Washington Report on MIddle East Affairs | September 2012 | Volume XXXI No. 6

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2012 CONGRESSIONAL HALLS OF FAME AND SHAME

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United Palestinian Appeal

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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXXI, No. 6

September 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 What Occupation? No Such Thing, Say Israeli Jurists—Rachelle Marshall

18 A Tale of Two Lobbies That Harm America: The NRA and AIPAC—Delinda C. Hanley

12 Proof Found That in 1967 Israel Destroyed

20 The Poisoning of Yasser Arafat—Uri Avnery

Centuries-Old Jerusalem Mosque

—Jonathan Cook 14 Mubarak May Be Gone, But in Egypt’s Jails His Legacy Lingers On—Mohammed Omer 16 “Unbiased” Levy Commission Only Serves to Reinforce Israel’s Political Isolation

—Ian Williams

22 Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012): Not the Only Terrorist Elected Prime Minister of Israel

—James G. Smart CONGRESS AND THE 2012 ELECTIONS 24 Nine Senators, 16 Representatives in 112th Congress’ “Hall of Fame”—Shirl McArthur

SPECIAL REPORTS 11 The Destruction of Syria—Patrick Seale

SETH HARRISON / THE JOURNAL NEWS

38 Intriguing “Cleopatra: Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” Exhibit Opens in L.A.—Pat McDonnell Twair

40 As Egypt’s New President Takes Office, Human Rights Groups Want Their Say—Joseph Mayton 42 The Challenge Facing the Islamists—Patrick Seale

One of 50 billboards placed in Metro-North commuter train stations in Westchester County, NY, outside New York City, by Henry Clifford, chairman of the Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine and a reader and supporter of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. See “Publishers’ Page,” p. 7.

ON THE COVER: A Syrian refugee carrying a child walks out of the container camp in Kilis, Turkey, near the border with Syria, after clashes with police during a protest against living conditions there, July 22, 2012. ADEM ALTAN/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

OV-1

Abe Foxman in Search of Enemies, Philip Giraldi, www.antiwar.com

OV-3

Jewish Groups Grab Huge Share of Grants, Josh Nathan-Kazis, The Forward

OV-11

Widespread Muslim Skepticism of U.S. as Democracy Advocate, Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service

OV-5

A Syrian Intervention Must Be Weighed Against the Costs, Hugh White, The Sydney Morning Herald

OV-11

Egypt Aid Under Fire Over Power Grab, Nathan Guttman, The Forward

OV-6

U.S. Aid Policies in Pakistan Resulting in Anti-U.S. Sentiment, Carey L. Biron, Inter Press Service

OV-12

The Failed State Lobby, Alan Boswell, www.foreignpolicy.com

OV-14

Hands Off Tuvalu!, Justin Raimondo, www.antiwar.com

OV-15

Why Iran Should Get the Bomb, Kenneth N. Waltz, Foreign Affairs Living Under Siege in Iran, Mohammad Ali Shabani, www.aljazeera.com

Church of the Nativity Sanctuary Seekers Still In Exile After 10 Years. Why? Stuart Littlewood, www.redress.cc Beit El Land Deal Was Based on Forged Documents, Probe Finds, Chaim Levinson, Haaretz

OV-7

OV-8

OV-9

DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

50 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM:

67 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

ADC National Convention: 7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

“Taking Charge, Moving Forward”

69 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS

44 NEW YORK CITY AND TRISTATE NEWS: Yael Dayan

53 MUSLIM-AMERICAN

70 BOOK REVIEW:

Urges American Jews to Resist

ACTIVISM: Getting Beyond

East of the Sun: A Memoir

“Enforced Solidarity” With

American-Muslim Caricatures

—Reviewed by Dale Sprusansky

Israel—Jane Adas 53 HUMAN RIGHTS: 46 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Supporters of the Egyptian Revolution Rally in San Francisco—Elaine Pasquini

Kashf Foundation Leads

71 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE AET BOOK CLUB

Gendered Development in Pakistan

54 MUSIC AND ARTS:

72 BULLETIN BOARD

73 2012 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

Mowahid Shah Launches His 48 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Book, Will & Skill

CHRONICLE: Billboard Call to Stop Aid to Israeli Army

54 WAGING PEACE:

Agitates Congressional

Glimpse at Pakistani Media

Candidates—Pat and Samir Twair

Reveals Fractures and Progress

74 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

SEPTEMBER 2012

Petty but Cruel—and Ongoing In her August 2012 article, “Netanyahu Tightens His Grip While Palestinians Stand Fast,” Rachelle Marshall quotes Prof. David Shulman of Hebrew University as saying “...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.” Nineteen years ago, in the spring of 1993, I was in Jerusalem, pre-Oslo, pre-wall, before the worst of the Israeli-inflicted atrocities which were yet to come. I asked an Israeli I knew—an Israeli/American who had accepted Israeli citizenship and residence but kept his U.S. passport and New York apartment and law practice— about the petty but cruel treatment Israelis inflicted on Palestinians: bank tellers stalling for 15 minutes before closing time so that Palestinian clients waiting in line would have to return the next day, soldiers harassing a garden wedding in the West Bank (and stealing the cake) apparently just for the fun of it, soldiers lounging in windows and taunting women standing in line for hours for permits or to find out where a husband might be jailed. They were the sort of indignities Jews had suffered over the centuries. The American Israeli agreed that all this was bad and he would not for a moment condone it. Then he added: “If it makes them [Arabs] realize that they are not wanted and should leave, then it could be acceptable.” As Shulman notes 19 years later, the practice is still prevalent. I receive e-mails from Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank; they are not leaving. Life is close to intolerable, but they somehow manage to make it day to day—and stage musical events, write poetry, make films, educate their children, celebrate weddings under circumstances we here in America cannot envision, even as we allow our Congress and White House to bow to every Israeli edict and demand for our taxpayer dollars. Bernice Youtz, via e-mail If only members of Congress, like the Palestinians whose oppression they make possible, would learn from and develop a spirit of sumud (steadfastness). Is it too much to ask that our elected officials put the interests of their own nation and constituents ahead of those of a foreign country? The Friend of My Friend… “The Failed State Lobby,” Alan Boswell’s artice in Foreign Affairs on July 9, the first THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

anniversary of the partition of Sudan and the independence of the Republic of South Sudan, is a depressed and depressing assessment of where the new country stands, and appears to be heading, one year on. I visited South Sudan in late April, as fighting was continuing around the Heglig oil fields. The “international community” can scarcely be accused of not doing enough to help the new country. While South Sudan has a population of only 8.3 million, the total number of international personnel of U.N.-affiliated organizations present and working in the country is the third largest in the world. The international personnel with whom I met were ex-

tremely impressive people, often living in very rudimentary and difficult conditions, but the tasks and challenges which they face are immense. Boswell’s article notes the remarkable bipartisan support of the American political class for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and South Sudan. The South Sudanese have been well advised as to which strings to pull—and not to pull—in order to maintain that support. When South Sudan proclaimed its independence last July 9, the State of Palestine promptly extended diplomatic recognition and the new country promptly promised to reciprocate by recognizing the State of Palestine. Someone in Washington must have advised Juba that recognizing Palestine would be a VERY BAD idea. South Sudan has not only remained one of only three African countries (along with Cameroon and Eritrea) NOT to recognize the State of Palestine but has fallen into an all-encompassing mutual embrace with the State of Israel...which should ensure its impunity from any serious and consequential American criticism no matter how misguided its government’s policies and behavior have been or may prove to be. One may recall in this context the memorable example of Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko when the U.S. Congress was threatening to 5

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respond to his egregious financial and human rights abuses by cutting off all American aid. What is a monstrous dictator to do? He announced that his country recognized Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem—something no other country (not even the United States) had dared to do. Congress backed off, and the aid continued to flow. John V. Whitbeck, Paris, France We thank you for bringing Boswell’s article to our attention, and have reprinted it in this issue’s “Other Voices” supplement. For several years now we have been following the funding and activities of the now seemingly defunct (except, perhaps, for George Clooney) “Save Darfur” movement. We found it curious, for example, that the massive April 30, 2006 rally in support of Darfur took place on a Sunday, when a very large percentage of the African-American community—seemingly a natural constituency—is in church. But perhaps a march on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, would have drawn too few people. “No More Genocide in Darfur, So Let’s Take on Sudan” (see November 2009 Washington Report, p. 67) quoted an Aug. 14, 2009 editorial in the Jewish weekly Forward which noted that “Jews were and continue to be at the forefront on this issue.” The editorial went on to acknowledge “a changing reality in Darfur, where the mass killings have largely stopped.” Whether the pretext was Darfur or South Sudan, however, the target remained the same: the Muslim government in Khartoum.

A Thesis on the Lobby My name is Mahmoud Abdou and I am from the Gaza Strip. I have recently graduated from Heidelberg University in Germany with a MA degree in American Studies. The title of my MA thesis is “The Middle East Peace Process and U.S. Special In-

terest Groups.” In researching this thesis I looked at your monthly publications from 1989 to 2011 and investigated how the Israel Lobby and its allies in the Evangelical Christian community in the U.S. have affected the U.S. role as the mutual facilitator of the peace process, leading to Palestine’s application for full U.N. membership. You can download a PDF copy of my thesis by following this link: <http:// archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/ frontdoor.php?source_opus=13139>. It has been an honor to use your publications as a main source of information. I offer my full services at your disposal. Please let me know if there is anything I can do from here in Gaza Strip to support the Washington Report. Mahmoud Abdou, via e-mail Congratulations on your master’s degree and thesis (which, we were relieved to find, is written in English). According to the English synopsis (we thank art director Ralph Scherer for the translation of “Kurzfassung”) : “This study combines a qualitative analysis of U.S. official policies toward the Peace Process from 1991-2011, with a quantitative investigation of the Peace Process-related activities of pro-Israel U.S. special interest. The quantitative data is collected from public opinion polls, the Congressional Record, government documents, the reports of the Federal Election Commission, and the monthly publications of the nonpartisan Washington Report on Middle East Affairs from 1989-2011.” It is precisely this kind of resource we are dedicated to providing, and we in turn are honored by your use of it.

Spreading the Word We (PEN–Palestine Education Network of NH Peace Action) just did our tabling event at Concord Market Days, July 19-21. Of the 50 sample copies of the Washington Report that you sent, there was only ONE left by Saturday night! Most people were glad to get Other Voices is an optional them—or at least said “Thank you.” Four or five 16-page supplement availgrabbed our free literaable only to subscribers of ture, including the Washthe Washington Report on ington Report, and huffed off. So they reach a lot of Middle East Affairs. For an new readers. additional $15 per year (see One of our handouts is postcard insert for Wash a “loss of land” map card I get from Anne Remle, a ington Re port subscripQuaker in Michigan. They tion rates), subscribers will are now being shown in receive Other Voices bound into each issue of their New York City-area Metro Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. North stations—to some consternation. Back issues of both publications are available. To subJames G. Smart, via escribe telephone 1 (800) 368-5788 (press 1), fax (202) mail 265-4574, e-mail <circulation@wrmea.com>, or write We hope you’ll soon be passing out our current to P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009. issue, which includes your

6

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

excellent and thorough review of the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s terrorist and obstructionist past (see p. 22). Our July 23 action alert “Will this be the beginning?” features a photograph of the billboard, and a link to a local news report on reaction to the one in the White Plains, NY commuter train station and an interview with Washington Report reader and supporter Henry Clifford, whose project this was. (To sign up to receive our action alerts, visit our Web site, <www.wrmea.org> and, under “Resources,” join our e-mail list.) We used the same series of maps to illustrate two views on “Acknowledging Israel’s Right to Exist” (see March 2007 Washington Report, p. 17).

Warmth and Commonality Delinda C. Hanley's article in the August issue, “Muslim Americans Challenge and Inspire on Memorial Day,” was a beautiful reminder of the warmth and sense of commonality I felt when I used to attend events at the imposing mosque in Santa Clara, California. Hanley’s article brought two occasions especially to mind. One was a talk by a visiting imam that was addressed to the almost entirely Muslim audience. During the question period a young man asked the speaker how, as a recent convert to Islam, he should behave toward his Catholic family when he went home for his first visit after his conversion. The imam asked if he loved his family. When the young man said “yes,” the imam told him to behave exactly as he always did. “Above all,” he said, “continue to love them.” He then reminded us all that the three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all have the same message: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. The other occasion included a spectacular dinner. Following the main course almost all the guests went into another room for prayers, leaving six of us non-Muslims at the table. One of them was a woman I will call B., whose friendship, support and love for the people of Gaza, and especially their children, is legendary. She and I immediately began raving about the food and trying to figure out what went into it and so on. Another guest asked how we could talk about food at such a serious occasion. “Because we’re Jewish!,” said B. That was true, and both of us felt completely welcome in that place. Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA Your second story brings back fond memories of New York City billboards that featured pictures of an Asian man, African-American boy, Native American and others eating sandwiches to the words, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s real Jewish rye” bread! To our Muslim friends we send our wishes for a Ramadan kareem. ❑ SEPTEMBER 2012

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American Educational Trust

Publishers’ Page

Incredible Shrinking Lands.

What Happens Next?

Suburban New York commuters are talking about billboards recently placed by 84-yearold Henry Clifford in 50 Metro-North train stations in Westchester County. Clifford‘s succinct ad (see Table of Contents) shows four simple maps: one of Palestine in 1946, another depicting the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan, the third from 1949 to 1967, and the final map in 2010. The image is simple, factual and impossible to dismiss or misinterpret—although, as usual, it has drawn charges of being “anti-Semitic” or “antiIsrael.” But even the most casual observer can see that for more than six decades Israel has devoured so much land that today Palestinians live scattered in small bantustans. And those are the ones who weren’t driven from their homes. As the ad’s simple text notes: “4.7 Million Palestinians are Classified by the U.N. as Refugees.”

Some of the local news reports noted that in June 2012 the Coalition to Stop 30 Billion to Israel erected more than 20 billboards in Los Angeles, which were removed following pressure from the pro-Israel group StandWithUs and self-proclaimed Zionist Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA). (See “Southern California Chronicle” on p. 48 of this issue.) StandWithUs promised to counter the New York billboards with an ad blitz of its own. The moral of this story is that, despite every effort by Israel-firsters and a complicit corporate media, it is possible for a single individual to break through the silence barrier and reach fair-minded Americans. It takes money, of course, and the careful crafting of what is undeniably…

Opening Eyes and Conversations. “If the facts are inflammatory, then they are inflammatory,” Clifford pointed out in response to the controversy the ads have generated. “There’s always room for discussion of different sides of every story, but there is no room for discussion on fact,” he told FoxNews.com. “The Palestinian people have lost most of their homeland and the map shows exactly what is happening to them.” The Washington Report reader and supporter says he just wants to educate people, “simply to open their eyes and let them see what has happened on the map...All of the Middle East is infected with the virus of the Arab-Israeli conflict. People need to know…

The Truth of the Matter.” Clifford who lives in Connecticut, where he has run similar ad campaigns, is chairman of the Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine. He said he chose Westchester County for his ad campaign because “My audience is people who have the intellectual curiosity to have an open mind, whether they agree with it or disagree with it.” One commuter, Theresa Morrison, visiting from Scotland, told reporters from Westchester County’s The Journal News that the ads highlight a humanitarian crisis. “I think that [Israelis] are persecuting the Palestinians and they should give them back their land,” Morrison told the paper. “They’ve been in those shacks since 1948, and it’s a disgrace to people’s human dignity.” SEPTEMBER 2012

A Compelling Message. The Silly Season Is Upon Us. During this election year, that means that, from early summer until the first week of November, both President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, will be madly fund-raising and promising voters the moon. To polish his creds for Jewish and evangelical Christian voters—and, of course, to raise even more money—Romney is even going beyond these shores—to Israel— where he will remind Americans that he and his long-time friend Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu are so close that they nearly have their own language. (”We can almost speak in shorthand,” Romney told The New York Times in April.)

certainly true that money talks—even more so these days, with Israel-first billionaires such as Sheldon Adelson contributing unlimited sums to SuperPACs. But as Americans begin to learn—thanks to people like Henry Clifford—the facts and cost of unthinking U.S. support of Israel, we predict that they will demand that their elected representatives put…

Their Country and Constituents First. Donation Appeal Held Hostage. As we go to press our biannual appeal to our U.S. supporters is sitting in trays at our over-worked printer. That is because the U.S. Post Office has rejected for the first time our use of a non-profit stamp. This adds hundreds of dollars—not to mention hours and days—to our plea for your help. It also provokes us into relying more and more on the Internet rather than the Post Office to reach our print and online readers.

And We Need Your Help! While the AET Library Endowment is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt registered charity, providing educational materials to schools, libraries and religious institutions, the American Educational Trust (AET), which publishes this magazine and runs our bookstore, is just a non-profit foundation. This means that donations to AET (which hasn’t made a profit in its 30 years of existence, even though we’re years behind on paying the rent!) to support these two projects are not tax-exempt.

But He Really Needn’t Bother.

Charities for Whom?

As is the case with the majority of Americans, it is the economy, not Israel, that is the greatest concern of Jewish voters, according to Jim Gerstein, a pollster with the polling firm GBA Strategies. He cited a 2010 poll that found only 7 percent of American Jews considered Israel a top priority. Even in swing states, Gerstein predicts, Jewish voters will have a negligible effect on the outcome of the presidential election. A poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that 65 percent of Jews identify as Democrats—a statistic that has remained steady for years. Nevertheless, candidates on both sides of the aisle will be vying for Jewish votes and ignoring Muslim- and Arab-American voters— many of whom also live in swing states. It’s

Not all U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit charities are benevolent—at least, not toward Americans. The Israel Project (TIP) calls itself an educational organization that provides “facts” about Israel and the Middle East to the press, public officials and the public. (We recall the early days of its existence, when caller ID identified TIP as “B’nai B’rith.”) So is the American Israel Education Foundation, the AIPAC arm which funds lawmakers’ trips to Israel. Add to them the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and the misleading Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI). All the more reason for us to join together and….

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Make a Difference Today! 7

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What Occupation? No Such Thing, Say Israeli Jurists SpecialReport

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

By Rachelle Marshall

Israeli soldiers prevent Palestinian families from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh from going onto their own property, which Israeli authorities confiscated in order to expand the illegal settlement of Halamish, June 29, 2012. srael has destroyed more than 24,000

IPalestinian homes in the occupied West

Bank and Gaza since 1967, and the process continues today as Israeli bulldozers demolish homes from East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley to make way for Israeli colonies. The Israeli leaders who piously urge Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to come back to the negotiating table are fast making negotiations meaningless. Their efforts were reinforced in early July, when a government-appointed judicial commission ruled that Israel’s presence on the West Bank is not an occupation, since Jordan’s claim to the territory before 1967 was not officially recognized. Therefore, concluded the commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, “according to international law, Israelis have the legal right to settle in Judea and Samaria.” The Levy commission report might with 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

equal credibility have declared the earth is flat. The Fourth Geneva Convention bars an occupying power from building settlements in occupied territory; U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 call on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza; and the International Court of Justice ruled in July 2004 that Israel’s separation barrier was illegal wherever it intruded into the West Bank. The Levy commission’s endorsement of land theft also drew rare criticism from the U.S. State Department, which said, “We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.” Regardless of its legality, Israel’s settlement construction is proceeding faster than ever. On June 21 Israel issued demolition orders for 50 homes in Susiya in the south Hebron hills, orders that included Susiya’s solar power system, fences for herds, wells, and even a community health clinic. Similar orders were issued to 35 residents of nearby Beit Ummar. The reason, an Israeli spokesman said, is “to protect the security of settlers.” The true reason was to make room for more Jewish settlers. It is impossible to measure the trauma THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

endured by Palestinian families, and especially their children, who see their homes and all they possess crushed by Israeli bulldozers. Many end up living in tents or the homes of relatives. A vastly different situation was experienced by the 30 Israeli families who were obliged to move after Israel’s Supreme Court determined that their apartments on Ulpana Hill near the settlement of Beit El were built on privately owned Palestinian land. The night of the evacuation, hundreds of Israelis gathered at Ulpana to mourn “the harsh decree” in a mass prayer adapted from the liturgy used on the Jewish Day of Atonement. In the nearby village of Jaba, Jewish extremists, angered by the court order, set fire to the village mosque. The government quickly responded to the protests. The next morning Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that 300 more homes would be added to Beit El and that dismantling Ulpana would not be a precedent for settlement policy elsewhere. The expansion of Beit El, which lies some 15 miles inside West Bank territory, prompted Tzaly Reshef of Peace Now to comment, “While Netanyahu may say from here to eternity that the Israelis will negotiate, the Israelis will compromise, what he does on the ground shows his real intentions.” The government’s treatment of the Ulpana evacuees and its promise to expand Beit El also illustrated the powerful influence of the settler movement on Israeli policy. Awaiting the 30 families leaving Ulpana were not tents but modular homes fully equipped with kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and freshly planted trees and plants. Gas, sewage, water, electricity and air conditioning were in place, and tractors were finishing patios as families moved in. Israeli authorities have meanwhile made no move to return the land at Ulpana to its Palestinian owners. “I’m not so naive as to think it will happen in 2012,” their lawyer said. Despite their gentle treatment, the new Jewish residents were not happy. Some hung signs on their windows saying “Supreme Court is Sodom,” and many wore black T-shirts saying, “We will be SEPTEMBER 2012

back.” The local rabbi told the congregation, “We pray here that this evil will turn into a blessing, with many more homes built on the land of Israel.” Michal Kitay, who was moved from Ulpana into a wellequipped apartment nearby, took for granted her entitlement to land owned for generations by Palestinians. ”The minute someone tries to take something that you love, you go crazy,” she said. “I’m going crazy for this land.” Kitay emigrated to Israel from Australia in 2009. A fitting coda to the government’s grudging enforcement of the court’s decision while pledging to build hundreds more West Bank homes was the June 30 death of Yitzhak Shamir, who served as prime minister beginning in 1983 and again in 1988. While in office he expanded the settler population by more than 30 percent. With more candor than his successors, he admitted that “Israel’s days without Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the Gaza strip are gone and will not return.” In 1991 he set the pattern for future prime ministers by agreeing to take part in peace negotiations forever while not giving up an inch of occupied territory.

Egypt’s Struggle for Supremacy In Egypt the back-and-forth struggle for supremacy between the military and prodemocracy advocates took another turn in early July. The ruling military council, SCAF, earlier had agreed to recognize Mohamed Morsi, the winner of the mid-June election and a member of the formerly illegal Muslim Brotherhood, as Egypt’s fifth president. Morsi, a devout Muslim, pledged to be a president for all Egyptians. “We as Egyptians, Muslims and Christians are preachers of civilization and building,” he said, “We are all equal in rights.” But how much power he will have immediately came into question. In response to a ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court, whose members were handpicked by Hosni Mubarak, SCAF dissolved Egypt’s first democratically elected parliament and took over all legislative and executive powers, including the right to strike down provisions of the next constitution. On July 8, Morsi responded by ordering the parliament to reconvene until a new constitution is completed and new elections are held. Two days later, parliament members defied the generals and held a brief session in the parliament building, but it was clear that neither side wanted a confrontation. Soldiers did not prevent the legislators from entering the building, and parliament SEPTEMBER 2012

SAID KHATIB/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

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An elderly man sits amid the rubble of a metal workshop on June 18 after overnight Israeli air strikes hit the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding five Palestinians. speaker Saad Katatni offered a compromise, calling for the new elections to replace members the court said had been improperly elected. Katatni also said parliament would appeal the Constitutional Court’s original ruling to the Court of Cassation, one of Egypt’s three parallel high courts. The drama is likely to continue for months, but meanwhile, even with Morsi’s limited authority, his presidency could have a profound effect on Egypt’s relations with Israel and the Palestinians. A democratically elected Egyptian president who shares the sentiments of millions of Egyptians is certain to be more sympathetic to the Palestinians than was his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. As a devout Muslim, Morsi does not share Mubarak’s antipathy toward Hamas, which was founded in the early 1980s as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and he is less likely to cooperate with Israel’s six-year-long blockade of Gaza. He is also an outspoken advocate of a Palestinian unity government, which Israel and the U.S. strongly oppose. It may have been that fact that prompted Israel shortly after Morsi’s election to initiate a new round of violence against Hamasruled Gaza. On June 17 bulldozers and tanks swept across the border, plowing up Palestinian farmland and creating a 1,500meter-wide buffer zone inside the fence. As Israeli forces carried out repeated air strikes, many of them in heavily populated areas, Hamas ended the unilateral ceasefire it had adhered to for more than a year, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

and resumed its rocket attacks on Israel. Israel retaliated, and by June 24, when Hamas and other Palestinian groups agreed to a cease-fire, 16 Gazans were dead, including 13-year-old Mamoun Zuedi al Dam, who was picnicking with his family on the campus of the University College of Applied Science when a missile launched from an Israeli warplane landed. Another young victim, 6-year-old Ali al-Shawaf, was killed while sitting near a soccer court. According to a U.N. report issued in mid-June, Israeli forces have killed 2,300 Gazans over the past five years and injured 7,700. More than a quarter of the victims were women and children. Israel’s land and sea blockade has undermined the livelihood of 35,000 fishermen and caused the loss of 75,000 tons of produce. Such figures indicate the urgency of the need for Hamas and Fatah to unite in a common effort to end an occupation that every day becomes more crushing. The reconciliation process began in May 2011, with an agreement stipulating that preparations for the elections for a new government be completed within a year (see “Palestinian Politics: A Plague on Both Their Houses, or Promise for the Future?” by Mohammed Omer, August 2012 Washington Report, p. 11). But hopes of meeting that deadline faded in early July when Hamas called a halt to the registration of new voters, claiming the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas was mistreating Hamas supporters on the West Bank. 9

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It is true that a Palestinian security force trained by the U.S. protects Israel by hunting down and arresting suspected militants, and a number of Hamas members are in Palestinian Authority jails. Abbas has nevertheless accepted an invitation from Iran to attend a conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran in August. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that Iran, a longtime supporter of Hamas, wants the two Palestinian factions to reconcile in order to bolster “resistance to the Zionist entity.� In the same week that the Hamas-Fatah rift was obstructing efforts to achieve a Palestinian unity government, Israel’s policy of exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim, from military service was threatening to break up the governing coalition recently formed by the Likud and Kadima parties. Since the Haredim receive a disproportionate share of government aid, Kadima’s secular voters resent the fact that thousands of young Haredim men are allowed to study at yeshivas instead of going into the army. The right-wing religious members of Netanyahu’s coalition, on the other hand, threatened to resign if the exemption is lifted. The law that provides draft exemptions to yeshiva students was due to expire on Aug. 1, but on July 2 Netanyahu disbanded the committee charged with drawing up a plan for requiring all Israelis to perform national service. He said he would work “gradually� toward that goal but “without setting public against public.� Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz rejected that statement, saying, “If the prime minister chooses not to turn in the direction required, the national unity government will reach the end of its day.� (Advertisement)

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When Netanyahu stuck by his rightwing religious supporters and refused to endorse a bill requiring all citizens to do national service, Mofaz made good his threat and on July 17 withdrew Kadima from the governing coalition. Netanyahu, left with only a slim majority of 66 members in the 120-member Knesset, is certain to call for new elections in the next few months. Meanwhile, the Orthodox parties had won a clear victory. No matter who serves in the army, or what party is in power, Israel is certain to go on confiscating more and more Palestinian land for illegal settlements.With America focused on the November elections, the European Union struggling to revive the continent’s ailing economies, and the U.N. unable to end the violence in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is nearly invisible on the world’s agenda. The one issue that continues to overshadow other concerns is Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. Despite Israel’s longstanding violations of international law, its repeated defiance of U.N. resolutions, and its refusal to open its nuclear arsenal to international inspection, it is not Israel but Iran that is being vilified and punished as a law violator by the U.S. and its allies. And as usual, it is ordinary Iranians who are the victims. The ban imposed on oil imports by the European Union has caused a 40 percent drop in the oil revenue that Iran depends on for 80 percent of its budget. U.S. sanctions prohibiting the world’s banks from dealing with their Iranian counterparts has caused the value of the Iranian rial to fall so sharply that the prices of bread, meat and milk have risen by 20 percent, and chicken by 80 percent. The fact that Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf have refrained from confrontation with allied warships off their coast has not deterred the U.S. from moving additional forces into the area, including an extra Army combat brigade recently sent to Kuwait. The number of Navy ships patrolling the Gulf has been considerably expanded, with two carrier strike groups now constantly patrolling the area, and more F-22 bombers and fighter planes are now stationed in Persian Gulf bases. The expanded fleet also includes a former transport ship that has been converted into a mobile base for Special Operations Forces, highly trained commandos who serve in places where the U.S. is not officially at war. Why is Tehran in the West’s gun sights? There is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon, its army and airforce are no THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

match for the U.S. and Israel, and it poses no threat to its neighbors. The answer was provided by an anonymous Pentagon spokesman who said, “This is not only about Iranian nuclear ambitions, but about Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions.� He called the military buildup “tangible proof to our allies and partners [that] we remain vigilant across the Middle East.� Another senior official said more directly that the military buildup in the Gulf was aimed at reassuring Israel that the U.S. would maintain a tough stand on Iran. “When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it,� the official said. Those “other options� can only mean embroiling the U.S. in yet another war to protect Israel’s supremacy in the region. As far back as July 1929, the eminent anti-Zionist Rabbi Judah Magnes warned that a Jewish national state in Palestine achieved by guns and bayonets would condemn the new country to endless warfare. He could not have foreseen that the U.S., as Israel’s closest ally, might someday share the same fate. � (Advertisement)

