and the Washington Report for its work over Palestinians for Peace (AMPAL), spoke to an the past 30 years and the dedication of its appreciative audience at the Des Moines founders. The award, accepted by this Valley Friends Meeting House in Des writer, recognized the magazine’s efforts Moines, Iowa on May 31. The tireless proto provide a vital alternative to readers ponent of peace in and justice for his native frustrated with main- land, Palestine, took his audience on a jourstream American media’s ney, telling the story of his life as a child biased reporting on the and a young man in Palestine and, later, as a Middle East. Palestinian-American leader with a mission. Abdul Karim Bader, born “I was three years old at the time of the in Beirut in 1921, who 1967 war, and I remember seeing the Islearned to play the oud at raeli tanks coming into Ramallah, my the age of 7, accepted an hometown,” Dabeet recalled. award for his artistry on He later learned that his father’s family the oud and his dedication had been forced out of their home in Jaffa to the perpetuation of this by Israeli militants in 1948 and had sought musical art form. safety in Ramallah. Dabeet’s mother, a child Singer/songwriter David of 13 in 1948, was at a boarding school Rovics came from Portland, when Israeli paramilitary and military OR to play his really good troops forced about 700,000 Palestinians songs (available for free on the Internet). from their homes. Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst, “My mom, 13 years old and in school in co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Profes- Jerusalem, couldn’t go back and join her sionals for Sanity, gave the keynote speech, family. Can you imagine that feeling?” describing an increasingly bleak strategic asked Dabeet. situation for Israel. Egypt’s voters will soon Dabeet became a leader in high school demand open borders with Gaza, McGov- when he helped establish a Palestinian stuern predicted. Israel’s attack on the flotilla dent movement. “We felt like, ‘We have to has severed its close military ties with organize and we have to do something so Turkey. The success of Palestinian nonvio- we can get back our lives...We have to lent resistance, including hunger strikers, achieve justice and peace,’” explained is adding to a growing international aver- Dabeet, who continued his education at sion to Israeli tactics. McGovern called on Bethlehem University, where he was active students in the audience to take the lead in in student political organizations. changing U.S. policy and educating their “Parents want their kids to grow up in a fellow Americans. “Justice is inevitable,” peaceful environment,” he pointed out, he said, and promised it could happen dismissing as “unbelievable” Israeli propasoon. ”Sinking ships can go down sud- ganda about Palestinians who supposedly denly,” he explained. send their children out to fight the Israeli —Delinda C. Hanley military.
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Nakba Remembrance Ceremony at White House
(ABOVE) Yousif Farsakh holds the key to his family’s home in north al-Quds, now occupied Jerusalem. (BELOW) Generations of Palestinians commemorate the Nakba.
Events across the United States commemorated the 64th anniversary of the Nakba (“catastrophe”), when more than 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes and the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the dispossession and ethnic cleansing of its people began. People gathered for a Nakba remembrance at sunset in front of the White House on May 15. They lit 531 candles, one for every village lost, in remembrance and hope for peace, with a reading of Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “I Come From There.” Local students who had been on a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners attended the vigil as did survivors, who gave moving testimonials. Please watch a video of the event at <www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp2eMYg T7HA>. —Delinda C. Hanley 42
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the U.N. General Assembly and presented an application for U.N. membership for a Palestine state. Active in the Muscatine Sister Cities Association for many years, Dabeet was finally successful in facilitating the establishment of the sister city relationship with Ramallah. Muscatine has sister city relationships with cities in Argentina, Germany, Japan, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Uruguay as well as Palestine. In February, Dabeet announced his candidacy as a Democrat running for the new Iowa State House District 91 seat. Asked what Iowans can do to support peace in the Holy Land and help bring a just end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, Dabeet declared, “Don’t become discouraged!” The event was the final of four hosted by the American Friends Service Committee’s Middle East Peace Education Project in Des Moines as part of the group’s Spring 2012 “Palestine Is Still the Issue” series featuring food, film, and discussion. —Michael Gillespie
AMPAL president John Dabeet tells Des Moines supporters not to become discouraged.
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Muslim-American Activism Georgetown Symposium Addresses Minorities and Islam Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Islamic Society of North America co-hosted a May 14 “Symposium on Religious Freedom and the Rights of Minorities” in Muslim-majority countries at the school’s Washington, DC campus. The symposium began with an historical and methodological overview of how the Qur’an and shariah (Islam’s moral code and religious law) address minorities, and ended with a discussion on current relations between Muslims and minorities in Muslim-majority countries. Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah, a professor at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jed-
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Dabeet described his and other Palestinians’ elation when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands on the lawn of the White House during the Clinton administration, only to have their hopes for peace dashed when Rabin was assassinated by a far-right Jewish Israeli extremist. In 1989, Dabeet came to the U.S. to study for his master’s degree in economics at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. From 1991 to 1995, he taught at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA, where he became involved with human rights organizations. Today, Dabeet is chair of Iowa’s Muscatine Community College Department of Business and professor of economics. In 1993 the Israeli government revoked his identification documents in an attempt to prevent his return to Palestine. Five years later, as a U.S. citizen, he visited Palestine for the purpose of starting a student exchange program with Palestinian colleges and universities and requesting that the City of Ramallah become a sister city with Muscatine. During his visit Israeli security forces detained him for more than two weeks. He was released and able to return to the United States only after efforts by the U.S. State Department, members of the House and Senate. Not someone who is easily deterred, Dabeet founded AMPAL in 2000 because of his belief in the ultimate creation of an independent Palestinian state. “I support all peaceful efforts to achieve that goal,” he stated. While a major focus of AMPAL’s work is programming for children, especially children in need, Dabeet also communicates with Palestinian National Council members. He was asked to function as a U.S. coordinator for U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state last year, traveled to New York, and was present when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed
dah, Saudi Arabia, began by stating his discomfort with the term “minority.” Speaking through a translator, the professor explained that until recently the word “minority” did not exist in the Arabic language, as Islam views “all of humanity as one unified group.” The Constitution of Medina, drafted by the Prophet Muhammad and the first ever constitution of an Islamic state, called for religious pluralism and stated that pagans, Jews, Christians and Muslims are all one people, Professor Bayyah noted. Jamal Badawi, a professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, outlined the six ways in which shariah protects the rights of minorities: protection of faith, protection of human life, protection of mind and reason, protection of the family as the cornerstone of society, protection of property and protection of human dignity. Elaborating on several of these, Badawi noted that shariah encourages all peoples “to seek knowledge and evidence” and promotes gender equality. In addition, he pointed out, the Qur’an mandates “the protection of [non-Muslim] places of worship.” Georgetown professor Jonathan Brown next provided numerous historical examples of both positive and negative interactions between Muslims and non-Muslims. Islamic history “cannot be told in any one light,” he emphasized. In the day’s second panel, Tamara Sonn, a professor at the College of William and Mary, quoted several popular modern-day Islamic scholars in order to make the point that a majority of them “reject exclusivism” and promote the oneness of all peoples. Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, discussed his experience as a religious minority. A member of his country’s Muslim community (which, according to the ambassador, makes up less than 3 percent of the population), Ambassador Rasool reminded the audience of the significant role that Muslims played in the fight against South
(L-r) Jamal Badawi, Jonathan Brown, Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah and Imam Mohamed Magid discuss the religious rights of minorities. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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(L-r) Qamar-ul-Huda, Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool and Tamara Sonn.
Waging Peace Iran Nuclear Negotiations The recent rounds of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 in Istanbul and Baghdad have been the focus of much discussion in Washington, DC. At three events on this topic, an array of speakers— ranging from former diplomats to political analysts—offered their thoughts and insights on the political stalemate between Iran and the West.
Ambassador James Dobbins, director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center, stressed that diplomacy must play an important role in solving the nuclear standoff. “Dialogue with any government is worthwhile…[and results in] better policy,” he stated, opining that the absence of communication between the two countries has resulted in centuries of bad policy by both governments. Building on Ambassador Dobbins’ argument, former National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia Paul Pillar lamented that the U.S. has invested “little effort and little time” in exploring engagement with Iran. According to Pillar, Iran needs to be convinced that the U.S. and the West “really want a deal” and “intend to do business with the current regime.” Pillar also criticized the “defective discourse” that surrounds the nuclear issue, saying that it has been polluted by “speculative worst case musings.” Instead of astutely analyzing the extent to which Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would impact regional and global politics, Pillar pointed out that many flippantly dismiss the Iranian leadership as “irrational [and dangerous] religious fanatics.” These assessments, he pointed out, “do not conform” to the Iranian regime’s behavior. When he asks policy analysts “tough,
The Case Against an Attack While Iran currently has no plans for a nuclear weapon, numerous panelists at all three events warned that a military strike by either the U.S. or Israel could be counterproductive and push Iran precisely in that direction. A military strike would “almost certainly lead [Iran] to redouble their effort” to develop a nuclear weapon, Ambassador Dobbins warned. Moreover, he
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Africa’s apartheid regime. The ambassador stated that his country’s experience with apartheid serves as a reminder that “even if [they] detest their lifestyle,” a cultural or religious group must not discriminate against another group. He also reminded Muslims living in countries where they are the majority that “what you demand as a minority, you must grant as the majority.” Qamar-ul Huda, a scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), highlighted the concerns of minorities living in post-uprising Arab countries. Most groups “don’t want to be seen as minorities,” he noted, but simply as equal citizens. According to ul-Huda, many minority groups, most notably Christians, are finding it difficult to “navigate through” the many ongoing conversations regarding the role of Islam in the state. He concluded by arguing that constitutional provisions declaring Islam to be the state religion and limiting the role of non-Muslims in government “reinforce minority culture” and deepen the conception of there being “insiders” and “outsiders” in a country.—Dale Sprusansky
detailed questions” regarding how Iran possessing a nuclear weapon would fundamentally alter regional dynamics, Pillar added, they struggle to come up with answers. Urging Washington to “deflate the nuclear issue with Iran,” former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Hunter suggested that a nuclear Iran is something the U.S. might be able to live with. Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would not result in a region-wide arms race, he argued, and would actually cause many countries in the region to form a deeper relationship with the U.S. for security reasons. Of course, Iran has not yet decided that it will build a nuclear weapon. As political and economic analyst Bijan Khajehpour noted at a May 24 discussion hosted by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) at 101 Constitution Building titled “The Day After Baghdad: Assessing the Iran Nuclear Talks,” Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a fatwa saying that the production of nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam. According to Khajehpour, the ayatollah’s fatwa “carries a lot of weight” and is not to be dismissed. Indeed, he noted, Iran has long opposed along religious lines the use of weapons of mass destruction. During the Iran-Iraq war, for example, Tehran declined to use WMDs despite the fact that Iraq used such weapons against the Islamic Republic. Its position on the use of WMDs, therefore, “has already been tested,” Khajehpour concluded.
The Need for Diplomacy and Rational Analysis Speaking at a May 16 Georgetown University event co-sponsored by the American Iranian Council titled “Breaking the Impasse Between Iran and the United States,” 44
Ambassador Robert Hunter (l) and Paul Pillar urge the U.S. to reconsider its simplistic and hostile approach toward Iran. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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(L-r) Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, Bijan Khajehpour, Aaron David Miller, Carnegie Endowment scholar George Perkovich and NIAC president Trita Parsi offer their thoughts on the Baghdad negotiations between Iran and the P5+1.
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“rally around the flag” effect in Iran. Such an effect limits the growth of an Iranian civil society, helps the regime consolidate power, and ultimately prolongs the lifespan of the Islamic Republic, he said. Majd also noted that the legitimacy the regime derives from its image as a protector against the West helps it cover-up its domestic shortfalls, such as the growing gap between the rich and the poor in Iran. This, he said, has led to “the legitimacy of social justice [as a core principle of the Islamic Republic] being slowly eroded.”
Recent Negotiations Speaking at the Atlantic Council event, Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the thinktank’s South Asia Center, said the fact that Iran and the West are having their “first substantial discussion” on the nuclear issue in more than two years is a positive sign. She cautioned, however, that the P5+1 and Iran still have much progress to make before the negotiation process can be deemed fruitful. Because the two sides have gone so long without talking, Slavin considered it naïve to believe that the P5+1 and Iran will quickly reach a resolution.
