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TOTAL 2010 PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS
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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXX, No. 4
May/June 2011
Telling the Truth for 29 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 Obama Goes to War to Protect Libyan Civilians, But Ignores Victims of U.S. Allies—Rachelle Marshall
26 Are Local Peace Activists Inadvertently Helping Advocate for Military Aid to Israel?—Susan Kerin
11 Mediators to the Rescue—Mainly Drawn From the Region Itself—Patrick Seale
28 John M. Hrankowski (1946-2011): A USS Liberty Hero Dies Without Seeing Justice—Delinda C. Hanley
13 Obama’s Abuse of War Powers—Paul Findley 14 Judge Goldstone Retreats From His Report on Gaza—Two Views
—Daoud Kuttab, George S. Hishmeh 16 The Myth of Israel’s Insecurity—Ira Chernus 18 Israel Kidnaps Palestinian in Charge of Gaza’s Only Remaining Electrical Plant—Mohammed Omer
42 Against the Wall—William Parry 44 Resolution 1973: Responsibility to Protect, Not Humanitarian Intervention in Libya—Ian Williams 52 Using Two-Pronged Strategy, Minnesota Activists CONGRESS AND THE 2010 ELECTIONS Seek Divestment From Israel Bonds—Bill McGrath 30 Resolution to Remove U.S. Troops From Afghanistan Fails in the House—Shirl McArthur 34 With Massive Help From Pro-Israel PACs,
20 The Strange Case of Alan Gross—Philip Giraldi
Mark Kirk (R-IL) Ekes Out a Senate Win
22 Palestinian Social Media Campaigns Unlike
—Janet McMahon
Egyptian, Tunisian Counterparts
35 Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2010 Congressional Candidates—Compiled by Hugh Galford
—Jonathan Cook
SPECIAL REPORTS 26 Solitary Confinement and Isolation in Federal Prisons—Stephen F. Downs, Esq. 46 “We, the People”: In Tahrir Square With My Fellow Egyptians—Prof. Ibrahim M. Oweiss
50 Despite Right-Wing Attacks, “East Meets West” at The Virginia Military Institute —Marvine Howe
PHOTO BOB HRANKOWSKI
48 Studying “Counter Terrorism” in Israel—John Gee
The memorial in Rochester, New York to the crew of the USS Liberty. See story p. 28.
ON THE COVER: A Libyan rebel stands at a checkpoint in the strategic city of Misrata, March 30, 2011. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/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. For other options, see page OV-3 in this issue.)
Other Voices Obama Does not Get It, Lamis Andoni, http://english.aljazeera.net
Compiled by Janet McMahon
OV-1
Knesset Committee to Hold Meeting on J Street Activities, Rebecca Anna Stoil, www.jpost.com
OV-7
Egypt’s Revolution Has Been 10 Years In the Making, Hossam El-Hamalawy, www.guardian.co.uk
OV-2
Neoconomics: Conscription and War as Wealth, OV-8 Grant Smith, www.antiwar.com
An NPR Editor Censors Herself, Philip Weiss, http://mondoweiss.net
OV-3
Cuba’s Remnant Rediscovers Religion, Michael Orbach, The Forward
OV-10
CIA Rambo Escapes Pakistan, Eric S. Margolis, www.ericmargolis.com
OV-11
Two Myths About the Middle East The World Should Do Without, Nada Tarbush, EAFORD Right-Wing Pro-Israel Lobbyists Push Permanent Occupation on the Hill, Ali Gharib, www.lobelog.com
OV-4 How the Pentagon Supervised Raymond Davis’ Release and How the CIA Took Its Revenge, Shaukat Qadir, www.counterpunch.org OV-12 OV-5
PA Recalibrating Its Strategy, Daoud Kuttab, Jordan Times
OV-6
HRW Founder Charts Another Way to Probe Human Rights, Gal Beckerman, The Forward
The J Street Scam, Philip Giraldi, www.antiwar.com
OV-6
Islamophobia in Europe, Gwynne Dyer, www.gwynnedyer.com
OV-14
OV-15
DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
62 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: Introducing Al-Mubadarah: Arab
7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE
—Pat and Samir Twair
—Elaine Pasquini 56 NEW YORK CITY AND TRISTATE NEWS: Marwan Bashara Discusses People Power in the Arab World —Jane Adas
Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice, by Ronald J.
63 MUSLIM-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: African-American Muslim Women Discuss Their Journeys of Faith
54 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Distinguished Panel Sheds Light on Egypt’s Historic Revolution
Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious
Empowerment Initiative 52 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Arab Revolutions Debunk Myth That Only the West Can Handle Democracy
76 BOOK REVIEW:
66 HUMAN RIGHTS: Civil Rights Activists, Supporters Gather to Discuss FBI Repression
67 WAGING PEACE:
Olive
—Reviewed by Andrew I. Killgore 77 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE AET BOOK CLUB 78 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS 79 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL 81 BULLETIN BOARD
Jewish Voice for Peace: A New 82 2011 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS Beginning
59 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: Mideast Turmoil Produces Calls For Israel to Move Toward Peace With the Palestinians
—Allan C. Brownfeld
15 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 75 MUSIC & ARTS: DC’s North African Film Festival Includes “Bab’Aziz”
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Publisher: Executive Editor: Managing Editor: News Editor: Book Club Director: Circulation Director: Admin. Director: Art Director:
ANDREW I. KILLGORE RICHARD H. CURTISS JANET McMAHON DELINDA C. HANLEY ANDREW STIMSON ANNE O’ROURKE ALEX BEGLEY RALPH U. SCHERER
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 9 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., May/June and Sept./Oct. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. 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 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062. 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 seven 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.com http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 Printed in the USA
MAY/JUNE 2011
LetterstotheEditor A Diplomatic and Political Tsunami As undemocratic regimes in the Arab world collapse under the weight of authentic grassroots democratic movements, Israel’s stranglehold over the Palestinians appears increasingly tenuous. It continues to ignore international law with its announced plans to build 942 new housing units in Gila, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. By doing so, it has turned a deaf ear to the Obama administration’s vigorous opposition to these illegal settlements which are a major obstacle to peace, stability and a viable Palestinian state. It seems likely that the new emerging Arab states will adopt a far more hostile attitude toward Israel once they have successfully ousted their tyrannical rulers. It would behoove Israel to launch an aggressive and farreaching peace agreement with the Palestinians. Failure to do so will lead to its further isolation with the impending U.N. vote to grant statehood to Palestine, which will include all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, expressed his concern, stating that “Israel is facing a diplomatic and political tsunami which will deepen its isolation.” In the meantime the U.S. should withhold further military and economic aid to Israel, making it conditional on reaching a peaceful accommodation with its Palestinian neighbors. Jagjit Singh, Los Alto, CA These days of budget brinksmanship and threatened government shutdowns remind us that Americans have only one chance ayear to impress this point upon their elected officials. This is because Israel gets all its U.S. foreign aid at once, at the beginning of each fiscal year in early October. This means that Washington cannot decide later in the year to cut its yearly foreign aid to Israel (as it can with every other country). In Israel’s case, once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. Fighting JNF Tax-Exemption Back about 13 years ago Washington Report publisher Andrew Killgore was good enough to obtain and send me copies of court filings on the attempt to have the United States Jewish National Fund (JNF) tax-exempt status revoked. They were of great help to me in my successful effort to thwart a JNF application for tax-exempt status in Long Island’s Nassau County. After paying taxes for 11 years, the JNF reTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
newed its application in 2009. The exempt status was granted by a local judge who gave little consideration, if any, to my opposition papers. Nassau County declined my recommendation to appeal and it was terminated at the end of 2009 with a comment that I opposed the JNF application. I do not know if I thanked him back in 1999, but over the years I have always thought of his personal assistance in this matter and I would like to again thank him for his help, and for all your good work for justice and fairness in the Middle East. Keep up the good work. I look forward every month to the Washington Report,
which I read from cover to cover with great interest. Thank you. Gennaro Pasquale, Oyster Bay, NY There are many fronts on which this battle can be fought: state and union pension funds as well as on the national and local levels. IRmep research director Grant Smith, who is trying to get the Justice Department to register AIPAC as a foreign agent (see December 2010 Washington Report, p. 24) has also requested the IRS to retroactively rescind its tax-exempt status.
“Think Tanks” and NPR I am curious as to whether the Washington Report has ever covered many “think tanks” (if that is the correct term) and determined which are decidedly pro-Israel. Also, I listen to NPR News, and I have come to detect a pro-Israel bias. Has anyone at the Washington Report thought this was worthy of a story? Just thoughts crossing my mind. Mrs. Ruth E. Ramsey, Blairsville, GA Many moons ago (how many moons in 20 years, we wonder) we published a series of articles by Mark Milstein on AIPAC, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and the AIPAC-spawned Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Much has happened in the intervening decades, of 5
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course—including the endowment at the Brookings Institution by super-Zionist Haim Saban (now a Brookings trustee) of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, and most recently the naming of Rep. Jane Harman (DCA)—among the top 10 House recipients of pro-Israel PAC funds—as head of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here in Washington, DC. So perhaps it is time for an update. Regarding NPR, see Philip Weiss’ “An NPR Editor Censors Herself” in this issue’s “Other Voices” supplement, or visit <http.mondoweiss.net>. Another excellent monitor is writer and activist Ali Abunimah, founder of the Electronic Intifada (<http://electronicintifada.net>). We first became acquainted with his work by reading his letters to NPR correcting the omissions and errors in its reporting. While he informs us that the archive of his letters is not currently online, he refers us to the December 1998 issue of The Link, published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, which consists of Abunimah’s article “Dear NPR News,” in which he discussed his letters to NPR and why he wrote them. It can be viewed at <www.ameu.org/uploads/ vol31_issue5_1998.pdf>.
Operation Cyanide I’d like to draw your attention to a book which has been largely overlooked for the last seven years, but which I consider important. The book is called Operation Cyanide by Peter Hounam, published in England in 2003. I do not recall having seen it reviewed by the Washington Report, and I would like to suggest that it should be.
One of the revelations in the book is that the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty came as no surprise to LBJ. Frank Regier, Strongsville, OH Our Book Club director Andrew Stimson followed up on your recommendation only to discover that, alas, Operation Cyanide is out of print. But the determination to find out the truth about Israel’s 1967 attack remains strong, even as the ranks of survivors thins. Their friends remain numerous—and equally determined. See our tribute to the crew of the Liberty on p. 28 of this issue.
An Iranian Orientalist? As a subscriber to and admirer of the Washington Report, and on behalf of the Middle East Committee of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) in Minneapolis, I would like to comment on the references to Azar Nafisi made by Anne O’Rourke in a brief article located in the “Human Rights” section of the March 2011 issue concerning a discussion at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery in December. Mentioned in the O’Rourke article are Nafisi’s definition of “great literature” and her view of “what Iran is,” as well as her current position within the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). A longer article, critical of Nafisi and her Reading Lolita in Tehran appeared in the July-August 2010 issue of the WAMM newsletter; it was written by two well-qualified members of our Middle East Committee. Among other observations in the WAMM newsletter article, the following points are made: (1) Azar Nafisi exemplifies the “Native Orientalists” cultivated by U.S. neoconservatives to help justify post-9/11
Other Voices is an optional 16-page supplement available only to subscribers of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. For an additional $15 per year (see postcard insert for Washington Re port subscription rates), subscribers will receive Other Voices bound into each issue of their Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Back issues of both publications are available. To subscribe telephone 1 (800) 368-5788 (press 1), fax (202) 265-4574, e-mail <circula tion@wrmea.com>, or write to P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009. 6
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
U.S. policy in the Middle East, in this case U.S. demonization of Iran as the prelude to possible invasion and domination of the country à la Iraq. Nafisi’s work on Reading Lolita in Tehran was funded by the rightwing Smith Richardson Foundation (see the acknowledgments section of the book). (2) In her book, Nafisi “not only condemns the Islamic Revolution, but with it the entire nation [of Iran], particularly the poor and disenfranchised, for whom she has no understanding and the utmost contempt.” (3) The Johns Hopkins SAIS, with which Nafisi is professionally associated, “has been a base for numerous prominent neoconservatives like [Paul] Wolfowitz and Gary Schmitt, who helped found and direct the Project for a New American Century,” a leading advocate of the U.S. war on Iraq. It is important for Washington Report readers to be more fully informed about Nafisi’s apparent agenda. Elizabeth Burr, St. Paul, MN We thank you for your letter. The thoughtprovoking article to which you refer—and in which we were dismayed to read that Reading Lolita in Tehran had been embraced by none other than Bernard Lewis!—can be viewed at <www.worldwidewamm.org/ newsletters/2010/070810/lolita.html>.