SEPTEMBER 2012

seale_11_Special Report 7/26/12 2:10 PM Page 11

The Destruction of Syria SpecialReport

By Patrick Seale nce one of the most solid

Ostates in the Middle East

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

and a key pivot of the regional power structure, Syria is now facing wholesale destruction. The consequences of the unfolding drama are likely to be disastrous for Syria’s territorial integrity, for the well-being of its population, for regional peace, and for the interests of external powers deeply involved in the crisis. The most immediate danger is that the fighting in Syria, together with the current severe pressure being put on Syria’s Iranian ally, will provide the spark for a wider conflagration from which no one will be immune. How did it come to this? Every actor in the crisis bears a share of responsibility. Syria is the victim of the fears and apMonths after protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011, Iraqi refugees petites of its enemies, but also of who had fled to Syria return to Baghdad, July 3, 2011. According to the UNCHR, Syria, with a popits own leaders’ mistakes. ulation of 18 million, accepted more than 1.5 million Iraqi refugees—more than any other country in With hindsight, it can be seen the region. that President Bashar al-Assad Could the regime have done something Above all, over the past decade Bashar missed the chance to reform the tight security state he inherited in 2000 from his al-Assad and his close advisers failed to about it? Yes, it could. As early as 2006-7, father. Instead of recognizing—and ur- grasp the revolutionary potential of two it could have alerted the world to the sitgently addressing—the thirst for political key developments—Syria’s population ex- uation, devoted all available resources to freedoms, personal dignity and economic plosion and the long-term drought which urgent job creation, launched a massive opportunity which were the message of the country suffered from 2006 to 2010, relief program for its stricken population the “Damascus Spring” of his first year in the worst in several hundred years. The and mobilized its citizens for these tasks. power, he screwed the lid down ever first produced an army of semi-educated No doubt major international aid agencies young people unable to find jobs; the sec- and rich Gulf countries would have more tightly. Suffocating controls over every aspect ond resulted in the forced exodus of hun- helped had the plans been in place. Instead, the regime’s gaze was disof Syrian society were reinforced, and dreds of thousands of farmers from their made harder to bear by the blatant cor- parched fields to slums around the major tracted by external threats: by the ruption and privileges of the few and the cities. Herders in the northeast lost 85 per- Lebanese crisis of 2005 following the ashardships suffered by the many. Physical cent of their livestock. It is estimated that sassination of Rafiq Hariri; by Israel’s bid repression became routine. Instead of by 2011, some two to three million Syri- to destroy Hezbollah by its invasion of cleaning up his security apparatus, curb- ans had been driven into extreme poverty. Lebanon in 2006; by its attack on Syria’s ing police brutality and improving prison No doubt climate change was responsible, nuclear facility in 2007; and by its bid to conditions, he allowed them to remain as but government neglect and incompetence destroy Hamas in its murderous assault on Gaza in 2008-9. contributed to the disaster. gruesome and deplorable as ever. From the start of Bashar al-Assad’s presThese two factors—youth unemployPatrick Seale is a leading British writer on ment and rural disaffection—were the idency, Syria has faced relentless efforts the Middle East. His latest book is The prime motors of the uprising which by Israel and its complicit American ally Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el- spread like wildfire, once it was triggered to bring down the so-called “resistance Solh and the Makers of the Modern Mid- by a brutal incident at Dar‘a in March axis” of Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah, dle East (Cambridge University Press). 2011. The foot soldiers of the uprising are which dared challenge the regional domiCopyright © 2012 Patrick Seale. Distributed unemployed urban youth and impover- nance of Israel and the United States. ished peasants. by Agence Global. Continued on page 74 SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

11

cook_12-13_The Nakba Continues 7/25/12 11:26 PM Page 12

Proof Found That in 1967 Israel Destroyed Centuries-Old Jerusalem Mosque

The Nakba Continues

PROJECT NSEARCH.COM

By Jonathan Cook

An aerial photograph taken in the 1930s shows that the Sheikh Eid Mosque (circled at lower right), dating from the time of Saladin, had survived into the 20th century. he discovery of a rare aerial photo of

TJerusalem in the 1930s, taken by a Zep-

pelin, has provided the long-sought-after proof that when Israel occupied the Old City in 1967 it secretly destroyed an important mosque that dated from the time of Saladin close to the al-Aqsa Mosque. The destruction of the Sheikh Eid Mosque—in an area widely considered to be the most sensitive site in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict—revives questions about Israel’s continuing abuse of Islamic holy places under its control. The issue has been in the spotlight recently because of a growing number of arson and vandalism attacks by Jewish extremists on mosques in Jerusalem and the West Bank, in what are termed “price-tag” attacks designed to dissuade the Israeli government from honoring its agreements with the Palestinians and abiding by interJonathan Cook is a journalist based in Nazareth and a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His most recent book is Disappearing Palestine. 12

national law. Following the torching by Jewish settlers of a mosque near Ramallah in June, Dan Halutz, a former military chief of staff, admitted there was no political will to find the culprits. “If we wanted, we could catch them, and when we want to, we will,” he told Army Radio. The question of whether Jerusalem’s Sheikh Eid Mosque had survived up until modern times had been the subject of heated debates between Palestinian and Israeli scholars. The discovery of its location is not only of historic and academic interest. Earlier this year, before the aerial photo was unearthed, development by Israel of a visitor center at the spot where the mosque once stood led to the destruction of what was left of the building below ground, archaeologists now admit. Israel’s Antiquities Authority, its chief archaeological institution, dug up the mosque’s remaining foundations and disinterred a human skeleton, believed to be Sheikh Eid himself. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The site of the mosque is next to the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), a raised compound of Islamic holy places that includes the al-Aqsa Mosque and is flanked on one side by the Western Wall, a major Jewish prayer site. Control over the Haram al-Sharif is contested by Israel, which maintains that the mosques are built over two Jewish temples destroyed long ago (see August 2011 Washington Report, p. 16). There is growing pressure from Jewish religious groups to be allowed to pray on the Haram alSharif, and some extremists have threatened to blow up the mosques so that they can build a third temple. A provocative visit in 2000 to the site by Ariel Sharon, then leader of Israel’s opposition and candidate for prime minister, backed by more than 1,000 police, triggered the second intifada. The excavations for the construction of a large visitor center are part of a series of changes by Israel to the area near the Western Wall that has been fueling tensions with Palestinians. The alterations violate international law because Jerusalem’s Old City is occupied territory. Benjamin Kedar, vice-president of Israel’s National Academy of Sciences, who discovered the old photo after searching archives in Germany, called the treatment of Sheikh Eid Mosque “an archaeological crime.” Other dissident Israeli archaeologists also have spoken out. The mosque, which originally served as an Islamic school, built by Malik al-Afdal, one of Saladin’s sons, is said to have been one of only three such buildings remaining in Jerusalem from that period. Its provenance and location are described in a 15th century document. After the burial of its most famous preacher, Sheikh Eid, two centuries later, it became a major pilgrimage site for Muslims. The mosque, it now emerges, was destroyed during the wholesale levelling of the Mughrabi quarter of the Old City—a war crime that has been largely overlooked by historians—in the immediate wake of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967. SEPTEMBER 2012

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Under cover of dark, Israel sent in bulldozers to clear the area, forcing nearly 1,000 Palestinian residents out so that a wide prayer plaza could be created in front of the Western Wall. The plaza became the nucleus for the reestablishment of an enlarged Jewish quarter in the Old City which gradually is encroaching on the Muslim and Christian quarters through the activities of settlers and armed guards assigned by the Israeli authorities to protect them. The visitor center is the latest plan in a long-running campaign by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who is in charge of the Western Wall, to strengthen Israel’s hold on the area around the Haram al-Sharif, in what is seen by many Palestinians as an attempt to bolster Israeli claims to sovereignty over the compound of mosques. The rabbi’s Western Wall Heritage Foundation oversees the Western Wall tunnels, which were opened in 1996 during current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s previous premiership. The opening sparked violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces that led to dozens of deaths. The Heritage Foundation also is attempting to relocate the Mughrabi bridge, a ramp now used chiefly by non-Muslims and Israeli police to reach the al-Aqsa compound, to further expand the prayer plaza in front of the Western Wall. The Heritage Foundation has justified its various activities by saying that excavations destroying Islamic history are necessary to unearth older, Jewish archaeological remains. In a statement referring to the Sheikh Eid controversy, it said: “Excavations in the area of the Western Wall are intended to reach the earliest levels possible. Clearly this cannot be done without destroying later periods, whatever they may be.” The historic and current abuses of the Sheikh Eid Mosque are reflected in Israel’s repeated dismal scores in international surveys on religious freedom. In 2010 the U.S. State Department published a report placing Israel in the same category as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Sudan. “Non-Jewish holy sites do not enjoy legal protection under [Israel’s 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law] because the government does not recognize them as official holy sites,” the report stated. The 1967 law stipulates a punishment of seven years’ imprisonment for anyone found guilty of desecrating a holy site— but Israel has awarded holy site status only to Jewish places of worship. SEPTEMBER 2012

The treatment of Sheikh Eid Mosque has echoes of a current and more prominent dispute close by, in West Jerusalem, where Israel has approved a plan by the California-based Simon Wiesenthal Center to build a Museum of Tolerance over the ancient Muslim cemetery of Mamilla, which includes graves believed to be those of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions. Israeli media reported in 2008 that more than 100 skeletons had been unearthed and mistreated in excavations to prepare the site for construction work. The museum’s building has been delayed by financial problems caused by the global economic downturn. While these high-profile cases have made headlines, violations of religious freedoms for the 1.3 million Palestinian Muslims who have Israeli citizenship have gained far less attention.

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Waqf Holdings Confiscated in 1948 The core grievance dates to Israel’s creation in 1948, when all land and property held in trust for the Muslim community was confiscated inside the borders of the newly established Jewish state. These properties—donated by generations of Palestinians to a waqf, or religious endowment— comprised not only holy sites and cemeteries but also schools, public buildings, shops and farmland. After 1948, all of the waqf’s holdings, which constituted a tenth of the territory of the Holy Land, were seized by the Israeli state. Only the mosques in the 120 Palestinian towns and villages that survived Israel’s establishment have continued to operate, though under strict supervision. Israel, which pays the salaries of mosque employees, controls all appointments and monitors sermons as well. Some 500 other villages, which were emptied of their Palestinian population in 1948, have been razed, often along with any local mosques or churches. In cities that are now almost exclusively Jewish, mosques and cemeteries were simply developed over. In mid-July it was reported that Tel Aviv University, which was built over the destroyed Palestinian village of Sheikh Munis, had desecrated a graveyard during building work on new dormitories. Most of the mosques that remained standing in the otherwise-destroyed villages have been desecrated, according to a 2004 survey undertaken by the Nazarethbased Human Rights Association. It found that these mosques, as well as Islamic shrines, had been made inaccessible, inTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

“If you’re onllyy going to read one book about 9-11, this would be it.t.”

Available ffrrom bookshops, Amaz m on, or

www w.BOLL LYN.com cluding to internal refugees living nearby. Prominent mosques in former Palestinian villages have been put to use by Jewish communities as bars, nightclubs, art galleries, shops, animal pens, grain stores and synagogues. Meanwhile, other, older mosques have been declared closed military zones, leaving them derelict. Over the past 15 years, the Islamic Movement has worked to identify and document these Muslim holy places, but its efforts have antagonized the Israeli authorities. When the Islamic Movement helped a group of internal refugees from the former village of Sarafand, on the Mediterranean coast, restore their mosque in 2000, it was bulldozed overnight in stillunexplained circumstances. Legal efforts related to waqf property so far have come to nought. In 2007 Palestinians living in the historic city of Jaffa, now a mixed Jewish-Arab suburb of Tel Aviv, unsuccessfully petitioned the courts to discover what had happened to local waqf property. The government refused to divulge the information, claiming it “would seriously harm Israel’s foreign relations”— a presumed reference to Israel’s image abroad. ❑ 13

omer_14-15_Gaza on the Ground 7/25/12 11:28 PM Page 14

Mubarak May Be Gone, But in Egypt’s Jails His Legacy Lingers On Gazaon the Ground

PHOTO M. OMER

By Mohammed Omer

The author’s brother Mahmoud. rriving in Egypt June 24, I reveled in

Athe euphoria and joy of Egyptians

celebrating the country’s first contested election after decades of one-party oppression—and the announcement that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Dr. Mohamed Morsi was the victor over former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, the candidate associated with ousted President Hosni Mubarak and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Standing in Tahrir Square among the jubilant throngs, it seemed as if the sins of the past had been completely erased. So it would seem to the outside world, and I believed it, too—until my brother found himself trapped in an all-too-real present. Mahmoud is 20 years old. In March, fed up with the bleak future facing him in Gaza, he decided to seek work in Libya. As he traveled through Egypt on the first leg of his clandestine journey, he was arrested by Egyptian security and sent to the remote prison in Al Qanatir al Khayriyah. Award-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. 14

Because what happened to him is not unique, Mahmoud’s story needs to be told. Like many Palestinians, Mahmoud is forced to travel abroad—whether to Egypt, Libya or beyond—to find decent work and earn a living wage. Gaza’s once-thriving society of entrepreneurs, farmers and tradespeople no longer can offer employment to its citizens. With no electricity for up to 18 hours a day, no jobs, no construction materials, no income, Gaza has little to offer its youth, and a productive, dignified life is a fading memory. The situation has been steadily worsening since 1967, when Israel occupied Gaza during the Six-Day War, but it has escalated exponentially since Israel imposed its siege in 2006, when voters in both Gaza and the West Bank elected a Hamas-majority parliament. A year ago, Mahmoud described the situation succinctly: “We are counted among the dead already.” Dead already? To be 19 with his whole life ahead of him and yet mired in such despair? A personal tragedy, of course—but when an entire generation of young Gazans see nothing but emptiness ahead, Israel’s Draconian siege can perhaps better be described as emotional genocide. The older generation once considered THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Sweden, Norway and Denmark havens of gainful employment, but problems obtaining visas have put an end to this option. Egypt and Libya, on the other hand, are rebuilding. Jobs exist…if one can only escape Gaza and find them. My brother’s crisis started out innocently enough. Traveling with two friends also seeking employment, Mahmoud got lost in the desert for several nights. It was here he was apprehended by Egyptian security for the offense of not having his papers. He had applied for documents allowing him to travel through Egypt, but received no reply. For the next two months we, his family, heard nothing. All we knew was that he had disappeared in Egypt on his way to Libya. The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo worked to find him, but, once we learned of his arrest and ultimate location, failed to facilitate a single visit. Even using my contacts and investigative journalism skills, it took me a week to find out where my brother was being held. Thanks to my new Dutch passport, I was able to gain access to the prison. After a long wait, I was allowed in. What I learned shocked me. Messages from the detainees covered the prison walls, each conveying a desperate agony. I examined them as we waited inside the prison hallway for Mahmoud. Sitting next to the colonel who ran the prison, I watched as the guards brought my brother from his cell. He was wearing a white uniform with blue letters spelling “Investigation.”

A Living Hell The colonel was kind enough to let me sit next to my brother to reassure him, although two uniformed guards and another in civilian clothes stood nearby. What Mahmoud told me made it difficult to maintain my composure. Speaking in a near whisper, he had trouble getting the words out. He was terrified of repercussions, fearing he would be mistreated after I left. Although he was happy to feel the fresh air on his face—it had been 29 days since he last saw daylight from the small cell he described as “stinking and sweltering”—Mahmoud could not overcome his sadness. SEPTEMBER 2012

omer_14-15_Gaza on the Ground 7/25/12 11:28 PM Page 15

“Brother,” he pleaded, “don’t leave me alone with these people. Get me out of here before Ramadan begins. All I wanted was work and a decent life, but once again I am so miserable.” Indeed, who would not be miserable after being fed only beans and potatoes? Or forced to stand up and not utter a single word—or even breathe out loud—when an officer passed by? Mahmoud was frequently taunted and beaten by the guards, he said, shifting nervously. He was incarcerated in a tiny room with 25 other prisoners, their beds piled on top of one another. Mahmoud told me the names of the other five prisoners from Gaza sharing his cell. A Swedish-Palestinian with an expired visa had been held for a day, he said, but his embassy intervened and he was out within 24 hours. Another Palestinian being held there was a renowned doctor. “But they [the guards] don’t care,” Mahmoud complained bitterly, “so he may as well talk to himself. His Egyptian residency expired and he was sent here.” Needless to say, my brother knew little of the momentous events taking place on the streets of Egypt. One day he saw a newspaper headline announcing that Morsi had won the presidential elections. The prisoners were overjoyed, shaking the bars in celebration and shouting: “Justice Dr. Morsi! Justice Dr. Morsi!” Perhaps not surprisingly, the guards’ reaction was just the opposite. As my brother described his humiliating treatment in prison, one of the guards in the room goaded him, telling him to “forget the past and look forward to the future and the new”—and laughing to give his words extra sting. My patience dwindling, I shot back: “I thought the Egyptian Revolution had changed things. But alas, it appears not.” To which the guard replied, “What did you expect—a 5-star prison?” Growing up in Gaza, one learns to hold one’s tongue. But the lessons of my youth were not enough to contain the anger building up inside me. I told the guard that I would be reporting this shameful behavior to the authorities. As a result of my outburst, both my iPhones were confiscated for the duration of my visit. But I kept my promise to report the prison conditions, raising my concerns with a senior member of the transition team for the new Muslim Brotherhood administration. He apologized on behalf of Egypt for what had happened to Mahmoud, and promised to secure his release. SEPTEMBER 2012

It was my turn to be reassured, for this man had played a key role in the release of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the initial freeing of 477 Palestinian prisoners. While the Egyptian official kept his promise to release Mahmoud, the police escorting him and other prisoners from Al Qanatir al Khayriyah to Ismaila prison, where they would be transferred to the Gaza border, had their own agenda— blackmail (euphemistically known as baksheesh, or a tip). As Mahmoud had run out of cash, the policeman on duty demanded that I give him 300 Egyptian pounds if I wanted him to let my brother go home. I had no other option but to pay him—of course, I also informed the Egyptian official in Cairo, who wrote back to say how “outraged” he was.

A Meaningful Future The fact is that Mahmoud is only one of thousands held in Egyptian prisons under the same conditions, abused and scared. In the words of the Egyptian official, the guards who mistreat them are “animals.” Yet Gaza remains a no-man’s-land where the future of any young Palestinian is in the hands of Israel and Egypt. It is they who hold the keys to border crossings— and thus to not only food and freedom, but to a man’s most basic ability to provide for his family. Their collaboration is only reinforced by the Israeli siege. But if that is not lifted, the desperation and tension building day after day in Gaza are sure to explode—and its borders with Egypt and Israel may be unable to contain the result. ❑

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“Unbiased” Levy Commission Only Serves to Reinforce Israel’s Political Isolation

United Nations Report

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Ian Williams

An Israeli soldier loads his weapon during June 22 clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah. Residents were demonstrating against the confiscation of their land to expand the Jewish settlement of Halamish, illegal under international law. t the time of the Oslo accords, the

Amild-mannered Edward Said was in-

temperate in his denunciation of Yasser Arafat and the PLO for accepting the deal. I could see there were problems, but thought he was a bit over the top in his rhetoric. Within a year or so, however, it was clear that Said was entirely correct. The government of the Land of Milk and Honey maintained its reputation as the regime of fig leaves and phony diplomacy. Oslo was not about peace with the Palestinians: it was about breaking Israeli isolation worldwide, and providing diplomatic camouflage for Israel and its supporters in Washington—which of course included the Clinton White House and Congress— to pretend that Israel was seeking peace. The doubling of the number of Jewish settlers while talking about negotiations based on an agreement which pledged that neither side would make any unilateral changes is an example of prestidigitatory diplomacy of a prize-winning kind. Just as the conjuror’s patter is designed to lull the audience’s attention so they do not focus on what his hands are doing, Israeli diplomatic practice is to keep on nagging and hectoring so that the U.S. can pretend it does not see what is happening on the ground. Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www. deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>. 16

But there are other aspects to Israel’s continual chatter—above all its leadership’s continual attempts to persuade itself that its behavior, despite violating almost every tenet of international law and of Jewish ethics, is really moral and legal. That was epitomized with the recent commission which “found” that Israel’s settlement policy was entirely legal. The commission, chaired by former Judge Edmond Levy, has caused controversy worldwide by finding that Israel is not an “occupier” in the West Bank and that all Jewish settlements are legal—including those even the Israeli government itself calls unauthorized. We can tell what a responsible and objective body the commission was: it included former Israeli Ambassador to Canada Alan Baker, who lived in a settlement himself and whose law firm had been contracted to prove that very point before he joined the entirely unbiased investigatory committee! The committee was, of course, commissioned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose views on settlements are obvious since he has refused all President Barack Obama’s appeals to stop building them! So the only purpose of the Levy commission is to reinforce Israel’s incestuous political isolation, which is analogous to the prisoner in the dock telling the judge, jury and public that he knows the law betTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ter than they do. It will certainly have no persuasive effect outside the country. However this is indeed what Israel has been saying in international fora for decades. Baker correctly asserts that the Levy commission’s finding is “no different from Israel’s policy statements over the years, including speeches by all of Israel’s leaders and ambassadors in the United Nations, as well as in official policy documents issued by the Foreign Ministry.” The former persecutor of Richard Goldstone also rounded on the many sane American Jewish critics of the commission for their temerity in what he laughably called helping the “delegitimization of Israel.” What concerns the critics is, of course, the report’s shredding of the creative ambiguity that has characterized Israeli policy. If the territories are not occupied and the Geneva Conventions therefore do not apply to them, Israel has to explain to the world—and to itself—why it has refused to allow civil liberties to the Palestinians living in them while extending full citizenship to Jewish settlers outside its legal boundaries. The critics are concerned that this will pave the way for a one-state solution, which is becoming increasingly attractive to many people on both sides of the Green Line. It is of course what Likud wants but dare not say so, because its vision is to take the land without the people. Apart from wishing wistfully for divine intervention, a sort of rapture in which all the Palestinians just disappear, there is reasonable suspicion that someone somewhere has contingency plans to make that happen, perhaps under cover of a wider war—say, with Iran—in which the U.S. and others would be indisposed to act. Otherwise annexation makes no sense, compared with the implied policy of establishing isolated quasi-autonomous Palestinian Bantustans that Likud has hitherto been working toward, effectively albeit unethically!

Israeli Attorney Joins U.N. CounterTerrorism Committee As usual, while scorning all U.N. resolutions on the Middle East except the one that established Israel and those against Iran and Iraq, Israel’s love/hate relationship with the U.N. means that it always crows when it secures a position at the U.N., no SEPTEMBER 2012

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matter how minor. The latest appointment, in interesting counterpoint to the plethora of reports condemning Israeli behavior in the occupied territories, was of David Scharia to be legal coordinator for the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee. Before coming to the U.N., Scharia previously had worked for the Israeli attorney general as the lead lawyer for counterterrorism cases in the Israeli Supreme Court. Of course he is bound by the rules for U.N. civil servants, that they show no allegiance to their state of origin in their work.

What Can Be Done About Syria? As explosions rocked Damascus, Russia and China vetoed yet another resolution on Syria. Of course, Moscow looks at Libya or Syria and spells them Chechnya, while Beijing spells them Tibet and Taiwan—but it is difficult to see how these vetoes serve anyone’s interests. They are, in fact, every bit as counterproductive as all the U.S. vetoes on behalf of its own dodgy client state in the region. Indeed they have the same effect: removing the incentive for an intransigent regime to make the compromises it needs for a lasting settlement To all but rabid conspiracy theorists, it is clear that the U.S. does not want to inter-

vene in Syria, even if it would look kindly on someone else taking action. It is not comforting for outsiders to see a country with chemical and conventional weaponry on the scale of Syria disintegrating into the patchwork of sectarian militias that Assad’s intransigence seems to be driving it toward. Even so, “anti-imperialist war” groups in the West have been busily burnishing Assad’s revolutionary credentials, even though he had been happy to act as a torture franchisee for Western intelligence agencies, and failed one litmus test for the so-called anti-imperialist left by frequently stiffing the Palestinians. It is worth remembering the role played by the Syrian Ba’athists in colluding with Phalangist pogroms of Palestinians in Lebanon—Tel-El Zatar being a case in point. Indeed, it is entirely possible that over the years Damascus has been responsible for more Palestinian deaths than the IDF has been. And of course, like Qaddafi, the Syrian regimes, so eager to condemn their dissidents as “terrorists,” were longtime safe havens for indisputably terrorist groups. But that does not stop the dictators clucking about foreigners coming in to fight, or weaponry coming from abroad.

One suspects that many of those reflexively condemning any intervention in Syria or Libya have an icon of Che on their walls. Would they condemn the disastrous intervention of the Argentinean-born, Cuban-backed Che in Bolivia? It certainly showed most of the practical pitfalls of interventionism—but, as always, the principles are expediently flexible in application. Which begs the question: what can be done about Syria? The only sure thing is that it should be done quickly, and that Moscow’s continuing support for the Assad regime has clearly persuaded the latter to fight rather than settle, to the point where there is real danger of a pogrom against the Alawites who dominate the regime. Moscow could have been part of the solution, and maintained its influence in the region. But this it is going to lose because of its shortsighted policies—and the Syrians will pay the price. It is difficult to see a favorable outcome from the present impasse—and, as the situation deteriorates, it is even more difficult to envisage volunteers for an effective U.N. peacekeeping force venturing into such a Middle Eastern maelstrom. There is a clear case for intervention, but few if any credible candidates—except perhaps Tur key, which has problems of its own. ❑

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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A Tale of Two Lobbies That Harm America: The NRA and AIPAC SpecialReport

LEFT: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: SAID KHATIB/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

By Delinda C. Hanley

(L) Two daughters of single father Gordon Cowden, killed in the July 20 Aurora, Colorado shooting, embrace on July 23, 2012. Young relatives of Basel Ahmed, killed in an Israeli air strike, mourn at his funeral in Gaza’s al-Bureij refugee camp, June 22, 2012. nce again, Americans are in mourning

Ofollowing the tragic mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado after midnight on July 20. The world remembers earlier attacks, including the massacre in Norway which killed 77 people almost exactly a year earlier, the January 2011 shooting which killed six people and wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, and the bloody shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech and Ft. Hood. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, a guest on ABC’s TV show “This Week” on July 22, predicted that after the wrenching scenes of grief and eloquent speeches fade, nothing will be done to put in place “reasonable gun control laws.” Regulations and restrictions could prevent gun violence, he insisted. “And we talk about this constantly, and absolutely nothing happens,” Ramsey lamented, “be-

Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 18

cause many of our legislators, unfortunately, at the federal level, lack the courage to do anything.” While the topic of gun control is discussed in high school classrooms and at kitchen tables across the nation, it is unlikely that presidential or congressional candidates will engage in meaningful discussions on this dicey subject in an election year. So yet another year will pass without putting in place stricter gun control laws, including restricting Internet sales of weapons and ammunition, and banning assault weapons and armor-piercing ammo. Why would law-abiding Americans, including gun owners and hunters, not welcome reasonable regulations? The short answer is the National Rifle Association (NRA). When mass shootings trigger calls for new gun control regulations, America’s “Gun Lobby”—comprising member organizations including the NRA, Gun Owners THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

of America (GOA) and (who knew?) Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO), as well as the industry which manufactures and distributes guns—gets busy. The most active and visible of these groups is the NRA, an organization that promotes the sport of shooting rifles and pistols in the United States and works tirelessly to halt any government gun regulations. In the past both President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, supported bans on assault weapons, like the ones used in recent mass murders. As Massachusetts governor, Romney actually signed a ban on assault weapons—but after attending the NRA’s convention in St. Louis on April 13 and clinching the GOP nomination in May, he began to boast that he is the candidate who will protect gun owners’ rights. While Obama called for reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons during his 2008 presidential campaign, as president he hasn’t pushed through any gun control SEPTEMBER 2012

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proposals. After every mass shooting, the president just reiterates his support for the Second Amendment and calls for stricter enforcement of gun laws already on the books. The NRA describes Obama as “antigun” despite the fact that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave him an “F” for his gun record after his election. “Remember the dramatic surge in gun and ammunition sales that immediately followed Obama’s election?” Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page asked readers on July 23. “They’re surging again, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group, as owners fear the weapons won’t be available if Obama is re-elected.” According to Politico, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) jokingly said of Obama, “He’s his own stimulus plan for the gun industry.” In 2001, the NRA displaced the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) as Washington’s most powerful lobbying group, according to Fortune magazine’s top 25 list. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is ranked four, after AARP and the National Federation of Independent Business, and just ahead of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Of course Washington Report readers know where this is going—who could resist comparing the NRA with AIPAC? Both lobbies prosper when their members feel besieged. The NRA thrives on crisis-driven fund-raising appeals to its members, warning the government is trying to take away their guns. Of course, if reasonable gun laws were on the books, there would be no reason for the NRA to exist. Similarly, when Israel is perceived as fighting “existential” dangers, money pours into AIPAC coffers to protect Israel and influence U.S. foreign policy regardless of American national interests. If Israel actually made peace with its Arab neighbors, there would be nothing for AIPAC to do, and donations would dry up. AIPAC is called “the NRA of foreign policy lobbies,” according to <www.busi nesspundit.com>, as well as “a hardedged, pugnacious bunch that took names and kept score.” The article, which looks at the 10 top lobbies in Washington, DC, adds: “The almost-unilateral popular support of Israel in America, not to mention the nearly $3 billion in aid the country receives every year, did not come about by accident. It’s the result of over 50 years of hard lobbying.” Is it fair to compare the muscle and clout of the NRA and AIPAC? One works to supSEPTEMBER 2012

port gun owners resisting gun regulations in the United States. The other labors on behalf of a foreign country, one with a voracious appetite for costly military weapons—preferably American—and land— preferably Palestinian—and a casual disregard for international law. Both lobbies quash public debate—one by labeling any mild criticism of U.S. gun laws a danger to rights guaranteed in our Second Amendment, and the other by charging any criticism of Israel anti-Semitic. Both have cost American lives.