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added, a strike likely would lead to Iran developing a weapon without objection from much of the international community, as the world would see Iran as “having a case” for a defensive nuclear program. Speaking at a May 29 Atlantic Council event titled “Iran Nuclear Negotiations: What’s Next?,” David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, pointed out that history suggests that a “pre-emptive” strike could backfire. He cited as an example Israel’s 1981 bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor, which pushed Iraq to further develop its weapons. This shows that an attack could “end up speeding up the time Iran gets nuclear weapons,” Albright said. Tactical considerations aside, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars distinguished scholar Aaron David Miller, speaking at the NIAC event, pointed out that there simply is not a “proper and compelling explanation” that legitimizes an attack on Iran. Only the Israelis believe attacking Iran is a “war of necessity,” he pointed out. Albright’s analysis of a recent International Atomic Energy (IAEA) report supported Miller’s claim. Saying that “the technical clock is not ticking as fast” as the “political clock,” Albright noted that Iran is struggling to build the advanced centrifuges necessary for enriching uranium. According to his analysis, there is “little chance Iran will break out in 2012” or early 2013, Albright said. Speaking at the Georgetown event, author and journalist Hooman Majd noted that in addition to pushing Iran in the direction of a nuclear weapon, Western military threats also help provide the Iranian regime domestic legitimacy. Pointing out that the current regime uses its image as the protector of Iranian national sovereignty as a large source of its legitimacy, Majd cautioned that Western rhetoric about war and regime change results in a
In Miller’s opinion, if the ongoing talks between the P5+1 and Iran are to amount to anything substantive, both sides must “take ownership” of the negotiating process. Otherwise, he warned, neither side has much invested in the nuclear talks being successful. Regarding the May talks in Baghdad, Slavin said that the offer the P5+1 extended to the Iranians “wasn’t much of a proposal.” It offered to provide medical isotopes for the reactor Iran uses to assist cancer patients and spare parts for the country’s Boeing airliners. Slavin quoted an Iranian as saying that the P5+1 “wants Iran to give up diamonds in exchange for peanuts.” The Iranian offer included a request that the international community recognize the country’s right to enrich uranium, Slavin said, and that Iran be included in talks relating to regional security issues, specifically matters pertaining to Syria and Bahrain. According to Khajehpour, who was imprisoned in Iran for three months in 2009, Iran was disappointed that the P5+1 did not offer to ease the sanctions currently in place against the country. Iran expected a “faster dismantling of the sanctions,” he explained, opining that there was a “mismatch” between Iranian expectations and reality in Baghdad. He described the Iranian regime as “rational but reactive,” adding that if the U.S. wants to change Iran’s behavior, it must first alter its own behavior. A third round of nuclear talks between the P5+1 and Iran took place June 17-19 in Moscow. For more information, visit <www.events.georgetown.edu>, <www. niacouncil.org>, and <www.acus.org>. —Dale Sprusansky
Barbara Slavin (r) listens as David Albright explains that “the technical clock is not ticking as fast” on Iran’s nuclear program as the “political clock.” THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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mended that significant emphasis be placed on growing the country’s private sector. She recommended that the PA focus on legal reforms, making the development of free land easier for potential buyers, and ensuring that universities and schools prepare students for the modern workplace in order to foster private sector growth. Andersen warned that the current financial crisis is diverting attention away from the reforms and programs needed to boost the private sector. However, she acknowledged, there is only so much the PA can do so long as Palestine’s economy remains suffocated by the occupation. Toni Verstandig, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Programs, noted that Gulf Arabs are investing in Palestine because they recognize the skill and potential of the Palestinian people. “Demographics are going to affect outcomes in the very near future,” Verstandig predicted, stressing that the post-uprising regional dimension will fundamentally transform the way in which the Palestine issue will be approached by countries in the region and throughout the world. —Dale Sprusansky
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Palestine’s Ailing Economy
Mohammed Omer speaks at Busboys and Poets.
Post-Arab Uprising Gaza Washington Report Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer appeared at the 5th & K Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC on May 20 to discuss “Life in Gaza After the Arab Spring.” Omer began by explaining that the “ignorance” of many in the West regarding the situation in Gaza motivates him to do his work. While reporting from Gaza can be dangerous (as Omer experienced in 2008, when he suffered several broken ribs as a result of being beaten by Israeli soldiers), there is a “need to get the message out to the world,” he said. Overall, Omer stated, the Arab uprising has had little positive impact on daily life in Gaza. Indeed, “life is becoming more and
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The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars held a May 15 event at its Washington, DC offices to discuss “Palestine’s State Building: Towards Economic Independence.” Wilson Center scholar Aaron David Miller moderated the panel discussion. Mohammad Mustafa, chairman and CEO of the Palestine Investment Fund, began by stating that the continued political stalemate between Israel and Palestine has hindered the strides that the Palestinian economy has made in recent years. Noting that the West Bank’s economic growth has “largely stopped,” Mustafa warned that Palestine is facing a dangerous economic and fiscal crisis. The 1994 Paris Protocol, the Oslo process and settlements “have prevented…sustainable growth” by restricting trade and limiting access to natural resources, he explained. Economic growth is “impossible under the [current] limits imposed by the occupation,” Mustafa lamented. According to Mustafa, a “fundamental overhaul of the current economic framework” is necessary, in favor of one that provides for “a free and independent economy.” Permanent and sustainable growth in the Palestinian economy is the “best guarantee” for peace and security between Israel and Palestine, he added. Inger Andersen, the World Bank’s vice president for Middle East and North Africa, noted that Palestine currently faces a $300 million deficit, and a recurring budget deficit of about 10 percent. Because Palestine relies for a substantial amount of its funding on foreign aid and remittances— both of which are inconsistent and unreliable—Andersen pointed out that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not in total control of its funds. Offering her advice on how to jump-start Palestine’s weak economy, Andersen recom-
(L-r) Toni Verstandig, Aaron David Miller, Mohammad Mustafa and Inger Andersen note the harmful impact of Israeli policies on Palestine’s economy. 46
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more difficult” for Gazans, he said. Gaza still suffers from constant fuel shortages and electricity blackouts, and Israel maintains an ominous presence over the territory’s airspace. Elaborating on this latter point, Omer pointed out that F16 military jets constantly hover over Gaza, allowing Israel to launch an air attack at any time. Indeed, he noted, it is not uncommon for Gazans to get phone calls in the middle of the night warning them of an imminent air strike and instructing them to evacuate their homes. The perpetual presence of Israeli F16s and drones, Omer said, means that “there is never peace in Gaza.” On the ground, Omer continued, 80 percent of Gazans are living below the poverty line. In addition, housing costs have recently skyrocketed, resulting in an increase in the number of families living in tents. While Israel has begun to allow supplies such as toilet paper and laundry detergent to enter Gaza, Omer noted that the importation of critical materials such as cement and steel still is not permitted. Israel allows only 10 percent of the gas needed by Gazans to enter the territory, making it difficult for both individuals and businesses to perform everyday functions. Due to Israeli restrictions on imports, Omer said, Gaza has developed a “tunnel economy.” Tunnels are generally dedicated to specific commodities, such as oil or fish, he said, explaining that even though Gaza borders the Mediterranean Sea, fish needs to be imported through tunnels because Israeli warships prevent Gaza fishermen from going more than three miles off shore. Discussing the emotional effect that living in Gaza has on children, Omer noted that in a recent psychological experiment, 82 percent of children drew objects related to death, violence and destruction. —Dale Sprusansky AUGUST 2012
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Runners Supporting UNRWA Shatter Goals
COURTESY AMERICAN FRIENDS OF UNRWA
vigil. Another, Marjorie, stood at her post in 20-degree-weather the week before she became terminally ill. The Friends said American Friends of UNRWA’s they were only sorry the wars first annual Gaza Solidarity 5K are still going on. walk/run in Washington, DC, The keynote speaker for this held on the perfect Saturday year’s luncheon was the nationmorning of June 9, surpassed ally known peace activist and every expectation. More than author David Swanson. In his 300 men, women, children (and inspiring talk he pointed out even pets) from across the counthat the United States now celetry gathered in Rock Creek Park brates wars instead of peace. to support the children of Gaza. Conscientious objectors or peoRunners raised more than ple who helped the country $50,000 to support UNRWA’s avoid wars should enjoy the Community Mental Health Program, which provides summer- Runners expressed solidarity and raised cash for Gaza’s children. same prestige as war heroes, Swanson said. time counseling to more than The U.S. government and mainstream 1,200 Gaza kids in need. Peace Action coordinator Jean Athey emUNRWA—the U.N. Relief and Works ceed the well-attended event. She and Bob media depict wars as somehow being philAgency for Palestine Refugees—works Cook from Pax Christi presented the Mary- anthropic, Swanson stated, but “it’s diffitirelessly to alleviate the burdens Gazans land Peace Maker Award to Susan Kerin, cult to spread democracy by kicking down face due to Israel’s blockade. Its programs who led the Human Rights Matter cam- doors.” Swanson pointed out Americans supply Palestinian refugees, who constitute paign to inform Montgomery County resi- wouldn’t put up with a foreign military ina majority of Gaza’s population, with basic dents that their county was considering vading their country. “Killing Osama bin needs including education, health care and forming a sister-city relationship with the Laden didn’t even slow down the war” food assistance, while promoting human controversial Israeli city of Beit Shemesh which, he reminded the audience, is based development and lives of dignity. To make (see the March/April 2012 Washington Re- on lies...92 percent of Afghans didn’t supa tax-deductible donation, view photos, or port, p. 28). The project is on hold thanks port the attacks on 9/11 and many watch a YouTube video of the Gaza Soli- to the spotlight her grassroots organization Afghans have never even heard about that darity walk/run, visit <www.friendsun- shone on the Israeli city whose residents terrible attack. His extraordinary talk can be viewed at rwa.org>. —George Wright have a segregated school system and engage in hate violence, not to mention their zero <www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM4LP5lc Peace Luncheon Honors Susan Kerin, tolerance for Arab Israeli citizens. 0iY&list=UUE98mo9ZahEI7GXBk6yOlNA Olney Peace Vigil The other Peace Maker Award was pre- &index=2&feature=plcp>. Proceeds from the lunch benefited the Peace Action Montgomery (County, MD), sented to the Sandy Spring Friends Vigil Pax Christi, and the Social Justice Commit- Group, which has stood on a busy corner Afghan Women’s Fund, <www.afghantee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of in Olney, MD, every Saturday for 11 womensfund.org>, an organization proRockville (UUCR), MD held their annual years—no matter how bad the weather— viding literacy, medical and other services peace luncheon on May 19 at UUCR. Peace to support peace. They’ve encountered for rural women in Afghanistan, and the Action is a national organization working both harassment from counter-protesters, national office of Peace Action. For more to end U.S.-led and -funded occupations and car honks from supporters. One vig- information on Peace Action organizations and prevent future wars, as well as war iler, Elaine, who moved from Olney, now around the country visit <www.peace-ac—Delinda C. Hanley drives 100 miles each week to join the tion.org>. profiteering at home.
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Egyptian Liberals Discuss Their Country’s Transition Process
Jean Athey (on stage) presents the Maryland Peace Maker Award to members of the Olney Peace Vigil (below). AUGUST 2012
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In early May, two prominent Egyptian liberals visited Washington, DC to discuss their country’s transition process. Speaking at the Middle East Institute (MEI) on May 1, Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid, a former parliamentarian who is currently a professor at the American University in Cairo and also a member of the Advisory Council to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), remarked that Egypt’s transition process has had “no logic.” SCAF has shown “no clear strategy” in its decision making, she said, noting that Egyptians have been “getting restless under military rule.” 47
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Amr Hamzawy. According to Makram-Ebeid, a Coptic Christian, a “declaration of inalienable rights” is needed to protect the freedoms of the country’s religious minorities. She praised the role played by Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s prestigious center of learning, in promoting religious unity. The “bill of rights” Al-Azhar introduced in January—which calls for religious freedom and was signed by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafi Al-Nour party and liberals alike—“should serve as a platform in the writing of the new constitution,” she added. Makram-Ebeid, who served as an adviser to the failed presidential campaign of former Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, described Al-Azhar Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb as having successfully “established himself as an autonomous and credible voice” in the country, and Al-Azhar as an important “religious counterweight to the [country’s] Islamist movements.” In his remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on May 4, parliamentarian Amr Hamzawy, a member of the liberal Freedom Egypt Party, echoed Makram-Ebeid’s sentiments about AlAzhar. It has been playing a “very good 48
Foreign Minister Offers Positive Take On Reform in Jordan Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh appeared at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Washington, DC offices on June 12 to discuss “Jordan in the Regional Context.” In his remarks, Judeh boasted of the political and constitutional reforms that his country has adopted in the past year. He began by stressing that King Abdullah II has long advocated for political reform in Jordan. Before the regional uprisings took place in 2011, Judeh said, Jordan was “already on its way to a [political] system that was brighter.” The
Arab Awakening provided the king with “the opportunity he wanted to jumpstart reforms,” the foreign minister said. Describing political reform in Jordan as moving at “a steady pace forward,” Judeh noted that his country, responding to the demands of protesters, completed a comprehensive review of its constitution in 2011. Asserting that King Abdullah “was ahead of the curve,” Judeh pointed out that the king commissioned a review of the entire document even though demonstrators demanded only that constitutional amendments be reviewed. Judeh proceeded to list several of the major accomplishments of the constitutional review: the establishment of a constitutional court, a guarantee of the rights of all Jordanians, and the creation of an independent electoral commission. The electoral commission is independent of both parliament and the judiciary, he noted, so as to ensure the fairness of parliamentary elections. “Jordan has come a long way in the past few months,” Judeh said, reflecting on the reforms. He proudly added that—unlike its neighbors—Jordan has experienced “change without chaos…change that was led from the top.” Turning to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, Judeh said that Jordan is currently involved in “a flurry of diplomatic activity behind the scenes” aimed at “bringing everybody back to discussions.” However, he warned, the continued construction of Israeli settlements “obstruct negotiations every single time.” He described the illegal settlements as “damaging [and] extremely harmful to the process.” Ultimately, Judeh said, he hopes the Israeli government “will realize that Israel’s ultimate security will come through peace and nothing else.”