A Moving Donation Moved by the uprising of the people in the Arab world and North Africa, including those who have given their lives for freedom and democracy, we make this special donation in their honor. Thank you for all the work you do for peace and justice. Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius and Ms. Aston Bloom, Tucson, AZ As perennial members of the AET Choir of Angels, you honor us every year with your contributions. We are thrilled that Americans finally have been able to see that Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans and people throughout the Arab world value democracy as much as Americans do, and are willing to put their lives on the line to obtain it. No Other Source? Is yours the only source of un-censored news permitted by our Zionist media? Could you recommend any other sources of viable news for a Kevin MacDonald/Paul Findley reader? Please respond or advertize sources in your magazine. Raymond Hurt, Cumberland, MD We’re hardly about to use up more than the remaining space on this page by listing dozens of sources. Alas, you probably are too far from the Washington, DC area to receive Al Jazeera English on TV. Many of the sources you might find helpful are on the Internet, and we regularly reprint articles of particular note in our “Other Voices” supplement. ❑ MAY/JUNE 2011
publishers_7_APRIL 2011 Publishers page 4/14/11 2:40 PM Page 7
American Educational Trust
Publishers’ Page
The More Things Change…
These Are the Men and Women…
The more they keep on changing, it seems. That doesn’t make life easy for a nondaily—or, these days, non-hourly—publication. The mission of the Washington Report has always been to bring our readers information unavailable in the mainstream media. So we’re not surprised that, as the eyes of the world focus on the “Arab Spring,” Israel is availing itself of the opportunity to ratchet up its campaign to…
Who send American soldiers to wars that often are on behalf of Israel rather than their own country, but who will make absolutely sure that Israel gets its annual billions in tribute right away and all at once. Israel uses American taxpayer dollars to wound and kill not only Palestinians, but anyone who gets in their way—including Americans. In a Haifa courtroom, however…
Oppress and Eliminate Palestinians.
Israel’s Impunity Is Being Challenged.
That’s something, alas, that doesn’t change. And, as evidenced by the intense pressure on Judge Richard Goldstone—one of their own—by the international Jewish establishment, with the help of Christian Zionists, the Zionist intention is that it never will. As we went to press, however, Goldstone’s fellow commission members—Hina Jilani, Christine Chinkin and Desmond Travers—issued a joint statement distancing themselves from Goldstone’s pitiful Washington Post op-ed. Their conclusion:
As part of the ongoing civil lawsuit Corrie vs. the State of Israel, military officers who commanded troops in Rafah, Gaza on the day Rachel Corrie, 23, was killed testified in court April 6, behind a screen to protect their identities. A Bedouin officer who had testified earlier told the court he asked his commander if he could halt his work because of the presence of Corrie and other International Solidarity Movement (ISM) protesters, and potential danger to them, but received orders to continue. The Israelis had firing orders that every adult person should be…
“Had We Given in to Pressures…
“Shot to Kill.”
From any quarter to sanitize our conclusions, we would be doing a serious injustice to the hundreds of innocent civilians killed during the Gaza conflict, the thousands injured, and the hundreds of thousands whose lives continue to be deeply affected by the conflict and the blockade.” We salute their courage and…
A battalion commander also testified that there was a first aid kit in an armored personnel carrier at the scene, and a trained medic, but they made no attempt to provide aid to Rachel after she was run over by a bulldozer driven by an IDF soldier. Within seven weeks of Rachel’s killing, award-winning journalist James Miller and activist Tom Hurndall, both British citizens, were shot and killed in the same two-mile stretch of Gaza. Brian Avery, 24, from Albuquerque, NM, was shot in the face by Israeli troops in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin on April 6, 2003, and Tristan Anderson was shot in the head by a teargas canister in the village of Ni’lin on March 13, 2009. Emily Henochowicz, 21, lost an eye the same way during a June 1, 2010 demonstration at the Qalandiya checkpoint outside Ramallah. She and her fellow demonstrators were protesting Israel’s commando…
Commitment to Principle. Would that members of Congress and the Obama administration—we won’t evaluate the judicial branch just yet—demonstrated that same commitment. Americans watch as, Goldstone-like, their elected officials succumb to similar pressure from a foreign government and its domestic agents. Unlike Goldstone, however, they respond to the added inducements of money and the desire to be re-elected (which, of course, often amounts to the same thing). These priorities are blatantly revealed by the amount of pro-Israel PAC contributions accepted by 2010 congressional candidates (see pp. 34-41). Americans should not be surprised, then, when Speaker of the House John Boehner invites Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress on Israel’s Middle East piece—er, peace—policy. MAY/JUNE 2011
Raid on the Mavi Marmara… The previous day, during which 19-year-old American citizen Furkan Dogan was shot and killed execution-style. Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla brought to mind its 1967 attack on the unarmed USS Liberty in international waters, killing 34 and wounding 174 Americans. Survivors of that attack are still seeking justice from their govTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ernment. The Washington Report remembers one, John Hrankowsky, who did not live to savor that day (see p. 28). Is this what Americans mean by…
Shared Values? Murdoch Turns to the Mideast. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch entered the Middle East media market by purchasing 9.09 percent of Arab entertainment giant Rotana, one of the region’s largest film, radio, TV, and music producers. The 13th most powerful person in the world, according to Forbes, Murdoch has used Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, and his British holdings such as the Times, Sky TV and the Sun, along with various satellite TV, film and Internet companies, to promote an anti-Arab, pro-Israel bias. “We are now facing the reality of the sale of Arab films and music to an investor whose media empire is one of the causes of the erroneous image of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the West,” lamented Egyptian novelist Ezzat Qamhawi.
We Ask Our Readers… To financially support struggling independent print media, radio and filmmakers. Without your vigilance and funding, “free media” may be a thing of the past. Young people around the world get most of their information via TV, cell phones or computers. Let’s make sure that they have access to accurate news. And please don’t forget that…
“Struggling Media” R Us! The Washington Report’s Web site, <www.wrmea.com>, was repeatedly hacked in the week before we went to press, which greatly added to the challenges we faced trying to report on breaking news. As a result, we have removed many of the new features on our Web site, like the interactive calendar and chatroom. We hope you’ll “friend us” on Facebook (link at our Web site) and follow us on Twitter at AETWRMEA. Whether by old or new technology, we’re determined to get vital information into the hands of readers. Please invest in our continued existence, in all its manifestations, so that together we can...
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Obama Goes to War to Protect Libyan Civilians, But Ignores Victims of U.S. Allies SpecialReport
By Rachelle Marshall
MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
barded Libyan cities and air bases with Tomahawk missiles while B-2 Stealth bombers and fighter jets dropped 500-pound bombs on Libyan troops, military installations and government buildings, including Qaddafi’s personal compound. The intensity of the attacks prompted sharp criticism from Security Council members Brazil, Russia, China and India, and from the Arab League. “What we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” said the League’s secretarygeneral, Amr Moussa. In justifying his decision to go to war without a congressional mandate, Obama said, “Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different.” That statement was certain to provoke such questions as why Obama’s concern for civilians did not extend to the victims of other brutal dictators, such as Robert MuA young Libyan girl carrying the independence flag heads with her brother toward a destroyed tank at the gabe of Zimbabwe and Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast. western gate of the town of Ajdabiya, April 12, 2011. Why had Obama shown no Qaddafi’s 41-year record of oppression, sympathy for the 1,400 Gazans slaughtered he success of pro-democracy protests in Tunisia and Egypt in late winter raised torture, and arbitrary imprisonment was by the Israelis during Operation Cast Lead hopes that peaceful change would take not entirely unique in a region where little in the winter of 2008-9, or for the many place elsewhere in the region. Those hopes dissent is tolerated and the Israelis inflict Palestinians killed since then? Defense Secretary Robert Gates was faded when the rulers of Yemen, Bahrain, every conceivable hardship on the PalesSyria and Saudi Arabia used their armed tinians in an effort to take permanent pos- more candid in explaining the choice of forces to put down protests, and Libya’s session of their land. Yet with U.S. forces opponents. He admitted that Libya was not Muammar Qaddafi proved willing to kill as still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the of “vital interest to the U.S.,” but added, many Libyans as necessary to remain in Obama administration joined Britain and “We clearly have interests there, and it’s France in launching a war against the part of a region which is of vital interest to power. the United States.” He did not have to exLibyan ruler. The U.N. Security Council had called for plain what those interests are. Libya posRachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of A Jew- a cease-fire and for measures to protect sesses large quantities of oil, and is one of ish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on Libyan civilians, but the allies’ attack far the few Arab countries where the industry the Middle East. exceeded that mandate. Warships bom- is still nationalized. The bulk of Libya’s oil
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profits do not flow to oil companies abroad, nor are they used to buy American arms. As the war went into its third week, and Qaddafi’s troops recaptured territory they had lost, the U.S. reportedly considered arming the ragtag rebel army or even leading an all-out ground assault on Qaddafi’s forces. But the allies still had not agreed on an ultimate goal. Obama claimed they did not intend to oust Qaddafi by force, but it was clear they intended to get rid of him. Such an outcome would have its own perils, especially since it was not clear who made up the rebel army. Some intelligence analysts even suspected it included members of alQaeda or similar groups. When Qaddafi overthrew Israeli soldiers hold back Palestinians as Jewish settlers from the illegal Yetzhar settlement rampage through the king 41 years ago Libya the northern West Bank village of Assira al-Qibiliya, April 9, 2011. The soldiers allowed the Israeli rioters was a collection of warring to leave without making any move to arrest them. tribes, and his departure could reignite old rivalries and, as hap- “They shot at kids. There was no humanity, signs, the military, which receives $1.3 bilpened in Iraq, plunge the country into re- no respect.” Obama again urged “restraint.” lion a year in U.S. military aid, has yet to Administration officials were far harsher end Egypt’s enforcement of the blockade or newed violence. Obama’s decision to go to war to protect in their condemnation of Syria, where sol- enact the economic and political reforms Libyan civilians was in sharp contrast to diers killed some 60 demonstrators before demanded by the protesters. Obama’s selective approach to Middle his behavior toward other Arab rulers who, pulling back. In an effort to appease the unlike Qaddafi, faced mostly unarmed pro- protesters, President Bashar al-Assad freed East rulers based on the size of their oil detestors rather than armed rebels. After the hundreds of political prisoners, and posits and their relations with Israel was forces of Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah promised to lift the 50-year-old emergency explained by a senior administration offiSaleh opened fire on demonstrators in laws and institute major reforms—at some cial who spoke off the record. He acknowlSana’a on March 18, killing at least 52 of future date. Gates condemned the Syrians edged that many of the Arab protesters them and wounding hundreds more, for using violence against the demonstra- identified their struggle with the American Obama called only for “restraint.” Saleh, a tors and “ignoring the political and eco- civil rights movement and therefore exclose ally in fighting al-Qaeda, has allowed nomic needs of the people.” He issued this pected Obama to support them. But, the ofCIA-operated drone missiles to carry out statement, with no apparent embarrass- ficial said, “His first job is to be the American president.” ment, from the Israeli Defense Ministry. assassinations on Yemeni territory. Some Middle East experts believe Obama In Egypt, the success of a March 19 vote King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain, home port of the U.S. 5th Fleet, is an even to approve several constitutional amend- would be wise to redefine that job in terms more crucial ally. Gates visited Khalifa on ments virtually assured there would be of America’s true interests, and adjust to March 11 to assure him of American sup- elections for parliament in September and the new reality. If pro-democracy moveport and urge him to negotiate with pro- for president in November. The military ments are successful, the administration’s testers, who were calling only for democra- council that took over from Hosni Mubarak willingness to tolerate Israel’s excesses and tic reforms under a constitutional monarchy. meanwhile appointed as interim prime those of its Arab allies may cause the new Khalifa ignored Gates’ request, and instead minister Essam Sharif, a former judge on leaders to reconsider their relations with the U.S. As Arab political systems become imposed martial law and called in an army the International Court of Justice. Sharif in turn named as foreign minister more representative of their populations composed of troops from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Nabil Elaraby, who immediately declared “they will for sure become less enthusiastic Soldiers backed by tanks and helicopters Israel’s blockade of Gaza to be a violation of about strategic cooperation with the United used clubs, tear gas, and live bullets to dis- international law, and said Israel “must be States,” said two former members of the Naperse unarmed protesters.“They broke held accountable when it does not respect tional Security Council, Flynt Leverett and everything,” one of the demonstrators said. its obligations.” Despite these encouraging Hillary Mann Leverett. MAY/JUNE 2011