Money Talks The NRA and AIPAC intimidate legislators by supporting those who toe the line and withholding funds or backing their opponents if they do not. The NRA spends millions of dollars for off-the-books issue ads, messages that advocate or oppose certain political candidates. Its yearly budget is $220 million, while AIPAC’s is $70 million—although the latter has an endowment of more than $100 million. Over the past 20 years, the NRA has contributed more than $17 million to members of Congress. Lawmakers opposing reinstatement of a federal ban on the sale of assault weapons have received more than $240,000 from gun rights organizations, from 1989 to 2012. While AIPAC doesn’t contribute directly to members of Congress, the pro-Israel PACs it directs have donated $52,231,254 since 1978 (see May 2012 Washington Report, p. 31). Readers can see for themselves on pp. 24-37 what pro-Israel votes were purchased this year by AIPAC. Attendance at NRA and AIPAC conventions is de rigueur for candidates for public office. Both lobbies can deliver single-issue voters—the NRA claims 4 million dues-paying members and AIPAC more than 100,000 (perhaps because Jewish Americans represent less than 2 percent of the U.S. population). The NRA worked out a deal in June 2010 exempting itself from a proposal requiring groups active in political spending to disclose their financial donors. Classified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a membership organization, AIPAC isn’t required to list donors in its public tax filings either. In a 1989 lawsuit, plaintiffs including Ambassador James Akins as well as the publisher and executive editor of this publication urged the FEC to classify AIPAC as a political committee—a designation that would force AIPAC to disclose its membership and file public reports disclosing its receipts and expenditures. In 1998 the Supreme Court THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

decided 6-3 not to rule on the status of AIPAC, and instead sent the case back to the U.S. District Court, which finally dismissed the case in 2010. Can fed-up Americans stop wringing their hands and actually stop the NRA and AIPAC lobbies? On July 24, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote: “So let’s ask ourselves: Aren’t we all in danger of being complicit in throwing up our hands and allowing the gun lobby to write our gun laws? Awful things happen, we mourn them, and then we shrug. And that’s why they keep happening.” Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Violence, said his group’s research shows that politicians can survive an NRA stamp of disapproval more than they think, and that his priority is to convince more politicians that the group is a “paper tiger.” According to Gross, “We are behind closed doors with politicians all the time who say they want to do the right thing, but that the gun lobby will ruin them.” After the Aurora murders, victims of the Jan 8, 2011 shootings in Tucson called for “elected officials to take action to fix our nation’s broken gun laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands...Some of us are gun owners and hunters ourselves, and we know that this can be done while still protecting the rights of lawful gun owners.” As the above quotes indicate, there is much discussion in America about the gun lobby, and its existence is freely acknowledged. Any mention—much less discussion—of the Israel lobby, however, can immediately result in charges of anti-Semitism. While the situation is improving, the mainstream media continue to ignore the behind-the-scenes workings of the powerful lobby working to advance the interests of a foreign government. The NRA and AIPAC lobbies represent only the radical fringe of gun owners and Jewish Americans. Many Washington Report readers may be just as passionate about their Second Amendment rights as they are about Middle East peace. But surely everyone can agree that assault guns, cluster or suicide bombs and quite a few other lethal weapons have no place on American, Israeli, Palestinian—or any other—streets. People should not fear going to a movie theater, school, cafe or mosque. It’s time to call out those legislators who take money from NRA or pro-Israel PACs. Name, blame and shame them. If NRA and AIPAC lose their clout, perhaps Americans can work for peace instead of putting up with incessant violence. ❑ 19

avnery_arafat_20-21_Special Report 7/25/12 11:29 PM Page 20

The Poisoning of Yasser Arafat By Uri Avnery

SpecialReport leader Khaled Meshal was almost killed in 1997 by the Mossad, on orders of Prime Minister Binyamin convinced that Yasser Arafat had Netanyahu. The means was a poibeen poisoned by Ariel Sharon. I son that kills within days after even wrote about it several times. coming into contact with the skin. It was a simple logical concluThe assassination was bungled and sion. the victim’s life was saved when First, a thorough medical examithe Mossad was compelled, after nation in the French military hosan ultimatum from King Hussein, pital where he died did not find to provide an antidote in time. any cause for his sudden collapse If Arafat’s widow, Suha, sucand death. No traces of any lifeceeds in getting his body exhumed threatening disease were found. from the mausoleum in the The rumors distributed by the Mukata’a in Ramallah, where it has Israeli propaganda machine that become a national symbol, the poiArafat had AIDS were blatant lies. son will undoubtably be found in They were a continuation of the his body. rumors spread by the same maArafat’s lack of proper security chine that he was gay—all part of arrangements always astonished the relentless demonization of the me. Israeli prime ministers are tenPalestinian leader, which went on fold better protected. daily for decades. I remonstrated with him several When there is no obvious cause times. He shrugged it off. In this of death, there must be a less obvirespect, he was a fatalist. After his ous one. life was miraculously preserved Second, we know by now that when his airplane made a crash several secret services possess poilanding in the Libyan desert and sons that leave no routinely dethe people around him were killed, tectable trace. These include the he was convinced that Allah was CIA, the Russian FSB (successor of protecting him. the KGB), and the Mossad. (Though the head of a secular Third, opportunities were plenmovement with a clear secular protiful. Arafat’s security arrangegram, he himself was an observant ments were decidedly lax. He Sunni Muslim, praying at the would embrace perfect strangers proper times and abstaining from who presented themselves as symalcohol. He did not impose his pathizers of the Palestinian cause piety on his assistants.) and often seated them next to himPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat displays his Nobel Peace Once he was interviewed in my self at meals. Fourth, there were plenty of Prize, Dec. 10, 1994 in Oslo, Norway. He was awarded the presence in Ramallah. The journalpeople who aimed at killing him prize along with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and ists asked him if he expected to see the creation of the Palestinian state and had the means to do so. The Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. in his lifetime. His answer: “Both I most obvious one was our prime minister, Ariel Sharon. He had even talked tific institute has confirmed that Arafat and Uri Avnery will see it in our life.” He about Arafat having “no insurance policy” was poisoned with Polonium, a deadly ra- was quite sure of this. Ariel Sharon’s determination to kill dioactive substance that avoids detection in 2004. Arafat was well known. Already during What was previously a logical probabil- unless one specifically looks for it. Two years after Arafat’s death, the Russ- the siege of Beirut in Lebanon War I, it ity has now become a certainty. An examination of his belongings com- ian dissident and former KGB/FSB officer was no secret that agents were combing missioned by Al Jazeera TV and con- Alexander Litvinenko was murdered in West Beirut for his whereabouts. To ducted by a highly respected Swiss scien- London by Russian agents using this poi- Sharon’s great frustration, they did not son. The cause was discovered by his doc- find him. Even after Oslo, when Arafat came back Uri Avnery, a former member of the Israeli tors by accident. It took him three weeks to Knesset, is a founder of the peace organization die. to Palestine, Sharon did not let up. When Gush Shalom, <www.gush-shalom.org>. Closer to home, in Amman, Hamas Arafat became prime minister, my fear for or me, there was no surprise.

YAAKOV SAAR/GPO VIA GETTY IMAGES

FFrom the very first day, I was

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his life became acute. When our army attacked Ramallah during “Operation Defensive Shield” they broke into Arafat’s compound (Mukata’a is Arabic for compound) and came within 10 meters of his rooms. I saw them with my own eyes. Twice during the siege of many months my friends and I went to stay at the Mukata’a for several days to serve as a human shield. When Sharon was asked why he did not kill Arafat, he answered that the presence of Israelis there made it impossible. However, I believe that this was only a pretext. It was the U.S. that forbade it. The Americans feared, quite rightly, that an open assassination would cause the whole Arab and Muslim world to explode in antiAmerican fury. I cannot prove it, but I am sure that Sharon was told by Washington: “On no condition are you allowed to kill him in a way that can be traced to you. If you can do it without leaving a trace, go ahead.” (Just as the U.S. secretary of state told Sharon in 1982 that on no condition was he allowed to attack Lebanon, unless there was a clear and internationally recognized provocation. Which was promptly provided.) In an eerie coincidence, Sharon himself was felled by a stroke soon after Arafat’s death, and has lived in a coma ever since. The day Al Jazeera’s conclusions were published in early July happened to be the 30th anniversary of my first meeting with Arafat, which for him was the first meeting with an Israeli. It was at the height of the battle of Beirut. To get to him, I had to cross the lines of four belligerents—the Israeli army, the Christian Lebanese Phalange militia, the Lebanese army and the PLO forces. I spoke with Arafat for two hours. There, in the middle of a war, when he could expect to meet his death at any moment, we talked about Israeli-Palestinian peace, and even a federation of Israel and Palestine, perhaps to be joined by Jordan. The meeting, which was announced by Arafat’s office, caused a worldwide sensation. My account of the conversation was published in several leading newspapers. On my way home, I heard on the radio that four cabinet ministers were demanding that I be put on trial for treason. The government of Menachem Begin instructed the attorney general to open a criminal investigation. However, after several weeks, the AG determined that I had not broken any law. (The law was duly changed soon afterward.) SEPTEMBER 2012

In the many meetings I held with Arafat since then, I became totally convinced that he was an effective and trustworthy partner for peace. I slowly began to understand how this father of the modern Palestinian liberation movement, considered an arch-terrorist by Israel and the U.S., became the leader of the Palestinian peace effort. Few people in history have been privileged to lead two successive revolutions in their lifetime. When Arafat started his work, Palestine had disappeared from the map and from world consciousness. By using the “armed struggle” (alias “terrorism”), he succeeded in putting Palestine back on the world’s agenda. His change of orientation occurred right after the 1973 war. That war, it will be remembered, started with stunning Arab successes and ended with a rout of the Egyptian and Syrian armies. Arafat, an engineer by profession, drew the logical conclusion: if the Arabs could not win an armed confrontation even in such ideal circumstances, other means had to be found. His decision to start peace negotiations with Israel went totally against the grain of the Palestinian National Movement, which considered Israel as a foreign invader. It took Arafat a full 15 years to convince his own people to accept his line, using all his

wiles, tactical deftness and powers of persuasion. In the 1988 meeting of the Palestinian parliament-in-exile, the National Council, his concept was adopted: a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel in part of the country. This state, with its capital in East Jerusalem and its borders based on the Green Line, has been, since then, the fixed and unchangeable goal; the legacy of Arafat to his successors. Not by accident, my contacts with Arafat, first indirectly through his assistants and then directly, started at the same time: 1974. I helped him to establish contact with the Israeli leadership, and especially with Yitzhak Rabin. This led to the 1993 Oslo agreement—which was killed by the assassination of Rabin. When asked if he had an Israeli friend, Arafat named me. This was based on his belief that I had risked my life when I went to see him in Beirut. On my part, I was grateful for his trust in me when he met me there, at a time when hundreds of Sharon’s agents were looking for him. But beyond personal considerations, Arafat was the man who was able to make peace with Israel, willing to do so, and— more important—to get his people, including the Islamists, to accept it. This would have put an end to the settlement enterprise. That’s why he was poisoned. ❑

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Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012): Not the Only Terrorist Elected Prime Minister of Israel SpecialReport

By James G. Smart hat was most remarkable

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was how little his thinking on the second day of the Madrid Peace changed from his youthful days Conference, Oct. 31, 1991. as a member of Betar (1929-33), the Zionist brown shirt organization in Poland, where he was born Yitzhak Yezernitzky, to his last days in Israel at age 96. As a Betari youth he was greatly influenced by its founder, Vladimir Jabotinsky, the founder also of “Gun Zionism” or, more euphemistically, “Revisionist Zionism.” Jabotinsky’s vision, the same as Zionism founder Theodor Herzl’s, was “a Jewish majority in a Jewish state in the whole of the biblical Land of Israel.” Jabotinsky, however, realized that this had to be accomplished by force, just as European countries established their colonies by force. “This made sense to me,” Shamir wrote commenting on Jabotinsky’s ideas. In 1939—four years after he migrated to British Mandate Palestine—Shamir met the chauvinist Avraham Stern, head of the terrorist Stern Gang. According to Stern, “Rights were awarded only to Moyne (Churchill’s friend). Dr. Amitsur the strong, who are allowed to take them Ilan claimed Shamir was the “prime by force if they are not given to them mover” behind the assassination. legally.” Shamir also was one of three terrorists The group declared England as the who blew up the King David Hotel in enemy and made advances to Nazi Ger- 1946, killing 88. To escape detection, he many for an alliance. “The establishment disguised himself as a rabbi, with a “full of the historic Jewish state on a national black beard, and long kaftan.” He forgot, and totalitarian basis, bound by a treaty however, to trim his eyebrows. A street with the German Reich” was part of the detective recognized the eyebrows under proposal a Stern representative made in the black felt rabbi’s hat and captured 1941 to the German minister to Beirut. him. Shamir was then imprisoned, escapShamir omitted this episode in his autobi- ing after two years. He murdered his own ography. colleague, Eliahu Giladi, because of disThe racism of the group was strong. One agreement. member, Uri Greenberg, referred to the Even more memorable were Shamir’s inArabs as “the filthiest people in the East.” volvements in the attack on the small vilSuch comments were common in the gang. lage of Deir Yassin and the murder of Considering the Arabs, even all non-Jews, Swedish U.N. mediator Count Folke as equals was not in their thinking. Bernadotte, both in 1948. The Deir Yassin Shamir therefore had no trouble in ap- attack occurred five weeks before a single proving the assassination in 1944 of Lord Arab army became a belligerent. The high number of elderly, women and children James G. Smart is professor emeritus of his- killed indicated racist wantonness. Among tory at Keene State College in New Hamp- the 280-some dead were 30 infants. “I saw shire. cut off genitalia and women’s crushed stom22

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

achs,” reported investigator Zvi Ankori. There were no wounded. Even though Bernadotte had saved an estimated 30,000 Jews from the gas chambers during World War II, his “crime” was his effort to have Transjordan excluded from Zionist claims. For this he was assassinated. Such deeds brought world attention to Shamir and his gang. Besides these headliners, Shamir estimated that his group carried out about 300 other “actions,” with himself as participant in 41 of them. After the war Shamir was at a loss. What to do? He learned that Israel’s secret service Mossad needed men with “special abilities acquired by such formerly ‘wanted’ men as myself,” he wrote. “It changed my life.” Explained Shamir: “I felt at home very soon: I had returned to an atmosphere, behavior, incentives and points of view that were in many ways, familiar to me.” Now all his former activities were done with establishment approval. As head of Mossad Shamir not only protected Israeli citizens, but also “Jews abroad.” He not only vowed to make “unforgettable object lessons in the reality and reach of the Jewish state,” but claimed a right to interfere in the internal affairs in every other nation state in the world. It seems preposterous. But it is a reality even today. Witness the recent assassinations of law-abiding Iranian scientists—deemed, without trial, of course, to be enemies of Israel. Israeli historian Benny Morris wrote that as Mossad head Shamir ran mostly “ad hoc operations, usually involving assassinations.” This was the secretive kind of life Shamir loved. I was “a naturally un-talkative man,” he wrote. “I preferred to work behind the scenes.” According to Israel Shahak, the late noted Israeli humanist, under Shamir’s premiership (1983-84 and 1986-92) Israel was “governed like a dictatorship.” “Everything happens as he says,” Shahak observed. Shamir was not interested in the budget or the poor. He focused almost exclusively on the military and on foreign afPATRICK BAZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Wabout Yitzhak Shamir’s life

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‘Nuff Said:

fairs, and particularly on Not surprisingly Shamir Washington, DC. continued his racist attiAPN Mourns the Passing of Yitzhak Shamir Colonizing Palestinian tude toward Palestinians lands—the chief cause of Washington, DC—Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins the peointo his premiership. At the “Arab-Israeli conple of Israel in mourning the death of Yitzhak Shamir, Israel’s seventh the beginning of the first flict”—was, according to prime minister, who died Saturday at the age of 96. intifada (uprising) in 1987 Shamir, “sacred work; it APN’s president and CEO Debra DeLee said: “Prime Minister he called the Palestinians cannot stop; it is the heart Shamir was a patriot who cared deeply about his country’s security “grasshoppers.” When of our existence and life.” and wellbeing. We did not agree with his hard-line policies on peace asked about it, he repeated Giving the Palestinians with the Palestinians and with Israel’s neighboring Arab states, but we it on television, “Yes, anything was unacceptrecognized Mr. Shamir’s dedication to his country and his people and grasshoppers; you need to able. Talking peace was his deep sense of responsibility for Israel’s security. We send our stomp on ‘em every once wasting time. deepest condolences to the Shamir family and to the people of Israel.” in a while.” Accordingly, Shamir After retiring in 1992 he Source: APN press release, July 2, 2012 t u r n e d d ow n G e o rge enjoyed the status of adviser Shultz’s peace plan of 1988 and elder statesman. Of suband James Baker’s the following year. DurFor him Reagan lifted the ban on cluster sequent leaders, he said, “I had encouraged ing congressional testimony Baker sarcasti- weapons, which Israel used against the and groomed almost all of them.” He mencally told Shamir: “Take this number: (202) Lebanese. Shamir also got an agreement on tioned future Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert 456- 1414. When you’re serious about duty—free trade—plus $1.7 billion in mil- and Binyamin Netanyahu in particular. peace, call us.” itary aid and $900 million in economic aid. Indeed, judging by Israel’s current pracThe boon in Shamir’s life was Ronald In addition, wrote Reagan biographer tices and the growing popularity of “transReagan. The two established the “joint mil- Richard Reeves, “Reagan and Shamir con- fer,” Yitzhak Shamir not only trained subitary political group,” which entwined the cluded one agreement after another—most sequent leaders but converted Avraham U.S. and Israeli military establishments to secret, some unwritten.” Shamir got so Stern’s minority views of the 1940s, insuch an extent that our own sovereignty much that his friends back in Israel asked, cluding the racist ones, into the views of a was, and still is, compromised. “Well, where’s the kitchen sink?” majority of Israelis today. ❑

PATRICK BAZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

PATRICK BAZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 1. In the Israeli Knesset, right-wing Likud Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir (c) walks past Knesset members and Labor party leaders Yitzhak Rabin (l) and Shimon Peres during a special summer session opening meeting, May 7, 1990; 2. Israeli Prime Minister Shamir (l) speaks with his adviser Binyamin Netanyahu on the opening day of the Madrid Peace Conference, Oct. 30, 1991; 3. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Charaa shows delegates to the Madrid Peace Conference a copy of a British Mandate wanted poster for Shamir, Nov. 1, 1991; 4. Disgraced former World Bank President Dominique Strauss-Kahn (l), then France’s junior minister in charge of industry and foreign trade, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Shamir in Jerusalem during Strauss-Kahn’s official visit to Israel, May 27, 1992; 5. An April 15, 1992 file photo shows the Israeli prime minister attending a street-naming ceremony commemorating deceased members of the terrorist Lehi, or Stern Gang. SVEN NACKSTRAND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

AFP/GETTYIMAGES

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Scenes From a Prime Minister’s Life

SEPTEMBER 2012

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Nine Senators, 16 Representatives in 112th Congress’ “Hall of Fame” CongressWatch

By Shirl McArthur ith the November general election W rapidly approaching, the

HALL OF FAME Career Pro-Israel

HALL OF SHAME Career Pro-Israel

ative columns with no more than one positive mark. The House and Senate issues are enumerated below:

PAC Donations Senate PAC Donations Washington Report is Senate pleased to again present Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM) $ 272,425 Ayotte, Kelly (R-NH) $ 14,500 its scorecard for the cur- Harkin, Tom (D-IA) 552,950 Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT) 25,500 HOUSE: The Positives 23,502 Blunt, Roy (R-MO) 78,350 1. No “Contain” Iran. In rent members of Con- Kerry, John (D-MA) Patrick (D-VT) 145,911 Boozman, John (R-AR) 8,500 May 2012, the House passed gress. As it has done in Leahy, Rand (R-KY) 2,000 Brown, Scott (R-MA) 15,000 previous congresses, the Paul, Reid, Harry (D-NV) 393,001 Cardin, Benjamin (D-MD) 148,695 the AIPAC-promoted H.Res. American Israel Public Sanders, Bernie (I-VT) 4,000 Casey, Robert (D-PA) 76,300 568, introduced by Ros-Lehti41,500 Collins, Susan (R-ME) 112,000 nen in March, on a roll call Affairs Committee Udall, Tom (D-NM) 0 Coons, Chris (D-DE) 19,000 vote of 401-11, with nine (AIPAC) exerted major Webb, Jim (D-VA) Cornyn, John (R-TX) 67,480 pressure on members of Crapo, Mike (R-ID) 56,500 members voting “present” Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) 77,950 (i.e., abstaining). Among other Congress to sign on to Isakson, Johnny (R-GA) 41,500 things, it says “containing” a letters and measures reLautenberg, Frank (D-NJ) 503,578 flecting not American, Lee, Mike (R-UT) 20,500 nuclear Iran is not an option but hard-line Israeli poMenendez, Robert (D-NJ) 184,318 and affirms the unacceptabilMoran, Jerry (R-KS) 15,700 ity of an Iran with nuclearsitions. Two Iran sancNelson, Bill (D-FL) 179,871 weapons capability. Those tions bills, H.R. 1905 Risch, James (R-ID) 13,500 and H.R. 2105, and the Rubio, Marco (R-FL) 15,600 who voted no or abstained are Schumer, Charles (D-NY) 83,885 recognized in Column 1. Israel “cooperation” bill, Vitter, David (R-LA) 40,500 2. Diplomacy. H.R. 4173, H.R. 4133, were passed introduced by Rep. Barbara so overwhelmingly that House House Lee (D-CA) March 2012, calls those bills are omitted Amash, Justin (R-MI) 0 Bartlett, Roscoe (R-MD) 750 for the U.S. to pursue all from this listing. Earl (D-OR) 2,500 Burton, Dan (R-IN) 143,336 diplomatic avenues to avoid a For the House, five Blumenauer, Conyers, John (D-MI) 5,000 Canseco, Francisco (R-TX) 0 positive and five nega- Edwards, Donna (D-MD) 9,500 Chabot, Steve (R-OH) 20,000 war with Iran. It has 30 cotive issues were chosen. Ellison, Keith (D-MN) 5,500 Chaffetz, Jason (R-UT) 11,000 sponsors, including Lee. In 0 Coble, Howard (R-NC) 0 addition, this May, 71 repreBecause it was difficult Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D-TX) Dennis (D-OH) 14,500 Duncan, Jeff (R-SC) 0 finding positive mea- Kucinich, Lee, Barbara (D-CA) 0 Fleming, John (R-LA) 10,000 sentatives signed a letter to sures, two of the five McCollum, Betty (D-MN) 8,750 Franks, Trent (R-AZ) 1,000 President Barack Obama to 6,000 Gallegly, Elton (R-CA) 50,250 continue diplomatic efforts positive columns reflect McDermott, Jim (D-WA) Gwen (D-WI) 2,500 Gohmert, Louie (R-TX) 0 with Iran. Signers of the letter those who resisted Moore, Jim (D-VA) 3,000 Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) 0 AIPAC’s pressures. Six- Moran, Olver, John (D-MA) 19,500 Hultgren, Randy (R-IL) 2,000 and co-sponsors of H.R. 4173 teen members registered Pingree, Chellie (D-ME) 5,676 Johnson, Bill (R-OH) 0 are shown in Column 2. 12,750 Lamborn, Doug (R-CO) 3,500 3. Unilateral Statehood. in all five positive Stark, Pete (D-CA) 3,500 Marino, Tom (R-PA) 0 In July 2011, the House columns with no more Woolsey, Lynn (D-CA) McClintock, Tom (R-CA) 0 than one negative mark, McKinley, David (R-WV) 0 passed H.Res. 268, introduced Pence, Mike (R-IN) 83,250 by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) or in four positive Pitts, Joseph (R-PA) 1,750 and strongly pushed by columns with no negaPoe, Ted (R-TX) 15,000 tive marks, and they are Pompeo, Mike (R-KS) 0 AIPAC. Among other things, shown in the “Hall of Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL)* 258,240 the measure says that “PalesSchmidt, Jean (R-OH) 14,000 tinian efforts to gain recogniFame.” Tiberi, Patrick (R-OH) 500 tion of a state outside direct The “Hall of Shame” Turner, Bob (R-NY) 0 lists the 29 House memWalsh, Joe (R-IL) 0 negotiations demonstrates abWest, Allen (R-FL) 12,000 sence of a good faith commitbers who registered in Westmoreland, Lynn (R-GA) 250 ment to peace negotiations, four or five negative Wilson, Joe (R-SC) 250 and will have implications for columns with no more continued U.S. aid.” After rethan one positive mark. *honorary lentless AIPAC pressure, the Because leading Israelfirster Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) ap- country, she is included as an “honorary” vote was 407-6, with 13 voting “present.” Those 19 are recognized in Column 3. parently only signed on to bills with member of the “Hall of Shame.” 4. Two-State Solution. In April 2012, For the Senate, four positive and four which she was directly involved, she did not meet the criteria for the “Hall of negative issues were chosen. Three of the 74 representatives signed a letter to Obama Shame.” However, in recognition of the four positive columns reflect those who expressing their “strong support for active fact that she arguably has done more than resisted AIPAC’s pressures. Nine senators American leadership toward achieving a any other member of Congress to promote registered in three or four positive two-state resolution to the Israeli-PalestinIsrael’s interests over those of her own columns with no negative marks, and they ian and Israeli-Arab conflicts,” and saying are shown in the “Hall of Fame.” The that “U.S. equivocation on support for the Shirl McArthur is a retired U.S. foreign “Hall of Shame” lists those 22 senators emergence of a Palestinian state emboldens service officer based in the Washington, who registered in three negative columns violent extremists.” Signers are recognized DC area. with no positive marks, or in all four neg- in Column 4. 24

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mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:28 PM Page 25

5. Afghanistan. Again, in March 2011, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) introduced a resolution, H. Con. Res. 28, directing the president “to remove the U.S. Armed Forces from Afghanistan.” It was brought to a vote and defeated by a vote of 93-321. Those voting yes are recognized in Column 5. In May 2011, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced H.R. 1735 to require a plan for the accelerated transition of U.S. military and security operations in Afghanistan to the Afghan government. The bill’s co-sponsors are also shown in Column 5.

bassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Its cosponsors are named in Column 9. 10. U.N. Reform. In the 112th Congress, Ros-Lehtinen continued her assault on the U.N. and UNRWA. In August 2011 she introduced H.R. 2829, her “U.N. Transparency, Accountability, and Reform” bill. Among its many harsh provisions are those that would withhold U.S. contributions to any U.N. agency that upgrades the status of the PLO, withhold funding for UNRWA, and shift U.S. contributions to the U.N. to a voluntary basis. Its co-sponsors are identified in Column 10.

HOUSE: The Negatives 6. Syria Sanctions. In June 2011, RosLehtinen introduced H.R. 2106, which would, among other things, impose a wide range of export, financial, procurement, banking and property sanctions aimed at Syria’s energy sector. It has gradually gained co-sponsors and now has 68, including Ros-Lehtinen, shown in Column 6. 7. Anti-Palestinian. The “Palestinian Accountability” bill, H.R. 2457, was introduced in July 2011 by by Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL). Among several punitive provisions, it would prohibit funds for the Palestinian Authority unless certain unlikely conditions are met and would bar U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). It has 43 co-sponsors, including Walsh, who are shown in Column 7. 8. Israel’s 64th. The seemingly innocuous H.Con.Res. 115 was introduced in March 2012 by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) to recognize the 64th anniversary of Israel’s independence. However, after 17 problematic, and sometimes false, “whereas” clauses, one of the six “resolved” clauses would seem to tell Israel that it’s okay to attack Iran. Its co-sponsors are identified in Column 8. 9. Jerusalem. In every session of Congress AIPAC pushes to have a Jerusalem embassy bill. H.R. 1006 was introduced in March 2011 by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN). Among other things, it would remove the presidential waiver authority included in the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, forcing the immediate removal of the U.S. Em-

SENATE: The Positives A. No “Contain” Iran. The AIPACpromoted Senate version of H.Res. 568, S.Res. 380, was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in February 2012. As with the House bill, it says among other things that “containing” a nuclear Iran is not an option and affirms the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability. After that measure stalled in the Senate, Graham introduced a slimmeddown version, S.J.Res. 41, with essentially the same co-sponsors, that makes no mention of a military option. The senators who have NOT sponsored either measure are recognized in Column A. B. Iran Sanctions. The Senate’s version of H.R. 1905, the far-reaching “Iran, North Korea, and Syria Sanctions Consolidation” bill, S. 1048, was introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) in May 2011. Those who are NOT co-sponsors are recognized in Column B. C. Unilateral Statehood. The AIPACpromoted Senate version of H.Res. 268, S.Res. 185, was introduced by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) in May 2011. Among other things, it says that “Palestinian efforts to gain recognition of a state outside direct negotiations demonstrates absence of a good faith commitment to peace negotiations, and will have implications for continued U.S. aid.” It passed by a voice vote in June 2011. Those senators resisting AIPAC’s pressure and NOT cosponsoring are recognized in Column C.