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Dr. Mona Makram-Ebeid.
role” in the country since the uprising, Hamzawy said, and the Grand Imam has been “a great help in the struggle to bring down the Constituent Assembly.” (Liberals, including Makram-Ebeid, resigned from the now disbanded Constituent Assembly in April, claiming that the Islamist-dominated body did not sufficiently represent women, Christians, liberals and other minorities.) While Islamists enjoyed great success in Egypt’s 2011-2012 parliamentary elections, winning nearly 75 percent of the seats, Hamzawy expressed the belief that the Islamist surge has reached its peak. Many Egyptians believe that the Islamists in parliament “are not delivering,” he explained, and this is resulting in non-Islamists “gradually becoming more relevant.” Once a weak minority, non-Islamists are now an “empowered minority,” he insisted. On the negative side, Hamzawy, a former Carnegie scholar, lamented that “non-stop human rights violations” have occurred in Egypt since Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February 2011. The country’s security apparatus is “not delivering” security to citizens, he warned, and civilians are currently being tried in military courts at higher rates than they were during the Mubarak years. On June 14, the allegedly “independent” Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved Parliament, ruling that the law governing parliamentary elections is unconstitutional—a move that has caused many observers and Egyptians alike to opine that a SCAF-led “soft-coup,” rather than a revolution has taken place. The SCAF now has full legislative authority and will choose the 100 members of the Constituent Assembly. —Dale Sprusansky
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh says that his country has undergone meaningful political reforms “without chaos.”
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Regarding the impact that the crisis in Syria has had on Jordan, Judeh noted that his country is currently home to around 122,000 Syrian refugees. While stating that Jordan will not turn its back on Syrian refugees, he acknowledged that they are “taking a toll…on an already strained [Jordanian] economy.” —Dale Sprusansky
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Discontent, Unrest Continue in Bahrain
(L-r) Stephen McInerney, Joost Hiltermann, Khalil Al-Marzooq and Tom Malinowski warn that Bahrain’s government continues to commit humans rights violations.
The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a May 3 event titled “Bahrain at the Boiling Point? Failed Reforms, Mounting Frustration” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. POMED executive director Stephen McInerney moderated the panel discussion. Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, began by pointing out that the government and protesters have “clashing narratives” regarding how well the government has implemented the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry—an independent investigation commissioned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa into the human rights abuses that occurred during protests in early 2011. While the government maintains that it has taken “very swift and very decisive” steps to implement the commission’s recommendations, Hiltermann said the opposition believes the government “has not even come close” to fulfilling its obligations. The government has made no serious attempt at restructuring the country’s security forces, Hiltermann noted, and there has been a lack of accountability for senior security officials who gave orders for last year’s crackdown on protesters. Many political prisoners—such as Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who in late May ended a 110-day hunger strike— remain behind bars, he added. According to Hiltermann, Bahrain’s Sunni government has deliberately portrayed the unrest in the Shi’i-majority country as sectarian in nature. The “sectarian dynamic and narrative has taken over,” he said, and the government, “without any evidence,” has characterized the demonstrators as being “guided by Iran.” Khalil Al-Marzooq, assistant secretarygeneral of the Al-Wefaq political party, said that in his opinion the value of the independent commission “is zero” because there is no government accountability. AlMarzooq, who resigned from parliament in February 2011 following the government’s crackdown on protesters, also decried the
fact that all authority in the country remains “fully in the hands of the king.” Tom Malinowski, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, said that while in recent months there has been a “big reduction in abuse and torture within police stations,” violence has been “pushed out...onto the street and back alleys.” Malinowski, who was briefly detained by Bahraini authorities on a recent trip to the country, added that the government has done nothing to give protesters “a reason to be patient.” Saying that “there’s nothing to look forward to right now in Bahrain,” Malinowski warned that the general sense of hopelessness felt by many Bahrainis could lead to the radicalization of demonstrators. There is a “real risk” that the situation in the country could end up “spiraling out of control” if the protesters and the government do not soon enter into a constructive dialogue, he concluded.—Dale Sprusansky
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Algeria: Too Stable?
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At a May 17 Johns Hopkins University Center for Transatlantic Relations (CTR) discussion in Washington, DC titled “Algeria After the Elections: Now What?” panelists reached a curious consensus: Algeria is “too stable.” While its neighbors have undergone political change and turmoil over the past year, Algeria remains firmly entrenched in the pre-Arab-uprising status quo. The country’s May 10 parliamentary elections, the panelists argued, epitomize this fact.
William Zartman, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Conflict Management Program, noted that the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) won 220 seats, while the FLN’s ally, the National Rally for Democracy (RND), won 72 seats. There are 462 seats in Algeria’s National Assembly. Despite their successes, Zartman argued that those elected to parliament are “irrelevant to the governing of the country,” since the military and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika maintain near absolute control over the country’s politics. The civil war between Islamists and the government that rocked the country in the 1990s and resulted in an estimated 150,000 deaths is still very much in the minds of many Algerians, Zartman added, and makes them wary of initiating a mass uprising. Barrie Freeman, director of the National Democratic Institute’s North Africa Program, noted that while the government allowed more parties to register than in past elections, it did so at the last minute, making it difficult for the parties to achieve electoral success. Moreover, Freeman pointed out, international observers had limited access to the vote tabulation, while citizen observation groups were denied complete access to the counting process. Of particular curiosity, Freeman noted, was the fact that 18 percent (1.7 million) of the ballots cast in the election were deemed to be “spoiled,” and thus invalid. In Tunisia and Egypt, she observed, where
(L-r) Marina Ottaway, Barrie Freeman and Prof. William Zartman discuss the implications of Algeria’s parliamentary elections. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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state could potentially be established by Islamist rebels fighting Mali’s government. —Dale Sprusansky
Libya’s Deputy Prime Minister Discusses His Country’s Transition
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the ballots—unlike Algeria’s—were “confusing” and complicated, only 2 to 3 percent of ballots were reported as being spoiled. Freeman speculated that this figure is likely the result of disgruntled Algerians deliberately casting invalid ballots as a gesture of their displeasure. While women won one-third of the seats in parliament, giving Algeria the region’s highest percentage of women parliamentarians, Freeman downplayed the significance of this feat. She described female electoral success as “window dressing” on the regime’s behalf. Arguing that the design of Algeria’s electoral system results in “disproportionate representation,” Freeman explained that the FLN received a higher percentage of seats than votes, and that smaller parties “got a lot of votes but no seats.” She also pointed out that anywhere between 20 to 43 percent of eligible voters participated in the election, and that Algerian youth—who constitute a high percentage of the country’s population— largely abstained from voting. According to Marina Ottaway, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Program, whether or not the elections were fair is ultimately irrelevant. More importantly, she argued, the “total absence of [viable] secular [opposition] parties” in the country must be analyzed. Saying that liberal opposition parties are the “missing part of the political spectrum,” Ottaway noted that Islamists current represent the country’s only legitimate opposition. While Algeria is currently politically stagnant, Ottaway cautioned against accepting “the idea of Algerian exceptionalism.” Saying that mass uprisings “are not rational decisions,” and that “at some point people say enough is enough,” she argued that a popular uprising could very much occur in Algeria within the next five years. Ottaway noted that following Egypt and Tunisia’s uprisings, many observers similarly discounted the notion that popular uprisings could take place in Libya and Syria. Algeria’s large youth population is not as emotionally impacted by the civil war of the 1990s, she added, and generally does not view the events of the past as a reason to forgo political action. Offering brief remarks, Daniele Moro, a visiting CTR scholar, cautioned that political instability in Mali could create a security crisis along Algeria’s southern border. The “situation in Mali is horrible,” he said, and cautioned that a breakaway “terrorist”
Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Abushagur discusses the importance of integrating his country’s youth into Libya’s newly created institutions. Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Abushagur appeared at the Atlantic Council’s Washington, DC headquarters on June 5 to offer his thoughts on Libya’s political transition. He began by stating that “security has improved” in Libya since Oct. 23 of last year—the date when the country’s transitional government declared the revolution that ousted Muammar Qaddafi complete. While arms were rampant in the streets of Libya’s major cities during the revolution and the early stages of the transition, Abushagur said, this is no longer the case. The deputy prime minister also boasted that Libya is producing oil at pre-revolution levels. Pointing out that Libya currently produces 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, he said the oil sector has rebounded “ahead of all our expectations.” While Libya faces a number of challenging tasks in the years ahead, Abushagur acknowledged, building democratic institutions within the country is a top priority. Libya’s transitional government “inherited a country with no institutions whatsoever,” he noted. Integrating young people into Libya’s newly created institutions is a focus of the current government, Abushagur said, and about 250,000 young Libyans currently are being trained in programs designed to provide them with the skills necessary to build their own businesses, serve in the military and complete graduate studies. Regarding the national army, Abushagur THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
emphasized that it is critical for Libya to construct an army that “protects the country rather than the leader.” Libya’s army had been “marginalized” for many years by Qaddafi, he added, who relied on militias for his protection. A “nationwide recruitment for future [military] officers” is currently being carried out, according to Abushagur. Abushagur noted that 2.8 million people have registered to vote in Libya’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Women represent half of all registered voters, he added, and electoral lists of the 143 political parties registered for the elections must alternate between men and women. “We expect [Libyan women] to become leaders of our country in the future,” Abushagur said. While the parliamentary elections initially were scheduled for June 19, the Libyan government postponed them until July 7 due to logistical challenges. During the question-and-answer session, Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch expressed concern regarding Law 37, recently passed by Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC), which makes it illegal to criticize the February 2011 revolution. The law is eerily similar to Article 195 of the Qaddafi-era criminal code, Malinowski pointed out, which made it a crime to criticize his 1969 revolution. Abushagur responded that Law 37 currently is being reviewed by the Libyan supreme court. Unlike during the Qaddafi era, he went on to emphasize, “there is [now] a system” through which legal grievances can be addressed. Law 37 could also be reviewed and changed by the newly elected parliament once it comes into power, he added. On June 14, Libya’s Supreme Court ruled Law 37 to be unconstitutional. —Dale Sprusansky
Libya on the Eve of Elections The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) held a June 12 panel discussion titled “Libya on the Eve of Elections: Examining the Challenges of Political and Economic Development” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. The discussion was moderated by Sarah Margon, associate director for sustainable security at the Center for American Progress. POMED executive director Stephen McInerney opened the discussion by reflecting on his recent trip to Libya, during which he spent four days in Benghazi and four days in Tripoli meeting with political and civil society leaders. “I’m more optimistic [now] than when I got there,” he said, AUGUST 2012
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(L-r) Sarah Margon, Manal Omar, Stephen McInerney and Fadel Lamen describe the challenges facing Libyan voters.