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Professor Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University puts much of the blame for the prevalence of autocratic Arab regimes on the imperial powers. After World War I Britain and France divided up the Ottoman Empire between themselves, drew national borders accordingly, and installed handpicked rulers. Since World War II the U.S. and Britain have assured the continuance of these regimes by systematically undermining democratically elected governments. Unlike democracies, however, dictatorships are essentially unstable. The reformminded crowds who are willing to risk tear gas and bullets are addressing longstanding and deeply held grievances. In doing so they have coopted al-Qaeda’s appeal, and demonstrated to Western leaders that the most effective weapon against terrorism is not drone missiles, but freedom from oppression. That message has been rejected by the Israelis. As Israel takes over more and more West Bank land, Palestinian villagers endure an increasing number of shootings, beatings, stabbings and incidents of arson. Soldiers who accompany the marauding settlers often shoot Palestinians who try to fend them off. West Bank Palestinians have refrained from retaliatory violence, but in early March an assailant entered the rightwing settlement of Itamar and stabbed to death a family of five, including a small infant. Since Palestinians are barred from entering Itamar, the killings may have been carried out by one of the many foreign workers employed there. Nevertheless, settlers stormed through the West Bank, wrecking whatever they found in their path. The army raided dozens of homes in the area, arrested 19 Palestinians, and left a trail of broken furniture, emptied water cisterns and smashed computers. The killer has not been found. “They murder, we build,” Netanyahu said in announcing that Israel would add 500 more settlement units in the West Bank. In fact the Israelis murder as well as build. Jewish Voice for Peace recently reported that between the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 and Jan. 1, 2011, the Israelis killed 150 Palestinian men, women and children. In 2010 alone, according to the U.N. Office of Humanitarian Affairs, the Israelis killed 11 children and wounded 360. These figures are certain to be even greater in 2011. As a million and a half Gazans were trying to survive with not enough food and electricity, and with dangerously polluted water, the Israelis found an additional way 10
Israel’s Government Makes Nonviolent Protest a Crime The Obama administration has demanded that Hamas renounce violence, and was quick to condemn Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel. But a president who once named Martin Luther King, Jr. as his hero has remained unmoved by Israel’s punishment of Palestinians and others who advocate nonviolence. More than 20 are in prison, and scores have been gassed or shot by Israeli soldiers for taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall. The demonstrations have been praised by a number of international peace advocates, including Nobel laureates Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu. Yet on March 23, a prominent leader of the nonviolent protest movement in the village of Nabi Saleh, Bassem Tamimi, was about to meet with a group of foreign diplomats when Israeli soldiers stormed into his house and took him away to prison. When Tamimi’s wife attempted to photograph the scene they hit her and threw her camera into the mud. Tamimi is being held indefinitely on charges of “incitement,” along with others from the village, including an 11-year-old boy, who were rounded up at the same time. Another Palestinian, five Israelis, and three foreign peace activists were arrested the next day. Soon afterward an Israeli military court for the second time extended the sentence of another leader of the nonviolent movement, Abdallah Abu Ramah, of Bil’in. The treatment of Abu Ramah, who has already spent a year and a half in prison, has been condemned by Britain, the European Union, B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch—but not by the U.S. Some forms of dissent are now a crime even in Israel. The Knesset recently voted to revoke the citizenship of anyone “who commits offenses against the security of the state”—a charge that could be applied to any criticic of the government. Still on its way through the Knesset and likely to pass is a measure that would punish anyone who supports a boycott of the settlements or their products. Israel has long denied Palestinians and Palestinian Israelis their rights. Now the state that proclaims itself the state of all the Jews has begun restricting the rights of its Jewish citizens as well. —R.M. to punish them by kidnapping the operating manager of Gaza’s only functioning power plant, Dirar Abu Sisi. Sisi was visiting Ukraine when he was seized by Israeli agents and flown shackled and hooded to Israel, where he has been imprisoned ever since (see story p. 18). After Israel restricted the import of regular fuel to Gaza, Sisi devised a way to run the power plant’s turbines on diesel fuel smuggled in from Egypt. Israel eventually accused Sisi with developing missiles and rockets for Hamas, a charge his Israeli lawyer called unrealistic and “meant only to justify what has been done to [him].” His abduction was clearly aimed at punishing him for that crime and reducing even the small amount of electricity available to Gazans. Israel’s continuing assassinations of Hamas members, and the shooting of Gazans who came too close to the border, finally accomplished their purpose in March, when a bomb set off near a Jerusalem bus stop killed a 60-year-old British woman, and Hamas broke its 13month cease-fire by firing 50 mortar shells into Israel, lightly wounding two Israelis. With renewed peace talks now safely out of the question, Israel was free to strike back with repeated air strikes and shelling, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
killing militants and civilians alike. Gates, who like Obama had remained silent when Palestinian children were killed, called the Jerusalem bombing “a horrific terrorist attack.” Since then Hamas and other militant groups have agreed to restore a cease-fire if Israel stopped its attacks, but the air strikes have continued. The escalating violence raised fears of a repeat of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 22day assault on Gaza two years ago that left 1,400 Palestinians dead. A group of Israeli peace activists demanded that Israel and Gaza be made a no-fly zone, and the International Crisis Group (ICG) called for an immediate and comprehensive cease-fire, an immediate end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, and greater unity between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The last, according to the ICG, would require a “different approach” to Hamas by the West. Obama has the diplomatic and economic means as well as the moral power to force an end to Israel’s illegal occupation and its excesses. He has chosen instead to ignore the Palestinians’ plight and embark on yet another war. His decision to intervene in Libya may or may not prove dangerously short-sighted. His refusal to condemn Israel’s crimes is indefensible. ❑ MAY/JUNE 2011
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Mediators to the Rescue—Mainly Drawn From the Region Itself SpecialReport
By Patrick Seale
display all the characteristics of murderous civil wars. In Libya and Yemen, but also in Bahrain and Syria, there seems little chance of a rapid or widely acceptable settlement. Can mediation help? The good news is that mediators— mainly drawn from the region itself—are at last beginning to offer their services in an evident attempt to save the “Arab Revolution” from degenerating into uncontrollable chaos. The euphoric democratic wave of the early days has been replaced by a harsher, grimmer mood, suggesting that the revolution has entered a new and more violent phase. In Libya, in particular, mediation is urgently required to break the dangerous impasse. As if mimicking the desert battles of the Second World War, rebels and Qaddafi loyalists chase each other up and down the Mediterranean coast with neither side seeming able to deliver a knockout blow. Meanwhile, precious infrastructure—including oil installations—is being destroyed, while some 450,000 people have already fled abroad. The country is in danger of splitting into two. Food and fuel is everywhere in short supply. A delegation from the African Union, led by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, seems to have won Qaddafi’s agreement to what was, in effect, a Turkish roadmap for a settlement. It proposed an immediate cease-fire, humanitarian aid corridors, and negotiations between Qaddafi and the rebels. But the rebels have already rejected any plan which leaves any semblance of a role for the Libyan dictator and his sons. They want them out. Turkey will no doubt try again. It has won an enviable reputation for conflict resolution. It has also invested heavily in Libya, where it has many large-scale construction projects worth several billion Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the Middle East. His latest book is The Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle East (Cambridge University Press). Copyright © 2011 Patrick Seale. Distributed by Agence Global. MAY/JUNE 2011
AFP PHOTO/KARIM JAAFAR
everal conflicts across the Middle East seem in danger of sinking into longS running stalemates, and are beginning to
(L-r) Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Crown Prinice Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague at the start of a meeting of the international crisis group on Libya held April 13, 2011 in the Qatari capital of Doha. dollars. When fighting broke out, these projects ground to a halt and Turkish workers were among the first to be evacuated. At a time when the United States seems anxious to disengage from military operations, while Britain and France face the unwelcome prospect of a long war, Turkey’s efforts deserve strong international support. Qatar, a small but influential country, has also distinguished itself as a regional mediator, notably in Lebanon and Sudan. Like Turkey, it has now entered the Libyan arena, but not as a mediator. Instead, it has offered the anti-Qaddafi rebels precious backing. Its jets are helping enforce the No-Fly Zone; it has recognized the Interim THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Transitional National Council in Benghazi; and—perhaps most important of all—it has offered to supply fuel to the people of eastern Libya and market oil from the region. It is no surprise that Riyadh is leading the mediation effort in Yemen. No country has a greater interest than Saudi Arabia in the stability of Yemen, where the beleaguered President Ali Abdallah Saleh is fighting for his political life. With backing from other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia has been attempting to organize a conference of all the parties in Riyadh. No doubt, Saudi subsidies and offers of development aid could help smooth the way for a settlement. 11