D. Cluster Munitions. In March 2011, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) again introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of cluster munitions, with tightly defined exceptions. Co-sponsors of S. 558 are shown in Column D. SENATE: The Negatives E. Iran War Hawks. In May 2012, 12 senators issued a statement expressing their skepticism about the possibility of negotiations with Iran over Iran’s nuclear program and saying that “no option should be taken off the table” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. That June, 44 senators signed a letter to Obama saying negotiations should be abandoned unless Iran agrees to shut down the uranium enrichment facility near Qom, freeze all uranium enrichment above 5 percent, and ship all uranium enriched above 5 percent out of the country. The statement’s and letter’s signers are shown in Column E. F. Syria. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced two resolutions, S.Res. 370 and S.Res. 435, in February and April 2012, calling for more aggressive U.S. actions to compel Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to “relinquish power and step aside.” The measures’ co-sponsors are named in Column F. G. U.S.-Israel Cooperation. S. 2165, the Senate’s U.S.-Israel “Security Cooperation” bill, introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in March, was passed by the full Senate on June 29, 2012. Its provisions amount to a wish-list of defense-related goodies for Israel. The bill’s co-sponsors are identified in Column G. H. Goldstone. In April 2011 Justice Richard Goldstone, one of the authors of the U.N. report on Israel’s December 2008January 2009 assault on Gaza that criticized both Israel and Gaza, wrote an op-ed piece that retracted the report’s claim that Israel had intentionally targeted civilians, but said the rest of the report stands. The Senate promptly passed a resolution, S.Res. 138, saying that the U.N. should rescind the entire report. The measure’s cosponsors are shown in Column H. ❑

REPORT CARD FOR THE 112th CONGRESS Uni late ral Sta teh ood Tw o -S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

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HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

NEGATIVES

No

POSITIVES HOUSE KEY:

REPRESENTATIVES

Alabama SEPTEMBER 2012

Aderholt, Robert (R) Bachus, Spencer (R)

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10

REPRESENTATIVES

Alabama

Bonner, Jo (R) Brooks, Mo (R) Roby, Martha (R) Rogers, Mike (R) Sewell, Terri (D) Alaska Young, Don (R) Amer. Samoa Faleomavaega, Eni (D) Arizona Barber, Ron (D) Flake, Jeff (R) Franks, Trent (R) Gosar, Paul (R) Grijalva, Raul (D) Pastor, Ed (D) Quayle, Ben (R) Schweikert, David (R) Arkansas Crawford, Rick (R) Griffin,Tim (R) Ross, Mike (D) Womack, Steve (R) California Baca, Joe (D) Bass, Karen (D) Becerra, Xavier (D) Berman, Howard (D) Bilbray, Brian (R) Bono Mack, Mary (R) Calvert, Ken (R) Campbell, John (R) Capps, Lois (D) Cardoza, Dennis (D) Chu, Judy (D) Costa, Jim (D) Davis, Susan (D) Denham, Jeff (R) Dreier, David (R) Eshoo, Anna (D) Farr, Sam (D) Filner, Bob (D) Gallegly, Elton (R) Garamendi, John (D) Hahn, Janice (D) Herger, Wally (R) Honda, Michael (D) Hunter, Duncan (R) Issa, Darrell (R) Lee, Barbara (D) Lewis, Jerry (R)

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J er usa le

3

6

7

8

9

Lofgren, Zoe (D) Lungren, Daniel (R) Matsui, Doris (D) McCarthy, Kevin (R) McClintock, Tom (R) McKeon, Buck (R) McNerney, Jerry (D) Miller, Gary (R) Miller, George (D) Napolitano, Grace (D) Nunes, Devin (R) Pelosi, Nancy (D) Richardson, Laura (D) Rohrabacher, Dana (R) Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D) Royce, Edward (R) Sanchez, Linda (D) Sanchez, Loretta (D) Schiff, Adam (D) Sherman, Brad (D) Speier, Jackie (D) X Stark, Pete (D) X Thompson, Mike (D) Waters, Maxine (D) Waxman, Henry (D) Woolsey, Lynn (D) X Coffman, Mike (R) DeGette, Diana (D) Gardner, Cory (R) Lamborn, Doug (R) Perlmutter, Ed (D) Polis, Jared (D) Tipton, Scott (R) Courtney, Joe (D) DeLauro, Rosa (D) Himes, James (D) Larson, John (D) Murphy, Christopher (D) Norton, Eleanor Holmes (D) Carney, John (D) Adams, Sandy (R) Bilirakis, Gus (R) Brown, Corrine (D) Buchanan, Vern (R) Castor, Kathy (D) Crenshaw, Ander (R)

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HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

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REPRESENTATIVES

California

Colorado

Connecticut

DC Delaware Florida

SEPTEMBER 2012

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REPRESENTATIVES

Florida

Georgia

Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois

Deutch, Ted (D) Diaz-Balart, Mario (R) Hastings, Alcee (D) Mack, Connie (R) Mica, John (R) Miller, Jeff (R) Nugent, Rich (R) Posey, Bill (R) Rivera, David (R) Rooney, Thomas (R) Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R)* Ross, Dennis (R) Southerland, Steve (R) Stearns, Cliff (R) Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D) Webster, Daniel (R) West, Allen (R) Wilson, Frederica (D) Young, Bill (R) Barrow, John (D) Bishop, Sanford (D) Broun, Paul (R) Gingrey, Phil (R) Graves, Tom (R) Johnson, Hank (D) X Kingston, Jack (R) Lewis, John (D) Price, Tom (R) Scott, Austin (R) Scott, David (D) Westmoreland, Lynn (R) Woodall, Rob (R) Bordallo, Madeleine (D) Hanabusa, Colleen (D) Hirono, Mazie (D) Labrador, Raul (R) Simpson, Michael (R) Biggert, Judy (R) Costello, Jerry (D) Davis, Danny (D) Dold, Robert (R) Gutierrez, Luis (D) Hultgren, Randy (R) Jackson, Jesse Jr. (D) Johnson, Timothy (R) Kinzinger, Adam (R)

X X

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X X X X X X X X

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*Honorary 28

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2012

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9

4

5

64t h el’s

U.N . Re for m

J er usa le

3

2

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1

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HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

Syr ia S anc tion s

HOUSE KEY:

NEGATIVES

Uni late ral Sta teh ood Tw o-S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

POSITIVES No “Co nta in” Ira n Dip lom acy

U.N . Re for m

mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:29 PM Page 29

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine Mariana Is. Maryland SEPTEMBER 2012

Lipinski, Daniel (D) Manzullo, Donald (R) Quigley, Mike (D) Roskam, Peter (R) Rush, Bobby (D) Schakowsky, Janice (D) Schilling, Bobby (R) Schock, Aaron (R) Shimkus, John (R) Walsh, Joe (R) Bucshon, Larry (R) Burton, Dan (R) Carson, Andre (D) Donnelly, Joe (D) Pence, Mike (R) Rokita, Todd (R) Stutzman, Marlin (R) Visclosky, Peter (D) Young, Todd (R) Boswell, Leonard (D) Braley, Bruce (D) King, Steve (R) Latham, Tom (R) Loebsack, David (D) Huelskamp, Tim (R) Jenkins, Lynn (R) Pompeo, Mike (R) Yoder, Kevin (R) Chandler, Ben (D) Davis, Geoff (R) Guthrie, Brett (R) Rogers, Harold (R) Whitfield, Ed (R) Yarmuth, John (D) Alexander, Rodney (R) Boustany, Charles (R) Cassidy, Bill (R) Fleming, John (R) Landry, Jeff (R) Richmond, Cedric (D) Scalise, Steve (R) Michaud, Michael (D) Pingree, Chellie (D) Sablan, Gregorio (D) Bartlett, Roscoe (R) Cummings, Elijah (D)

X

X

X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X

X X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X

X X X

X X X

X

X X X

X X

X

X X

X X

X X X

X

X

X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X X

X X X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

X

X

X

X

X 29

mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:29 PM Page 30

X

acy lom

“Co

7

8

9

X

X

Ref orm

X

6

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X

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X

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4

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2

Syr ia S anc tion s

Uni late ral Sta teh ood Tw o-S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

1

nta in” Ira n

Dip

NEGATIVES

No

POSITIVES

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Maryland

Edwards, Donna (D) Harris, Andy (R) Hoyer, Steny (D) Ruppersberger, Dutch (D) Sarbanes, John (D) Van Hollen, Chris (D) Massachusetts Capuano, Michael (D) Frank, Barney (D) Keating, William (D) Lynch, Stephen (D) Markey, Edward (D) McGovern, James (D) Neal, Richard (D) Olver, John (D) Tierney, John (D) Tsongas, Niki (D) Michigan Amash, Justin (R) Benishek, Dan (R) Camp, Dave (R) Clarke, Hansen (D) Conyers, John (D) Dingell, John (D) Huizenga, Bill (R) Kildee, Dale (D) Levin, Sander (D) Miller, Candice (R) Peters, Gary (D) Rogers, Mike (R) Upton, Fred (R) Walberg, Tim (R) Minnesota Bachmann, Michele (R) Cravaack, Chip (R) Ellison, Keith (D) Kline, John (R) McCollum, Betty (D) Paulsen, Erik (R) Peterson, Collin (D) Walz, Timothy (D) Mississippi Harper, Gregg (R) Nunnelee, Alan (R) Palazzo, Steven (R) Thompson, Bennie (D) Missouri Akin, Todd (R) Carnahan, Russ (D) Clay, Wm. Lacy (D) 30

X X X X

X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X X X X X X X X X X

X

X X X

X X X

X X X

X X X X

X

X

X

X X X

X X X X

X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2012

J er usa le

5

6

7

8

9

64t h el’s

han ista

U.N . Re for m

Isra

4

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An ti-P ale

3

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Syr ia S anc tion s

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Sol uti on

Tw o-S tat e

HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

NEGATIVES

Un ilat e

HOUSE KEY:

ral Sta teh ood

POSITIVES No “Co nta in” Ira n Dip lom acy

U.N . Re for m

mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:29 PM Page 31

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Missouri

Cleaver, Emanuel (D) Emerson, Jo Ann (R) Graves, Sam (R) Hartzler, Vicky (R) Long, Billy (R) Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R) Montana Rehberg, Denny (R) Nebraska Fortenberry, Jeff (R) Smith, Adrian (R) Terry, Lee (R) Nevada Amodei, Mark (R) Berkley, Shelley (D) Heck, Joe (R) New Hampshire Bass, Charles (R) Guinta, Frank (R) New Jersey Andrews, Robert (D) Frelinghuysen, Rodney (R) Garrett, Scott (R) Holt, Rush (D) Lance, Leonard (R) LoBiondo, Frank (R) Pallone, Frank (D) Pascrell, Bill (D) Rothman, Steven (D) Runyan, Jon (R) Sires, Albio (D) Smith, Christopher (R) New Mexico Heinrich, Martin (D) Lujan, Ben Ray (D) Pearce, Steve (R) New York Ackerman, Gary (D) Bishop, Tim (D) Buerkle, Ann Marie (R) Clarke, Yvette (D) Crowley, Joseph (D) Engel, Eliot (D) Gibson, Chris (R) Grimm, Michael (R) Hanna, Richard (R) Hayworth, Nan (R) Higgins, Brian (D) Hinchey, Maurice (D) Hochul, Kathy (D) Israel, Steve (D) King, Peter (R) SEPTEMBER 2012

X

X X X X

X X X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X X X X

X X

X

X X

X X X X

X

X

X X X

X X

X X

X X X

X

X

X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

X X

X 31

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Syr ia S anc tion s

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Jer usa lem

2

3

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7

8

9

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5

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X X X

Ref orm U.N .

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acy lom

“Co

ian

Un ilat era l St ate hoo d Tw o-S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

1

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NEGATIVES

No

POSITIVES

10

REPRESENTATIVES

New York

Lowey, Nita (D) Maloney, Carolyn (D) McCarthy, Carolyn (D) Meeks, Gregory (D) Nadler, Jerrold (D) Owens, Bill (D) Rangel, Charles (D) Reed, Tom (R) Serrano, Jose (D) Slaughter, Louise McIntosh (D) Tonko, Paul (D) Towns, Edolphus (D) Turner, Bob (R) Velazquez, Nydia (D) N. Carolina Butterfield, G.K. (D) Coble, Howard (R) Ellmers, Renee (R) Foxx, Virginia (R) Jones, Walter (R) Kissell, Larry (D) McHenry, Patrick (R) McIntyre, Mike (D) Miller, Brad (D) Myrick, Sue (R) Price, David (D) Shuler, Heath (D) Watt, Melvin (D) North Dakota Berg, Rick (R) Ohio Austria, Steve (R) Boehner, John (R) Chabot, Steve (R) Fudge, Marcia (D) Gibbs, Bob (R) Johnson, Bill (R) Jordan, Jim (R) Kaptur, Marcy (D) Kucinich, Dennis (D) X LaTourette, Steven (R) Latta, Robert (R) Renacci, James (R) Ryan, Tim (D) Schmidt, Jean (R) Stivers, Steve (R) Sutton, Betty (D) Tiberi, Patrick (R) 32

X

X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X

X X

X

X X

X X X

X

X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X X X X

X

X X

X X

X

X X

X

X X X X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X X

X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2012

J er usa le

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Syr ia S anc tion s

1

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Sol uti on

Tw o-S tat e

HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

NEGATIVES

Un ilat e

HOUSE KEY:

ral Sta teh ood

POSITIVES No “Co nta in” Ira n Dip lom acy

U.N . Re for m

mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:29 PM Page 33

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Ohio Oklahoma

Turner, Michael (R) Boren, Dan (D) Cole, Tom (R) Lankford, Jim (R) Lucas, Frank (R) Sullivan, John (R) Oregon Blumenauer, Earl (D) Bonamici, Suzanne (D) DeFazio, Peter (D) Schrader, Kurt (D) Walden, Greg (R) Pennsylvania Altmire, Jason (D) Barletta, Lou (R) Brady, Robert (D) Critz, Mark (D) Dent, Charles (R) Doyle, Michael (D) Fattah, Chaka (D) Fitzpatrick, Michael (R) Gerlach, Jim (R) Holden, Tim (D) Kelly, Mike (R) Marino, Tom (R) Meehan, Patrick (R) Murphy, Tim (R) Pitts, Joseph (R) Platts, Todd (R) Schwartz, Allyson (D) Shuster, Bill (R) Thompson, Glenn (R) Puerto Rico Pierluisi, Pedro (D) Rhode Island Cicilline, David (D) Langevin, James (D) S. Carolina Clyburn, James (D) Duncan, Jeff (R) Gowdy, Trey (R) Mulvaney, Mick (R) Scott, Tim (R) Wilson, Joe (R) South Dakota Noem, Kristi (R) Tennessee Black, Diane (R) Blackburn, Marsha (R) Cohen, Steve (D) Cooper, Jim (D) DesJarlais, Scott (R) SEPTEMBER 2012

X X

X

X X

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X

X

X

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X X X X X

X

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X X

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Syr ia S anc tion s

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acy lom

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ian

Un ilat era l St ate hoo d Tw o-S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

1

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NEGATIVES

No

POSITIVES

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Tennessee

Duncan, Jimmy (R) X Fincher, Stephen (R) Fleischmann, Chuck (R) Roe, Phil (R) Texas Barton, Joe (R) Brady, Kevin (R) Burgess, Michael (R) Canseco, Francisco (R) Carter, John (R) Conaway, K. Michael (R) Cuellar, Henry (D) Culberson, John (R) Doggett, Lloyd (D) Farenthold, Blake (R) Flores, Bill (R) Gohmert, Louie (R) Gonzalez, Charles (D) Granger, Kay (R) Green, Al (D) Green, Gene (D) Hall, Ralph (R) Hensarling, Jeb (R) Hinojosa, Ruben (D) Jackson Lee, Sheila (D) Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D) X Johnson, Sam (R) Marchant, Kenny (R) McCaul, Michael (R) Neugebauer, Randy (R) Olson, Pete (R) Paul, Ron (R) X Poe, Ted (R) Reyes, Silvestre (D) Sessions, Pete (R) Smith, Lamar (R) Thornberry, Mac (R) Utah Bishop, Rob (R) Chaffetz, Jason (R) Matheson, Jim (D) Vermont Welch, Peter (D) Virgin Islands Christensen, Donna (D) Virginia Cantor, Eric (R) Connolly, Gerald (D) Forbes, Randy (R) Goodlatte, Bob (R) 34

X X

X

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X X

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X

X

X X X

X X

X

X X

X

X X X

X

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X X

X

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

X

X X

X X

SEPTEMBER 2012

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Un ilat era l St ate hoo d Tw o-S tat eS olu tion Afg han ista n

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HALL OF FAME. Appears in five positive columns with no more than one negative column, or four positive columns with no negative columns. HALL OF SHAME. Appears in four or five negative columns with no more than one positive column.

10

REPRESENTATIVES

Wyoming

X

X

X

X X

X X X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X X

X

X X

X

X X

X

X

Un Sta ilater teh al ood

Cl Muuster niti ons

Ira

Syr

nW ar H aw ks

NEGATIVES

Ira

in”

nS anc tion s

POSITIVES

A

X

X

B

C

D

E

F

G

dst one

Wisconsin

X

Gol

West Virginia

X

U. CooS.-Isr per ael atio n

Washington

Griffith, Morgan (R) Hurt, Robert (R) Moran, Jim (D) Rigell, Scott (R) Scott, Bobby (D) Wittman, Robert (R) Wolf, Frank (R) Dicks, Norman (D) Hastings, Doc (R) Herrera Beutler, Jaime (R) Larsen, Rick (D) McDermott, Jim (D) X McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (R) Reichert, David (R) Smith, Adam (D) Capito, Shelley Moore (R) McKinley, David (R) Rahall, Nick (D) Baldwin, Tammy (D) Duffy, Sean (R) Kind, Ron (D) Moore, Gwen (D) X Petri, Thomas (R) Ribble, Reid (R) Ryan, Paul (R) Sensenbrenner, James (R) Lummis, Cynthia (R)

ia

Virginia

No Ira “Con n ta

U.N .

Ref orm

HOUSE KEY:

NEGATIVES

U.N .

POSITIVES

H

SENATORS

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas SEPTEMBER 2012

Sessions, Jeff (R) Shelby, Richard (R) Begich, Mark (D) Murkowski, Lisa (R) Kyl, Jon (R) McCain, John (R) Boozman, John (R) Pryor, Mark (D)

X

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

X X

X 35

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Cl Muuster niti ons

Ira n

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B

C

D

E

F

G

X X

X X

Gol dst one

Un Sta ilater teh al ood

A

U. CooS.-Isr per ael atio n

San ctio ns

HALL OF SHAME. Appears in three negative columns and no positive columns, or four negative columns and no more than one positive column.

Ira n

No Ira “Con n ta

in”

HALL OF FAME. Appears in three or four positive columns and no negative column.

NEGATIVES Wa rH aw ks

POSITIVES

SENATE KEY:

H

SENATORS

California

Boxer, Barbara (D) Feinstein, Dianne (D) Colorado Bennet, Michael (D) Udall, Mark (D) Connecticut Blumenthal, Richard (D) Lieberman, Joseph (I) Delaware Carper, Thomas (D) Coons, Chris (D) Florida Nelson, Bill (D) Rubio, Marco (R) Georgia Chambliss, Saxby (R) Isakson, Johnny (R) Hawaii Akaka, Daniel (D) Inouye, Daniel (D) Idaho Crapo, Mike (R) Risch, James (R) Illinois Durbin, Richard (D) Kirk, Mark (R) Indiana Coats, Dan (R) Lugar, Richard (R) Iowa Grassley, Chuck (R) Harkin, Tom (D) Kansas Moran, Jerry (R) Roberts, Pat (R) Kentucky McConnell, Mitch (R) Paul, Rand (R) Louisiana Landrieu, Mary (D) Vitter, David (R) Maine Collins, Susan (R) Snowe, Olympia (R) Maryland Cardin, Benjamin (D) Mikulski, Barbara (D) Massachusetts Brown, Scott (R) Kerry, John (D) Michigan Levin, Carl (D) Stabenow, Debbie (D) Minnesota Franken, Al (D) Klobuchar, Amy (D) Mississippi Cochran, Thad (R) Wicker, Roger (R) Missouri Blunt, Roy (R) McCaskill, Claire (D) Montana Baucus, Max (D) Tester, Jon (D) 36

X X

X X X X X

X

X X X

X X X

X

X

X X X X

X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X

X X X

X X X

X X

X

X

X X

X

X

X X

X X X X X

X X X

X X

X

X X X

X

X X

X

X

X X X

X X

X X X

X X X

X

X X

X

X X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

X X X X X X X X X

X X

X X

X SEPTEMBER 2012

mcarthur_halls_24-37_Congress Watch 7/24/12 1:29 PM Page 37

E

F

ne

Syr ia

D

sto

Ira nW ar H aw ks

C

Gol d

Cl Muuster niti ons

B

U. CooS.-Isr per ael atio n

Un Sta ilater teh al ood

A

NEGATIVES

Ira nS anc tion s

No Ira “Con n tain ”

POSITIVES

G

H

X

X X

SENATORS

Nebraska

Johanns, Mike (R) Nelson, Ben (D) Nevada Heller, Dean (R) Reid, Harry (D) New Hampshire Ayotte, Kelly (R) Shaheen, Jeanne (D) New Jersey Lautenberg, Frank (D) Menendez, Robert (D) New Mexico Bingaman, Jeff (D) Udall, Tom (D) New York Gillibrand, Kirsten (D) Schumer, Charles (D) North Carolina Burr, Richard (R) Hagan, Kay (D) North Dakota Conrad, Kent (D) Hoeven, John (R) Ohio Brown, Sherrod (D) Portman, Rob (R) Oklahoma Coburn, Tom (R) Inhofe, James (R) Oregon Merkley, Jeff (D) Wyden, Ron (D) Pennsylvania Casey, Robert (D) Toomey, Patrick (R) Rhode Island Reed, Jack (D) Whitehouse, Sheldon (D) South Carolina DeMint, Jim (R) Graham, Lindsey (R) South Dakota Johnson, Tim (D) Thune, John (R) Tennessee Alexander, Lamar (R) Corker, Bob (R) Texas Cornyn, John (R) Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R) Utah Hatch, Orrin (R) Lee, Mike (R) Vermont Leahy, Patrick (D) Sanders, Bernie (I) Virginia Warner, Mark (D) Webb, Jim (D) Washington Cantwell, Maria (D) Murray, Patty (D) West Virginia Manchin, Joe (D) Rockefeller, John (D) Wisconsin Johnson, Ron (R) Kohl, Herb (D) Wyoming Barrasso, John (R) Enzi, Michael (R) SEPTEMBER 2012

X X X

X

X

X X

X X X

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X

X X X

X X X X

X X

X

X X X X

X

X X X X

X X

X X

X X

X X X X

X X X X X X X

X

X X

X X

X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X X X X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X

X

X X X

X X X X

X

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X X X

X

X

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

37

twair_cleo_38-39_Special Report 7/24/12 10:58 PM Page 38

Intriguing “Cleopatra: Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” Exhibit Opens in L.A. SpecialReport

By Pat McDonnell Twair

Colossal figures exceeding 16 feet tall of a Ptolemaic king and queen from the submerged Temple of Amon at Heracleion. hanks to a Hollywood extravaganza of

Tthe 1960s, most of us have a rudimen-

tary knowledge of the fabled life of Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt. As portrayed by the actress Elizabeth Taylor, the beauteous queen was hidden in a carpet and unrolled at the feet of Rome’s conquering Emperor Julius Caesar, who, legend says, fell under her spell. After Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE, the Egyptian queen fled from Rome to Alexandria with her infant son Caesarion, fathered by the fallen leader. Whether a beautiful temptress or a shrewd but charismatic queen, Cleopatra then entered into an alliance with Mark Antony, who jointly ruled Rome with LepPat McDonnell Twair is a free-lance writer based in Los Angeles. 38

idus and Octavian, the nephew and heir of Julius. Cleopatra and Antony had three children together as they plotted to win control of the Roman Empire. After a crushing naval defeat in 31 BCE near Actium, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra chose the same fate rather than be paraded in chains by Octavian through the streets of Rome. So infuriated was Octavian at being denied the chance to humiliate his Egyptian enemy, he ordered all statues, mosaics, murals and coins bearing the queen’s image to be defaced. Cleopatra’s once ubiquitous image was wiped out, with only a handful of coins remaining of her disputed likeness. After two millennia, even the burial site for her and Mark Antony remains a mystery. Two excavations are trying to uncover the remnants of this remarkable period. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

More than 150 artifacts from these have been assembled in an exhibition entitled “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” which had its West Coast premiere May 23 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park. The exhibition showcases underwater discoveries made since 1996 by marine archaeologist Frank Goddio off the coast of Alexandria, as well as efforts by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass to locate Antony and Cleopatra’s tomb in the vicinity of the temple of Isis near Taposiris Magna, 30 miles west of Alexandria. At the onset, visitors experience the sensation of being under water as they enter the darkened exhibition hall filled with wavering lights simulating the motion of waves. Viewers catch sight of ancient jars and statuary buried in the Mediterranean after earthquakes and subsequent tidal waves submerged much of Alexandria and neighboring cities. Gallery Three yields stunning artifacts recovered by Goddio’s divers from Canopus, a religious and commercial center reputed to have been a city of sin for its licentious banquets. The temple of Osiris once contained the statue of the god Sarapis, a Ptolemaic hybrid of the Egyptian

Life size head of a Sarapis sculpture recovered from Canopus. SEPTEMBER 2012

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Osiris and the Greek deity Apis. His Black granite sphinx whose head bearded lifesize head draws crowds of admay be a likeness of Ptolemy XII, mirers. Displays offer visual evidence of an the father of Cleopatra VII. annual religious procession by boat from Canopus to the metropolis of Heracleion. Staff photos S. Twair The gallery dedicated to Heracleion is dominated by two colossal statues of a Ptolemaic king and queen which stood in the temple of Amon on the city’s central canal. As viewers stare at the two pink granite figures soaring to 16.4 feet, a nearby wide screen shows videos of how divers carefully retrieved the toppled and fractured sculptures from the sea. This section emphasizes how each new pharaoh, including Cleopatra, was coronated in Heracleion. Only priests and the pharaoh were admitted inside the temple, while the people worshipped outside. Satellite maps in a hall containing relics from Alexandria outline the submerged areas of Alexandria where Goddio is excavating. We see the colossal head of Caesarion, Cleopatra’s son by Caesar whom he never acknowledged as his heir. In a final bid to keep Egypt intact and independent of Rome, which coveted her nation’s wheat resources, she bequeathed Caesarion the name of Ptolemy XV Caesarion as her coregent. This room also displays cosmetics, mirrors and toiletries Cleopatra and her contemporary royals might have used. The viewer learns that Cleopatra was the final descendant of Ptolemy I, a general of Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death in 323 BCE, Ptolemy established his dynasty in Egypt in 305/4, and Black granite head which may represent CaeSeleucus took command of Alexander’s sarion, the son of Cleopatra VII and Julius Caesar. From the ancient Alexandria port. occupation of Babylon. The Greek Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty lasted for 275 years until the suicide of Cleopatra VII at the age of 39 in 30 BCE. No expenses were spared on Cleopatra’s education—she spoke seven languages, including ancient Egyptian and Aramaic, as well as her native Greek. She also was reputed to have researched and written books on the use of poisons – which may have abetted her in her suicide. “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt” continues in Los Angeles through Dec. 31. An accompanying IMAX film, “The Mysteries of Egypt,” runs daily in an adjacent theater. Both are efforts of Reproduction of a papyrus royal decree that may have the National Geographic Soci- been signed by Cleopatra VII in 33 BCE granting a tax ety. ❑ exemption for an officer of Mark Antony. SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Black granite statue from 3rd century BCE Canopus. The knot of the shawl is indicative of a queen, possibly Arsinoe II. 39

mayton_40_Cairo Communique 7/26/12 2:16 PM Page 40

As Egypt’s New President Takes Office, Human Rights Groups Want Their Say CairoCommuniqué

GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

By Joseph Mayton

A woman demonstrates with hundreds of other Egyptians in front of the presidential palace in Cairo July 1 to demand the release of political prisoners arrested by the military since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak 18 months earlier. gyptian activists were angered when

Ethe country’s new president, Mo-

hamed Morsi, failed to meet with a number of demonstrators who had camped in front of the Presidential Palace in early July. They had hoped to express their goals for Egypt’s future under his leadership. Since Morsi assumed power on June 30, Egypt has been in a tug of war between the left and the right over which direction their new government should take. Despite their differences, however, they do agree on one thing: access to the president. Activists have marched on the palace twice since Morsi took office, demanding that he follow through with his promise to free the some 12,000 political prisoners detained by the military junta over the past 17 months. Morsi himself has shown a willingness to meet with activists, leaders and families of those killed during the 18 days of protests in January and February of last year that resulted in the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak and paved the Joseph Mayton is a free-lance journalist based in Cairo, where he administers the Web site <http://bikyamasr.com>. 40

way for Morsi to become the country’s first-ever democratically elected leader. For a man who has spoken of being a “humble servant” to the nation, the idea that his door is always open to grievances and ideas already has caused him difficulty. With activists pressing for meetings and insisting he respond to their every demand, it has not been easy for Morsi to focus on the day-to-day efforts necessary to bridge the growing frustration and schisms in the country. According to Morsi spokesman Yasser Ali, this openness is part of the new president’s persona. “We want people to feel like he is different than Mubarak and that this is a new era where the president listens to the people,” Ali explained, “but we do have to maintain a level of separation so the president can do his work.” Morsi’s agenda is as long as the list of failures left behind by his predecessor and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which acted as a caretaker government during the interim transitional period until Morsi took office. Among the country’s most pressing needs are economic stability, jobs, parliamentary elecTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

tions, and what is arguably the most urgent issue for Egyptian activists and rights groups: human rights. Given the government’s decades-long neglect of promoting, much less upholding, human rights, Morsi faces an arduous task. It is not one he will have to tackle alone, however. Days after he took office, a group of Egyptian rights organizations launched a campaign called “Our Rights in 100 Days” to monitor, provide recommendations to and establish accountability for the new president as he begins to form a government. At a July 4 press conference, 17 Egyptian human rights NGOs released a 7-page memo sent to President Morsi two days earlier. The memo identified the most important steps necessary to improve Egypt’s human rights situation—measures which the signatories believed were missing from the president’s early strategies and statements. According to the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the memo “began with the observation that the 100day plan which was promised by the president does not sufficiently address the critical nature of the challenges currently facing Egypt, especially in the realm of human rights. Indeed, the plan neglects human rights issues and fails to present practical solutions to the grave crises which have been created by the transitional period under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), with the participation of the nowdissolved People’s Assembly.” The groups called on Morsi to issue a series of decrees that would guarantee the rights of Egyptian citizens, and also demanded that he work to release all political prisoners jailed by the military junta since the uprising ended on Feb. 11, 2011. Activist and human rights defender Salma Ramadan described the goal of the campaign as being to “create a real new Egypt where no matter who is in power, conservative or liberal, we all have the same rights and personal freedoms.” The revolution is close to Ramadan’s heart. Along with thousands of others, the Continued on page 74 SEPTEMBER 2012

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The Challenge Facing the Islamists By Patrick Seale

MAHMUD KHALED/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

SpecialReport

An Egyptian working at a traditional coffee shop watches on TV as President Mohamed Morsi takes the oath of office in Cairo, June 30, 2012. he triumphant emergence of Islamic

Tmovements after decades of repres-

sion is one of the more striking features of the Arab revolutions of the past 18 months. How these movements behave once they are in government will be closely watched. Each of them has an extremist fringe, apparently determined to abolish the divide between religion and politics, dear to Western opinion. The key question, therefore, is this: Will Islamic leaders now in power be able to tame the radicals in their ranks? This is the challenge facing Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s new president, and Rashed Ghannouchi, the historic leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda (Renaissance) party. Their Islamist movements both won democratic elections and are now in the driver’s seat. Islamists have also made gains Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the Middle East. His latest book is The Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad elSolh and the Makers of the Modern Middle East (Cambridge University Press). Copyright © 2012 Patrick Seale. Distributed by Agence Global. 42

elsewhere. In Morocco, they wrested a share of power from the king, while in Yemen and Jordan they could score further victories in the coming year. In postQaddafi Libya, the Islamists, against all expectations, were defeated at this month’s elections by a coalition of 58 parties led by Mahmoud Jibril, the former head of Libya’s transitional council. But they hope to win at elections next May. In Syria the contest is fiercest. Islamists are engaged in a life-and-death battle with President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime rests essentially on the secular Ba‘ath Party, on minorities such as Chistians and Druze, on some members of the commercial and professional middle classes, and on the military force of his own Alawi community. Both sides are fighting with the utmost ruthlessness. It is kill or be killed. The outcome of the contest is still uncertain, but the wounds in Syrian society are already very deep, and must inevitably shape the nature of any successor regime. The West may not like it, but in country after country across the Arab world the Islamists’ day has come. Minorities THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

may tremble. The educated middle classes may fear for their Western-style way of life. Liberated women may dread being forced back into purdah. Israel may worry about the survival of its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, which has guaranteed the regional supremacy of the Jewish state for more than three decades. But these fears may be greatly exaggerated. Both Mohammad Morsi and Rashed Ghannouchi are highly intelligent, modernizing Muslims whose immediate priority is not to impose the shariah but rather to create jobs for their armies of unemployed youths, provide security for all citizens, restore the authority of the state, and generally revive their economies after the ravages of the past year. Morsi has a doctorate in engineering from the University of Southern California. He spent several years studying and teaching in America. Two of his five children, born in the United States, are American citizens. Ghannouchi has had an essentially Islamic education but his openmindedness may be seen in the careers of his daughters. One has a doctorate in astrophysics, another is a human rights lawyer who studied at Cambridge and the London School of Economics, and a third is a philosophy graduate and researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. To fulfill their daunting programs, the Islamists in Egypt and Tunisia must form coalitions with local allies and keep fanatical extremists down. To calm the fears of women and of Christian Copts—the latter some 10 percent of Egypt’s population— President Morsi has even suggested appointing a Christian woman as vice-president! Aware of the magnitude of the task facing it in Tunisia, Ennahda has formed a governing coalition with two other parties—Moncef Marzouki’s Congress for the Republic, and Mustapha Ben Jaafar’s Ettakatol. Marzouki is now president of the Tunisian Republic and Ben Jaafar is speaker of the constituent assembly. At this month’s Ennahda conference— its first since its victory at the polls last SEPTEMBER 2012

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October—Rached Ghannouchi went out of his way to project an image of tolerance and moderation, which is essential if foreign investors and tourists are to be attracted back to Tunisia. The Islamist revival across the Arab world springs from many roots. It is powered by a popular reaction against corrupt dictators and brutal security services. It is a reaction against Western domination and against leaders who seemed to give primacy to Western strategic interests over the aspirations of their people. Both Morsi and Ghannouchi are surely aware that only leaders able to assert their country’s independence vis-à-vis external powers will have the legitimacy to keep their own extremists at bay. The Islamic revival also reflects popular outrage at Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians, and at the West’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to speak of America’s lethal counter-insurgency operations in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere—all widely seen as wars against Islam. Above all, the Islamists are reacting against decades of cruel repression in their own countries. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, was disbanded in 1948 and scores of its mem-

bers jailed when they were suspected of plotting a coup against the monarch. A year later, Hasan al-Banna, the movement’s founder, was gunned down at the early age of 42, almost certainly by King Farouk’s security agents. When the Muslim Brotherhood tried to assassinate Egypt’s revolutionary leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954, many thousands were arrested, and half a dozen of its leaders hanged. The movement was dissolved, causing many prominent members to flee abroad. Repression and mass arrests of Muslim Brothers continued under the regime of Husni Mubarak, until he was toppled last year. In Tunisia, the Ennahda party was driven underground for a quarter of a century by President Habib Bourguiba and his successor, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Rached Ghannouchi himself, sentenced and jailed many times, spent more than 20 years in exile in Britain. In Algeria, the army fought the Islamists in a bitter 10year civil war in the 1990s in which more than 150,000 people perished. Some Algerian Islamists, veterans of the civil war, are today behind the insurgency in northern Mali, to Algeria’s great concern. In Libya, the late Col. Muammar Qaddafi

hunted down the Islamists whenever he could. In Syria, an attempt by the Muslim Brothers to kill President Hafez al-Assad in 1980, and overthrow his regime in a campaign of terror, was brutally crushed in 1982 with great loss of life. The movement was outlawed for the next 30 years and membership was punishable by death. Today, the Islamists dream of revenge. In Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled from 1978 to last year, made use of the Islamists to defeat the Marxists and secessionists of South Yemen but, when he found himself compelled to join America’s “war on terror,” he turned against them. Now that he has gone, they hope to restore their fortunes. Against this harsh background, it would not be surprising if Islamists embraced extremist, revanchist views. It will demand courage and vision for their leaders to embrace a moderate, tolerant Islam that recognizes diversity, accepts modernity, delivers social justice, asserts national independence and sovereignty, and—above all—creates jobs. Only by recognizing that their countries live in an interdependent world will they succeed. ❑

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Yael Dayan Urges American Jews to Resist “Enforced Solidarity” With Israel By Jane Adas

STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS

left did not bargain for anything that would be irreversible, Dayan admitted, and by the 1980s knew that settlements had become a burden to security. Those who protested were called insufficiently patriotic or Zionist—as though, she noted wryly, if it weren’t for the pesky leftists, Palestinians would love being occupied. Dayan regretted that it took far too long to understand how Israel’s occupation was oppressing Palestinians, and even longer to recognize the consequences for Israeli society. She cited willful ignorance—“a barrier between us and reality”—combined with fear rooted in Jewish victimhood as obstacles to reversing the increasingly anti-democratic trend in Israel. Offering a recent example, Dayan said she was shocked that only a week earlier, on May 28, Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein dismissed a case B’Tselem had brought against the authors of Torat Ha’Melech (The King’s Bible) for incitement to racism and violence. In the book, Rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yoseph Elizur deem it permissible to kill gentile children because they might kill Jews when they grow up. In 1967, Dayan said, “none of us dreamed that 45 years later, our grandchildren would be born into this reality.” Israel is strong, Dayan insisted. The danger is not another Holocaust, which she maintains nobody will again allow, but that Israel is abusing its strength rather than using it to compromise. She urged American Jews to resist “enforced solidarity,” exercise their right to criticize, and not let Israel stand between them and their moral sense.