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out of a civil war.…They look at themselves like a country in the Gulf, wealthy and with a small population.” Lamen warned, “When the expectations are so high, no government can line up with those expectations.” He noted that “power is still at a local level,” with the militias controlling areas beyond the reach of the central government. Thus there are two simultaneous power structures, one local and one national. “The government, let alone the NTC have not been successful in bringing those two together,” he said. “The election will solve one problem: legitimacy,” Lamen said. Because there are no accurate opinion polls available, however, it is difficult to determine who will win the elections, now scheduled for July 7. Lamen did assuage concerns over an Islamist takeover in Libya, saying, “The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists, are not as strong as many people think. They have not figured anything out.” But no matter who wins, he reminded the audience, “The day after the elections all the problems will be the same.” —Keenan Duffey
Sudan in Conflict
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suggesting that Libya “benefits from seeing the elections in Egypt and Tunisia.” The experience of seeing their neighbors undertake democratic elections is critical, McInerney explained, because Libya was devoid of any type of election, legitimate or otherwise, under the reign of Muammar Qaddafi. McInerney tempered his optimism, however, by admitting, “There is a lot of confusion regarding the electoral system. It is possibly the world’s most complicated system.” Nevertheless, he said, “I was impressed with the way they [political parties] were willing to play by the rules, rules they may not understand.” Manal Omar, director of Iraq, Iran and North Africa Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, echoed McInerney’s optimism. After years of studying post-conflict countries, she said, “Libya reenergized me.” Omar went on to describe the 10 biggest challenges facing Libyans, the most significant of which was the challenge of governmental legitimacy. “People really want to believe in ballot over bullet,” she remarked. Regarding the issue of security in Libya and the challenge it presents for the incoming government, Omar referred to McInerney’s earlier remark that “most people in Libya are armed.” She described the trepidation people feel when considering turning in their arms, when most people ask the same question: “How do we feel reassured that the revolution won’t be hijacked?” Despite the fact that they are keeping their arms, Omar argued that Libyans “are asking the right questions.” Fadel Lamen, president of the AmericanLibyan Council, attempted to temper the enthusiasm of his fellow panelists. He described an e-mail he had recently received from a colleague who said, “The nonLibyans are more enthusiastic about Libya than the Libyans.” Explaining the Libyan mentality, Lamen said, “The Libyans don’t look at themselves as a country that came
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC hosted a discussion called “Sudan in Conflict” on June 5. Speakers outlined the challenges facing Sudan and the newly established Republic of South Sudan during current border discussions. Marina Ottaway, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment who recently co-authored a paper on the Sudanese conflict, described the situation as “dismal.” As to why the long-expected split didn’t occur peacefully, Ottaway mused that the two countries, and in fact the two leaders, have been at war for almost their entire existences and just don’t know how to “deal with the problems of peace the way they know how to deal with problems in war.” Ottaway examined two problems causing conflict. Both countries share a single source of revenue—oil—and are unwilling to diversify from an oil-based economy. The second point of contention is the border between the “North” and the “South” and the communities that exist within the contested borders that don’t believe they “belong” on the side on which they happen to fall. “It’s not a question of setting up a commission to delineate a boundary,” she said, “it’s a problem of the identity of the people.” Individually, there are challenges that each side needs to address. For South Sudan, nation building presents an almost insurmountable problem due to lack of infrastructure. “To try to build a country, to try to build a political system under these conditions is very, very difficult,” she said. The North has old, tired leaders like Sadiq al-Mahdi, Hassan al-Turabi and Omar alBashir who bring “an old mentality” to the same conflicts and thus, she argued, each
(L-r) Marina Ottaway, Ambassadors Alan Goulty and Princeton Lyman, and moderator Frederic Wehrey outline the problems facing Sudan. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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paper “Sudan: From Conflict to Conflict” visit: http://carnegieendowment.org. —Alex Begley
Security Sector Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Center of Innovation for Security Sector Governance held its third annual conference on May 10 in Washington, DC. Two panels discussed “Security Sector Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East.” The first featured views from regional representatives involved in the democratic reforms taking place in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait, Morocco and Tunisia. The second included former U.S. ambassadors with experience in the region. Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, president of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, called last year’s events in Tunisia “a smart revolution” because it achieved the results of a revolution—ousting a regime—with the order of a reform movement. According to Masmoudi, the major challenge for Tunisia will be reforming the police forces and justice system while maintaining peace and stability. A common thread throughout the first panel was the need for police reform. Magda Boutros, director of the Criminal Justice Unit within the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, also pressed for reform in the army and intelligence services that would increase their accountability and oversight while limiting their role to one task: making civil society feel safe. Security sector reform should be the top priority, she argued, or else “we won’t be serious about democratic reform.”
Dr. Murhaf Jouejati, chairman of the National Consensus Movement and a member of the opposition Syrian National Council, congratulated the Tunisian and Egyptian representatives on successful regime changes in their homeland, and lamented recent violence in his own. According to Jouejati, what sets Syria apart from the others is the sectarian nature of the regime and an army that has not tried to protect the people. The first step after President Bashar alAssad steps down, he stated, should be to secure all weapons and eradicate any remnants of the military and the former regime to avoid continued violence from militias like the Ba’ath Party militia and the Shabiha. “I predict a lot of chaos after the collapse of the regime,” Jouejati added. “And luckily the opposition movement is putting together a plan for the day after the collapse in order to minimize the violence that could take place.” Najla Elmangoush, a former member of Libya’s National Transitional Council’s (NTC) Public Engagement Unit, recounted her critical involvement in the Libyan revolution. She charged the supporters of Col. Muammar Qaddafi with smuggling money out of Libya to use to undermine the country’s stability. Noting the need for an organized army and weapons control, she added the NTC is training and employing militiamen as soldiers and policemen to build security in the region. There is one challenge Libya doesn’t have to overcome, Elmangoush said: “We do not have religious or racial divides...We only need patience and cooperation between the government and civil society.”
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side finds it easier to tackle each other than the problems in their own countries. Ambassador Alan Goulty, a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, called the situation “dire,” but not hopeless. He echoed Ottaway by saying “peace can only be made by the Sudanese, not by an international community or an international peace process. The Sudanese are condemned to live as neighbors and they must find a way to do so in relative harmony.” His optimism stemmed from the fact that the Sudanese have made temporary peace before without the help of mediation: in 1972, after the Addis Ababa Agreement, and during the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. Peace came about as a result of war weariness and a tenuous agreement of “one country, two systems,” he said. The difference now is that both parties are relying on international intervention, he stated, rather than speaking directly to each other. In Goulty’s assessment, the opposition forces, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), “can rally behind regime change but they have not been able to give the slightest indication of how they would deal with the economic problems, how they would settle the disputes with the South…and how to divide among the various parties that make up the opposition in their areas a much smaller economic cake.” Ambassador Princeton Lyman, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, spoke last. He agreed with the previous speakers’ arguments regarding the situation in Sudan, saying that “each side is waiting for the other to crumble.” The conflict is not about oil, he emphasized, instead oil is being used as the weapon. “Both sides are committing economic suicide,” he warned. Looking forward, Lyman discussed timeline for the African Union’s Peace and Security Council agreement, which the United Nations unanimously adopted, as well as threatened sanctions to pressure the two countries to resolve their differences. While he supports these moves, Lyman said, he admitted to having doubts that Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will be able to conclude negotiations within the given timeline. Ambassador Lyman proposed adding more women to the table during peace talks, explaining that the presence of women and civil society groups would help hold leaders accountable when talks hit a stalemate. For more information and to read the
(L-r) Magda Boutros, Hesham Sallam, Murhaf Jouejati, Robert Perito, director of the Security Sector Governance Center at USIP, Radwan Masmoudi, Najla Elmangoush and Rana Jarhum. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Bodine, the way forward is paved with national dialogue that focuses on the desires of different groups within the country. She applauded Saleh’s successor President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Al-Hadi for taking steps to reform the military, as well as his management of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). “President Al-Hadi understands that until the AQAP issue is controlled it will be difficult to move ahead on political reconstruction...and addressing the root causes of the upheavals that began last January: economics, unemployment, and governance.” Yemeni security needs to be restored, she said, before the country can become a functioning state. For more information and to view a video of the conference, visit <www.usip. org/newsroom/multimedia/video-gallery>. —Alex Begley
the attack that killed 34 American military and civilian personnel and wounded 171,” said VFP Chapter president Ed Flaherty. Despite a rushed and deeply flawed investigation that provided the basis for a continuing cover-up, the Israeli attack is now widely acknowledged to have been deliberate. Immediately after the attack, the Navy imposed a news blackout and the officer in charge of the Court of Inquiry, Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, warned the Liberty crew, “You are never, repeat never, to discuss this with anyone, not even your wives. If you do, you will be court-martialed and will end your lives in prison or worse.” After the film, VFP member Terry Philips joined Flaherty at the podium to discuss the attack and answer questions. “It’s frustrating to think that our government kind of abused the people at the time,” said Philips, a former Navy commuHuman Rights nications technician (CT) who was at sea in the Pacific in June of 1967. Iowa Veterans For Peace Screen “When we signed up we knew that there USS Liberty Documentary were a lot of things that we couldn’t talk about. We accepted that 45 years ago. We could accept that a lot of things went on that nobody could admit to—that was part of the military; part of war,” Philips said. “But when it is so drastic as this, it makes you a little bit ill.” Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty is the only major maritime incident involving a U.S. Navy vessel that Terry Philips (l) joined Ed Flaherty at the podium to talk about the has not been investiattack on the USS Liberty as Iowa Veterans For Peace screened a gated by Congress, which is widely USS Liberty documentary. viewed as being exIowa Veterans For Peace (VFP) Chapter 161 traordinarily reluctant to offend, if not sponsored a screening and discussion of slavishly subservient to, the state of Israel. Among the many high-level former U.S. “USS Liberty: Dead in the Water,” a 2002 documentary produced for the BBC, at the officials and military officers who have publicly stated that the Israeli attack was Iowa City Public Library on May 27. The USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy technical not accidental are U.S. Secretary of State research ship tasked with gathering intel- Dean Rusk, CIA Director Richard Helms, ligence by monitoring electronic commu- CIA Deputy Director Admiral Rufus Taynications, was attacked by Israeli jet lor, NSA director and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. fighter aircraft and torpedo boats while in William Odom, NSA/CIA director Bobby international waters off the coast of Egypt Inman, Chief of Naval Operations and on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ad“This event is one of several organized by miral Thomas H. Moorer, and Secretary of Iowa veterans to honor the men of the USS Defense and Special Assistant to the PresiLiberty and mark the 45th anniversary of dent Clark Clifford. STAFF PHOTO M. GILLESPIE
Yemeni human rights activist Rana Jarhum discussed the challenges of having a fractured, tribal army still very much tied to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his relatives. She identified the greatest challenge to reform as deposing Saleh’s relatives and uniting the tribal forces, especially counter-terrorism units, under one trusted leader. Hesham Sallam, a Ph.D. candidate at Georgetown University and editor of the Egypt page on the online magazine <www.jadaliyya.com>, addressed advancing security sector reforms in Egypt—a country that, he said, has not undergone a revolution, but rather “a transition that was being managed from above,” and which now exists under an unstable military dictatorship. “The people who led the revolutions in Egypt are not the ones calling the shots today,” he stated. During the second panel, former U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia Rust Deming described pre-revolution Tunisia, with a growing middle class with all the trappings of a democracy. But, he said, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s authoritarian regime persisted with a “don’t rock the boat” attitude. Deming now sees secular political parties that are vastly underdeveloped, young people who are “alienated” from the political process, dysfunctional security forces and justice systems, a gap “between the urban elites and the countryside,” and a need for reconciliation with the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) which was forced out. Along with legitimizing police forces, the ambassador cited national reconstruction and unification and a strong constitution that protects the freedom of speech as key to a successful democratic transition in Tunisia. Former U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones, the only panelist currently employed by the U.S. government, chose her words carefully. She delivered a history lecture on modern Middle East politics and described challenges the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) may face. Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Thomas Riley emphasized that even countries blessed with natural resources need to invest in education and new economic opportunities—otherwise, he said, they are “just buying time.” Keeping young people involved and empowered, arming them with video cameras instead of arming the police with guns, will help keep governments more honest, he argues. Former Ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine was in Yemen last year as events began to unfold in Tunisia. According to