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But the gap is difficult to bridge between as well as with al-Wefaq, the main Shi’i op- tionaries want Hosni Mubarak and his closest associates to be put on trial. In Tunisia, President Saleh and the many factions op- position group. It is not clear whether Syria would wel- where an atmosphere of great political conposed to him—youthful revolutionaries, Islamists, Zaydi Houthis from the region of come a helping hand in resolving a situa- fusion reigns, no fewer than 51 political Sa‘ada in the north and would-be seces- tion which is now threatening to escalate parties have registered to contest the July sionists in the south. President Saleh wants into further violence. Once again, Turkey 24 elections. Plagued by economic misery, to leave office in his own time and with full has stepped in with advice, if not with ac- hordes of young Tunisians have sought to immunity from prosecution, while the rev- tual mediation. “We cannot remain indif- smuggle themselves across the sea to Italy, olutionaries say they will only engage in di- ferent to what is going on in Syria,” Turk- where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has alogue if his immediate departure is assured. ish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan warned of a “human tsunami.” The fear of a wild, infectious insurrecYemen is the poorest and most turbulent has declared. “We have an 800-kilometer of the Arab countries, while Saudi Arabia border with Syria. I advised President tion sweeping across the region is bringing is the richest and in many ways the most Bashar al-Assad to listen to the demands of would-be mediators onto the scene. But stable. If Yemen were to sink into lawless his people.” Erdogan is thought to have the situation with which they have to deal turmoil, Saudi Arabia would inevitably recommended that President Assad insti- is daunting, and it is far from clear that all suffer. Destitute Yemenis, unable to find tute a multi-party democracy on the Turk- parties to the various conflicts would welcome external help. work in their own country, would seek to ish model. Israel is certainly a regional power that Hakan Fidan, the powerful head of cross the long porous border into the Kingdom in search of a better life. From Turkey’s Intelligence Service (MIT), has wants no interference in its continued Riyadh’s point of view, they would pose a paid a recent visit to Damascus. No doubt land-grab of Palestinian territory and its Turkey feels it has the right to speak its cruel oppression of the Palestinians. But security threat. Historically, relations between Saudi mind since it has been enjoying a spectac- the recent dangerous flare-up on the IsArabia and Yemen have veered back and ular political honeymoon with Syria. The raeli-Gaza border—which at the time of forth between cautious friendship and bit- two countries carried out joint military ex- writing had claimed the life of some 50 ter hostility, especially since the 1962 rev- ercises in April 2010, to Israel’s evident dis- Gaza citizens in the last month—is serving to alert European leaders that the time for a olution which overthrew the one thou- satisfaction and alarm. Even in countries where rulers have al- forceful mediation to enforce a cease-fire sand year-old Imamate, making Yemen the only republic in an Arabian Peninsula ready been toppled, protests have by no and resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict is fast ruled by kings, sultans, emirs and sheikhs. means been silenced. In Egypt, the revolu- approaching. ❑ The last 40 years have been (Advertisement) marked by one crisis after another in Saudi-Yemeni relaHelp make sure that the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs will be here for tions. the next generation. By remembering the Washington Report in your will, you Qatar has also suggested can: helping to mediate the conflict, but President Saleh ap• Make a significant gift without affecting your current cash flow; • Direct your bequest to a vital purpose—educating readers pears to have rejected its offer about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; and expelled its envoy. Mean• Receive a charitable estate tax deduction; while, the situation in Yemen • Leave a legacy for future generations. has turned increasingly ugly. Protesters are being met with live fire. Pitched battles are being fought in the streets. Casualties are mounting, fueling anger and a thirst for revenge, and hardening positions on both sides. In Bahrain, Kuwait was reported to have offered to mediate between the government and the opposition, but Saudi Arabia, whose troops have helped quell the recent protests, may not welcome interference in a country it regards as falling within its Bequests of any size are honored with membership in the American Educational Trust’s sphere of influence. Turkey “Orchestra,” named for angels whose foresight and dedication ensured the future of the Washington Report and AET Book Club. has also attempted to mediate in Bahrain. Its hyper-active For more information visit www.wrmea.com/donate/bequests.pdf, contact us at foreign minister, Ahmet Da circulation@wrmea.com, write: Washington Report, 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC vutoglu, has held talks with 20009, or call 202-939-6050 or 1-800-365-5788 ext 1. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa 12
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Obama’s Abuse of War Powers SpecialReport
By Paul Findley he acts of war ordered by President
of Libya violated provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973. He also exceeded his authority by pledging U.S. combat support to the United Nations Security Council and to NATO for military measures against Libya. The United States may soon find itself entrapped in a costly civil war in that North African nation. Congress is complicit in these violations, because it failed to demand presidential compliance with the Constitution and public law and neglected its own explicit constitutional duty in the exercise of war powers. The War Powers Resolution was enacted in the wake of the Vietnam ordeal by members of Congress, myself included, who considered that war unauthorized by Congress and a gross abuse of constitutional war powers. Our goal was to prevent future unauthorized presidential wars. I joined other members of Congress in overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto, and during my remaining years on Capitol Hill maintained close vigilance on presidential compliance. Compliance was satisfactory by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, as well as by both Presidents Bush. In recent years I find no sign of vigilance or compliance. It is a sad, dangerous state of affairs. Mandated presidential reports are a major feature of the resolution. In the absence of a war declaration, a written presidential report must be delivered to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate within 24 hours of each order that moves substantial U.S. military forces into hostile areas. It must list reasons for the decision, military forces to be committed, and the expected duration of war measures. It cites a constitutional way for Congress to overturn any such presidential decision. Paul Findley served as a Republican representative from Illinois 1961-83. He resides in Jacksonville, Illinois, and has written six books, the latest being Speaking Out: A congressman’s lifelong fight against bigotry, famine and war. It will be published in June by Chicago Review Press (Lawrence Hill Books imprint). MAY/JUNE 2011
SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
TBarack Obama against the government
President Barack Obama leaves after speaking about U.S. and NATO involvement in military action against Libya in a March 28 speech at the National Defense University in Washington, DC. Any member of Congress can challenge the president’s decision by introducing a bill called a concurrent resolution of disapproval. If approved by both House and Senate, this legislation requires the president to rescind his war decision. The War Powers Resolution even authorizes expedited parliamentary procedures when a disapproval resolution is introduced in either chamber of Congress. These provisions were intended to bring Congress close to the president as he ponders war-making decisions, a role clearly intended by the authors of the U.S. Constitution. The resolution limits the time for delivery of presidential reports to 24 hours in the hope that the quick deadline will cause the president to give close attention to the likely reaction of Congress. We believed it could be an important, timely restraint on a president whose decision at the moment must be reflective and wise. It would also be a strong reminder that Congress has the power to overturn the president’s decision quickly by enacting a conTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
current resolution of disapproval. In assaulting Libya, President Obama acted as if the War Powers Resolution did not exist. Instead of sending a written report to congressional leaders within 24 hours, as required by law, he did not write until five days after the assault began. The five-day lapse was a violation of law, but in a sense it was delivered in blinding speed. In recent years, reports mandated by the War Powers Resolution for delivery within 24 hours of presidential decisions usually are bundled and delivered semi-annually. Yes, semi-annually. Obama had ample time to consult with congressional leaders during the weeks preceding the assault on Libya, which meant consultations were legally mandated by the War Powers Resolution. None occurred. From the start, Obama proceeded in a cavalier, almost casual manner. In announcing war measures in Libya, he mentioned neither Congress nor the U.S. ConContinued on page 47 13
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Two Views
AFP PHOTO /FABRICE COFFRINI
Judge Goldstone Retreats From His Report on Gaza
South African Judge Richard Goldstone listens through an earpiece after delivering the Goldstone Report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Sept. 29, 2009.
Goldstone’s About-Face By Daoud Kuttab
henever anything happens in the W world, Jews and Israelis ask the question: Is this good for Jews? But when a South African Jew who also insists that he is a Zionist was appointed to a human rights commission, the Jewish answer was a strong no. It was clear that the usual character assassination and political spin aimed at delegitmizing anyone asked to investigate Israel’s war crimes would be much more difficult if the person is a Jewish judge. To be sure, Israel refused to meet with Goldstone and his commission, and when they produced a report based in part on what they saw in Gaza, the Israeli PR machine was cranked up. But what appears to have been an even stronger and more effecDaoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist and director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah. This article first appeared in the Jordan Times, April 7, 2011. Reprinted with permission. 14
tive machine was similarly put to work, this time using the wide social and religious network of the worldwide Jewish population, to put constant and unrelenting direct pressure on Goldstone. His unexpected and sudden volte face caught many, including the Israeli PR machine and the worldwide Jewish network, slightly off guard. After all, the report of the committee that Goldstone chaired had been submitted to the U.N. and was, therefore, no longer accessible to him or anyone else in his committee. It was also unusual, and rather scary, to see a well-respected judge who is familiar with the basics of judicial process write an op-ed piece that makes claims that were not shared by his colleagues on the committee and were clearly not received and discussed from all points of view. It is very rare that a judge would actually go back on a decision or judgment even if that was not a judicial act in the normal sense of the word. A mea culpa using an op-ed after a committee report has been submitted is extremely unusual. This is where the case becomes scary.
For months, the social persecution of Judge Goldstone has been widely publicised. The head of the South African Zionist Federation, Avrom Krengel, boasted to Yediot Ahronot’s Aviel Magnezi how the Jewish community pressured Goldstone: “He suffered greatly, especially in the city he comes from. We took sides against him, and it encourages us to know that our way had an effect.” Goldstone, who was initially denied the right to attend his grandson’s bar mitzvah, eventually was allowed to attend. His arrival was made possible, according to Krengel, only after Goldstone agreed to meet with the leaders of the South African Zionist Federation, according to Ynet News. What is scary is the absence of information on so many other Jewish personalities who are in a sensitive position vis-à-vis the Middle East conflict. For years, the leading U.S. newspaper New York Times chose not to send Jewish reporters to Israel. But once this self-imposed restraint was lifted, almost every reporter and bureau chief in Israel has been Jewish, some of them Zionists. The present bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, is married to an Israeli woman and their Israeli son serves in the Israeli army. The public editor of the New York Times recommended publicly that Bronner be moved and given a “plum job” anywhere else, but the executive editor, who is also Jewish, refused. The same situation applies in diplomacy. The U.S. was for a long time hesitant to send Jewish-American diplomats to the Middle East, and especially to Israel. But for some time, this is what has been happening. Dan Kurtzer served honorably in Egypt and Israel. Dan Shapiro has just been appointed as the new ambassador to Tel Aviv, and the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, Daniel Rubinstein, is also Jewish, and reportedly with relatives in Israel. This is not to say that Jewish Americans cannot, or do not, serve honorably as neutral, unbiased reporters or diplomats, but what has been documented about the pressure laid upon Goldstone does not bode well for others who follow the Jewish faith and who might be closet or even publicly professing Zionists. If a Palestinian, an Arab or a Muslim were appointed to any diplomatic, media MAY/JUNE 2011
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or human rights council investigating Israel or Palestine, the Israelis would scream. And when a Jewish Zionist is appointed and holds views that Israel doesn’t like, the pressure, ostracizing and hounding begin worldwide. I do not believe Jews rule the world and I do abhor anti-Semitism. But the narrative of Judge Goldstone’s committee report, the pressures on him, his humiliating capitulation, coupled with exaggerated gloating by Israeli leaders, will certainly fuel more antiSemitism than reduce it, and will make it difficult to avoid wondering whether in the future other Jews can avoid being suspected of divided loyalty and bias when serving in any position that potentially impacts Israel. In the end, a sane person might conclude that the op-ed penned by Goldstone is most probably, in the final analysis, “not good for Jews.”