Yael Dayan. ael Dayan, daughter of the late Israeli

YGen. Moshe Dayan, is a former member

of the Knesset and currently deputy mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. She watched the June 3 Israel Day Parade in New York City from a Fifth Avenue window, feeling that it was not for her and did not represent her Israel. That evening Dayan spoke about “The Legacy of 45 years of Military Occupation” at an event sponsored by B’Tselem USA. Its director, Uri Zaki, introduced her as a lifelong advocate for minority rights, adding that she “promoted contact between Israelis and Palestinians before it was kosher.” Dayan recalled the euphoria across the Israeli political spectrum after the 1967 war. It took at least five years for the left to realize its mistake, she said—that Israel’s military success had pushed the public into “messianic possessiveness.” Soon after the war, the government launched the settlement enterprise, portraying it as an asset to Israel’s security and a national priority. The Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area. 44

“Five Broken Cameras” Emad Burnat, a Palestinian farmer from the West Bank village of Bil’in, was given his first video camera when his fourth son, Gibreel, was born in 2005. Gibreel’s birth coincided with Israel’s construction of its “separation” (“hafrada” in Hebrew— “apartheid” in Afrikaans) barrier through Bil’in, separating the village from much of its land. Over the next five years, Burnat THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

New York City and Tri-StateNews

shot more than 700 hours of footage— Gibreel’s birthdays, a clown’s visit to Bil’in, his family, and the creative, persistent, nonviolent demonstrations against the barrier organized by residents of Bil’in and joined by internationals and Israelis every Friday. Israeli filmmaker Guy Davidi was one of those Israeli activists. With the support of Greenhouse Films, a development program for emerging Mediterranean documentary filmmakers, Burnat and Davidi co-directed the outstanding, award-winning “5 Broken Cameras.” Both were present at a June 6 Film Forum screening in New York where they explained the genesis of the film. When in 2009 Burnat invited Davidi to join him in the project, the Israeli was skeptical. Documentaries already had been made about nonviolent resistance against the wall and he thought the subject was finished. But he agreed to watch some of Burnat’s footage. He saw an older couple trying to prevent Israeli soldiers from arresting a younger man, the older man climbing onto a military jeep in an effort to prevent it driving off. He asked Burnat, “Who are those people?” They were his parents and brother, Burnat replied. At that moment, Davidi said, he knew the film should be personal, with Burnat at its center. It was Burnat’s turn to be hesitant. He had wanted the film to be personal rather than political, about his family, friends and village, with his role as silent observer. When on April 17th, 2009 an Israeli soldier killed his ebullient friend Bassem Abu Rahme, whose nickname “Phil” means elephant in Arabic, Burnat wanted the film to be a tribute to him. In the end, Burnat reluctantly agreed. It was a wise choice. Davidi, a professional filmmaker, wrote the voice-over narrative based on conversations with Burnat. This is because he is emotional, Davidi explained, whereas Burnat is practical and not much of a talker. Some examples of the result: “Hope is not easy to find in adults. That’s why kids like Phil.” “The only protection I can offer [Gibreel] is allowing him to see everything with his own eyes so he can confront just how vulnerable life is.” “Healing is a challenge. It is the victim’s sole obligation. Healing is resistance.” SEPTEMBER 2012

adas_44-45_New York City and Tri-State News 7/24/12 11:01 PM Page 45

STAFF PHOTOS J. ADAS

STAFF PHOTOS J. ADAS

translation of the legMost of the footage end is said to have is Burnat’s, the amabeen an inspiration for teur photographer. He Shakespeare’s “Romeo delivers the Arabic and Juliet.” narrative in his calm Youssef set “Habibi” voice. It’s his story told in Khan Yunis, Gaza in in five chapters, one 2001. Layla and Qais each for a camera that meet and fall in love at met a bad end. Birzeit University in With the first camera the West Bank, but are Burnat is filming the forced to return to olive harvest beyond Gaza before completthe barrier, then under ing their studies when construction, when he Israel refuses to renew sees men dressed like their student permits. Arabs attack and arrest Layla is from an estabhis brother. They are lished Gazan family, Israeli special ops sol- “Five Broken Cameras” co-directors Emad Burnat (l) and Guy Davidi. while Qais lives in a diers. After this incident, the villagers begin organizing demon- confront life and survive.” Soldiers smash refugee camp. Layla’s father and increasingly religious brother do not approve of strations. A teargas grenade canister hit Bur- Burnat’s fifth camera. In June 2011, four years after the Israeli the match. Qais persuades her to run away nat’s camera, injuring his hand. With the second camera, we hear Gibreel’s first words: court’s decision to change the route of the with him, but at the border Israeli soldiers “jidar” (wall), “jaish” (army). In imitation of barrier near Bil’in, the military finally beat Layla for refusing to be an informer settler tactics—but, unlike the settlers, on began to remove it, and to build a concrete and refuse passage to the couple. Qais walks their own land—the villagers bring in a wall further from the village. It is a “small into an Israeli military zone and Layla into trailer, which the army removes—twice. victory,” Burnat’s narrative tells us, but the sea, where they are mystically rejoined. Youssef was present for the June 18 LinThey then build a concrete hut as an out- “the land will always bear the scars.” Bil’in post, which the army demolishes—twice. is resisting the new wall and Burnat, with coln Center screening. She was born in Brooklyn of Lebanese and Syrian descent, As Burnat is filming Israelis moving into his 6th camera, is still filming. but is proud that “Habibi” is “from Palesbrand new settlements built close to Bil’in, Human Rights Watch Film Festival tine,” the only narrative film set in Gaza one of them smashes camera #2. since Michel Khleifi’s 1995 “The Tale of The Israeli army regularly enters Bil’in at Screens “Habibi” Three Jewels,” and has the most Palestinian night to arrest village boys. Burnat filmed crew of any narrative film so far. Youssef an extraordinary scene where soldiers are began filming in Khan Yunis in 2003, but in prevented from entering a home by the 2005 Israel refused to allow her to return to women pushing back and yelling at them. Gaza or her cast and crew to leave. No wonThen the soldiers come for Burnat. They der the full Arabic title is “Habibi Rasak tell him to stop filming because his house is Kharban,” which Youssef loosely translated a closed military zone, then arrest him. Buras “everything in Gaza is broken.” nat spends some time in jail, then under So she had to begin again. Because of the house arrest, then the case is closed because beach scenes, the actors had to have Israeli Israel “lost the evidence.” Burnat credits IDs. Kais Nashef, who played Said in “Parthe third camera with saving his life—two adise Now,” accepted over the phone the bullets lodged in it as he was filming. In role of Qais. Maisa Abd Elhadi, the casting chapter four, we see families waiting four director’s daughter, took the role of Layla, hours at the gate to reach their land. When for which she won best actress at the Dubai they finally get through, their olive trees Film Festival. In response to a question are still burning. Camera #4 is destroyed from the audience about whether she had when the tractor Burnat is riding on shown enough of the context of occupacrashes into the wall. Burnat is seriously intion, Youssef replied that because of budget jured and unconscious for 20 days. He limitations, she could not show an actual spends two months in a Tel Aviv hospital. Susan Youssef, director of “Habibi.” home demolition, only a family bewailing This happened during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza. Burnat remarks, The majority of features in the annual the loss of their home. And because of a “My recovery is a drop in the sea of vio- Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New lack of permits, Youssef said, she was able lence. People are in mourning for Gaza.” York are documentaries. It is therefore to shoot only about two-thirds of her script. After Phil is killed with a high-velocity tear somewhat unusual that this year’s films in- In spite of these hurdles, she hoped that gas canister to the chest, the village is in cluded Susan Youssef’s narrative film through the devastation of loss of love, she shock. Burnat receives another arrest war- “Habibi,” a modern retelling of the 7th cen- was able to portray the brutality of occuparant and his wife, Soraya, begs him to stop tury Sufi legend of “Majnun Layla” about tion. The audience’s applause should assure filming. But he cannot. Filming “helps me Qais going mad for love of Layla. A Latin her that she succeeded. ❑ SEPTEMBER 2012

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pasquini_46-47_Northern California Chronicle 7/24/12 11:06 PM Page 46

Supporters of the Egyptian Revolution Rally in San Francisco

Northern California Chronicle

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

By Elaine Pasquini

In San Francisco, activists rally in support of the Egyptian revolution.

Square June 4 to show solidarity with the people of Egypt who are struggling to establish democracy in their country. Many at the evening rally waved the colorful red, white and black Egyptian flag, while others displayed signs reading “End U.S. Military Aid to Egypt” and “Victory to the Arab Revolutions.” The demonstration was called by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition in response to the weak verdicts handed down to deposed president Hosni Mubarak and members of his administration. The former president and his interior minister Habib al-Adly received life prison terms for complicity in killing protesters during the January 2011 uprising. Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were acquitted of corruption charges. ANSWER coalition organizer Omar Ali addressed the crowd, including shoppers and tourists attracted by the flags, posters and large banners. “Thousands of Egyptians have amassed in Tahrir Square and Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 46

the streets of Cairo and other cities to protest these verdicts,” Ali said. “The military council, which receives more than $2 billion in military aid from the U.S., is just another wing of the Mubarak regime. There is still a revolution going on in Egypt.…We called this demonstration just to show our solidarity with the Egyptian people and to demand the end of U.S. military aid to Egypt.” In a written statement, the young leaders of Egypt’s pro-democracy revolution called for international support, stating: “As we learned over the last year and a half, no weapon is stronger than solidarity. Support us, protest in defense of the Egyptian revolution.”

Vigilers Protest Israel’s “Birthday Celebration” Activists from human rights organizations—in-

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

gyptian Americans and their supporters

Egathered in San Francisco’s Union

cluding Bay Area Women in Black and Jewish Voice for Peace—joined together in a silent vigil in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens on June 10. The occasion was the Jewish Community Federation’s annual “Israel in the Gardens” event to “celebrate Israel’s birthday.” In an attempt to educate passersby and festivalgoers on the actual events surrounding the creation of the Jewish state 64 years ago, vigil participants handed out fliers explaining: “The Palestinian community is also marking 64 years, but there is no celebration. For Palestinians, these 64 years began in ethnic cleansing…In fact, even before May 15, 1948, almost three quarters of a million Palestinians had been expelled from their own land. And today, an estimated eight million people are displaced, both internally and externally, and denied the benefits and rights of citizens of Israel.” People were urged to contact their political representatives to oppose U.S. military aid to Israel. “We believe that one of the biggest obstacles to a just peace lies in the unconditional U.S. political support and an ever-increasing aid package that the U.S.

Activists protest Israel’s 64th “birthday party” at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2012

pasquini_46-47_Northern California Chronicle 7/24/12 11:07 PM Page 47

provides for Israel’s ongoing military occupation of the Palestinian territories,� the statement read. “For us, Jews and non-Jews, Palestinians and non-Palestinians, this anniversary and the suffering associated with it is a reminder that community includes more than ‘just us.’ This day symbolizes a painful lesson that can be a way to peace and reconciliation. If we really want to celebrate community, why not take the suggestion of Palestinian writer Ala Hlehel, ‘You and I are the same. Let’s start over.’�

Workplace Religious Freedom Act Passes California Assembly

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STAFF PHOTO E. PASQUINI

California Assembly member Mariko Yamada, who sponsored the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. With bipartisan support, the California State Assembly approved Assembly Bill 1964 (the Workplace Religious Freedom Act) on May 29. Sponsored by Assembly member Mariko Yamada, who represents California’s eighth district, the bill will clarify the responsibilities of employers with respect to religious accommodation in the workplace. Among other issues, the bill specifies that religious clothing and hairstyles qualify as a religious belief or observance, and that segregating an employee from customers or the public is not a reasonable accommodation of an employee’s religious beliefs. AB 1964 ensures equal employment opportunity for Californians who have been relegated to secondclass status in their jobs because of their religious observances or appearance. Members of California’s interfaith community and civil rights organizations, including the Council on American Islamic Relations, praised passage of the bill, which will next be heard in California State Senate committees before proceeding to a full floor vote. � SEPTEMBER 2012

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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twair_48-49_Southern California Chronicle 7/24/12 11:09 PM Page 48

Billboard Call to Stop Aid to Israeli Army Agitates Congressional Candidates By Pat and Samir Twair

48

David Lesch Discusses Syria

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

N

for four of the L.A. billboards, one of which he paid for himself. This isn’t Warner’s first struggle with Zionism. A member of L.A. Jews for Peace, the retired geologist has made three trips to the Middle East since 2005 and contends that the U.S. shouldn’t financially support the Israeli army because it kills Palestinians with U.S. weapons. “We’re not liked in most of the world because we support the Israeli military when it does really bad things,” he argued. For more information, visit <www.stop 30billion.com>.

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

PHOTO COURTESY JEFF WARNER

Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security. Since no poll was conducted as to how many of Berman’s constituents actually were offended by the billboards, the congressman’s statement could not be verified. Berman, the former chairman and now ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee— who told a Jewish newspaper that “Even before I was a DeThis billboard on busy Melrose Avenue was mocrat, I was viewed by tens of thousands of Los Angeles a Zionist”— motorists before it came down June 18. h a s re p re INSET: Jeff Warner. sented California’s 28th ever underestimate the determinacongrestion of a peace activist, could well be the motto of Jeff Warner. A case in point is sional district for 30 years. As a result of rethe 23 billboards he succeeded in erecting districting, he currently is running against all over Los Angeles County urging voters fellow Zionist Democrat Brad Sherman, forto demand that Congress stop sending $3 merly of the 27th congressional district, in the newly drawn 30th congressional disbillion in annual aid to the Israeli army. In the end, however, it was too good to trict (see May 2012 Washington Report, p. be true. The billboards started going up 30). Although Berman has the backing of June 11 and, some time before 2:30 p.m. on Madeleine Albright and Dennis Ross, SherJune 18, they abruptly disappeared. CBS man received more votes in the state’s June Outdoor, the billboard vendor, said it primary. Since Sherman and Berman came would refund the money paid. So far it has in first and second, respectively, they will done so only partially, according to face each other yet again in November. Warner, and has made no mention of cov- Among the district’s Jewish constituents, ering the $65 printing cost for each of the Berman is favored. Not to be outdone in kowtowing to Is23 billboards. Warner says CBS Outdoor claimed he vi- rael, Sherman jumped into the billboard olated his contract by using its name in a bandwagon and was quoted by the Jewish petition he sent asking activists to thank Telegraphic Agency as saying that the billthe vendor for putting up the billboards. It boards’ message “would have us abandon seems remarkably coincidental that Rep. our closest ally in the Middle East.” Warner is quick to point out that the fiHoward Berman (D-CA), one of Congress’ most pro-Israel members, issued a press re- nancial support for the Los Angeles billlease stating that his constituents objected board project came largely from the Albuto the billboards’ “anti-Israel” message— querque-based Coalition to Stop $30 Bilwhich, moreover, he wrote, contradicted lion to Israel, which for the past three years has been putting up similarly worded billPat and Samir Twair are free-lance journal- boards in U.S. cities. Now the coalition’s L.A. representative, Warner raised funds ists based in Los Angeles.

Southern California Chronicle

Prof. David Lesch. “Reformer to Tyrant: The Corruption of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian System” was the title of a May 24 talk by David Lesch during UCLA’s 2012 Levi Della Vida Award for Excellence in Islamic Studies honoring Prof. Roger Owen. Lesch, who teaches at Trinity University in San Antonio, explained that, from 2004 to 2009, he met regularly with the Syrian president while writing his book, The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria. In the spring of 2000, Lesch noted, Assad gave an enlightened inaugural speech that gave Syrians hope for reforms, including amnesty for political prisoners and a free press. “Today,” the author said, “he’s reviled by all.” SEPTEMBER 2012

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2010 DREAMER JOINT VENTURE

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tors to replicate events reported by 1,500 Iranian prisoners, witnesses, victims, journalists, activists and even torturers taking part in the Green Revolution. The award-winning film gets its name from the color supporters chose for banners and signs identified with Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate in the June 12, 2009 election. We see actual film footage of millions of Iranians wearing green and carrying green placards on the days leading up to the election. “Iran is a nation of bloggers,” the filmmaker explained. He selected narratives from 15 bloggers to chronicle voters’ shock CAIR Summer Event and disappointment as they found polling More than 500 places closed, were friends of the Council told there were no on American Islamic ballots, and saw ranRelations/Los Angesacked campaign ofles (CAIR) gathered fices. June 23 at the ReAs dissent grew dondo Beach Perand crowds threatforming Arts Center ened to riot, snipers to hear Muslim began to fire into artists perform at “A protesting throngs. Summer Night for The defining moment Civil Rights”-themed was the June 20 tarprogram. Featured geted shooting death entertainers, dubbed of a young woman for the evening as student known as “champions of justice,” included stand- TOP: CAIR Night for Civil Rights entertainers (l-r) Dean Obeidallah, Amir Sulaiman Neda. University dorup comic Dean Obei- and Omar Offendum. ABOVE: Newly released woman outside Tehran’s Evin Prison, in mitories were raided, students were jailed dallah, poet Amir Su- “The Green Wave.” and tortured, and laiman and hip-hop singer-composer Omar Offendum. tury Iranian history. Ali Samadi Ahadi’s many were beaten by government goons. Obeidallah had the audience laughing documentary film “The Green Wave” il- All foreign reporters were ordered to leave uproariously as he cited examples of various lustrates what this defining chapter in the the country immediately; those who did Muslim countries’ customs and the confu- tumultuous record of the Islamic Republic not were arrested and jailed. Adding credence to the narrative are insion they bring about in cross-generational is about. Through animation and film clips, immigrant understanding of humor. Su- the award-winning filmmaker chronicles terviews with Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin laiman sang selections from his new album, the June 2009 Iranian elections and their Abadi, Shi’i cleric and philosopher Dr. Mohsen Kadivar, and former war crimes entitled “Meccan Openings,” and recited bloody aftermath. some of his poetry extolling love and peace. Ahadi was in Berlin for the premiere of prosecutor Prof. Dr. Payam Akhavan. No Offendum, who has garnered interna- his film “Salami Aleikum” when news wonder, then, that the Green Revolution is tional acclaim for his original lyrics, en- broke of the government’s lethal crack- viewed as the turning point in the Iranian couraged the audience to join him in down on protesters charging that the na- peoples’ struggle to overthrow the mulsinging the words to his hits, “Damascus” tional elections had been rigged. Because lahs—who have ruled since 1979, followand “Street Called Straight.” He received a his earlier films had made him persona non ing the overthrow of the repressive U.S.standing ovation as he recited the names of grata in his native Iran, there was no way backed Shah Reza Pahlavi—and is reSyrian cities targeted by the government in he could return home to report on the garded by many observers as the precursor the ongoing revolution. chaos. Devastated by the executions and to the Arab Spring. “The Green Wave” opens Aug. 10 in torture of Iranian dissidents, Ahadi began Iran’s “Green Wave” e-mailing activists and leaders of Iran’s pro- theaters in Los Angeles, New York City and Denver and can also be ordered on Iran specialists refer to the Green Revolu- democracy movement. Ahadi then recruited a battery of anima- Movies on Demand. ❑ tion of 2009 as the sea change in 21st cen-

According to Lesch, the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in the spring of 2011 shocked Assad: because he couldn’t believe Syrians disliked him, he claimed the uprisings were supported by foreign interests, and empowered his security police and shabbiha militias to stamp out dissent. Asked if he believes Assad will meet the same end as Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, Lesch opined that, with the aid of Russia and Iran, Syria could be a North Korea-like state for 10 years. ”Bashar would prefer a stalemate,” he added, “in which he isolates the rebel forces into guerrilla outposts.”

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The theme of civil rights extended into Friday’s luncheon and awards ceremony, titled “Civil Rights, Moving Forward.“ AdADC National Convention: dressing the issue of discrimination, Los “Taking Charge; Moving Forward“ Angeles police Sheriff Lee Baca noted that “The United States is an incredible place,“ From June 21-24, the American-Arab Anticommending it for being a “very diverse“ Discrimination Committee (ADC) held its country. He went on to lament, however, annual national convention at the Hyatt Rethat too many Americans, particularly gency Hotel in Washington, DC. Throughpoliticians, express intolerance out the four-day conference, attoward Islam. tendees participated in a wide Those accepting awards also array of discussions that focondemned intolerance toward cused on issues such as civil libArab Americans. David Lopez, erties, the 2012 U.S. elections, recipient of the Friend in Govand combating discrimination. ernment Award, regretted the Civil Rights and Economic fact that in a recession “there is Opportunity often an effort to scapegoat certain communities.“ Pro Bono Following a day of advocacy on Attorney of the year Anton HaCapitol Hill, the convention’s jjar emphasized the importance formal proceedings began on of community, remarking that June 22 with a White House “the law is a tool, the law helps, Round Table Discussion. Ari but the most important thing is Matusiak, executive director of solidarity.“ the White House Business Abdeen Jabara, recipient of Council, began by giving a concise yet informative speech on (L-r) ADC President Warren David and Ambassador Clovis Mak- the Civil Rights Pioneer Award, the Obama administration’s soud present Anas “Andy” Shallal, an Iraqi-American artist, ac- differed somewhat with Sheriff plans for the economy. Matu- tivist and restaurateur, with the Hala Salaam Maksoud Leadership Baca, arguing that intolerance siak stressed that while “jobs Award, given to an individual who has shown outstanding commit- has “little to do with religion,“ and more to do with politics. aren’t where we need them to ment and leadership in the community. be, in almost every single secJumana Musa, deputy director for the Michael Moore Addresses ADC tor we are experiencing growth.“ Despite his optimism, several audience members Rights Working Group, opened the panel For many attendees, the convention’s highwere not convinced that the economy is with a short video of a young Kurdish- light was documentary filmmaker Michael American man who was stopped and strip Moore’s June 22 one-on-one conversation where it needs to be. One man, who identified himself as an searched—“for no reason other than being with film scholar Dr. Jack Shaheen. Arab-American business owner, men- in the wrong neighborhood,“ according to Moore fondly recalled an ADC fellowtioned that his businesses were having a Musa. The video served to frame the dis- ship he received in 1985 to visit the Arab hard time finding qualified candidates for cussion, which sought to humanize poli- world, saying the trip had a transformative employment. He asked Matusiak what the cies that affect a sizeable chunk of Ameri- effect on his activist activities. In order to administration is doing to help young peo- cans. “It’s not about policy and theories,“ thank the organization, Moore said, “I ofple get involved with the economy. This explained Musa. “It’s about people and im- fered a premiere [of the film ‘Roger and gave Matusiak the opportunity to detail pact.“ Me’] in Washington, DC and 100 percent Within New York City, the anti-Stop and of the proceeds went to ADC.“ the president’s support of the American Jobs Act, a three-part plan that focuses on Frisk movement is a key issue on which “efficiency, investing in infrastructure, and different races and ethnicities can unite, unleashing innovation in America.“ Matu- Musa said. “We’re never going to win siak went on to cite the administration’s this…by ourselves,“ she said, referring to commitment to investing in community the lack of cooperation among different colleges and other higher education pro- ethnic communities when it comes to congrams aimed at preparing the American fronting their shared issues. While Musa’s descriptions of the various workforce for the 21st century economy. Matusiak also was grilled on the busi- institutions that practice racial profiling for ness community’s relations with Arab data-gathering and surveillance could have Americans. One particularly passionate left listeners hopeless and weary, Musa man demanded to know why “Arab Amer- ended the discussion by offering solutions. icans are never consulted on domestic is- She identified two main areas that activists sues. With all of the problems currently should focus on: Addressing inner divitaking place in the Middle East, it seems as sions between ethnic groups, and ending though our community is ignored on the collaboration and cooptation between the domestic side,“ he complained. This com- local police and the FBI. Filmmaker Michael Moore speaks to ADC. ment received loud applause and reflected the overall sentiment in the room: that President Obama should be doing more to help Arab Americans fight discrimination and participate actively in the economy. The morning’s second discussion focused on the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) surveillance of Arab-American communities.

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Arab-American Activism

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U.S. Foreign Policy While Moore’s remarks were greeted with laughter and applause, the June 22 foreign policy caucus left many feeling agitated and angry. Author and Institute for Policy Studies fellow Phyllis Bennis opened the caucus by assessing U.S. policy in the Middle East. “U.S. power is less than it used to be,” Bennis said, “however the U.S. remains uncontested on the military side. This is our most powerful tool, and it’s a huge prob-

lem.“ She concluded by stating that if U.S. foreign policy is ever going to succeed in the Middle East, “the key has to be diplomacy.“ Ben Rhodes, Obama administration speechwriter and deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, requested that his comments be off the record, which did not sit well with many audi- (L-r) William Younes, Phyllis Bennis and Ben Rhodes discuss the ence members. The fact direction of American foreign policy. that his comments were consistent with stated Obama administra- that “the Israeli government…does not tion policy further upset people in the au- want to forfeit the conquest they have dience, who wanted answers to the myriad achieved over these very many years.“ He of problems currently threatening Middle went on to note that “the American-Jewish community is deeply divided,“ and exEast stability. Indeed, the question-and-answer ses- pressed his hope and cautious optimism sion, which focused heavily on the Israeli- that liberal Jews will “ultimately prePalestinian conflict, became rather con- vail….[and] offer the only real way out“ of tentious. Ignoring the moderator’s instruc- the intractable conflict. Noura Erakat, professor of International tions, several members of the audience began shouting questions directly at Human Rights Law at Georgetown UniverRhodes. To his credit, Rhodes attempted to sity, proclaimed that “the Nakba…is not a answer every question to the best of his historical moment…[but] an ongoing ability, but by this time many members of process,“ because evictions of Palestinian the audience seemed too angry or frus- families continue to occur. She concluded trated to care. As the caucus ended, there by urging people to support the BDS were still many people clamoring for a movement as long as Israel fails to comply with international law. chance to question Rhodes. Describing the current state of PalestinOn Sunday morning, June 24, attendees were given the opportunity to revisit the ian refugees, Matthew Reynolds, Washtopic of Palestine with a panel discussion ington representative for the United Natitled “The Future of Palestinian Refugees tions Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings.“ Ambassador Philip Wilcox, president of said that refugees feel “abandoned and forthe Foundation for Middle East Peace, gotten.“ UNRWA, he said, provides “the cited as a major obstacle to peace the fact services to Palestinian refugees that others cannot and will not provide.“ STAFF PHOTO A.BEGLEY

The trip to the Arab world planted a seed of Palestinian solidarity that has stuck with Moore. He told a story about his 1989 experience at the Jerusalem Film Festival, which featured “Roger and Me.” The festival committee had used only Hebrew and French subtitles on the film, but Moore insisted that, “Unless you’re going to put Arabic subtitles on it…in good conscience I can’t participate.“ His strong stance compelled the festival committee to switch from French and Hebrew subtitles to Arabic and Hebrew subtitles the following year. Moore said that all of his documentaries combat fear and ignorance. Explaining that “fear works best when you can keep a people ignorant,“ he added that “We need to open up these closets and show that there are no monsters.“ In the question-and-answer session several attendees asked Moore if he would ever make a documentary about the Palestine-Israel conflict. The filmmaker expressed interest, saying, “I have spent a lot of time in recent years [thinking] about not just showing the problem.…I would like to provide some suggestions for solving this thing. I do not want this to last beyond my lifetime.“

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Key Concerns for Arab-American Voters in 2012 Elections

Ambassador Philip Wilcox (l) and Prof. Noura Erakat discuss international law and the future for Palestinian refugees. SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The November 2012 U.S. elections proved to be an important topic throughout the convention. At a June 22 panel titled “U.S. Elections Forum: Decision 2012,“ NAACP president Ben Jealous and ADC president Warren David discussed what the key concerns of Arab Americans should be when they cast their ballots. In Jealous’ opinion, racial profiling is an important election issue that is “a common consternation in both the black and Arab communities.“ The big question on everyone’s mind, he said, should be, “if profiling endangers [minorities], can we stop it?“ 51

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NAACP President Ben Jealous.