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was accidental, many find that conclusion The USS Liberty is among the most dec- Remembering the USS Liberty orated ships in U.S. history, its crew hav- On June 7, dozens of people gathered in Ar- unacceptable and unbelievable. Patricia ing been awarded a Congressional Medal of lington National Cemetery to commemorate Blue-Rousakis, whose young husband, a Honor, two Navy Crosses, 38 Bronze and the 45th anniversary of Israel’s 1967 attack linguist onboard the Liberty, was killed in Silver Stars, 208 Purple Hearts, and a Pres- on the USS Liberty, in which 34 crewmen the attack, said, “I never believed it for a idential Unit Citation. In deference to the were killed and 171 wounded. Survivors second.” Pat Blue’s own personal experience with political power and influence of Israel, Cal Landis, Wayne Hilldebrand, Terry McPresident Lyndon Johnson relegated the Farland, Jim Smith, Richard Brooks, Dave the cover-up began almost immediately. ceremony at which Liberty Captain Miller, Frank O’Classen, Dave Lucas and Bill She called the National Security Agency William McGonagle was awarded the Casper, as well as friends, family and sup- (NSA) after hearing news of an attack on a U.S. ship from a radio in Farragut Park in Medal of Honor from the White House to porters, attended the ceremony. downtown Washington, the Washington Navy DC. The NSA dispatched Yard, where the secretary men to pick her up and of the Navy—rather than bring her home. “From the president, as is tradithe time when they tional—presented McGopicked me up, they [the nagle with the nation’s NSA agents] stayed for a highest military decoramonth,” Blue recalled. tion. The Medal of Honor “They answered the citation includes no menphone, the door.” tion of Israel. The newspapers did Flaherty invited the aunot investigate the attack dience of about 50 who either, Blue said. “By 7 viewed the documentary o’clock that evening the to a community obsernewspapers were already vance in honor of the USS saying it was a case of Liberty dead and the surmistaken identity.” vivors at the Pentacrest at Blue bore the burden of Old Capitol Building in her experience on her Iowa City on June 8, the own for nearly 30 years 45th anniversary of the because her husband attack. Flaherty noted that former Illinois Rep. USS Liberty survivors (l-r) Wayne Hilldebrand, Terry McFarland, Bill Casper, technically was not in the Navy. “I said not one Paul Findley (R-IL) had Cal Landis and Dave Miller pay tribute to their fallen shipmates. word about it for 30 accepted VFP’s invitation speak at the observance, along with sevThe ceremony began promptly at noon years,” she confessed. One day in 1995 she eral Liberty survivors who will be recog- on a warm, sunny day. Navy chaplain Lt. came across an article in the Navy’s Pronized for their service. Jonathan Craig led an opening prayer. Sur- ceedings Magazine about the attack on the Findley, a member of the U.S. House of vivor Jim Smith then began the ceremony Liberty. “It haunted me,” she said, describRepresentatives for 22 years, served in the by explaining the purpose of the annual ing the impact that the article had on her U.S. Navy as a lieutenant (jg.) from 1943 to memorial service: “We must not and will life. “After that I went online, saw the Web 1946. A frequent writer for the Washing- not ever forget the brave men of the USS site (www.ussliberty.org) and thought, ‘oh, ton Report, founder of the Council for the Liberty,” he explained. The veterans who my God, I can’t believe this.’” The continNational Interest, and a member of the were present then commenced an emotional ued support and solidarity of the USS Libboard of If Americans Knew, Findley is the roll call of the men who were killed in the erty community changed Pat Blue’s life. author of several books, including the attack. Each survivor placed a flag on the ”That saved me,” she said thankfully. Cal Landis, a survivor of the Liberty at1985 bestseller They Dare to Speak Out: grave where six of the men killed that day People and Institutions Confront Israel’s are buried together. Smith concluded the tack, summed up the day well. The memoLobby and Silent No More: Confronting ceremony with a quote by President John F. rial service, he said, “gives us a chance to America’s False Images of Islam (2001), Kennedy: ”A nation reveals itself not only honor those who died.” With regard to the available from the AET Book Store. by the men it produces but also by the men Navy’s handling of investigations into the incident, Landis admitted, “I’ve got some Following the June 8 event in Iowa City, it honors, the men it remembers.” VFP members, family and friends of the “Thank you for sharing in this remem- hard feelings.” But he was optimistic about the increasing public awareness about the USS Liberty Veterans Association will meet brance,” Smith added. at Veterans Building on May’s Island in The ceremony reflected the evolution of incident, saying, “It’s coming out more Cedar Rapids at 6 p.m., where Findley and the American perception of the incident. and more.” And it appears Landis is correct. In adothers will speak. Afterward, the Islamic Friends, family and veterans spoke openly Center of Cedar Rapids will host a supper about what is widely viewed as a cover-up dition to reporters, congressional staff for the group and guests. and is, at the very least, an example of ex- members from the offices of Reps. Jim VFP member Jeff Strottmann manned treme negligence on the part of the United Moran (D-VA) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) the literature table for the May 27 event. States Navy. While the official U.S. govern- attended the ceremony for the first time. A —Michael Gillespie ment position remains that Israel’s attack member of Veterans of Foreign Wars 54
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PHOTO COURTESY CPJ
Journalists’ Security On-Site and Online
Journalists need to make security a high priority and using the new free Journalist Security Guide they can take precautions. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Internews cohosted a June 13 panel discussion at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington, DC on security in the ever-changing world of journalism. Speakers promoted CPJ publications, including Attacks on the Press in 2011 and the new Journalist Security Guide, compiled by panelists Frank Smyth, CPJ senior adviser for journalist security, and Danny O’Brien, CPJ Internet advocacy coordinator. The two were joined by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, senior correspondent and associate editor of The Washington Post, and Kathleen Reen of Internews, an international non-profit organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide. Smyth, as the primary author of the Journalist Security Guide, which can be downloaded for free at <http://cpj.org/security/guide.pdf>, noted the shifting nature of the journalism industry in a dangerous and changing world. “Front-line news gatherers” are working with less “institutionalized support” than ever before, he stated. The number of free-lance journalists reporting on conflicts is increasing, Smyth added, and they are facing more violence. “It’s a double-barrel problem,” O’Brien AUGUST 2012
emphasized, “because there is increased interest in journalists as targets and decreased support for them.” The Security Guide is intended as a go-to for journalists whose security is potentially at risk. Chandrasekaran, who covered the U.S. invasion of Iraq as well as the war in Afghanistan, brought his real-world experience into the mix. As the Post’s bureau chief in Baghdad, he said he found that journalists all too often appear in dangerous scenarios without the necessary background knowledge. Security is now a core aspect of reporting, he noted. O’Brien, who is also a chief activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, focused on digital security. “Journalists say they will go to jail to protect their sources,” he pointed out, but rarely follow through by securing their digital footprints to maintain that protection. O’Brien also stressed the importance of lobbying companies like Facebook and Google to make their products more protective of data. In the case of the Arab Spring, governments utilized digital surveillance to an unparalleled degree, he said. Passwords for Tunisian Facebook and Yahoo users were “scooped up” by their government to prevent the spread of viral videos. O’Brien confirmed that the Egyptian government had hacked into Skype accounts to record conversations during the protests in 2011, and said that the Assad regime in Syria can conduct highly sophisticated surveillance on its citizens and journalists thanks to Russian-supplied hardware. Panelists agreed that security in combat situations, as well as digital security, must be a high priority for journalists. A journalist is killed every 11 days, Smyth said, and in the face of a shifting structure in the field, “journalists must take responsibility for their own security.” To view the discussion online visit <cpj.org/security/ 2012/06/spreading-the-security-message. php#more>. —Meher Ahmad
Music & Arts Photographing Kandahar The New America Foundation in Washington, DC held a screening and discussion on June 11 of photographer Louie Palu’s photographs from Afghanistan titled “The Fighting Season in Kandahar.” Palu spent 2006 through 2010 in southeast Afghanistan photographing U.S. and Afghan forces in combat as well as Afghan citizens living in and around the city of Kandahar. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
The evening commenced with Palu narrating a slide show of his photography as well as screening the trailer for “The Durrani Kings,” his upcoming documentary on Kandahar. The trailer opened ominously with the words of a Pashtun proverb, “Control Kandahar and you control Afghanistan,” written on the screen. Emphasizing the strategic significance of Kandahar, Palu discussed the city and region in their historical context. He likened the American military experience in Kandahar to Russia’s experience there in the 1980s, and even drew comparisons between challenges facing modern militaries in the region and those faced by Alexander the Great. “There aren’t that many places in
STAFF PHOTO K. DUFFEY
(VFW) was there as well. It is indeed a sign of progress—but as Pat Blue pointed out, “The politicians aren’t going to touch this.” Perhaps the growing attendance and recognition of the 45th anniversary USS Liberty memorial service is a sign of things to come. American politicians may be more inclined to support a thorough congressional investigation of the incident and bring justice for the 34 sailors who died that day. Josie Toth Linen, whose brother died in the Israeli attack, summed up the overall sentiment of the group when she declared, “It was not an accidental attack.” —Keenan Duffey
Photographer Louie Palu shares photos from Afghanistan. the world where there are so many famous and infamous military leaders who have been there,” Palu pointed out. The evolving Taliban insurgency defined Palu’s time in Afghanistan. When he arrived in 2006, he recalled, “It was the middle of a suicide bombing campaign.” The Western media had forgotten about Afghanistan and were focused on Iraq. He arrived completely unaware of the major uptick in violence, emphasizing that “There was a big disconnect about what was going on.” The Canadian was first drawn to Kandahar because it was the region assigned to Canadian military forces operating in Afghanistan. Canadians probably did not know what they were getting into in 2005, Palu suggested. Explaining the challenges of quelling the restive Afghan city, Palu noted that “Kandahar was perfect for guerilla warfare. If you don’t control the rural areas, you can’t control Kandahar City.” The second half of his presentation focused on the craft of photography. While he did show several portraits of American soldiers, some of his most moving pictures did not involve Western troops at all. “I thought it was important to get outside the military as much as possible,” he said. To 55
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illustrate this point, he showed several photographs of himself dressed in traditional Pashtun clothing. It was nearly impossible to differentiate between him and his Afghan colleagues. “I am really blessed with this full Italian beard,” he remarked, which allowed him to disguise himself as a local and gain access to places which otherwise might have been unreachable for Western photographers. Palu concluded by underscoring the importance of cultural knowledge in order to truly understand a place. “You have to be willing to be with and understand where people are from,” he told the audience. As he said at the beginning of the presentation, “It is all about having a dialogue. That’s what I want to promote when you look at my work.” —Keenan Duffey
Poet Remi Kanazi, Artist Rajie Cook Demonstrate the Power of WORDS
STAFF PHOTO A. BEGLEY
Middle Eastern Activists Find a Home in DC’s Peace House
see what the Peace House is all about.” Feriha Kaya, a Turkish American student studying in New York, came to DC just before the Occupy Movement started and stayed on to help the Peace House and become more active in protest movements. Kaya and Yolanda have planned several events for the coming months including another benefit in August in Washington’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. The group’s Web site, <www.occupypeacehouse.org>, offers more information about the mission and the history of The Peace House as well as a blog that deals largely with Palestinian protests. More information about the Peace House is available there. —Alex Begley
by Ellen Thomas, but under two conditions: that Picciotto be able to use the house, and that its peaceful mission continue to be carried out. The house has become a collective resource center hosting teach-ins, organizing political rallies and “collectively formulating solutions to local grievances.” The Occupy Movement and Activists for Peace have found a home there both literally and figuratively; the house is a daily shelter for groups of peace-minded protesters. In an effort to preserve this safe space, a dedicated group of individuals have sought out a creative solution to their funding problem. “Peace of Art” is the second art show this year held to benefit the Peace House. The first raised $800 and the group expects to hold many more in an effort to raise both awareness and money. Most of the art, including works by Raymond Voide, is donated, so that all proceeds can go to maintaining the house.
Peace House held a “Peace of Art” show at Larry’s Lounge in Washington, DC. Representatives from the Peace House in Washington, DC gathered on Saturday, May 12 at Larry’s Lounge—a bar situated on the vibrant 18th St. corridor, across the street from this magazine’s offices—for a “Peace of Art” art show to benefit the house. Known as the “People’s Embassy,” the Peace House on 12th St., NW is now home to the Occupy DC movement and is in desperate need of donations for upkeep and maintenance. Built in 1864, the Peace House was purchased in 2000 by William Thomas and his wife, Ellen. Thomas is best known for his 24-hour-a-day “peace vigil” against nuclear arms that he started outside the White House in 1980. Since his death in 2009, his friend Concepcion Picciotto has continued the vigil, and she visits the Peace House twice a day for meals, showers, and rest just as Thomas did while holding vigil. The “People’s Embassy” is now for sale 56
The deadline for the current occupants to purchase the house is July 31. After that date the house will go on the market at full price which is approximately $700,000— much higher than the $500,000 price that Thomas is currently offering the Peace House residents. Mira Yolanda is a Palestinian who serves as an events coordinator and fund-raiser for the Peace House. She hopes that these events will portray the house as “a hub for creativity” and that people will “come and
An example of Rajie Cook’s TWORDS. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
The Jerusalem Fund Gallery hosted its first interactive exhibition at the end of June, featuring the graphic art of PalestinianAmerican Rajie Cook, with PalestinianAmerican performance poet and human rights activist Remi Kanazi—who traveled down from New York City to read his work at the June 29 opening. Kanazi edited a volume of hip hop, poetry and art, Poets for Palestine (2008, available from the AET Book Store), and in 2011 published the first collection of his own poetry, Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine. Cook, a renowned graphic designer whose work has been collected by the Smithsonian Institution, features graphic designs, film and sculptural assemblage on the theme of the power of words as a force of justice. His poster “Keffiyeh Peace” is available from the AET Book Store. At the opening, audience members were encouraged to participate in the exhibition. All were given a campaign-style button printed with single words, such as STONES or SETTLERS, to wear as they entered the show. They could write thoughts on a chalkboard, or pin buttons and contribute quotations to a board featuring sayings such as Picasso’s “Art is not made to decorate walls, it is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy.” Cook’s art included a 5-by-11-foot
PHOTO COURTESY JERUSALEM FUND GALLERY
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WALL poster on which the audience could write graffiti, a film entitled “EXIT” and a set of TWORDS—an invention of his combining two words in a holographic effect to create a new thought. His exhibit included his signature “boxes” made of found objects in the manner of Joseph Cornell, as well as a unique use of computer keyboards to spell out messages. All of the objects in the exhibition were designed to provoke thought about the use of words to perpetrate injustice, while emphasizing the powerful possibilities words can have as well in promoting justice. —Dagmar Painter
PHOTO COURTESY JERUSALEM FUND GALLERY
Photographer/Farmer Vivien Sansour’s Agro-Resistance
ship of farmer to land, seeing how the traditional ways of planting and harvesting, of cooking the old recipes, form an historical continuum, the fruits of their labors feeding the body and the soul of Palestine today. Food is an important element of Sansour’s work, with films of cooking methods and recipe cards for the viewers to take with them. Sansour wants her work to emphasize the fact that “Palestinian farmers have always been there, they have always been part of the landscape, not an imposed or artificially created presence.” This continuum of presence is what she terms “agroresistance.” Her photographs are guaranteed to create this presence in the
Vivien Sansour's images empower marginalized Palestinian rural communities.