The Mystery of Goldstone’s April Fool’s Message By George S. Hishmeh
t was definitely coincidental—but harIRichard boring many unclear scenarios—that Goldstone’s infamous volte face came on April Fool’s day, when it appeared on the Web site of The Washington Post. In his wishy-washy column, published in that paper two days later, the esteemed South African judge backtracked on some of his original sharp findings which appeared in an earlier U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) report about the 2008-09 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Then, around 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 11 Israeli soldiers lost their lives in the three-week invasion. His justification: “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report [named in his honor] would have been a different document.” Goldstone had originally said that his committee had “found evidence of potential war crimes and ‘possibly crimes against humanity’” committed during that war by both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that still controls the Gaza Strip, home to about 1.5 million Palestinians. But a final report to HRC by another U.N. committee, run by a former New York judge, argued that in that war “civilians were not intentionally targeted [by Israel] George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at <ghishmeh@gulfnews.com>. This column was first published in the Gulf News, April 7, 2011. Reprinted with permission. MAY/JUNE 2011
as a matter of policy,” basing its conclusions in part on “investigations published by the Israeli military.” Hamas, in turn, had failed to conduct its investigation of the brutal clashes between the two sides— a decision that harmed the group’s standing. Although a Jew and a Zionist—(one wonders how he was tasked with this mission)—Goldstone was severely denounced by Israel and its supporters. This time around his backtracking encouraged Netanyahu to call for “the shelving of [Goldstone’s] report once and for all.” But the South African judge had refrained from echoing Netanyahu’s call in his just-published column, contributing to the mystery of his back-pedaling and raising concerns that he may do so in the future. To his credit, however, Goldstone had documented unchallenged numerous examples of mistreatment of Palestinian civilians by Israeli soldiers, and highlighted, as well, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Gaza Strip where 29 Palestinian members of the Samouni family were killed, one of 4,000 homes demolished. But what has been shocking has been the fact that the Goldstone column had two “significantly different” versions, one sent much earlier to The New York Times, and when this was not published, a second version appearing several days later in The Washington Post. The first version, according to an unidentified source close to the Politico Web site and published in Haaretz, did not include the “crucial repudiation of the [Goldstone] report’s central thrust,” namely the allegations of war crimes and the intentional targeting of civilian non-combatants. Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, believes that the significance of Goldstone’s op-ed column “is being overblown.” Challenging Goldstone’s claim that new information discounts claims that Israel was targeting civilians, Roth writes: “Human Right Watch’s investigation in Gaza found some cases of apparently deliberate killing of civilians by Israeli soldiers, such as the killing of 11 civilians holding white flags, but no evidence that these resulted from a policy to target civilians.” After noting that only four Israel soldiers had been indicted and only one had served jail time (71⁄2 months), Israel, Roth concluded, “has yet to investigate the policies behind the indiscriminate attacks that caused so much civilian harm.” Richard Cohen, a Washington Post columnist, believes that Goldstone’s harassment “was a symptom of something larger.” In other words, he continued, that THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Goldstone’s report “was accepted in much of the world testified to how much Israel’s moral standing has plummeted.” Moreover, a member of the four-member panel that authored the Goldstone Report, Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish armed forces and an expert on international criminal investigations, was reported saying that “the tenor of the report in its entirety, in my opinion, stands.” It was interesting that this brouhaha over the Goldstone Report coincided with the visit of Israeli President Shimon Peres to the White House on April 5 and came as a State Department statement chastised Israel for plans to add about a thousand houses in occupied East Jerusalem. President Obama hit the nail on the head when he told an Israeli rally marking the assassination of Israeli Prime Yitzhak Rabin more than a year ago that “Israelis will not find true security while the Palestinians are gripped by hopelessness and despair.” Whether the climate will be better when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu comes to Washington, DC in May remains to be seen. ❑
IndextoAdvertisers Alalusi Foundation . . . . . . . . . . 47 Al-Mubadarah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine . . . . . . . . 33 American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 American-Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 The Atlas of Palestine . . . . . . . . 31 Dish World . . . Inside Front Cover Helping Hand for Relief and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover Kinder USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Muslim Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Persian Heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Radio Baladi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 “Road to Tantura”. . . . . . . . . . . 17 This Time We Went Too Far . . . 45 United Palestinian Appeal (UPA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 “Why 9/11?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 15
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The Myth of Israel’s Insecurity SpecialReport
By Ira Chernus
THOMAS COEX/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
choice) and “hacol bishvil bitachon” (It’s all for the sake of security)—most Americans take the underlying message for granted. Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, its economic stranglehold on Gaza, its foot-dragging on peace-making, and the suffering inflicted on Palestinians all get a pass—not only in Washington but in public opinion throughout the land—because of the basic premise of public discourse on the issue: Israel must do whatever it takes to protect its security. When we’re threatened we fight back, by any means necessary, most Americans think to themselves. Isn’t that the American way? Why should we expect Israel to do any different? That’s a key reason 63 percent of Americans told a recent Gallup poll they sympathize with Israel, while only 17 percent sympathize with the Palestinians. The lobby has been pumping its Palestinians look at the destroyed Gaza City office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on March 25, story into every nook and cranny of after it was targeted by Israeli warplanes, along with three other sites in the Gaza Strip, in the American body politic ever since response to Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. the State of Israel was born in 1948. No matter how much the lobby ressure is growing inside the U.S. for- sure he wins in 2012. And putting pres- spends on PR, though, and no matter how eign policy establishment for Barack sure on Israel has political costs that are as effective its PR machine, it cannot do the Obama to set out his own plan for Israeli- sizeable as they are unpredictable. Obama job alone. The politicians, pundits and Palestinian peace. Among the establish- has been learning that the hard way ever journalists who propagate the story day ment pillars calling publicly for that dra- since he first demanded an end to West after day have to cooperate. And they do, matic step are Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Bank settlement expansion and then in many cases much more than they realScowcroft and Thomas Friedman. Indeed, backed down in the face of political pres- ize. Even those who are openly critical of it’s hard to imagine peace coming any other sures from the right-wing pro-Israel lobby. Israel constantly reinforce the message that way. Considering the intransigence of the The lobby seems to be the greatest obsta- Israel is threatened and vulnerable to Israeli government and the disarray in cle to the U.S.-led peace process that being destroyed. Look, for example, at the New York Palestinian governance, the two sides can Obama wants—and both Israelis and Times’ two foreign policy columnists (both hardly do it alone. Given the dependence Palestinians need—so much. The power of the lobby has been ana- Jewish) as they analyzed the Egyptian upof both sides on U.S. support, the two sides will have trouble refusing a clear, firm de- lyzed endlessly. As with any complex sys- rising of early 2011. Tom Friedman contem, no simple explanation will suffice. firmed that it “was not inspired by the mand from Washington. However it’s equally hard to imagine But there’s one part of the puzzle that the Muslim Brotherhood. Most of all, it is not Obama actually making that demand. explainers typically underrate and often about some populist upsurge that craves Though he may yearn to have a peace ignore altogether: the political power of Is- restarting the war with Israel.” Yet he prefagreement to his credit when he runs for rael’s favorite story, the underdog Jewish aced his analysis by reaffirming the comre-election, he yearns even more to make “David” constantly fighting for its life mon wisdom: “This is a perilous time for against the Arab “Goliath.” The image of Israel, and its anxiety is understandable.… Ira Chernus is professor of religious studies Israel as an innocent victim, constantly on Everyone can or should understand Israel’s at the University of Colorado at Boulder. guard against “existential threats,” is the strategic concerns. They are totally valid.” Roger Cohen echoed Friedman’s views Read more of his writing on Israel, Pales- lifeblood of the lobby. Though few Americans know the He- on Egyptian motives and lamented “the tine, and the U.S. on his blog, <http://cher brew mantras—”ein breira” (There is no siege mentality that blinds [Israel] to the nus.wordpress.com>.
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opportunities multiplying around it.…Israeli policy is not just a tragedy, it’s almost criminal.” Yet he undermined his own message by repeating the old story: “The Arab awakening is not yet about Israel.… But that could change if another skirmish erupts.…Elections are unpredictable—just look at Gaza—and now they may be held across the Arab world! There’s the Muslim Brotherhood talking a good line but nursing menace. And what if Jordan goes, too?” Israel’s demand for security, Cohen concluded, is “non-negotiable.” I don’t know whether these writers, and dozens like them, reinforce the familiar narrative intentionally. It may be just a welltrained mental reflex, a product of years of conditioning. Ditto for our politicians. Whatever the reason, the narrative seems as immovable as the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps, though, it looks that way only because U.S. pro-peace groups have made so little effort to challenge the narrative. They flood the public arena with irrefutable facts about Israel’s nefarious deeds and irrefutable arguments that in the long run Israel would be better off making a meaningful peace. But it all makes little impact on most politicians and the public
because the myth of Israel’s insecurity is the ultimate trump card. In Israel and Palestine, it’s taken for granted that competing narratives play a central role in keeping the political conflict going. But in the U.S., we are somehow blind to the role of narrative. If peace groups hope to have a real impact on U.S. policy, they will have to focus a lot more on the hard work of changing the dominant narrative and making Israel’s fundamental security the center of the story. They will have one big advantage: The facts are on their side. Israel is by far the Middle East’s strongest military power. No nation in the region has even the slightest chance of defeating Israel, as it has shown in every war since 1948. While we’re bombarded with fears about a fantasy of a single Iranian nuclear weapon, Israel’s 100 to 200 nukes are ignored. Obama himself recently told American Jewish leaders that Israel is the strongest power in the region and therefore should create the context for peace. He might have added that Palestinian violence against Israel has virtually ceased, since both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are enforcing a nonviolent approach
to the conflict, as even the conservative Wall Street Journal acknowledged nearly a year ago. Israelis need to worry only about two kinds of violence. The surprisingly rare attacks against West Bank settlers are often in response to the settlers’ own violence and always in response to the injustice of the settlements themselves. The sporadic rockets launched from Gaza, which usually come from anti-Hamas splinter groups, are always provoked by previous Israeli attacks. In both cases, it’s Israel’s own actions that trigger the attacks. So the small minority of Israelis who do have reason to worry owe their insecurity to their own government’s self-defeating policies. That’s not a complicated story. Nevertheless, if pro-peace groups in the U.S. set out to make it the new dominant narrative, they will face an uphill struggle. Old myths die hard. But at least they could plant powerful seeds of doubt about the old story—enough doubt, perhaps, to open up space for an American president to make a serious move toward Mideast peace. Without that effort to change the narrative, it’s hard to see how anything else can change. ❑
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Israel Kidnaps Palestinian in Charge of Gaza’s Only Remaining Electrical Plant Gazaon the Ground
AFP PHOTO/JACK GUEZ
By Mohammed Omer
‘Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Sisi (c), who disappeared while traveling on a train in the Ukraine in mid-February, arrives at the Petah Tikvah Magistrates Court for a March 31 hearing to set the date for his indictment. n March 22, tiny United Nations Ave.