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Moroccan musicians (l-r) Mohamed Reda, Nouamane Lahlou and Nidal Ibourk help the ADC audience celebrate their rich heritage. mestic policy] with…extra-judicial killings and drone strikes…is quite problematic.“

Celebrating Arab-American Heritage And Identity The annual ADC conference is about more than panel discussions and policy issues; participants also like to have some fun while celebrating their Arab-American heritage. ADC thus provided a superb show on Friday, June 22 that consisted of live music and dance, as well as the presentation of the Jack G. Shaheen Scholarships and Achievement Awards. In between singing along to live music, the audience recognized individuals receiving awards and scholarships on stage. Dr. Jack Shaheen presented the Achievement Award to Jackie Reem Salloum and scholarships to Dr. Evelyn Alsultany, Diana Aqra, Faisal Attrache, Ziad El-Bayoumi Foty, Valerie Bishrat, and Claire Stevens.

Organizing Effectively Yet another component of this year’s conference was assistance to Arab Americans of all ages seeking to organize events. At a June 23 student brainstorming session,

former University of Michigan ADC Chapter president Will Youmans and ADC staff attorney Nicole Saleem discussed how to organize effectively on campus. Saleem began the session by expressing ADC’s desire to “get more involved and provide support to Arab-American groups on college campuses.“ One of the attendees, Alaa Yousef, an organizer of Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine (SPJP) at New York University, shared how her group got involved in the TIAA-CREF campaign, which urges financial services organizations to stop investing in companies, such as Caterpillar, that profit from the Israeli occupation. Due to its efforts, Yousef explained, the group became “a presence not just on campus, but in the New York community.“ Workshop participants reached a general consensus that having a regional point of contact from an outside organization could help drive on-campus organizations. Another June 23 workshop focused on the skills needed to become an effective community advocate and organizer. Teacher Merrie Najimy, president of ADC’s Massachusetts chapter, discussed organiz-

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Jealous said he believes the most effective way to achieve progress is to form common interest coalitions and focus on one issue. It is important that everyone “knows the Constitution and owns it,“ he added, because the U.S. is “a country of laws, not just people.“ To David’s concern that there is no “momentum“ in the Arab-American community behind one presidential candidate, Jealous observed that “there is potential for progress either way.“ If Mitt Romney is elected, Jealous said, “civil rights will be one big question mark,“ while if Obama is re-elected, Arab Americans and black Americans must be prepared to be “more aggressive in terms of getting anti-profiling legislation passed.“ A June 23 panel on “Civil Rights in a New Administration“ built on the previous day’s discussion by exploring the impact that a second Obama term or a Romney presidency would have on Arab- and Muslim-American communities. Arsalan Iftikhar, a human rights lawyer and global media commentator, defended the Obama administration, urging the audience to “look at things in the contextual framework…the Obama administration was working with an obstructionist Republican Congress that made it its mission to block any legislation [put forth by Obama].“ When asked what a Romney-led administration may look like, Iftikhar exclaimed: “I have no idea, and I don’t want to see it!“ Cyrus McGoldrick of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-NY also was wary of Romney’s views on civil rights, both domestically and abroad. He suggested that a domestic policy of racial profiling has resulted in a racially tinted foreign policy, to which Iftikhar adamantly disagreed, arguing that “to conflate [do-

(L-r) Samer Korkor, Merrie Najimy, Josh Ruebner and Hasan Newash advise attendees on organizing effectively. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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ing efforts in her local teacher’s union. Emphasizing the differences between organizing and mobilizing, she explained, “Organizing leads to mobilizing and then when you are done you go back to being organized.“ She emphasized the importance of networks, saying, “Organizing is about building relationships.“ Josh Ruebner, the national advocacy director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, pointed out the importance of raising awareness by making information more readily available. Hasan Newash, a former executive engineer at Chrysler Engineering Center and cofounder of numerous Arab-American and Palestinian activist organizations (including the Palestine Cultural Office in Michigan, which in May gave an award to the Washington Report) described the mental and emotional challenges of organizing— “You will get depressed, you will get lonely,“ he said. Despite these challenges, he called on everyone in the room to take action. —Washington Report Staff and Interns

Muslim-American Activism Getting Beyond AmericanMuslim Caricatures

Human Rights Kashf Foundation leads Gendered Development in Pakistan

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The Newseum in Washington, DC held a conference on June 28 titled “Reason vs. Rhetoric: Understanding American Muslims,” co-sponsored by Our Shared Future, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, the Interfaith Alliance, and the Religious Freedom Education Project. A panel titled “American Muslim: Caricature vs. Reality,” moderated by Emmanuel Kattan of the British Council USA, began by describing how American Muslims are caricatured. Americans view their fellow

than other religions, asking rhetorically, “When was the last time you stopped a Catholic on the street and asked them about the latest ruling from the pope?” He envisioned a future when American Muslims are viewed no differently than any other group of Americans. “When you see Muslims playing public roles,” he said, “that is the goal for this community.” Younis concluded by anticipating the time when his Muslim-American community “can go from assimilation to belongingness.” —Keenan Duffey

Muslim citizens as “anti-democratic,” Kattan said, who went on to note that the purpose of the panel was not to dwell on stereotypes, but rather to change them. The goal of the day was to “move from caricature to reality,” he explained. The first panelist to speak was Mohamed Magid, president of the Islamic Society of North America. He described the current picture of Muslims in America as “really mixed,” adding “From the rhetorical perspective, we have certainly seen a lot of progress.” Magid was optimistic, remarking, “People are beginning to realize that Muslims are like anyone else in this country.” Maria Ebrahimji, CNN executive editorial producer and director of CNN’s booking department, brought media expertise to the conversation. “We have every right…to blame the media for their portrayal of American Muslims,” she declared. As producer of the CNN TV special “Muslims Next Door,” she said she discovered that “there are people who have a misunderstanding about what my religion, Islam, is all about.” However, she added, “I think the caricature is changing.” Precious Muhammad, a scholar and well-known author, added historical perspective to the discussion. “It is a fact that Muslims contributed directly and indirectly to the foundation of America,” she stated, referring to her research on African-Muslim slaves in the antebellum South. Her work demonstrates that Islam is not a new religion in the United States, she said. The final panelist, Mohamed Younis, a senior analyst at the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, pointed out the necessity of creating a counter narrative to help overcome stereotypes. He suggested that Americans think about Islam differently

(l-r) Mohamed Magid, Maria Ebrahimji, Mohamed Younis, Precious Muhammad and Emmanuel Kattan try to change stereotypes of Muslim Americans. SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The Atlantic Council of the United States hosted a June 26 discussion of the lessons learned from gendered microfinance moderated by Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. Roshaneh Zafar, founder of the Kashf Foundation, outlined the transformative power of small loans in Pakistan. Formerly a loan officer for a Pakistani bank, she launched the foundation in 1995, inspired by the successes of microfinanced women she saw on a trip to Bangladesh. She recognized the potential for Grameen-style banking in Pakistan. (The word gram means “rural” or “village” in the Bengali language. Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank makes small loans available to the poor without requiring collateral.) “When we empower women, we empower families,” explained Zafar. The success of her organization, which currently has 280,000 active female clients with 157 branch locations in two provinces of Pakistan, can be attributed to a few key factors, Zafar said: women’s empowerment, restoring pride, providing quality and affordable services, and promoting financial literacy. With these ingredients, she said, women can escape the informal economy they are often forced into during dire economic times. “Microfinance, for me, is all about mythbreaking,” said Zafar, describing the staggering results of small-loan lending using a women-centric approach. “We have loaned $220 million, and have had 90 percent return on these loans,” she added. “We proved investing in women is smart economics.” But why women? Zafar cited a number of statistics that point to a female-led economy being highly successful. According to the World Trade Organization, she noted, 53

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(L-r) Robert Boggs of the National Defense University, Shuja Nawaz, Roshaneh Zafar, and Huma Haque of the Atlantic Council.

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Music & Arts Mowahid Shah Launches His Book, Will & Skill

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there is a 37 percent rate of growth in GDP when women are involved in economies. The numbers are backed with long-term social benefits, including lower fertility rates and shifting attitudes toward daughters’ roles in families. The challenges the Kashf Foundation faced—and overcame—in its first two years, according to Zafar, stemmed from the structure of informal loans in Pakistani society. Traditionally, she explained, loans were transferred from urban areas to rural villages via truck drivers. New technology such as Easy Paisa, a phone-based system of transferring funds, has increased mobility with funds. One of the main concerns women cited with regard to their loans was confidentiality—not just from their husbands, but also within their communities. The community-based lending system in rural villages, called raskas, doles out a common pool of money to one person roughly once a month—but because everyone in the village knows who that person is, they hound that person for loans. For this reason, maintaining the confidentiality of Kashf borrowers is vital in protecting their assets, Zafar explained. The Kashf Foundation has found success by empowering a vast population that is often underrepresented in the Pakistani economy, its founder said. Zafar cited three reasons why female entrepreneurship traditionally fails to blossom in countries like Pakistan: lack of vision; lack of networks; and lack of self-actualization and self-confidence. With Kashf Foundation’s graduated lending approach, educational lending and increasing size, Zafar has addressed these three problems. “You have to take the bank to the community,” she concluded. “The community does not come to the bank.” —Meher Ahmad

The Nation, the North American weekly Pakistan Link, the Nawa-i-Waqt (an Urdu daily) as well as other publications, including the Washington Report, over some three decades. His passionate voice calls for justice and fair play for Muslims, wherever they are oppressed or given a hard time. Shah takes on disputes that have paralyzed nations, including Kashmir and Palestine, as well as conflicts elsewhere between “elites vs. streets.” His essays examine fundamentalism, corruption, 9/11, the war on terror, and the challenges faced by the Muslim-American community and Pakistanis back home. Shah’s father, Col. (ret’d) Amjad Hussain Syed, worked for a progressive Pakistan, and his son continues this quest using his writing and voice to try to improve U.S. foreign policy. Shah argues that the end of the Cold War between the two superpowers has been replaced by a Cold War against Islam. “The gun is lifted when the pen is not lifted,” Shah warns readers in the conclusion of his book. “The battle of the 21st century is a battle of ideas: the spirit of human dignity versus the dominance of brute power. Just as war cannot be fought or sustained on borrowed guns, the battle of ideas cannot be fought with borrowed brains...Meeting the challenge requires constant striving. It is a matter of will and skill.” Shah’s will and skill are undeniable as he offers original ideas and solutions to improve Western-Muslim relations. —Delinda C. Hanley

Waging Peace

Author Mowahid Shah signs copies of Will & Skill.

Glimpse at Pakistani Media Reveals Fractures and Progress

Every seat was taken at Ravi Kabob restaurant in Arlington, VA on July 16 for the Will and Skill book signing, which turned into a roast for its author, Mowahid Hussain Shah. Copies of Will and Skill, published in Lahore, Pakistan, were nearly absent from the event when they were mistakenly sent to Dallas, TX instead of Dulles Airport in Virginia. This didn’t faze Shah’s wife, Dayna, who edited the book, or Shah himself, who has had numerous exciting experiences, first as a student activist, later as an attorney practicing law with former Sen. James Abourezk (D-SD), as well as advising Pakistani politicians and personalities. Will and Skill is a collection of Shah’s newspaper and magazine articles published in Pakistan’s English-language daily,

Hours after the controversial ousting of Pakistani Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani by the country’s Supreme Court, and Pakistani media were in a frenzy, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC hosted its June 19 event titled “Pakistani Media: Getting Beyond the Hype.” Representing various components of Pakistani media, the panel of journalists included Cyril Almeida, an editor at Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest English-language newspaper; Imran Aslam, president of Geo TV, owned by one of Pakistan’s largest media conglomerates; popular anchor and producer Asma Shirazi of Samaa TV, Pakistan’s first private satellite news channel; and former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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(L-r) NPR’s Steve Inskeep, Imran Aslam, Ambassador Wendy Chamberlain, Asma Shirazi and Cyril Almeida tackle the pressing issues facing Pakistani media.

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write stories about corruption in a political atmosphere where intimidation tactics are not uncommon. Regardless of these signs of corruption within the media, news anchor Shirazi maintained that there are only a few “black sheep” within the media who fall victim to corruption and collusion. Outspoken in her opinions during the panel, Shirazi at one point directly challenged Pakistani Talibans and residents hold a jirga in the Buner Aslam’s television channel: “I district of the troubled Swat valley on April 23, 2009. have serious concerns about Wendy Chamberlain. National Public Geo’s role,” she stated. “Either it should Radio’s (NPR) Steve Inskeep, who recently join a party or be completely neutral.” Dawn’s Almeida, who has written nupublished a book about Karachi titled Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi, mod- merous opinion pieces chastising TV anchors such as Shirazi for abusing their star erated the event. Inskeep began by asking the panelists to status in dangerous ways, responded to describe the current state of Pakistani Shirazi’s comments by saying: “The influmedia. “The industry is having a great bat- ence of anchors is similar to rock stars, and tle with itself,” Aslam noted, echoing the now they push the envelope further.” The panel ended with a tense discussion sentiments of his fellow panelists. He went on to explain the rapid transition Pakistani about the media’s focus, or over-focus, on media has undergone in recent years. Once a the United States’ role in Pakistan’s probgovernment-controlled industry, Pakistan’s lems. Shirazi was especially strong in demedia have become highly commercialized, fending her reporting of U.S. actions in the he said, adding that at times the industry country. Aslam acknowledged that Pakistani media tends to offer negative crifalls victim to this commercialization. As editor-in-chief of The Star under Zia tiques of American policy, but maintained Ul-Haq’s dictatorship, Aslam recalled pub- that his country’s news coverage is less lishing blank pages as a form of protest, anti-American than perceived. While sevsneaking in dissent in such unlikely places eral of the panelists disagreed with Aslam, as the paper’s classified section. “We made they all agreed on one basic point: The an ad for a new model of a car called the landscape of Pakistani media will be evolvPPP,” he joked, referring to the ruling Pak- ing for a long time to come. —Meher Ahmad istan People’s Party. Ambassador Chamberlain commented on the pressure journalists receive from all Panelists Suggest Cultural Solutions aspects of Pakistani society, saying, “Mili- In Pakistan tary intimidation and both soft and hard The Conflict Prevention and Resolution infiltration of media offices is common.” Forum (CPRF) presented a June 12 panel at Regarding how such situations arise, the Johns Hopkins University’s WashingAslam noted that many newspapers have ton, DC campus to discuss “Culturallynot paid their reporters for up to nine Based Approaches to Peacebuilding in Pakmonths, all the while sending them to istan.” It was one of the monthly talks held SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

by CPRF, a consortium of organizations that specialize in conflict resolution and/or public policy formulation. The June panel included three Pakistani activists and reformers, each with a special focus on cultural upheaval in the country. Ali Gohar, founder of Just Peace Initiatives, is a specialist in Jirga law—a tribal justice system used frequently by Afghan tribes and in some areas of Pakistan. Gohar began with a brief overview of the Jirga judicial system, which is used to resolve disputes in Pashtun villages through conferences and negotiations and, he said, can be used as a vital tool for reform in Pashtun areas. In Gohar’s opinion, the Jirga system can be instrumental in garnering cooperation among tribes. Accordingly, he has hosted multiple summits and trainings in the region to promote this understanding, especially by training local police, who have gained a reputation for corruption and brutality. Samar Minallah, a documentary filmmaker and anthropologist who has created a number of films focusing on women’s rights and issues in Pakistan (specifically in the Pashtun provinces), commented on the Jirga system’s lack of accountability regarding the rights of women, who are traditionally kept out of Jirga proceedings. Minallah said she has learned through her documentary work that “Change comes from within. You cannot impose it.” To implement this philosophy, she has written alternate lyrics to a number of traditional folk songs, delivering a progressive message through an ancient form of narrative in Pashtun culture. She presented a folk lullaby called “A Lullaby for You, My Daughter”—a song revolutionary in its concept, because Pashtun lullabies are traditionally directed to sons. The song stresses the importance of education and wisdom for girls, and the pride and hope a mother can instill in her daughters. Continuing in the vein of the arts, Shahid Nadeem, one of Pakistan’s leading playwrights, who has written a number of humorous and dramatic plays, discussed the country’s political and societal atmosphere. Nadeem introduced the framework behind the plays he writes and directs with his group, Ajoka Theater. Noting the wide usage of the ideology of Pakistani nationalism as a tool for suppression, Nadeem explained that he attempts to comment on the hypocrisy of these aspects of Pakistani culture, often with boisterous humor and absurdity. His plays have been banned 55

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Author Tackles Afghan Refugee Crisis The National Press Club in Washington, DC welcomed Khaled Hosseini on World Refugee Day, June 19, to discuss the ongoing Afghan refugee crisis. Hosseini, the best- selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, is himself an Afghan and a former asylum seeker. He discussed the details of the refugee crisis as well as his personal travels throughout Afghanistan working on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Saying “It’s a great honor to add my voice to advocacy for refugees,” Hosseini explained that his work with UNHCR has been an attempt to illustrate the human dimension of the Afghan refugee crisis. He came to the U.S. as an asylum seeker in 1980 and settled in San Jose, California. For the next two decades, Hosseini recalled, he watched from a distance the rapidly growing refugee crisis in his native country. Currently there are 2.7 million Afghan refugees—more than any other country in the world under UNHCR’s responsibility [Palestinian refugees total more than 5 million but fall under the responsibility of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)]. During those two decades, Hosseini said, “We had lost family members and friends.” 56

notion, saying, “That’s not what I hear in the streets of Kabul.” —Keenan Duffey

Getting to the Bottom of Yemen, “The Always Almost Failing State”

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both by Pakistan’s former president, Pervez Musharraf, whom Nadeem referred to as “the darling of the United States,” and current President Asif Ali Zardari. Despite the threats made by the government toward his group, Nadeem said, he continues to put on his plays in private homes and in the street, as well as abroad. Among Nadeem’s most recent works is a satirical play called “Burqavaganza,” in which all characters, male and female, don burqas. The burqas are a metaphor for Pakistani cover-ups, from governmental to societal, he explained. The play’s flamboyant nature created controversy, Nadeem said, adding that the debate it sparked epitomizes the growing divide in Pakistan between liberal secularism and the religious right. While each panelist focused on a specific aspect of Pakistani society, their ultimate goals amounted to one common thread: a “bottom-up” approach to reforming Pakistani culture. As Gohar concluded, “Conflict and peace are inside us.” In the face of increasing radicalization and fractionalization within Pakistani society, these panelists suggest a look inward for the path to reform in Pakistan. —Meher Ahmad

The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini is a UNHCR Goodwill Envoy. The period of time immediately following the ousting of the Taliban from Kabul was a relative bright spot in the course of the Afghan refugee crisis. “The bulk of the refugees returned to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2008,” Hosseini noted, emphasizing that “Afghans are a people that are very connected to their homeland.” The reasons Afghan refugees are no longer returning in large numbers to Afghanistan is as much economic as it is security related, he said. “There is limited work, [and] limited access to work,” Hosseini said. He went on to describe a man he met in a rural Afghan village: “When he did find it [work], it paid a dollar or two a week.” According to Hosseini, the development programs instituted by the Afghan central government and supported by the United States have failed to make an impact in many places. Regarding the highly touted education initiatives, he said, “If there was a school, it was far away.” Hosseini was not pessimistic in his remarks, but rather realistic. “Afghanistan has seen significant, tangible developments in the last decade,” he acknowledged. In terms of women’s rights, he added, “It is obvious that there has been significant progress.” In order for people to return, however, Hosseini suggested that “The realities of Afghanistan need to be altered.” While this could come in the form of a gradual strengthening of democratic institutions within Afghanistan, Hosseini warned that “It’s a slow, painful, gradual process.” Many experts and pundits say that Afghanistan will never be a functioning democracy because of the mentality of its citizens. Hosseini defiantly dismissed this THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) gathered experts to discuss the roots of Yemen’s problems and offer some solutions in a June 26 panel discussion entitled “Crisis Yemen: Going Where?” at the City Club of Washington, DC. Dr. John Duke Anthony, founding president and CEO of NCUSAR and former Fulbright fellow in the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, painted a grim picture of a country whose prospects are “next to hopeless.” Emphasizing the magnitude of Yemen’s problems, Dr. Anthony noted that country of 27 million people has an unemployment rate of at least 35 percent and comprises “130,000 villages of fewer than 200 people.” The lack of basic infrastructure and a young population with no job prospects has led to a state of frustration on many levels, he said. Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine offered a brief history of the U.S. relationship with Yemen, describing the U.S. as “newcomers” to the scene. “It’s been a relationship that’s been driven by the shifting fads of the foreign policy in Washington and the shifting focus of our Cold War politics,” she explained. Bodine enumerated several hardships that modern Yemen has weathered amid wavering U.S. support, including the assassination of two heads of state in one year and a growth spurt that more than doubled” its geographic size. Somehow Yemen, which Bodine said “began an indigenous experiment with democracy long before it was fashionable in the Middle East,” has avoided complete state failure. Ambassador Bodine concluded by emphasizing the need for a U.S. focus on long-term stability in Yemen, not short-term security, to meet the needs of both countries. Gregory Johnsen, author of the blog Waq al-waq, <bigthink.com/blogs/waq-alwaq>, discussed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), specifically U.S. involvement and AQAP’s strategy for the future. Johnsen foresees the U.S. and Yemen locked in a mutually dependent relationship that the Obama administration has been trying to avoid: an open-ended conflict in Yemen that Washington doesn’t fully understand and in fact, may be losing. Speaking from an economic perspective, Dr. Charles Schmitz, president of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies, said SEPTEMBER 2012

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(L-r) Dr. John Duke Anthony, Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Gregory Johnsen, Robert Sharp and Dr. Charles Schmitz discuss the crisis in Yemen. ident’s nephew, president of Egypt’s Reform and Development Party, speaking via Skype, discounted the significance of the election. “I care more about the constitution than who is president,” he said, stressing that considerable attention must be placed on ensuring that the country’s new constitution is “to the satisfaction of all Egyptians.” Mohamed Elmenshawy, director of the Languages and Regional Studies Program at the Middle East Institute (MEI), vehemently disagreed with El-Sadat’s opinion. “The name of the president is very significant and very important,” he asserted, arguing that the election of Morsi, an “ordinary” Egyptian who is both middle class and an Islamist, symbolizes a dramatic and significant shift in the country’s political landscape. While much has been made of Morsi’s election, Nancy Okail, director of Freedom House’s Egypt office, reminded the audience that the new president’s powers are to an extent limited and undefined. She specifically pointed to the June 17 supplementary constitutional declaration issued by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The declaration—which gives SCAF legislative powers until a new parliament is elected, along with control over the defense budget and the power to veto a presidential declaration of war— “completely deflates the powers of the

he was impressed with the amount of progress Yemen has made in the past 30 years both socially and economically. He credited most of this progress to Yemeni oil resources, but cautioned that “the oil is running out.” He was optimistic, however, stating that “growth is not dependent on natural resources,” and citing Japan as a prime example of a country with few natural resources but flourishing productivity. Yemen needs to harness the power of productivity into a diversified economy, he concluded. Stating that “the era of the United States trying to be all things to all people is over,” Robert Sharp, an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the U.S. Department of Defense, spoke frankly about what could be done in Yemen, instead of what “we wish could be done.” He urged Yemen to help itself by working to become an active member of the GCC, noting that while U.S. support for Yemeni security has increased during the Obama administration, it is nothing compared to the billions of dollars that Saudi Arabia is providing. “GCC countries,” he argued, “can and must lead Yemen’s development.” For more information and to watch a video of this conference, visit <www. ncusar.org>. —Alex Begley Days before Mohamed Morsi was sworn in as Egypt’s first freely elected president on June 30, two events were held in Washington, DC to discuss the implications of the country’s June 16-17 run-off presidential election. At a June 25 event co-hosted by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Freedom House titled “Revolution Under Siege: Is There Hope for Egypt’s Democratic Transition?,” Anwar Esmat El-Sadat, the ex-presSEPTEMBER 2012

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Post-Election Egypt

president,” she stated. Regarding the future role of SCAF, Elmenshawy said that “it will take time for them to be removed from politics.” SCAF “wants nobody to come close” to its economic interests and its budget, he pointed out, and predicted that, going forward, “the real challenge for [SCAF] is the authority of the president.” Elmenshawy’s prediction rang true on July 8, when President Morsi issued a decree reinstating the lower house of parliament, which SCAF had disbanded on June 15 following a Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ruling that found the law governing parliamentary elections to be unconstitutional. On July 10, the SCC quickly dismissed Morsi’s decree as unconstitutional, and Morsi announced that he will respect the decision of the court. In terms of how Morsi will govern, Elmenshawy commented that it will be interesting to watch the extent to which Morsi interacts with the Muslim Brotherhood. Many have speculated that Khairat al-Shater, the Brotherhood’s preferred candidate, who was disqualified from running, will be calling the shots from behind the scenes, Elmenshawy noted. Following his victory, Morsi symbolically resigned from his position in the Brotherhoodbacked Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). While Morsi ran on an Islamist platform, Okail noted, his victory does not mean that Egyptians desire an Islamist government. “People voted for Morsi to avoid military rule,” she said, noting that many non-Islamists voted for Morsi (who won 51.7 percent of the vote) because they viewed his opponent, Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak’s final prime minister, as an extension of the ousted political order. Indeed, Okail said, following his victory leftists who voted for Morsi put him on notice, telling him, “Now we go back to the seats of the opposition.” Arguing that the concerns of Egyptian Copts are “overstated,” Elmenshawy expressed optimism about the impact Morsi’s election will have on the Coptic Christian

(L-r) Nancy Okail, Mohamed Elmenshawy and moderator Ruth Wedgwood discuss the significance of Egypt’s election. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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“We are not building the community. Okail differed, Tunisia of the winners,” he arguing that Elmenshawy had added, urging the coalition to no firm basis to make such a refocus its efforts on leading statement. a more inclusive constitutionThis topic was further exwriting process. plored at a June 28 MEI event Tamara Coffman Wittes of at the Carnegie Endowment the Brookings Institution’s for International Peace titled Saban Center for Middle East “Egypt after the Elections.” Policy, largely agreed with Responding to speculation Ghali’s criticism of the Enthat Morsi might select a Copt as one of his vice presidents (L-r) Tamara Coffman Wittes, Alexis Arieff, Amine Ghali and Leila nahda-led coalition. The coalition is “thinking more (it has been speculated that Hilal explore Tunisia’s constitutional drafting proccess. about the rules that advanhe may select up to six vice tage them in the majority,” presidents), Hafez Al Mirazi she maintained, “and they’re not thinking of the American University in Cairo said the discussion. that any such appointment must be genAlexis Arieff, a North Africa analyst at about what rules they would like to live uine. Symbolic appointments “are not the Congressional Research Service, pro- under if they find themselves one day in going to work in Egypt after Jan. 25,” he vided an update on the country’s constitu- the minority.” Wittes also explored the roots of the cursaid. tion drafting process. The 217-member George Washington University Professor Constituent Assembly, which held its first rent political divide in Tunisia, noting that Nathan Brown pointed out that Morsi se- meeting in November 2011, “is in some before the revolution, opposition parties of lecting a Copt as a vice president “would ways still finding its way forward,” she a wide range of ideological viewpoints enbe huge in ideological terms for the Broth- said, and is working at a slow pace. In- gaged in frequent dialogue. This provided erhood.” Because the Constitutional Decla- deed, she noted, to date the body has only the parties “an opportunity…to forge agreement on some very basic principles,” ration states that the vice president must completed the constitution’s preamble. have the same qualifications as the presiThat preamble—which speaks of a civil she said. Since the revolution, however, dent, Brown noted, a Coptic appointment state, emphasizes equality among all citi- she said, the emergence of new political would be a de facto concession on the zens, discusses the importance of self-de- actors who did not participate in this preBrotherhood’s behalf that a Copt could in- termination, mentions Palestinian libera- revolution dialogue has caused the parties’ deed be president. tion, and contains references to Islam and earlier cohesiveness to falter. —Dale Sprusansky Khaled Elgindy, a visiting fellow at the Arab unity—“does appear to be an effort Brookings Institution, cautioned that com- to forge common ground among the many bating the “deep state” (political elites and constituencies that are involved in the Conference Explores Turkey Domestically and Internationally entities firmly entrenched in the old polit- drafting,” she said. ical order) will be a very difficult task. BeHowever, Arieff did caution that “the The Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted its cause it is defined by its “opaqueness,” El- preamble should perhaps be the easiest third annual conference on Turkey June 27 gindy said, the “deep state” is “not some- part of the constitution, so I think we have at the National Press Club in Washington, thing that can be reformed through legis- to wonder what that says about progress DC. The day-long conference featured lation or an act of parliament.” Rather, “it’s on the more important and thornier is- speeches and panels that explored the something that is really going to take quite sues.” Constituent Assembly president array of domestic and international issues a bit of time to dismantle,” he said. Mustapha Ben Jaafar has stated that he ex- facing Turkey today. In Brown’s opinion, it is difficult to mea- pects the constitution to be completed by John McCain Gives Keynote Address sure the extent to which SCAF is influenc- Oct. 23. ing the rulings of the judiciary. While he Amine Ghali, program director of the Al A keynote speech by Sen. John McCain (Rdid speculate that some judges may be act- Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center, of- AZ) kicked off the conference. He began ing “in response to a telephone call they fered a critical commentary on how En- by describing his “life-long affinity” for just received from someone in a high posi- nahda, the Islamist party that controls a Turkey and its history, adding that the suction,” Brown said that a majority of judges plurality of the seats in the Constituent As- cess of the modern Turkish state stems are attempting to reflect in their rulings sembly, has managed the constitution- from the country’s rich heritage. “various [political] trends they see within drafting process. Noting that the first “We Americans need to realize we’re the society.” —Dale Sprusansky phase of Tunisia’s transition (the period be- dealing with a different Turkey,” McCain tween the uprising and the October 2011 said, explaining that Turkey is a dynamic Road Bumps in Tunisia’s Transition Constituent Assembly elections) was char- and modern state, secular at its core, but The Project on Middle East Democracy acterized by political unity and neutrality, with a growing population “who want (POMED) and the New America Founda- Ghali lamented that the months since have greater freedom to express their identity as tion co-hosted a June 29 event titled “Road been defined by Ennahda’s political coali- Muslims.” Americans should not view eiBumps in Tunisia: Understanding Emerg- tion adopting “a pure partisan approach.” ther of these movements as inherently bad, Stating that the transition process “can- McCain argued. ing Tensions” at the New America FounNevertheless, McCain was not hesitant dation offices in Washington, DC. Leila not be run by one view at the expense of Hilal, co-director of New America Founda- the others,” Ghali called for a renewed ap- to criticize Turkey’s human rights record. tion’s? Middle East Task Force, moderated proach centered on consensus building. “It is widely reported that there are more 58

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ing but success, he assured his audience.