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Jerusalem Fund gallery, allowing the audience, in their consumption of the both art and the food, to participate in that resistance. —Dagmar Painter
You’ll laugh out loud at some of the lines uttered by characters even though the situation is sinister in Yussef El Guindi’s black comedy, “Language Rooms,” which had its Los Angeles premiere June 3 in Los Angeles Center Theatre 2. Arab Americans will identify with Ahmed, who is fiercely loyal to his adopted country, the U.S., but whose name and Muslim identity don’t allow him to quite fit in with his co-workers. But then Ahmed (played by Syrian-American James Asher) doesn’t have just any job. After 9/11, he quit college to become a translator (and interrogator) at a CIA “black site,” an interrogation facility that is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Ahmed’s loyalty is under suspicion, he’s warned by a fellow Muslim interrogator, Nasser (William Dao), whose character was inspired by Asian-American Muslim Army chaplain James Yee, who was arrested after 9/11. Now Ahmed begins to fear that Nasser is conspiring against him. Who can he trust? Certainly not his supervisor Kevin (Mujahid Abdul-Rashid) whom the audience rapidly comes to despise for his matter-of-fact smarminess. Ahmed has a chance to rise above suspicion—all he must do is successfully pull information out of the next suspected terrorist sympathizer. But wait until he learns who this subject is. “Language Rooms” ran through June 24 at L.A. Center Theater. To learn where the play will next be performed in a city near you, e-mail Golden Thread Productions at <torangeY@gmail.com> or visit <www. goldenthread.org>. —Pat McDonnell Twair
PHOTO COURTESY DAVID ALLEN STUDI
Stunning photographs of Palestinian farms will grace the walls of the Jerusalem Fund Gallery from July 27 through August as part of Vivien Sansour’s project to put a face on Palestinian agriculture as a form of resistance. A farmer herself (she grows almond trees) as well as an independent photographer, Sansour has worked to promote Palestinian agriculture and food products. She most recently helped Canaan Fair Trade, which empowers marginalized Palestinian rural communities caught in conflict so they can sustain their livelihoods and culture by promoting sustainable farming practices. Sansour’s work centers on the farmers themselves, giving each a face and a voice, telling the stories of their lives and work through her sensitive images. More than a romantic idea, Palestinians’ cultivation of their land contains the seeds of resistance. Her large-scale photos enable the viewer to walk the fields, experiencing the relation-
“Language Rooms” a Must-See Play
Scene from “Language Rooms” with (l-r) William Dao, Mujahid al-Rashid and James Asher. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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KHALIL BENDIB
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST
Landsmeer, Netherlands
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
The Muslim Observer, Livonia
National Post , Toronto
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OLIPHANT ©2012 UNIVERSAL UCLICK. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Economist, London
Oliphant ©2012 Universal Uclick
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Al Balad, Beirut
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Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky
An Israeli Expert’s Dissent To The Washington Post, May 4, 2012 The April 29 news story “Former Israeli security chief slams leaders on Iran” left out the more important part: Yuval Diskin’s charge that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is responsible for the deadlock in negotiations with the Palestinians. According to the Hebrew edition of Haaretz, Diskin declared that Netanyahu’s government “has no interest in solving anything with the Palestinians, that I can say with certainty...Forget the story they are selling you that [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] doesn’t want to talk. We are not talking with the Palestinians because this government has no interest in talking with the Palestinians...The prime minister knows that if he takes the smallest step forward in that direction his solid coalition will break apart.” Diskin’s critics have sought to discredit his charge that Netanyahu is misleading the public on Iran by pointing out that his security portfolio did not extend to that country. Not the case, however, for Israel and the Palestinians. For six years (until a year ago), Diskin was the chief security and intelligence authority for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. He understands that Israel’s security and Mideast peace depend upon a settlement with the Palestinians. That was what should have been headline news. David A. Korn, Washington, DC
Three New Developments To The Seattle Times, June 7, 2012 Three momentous developments are transforming the Israeli-Palestinian conflict yet receiving scant attention. First, for both Israel and Palestine, there seemingly is no confidence in the role of international negotiations between governmental representatives of the two sides. To please Washington, neither party has openly repudiated diplomacy. But informed observers are increasingly convinced that direct negotiations between the parties are a dead end. Second, there is a definite shift toward nonviolence by the Palestinians. Nonviolent actions that challenge the legitimacy of Israeli policies, above all its continuing ocAUGUST 2012
cupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, are increasingly occurring. The third major development is a shift in the regional balance in favor of the Palestinians. All the presidential candidates in the Egyptian elections seemed ready to question past collaboration with Israel. Turkey, once a strategic ally of Israel, is now an antagonist, as well as being an avowed backer of Palestinian claims. In light of these changes, Israeli realists should be devoting their utmost energies to finding ways to reach a sustainable peace agreement that is sensitive to Palestinian rights under international law. So far, however, the Netanyahu government seems to be ignoring the ominous writing on the regional wall. Richard Falk, U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, Princeton, NJ
End the Occupation To The Wichita Eagle, June 7, 2012 In the past year, people all over the Arab world have stood up against oppressive regimes to claim their political rights. Ironically, the region’s “only democracy,” Israel, is still keeping 4 million people under military occupation. Yet the world community does not seem too concerned about it. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel has more or less maintained the occupation. It has subjected the Palestinian population in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza to daily injustices and systemic collective punishments—including travel restrictions, land confiscation, house demolitions, arbitrary arrests, detentions without charge and extrajudicial killings. Meanwhile, Israeli settlement expansion continues, in breach of international law. The “security fence” that was supposed to wall off the West Bank goes through Palestinian lands and cities, often splitting off people from access to their agricultural lands, schools, hospitals and fire stations, and leaving more than 100,000 people on the “wrong” side of the wall. A solution is possible, and has been close to implementation in the past. Fortyfive years is too long. As one of Israel’s strongest supporters, the U.S. is in a unique position to pressure Israel to end the occupation. It is high time to exercise that THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
power responsibly. Rannfrid Thelle, Wichita, KS
Second-Class Treatment To The [Syracuse] Post-Standard, June 8, 2012 Reading the June 3 letter “Israel contributes to Palestinian conditions” brought to mind a situation my uncle, who lived in Nazareth, had to deal with. My father’s family was from Nazareth, Palestine. Dad came to this country as a young man. After 46 years here, he took me to visit his remaining siblings in his first visit back. After spending a month there, I realized how my family, who was born in this land, was treated as second-class citizens. My Uncle Habib was trying to get a building permit so he could build a house for his newly married daughter. Our family owned the land for over 100 years. Ten years later, the permit was granted. You might say Uncle Habib had the patience of Job. Not only do the Palestinians outside Israel get abused, but the ones inside do, too. I have to laugh when Israel is called a “democracy.” Democracy for whom? Victoria Kaczowka, Syracuse, NY
National Disgrace To the Ventura [CA] County Star, June 12, 2012 Another June 8 has come and gone without a whisper in the media of the significance of the date, just as it has for the last 45 years. On June 8, 1967, Israeli military forces attacked the USS Liberty while flying an American flag. The assault went on for nearly an hour, and resulted in 170 wounded and 34 killed. Survivors in the water were machine-gunned trying to board life rafts, an undisputed war crime. The Liberty was very nearly sunk before the attack ended—suffering, among other damage, a 39-foot-by-24-foot hole in the hull from a torpedo. Survivors have always believed the attack was intentional, rather than accidental as was claimed, but the incident has been covered up and officially forgotten. The silence is so deafening that even when Capt. William McGonagle was awarded the Medal of Honor for his amazing bravery and seamanship, it was quietly bestowed at the 59
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Washington Navy Yard by the secretary of the Navy instead of at the White House by the president. I have no illusions that anyone will ever answer for the crimes committed, but the complete silence of our American news media about the anniversary is a national disgrace. Bruce Marshall, Santa Paula, CA
sian Gulf [“U.S. rescues Iranian ship from pirates”]. On May 24, you buried a story about the Iranian navy rescuing a U.S.flagged cargo ship in the Persian Gulf as a brief in the foreign news digest section [“Iranian navy assists American ship in pirate attack”]. The double standard is breathtaking. Nadia Itraish, McLean, VA
Peaceful Solution Possible
Another Look
To The Times of Trenton, June 7, 2012 When Trita Parsi, a renowned expert on diplomacy with Iran, spoke before attendees at the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) annual membership dinner June 3, he offered an in-depth analysis of diplomatic efforts with Iran to date. It was clear that more flexibility, political will and diplomacy could result in a peaceful resolution to the Iran nuclear crisis. Mr. Parsi gave several examples of how sustained, determined diplomacy has peacefully resolved major international conflicts, including nuclear weapons issues. It was many years of such sustained diplomacy, by both Democratic and Republican administrations, that ultimately resulted in Libya giving up its nuclear weapons program. Mr. Parsi recounted how former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who mediated the longstanding conflict in Northern Ireland, said that for the first 700 days, each side was adamant that it wouldn’t find common ground with the other. But on day 701, a breakthrough happened. Sustained diplomacy works! Mr. Parsi had an excellent suggestion for how the current negotiations, scheduled to resume June 18 in Moscow, could be under less stress and have increased chances for success. If the Western nations negotiating with Iran were to offer to delay the additional strong sanctions slated to take effect July 1, in return for Iran freezing its 20 percent enrichment of uranium (just a short step away from weapons grade) for six months, it would allow negotiations to resume in early 2013 under greatly improved circumstances. Allowing Iranian oil to continue to flow would help the global economy, while Iran couldn’t move closer to nuclear weapons capability. The Rev. Robert Moore. Princeton, NJ
To the Tulsa [OK] World, June 2, 2012 As catastrophic as a U.S. war with Iran would be, First District Rep. John Sullivan has voted for a resolution that supports Israel’s position that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium for its nuclear power plants. The resolution that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives essentially says that Iran must give up enriching uranium or face the consequences. Israel bombed a nuclear power plant in Iraq in 1981 even before it opened, holding to the position that no unfriendly nation should even have a peaceful nuclear capacity. Iran has never started a war, and the assertion that top leaders in Iran have said that Israel must be “wiped off the map” is just
Buried Story on Iran To The Washington Post, June 3, 2012 On Jan. 7, you carried a Page One article to announce the U.S. Navy’s rescue of an Iranian fishing boat in distress in the Per60
WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON. President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1414 White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 Fax: (202) 456-2461 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Department of State Washington, DC 20520 State Department Public Information Line: (202) 647-6575 Any Senator U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3121 Any Representative U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-3121
E-MAIL CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE E-mail Congress: visit the Web site <www.congress.org> for contact information. E-mail President Obama: <president@whitehouse.gov> E-mail Vice President Joe Biden: <vice.president@whitehouse.gov>
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
not true. Scholars have translated what was said in Farsi as something like, “This regime in Israel will pass into the pages of history.” Americans might have said the same thing about administrations whose policies they did not like. Congress must tone down its hawkish language about Iran and support the administration’s efforts to negotiate agreements acceptable to all sides without war. America just cannot afford another war. Nathaniel Batchelder, Oklahoma City, OK
Iran’s Nuclear Program To The New York Times, May 28, 2012 The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons has unambiguously recognized “the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination,” which covers all areas of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including the inalienable right to develop a full national fuel cycle. Each party has the sovereign right to define its national energy policies in accordance with its national requirements. Iran is fully committed to its obligations under the treaty and is firmly determined to exercise its rights. In future talks, Iran will continue to insist on all its rights for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, including a full national fuel cycle. As pressure exerted by some Western countries against Iran has failed to bear results, we expect a positive and constructive approach regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. Alireza Miryousefi, Head of Press Office, Iran’s Mission to the United Nations, NY
Accountability on Drones To The Washington Post, May 6, 2012 The recent CIA drone attacks in Pakistan, launched in direct opposition to the wills of the Pakistani people and government, are a chilling example of how the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 continue to justify stretching the rule of law to accommodate the expansion of the “war on terror” into countries where the United States is not at war. Indeed, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism at City University in London has estimated that as many as 3,000 people, including hundreds of noncombatants, have been killed in covert drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. With the largely secretive U.S. drone program expanding under the Obama administration, it’s time for U.S. taxpayers to demand greater transparency and accountability. Donna M. Klein, Montgomery Village, MD ❑ AUGUST 2012
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Upcoming Events & Obituaries —Compiled by Andrew Stimson
Upcoming Events: Chicago’s Arab Heritage Council will present the Chicago Arabesque Festival, June 27-30, on Daley Plaza, 50 West Washington St. The non-religious, non-political celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world will feature educational booths, a bazaar, and musical and dance performances. For more information visit <www.chicagoarabesque.com>. Sabeel’s 7th International Youth Confere nce will take place July 4-15 in Jerusalem. Activities will include visits to Palestinian and Israeli communities, cultural activities, contextual tours of holy sites, volunteer and activism opportunities, worship and Bible study, and panel discussions and advocacy workshops. For registration information visit <www.sabeel.org> or e-mail youth@ sabeel.org. The Birzeit Society’s 11th Annual National Convention will be held July 4-8 at the San Francisco Hyatt Regency, 1333 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010. The convention will include activities for all ages and will feature Rev. Naim Ateek as a keynote speaker. For more information visit <www.birzeitsociety.org>. The Ramallah Club of Jacksonville will host the 54th Annual Convention of the Am e rica n Fe der atio n o f Ra m a lla h Palestine, July 5-7, in Orlando, FL. Entertainment will include a comedy show featuring Maysoon Zayid and a Walt Disney character breakfast for children. For more information visit <www.afrpconvention. com>. The Jerusalem Fund and the Georgetown Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, will present Voices of Palestine 2012 Film Series, June 20-July 18. The film “Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation” will be screened July 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lohrfink Auditorium, Rafik B. Hariri Building, Georgetown University. “Love During Wartime” will be screened July 18 at the Jerusalem Fund, 2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20037. For more AUGUST 2012
information visit <http://www.the jerusalemfund.org> or call (202) 338-1958. The Arab American National Museum will host its Fourth Annual Arab America n C ulture Wo rksh o p fo r Hi gh School Educators July 20-22, at 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126. Educators will learn about the culture and diversity of Arabs and Arab Americans through a variety of activities. Registration must be completed by July 10. For more information visit <www.arabameri canmuseum.org> or call (313) 582- 2266.