Oin western Gaza City suddenly filled
with friends, neighbors and civil society organizations chanting for the immediate release of Dr. Dirar Abu Sisi, the Gaza engineer whose sudden disappearance on a trip to Ukraine, and subsequent imprisonment in Israel, has caused an international outcry. The head engineer of Gaza’s only electric power plant had traveled to Ukraine to complete an application for citizenship. According to family members, Abu Sisi boarded an overnight train at 10:55 p.m. Feb. 18 in the eastern city of Kharkiv to travel to the capital, Kiev. Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Viktoria Kushnir said that Abu Sisi was on his way to meet his brother, Yousef Abu Sisi, who was flying in from Amsterdam to see him for the first time since 1997. But the brothers’ reunion never took place. 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>. 18
Maksim Butkevych, regional public information officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ukraine, told reporters on March 9 that Abu Sisi has been in Israeli custody since shortly after his disappearance, even though he is registered as an international refugee. Butkevych described the incident as a “violent abduction and not a legal extradition or any other legal action.” UNHCR suspects that Israeli and perhaps Ukrainian security forces collaborated in Abu Sisi’s disappearance. However, the U.N. was not aware of any further specific details regarding his kidnapping and transfer to Israel. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry announced in late March that it planned to summon Israel’s ambassador to Kiev for an explanation of how the Palestinian engineer disappeared from the country and ended up in Israel. Information on the outcome of the meeting was scarce, but the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported on April 7 that Abu Sisi had been “extradited to Israel” following an official request, not abducted by the Mossad. According to Ukrainian parliament member THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Ghandi Muskal,“Our investigation suggests that Ukraine is directly connected to Abu Sisi’s disappearance.” He told Yediot Ahronot that “The Israeli police approached a representative of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry in Israel and requested assistance in apprehending and extraditing a Palestinian who was seeking Ukrainian citizenship.” Muskal rejected the charge that Mossad agents had infiltrated Ukrainian territory. Born in Jordan in October 1969, Abu Sisi earned his Ph.D. degree in electrical science from Ukraine. He and his Ukrainian wife and six children had been living in the Gaza Strip since 2001, when Abu Sisi began working as a civil engineer at the electric plant. According to an account in the Israeli daily Haaretz, “the family decided to return to Ukraine after life in the Gaza Strip became unsafe for their three daughters and three sons, and [Abu Sisi] flew to Ukraine to apply for citizenship in January.” His wife, Veronika Abu Sisi, 32, confirmed receiving a phone call from her husband about a week after his abduction, informing her that he was being held in a secret Israeli prison. But it was not until mid-March that an Israeli court confirmed that the Palestinian engineer was being held in Israel for questioning by the Israeli intelligence services. Smadar Ben-Natan, an Israeli attorney hired by Abu Sisi’s wife, told Haaretz that she had visited Abu Sisi in prison on March 20, and reported that he was in good physical condition and planned to settle in Ukraine. Abu Sisi was promoted to his current position at the power plant in 2006—before Hamas took control of Gaza, BenNatan pointed out, meaning he could hardly be labeled a Hamas loyalist, as Israel alleges. His position as deputy head of the power station meant he would be “in touch with Hamas regarding his work,” Ben-Natan said, but “nothing more than that.” “My husband was the heart of the only electric station in Gaza, or rather its brain,” Veronika Abu Sisi noted. “It’s a strategic object and [Israel] wanted to disable it.” The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said one of its lawyers who visited MAY/JUNE 2011
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Abu Sisi with Ben-Natan learned that Abu Sisi had been forcibly abducted from the train, handcuffed and hooded, then taken to an apartment in Kiev where six Israeli Mossad agents interrogated him. Some hours later, he was put on an airplane. After a four-to-five-hour flight, with a stopover of approximately an hour at an airport he could not identify, he was put on a different plane for another hour-or-so flight to an Israeli airport. These details were published for the first time following the March 20 visit by Ben-Natan and the PCHR lawyer, after Abu Sisi had been been denied legal representation for 24 days. PCHR added that Abu Sisi suffers from cholelithiasis, for which he is required to take special medication. According to the PCHR lawyer, “He is experiencing serious psychological problems after going through long and continuous interrogation sessions.” On March 31 the Petah Tikvah Magistrate’s Court decided to allow Abu Sisi’s detention to be extended by seven days. The following Monday, April 4, after being incarcerated for nearly 40 days, Abu Sisi was charged in a 15-page indictment with “the development of missiles to be launched by
Hamas…[as well as] nine charges regarding activity in a terrorist organization, hundreds of counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and production of weaponry offenses.” According to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, Israel initially thought Abu Sisi had valuable information about Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants in 2006. Such allegations were met with shock and denial by Abu Sisi’s family. “My husband has never been involved in those horrors,” his wife said. Abu Sisi has denied all the charges against him, and his Israeli lawyer told the Kiev Post on April 8 that the indictment was “inflated, exaggerated and unconnected to reality.” Ben-Natan accused Israel of torturing her client and forcing him to sign Hebrew documents he did not understand. “We are going to ask to dismiss this indictment because of the abusive process that has been done to this person and the illegality of his detention,” she said. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has denied that Abu Sisi had any connections to his organization. In a press statement, the engineer’s sister, Suzanne Abu Sisi, denied that her brother belongs to any Pales-
tinian faction, emphasizing that “We, the Abu Sisi family, condemn this Zionist piracy which targets Palestine’s scientists and thinkers.” She holds the Ukrainian government legally responsible for her brother’s abduction, she said, stating that it is wrong for foreign agents to carry out covert operations on Ukrainian soil. Abu Sisi’s wife, Veronika, says she has been in contact with authorities in Ukraine, but has received little response from the Ukrainian government, other than that Ukrainian police are investigating the story. “All the Ukrainian officials do is tell me to wait,” she said. She and her family still hope to obtain residency and citizenship in Ukraine. Meanwhile, she has no idea of when she will be allowed to return to Gaza from Ukraine and bring the couple’s children back with her. As Abu Sisi languished in prison on March 24, Israel launched one of it numerous air strikes on Gaza. At approximately 2 a.m., Israeli warplanes targeted its remaining electric power plant—the one Abu Sisi had managed to keep operating for the past five years—causing blackouts throughout the besieged Gaza Strip. ❑
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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The Strange Case of Alan Gross By Philip Giraldi
SpecialReport fact, being paid to carry out an assignment on behalf of the United States government. da, Maryland who was paid Signs at the Havana airport half a million dollars by the clearly indicate that the introState Department’s Agency for duction of satellite phones International Development into the country is illegal. As (USAID) to undertake a these phones can bypass local democracy promotion mission telephone systems, the Cubans in Cuba. Gross, who spoke no believe, probably correctly, Spanish and had no experithat they are frequently used ence working in Latin Amerto support espionage operaica, traveled to Havana on a tions. They are also expensive, tourist visa where he prostarting at $2,000 per unit. ceeded to hand out laptop And, as it would have been computers and cell and sateldifficult to smuggle the lite phones to the local 1,000phones into the country strong Jewish community. avoiding Cuban customs inAfter making several successspection, it is believed that the ful trips, Gross was finally ardevices themselves likely were rested by the Cuban authoriobtained directly from the ties at the José Marti InternaUnited States Cuban Interests tional Airport when he was Section in Havana, the local trying to leave the country in equivalent of a U.S. embassy. December 2009. Seven months Gross also deceived his target after Gross was arrested but audience. Few Cuban Jews still untried, Secretary of State were aware of his visits, but Hillary Clinton told an Ameriseveral who met him testified can Jewish audience that in court that they were angry Gross was on a humanitarian because he in no way indimission assisting a Jewish cated that they were to be community that is cut off from the world. She called on all Two Cuban policemen stand guard at the Havana municipal court beneficiaries of a U.S. governJews worldwide to protest his where U.S. citizen Alan Gross was being tried on charges of espionage, ment program, something that they knew to be illegal and imprisonment and work for March 4, 2011. would have avoided. his release. Alan Gross was part of an ongoing Gross was eventually convicted of “acts At the end of March, former President against the independence and territorial Jimmy Carter traveled to Cuba and tried American government effort to destabilize integrity of the state” of Cuba in March unsuccessfully to secure the release of Cuba, a program which began at $2 million 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Gross, stating that he was “innocent of any in the 1990s and surged to an estimated A State Department spokesman denounced serious threat to the Cuban people.” Jesse $45 million in 2008 in the last year of the the sentence and described Gross as some- Jackson has also made himself available to administration of President George W. one dedicated to helping “the Cuban peo- travel to Havana to obtain Gross’ freedom. Bush. Though run by USAID, the program Gross, in his defense, claimed that he has been described as “secretive,” and the ple connect with the rest of the world.” Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), the had been deceived by his employer DAI end use of the project money was freUSAID prime contractor that actually em- and had become a pawn caught in the mid- quently concealed by giving it to Cubanployed Gross, complained that he had only dle of the perennially bad relationship be- American organizations for further distribeen engaged in giving “peaceful people tween Washington and Havana. But how bution to dissidents inside Cuba. Along access to the Internet.” The U.S. main- legitimate is his argument? Gross was the way, the “Cuban Democracy” project stream media responded to the sentencing given a great deal of money to carry out was suspended on several occasions by by denouncing the Cuban judicial system. his task by DAI, which had him on their Congress in response to the watchdog Genbooks as an “independent business and eral Accountability Office’s allegations of Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is a con- economic development consultant” as part widespread fraud and malfeasance. Nevertributing editor to The American Conserva- of an $8.6 million contract from USAID. He theless, in the current $54 billion State Detive and executive director of the Council for falsified his visa application by indicating partment budget for 2011 there remains an the National Interest. that he was a “tourist” when he was, in allocation of $20 million to promote “selflan Gross is a 61-year-old
ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Acontractor from Bethes-
20
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MAY/JUNE 2011
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determined democracy in Cuba.” And much of the money will undoubtedly go to supporting Internet-savvy dissidents. A WikiLeaks cable originating in the U.S. Interests Section assessed local Cuban dissident groups as ineffectual, but promoted the “social impact” of bloggers, stressing the need to “open up Cuba to the information age” to encourage young Cubans to seek “greater freedom and opportunity.” Cuban government allegations that Gross was working for an unnamed intelligence organization are inaccurate, but they also miss the point, which is that organizations like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) now do somewhat openly what the Central Intelligence Agency used to do clandestinely during the 1950s and 1960s. They are directed to promote democracy and frequently operate untrammeled by official policy constraints. Much of the turmoil that led to the wave of pastel revolutions in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism was engineered by USAID and NED exploiting telecommunication technologies, leading some to describe the unrest as “twitter revolutions.” Many countries, including Egypt under President Hosni Mubarak, consequently banned NED activity, leading to the establishment of training centers outside Egypt to educate visiting Egyptians in “democracy promotion.” Gross was clearly part of the broader effort to enable dissidents to communicate with each other. Ironically, the effort to deliver democracy to Cuba was misdirected. Cuban Jews, who call themselves “Jubans,” believe themselves to be unthreatened and quite privileged. Although Cuba is officially unfriendly to Israel, there is a Holocaust memorial in the center of Havana. Unlike their fellow citizens, Cuba’s Jews are free to emigrate. Israel is the usual destination, though some tend to find the adjustment difficult and return to the more relaxed atmosphere in Cuba. Contrary to the assertions by Hillary Clinton and Gross’ employer, Cuban Jews already are able to communicate with family and friends outside Cuba using locally available cell phones and long distance services, and they also have complete Internet access provided by international Jewish non-government organizations (NGOs). The Gross incident ultimately leads to serious policy-related questions about what the United States government believes it is accomplishing with its “democracy promotion” efforts in countries like Cuba. It also begs the question about douMAY/JUNE 2011
ble standards and hypocrisy when one wonders what the FBI reaction would be if Iranians were to arrive at Dulles Airport with a suitcase full of communications gear and a stated intention to connect deprived American communities with the rest of the world. And one also has to question how a tiny Jewish community, unthreatened and already possessing full access to the outside world, wound up as the beneficiary of U.S. government largesse. Who put the idea into the head of a senior official at USAID is a question