International Relations

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Next to speak was Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S. Namik Tan, who emphasized the close relationship between his country and the U.S. “Our two great nations are working daily, almost hourly…to achieve our common interests,” he said. With regard to Syria, the Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin (l), president of the Middle ambassador stressed that his country has “been conEast Institute, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). sistent from the beginjournalists in Turkey than in any other ning.…We emphasized the need for freecountry, and that intimidation of the media dom, justice and democracy.” However, he is a persistent problem,” he said. The Ari- lamented, “I regret to say that our neighzona senator, often accompanied on his bor Syria has failed miserably.” Its downtravels by his Israel-first colleague Sen. Joe ing of a Turkish jet has brought the situaLieberman (I-CT), addressed Ankara’s rela- tion “to a critical mass,” Tan said, and tions with its former ally Israel following Ankara’s stance toward Syria has changed the latter’s 2010 attack in international wa- as a result. “We now regard the Syrian ters on the Mavi Marmara: “The recent regime as a visible threat to our security,” deterioration of Turkey’s relationship with he stated. Israel cannot serve any responsible interest,” McCain said, “and it is especially painful for us, as we count on both Israel and Turkey as vital allies.” McCain went on to describe Turkey’s role in providing humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees as crucial. In light of Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish air force plane, he stressed the need for some sort of U.S. intervention. “The United States needs to devote a fuller measure of its power to help end the conflict in Syria as soon as possible,” he stated. While McCain did not specify exactly how the U.S. should intervene, he argued that it should do so “…not just because it is the right thing to do, and not just because it will be a strategic defeat for Iran, Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan. but because it can help to consolidate a new kind of relationship with Turkey…It Turning to another of Turkey’s neighcan show the Turkish people…that Amer- bors, Iraq—a country that had been a ica is willing to take risks for the sake of point of contention in U.S.-Turkish relatheir security.” tions—Tan remarked hopefully, “Our Iraqi McCain ended his speech much as he brothers are now in charge of their own began it, reiterating that Turkey’s dynamic destiny.” He emphasized Iraq’s signifigeopolitical role in the region cannot be cance, explaining, “No other country in underestimated. Citizens in Arab Spring the region has the humanitarian and natcountries are “looking to Turkey to guide ural wealth Iraq does.” He urged caution, their own struggles for justice,” he said, however, expressing, “Our profound conand cited the recent increase in Turkish de- cern…[that] a dark future might be awaitfense spending as evidence of the coun- ing Iraq.” try’s role as a leader in the region. InDiscussing neighboring Iran and its nucreased cooperation and openness between clear program, Ambassador Tan stated unTurkey and the U.S. could result in noth- equivocally, “We do not want Iran to acSEPTEMBER 2012

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quire nuclear weapons.” He expressed concern about the impacts of an Iranian bomb and it “triggering a nuclear arms race in the region.” However, he clarified, “We are against military intervention in Iran. We consider dialogue as the sole way to achieve results.” Tan concluded by taking a broad view of shifts in the international order and Turkey’s role as an emerging global power. “It’s now time to make historic reassessments,” he stated. The longstanding perception that Turkey is an exception to the rule is being challenged. “We no longer want to be an exception,” the ambassador announced.

Domestic Challenges The conference continued with a panel titled “Turkey’s Domestic Calculus: The Kurds, the Constitution, and the Presidential System Debate,” which discussed the internal political dynamics of Turkey and the evolution of the role of the president. Michael Werz of the Center for American Progress moderated the panel. Journalist Rusen Cakir of the Turkish newspaper Vatan, began by discussing presidential politics in Turkey. His remarks focused on current Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul. While the position of president is largely ceremonial in Turkey, Cakir noted, there is a debate about making the office less of a figurehead position. It is widely suspected that Erdogan would like to assume the role of an empowered president, the journalist said. “They [Erdogan and Gul] consider themselves brothers,” he explained, but some wonder “whether there is a problem between the two brothers.” Discussing the evolution of the constitutional arrangements used to rule Turkey over the last century, Levent Koker of Atilim University cautioned about a new role for the president. “In the end, if we opt for a system of government with presidential powers…it can easily turn into some kind of dictatorship,” he warned. Michael Gunter, a professor at Tennessee Technological University, focused on the Kurdish issue. Erdogan at one time had considered negotiating with the Kurds, he noted, but “began to fear that any perceived concessions to the Kurds would hurt him with his Turkish nationalist base.” Gunter called for an end to the labeling of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization, suggesting that the Turkish government instead “challenge them to negotiations.” 59

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(L-r) Michael Gunter, Levent Koker, Rusen Cakir and Michael Werz analyze domestic issues.

The EU and the U.S. The day’s second panel explored “Turkey, the EU and the U.S.: Evolving Partnerships Post-Arab Spring.” Moderator Sharon Wiener from Kroc University began the discussion by declaring that “Turkey has very much arrived on the world stage.” That arrival, she noted, has “significant implications for the U.S. and Europe,” adding that “There is no talk, these days, of Turkey turning its back on the West.” Brice de Schietere, a member of the European Union delegation to the U.S., addressed the slowing of discussions surrounding Turkey’s accession to the EU. He characterized current talks as having a “positive agenda,” and was optimistic that “We can help Turkey get better aligned and better prepared for eventual accession.” He diplomatically summarized, “I think we can say that the European Union and Turkey have much to gain.” According to former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey W. Robert Pearson, in the wake of the Iraq war, which strained Turkish-U.S. relations, “The U.S. has reached out to Turkey more affirmatively.” Noting Turkey’s increasing global influence, he added that “Turkey’s foreign policy has grown more sophisticated.” He went on to say that “as the [Arab Spring] revolutions progressed, Turkey and the U.S. found themselves growing closer together.” Like U.S. policy in the Middle East, he suggested, “Turkey has an enormous interest in long-term stability.” Ross Wilson, another former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, stressed the remarkable improvement in Turkish-U.S. relations in recent years. He cited all the disagreements the two countries had just a few years ago, including over the Iraq war, Iran’s nuclear program, the Black Sea, the Palestinian issue, rumored American support of the PKK and even the early stages of the Syr60

ian and Libyan revolutions. “What changed?” he asked. “A corollary of that is the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.” There has been a change in the mentality of Turkish diplomats, he added: “Turkish leaders came to value…a close relationship with the United States.” Former Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Yasar Yakis, now with the Center for Strategic Communication, described Turkey as “a country that is trying to assume regional respect but…has to compete with countries like Iran.” Focusing on the destabilizing impact an Iranian nuclear weapon would have, he said, “It will upset the balance of the Middle East to the detriment of Turkey and to the benefit of Iran.” He lamented that, because Iran already has achieved a level of uranium enrichment that could be used for medical and civil purposes, the West is deprived of any concession it can make to extract a deal from Iran.

Regional Leadership Role The conference’s final panel focused on Turkey’s leadership role in an “uncertain Middle East.” Moderated by Al-Jazeera’s Washington bureau chief Abderrahim Foukara, the panel featured the United States Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Robin Wright, freelance journalist Yigal Schleifer, and Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group. Foukara opened by citing an example of Turkey’s influence in the Arab world: the immense popularity during the Arab Spring of the Turkish soap opera “Muhannath An-Nour,“ which he described as a “parable for what was happening in the Arab world on a larger scale.” In addition to the numerous references to Turkey as an example of an Islamic democracy, the country’s geopolitical deciTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

sions ripple throughout the Middle East. Hiltermann, who has worked extensively in Iraq, discussed the strategic economic ties between Turkey and Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government, or the KRG. Noting that “Turkey has wanted a buffer zone from Iraq,” Hiltermann said that the KRG serves that purpose perfectly. By economically empowering the Kurds in Iraq and allowing for them to be integrated with the country as a whole, he explained, Turkey vastly reduces the threat of Kurdish nationalism domestically. Moreover, he added, by importing oil from the KRG Turkey lowers the threat of KRG-PKK cooperation. Hiltermann also touched on the Iranian threat to Turkey, which, he said, sees Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as “an Iranian proxy.” According to Hiltermann, this is yet another reason Turkey seeks to insulate itself from Iraq, with its majority Shi’i population. “There is a perception of a Sunni alliance that includes Turkey,” he explained. Economically, however, Wright noted, Ankara still maintains relations with countries of which it may be wary. “Over the past five years, trade with Iran doubled,” she pointed out. “One-third of Turkish oil imports come from Iran.” Wright believes trade with Iran is an arena in which Turkey can “display its new diplomatic muscle.” With her expertise in Islamic politics, Wright described where she saw Turkey’s political importance within the Arab world: “As Arabs are finding a new world order, they’re rejecting the Shi’i clergy model and rejecting a Sunni or Salafist model,” she noted. “Turkey is closer to what they seek.” For more information, visit <www.mei. edu/events/third-annual-conferenceturkey>. —Meher Ahmad and Keenan Duffey

Anti-Semitism Against Jews and Arabs: A Double Standard? While most are quick to rightfully condemn acts of bigotry directed toward American Jews, many Arab Americans feel that acts of intolerance directed toward their community often go unchecked. In an effort to explore this dilemma, political activist Ralph Nader, Code Pink and Jewish Voice for Peace sponsored a June 21 debate at the 14th Street Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC. The event was the fourth in a series of debates organized by Nader titled “Debating Taboos.” Arab American Institute (AAI) president SEPTEMBER 2012

Olmert, a Jewish Israeli citizen, also cautioned the audience not to dismiss antiSemitism directed toward Jews. While some of his remarks questioning several of Zogby’s points left both Zogby and much of the audience shaking their heads in disagreement, Olmert did win approval from those in attendance when he decried the “ignorance in the [American] media about the Middle East.” —Dale Sprusansky

Munich Conference on One Democratic State On June 30 and July 1, 34 international activists met in Munich, Germany to plan and focus attention on One Democratic State (ODS) in Palestine/Israel. These Jews Dr. James Zogby began the discussion by American society. In particular, he stated and non-Jews, men and women, all share pointing out that both Jews and Arabs that negative images of Arabs on television the belief that the only just, viable solution share a similar history of discrimination in and in the news “[do] not deviate at all.” to Israel’s occupation of Palestine is one the Western world. While Jews have tra- (Shaheen’s book Reel Bad Arabs, which ex- unified democratic state in which all citiditionally been depicted as an “internal plores this issue, is available from the AET zens have equal rights. The best known Palestinian participants, threat” to Western civilization, Zogby Book Store.) While agreeing with the underlying who have written about and long-advonoted, Arabs have classically been portrayed as an “external threat.” Indeed, he premise of Zogby and Shaheen’s remarks, cated ODS, were Mazin Qumsiyeh and added, Jews and Arabs frequently are sub- Dr. Kenneth Marcus, president of the Louis Ghada Karmi. But it was “righteous Jews” jected to similar stereotypes—from the “fat D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights like Yoav Bar, Ofra Yeshua-Lyth and NorJewish banker” to the “obese oil sheikh,” Under Law, an organization dedicated to ton Mezvinsky (see <www.Righteousand from the “Jewish anarchist” to the fighting anti-Semitism directed against Jews.org>) who conducted two-thirds of Jews, cautioned against “underestimating the dialogue. Of these, none was more fo“Arab terrorist.” Nevertheless, in Zogby’s opinion the the amount of anti-Semitism” that exists in cused and inclusive than the (in)famous Jewish community has succeeded in America today. Marcus noted that FBI data jazz musician Gilad Atzmon. In clarion tones reminiscent of Milton “[making] it clear there is a price to pay for lists Jews as the group most impacted by Friedman (Capitalism and Freedom) and public manifestations of bigotry” directed hate crimes. Those concerns aside, Marcus acknowl- Francis Fukuyama (The End of History and toward Jews. “This is sadly not the case” for Arabs, he stated, arguing that anti- edged that “there is no better time to be a the Last Man), Atzmon stated the obvious: Semitism against Arabs “remains a part of Jew in America than today.” He went on to there already exists one state in historical our popular culture and our political dis- stress that he is “not interested in a perse- Palestine; it has one currency, one parliacution Olympics,” and joined his fellow ment (the Knesset), one water system, one course.” In an effort to explain why this is so, panelists in calling for an increased effort electrical grid, one army, navy and air Zogby pointed out that the American to combat all anti-Semitism—be it directed force. It is home to many diverse people— different languages, different races, differschool system is “deficient in teaching against Jews or Arabs. University of South Carolina Prof. Josef ent religions; more than half the populaabout the Arab world and Islam.” Only 54 tion is not Jewish. So stop tryU.S. colleges offer an Arab Studing to make it a Jewish state by ies program, he noted, and more walling out non-Jews and discollege students currently study criminating against them in Ancient Greek than Arabic. countless clever but undemocZogby also lamented that ratic ways. Do what is right acMuslims have been turned into cording to most people in the “a wedge issue” in political camworld who profess to believe in paigns, and that individuals civil rights and equal rights of who profit from spreading hatecitizenship. ful lies about Muslims have While participants squabbled “strong, almost cult-like followabout whether we should strive ings.” for one democratic state versus Southern Illinois University one secular democratic state, Prof. Jack Shaheen largely there was unanimous agreement agreed with Zogby, pointing out that pre-1967 Israel, the West that misinformation and hateful Bank and Gaza should be one rhetoric regarding Arabs are “constantly repeated over and (L-r) Gilad Atzmon, Daniel McGowan and Norton Mezvinsky in state with equal civil rights for all. over again” in all aspects of Munich. (L-r) Dr. James Zogby, Dr. Kenneth Marcus, Prof. Jack Shaheen and Dr. Josef Olmert debate anti-Semitism.

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passed for similar reasons. Delightfully absent Operating from settlefrom discussions was any ments, these two compamention of the Holocaust, nies epitomized the Preswhich has long been the byterian Church’s issues sword and shield of Zionwith the settlement moveism and its quest to build ment. According to Maria Jewish state. Nor were lyn Daniel, an elder from there arguments on what Kentucky, the boycott to call a truly democratic was “a narrow and fostate; call it Israel, or cused action which Palestine or Palestine Isclearly states we are oprael or Israel/Palestine. posed to Israeli settlement A “right of return” law on the West Bank. It is would be fine as long as it not a broad and general is applicable to all citizens condemnation of Israel.” and not only to Jews, as it This would explain has been for the last 64 why the Assembly voted years. Settlements need 463-175 against labeling not be uprooted, but must Israeli occupation of the be open to all. The same is true for freedom of move- Protesters launch a SodaStream boycott campaign at the Columbia Heights mall territories as “apartheid.” ment, access to education, on July 8 in Washington, DC. SodaStream manufactures most of its home car- However, despite narand other basic human bonation devices, which turn water into bubbly drinks, in an illegal West Bank rowly voting against disettlement. vestment from Caterpillar, rights. Motorola and HewlettLikewise there was no mention of the “Green Line,” which has by Christians, Jews and others who believe Packard, the Presbyterian Church mainlargely been erased de facto—and certainly that “nonviolent means such as divestment tains the goal for “significant progress” in the minds of settlers, Christian Zionists are an effective way to pressure the Israeli through its boycotting techniques. Rev. and other proponents of “Greater Israel.” government into abiding by international Jack Baca, moderator of the committee on The viability of two states, their imagined law and respecting Palestinian human Middle East Peacemaking, called the boyborders, and the myriad compromises rights,” said the Rev. Katherine Cunning- cott “an attempt to communicate our hope needed to satisfy those who cling to bibli- ham, vice-moderator of the Israel/Palestine for signs of progress and that the proposed boycott would be temporary.” With close cal fantasies of great floods and contracts Mission Network. with God were totally ignored. However, despite the narrow loss in the to two million members in the United The call for ODS is “an emerging and ir- divestment motion, the General Assembly States, perhaps the Presbyterian Church repressible consensus that all people have voted 457-189 on July 6 to boycott two Is- can help bring that hope to fruition. —Meher Ahmad the right to govern themselves democrati- raeli products: Ahava Dead Sea Laboratocally”—yes, Mitt, even in Palestine. To ries beauty products and dates grown in promote this idea is the basic function of the Hadiklaim settlement in the occupied Church Conference Finds Hope in Despair ODS; it is the humanistic alternative to ex- Jordan Valley. isting policies that promote apartheid, ethThe BDS movement dealt multiple major At the Churches for Middle East Peace connic cleansing and genocide. And it is the blows to Ahava this year, after Canadian ference, held June 18 and 19 at the guiding light until the politically impossi- retailer The Bay, Norwegian retailer VITA, Catholic University of America’s Edward J. ble becomes the politically inevitable. and Japanese distributor DaitoCrea Pryzbyla Center in Washington, DC, hope —Daniel McGowan dropped the company in early 2012. In ultimately overcame pessimism and bleak May, South Africa’s Department of Trade assessments. Presbyterian Church Votes to and Industry mandated that Ahava remove The conference opened with a morning Boycott Ahava, Settlement Dates all “Made in Israel” labels if it wished to discussion on “Iran and Middle East Peace.” Nathan Brown, a professor at The General Assembly of the Presbyterian sell its products in that country. The Presbyterian Church’s overwhelm- George Washington University, instantly Church of the United States tackled a number of issues related to the Israeli occupa- ing vote against Ahava only adds to the brought a somber tone to the discussion tion of Palestine during its July meeting in momentum of holding the company ac- by proclaiming that “the [Israel-Palestine] Pittsburgh, PA. After a heated debate countable for its illegal activities, including peace process…is simply dead.” “I think the situation is grim and it’s about whether the Church should divest the excavation of Dead Sea mud from ocfrom companies whose products are used cupied areas in the West Bank. According going to get worse,” Brown said, adding to continue Israel’s military occupa- to a Who Profits study on the company, that he sees no conceivable way that talks tion—namely Caterpillar, Motorola Solu- “Ahava’s involvement in the occupation of between the two sides will resume anytime tions and Hewlett-Packard—the Assembly the Palestinian territories includes the ex- soon. Israel “does not buy into the twonarrowly, by a vote of 333-331 with two ploitation of the Palestinian people’s nat- state solution,” Brown continued, noting abstentions, failed to pass the motion to di- ural resources.” For more information visit that the country has “attached so many <www.whoprofits.org/>. conditions” to the peace process to render vest from these companies. The vote to boycott Hadiklaim Dates it meaningless. The divestment motion was supported 62

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(L-r) Prof. Nathan Brown, Trita Parsi, Maryann Cusimano Love and CMEP executive director Ambassador Warren Clark.

While some organizations promote solidarity and encourage networking by holding lavish galas, Friends of Sabeel DC Metro was able to accomplish the same thing at a July 14 summer potluck barbecue hosted by Susan Bell at her home in Alexandria, VA. But first each of the guests working for peace and justice in Palestine-Israel had to pass through Bill Plitt’s simulated Israeli checkpoint—no easy task, since it was a little too much like the real thing. Organizers issued each guest a note card describing his or her situation: a pregnant mother with a 6-year-old child, a sick man going to the hospital, a young person trying to get to work... Then officious Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers interrogated guests, often turning them away or requiring more documentation. Frustrated attendees bit back sharp retorts, or smiled eagerly trying to comply with the guards’ unreasonable demands—hoping to gain admittance to the party without provoking the cocky and arbitrary guards. When guests were later asked how they felt trying to get past the checkpoint, and experiencing a daily fact of life in the occupied Palestinian territories, a provocative conversation ensued. In fact, despite a summer downpour, guests enjoyed catching up with local movers and shakers involved in the peace movement. They left feeling motivated and recharged (not to mention very full) after enjoying an afternoon spent in solidarity with others working for peace. —Delinda C. Hanley

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As for the Palestinians, Brown said that Friedman, director of policy and governtheir “split leadership” hinders their abil- ment relations at Americans for Peace Now, ity to effectively and legitimately negoti- opined that “the status quo of Israeli polate. Hamas-Fatah reconciliation would pro- icy is suicidal….Israelis don’t realize what vide some hope for the resumption of the they’re giving up in order to maintain the occupation.” Friedman added that “a vipeace talks, he added. With regard to Iran, Trita Parsi, president sion for the end game is needed.” Aziz Abu-Sarah of George Mason Uniof the National Iranian American Council, offered a dreary assessment of the Iran nu- versity suggested that pro-peace activists clear negotiations. Noting that the third should be doing more to spread their mesround of talks between the P5+1 and Iran sage. “Instead of complaining about other collapsed in Moscow, Parsi suggested that lobbies we have to get stronger,” he said. The first day of the conference ended election year politics has made a negotiated with the screening of a series of moving solution “politically too unattractive.” Parsi also predicted that the July 1 im- short films produced by Just Vision titled plementation of harsher sanctions against “My Neighborhood.” The films profile Iran by the EU would cause the Iranians to Palestinians being forcefully removed from retaliate. Indeed, in the days since the their homes in the East Jerusalem neighsanctions—which ban European countries borhood of Sheikh Jarrah and chronicle from importing Iranian crude and place an those—including Jewish Israelis—who veEU insurance ban on tankers transporting hemently oppose and protest these evicIranian crude—the Islamic Republic has tions. More information on the highly recrenewed threats to close the Strait of Hor- ommended films can be found at <www. muz. “If [diplomacy] fails,” Parsi warned, justvision.org/myneighbourhood>. The conference concluded on June 19 “then we’re looking at a severe situation.” Catholic University Associate Professor with a congressional prayer breakfast at of International Relations Maryann Cusi- Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church. Followmano Love concluded the panel with re- ing remarks by Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) and marks that clearly uplifted and inspired several clergymen, including House of the audience. “Peace is breaking out across Representatives Chaplin Fr. Patrick J. Con- Panelists Discuss Future Strategies the world,” Love proclaimed, noting that roy, conference attendees left to meet with For Negotiating Peace in Palestine major armed conflicts have decreased by their representatives on Capitol Hill. The Jerusalem Fund held a July 12 panel —Dale Sprusansky discussion at the Palestine Center in Washmore than half over the past decade. She also pointed to “increasing momentum for ington, DC entitled “Negotiating Peace: Palestinian non-violence resistance move- Friends of Sabeel DC Barbecue Motivations, Mechanisms and Methods.” ments” as a means for hope. The event was the second of the Love called on non-state actors to Jerusalem Fund’s annual intern-orachieve the peace that governments ganized lecture series. This sumand their leaders have been unable mer’s series examined “the extent to attain. Just because state-based to which Palestinian leadership repsolutions are “frozen and not workresents Palestinian interests, and ing…does not mean that we are at how their national objectives are at the end of our options,” she argued. all manifest.” She called on those in attendance to Panelists focused on future Palesbuild “unlikely partnerships for tinian negotiation strategies followpeace,” reminding her fellow Chrising the failure of its bid for state tians that Jesus saw agency in the recognition at the United Nations. likes of prostitutes, tax collectors Khaled Elgindy, visiting fellow at and Samaritans. “Endless war is not (L-r) Melinda Thompson, Monica Burnett, Steve France the Brookings Institution’s Saban an empirical fact,” Love concluded. and Paul H. Verduin, posing as IDF guards, can’t agree Center for Middle East Policy, At the June 18 lunch plenary ti- whether to let Alan Goldstein (in red) pass through a simu- opened the panel by analyzing why tled “Perspectives for Peace,” Lara lated checkpoint. the peace process has failed. SEPTEMBER 2012

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the negotiations need to be “re-internationalized.” The U.N. is “the exact impartial venue to bring this issue back to,” Ruebner said. The panelists agreed that the international community needs to get more effectively involved in order to bring peace to the region. —Mallika Patkar

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Joshua Landis Discusses Syrian Uprising

(L-r) Khaled Elgindy, Josh Ruebner and Leila Hilal.

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In Hilal’s opinion, “There is very little room for Palestinian strategic movement now.” According to Hilal, Palestinians are in a “quagmire” because they want to show that they are ready for statehood, but since the Palestinian Authority is dependent on Israel for tax revenues, it is “forced to cooperate” with its occupier. While Hilal and Elgindy focused on Palestine and the peace process, panelist Josh Ruebner, brought the issue back to the U.S. by analyzing the Obama administration’s strategy in Palestine. His forthcoming book is tentatively entitled Shattered Hopes: Obama and the Quest for Israeli-Palestinian Peace. “Despite the changed rhetorical style expressing sympathy for the plight of Palestinian community,” Ruebner said, “the Obama administration is not acting any differently than past U.S. presidents have.” Describing the U.S. as a “failed third party broker,” Ruebner said Washington’s modus operandi has been to “take Israeli ideas and appeal to Palestinians.” For this reason, he argued, “Palestinians can’t have a fair share in a U.S.-dominated realm” and

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In Elgindy’s opinion, “The peace process, negotiations and two-state solution ought to be complementary, but this is not always the case.” He stressed the importance of outside intervention in the peace process due to the “imbalance of power” between Israel and Palestine. The Quartet, comprising the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, which was intended to represent the international community in the negotiations, has actually “exaggerated the imbalance of power between Israel and Palestine and given the U.S. even greater dominance over the process,” Elgindy argued. He cited the fragmented nature of the peace process as one of the main reasons for its failure, ascribing the fragmentation to “distorted third party intervention.” He characterized the international community’s actions as “microlateralism,” because, he said, the “bilateral process became an effort to micromanage the affairs of the Palestinians.” Morever, Elgindy continued, this fragmentation has stretched into several realms. There is territorial and demographic fragmentation in the West Bank, he noted and a political fragmentation, evidenced by the split between Hamas and Fatah. “It is as if we have disassembled the parts of an engine and are trying to figure out why the car is no longer working,” he said. Leila Hilal, director of the New America Foundation Middle East Task Force, discussed the reasons Palestine failed to achieve state recognition in the United Nations. Had the Palestinian Authority appealed to the U.N. General Assembly rather than the Security Council, she argued, it would have been more successful.

Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, hosted Joshua Landis, associate professor and director of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, for a July 16 lecture at its Washington, DC headquarters entitled “Syria: What Lies Ahead.” Landis began by noting that Bashar alAssad’s Alawi regime is “the last minoritarian regime left in the Levant.” Noting that “casting down the minority is a long and bloody process,” he reminded the audience that the region’s other minority regimes did not collapse quickly or peacefully. He cited the Lebanese civil war as an example, which he believed was “long and bloody because the Maronites didn’t want to give up power.” Nor will the Assad regime go easily, Landis believes. “They have been preparing for the revolt for 40 years,” he said. He attributed the regime’s endurance to this long-term planning, noting that, unlike other regimes, the Assad family strategically placed their sons at every level of the military. “They understood that it would take a village to rule Syria,” he explained. According to Landis, the Assad family’s distrust of others has fundamentally shaped the course of Syrian politics. While some encouraged the decentralization of power in Syria, Landis noted that the Assad regime was extremely resistant to the idea, arguing that “We cannot do this.

Dr. Haleh Esfandiari (l) and Joshua Landis try to predict the future for post-Assad Syria. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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The extremists will get local power and they will want more.” Before the uprising, the professor added, the regime often portrayed the opposition as religious extremists—a trend that has persisted throughout the current conflict, he said. Regarding foreign intervention, Landis remained staunchly opposed to any countries, especially the United States, getting involved in the conflict. “Obama has been reluctant to lead in Syria and I think that’s a smart policy,” he said. “The U.S. is radioactive in the Arab world.” Pouring money and troops into Syria would be futile, he argued, because it will be difficult to rebuild the country and there are no assurances that a democratic state will emerge. “There is no nation, really,” he stated. “There isn’t a tradition of unified leadership.” Landis instead recommended allowing Syria to “sort itself out.” “Time is on America’s side,” he said. “In a perverse way, war is a nation-building process.” While there currently is no definitive leader emerging from this nation-building process, Landis concluded, “there is a whole new civil society being made out of whole cloth in Syria.” —Meher Ahmad

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(L-r) Dr. Abdul Majeed Katranji, Rafif Jouejati, Sawsan Jabri and Rasha Othman. the Teldo area of Al-Houleh. According to Abu’ Osama, a total of 63 people were killed in the two-day massacre. He stressed the dire humanitarian crisis in the town, saying that basic “elements of life,” such as food and water, are scarce. Abu Rami of Homs, a city that has been the site of much fighting, said that the city’s residents are “under the prison of the regime.” Claiming that the people of Homs are in an unlivable situation, he noted that there is a severe lack of food in the city and charged that Assad’s regime is dominating water sources. Furthermore, Abu Rami said that snipers regularly target medical groups, and have recently occupied two hospitals in Homs. His distress palpable, Abu Rami begged for Red Crescent or Red Cross workers to enter the area. Speaking from the relatively less “hot” Damascus, Abu Hadi highlighted an aspect of the crisis mentioned by several of the other activists: childbirth deaths. The lack of medical attention being given to mothers in labor has resulted in a spike in

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Syrian Humanitarian Situation Sours At a June 15 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC held by the Syrian Expatriates Organization, activists from the cities of Hama, Al-Houleh, Homs and Damascus spoke to reporters via Skype. The activists chose to use pseudonyms in order to protect their identities. Even then, according to Dr. Abdul Majeed Katranji of the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), they were at risk of being detected by the Syrian regime’s extensive Internet surveillance network. Abu ‘Arab, from Hama, said that the city currently is being held captive and is separated by a series of checkpoints. He further alleged that President Bashar alAssad’s regime has conducted a series of random raids on the city in an effort to seek out opposition fighters. He also claimed that the regime has targeted children, whom he called “the flowers and future of the country.” Abu ‘Arab described in detail a June 6 massacre in Al-Aqbayr and Al-Qustoon, towns near Hama, stating that 25 children suffered gruesome deaths resulting from stabbings, shootings and burnings. A total of 78 people were killed in those attacks, Abu ‘Arab said. Abu’ Osama of Al-Houleh described a massacre that occurred May 25 and 26 in

labor-related deaths, he explained, adding that these deaths are especially frustrating for medical personnel because they can be easily avoided with basic medical facilities. Dr. Katranji of SAMS echoed the activists’ descriptions of the growing humanitarian crisis, charging that there has been a “specific targeting of rehabilitation institutions” and that these attacks cause the effects of the conflict to be deepened. Dr. Katranji, who has assisted Syrian refugees in Turkish camps, accused the Assad regime of targeting towns that refugees travel through while fleeing violence in their own city. Such tactics, he said, intimidate townspeople and make them reconsider harboring refugees. Katranji implored the journalists in attendance to more fully highlight the humanitarian crisis in Syria. “We need 200 to 300 field hospitals. Currently there are 55,” he said. “With no-fly zones and medical shields, doctors and international coalitions can at least aid in the most basic medical problems.” —Meher Ahmad

Syrian-American children join in the July 14 protest at the West Los Angeles Federal Building decrying the killing of their cousins July 12 at Treimseh near Hama, Syria. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Assad, he explained, because it will be a blow to Iran. —Pat McDonnell Twair

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War on Iran Panel

More than 200 Syrian Americans demonstrated July 14 at the West Los Angeles Federal Building to protest the massacre of civilians two days before at Treimseh near Hama, Syria.