Obituaries: Duane Alton Rames, 90, World War II veteran and career diplomat who served the U.S. State Department across the Middle East, died on Nov. 13, 2011. Born in Olivet, South Dakota, he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Africa during World War II. Following his service he married Beatrice Cannon, studied international relations at Johns Hopkins University, and joined the State Department. He became fluent in Arabic, and was stationed in Cairo, Beirut, Amman and Jerusalem. After retiring, he planned tours and escorted groups throughout the Middle East. He was also a long-time Red Cross volunteer, receiving the Dovia Award for his efforts. Barbara F. Stowasser, 76, Georgetown professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, died at Washington DC’s Sibley Memorial Hospital on May 13. Born in Leipzig, Germany, she earned a master’s degree in Near East Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in comparative Semitic and Islamic studies from the University of Munster, Germany. After joining Georgetown University in 1966, she served as director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies for three non-consecutive terms and was considered a leading international scholar in studies of women in Islamic texts. Warda Al-Jazairia, 72, legendary Algerian singer famous across the Arab world, died May 17 in Cairo of cardiac arrest. Born near Paris to an Algerian father and Lebanese mother, she started singing at THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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the age of 11 and became known as the Algerian Rose for performing to expatriate Arab audiences in support of the Algerian Revolution. Following a 10-year hiatus from public singing, Warda was asked by Algerian President Houari Boumédienne in 1972 to sing in commemoration of Algeria’s independence. Her decision to accept the president’s request ended her marriage, as it was her husband who had been responsible for her absence from the stage. Warda subsequently moved to Egypt, where she married renowned composer Baligh Hamdy and achieved fame, releasing over 300 songs as well as starring in several films. Her remains were flown back to Algeria on May 19, and her memory honored with a state funeral and burial in a cemetery reserved for national heroes. Hassan El K hadem, 89, American University professor emeritus of organic chemistry, died May 20 in Cairo while visiting family. Born in Egypt, he earned four doctoral degrees in chemistry from universities in Alexandria, Zurich and London, and taught chemistry at Ohio State University and Michigan Technological University. In 1984 he joined the faculty at American University in Washington, DC. Farideh M ashini, 51, Iranian Qur’anic scholar and women’s activist, died May 30 of cancer. A graduate of the University of Tehran’s Women’s Studies program, she later became a board member of the Institute for Women’s Studies and Research, participated in a number of national and international academic conferences, and authored articles in several publications. As an activist, she was member of the reformist party and secretary for the Women’s Participation Front. During the protests following Iran’s disputed 2009 elections, Mashini was among 30 people arrested at a prayer ceremony in front of the home of detained political activist Shahabeddin Tabatabai. During a UNICEF-sponsored event in 2005, Mashini argued that “there is no contradiction to what is written in the Qur’an and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),” adding that Iran “should be an example to the world by ratifying the CEDAW and promoting the future of our women.” ❑ 61
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Books Born in Jerusalem, Born Palestinian: A Memoir By Jacob J. Nammar, Olive Branch Press, 2012, paperback, 152 pp. List: $15; AET: $12. Reviewed by Leila Diab This timely autobiography written by Palestinian Christian Jacob Nammar recounts his bittersweet yet vibrant family life and his youthful experiences, recapturing his personal and family history before, during and after the 1948 Nakba, or Palestinian “catastrophe.” Nammar reminisces about growing up in Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the capital of his beloved Palestine, where his prosperous family owned several tracts of valuable properties in Haret Al-Nasara (the Christian Quarter). His clan enjoyed good relations with the city’s Jewish residents, even contributing 200 Ottoman coins to help renovate a synagogue in the 19th century. Despite decades of acceptance and mutual respect, however, a reign of terror Leila Diab, a free-lance journalist/photographer and published poet, is an adjunct faculty member at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, IL and public relations director at Global Communications Network.
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descended on Palestine during the Nakba. As a prosperous, harmonious, tolerant and peaceful Palestinian society was replaced by Israel’s military occupation, Palestinian life became centered on insularity, survival and cohesive family structures. Nammar witnessed his family’s trauma, as well as the suffering of many prominent and well-to-do Palestinian families who were forced to leave their homes in Jerusalem, had their property confiscated, and endured the torture, imprisonment or disappearance of male family members, including Nammar’s father and brother. For Nammar’s mother, who was born in Armenia and as a young child witnessed the massacre of her entire family under the Ottoman Turks, the Nakba represented yet another historic tragedy with devastating personal consequences. According to Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the laws against such interference or attacks.” Readers of Nammar’s story will wonder why this human tragedy has not yet been resolved, why the Nammar family and their fellow Palestinians still are denied their fundamental human rights, including the right to return to their homes. The experience of the Nakba and the ensuing violence against Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation caused Nammar to rely on his faith that God was always with him. He began making daily visits to the Jerusalem YMCA, where he found peace of mind and self-acceptance, especially while engaging in many types of sports. There he also made many international friends among fellow members who, like him, excelled in swimming and basketball. Ironically, he was asked to join the Israeli basketball team, and went on to become the only non-Jewish player in the league as well as one of the team’s most valued and promising players. Much to his surprise, however, he was abruptly dropped from THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
the national team. As he explains in Chapter 10, “You Do Not Belong Here,” the team was funded by Jewish Americans who felt that “it was unacceptable for a Palestinian to represent Israel in the upcoming Olympic Games.…I felt betrayed and humiliated.” Nevertheless, readers of Born in Jerusalem, Born Palestinian cannot help but be impressed by Nammar’s hopeful and profound belief that “Jerusalem shaped my spirit, religion, heritage, identity and earthly consciousness.” As a Palestinian, it is this writer’s personal belief that Nammar’s story eventually will be recognized as a tribute to and evocation of the lives of human beings who have suffered ethnic cleansing and separate and unequal laws of injustice and racism. Despite his own and his family’s experiences, however, Nammar has not abandoned his parents’ teachings—that “We are all God’s children and spiritual descendants of the Prophet Abraham.” As he explains in his epilogue: “Even though Palestine has not been at peace for generations now, I believe and dream that one day we will have peace where all the children of Abraham—Christians, Muslims, and Jews—will live harmoniously once again in the Holy Land as equal citizens.” ❑ (Advertisement)
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AET Book Club Catalog Literature
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Music
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Film
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Monographs
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Summer 2012 Born in Jerusalem, Born Palestinian: A Memoir, by Jacob J. Nammar, Olive Branch Press, 2012, paperback, 152 pp. List: $15; AET: $12. In this powerful memoir, Nammar paints a vivid portrait of Palestinian life from his childhood days in pre1948 Jerusalem, to the struggles of the Palestinian community under Israeli rule, and his decision to leave for America at age 23. Readers will be inspired by this charming coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of one of the region’s most tragic historical events.
Where the Streets Had a Name, by Randa Abdel-Fattah, Scholastic Press, 2010, 320 pp. List: $17.99; AET: $12.50. Thirteen-year-old Hayaat is on a mission: she believes a handful of soil from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Jerusalem will save her beloved Sitti Zeynab's life. The only problem is that Hayaat and her family live behind Israel’s impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank, and they're on the wrong side of checkpoints, curfews and the travel permit system. Follow Hayaat and Samy as they undertake a transformative journey.
The Palestine Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory, by Nur Masalha, Zed Books, 2012, paperback, 320 pp. List: $34.95; AET: $23. A vital exploration of the ways in which the 1948 Nakba is remembered in Palestinian oral history. Masalha outlines the formation of a “social history from below,” as ordinary Palestinian refugees struggle to publicize the truth about the Nakba in an effort to protect their rights and keep alive their hope for peace with justice.
The Arab Spring: The End of Postcolonialism, by Hamid Dabashi, Zed Books, 2012, paperback, 150 pp. List: $19.99; AET: $14. In this landmark book, Dabashi argues that the revolutionary uprisings that have engulfed the Arab world are driven by a “Delayed Defiance”—a rebellion against domestic tyranny and globalized disempowerment that signifies no less than the end of Postcolonialism. Dabashi illustrates how the Arab Spring has altered the geopolitics of the region so radically that we must begin re-imagining the map of "the Middle East" afresh.
Leila Khaled: Fighting for Palestine, by Sarah Irving, Pluto Press, 2012, paperback, 176 pp. List: $21; AET: $15. In this intimate profile, based on interviews with Khaled and those who know her, Irving gives us the lifestory behind the image. Key moments of Khaled’s turbulent life are explored, including the dramatic events of the hijackings, her involvement in the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, her opposition to the Oslo peace process, and her activism today.
Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America, by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Free Press, 2012, hardcover, 240 pp. List: $24; AET: $16. Drawing from his personal experiences, Imam Feisal speaks on behalf of disenfranchised Muslims around the United States who are spiritual, moderate and patriotic. Moving the Mountain explores the political and spiritual beliefs, aspirations, and ambitions of American Muslims post-9/11 and in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.
Walking Palestine: 25 Journeys Into the West Bank, by Stefan Szepesi, Signal Books, 2012, paperback, 288 pp. List: $29; AET: $17. Walking Palestine guides first-time walkers and experienced hikers alike through Palestine’s steep desert gorges, along its narrow herders’ trails, and over its quiet dirt roads running past silver green olive groves. Szepesi offers a wealth of practical walking tips, including references to local guides, the West Bank’s best leisure spots and countryside restaurants, and charming places to spend the night.
The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World, by Bryn Barnard, Knopf Books, hardcover, 2012, 40 pp. List: $17.99; AET: $12. The Muslim world has often been a bridge between East and West, but many of Islam’s crucial innovations are hidden within the folds of history. In this important book, Barnard uses short, engaging text and gorgeous full-color artwork to bring Islam's contributions gloriously to life. Full of information and illustrations, The Genius of Islam is an invaluable guide to a fascinating topic.
With God on Our Side, directed by Porter Speakman Jr., Rooftop Productions, DVD, 82 min. List: $19.99; AET: $15. This powerful film takes a look at the theology of Christian Zionism and how it has led some Christians to support Israeli policies uncritically, even when those policies privilege Jews at the expense of Palestinians, leading to great suffering among Muslims and Christians alike. “With God on Our Side” demonstrates that there is an alternative theology for Christians that promotes peace and reconciliation for both Jews and Palestinians.
Shipping Rates Most items are discounted and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders accepted by mail, phone (800-368-5788 ext. 2), or Web (www.middleeastbooks.com). All payments in U.S. funds. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. Please make checks and money orders out to “AET.” Contact the AET Book Club for complete shipping guidelines and options. U . S . S h i p p i n g R a t e s : Please add $5 for the first item and $2.50 for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping charges: Please add $11 for the first item and $3 for each additional item. International shipping charges: Please add $13 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless otherwise requested. AUGUST 2012
L i b r a r y p a c k a g e s (list value over $240) are available for $29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’s paid subscription or renewal. Call the Book Club at 800-368-5788 ext. 2 to order. AET policy is to identify donors unless anonymity is specifically requested.
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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AETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2012 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and June 15, 2012 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grateful for their generosity.