that most likely will never be answerable, but it is certainly a question that should be asked. It is a lot simpler for the American media and government to cast Alan Gross as the victim of injustice in a country that has been effectively demonized and leave it at that, but there has to be a lingering concern that what we are seeing in Cuba is same old, same old. More meddling, spun together with a fictional narrative about Jewish persecution is certainly a tale that has been surfaced before and will no doubt be surfaced again. ❑
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Palestinian Social Media Campaigns Unlike Egyptian, Tunisian Counterparts SpecialReport
THOMAS COEX/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Jonathan Cook
Palestinian activists with the March 15 movement, launched on Facebook, gather in a Gaza City restaurant, March 31, 2011. nspired by the popular democratic up-
Irisings in Arab states across the Middle
East, Palestinian youth movements have been devising their own protest campaigns, aimed ultimately at ending Israel’s decades-old occupation. Like their counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia, they have turned to the new social media, especially Facebook, to organize. So far the Palestinian campaigns have had only limited impact, reflecting the unique situation facing the region’s fragmented Palestinian population. The greatest difficulty for the organizers is an uncertainty about where the battle for liberation begins. One Palestinian analyst, Khaled Abu Toameh, explained the problem in the right-wing Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post: “When and if the Palestinians revolt, they will be shooting in all directions: Jonathan Cook is a free-lance journalist based in Nazareth and the author of Blood and Religion and Israel and the Clash of Civilizations, both available from the AET Book Club. 22
against Fatah, Hamas, Israel, the U.N., the U.S. and many Western powers and Arab regimes that allegedly turned their backs on them all these years.” That confusion has been all too apparent in the various social media campaigns. One Facebook page, for example, has encouraged Palestinians to scrawl anti-occupation messages, such as “Free Palestine,” on their currency. The shekel is itself a symbol of the occupation and Palestinian economic dependency: Israel controls Palestinian trade and the money in circulation. The initiator of the campaign, Salah Barghouti, a resident of the West Bank city of Ramallah, hopes that, because Israelis and Palestinians use the same currency, defaced notes will circulate widely. “Our goal is that these currency notes reach Israeli politicians and even Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, so that they get the message,” he said. It is, however, far from clear why anti-occupation slogans on a 100 shekel note will significantly alter the thinking of Netanyahu—or Israelis in general. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Another Facebook campaign—later banned by the Web site—had called for a third intifada, to be launched May 15, the anniversary of Israel’s creation in 1948 on most of Palestine. Although the page attracted hundreds of “Likes,” it highlighted a major problem for Palestinians using the new social media to foment a revolt. The choice of date suggested that many of the page’s supporters, if not its anonymous founders, were Palestinians living in exile rather than those able directly to challenge the occupation. How do millions of young Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan or Syria make felt their demand for the liberation of Palestine? The page proposed that they demonstrate on their local borders with Israel. But then they would have been confronting not the Israeli occupation, but the Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese security forces. The organizers of the third intifada page used a slogan similar to the currency campaign’s: “It’s time to free Palestine.” But what territory is to be liberated? Is it restricted to the occupied territories, a cause backed by international law and paid lip service to by most of the international community? And if so, how are the grievances of the vast majority of Palestinians who do not live in the occupied territories to be addressed? On the other hand, if the new intifada is intended to recover all of historic Palestine, including the refugees’ former homes in hundreds of destroyed villages across what is today called Israel, what future is proposed for the Jewish population living in Israel and the occupied territories? Are all the Web site’s supporters in favor of sharing the land in a one-state solution, blind to ethnic and religious differences, or would some prefer to drive out the Jews? The “Like” button is not sophisticated enough to tell us. Yet another campaign—the most visible to date—was launched by a group known as the March 15 movement, consciously modelling itself on the Jan. 25 movement in Egypt. It has sidestepped the issue of freeing Palestine to lobby instead for a recMAY/JUNE 2011
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onciliation of the deeply divided Palestinian national movement, represented by the secular Fatah leaders in the West Bank and the Islamic movement Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip. Its slogan: “The people want an end to division.” In making a priority of political unity, the March 15 movement assumes that it is a precondition for a successful third uprising. But there are other grounds for making this the focus of their campaign. One is economic. The Palestinian youth leaders share the same social profile as many of the protest organizers in Egypt. Most are university-educated, sometimes having attended colleges overseas, but have struggled to find work in the stagnant and confined economies of the West Bank and Gaza. They believe the Fatah-Hamas division has contributed to the lack of employment opportunities, with the two factions bolstering their bases of support with a cronyism that rewards only loyal party members. Another reason is that, unlike in Egypt and most other Arab states, the Palestinian leadership has a degree of democratic authority. Both Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Abbas in the West Bank were chosen in free and fair elections. New elections are overdue, but the reason for the delay has been the impossibility of conducting a vote while the two factions are effectively at war. Reconciliation, in the view of the protesters, would free the way to new elections and greater accountability. On the appointed day in March, demonstrators arrived in central squares in cities across the West Bank and in Gaza City. They had been told to carry the Palestinian flag, not the banners of the political factions. The turnout was unimpressive: in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron and Bethlehem, a few thousand attended, while more than 15,000 came out in Gaza City. But even these dismal numbers were misleading. The Gaza protest, in particular, was effectively hijacked by Hamas loyalists. And as soon as the camera crews and most of the crowds had left the squares, the core of Palestinian protesters were either harassed, beaten or arrested by Hamas and Fatah security forces. A few hours of protest were all that either faction would sanction. The lack of mass support for the campaign probably reflects in part a general exhaustion among Palestinians after years of a second intifada that saw Israel rapidly expand its colonies in the West Bank. However there may also be a general awareness that, in demanding unity from MAY/JUNE 2011
their leaders, the demonstrators have turned their back on the goal of liberation—either from the Israeli occupation or from their homegrown rulers. Instead of following Egyptian and Tunisian protesters in rejecting their oppression, the March 15 movement instead demanded greater cooperation from their leaders. Such a protest appeared doomed to failure from the outset, not least because it held out an olive branch Fatah and Hamas were certain to seize for their own ends. Abbas responded to the demonstrations by offering to travel to Gaza to meet the Hamas leaders for unity talks. This small victory for the demonstrators may soon look phyrrhic, however, as it is likely to highlight the diverging agendas of Hamas and Fatah in an Arab world swept by revolt.
Reasons to Reconcile Abbas now has good reason to push for reconciliation with Hamas. Until Mubarak was deposed, the Palestinian president had ruthlessly suppressed any Palestinian demonstrations held in solidarity with the Egyptian masses. Mubarak, after all, was Abbas’ most important ally in the Arab world and his one bulwark against Israel. The Arab League, too, is now in no position to help Abbas in his struggles with Netanyahu and the White House. Its leaders are consumed with their own problems as they wait to see which of them will survive the coming weeks and months. So Abbas is alone on the world stage, his Palestinian Authority’s struggle overshadowed by events and its credibility at rockbottom after the so-called Palestine Papers were leaked by Al-Jazeera, showing his negotiators secretly and cravenly giving in to most Israeli demands. The only escape from his predicament is to internationalize the Palestinians’ conflict with Israel. This Abbas plans to do by declaring Palestinian statehood at the U.N. in September. But the move will prove futile unless he has both international support and unchallenged legitimacy as the president of a Palestinian Authority that properly represents its people. As soon as Mubarak was toppled, Abbas changed his tune, calling for new elections. His prime minister, Salam Fayyad, a technocrat popular with the White House but with no electoral base, promised to form a new, more inclusive government. Fayyad said he would ensure his cabinet was more representative by consulting with Palestinian youth through—of course—Facebook. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Hamas’ post-Mubarak calculations are starkly different. A more democratic Egypt is likely to be more sympathetic both to the agenda of resistance Hamas espouses and to the humanitarian plight of ordinary Gazans. The Israeli land and sea blockade with which Mubarak conspired will weaken along the Egyptian border, allowing Hamas to entrench its rule and better arm its cadres. Playing second fiddle to Abbas’ compromised regime in the West Bank is not appealing. If meaningful unity cannot be achieved, Palestinians may increasingly conclude that a grassroots revolt must be directed at the true authors of their misfortune—Israel. They do not appear to be in a hurry, however, not least because most are waiting to see how events unfold over the next few months. The date all Palestinians have their eyes on is September, when Abbas is expected to take the case for Palestinian statehood to the U.N. Israel, however, is not sitting back. Its army, according to reports in the Israeli media, is deeply worried that Palestine’s Facebook generation may launch a civilrights movement—and do so nonviolently. Palestinians already have two models to emulate: the first mass uprising in the late 1980s, which predated the creation of the Palestinian Authority; and the protests of recent years by Palestinian rural communities, such as Bil’in and Nabi Salah, against Israel’s land-grabbing wall. So far each village has been left to fight in isolation for its farmland against the might of the Israeli army. But if the citybased March 15 movement can make wider alliances and coordinate with, and learn from, the village struggles, the result could be powerful indeed. One March 15 organizer, Fadi Quran, has suggested just such a willingness: he said the protesters want to develop new tools for fighting the occupation through noncompliance, mass protest, and boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The Israeli army is readying for such a scenario. It has set up rapid-response teams, located on vantage points overlooking Palestinian communities in the West Bank, to break up mass protests at an early stage. The chief concern is that Palestinians may march toward the settlements, checkpoints or the separation wall. Israeli commanders have warned that they will open fire in such circumstances, whether the marchers are peaceful or not. ❑ 23
kerin_24_Special Report 4/14/11 1:47 PM Page 24
Are Local Peace Activists Inadvertently Helping Advocate for Military Aid to Israel? SpecialReport
By Susan Kerin or many in the peace activist commu-
Fnity, challenging U.S. military aid to Is-
rael has been viewed as a key pressure point for advocacy on Capitol Hill and at the State Department. With the escalation of recent Israeli attacks on civilians, including those on unarmed protesters in Bil’in, assaults on the Gaza Flotilla, and Operation Cast Lead, which killed more than 1,417 Palestinians, leverage of military aid and adherence to U.S. laws of accountability have become increasingly important issues. Many activists, however—perhaps unknowingly—belong to national advocacy groups that not only support military aid to Israel, but actually may be actively engaged in advocating for aid in Congress and/or the Obama administration. A prime example of this occurred this past March when J Street, an organization that markets itself as “pro-Israel, propeace,” issued a Dear Colleague letter to President Barack Obama which they described as the “U.S. Leadership for Peace” letter. However, the body of this short sixparagraph letter clearly focused on championing military aid to Israel: “We also strongly support your budget request providing $3.075 billion in assistance to Israel….Israel faces very real challenges to its security, and reducing or otherwise endangering aid to Israel...would be unproductive.” The letter proved quite successful, garnering 116 signatures from House representatives, including nearly 80 percent of Democrats. It was generated one month after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called for an end to military aid to Israel. J Street called Paul’s remark “alarming” and asked its members to “repudiate” it, arguing that military aid to Israel was “a pillar…that advances U.S. diplomatic objectives.” To be counted as a member of J Street, one merely needs to subscribe to their “listserv.” A local activist may “join” to get e-mail notification updates. In doing so, however, the activist then becomes part of J Street’s 170,000 constituency which is then leveraged on the Hill as voters that J Street represents and serves on this issue. Susan Kerin is Eastern U.S. co-coordinator for the Free Gaza Movement. 24
According to Dina Kennedy, a key member of the newly formed U.S. Palestinian Community Network, “you really can’t fault groups like J Street. They are being open about what they believe in. The problem is that at the local level, we activists need to be more mindful of establishing allegiances with organizations that are inconsistent with our own values, even if it is only to receive e-mail notifications.” The U.S. Palestinian Community Network is one organization focused on reclaiming the voice of justice-based peace. There are plenty of other peace groups activists can choose to support.