The hostilities of Syria’s civil war came to the streets of Los Angeles June 9 at the Westwood Federal Building as police separated opposition supporters from pro-Assad advocates. The Free Syria group accounted for more than 450 demonstrators, who occupied three corners of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue, while the 65 supporters of the government of President Bashar al-Assad remained on one corner, waving posters of the dictator. “Walk-4-Syria” was the theme of a huge gathering of nearly 400 Syrian Americans June 30 at the busy Hunting- Free Syria flash mob at the Huntington Beach Pier. Summertime ton Beach Pier depicts slain Syrian beachgoers curiously thronged civilians. around the demonstrators callA r ab L e ag u e p e a c e ing for Assad’s downfall. The next day the Syria Institute for plans. Initially, he said, Progress sponsored a benefit bazaar for Israel wanted Assad to Syria in the Irvine Hyatt Hotel. Pledges remain in power, but were made to the Syria Sunrise Foundation now that it’s clear he to support 25 needy children for $50 each will fall, it wants to be per month. The event also raised $40,000 informed of the weapons the Free Syrian Army for Syrian refugees. Mohammad Albdalla, a Washington, has in order to counterDC-based Syrian activist, was the keynote act them. Netanyahu is speaker. He voiced little hope for U.N. or eager for the demise of 66

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Syrian Demonstrations in the Southland

“An American, an Iranian and an Israeli Examine Pretexts for War with Iran” was the title of a June 23 discussion at the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA. The event was part of the center’s series Progressive Conversations about U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East. Panelists were University of California at Irvine sociology professor Chuck O’Connell, Kia Saidi of Orange County Iranians for Freedom and Democracy, and Yossi Khen, who was a military refusenik in Israel and has been a proponent for peace for more than 30 years in the U.S. O’Connell discussed protests against the Vietnam War and the need to be vigilant of U.S. “storage facilities” in the Middle East, efforts to weaken unions and increasing taxes on the working class. Saidi noted that Iran is the fourth or fifth largest producer of petroleum, and that the U.S./Israel hegemony wants to control its oil market. The presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Strait of Hormuz does nothing to dampen the possibility of war, he said. “My idea is that Binyamin Netanyahu is no gambler,” stated Khen. “He’s well aware that Ehud Olmert’s 2006 war on Hezbollah failed. He also knows Iran has tens of thousands of long-range missiles and that a war with Iran would be one hundred times worse than that with Hezbollah—that it would take us back into a century ago. Negotiations are needed on both sides to disarm. Resolving the Palestinian problem would help to defuse tensions in the region.” —Pat McDonnell Twair

War on Iran panelists (l-r) Prof. Chuck O’Connell, Yossi Khen and Kia Saidi.

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Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky

Palestinians Denied Their Voice To the Oakland Tribune, June 22, 2012 The recent letters in opposition to an Alameda County Palestinian Cultural Day clearly show that there is a coordinated effort to deny Palestinians their voice, even in the most benign of settings. Last September, the Museum of Children’s Art canceled an exhibition of children’s art from Gaza under pressure from Israel lobby groups. Now we see another Palestinian cultural event withdrawn at the last minute after similar tactics. Readers should ask why so much effort is expended to censor the Palestinian narrative. It seems the lobbyists are determined to squelch anything contradicting claims that Palestinians are terrorists and have no culture, history or land of their own. It is good that their efforts are coming to light. Readers may want to examine the facts themselves to discover what the censors are frantically trying to suppress. The truth is easy to find—on the Web sites of human rights organizations, the Red Cross, the blog of our own beloved Alice Walker, and hundreds of other outlets. Check it out. Barbara Erickson, Berkeley, CA

Israeli Official Not Deserving To The Denver Post, June 26, 2012 An Israeli government official (President Shimon Peres) receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Really? Just recently, Israel announced the building of 300 new homes for Jews on Palestinian land—in yet another land grab from the Palestinians. These are actions of defiance and not of defense. When are the Israelis going to be held responsible for their terrorist actions? Whose freedom does this medal represent? The photo of President Obama shows that he knows that these masters of deception are undeserving of such an honor. Fred Wilkins, Superior, CO

Missing the Message To the Toronto Sun, June 30, 2012 Re: “A hateful paradox” (Michael Coren, June 23): The hysterical attacks against Queers Against Israeli Apartheid fail to address its main message, which is that Israel is an apartheid state. The best people to SEPTEMBER 2012

provide an objective opinion on the subject are the South Africans who experienced and suffered under apartheid—not Coren or another Israeli lobbyist. Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa said what he saw in the Holy Land is an apartheid system worse than what black Africans experienced in South Africa. The Human Research Science Council of South Africa conducted a study of the occupied West Bank and Gaza in 2009 and concluded that Israel has implemented an oppressive system of racial discrimination which grants privileges to Jews over nonJews and that this amounts to apartheid. Khaled Mouammar, Richmond Hill, Ontario

Third Intifada? To The New York Times, June 24, 2012 Nathan Thrall raises crucial issues about the failures of the “peace process.” But he does not mention two critical points. First, while the dwindling support for traditional Palestinian leaders is apparent, a diverse, empowered civil society movement has emerged that has appropriated for itself the job of figuring out how to end the 1967 occupation and achieve other Palestinian rights. Second, that movement’s most effective method yet for bringing nonviolent pressure to bear on Israel is the boycott, divestment and sanctions strategy known as BDS. Originally endorsed by 170 Palestinian organizations, BDS has emerged as a global campaign. Just last week we saw its power here in the United States, when the pension giant TIAA-CREF divested $72 million in Caterpillar stock from its socially responsible fund, following Morgan Stanley Capital International’s removal of Caterpillar from its index of socially responsible corporations. Israel’s military uses Caterpillar bulldozers to demolish Palestinian houses; a Caterpillar bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier killed the American peace activist Rachel Corrie in Gaza in 2003. A third intifada reflecting the failure of the current “peace process” may in fact be under way already—this time a global intifada rooted in nonviolent economic pressure to end Israeli violations. Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Sanctions Will Spark Riots To The Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2012 As the founder of the Middle East’s first social media campaign on behalf of Mir Hossein Mousavi during Iran’s 2009 presidential election, I reject Yassamin Issapour’s claim that sanctions could revitalize Iran’s Green Movement (“Inflation and Iran’s Regime,” op-ed, July 5). Ms. Issapour asserts that sanctions can spur the working class to join the Green Movement, when in reality financial difficulties have been the greatest impediment for the working class to join the opposition movement. Sanctions are punishing Iran’s middle class—the backbone of the Green Movement—and degrading its economic position. At best, the sanctions will reduce the pro-democracy movement into an angry mob seeking bread, which would help complete the eradication of domestic protest and the takeover of military dictatorship. Bread riots would provide an excuse to commence a curfew and strengthen Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which has already been empowered economically and politically by sanctions. Mohammad Sadeghi Esfahlani, Washington, DC

Syria Is Different To The New York Times, June 28, 2012 In his review of The Syrian Rebellion by Fouad Ajami, Dexter Filkins asks rhetorically: “Why is Syria different from Libya, where Obama and NATO, at very low cost, stopped an almost certain humanitarian disaster? Why is it different from Yugoslavia?” But these questions overlook significant differences. Syria is different from both Libya and Yugoslavia precisely because humanitarian military intervention cannot be done “at very low cost,” i.e., through the use of overwhelming and invulnerable air power against exposed and weak ground forces; the despotic Assad regime is very well armed, determined to cling to power at all costs, and utterly devoid of conscience. Moreover, having seen the United States and NATO exceed the United Nations mandate by turning a mission in Libya that was intended solely to protect civilians into one of regime change, both Russia and 67

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China are diligently providing diplomatic cover for Syria’s brutal rulers by thwarting the possibility of U.N.-approved military action. Thus, the reason the Obama administration is reluctant to intervene in Syria is not that “it’s too easy to envision an Iraqi-style blood bath after Bashar’s demise,” but that it’s too easy to envision Western forces incurring extensive casualties in a protracted bloody struggle to depose the Assad regime. John S. Koppel, Bethesda, MD

Give President Morsi a Chance To The Baltimore Sun, July 5, 2012 Al Eisner, in his letter, “Egyptian election is tragic,” has substituted opinion for fact when he calls the Muslim Brotherhood “a virulent anti-Semitic organization.” Anti-Zionist, yes; but he provides no evidence whatsoever that it is anti-Semitic. Mr. Eisner shows no compassion for the Egyptian people who suffered for so many years under the brutal dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Instead, his concern is only for Israel and what Egypt’s new government might mean for Egyptian/Israel relations and also for U.S./Israel relations. Israel likes to tout itself as being the only democracy in the region (even though it is not a democracy, but an ethnocracy). Now that Egypt has a democratically elected government, it can no longer claim this (although it will no doubt still try). President Mohamed Morsi has vowed to form an inclusive government, with women and Christians among his deputies. I hope that the powers who would like to see Egypt fail will not succeed in interfering in Egypt’s democratic process. Doris Rausch, Columbia, MD

friends, Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood are “fundamentally antiWestern,” and the military is anti-democratic. The secular democrats are the weakest and least organized political actors in Egypt, while the disfavored groups hold power. Mr. Diehl was right to say that the United States has relied too much on authoritarian national leaders as allies. But there is relatively little we can do at this point to ensure the outcome in Egypt that we would like. Michael Thomas, Washington, DC

Drone Strikes Are Terrorism To The Ithaca Journal, June 21, 2012 Drone strikes, and the “collateral damage” of randomly murdering innocent civilians, are terrorism, pure and simple. Fighting terrorism with terrorism creates outrage—and more terrorists. We’ve been killing people at a distance with drones since the Bush administration. This is being done in our name, and it is morally repugnant and strategically stupid. Enough already! Dr. Pamela Moss, Ithaca, NY

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

The Trouble With Transforming Egypt

State Department Public Information Line: (202) 647-6575

To The Washington Post, July 11, 2012 As Jackson Diehl wrote [“A do-over with Egypt”], formulating U.S. policy toward Egypt as that country undergoes tumultuous change is important and tricky. But after suggesting that the Obama administration has made all sides mad, he offers little guidance on how to proceed. Mr. Diehl defined the nation’s task as being to “preserve Egypt as a core U.S. ally” and friend of Israel, “while transforming [Egypt] into a functional democracy.” But apparently we need to accomplish these Sisyphean tasks as an external actor without effective Egyptian allies, since we are told that only Egypt’s “secular democrats” are the United States’ real

Any Senator U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3121

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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

Are Drones a Form of Warfare? To The New York Times, July 19, 2012 “The Moral Case for Drones” misses the most relevant considerations. It is not a matter of whether drones kill fewer civilians than my poor father did when bombing Germany (an experience that turned him into a strong supporter of the Geneva Conventions). Rather, the first question is the issue of legality: Targeting militants in Pakistan without declaring war is illegal. President Obama would not dare to send in F-16s because that would be a more patent act of war. Second, drones drastically lower the threshold at which politicians are willing to kill, because there is effectively no political downside. Witness the American military strikes in Waziristan, Yemen and Somalia, yet nobody in the United States seems to think twice about them. I have been to Pakistan and have seen the carnage that Mr. Obama’s robot war has created. As Americans, we need a far more informed debate before declaring that this is the way to go. Clive Stafford Smith, London, England (The writer, an American lawyer, is the director of Reprieve, an organization that advocates prisoners’ rights.)

McCarthy-esque Accusations To The Dallas Morning News, July 21, 2012 Senator Michele Bachmann’s recent accusations of Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of the United States government is McCarthy-esque fear-mongering for the 21st century. Her baseless accusations that top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, is an agent of the Muslim Brotherhood sent to infiltrate the U.S. government is not only extremely damaging to her, but to all Muslim Americans who work and aspire to work in government offices. Currently, I am a summer law intern with the City of Dallas, and I am a Muslim American. Upon graduation, I hope to work for my community. If baseless and libelous accusations are allowed to stand, then students like me who genuinely aspire to serve our communities could be barred from such positions due to conjured accusations that we are somehow attempting to undermine the United States Constitution. Senator Bachmann should retract her position and issue a full apology to the hard-working Muslim Americans she has targeted. Azhar Hussain, Plano, TX ❑ SEPTEMBER 2012

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KHALIL BENDIB

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

The Muslim Observer, Livonia

Ad-Dustour, Amman

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

Al-Mustaqbal, Beirut

Lexington Herald-Ledger, Lexington, KY

SEPTEMBER 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NY Times Syndicate, New York

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Books East of the Sun: A Memoir By Noha Shaath Ismail, AuthorHouse, 2011, paperback, 196 pp. List: $16.95; AET: $14 Reviewed by Dale Sprusansky For much of her life, Noha Shaath Ismail has struggled to develop a sense of who she is as both a woman and a citizen. An American immigrant who was born in Palestine and raised in Egypt, Ismail has come to terms with the fact that she never will be able to genuinely call one place home. While Ismail’s attachment to her three national identities is at once a source of pride and uncertainty, she remains unwaveringly proud of her Arab heritage. The mother of two American-raised sons and the grandmother of their four children, she has become increasingly concerned that her family’s younger generation has lost touch with their Arab culture and— Dale Sprusansky is editorial assistant for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

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worse yet—view their heritage as a source of uneasiness and confusion. Determined to ensure that her grandchildren have a firm sense of their Arab roots, Ismail penned East of the Sun, a deeply human account of her life in which she shares her thoughts, fears and observations as a woman who has lived through many personal, political and cultural transitions. In the process, Ismail has produced a book that not only is a great personal resource for her grandchildren, but also an excellent read for those who seek to better understand the mindset and struggles of someone whose identity includes woman, Arab, Palestinian and American. A reader of East of the Sun cannot help but develop a strong understanding of the angst and pain Palestinians feel as a result of the loss of their homeland. While Ismail, having left Palestine with her family in 1947, at the age of four, does not retain many memories of her birthplace, a profound sense of loss nevertheless remains deep within her. “I still nurse the doleful feeling that no matter where I am, no matter where I go, I will always carry an elsewhere inside me,” she painfully concedes. It is, however, through the person of her father (“Baba”) that Ismail ultimately portrays in a very powerful way the anguish of the displaced and nationless Palestinian. In 1947, Baba moved his family to Alexandria, Egypt after he was relieved from his position as the headmaster of a school in Pales-

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

tine for failing to discipline teachers who participated in anti-British demonstrations. As a spokesman for the Palestinian community in Alexandria, his people’s plight, as well as that of the Arabs, often was too much for her father to handle. His work left him experiencing “periods of profound sadness, bordering on depression,” Ismail recalls. Having grown up during a transformative time in both Egypt and the larger region, Ismail also provides an illuminating first-hand account of history. She describes the tremendous extent to which the city of Alexandria changed before her eyes. Ismail discusses the personal and broader implications of the flight of the once diverse and cosmopolitan city’s large Greek, Italian, Armenian and Jewish communities following the ascent of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Ismail also details life in Egypt at a time when war, conflict and the agony of defeat were inescapable. In particular, she outlines the devastating effect the 1967 Six-Day War had on Egyptian society. “The Egypt that I knew died in those six calamitous, sorrowful days of June 1967,” she recalls. Indeed, Ismail partly blames the death of her father on the war. “The swift and crushing defeat was more than his ailing heart could stand,” she writes. Political and historical reflections aside, East of the Sun is ultimately a story of personal growth and discovery. The author discusses the shifting and sometimes conflicting messages she received from both her parents and society regarding the proper role of women. Describing her experiences in the Arab world, the U.S. and Europe, Ismail brings the reader along on her journey of self-discovery. This journey is furthered when Ismail and her husband move to the U.S. and are forced to confront the challenges of living with a cross-cultural identity. At a time when the Arab world is in flux and transition, Ismail’s book provides an intriguing contrast. In one sense, East of the Sun highlights the many ways in which the region, and particularly Egypt, has changed since the days of her youth. On the other hand, the book is a sobering reminder as to just how little progress has been made to ease the suffering of the Palestinians. Whether one is intrigued by history, culture, or stories of personal discovery, East of the Sun is an enriching read. In particular, Ismail’s fellow Arab Americans and Palestinians will likely find her journey both strikingly familiar and a source of comfort. ❑ SEPTEMBER 2012

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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 East of the Sun: A Memoir by Noha Shaath Ismail, AuthorHouse, 2011, paperback, 196 pp. List: $16.95; AET: $14. A coming-of-age tale, international in scope and universal in outlook, Ismail’s memoir describes her childhood as a Palestinian/Lebanese émigré in Egypt and the personal journey that led her to the United States in 1970. Set against the backdrop of political and social upheaval, East of the Sun is an immigrant’s tale with stories about Muslim traditions, courting habits, and a way of life that has since disappeared.

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: $15. Drawing from his personal experiences, Imam Feisal speaks on behalf of disenfranchised Muslims across the United States who are spiritual, moderate and patriotic. His book explores the political and spiritual beliefs, aspirations and ambitions of American Muslims post-9/11 and in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.

Faith Beyond Despair: Building Hope in the Holy Land by Elias Chacour & Alain Michel, trans. by Anthony Harvey, Canterbury Press, 2011, paperback, 138 pp. List: $16.99; AET: $14.50. Based on conversations between French journalist Alain Michel and Archbishop Elias Chacour, founder of the Mar Elias Educational Institution, Faith Beyond Despair mixes autobiographical reflections with a critique of the contemporary state of the Middle East. Despite the setbacks faced by the Palestinian people, Chacour’s message is one of enduring hope and nonviolence.

Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine by Bidisha, Seagull Books, 2012, paperback, 118 pp. List: $9.50; AET: $9. The internationally renowned feminist critic and writer presents the testimonies of Palestinians, international aid workers and activists, as well as her own experience during her first trip to Palestine in 2011. Beyond the Wall is a poetic portrait of an occupation rife with Kafkaesque regulations, endless checkpoint queues, and the resilience of ordinary people fighting for dignity and freedom.

New Middle Eastern Vegetarian: Modern Recipes from Veggiestan by Sally Butcher, Interlink Publishing, 2012, hardcover, 272 pp. List: $35, AET: $24. The Londonbased proprietor of the celebrated Persian deli Persepolis explores the opulent vegetarian traditions and recipes of the Middle East. Complete with beautiful color photos and fascinating insights into the region’s culinary history, New Middle Eastern Vegetarian takes a fresh look at familiar favorites and presents innovative dishes sure to delight and impress.

Arab Spring, Libyan Winter by Vijay Prashad, AK Press, 2012, paperback, 168 pp. List: $14.95; AET: $11. In this concise volume, Prashad questions the Western interpretation of the political changes sweeping through Libya and the NATO-led intervention that precipitated the downfall of the Qaddafi regime. Far from being an altruistic humanitarian mission, the author argues, the Libyan incursion had more to do with the desire to gain unrestrained access to the country’s vast oil wealth. Arab Spring sheds light on the neoliberal agenda at work in Libya and across the Arab world.

Miral directed by Julian Schnabel, Anchor Bay, 2010, DVD, 106 min. List: $29.98; AET: $18. Based on the acclaimed autobiographical novel by Rula Jebreal, Miral follows the story of a Palestinian girl coming of age in the war zone of the IsraeliArab conflict. Entrusted to an orphanage after the death of her mother, Miral is profoundly affected by Mama Hind’s belief in peace through education, but struggles with the violence and political injustices that surround her.

Under the Drones: Modern Lives in the Afghan istanPakistan Borderlands edited by Shahzad Bashir & Robert D. Crews, Harvard University Press, 2012, hardcover, 336 pp. List: $27.95; AET: $24. Bashir and Crews present 13 essays that cut through Western narratives that dehumanize the people of this region, often characterized as hopelessly backward and prone to barbarous extremism. This essential compilation explores the daily lives of real Afghans and Pakistanis caught in the middle of violence and official complicity, and provides a deep understanding of the social, political, gender and economic concerns that dominate their lives.

Israelis & Palestinians: Conflict & Resolution by Moshé Machover, Haymarket Books, 2012, 327 pp. List: $24; AET: $13. This anthology of essays written between 1962 and 2010, surveys the work of the founder of the Socialist Organization in Israel (Matzpen) and lifelong anti-Zionist activist. Addressing diverse aspects of Israeli society and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Machover places the conflict in its regional context and connects the fight for Palestinian liberation with the struggle for socialism throughout the region.

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. SEPTEMBER 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.

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Upcoming Events, Announcement & —Compiled by Andrew Stimson Obituaries Upcoming Events: The Jerusalem Fund will host “Yalla Idhak!” A Night of Comedy with Maysoon Zayid, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. at Busboys and Poets, 1025 K St NW, Washington, DC. Along with the comedy of the nationally renowned Zayid, the event will feature local comedian and storyteller Kareem Omary, along with a special musical guest. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased from <www.jerusalemfund.org>. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit Palestinian children with disabilities in the West Bank, Gaza and refugee camps in Lebanon. For more information call (202) 338-1958 or e-mail <info@ jerusalemfund.org>. The National Arab American Medical Association will hold it’s 34th Annual National Medical Convention, Aug. 31Sept. 3 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel, 301 E. North Water St. For more information visit <www.naama.com>. The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) will host a book reception for Dr. Mary Knopf-Newman, author of The Politics of Teaching Palestine to Americans, Sept. 15 at the MECA office, 1101 8th Street, Berkeley. Proceeds will go directly to MECA. For more information visit <www.mecaforpeace.org> or call (510) 548-0542. The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation will hold it 11th Annual National Organizers’ Conference Sept. 2123 at St. Louis University. The conference is an opportunity for more than 380 coalition organizations to come together and strengthen their efforts to end U.S. support for Israeli occupation. For more information visit <www.endtheoccupation.org> or contact Ramah Kudaimi at <member ship@endtheoccupation.org>. The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center will sponsor its 2012 Sabeel Witness Visit Oct. 30- Nov. 8 in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. The visit will include sessions with Palestinian, Israeli and international activists as well as side visits to sites in the West Bank and Galilee. Register before Sept. 1 and save $100. For more information visit <www. sabeel.org> or contact Maurine Tobin at <mmtobin38@gmail.com> and <world@ sabeel.org>. 72

Announcement: The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seeking nominations for its National Muslim Community Service Award honoring the community service activities of Muslim leaders, activists and institutions in the U.S. The award will be presented Sept. 29, at CAIR’s 18th annual banquet in Arlington, VA. Deadline for nominations is Sept. 1. To make a nomination visit <www.cair.com/nominations>. Obituaries: Sattareh Farman Farmaian, 90, a daughter of Persian royalty and catalyst for the social work field in Iran, died May 21 at her home in Los Angeles. She was one of 36 children born to a prominent prince in the Qajar dynasty that ruled Iran for more than a century. Shortly before her birth Reza Khan staged a coup d’état, sending the head of the Qajari dynasty into exile, though Farmaian’s family remained in Tehran and continued to be influential in Iranian society. After attending the American School for Girls in Tehran, Farmaian became the first Iranian to attend the University of Southern California, where in 1948 she earned a master’s degree in social work. For the next decade, Farmaian worked as a social worker in Los Angeles and served as a social welfare consultant for a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) mission in Iraq. In 1958 she returned to Iran and established the Tehran School of Social Work, the first of its kind in the country. While serving as the school’s director, she also helped found the Family Planning Association of Iran, an organization focused on educating young women on the use of family planning and birth control in accordance with Islamic law. These and a number of other organizations and centers started by Farmaian helped a large variety of Iranians, from orphans and medical patients to prostitutes. During the 1970s she served as a board member of the International Association of Schools of Social Work and as vice president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Farmaian was forced to leave Iran during the 1979 revolution after narrowly escaping execution. While many of her institutions were closed, most of their social work missions continue in Iran today. Farmaian returned to the United States and resumed working with disadvantaged THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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groups in Los Angeles. The author of several books, Farmaian penned her acclaimed autobiography Daughter of Persia in 2006 and was the recipient of a number of awards for her achievements and commitment to social work. Farid Habib, 77, a Lebanese politician and member of the second largest Christian party in parliament, died May 31 at Saint George Hospital in Ashrafiyeh. First elected to the Lebanese parliament in 2005, he represented the mainly Greek Orthodox district of El Koura from 2009 until his death. Born to a Greek Orthodox family in Kousba, he received a bachelor’s degree in literature from the American University of Beirut in 1956. Affiliated with the rightwing Kataeb (Phalange) Party during his high school and university years, he officially joined the party in 1976. In 2000 he joined the Lebanese Forces Party and represented it in the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a loose coalition of Christian political parties united against Syrian influence in Lebanon. Habib also served on a number of parliamentary committees, including the environment, national economy, trade industry and oil committees. Sol Metz, 69, co-founder of the Michiganbased Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends and a veteran Palestinian and human rights activist, died of cancer June 25 in Ann Arbor, MI. Born to a Jewish family in Detroit in 1943, he played a role in the local civil rights movement and later protested against cruise missile production in southeast Michigan. In 2002 Metz and fellow activist Henry Herskovitz traveled to Palestine for the first time and were shocked at the treatment of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Upon returning to Ann Arbor, they established weekly vigils every Saturday morning outside the Beth Israel Synagogue and made efforts to dialogue with the local Jewish community. During the next eight years, Metz rarely missed a Saturday morning vigil and was planning another visit to Palestine before his untimely death. A memorial service was held June 29 at the Quaker Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House. ❑ SEPTEMBER 2012

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AET’s 2012 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and July 16, 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 Dr. Robert Ashmore, Jr., Mequon, WI Fuad Baali, Bowling Green, KY Rev. Robert E. Barber, Parrish, FL Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Dr. Robert G. Collmer, Waco, TX Glenn Davenport, Corvallis, OR Sharlene de Hertel, San Jose, CA 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 Ismail Husseini, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Hala Jabbour, Herndon, VA Dennis James, Brooklyn, NY Fred Jimeian, Satellite Beach, FL Fred Karlson, Ferndale, WA Michael Keating, Olney, MD Susan Kerin, Gaithersburg, MD Dr. Mazen Khalidi, Grosse Point Farms, MI Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA 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 B. Malouf, Lubbock, TX Martha Martin, Paia, HI Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN Gerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CA A.F. Nahas, Danbury, CT Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA SEPTEMBER 2012

Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA M.H. Quader, Harrisburg, PA 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 Rifqa Shahin, Apple Valley, CA Aziz Shalaby, Vancouver, WA 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* Donna Baer, Grand Junction, CO Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MO 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 Bill Gartland, Rio, WI Marvin & Shirley Gluck, Topanga, CA Ray Gordon, Bel Air, MD H. Clark Griswold, Woodbury, CT Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ Les Janka, Arlington, VA Sandra La Framboise, Oakland, CA Eric Margolis, Toronto, ON Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA Gabrielle & Jalal Saad, Oakland, CA Denis Sabourin, Dubai, UAE Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Yusef & Jennifer Sifri, Wilmington, NC Grant Smith, Washington, DC Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI Dina Tamimi, Dubai, UAE Ziyad & Cindi Zaitoun, Seattle, WA* Fred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more) Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Drs. A.J. and M.T. Amirana, Las Vegas, NV Kamel Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Shuja El-Asad, Amman, Jordan Glenn Glover, Birmingham, AL 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 Linda Thain-Ali, Kesap, Turkey

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD Dr. Joseph Bailey, Valley Center, CA G. Edward & Ruth Brooking, Wilmington, DE Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius & Aston Bloom, Tucson, AZ Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, West Kingston, RI Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, UAE Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Dr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CA Oliver Hall, Washington, DC Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Wendy Kaufmyn, Berkeley, CA 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 Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA

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! 73

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Cairo Communiqué… Continued from page 40

liberal university student and local NGO researcher was protesting on the streets of Cairo in January and February 2011—and frequently during the past nine months as well, calling for the removal of the military council from power. Although she is not terribly excited about a Muslim Brotherhood president, she remains optimistic. “Morsi has said all the right things thus far,” she said. “He is our president, for all Egyptians. This is what he said, so if we can make sure that he listens to us and supports human rights, I don’t think the country is in danger.” Ramadan considers the “Our Rights in 100 Days” campaign the most important initiative since the fall of the Mubarak regime. Others agree, and while the campaign has received little attention, its call for transparency and oversight—often absent from Egypt’s political scene over the past six decades—is much welcomed by Egyptians across the political spectrum. ❑

Syria… Continued from page 11

Syria had a narrow escape in 2003-4. Led by the Pentagon’s Paul Wolfowitz, the pro-Israeli neocons embedded in President George W. Bush’s administration were determined to reshape the region in Israel’s and America’s interest. Their first target was Saddam Hussain’s Iraq, seen as a potential threat to Israel. Had the United States been successful in Iraq, Syria would have been next. Neither Iraq nor the United States has yet recovered from the catastrophic Iraqi war, of which Wol-

fowitz was the chief “architect.” Syria and its Iranian ally are once again under imminent threat. The United States and Israel make no secret of their goal to bring down both the Damascus and Tehran regimes. No doubt some Israeli strategists believe that it would be greatly to their country’s advantage if Syria were dismembered and permanently weakened by the creation of a small Alawi state around the port city of Latakia in the northwest, in much the same way as Iraq was dismembered and permanently weakened by the creation of the Kurdish Regional Government in the north of the country, with its capital at Irbil. It is not easy to be the neighbor of an expansionist and aggressive Jewish state, which believes that its security is best assured, not by making peace with its neighbors, but by subverting, destabilizing and destroying them with the aid of American power. The United States and Israel are not Syria’s only enemies. The Syrian Muslim Brothers have been dreaming of revenge ever since their attempt 30 years ago to topple Syria’s secular Ba‘athist regime by a campaign of terror was crushed by Hafez al-Assad, Syria’s president at the time. Today, the Muslim Brothers are repeating the mistake they made then by resorting to terror with the aid of foreign Salafists, including some al-Qaeda fighters flowing into Syria from Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and other countries further afield. The liberal members of the Syrian opposition in exile, including several worthy academics and veteran opponents, are providing political cover for these more violent elements. Some Arab Gulf States persist in viewing the region through a sectarian prism. They are worried by Iran’s alleged hegemonic ambitions. They are unhappy that

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Iraq—once a Sunni power able to hold Iran in check—is now under Shi’i leadership. Talk of an emerging “Shi’i Crescent” appears to threaten Sunni dominance. For these reasons they are funding and arming the Syrian rebels in the hope that bringing down the Syrian regime will sever Iran’s ties with the Arab world. But this policy will simply prolong Syria’s agony, claim the lives of some of its finest men and cause massive material damage. America, the dominant external power, has made many grievous policy blunders. Over the past several decades it failed to persuade its stubborn Israeli ally to make peace with the Palestinians, leading to peace with the whole Arab world. It embarked on catastrophic wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It failed to reach a “grand bargain” with Iran which would have dispelled the specter of war in the Gulf and stabilized the volatile region. And it is now quarrelling with Moscow and reviving the Cold War by sabotaging Kofi Annan’s peace plan for Syria. There can be no military solution to the Syrian crisis. The only way out of the current nightmare is a cease-fire imposed on both sides, followed by a negotiation and the formation of a national government to oversee a transition. Only thus can Syria avoid wholesale destruction, which could take a generation or two to repair. ❑

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Journal of Palestine Studies . . . 15 Kinder USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Muslim Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Radio Baladi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Solving 9-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Zakat . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover 74

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

SEPTEMBER 2012

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American Educational Trust The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009

September 2012 Vol. XXXI, No. 6

Muslim Palestinian women at the “Tarawih” evening prayer in front of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock during the holy month of Ramadan, July 24, 2012. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images