HUMMERS ($100 or more) James Abourezk, Sioux Falls, SD Robert L. Ackerman, New Alexandria, PA Hafiz Ahmad, Acworth, GA*** Dr. Omar Akhras, Sparta, GA Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Nabil & Judy Amarah, Danbury, CT Dr. Nabih Ammari, Cleveland, OH Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Fuad Baali, Bowling Green, KY Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Dr. Robert G. Collmer, Waco, TX Glenn Davenport, Corvallis, OR Lee & Amelia Dinsmore, Elcho,WI Dr. David Dunning, Lake Oswego, OR Bassam M.A. El-Borno, Lilitz, PA M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Dr. Ibrahim Fawal, Birmingham, AL Paul Findley, Jacksonville, IL Robert Gabe, Valatie, NY Sam Gousen, Arlington, VA Marilyn Grindley, Wheeling, WV Katharina Harlow, Pacific Grove, CA Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Mr. & Mrs. John Hendrickson, Tulsa, OK Hala Jabbour, Herndon, VA Dennis James, Brooklyn, NY Fred Jimeian, Satellite Beach, FL Michael Keating, Olney, MD Susan Kerin, Gaithersburg, MD Dr. Mazen Khalidi, Grosse Point Farms, MI Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Loretta Krause, Wayne, NJ Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA George & Karen Longstreth, San Diego, CA Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Robert L. Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Richard Makdisi & Lindsay Wheeler, Berkeley, CA John Malouf, Lubbock, TX Martha Martin, Paia, HI Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Gerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CA A.F. Nahas, Danbury, CT Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX 64
Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA M.H. Quader, Harrisburg, PA Mrs. Marjorie Ransom, Washington, DC Nayla Rathle, Belmont, MA Paul Richards, Salem, OR Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Dr. Ahmed M. Sakkal, Charleston, WV Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Salem, Laurel, MD Norman Smith, Exton, PA John Soderberg, Foley, AL Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY Mae Stephen, Palo Alto, CA Mubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GA Mr. & Mrs. Peter Viering, Stonington, CT Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA Dale Walker, Hoboken, NJ Joseph Walsh, Adamsville, RI Rev. Hermann Weinlick, Minneapolis, MN Dr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD John Zacharia, Vienna, VA Munir Zacharia, La Mirada, CA
ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) Patricia Ann Abraham, Charleston, SC Richard Adamiak, Ph.D., Chicago, IL* Lois Aroian, Willow Lake, SD Donna Baer, Grand Junction, CO Jean & Donald Clarke, Devon, PA Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Boulder, CO Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL Robert & Tanis Diedrichs, Cedar Falls, IA Douglas A. Field, Kihei, HI Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Ray Gordon, Bel Air, MD H. Clark Griswold, Woodbury, CT Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ Les Janka, Arlington, VA Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA Gabrielle & Jalal Saad, Oakland, CA Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Grant Smith, Washington, DC Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI Ziyad & Cindi Zaitoun, Seattle, WA* Fred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more) Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Drs. A.J. and M.T. Amirana, Las Vegas, NV Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Shuja El-Asad, Amman, Jordan Amb. Holsey G. Handyside, Bedford, OH*** Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Jack Love, Escondido, CA Dr. Charles McCutchen, Bethesda, MD Estate of Rita A. McGaughey, La Crosse, WI Audrey Olson, Saint Paul, MN Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA Linda Thain-Ali, Kesap, Turkey
BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, West Kingston, RI Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Dr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CA Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Vincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA Joan McConnell, Saltspring Island, Canada John McLaughlin, Gordonsville, VA Ralph Nader, Washington, DC Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Ingrid Van Buren, Honolulu, HI
CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more) Richard & Donna Curtiss, Kensington, MD** John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, France Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC** *In memory of Rachel Corrie **In memory of Anthony Shadid ***Happy 30th Birthday, Washington Report! AUGUST 2012
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A Legacy of Hope: Fahim Qubain (1924-2012) InMemoriam
By Dale Sprusansky he Guilford College student who, in the
tian minister delivering a pro-Zionist, antiPalestinian speech at his school was not a naïve, bloviating young activist caught up in the righteousness of his ideals. Rather, he was a leader, an action taker and a problem solver in the making. His actions on that day foreshadowed who he would become and what his legacy would be. On April 16, 2012 that former student, Fahim Qubain, 88, died at his home in Lexington, VA of an infection resulting from a hip fracture. A scholar, author and activist, Qubain spent his life advocating for an array of causes and promoting the power of education. His enduring legacy is the Hope Fund, a non-profit organization he co-founded in 2000 that provides full fouryear college scholarships to young Palestinians living in refugee camps (see November 2011 Washington Report, p. 36). Qubain was born April 5, 1924 in the Jordanian town of Ajlun to a Palestinian father who had migrated to Jordan (then TransJordan) from Nazareth in the late 1800s. At the age of 12, the young Qubain departed for Ramallah, where he attended the Quaker Friends Boys School for six years. During that time he himself became a Quaker. Upon his graduation in 1942, Qubain, unable to afford a college education, had one-year stints with the Arab Legion as an office clerk, and the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, before moving to the United States on May 23, 1946. As he recalls in his 2007 autobiography, published in Jan.-March 2007 issue of The Link, Qubain quickly “concluded that the only way [he] could achieve [his] ambitions was to obtain a university education.” He took a bus to Greensboro, NC, where he “walked over unannounced to the [university] president’s office....told him [he] was a graduate of the Ramallah Friends School, that [he] had no money for tuition, but wished to enroll.” Without hesitation, the university president welcomed him to the Quaker-run Guilford College. Qubain never forgot the generosity and opportunity that the university’s president extended to him. Little did Qubain know Dale Sprusansky is the Washington Report’s editorial assisstant. AUGUST 2012
COURTESY QUBAIN FAMILY
Tlate 1940s, stood up to confront a Chris-
Dr. Fahim Qubain. that one day he, too, would be passing on such an opportunity to another generation of bright but needy Palestinians. After graduating from Guilford, Qubain went on earn his Ph.D. in political science and international relations at the University of Wisconsin. In 1956, Qubain moved to Washington, DC, where he became deeply involved in the world of Middle East academia, serving as the Middle East Institute’s research director, teaching at George Washington University and doing scholarly work for governmental departments such as the State Department. In 1964 he married his wife, Nancy. A decade later the couple moved to Lexington, VA. There they “became involved activists in support of the Palestinian cause and a peaceful and just settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Qubain recalled in his autobiography. He began to lecture and write about U.S. policy in the Middle East. In 1991, Qubain became a public advocate against the profiling of Arab Americans after the FBI visited his home to question him about his opposition to the Gulf War and Israel’s occupation of Palestine. In a letter to The Washington Post, Qubain asked then FBI Director William Sessions “to leave us Arab Americans alone.” He explained that “these visits are demeaning, intimidating and humiliating. But the supreme insult is that they set us apart THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
from the rest of our fellow citizens in our respective communities in this country.” After reading an article in the Feb. 14, 1999 Washington Post Magazine that told the story of a 15-year-old Palestinian named Ra’ed, who wanted to attend college but could not afford the tuition, Qubain was so moved that he immediately began to lay the foundations of the Hope Fund. The article, titled “Arms and the Boy” and written by Geraldine Brooks, was “the inspiration for what I hope will be the most important legacy for which I pray I will be remembered,” Qubain wrote in his autobiography. After some initial start-up troubles, the Hope Fund had a major breakthrough in 2000, when Roanoke College agreed to provide full four-year scholarships to two students sponsored by Qubain’s organization. In return, the Hope Fund agreed to process student applications, procure their visas, and arrange and pay for books, student health insurance and travel to the U.S. In August 2001, the Hope Fund accepted its first two students for the 20012002 academic year. Ten years later, it enabled 32 Palestinian students to attend universities across the U.S. during the 20112012 school year. Happily, Qubain lived to see the fruits of his labor. In May 2005, the first two Hope Fund students both graduated with cum laude honors. Following his graduation, one of those students, Khaled El-Nemr, shared with Qubain just how much the Hope Fund had affected his life. “Now I have a better chance to…help uplift [Palestinian] society one step at a time,” he said. In June 2011, the American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC) awarded Fahim and Nancy Qubain the Alex Odeh Memorial Award for their dedication and commitment in empowering young Palestinians through education. Upon learning of his death, Samer Anabtawi, a Hope Fund student who recently graduated from Illinois College as the valedictorian of his class, said that Qubain “gave me that one-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has transformed my life….[his] efforts and message will never die.” To make a contribution, please contact The Hope Foundation, 752 Forge Road, Lexington, Virginia 24450. ❑ 65
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feel that the reconciliation has begun in light of the new government and the resolution of all outstanding issues.” His words echoed those of President Abbas at the time of the Doha agreement, when he said that “without elections there will be no reconciliation.” While Awad said he hopes the PCEC will operate throughout the Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, he acknowledged uncertainty as to whether Israel will allow it to do so. It is particularly unlikely that ministers affiliated with Islamic Palestinian parties will be allowed to travel between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is a real concern for many Palestinians, since Israel arrested and jailed most of the elected members of the Palestinian Legistlative Council, along with government ministers. As expressed in the May 20 agreement, both factions envision a temporary sixmonth government to be headed by President Abbas. During this period, the government will focus on preparing for the elections and on campaigning. Potential interim government ministers reportedly have been nominated from the West Bank and Gaza, although their names were not initially made public. An aide to President Abbas told the Washington Report that he personally was not pleased with those nominated internally, “due to their lack of experience running ministries.” This does not appear to be a problem with average Palestinians, however. Government employees and their families in Gaza are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming elections. As Umm Fahed, 64, who lives in Rafah and is the mother of three policemen, notes, should Israel again choose to block funds—and thus her sons’ salaries—“democracy will fail to fill our stomachs.” Among the general population, especially those once permitted to work in Israel, optimism is more prevalent. With the advent of the Arab Spring, increased awareness within Israel of the moral, political and financial cost of the continued occupation, and ever-increasing international support for the plight of the Palestinians, many now feel the time for change is approaching. Unity of commitment and goals within Palestinian society is viewed not only as a crucial step in the process—even more importantly, it is recognized as a peaceful one. ❑
passing classified information to Israel, and for several years Israel did not acknowledge that Pollard had spied. A former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Itamar Rabinovich, recently explained that the Americans hold a “suspicion that Pollard was not alone, and there were others and that despite its promise, Israel did not reveal all its cards to the U.S. on this and similar issues.” One of the early negative reactions to these one-sided U.S. policies came from, of all places, Cape Town, where religious and labor unions have objected to an upcoming visit to South Africa by President and Mrs. Obama. Both are scheduled to receive during the trip the Cape Town Freedom of the City award. Despite the longstanding relationship between the U.S. civil rights and South African liberation movements, Tony Ehrenreich, the provincial secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions, said he was “appalled” at the award, citing “the atrocious behavior of the USA on the Palestinian question, and their endorsement of Israel aggression against the people of Palestine.” What is also dismaying about all this finagling is the role that money plays in the American election. The American Jewish “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization J Street has announced that it is donating about $1.5 million to 60 Democratic candidates who support the two-state solution, which by most accounts is now on its death bed. Of course, the powerful and well-endowed American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has not revealed its large budget, which may not be all that necessary, since the Gallup Poll has reported that Jewish voters preferred Obama over his Republican opponent, the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, by 64 to 29 percent. But all this may be lost on the wayside should the Palestinians unify their ranks, as seems likely in the near future (see story on p. 11 of this issue), and Obama, in turn, abandon his defunct Mideast stance should he be re-elected next November. ❑
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“Negotiations”… Continued from page 15
Israel and the U.S., suggest the West’s unyielding position is designed largely to dissuade Israel from taking military action against the Islamic republic. But Israel, backed by the United States, seems deterTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
mined to weaken Iran whether or not it seeks a nuclear weapon, as long as it is governed by a regime that provides support to Hamas and Hezbollah and openly condemns Israel’s occupation of Palestine. If issuing ultimatums and imposing harsher sanctions while waging cyberwarfare are intended to discourage Iran from continuing its nuclear program, it is a dangerous gamble. Attempting to bring Iran to its knees is likely to spur the Iranians to develop a nuclear deterrent and heighten the tensions that could lead to its use. Meanwhile the six powers’ demand that Iran “do as we say or else” is not a negotiating position. It is an act of extortion. ❑
Cairo Communiqué… Continued from page 19
tutional” and returning power to SCAF head and Minister of Defense Hussein Tantawi. Egyptian activists are calling the moves a “military coup” and the court’s “unconstitutional” declaration “another step in cementing a lingering [military] presence and a hold over public life by the military.” According to the declaration, the newly elected president will take his oath of office before the general assembly of the Supreme Constitutional Court. SCAF said it wishes and intends to hand power over to an elected civilian government following the parliamentary elections, which have yet to be scheduled. Until then, however, it will remain at the top of the power pyramid. The court also ruled that the president cannot declare war without SCAF approval. In the event of riots or national security issues, however, the president can call on the army to intervene to “protect public property and ensure stability.” Egyptians are united in rejecting the declaration and the military junta, arguing that SCAF is granting itself unlimited control over the country Mohamed ElBaradei, the influential Nobel Peace Laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described the court ruling as “the militarization of the country and a setback to the revolution.” Thus, following the presidential elections Egypt finds itself heading toward yet another battle. The country’s future is as uncertain as it was on Feb. 11, 2011, when Mubarak stepped down. Once again, anger is growing and Egypt’s next leader has yet to be determined. ❑ AUGUST 2012
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American Educational Trust The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009
August 2012 Vol. XXXI, No. 5
An Afghan refugee climbs onto a loaded truck at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registration center on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan as she prepares to return to her own country, June 19, 2012. About 20 percent of Afghans are refugees, with 1.7 million living in Pakistan and a million in Iran. A. MAJEED/AFP/Getty Images