Street argued that Jmilitary aid to Israel was “a pillar…that advances U.S. diplomatic objectives.” In contrast to J Street’s platform, groups like the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation have long worked toward including accountability for military aid to Israel as a pressure point on the Hill. According to its National Advocacy Director, Josh Ruebner, “Our vision for U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine is based on respect for international law and human rights. When these principles, as well as domestic U.S. laws, are being violated by a foreign military force, and civilians are being killed with our weapons, we have every right to ask our government to hold that country accountable. We are merely asking that the restrictions and sanctions specified in the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act be upheld in the case of Israel’s misuse of U.S. weapons, and that Israel is held to the exact same standard as every other country in the world receiving U.S. weapons.” Jacob Pace with Interfaith Peace Builders agrees, noting that, “From Interfaith Peace Builders’ perspective, there is no military solution. Further militarization just makes peace more elusive.” This controversy hits home particularly for those activists who have engaged in onthe-ground peace efforts in Palestine and have been directly impacted by the misuse of U.S. weaponry. Ramzi Kysia is a foundTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ing member of the Free Gaza movement, having been involved in all nine voyages. “As an international human rights worker, I’ve seen firsthand how U.S. military aid has been used in the killings of almost a dozen of my colleagues since 2002, including U.S. citizens Rachel Corrie and Furkan Doğan. J Street’s position opposing the occupation and its abuses, while supporting the money and weapons that form its foundation, is hypocritical at best,” he stated. Sisters Donna and Darlene Wallach, both passengers on the Free Gaza Movement’s successful maiden voyage, agree. Both spent months after their voyage working on the ground with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Gaza, where they frequently witnessed Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacks against unarmed farmers and fisherman. In fact, Darlene was kidnapped from one of the fishing boats and transported to an Israeli prison. “We were unarmed and they were shooting live ammo at us,” she recalled, “spraying us and our ‘catch’ with contaminated ‘dirty’ water. We were not even far enough out to be in international waters.” The U.S. administration never contacted Wallach about the attack. Based in San Jose, California, the Wallach sisters live in a neighboring district of Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA-14), one of the two representatives who sponsored J Street’s Dear Colleague letter. In its advocacy platform, Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), another peace group that boasts more than 17,000 subscribers/ supporters, maintains the position “that Israeli and Palestinian security is mutually dependent and therefore the financial support of one cannot come at the exclusion of the other.“ It therefore does not actively advocate against aid to Israel, but rather focuses its efforts on supplementing this aid with U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority, as well as NGOs in the region. Specifically, according to former CMEP legislative director Julie SchumacherCohen, U.S. aid to Israel is “viewed extremely positively by Congress for a host of reasons.” Deputy Director Ellen Massey describes CMEP’s strategy on this issue as in essence an “acknowledgement of the environment in which CMEP works.” Tarek Abuata, coordinator for the ChrisContinued on page 29 MAY/JUNE 2011
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Solitary Confinement and Isolation in Federal Prisons SpecialReport
PHOTOS COURTESY PROJECT SALAM
By Stephen F. Downs, Esq.
Among the speakers at the March 30 forum were Leila Duka (l), daughter of one of the Fort Dix 5, and graduate student Aysha Ghani. n March 30, 2011, a forum at Albany
OLaw School on “Solitary Confinement
and Isolation in Federal Prisons” disclosed how badly civil rights in America have eroded in the last decade. Today, if you communicate with certain people the government requires you to avoid––even if it’s peaceful, nonviolent communication––you can be charged with material support for a designated terrorist organization. Examples include many Muslims, peace activists, environmentalists and animal rights advocates. Prof. Stephen Gottlieb of Albany Law School moderated the forum, which focused on how such defendants were treated in prison under SAMs (Special Administrative Measures) and in CMUs (Communication Management Units)—special prisons designed to isolate prisoners from the outside world (see May/June 2007 Washington Report, p. 12). Featured speakers were Rachel Meeropol, a staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has brought a lawsuit to close the two federal CMUs; and Aysha Ghani, a graduate student in anthropology, who spoke about SAMs on behalf of Muslim Justice InitiaStephen Downs, retired chief attorney with the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct, is a founder of Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims). 26
tive. Other speakers were Marlene Jenkins, Jeanne Finley and Leila Duka, who spoke about prisoners Tarik Shah, Yassin Aref and the Fort Dix 5 and their painful experiences with SAMs and CMUs. After terrorism charges are brought, a defendant’s pre-trial nightmare typically begins with a decision by the Justice Department that the defendant is so dangerous that he must be kept in solitary confinement under special conditions known as SAMs, which not only prevent normal contact with the outside world but also severely limit contact with family and lawyers. All aspects of a prisoner’s life are continuously monitored by cameras, and he may be prohibited from exercising or even writing. Within weeks, he begins to break down mentally. His thoughts become confused, speech becomes difficult, and he can become paranoid or irrational or experience panic. Survivors describe it as mental pain akin to torture. According to the Geneva Convention III, prisoners of war should not be held in solitary for more than 30 days, but unfortunately this treaty does not apply to defendants awaiting trial who are presumed innocent. Lawyers or family members who speak publicly about these conditions can be charged with violating the SAMs. (Attorney Lynne Stewart is serving a 10-year jail sentence for just such an offense.) Prosecutors claim the gravity of the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
charges––terrorism—justify SAMs, notwithstanding that defendants have had no opportunity to contest them. Court challenges to SAMs are typically rejected because the imposition of SAMs is an administrative procedure, not a legal one. A defendant must appeal SAMs through the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), even though the BOP operates under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, so appeals are decided by the very body that imposed SAMs in the first place. The Justice Department can take years to bring the case to trial––years in which the defendant remains in solitary confinement. Eventually, he may be too mentally debilitated to participate in his own defense; or he may agree to cooperate with the FBI by becoming an informant; or plead guilty to a contrived charge. In 2004, Mohammed Warsame refused to testify falsely for the FBI and was then indicted for lying to the FBI, although much later the government acknowledged that he had been completely truthful. Warsame was held under SAMs for more than five years. In 2009, unable to endure any longer, he pleaded guilty to one count of material support for terrorism and was soon released for time served; having pleaded guilty, apparently he was no longer considered dangerous. Following a conviction, defendants may be sentenced to a CMU, where they may reside for years, since there’s no way for prisoners to challenge their designation there. Instead of trying to help prisoners maintain strong relationships with their families and communities, a CMU severely restricts prisoners’ ability to communicate: work is prohibited, no contact visits are permitted, few phone calls are allowed, and all communication is monitored. These prisons, which were opened in 2006 and 2007 without proper authorization, operate under a maze of contradictory rules and regulations that serve no purpose except to humiliate a predominantly Muslim population, and treat them as pariahs who must be quarantined. At the forum, Meeropol announced some good news: that very afternoon, a judge had decided that CCR’s lawsuit, Aref v. Holder, challenging the existence of the CMUs, could proceed to trial to challenge the violation of prisoners’ fundamental constitutional rights that the CMUs represent. ❑ MAY/JUNE 2011
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John M. Hrankowski (1946-2011): A USS Liberty Hero Dies Without Seeing Justice SpecialReport
PHOTO BOB HRANKOWSKI
By Delinda C. Hanley
(L-r) Keynote speaker Capt. Steven Momano; Mike Skowronski, commander of VFW 16 Tom Healy Post; Liberty survivor John Hrankowski; and Dr. Theckadath Mathew, one of Hrankowski’s doctors at the June 12, 2010 unveiling of the USS Liberty Memorial in Rochester (see photo opposite). ohn Hrankowski was a survivor of Is-
Jrael’s June 8, 1967 assault on the USS
Liberty, hours before Israel’s invasion of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War. Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attacked the U.S. intelligence ship with gunfire, napalm and torpedos in international waters for more than two hours. During the assault, Israel destroyed the ship’s antennas and jammed its radios. Finally the crew managed to send a distress call to the USS America, which sent two fighter aircrafts to save the ship. But Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and President Lyndon Johnson recalled the planes, giving Israel time to fire torpedos. When the Liberty failed to sink, the Israeli government concocted a bizarre tale of mistaken identity to cover its crime. By the time two U.S. destroyers reached the Liberty—16 hours after the attack—34 officers and civilians of the 294-man crew were killed, and 174 injured—many, like John Hrankowski, seriously. Hrankowski, then 20, who worked as a technician in the ship’s engine room, received the Purple Heart—and a lifetime of serious medical problems. The USS Liberty was the most decorated ship since WWII, Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 28
and perhaps the most decorated for a single attack in the history of the U.S. Navy. It is also entirely possible that Liberty survivors broke another record—dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the nearly 44 years since the attack. Because the few who survived without physical wounds had to gather up their buddies’ body parts, no one left that ship unscathed. When the Liberty limped into port, the crew was threatened with courtsmartial if they discussed the incident, even with their wives and parents. As everyone now knows, it is essential that victims of trauma talk about their experience. Even harder to bear than the physical and mental anguish these Americans have endured, however, has been their government’s betrayal and silence for more than four decades. President Johnson hid the facts to avoid harming ties with Israel. Every subsequent administration has followed suit, resisting the calls by USS Liberty survivors for an independent investigation and the release of classified information which would set the historical record straight. “It is the only such event in U.S. Naval history the cause of which has never been formally investigated either by Congress or by the Navy itself,” Richard Curtiss, executive editor of the Washington Report, and this author’s faTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ther, frequently points out. In the years since the attack, many survivors suffered emotional problems, nightmares, alcoholism or divorce. Others tried to escape their pain by burying the memories so deeply they wouldn’t hurt. It was not until Jim Ennes, a survivor, published Assault on the Liberty (available from the AET Book Club) in 1980 that the crew began to go public with their story to tell their country what had really happened to their shipmates. With the encouragement of his wife, Mary Ann, John Hrankowski, who retired from the Monroe County Sheriff Office, Courts Division in 1989, dedicated much of his personal time to telling Americans about the Liberty and the U.S. cover-up that continues to this day. He was one of the most active and committed members of the Liberty Veteran’s Association. Last year Hrankowski worked with the Rochester, New York Veterans of Foreign Wars to create a handsome USS Liberty Memorial at Lake Ontario Beach Park, a few miles from his home. On June 12, 2010, Hrankowski participated in the unveiling of the memorial, and said the event was one of the best days of his life. Many of the crew members and their families who were attending an annual reunion on Long Island came to the Rochester event. His shipmates, friends and even his doctors came to pay tribute at the memorial—but also to honor Hrankowski for his continuous efforts to educate the country on the fate of the USS Liberty. Keynote speaker Capt. Steven Momano, USN-Ret., said, “For the ship’s survivors, today is a day to remember, to mourn, and to reflect on their lost shipmates who remain to them eternally youthful and vigilant. This has not always been easy for them or for us, because there are no tombstones in the sea, no markers or places for us to pay our respects or grieve for our lost friends and loved ones. As the saying goes, we can only visit them in our hearts and in our dreams. That is why this memorial is so important. If, in some small way, we can keep alive the memory of the men who perished on June 8, 1967, we will have kept faith with them and their loved ones, whose rallying cry, ‘Remember the Liberty,’ remains as strong as ever.” MAY/JUNE 2011
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Casale’s PowerPoint presentation of the Rochester memorial event by visiting <http://db.tt/A1Vzp Ff>]. Wrote Phillip Tourney: “Ski did his duty during the attack and served this country honorably, a fine tribute in itself considering we all should have been killed that day....We talked about how God had blessed us—we were not killed in action (KIA) and it was our duty to let the world know what happened June 8, 1967. But Ski did much more than most, and it cost him his health.” Hrankowski was instrumental in helping the village of Grafton, Wisconsin weather a storm of protests from Jewish organizations when it sought to honor the crew with a town library named USS Liberty Memorial Library (see June 1990 Washington Report, p. 36). “We were so proud to build the library here in Grafton and have John be such an important part of the effort,” Jim and Carol Grant wrote. “He was the beacon that the crew followed while trying to pull out the truth about the Liberty attack.” Ron Kukal, who worked to recover and identify bodies aboard his ship, also recalled the “Library Wars” in Grafton during the late 1980s, and John’s sadness that protesters at the ground-breaking ceremony called Liberty survivors, state dignitaries and Rep. Pete McCloskey (R-CA), who were there to honor the fallen crewmen, anti-Semitic. “If I could speak to John today, I would say, ‘John you broke ground again—you were one of the first to leave us. There are people out there waiting for us to die, and the Liberty story to die with us. That is not going to happen... The truth will finally win out,” Kukal said. “I interviewed John for our BBC film “Dead in the Water” and spent a very happy day with him at his home,” Peter Hounam wrote from Scotland. “His passion and anger for what happened to the USS Liberty came over vividly.“ “John was the greatest,” his shipmate David Lewis wrote from Lemington, Vermont, and he’ll “remain an inspiration for those of us who remain to keep up the fight until justice prevails.” “We’ve lost one of the good ones. John was probably one of the nicest, down-toearth guys I’ve ever met. Through all of the difficulties he endured for several decades, he always kept a smile for his friends and a sense of humor. He will be sorely missed,” Michael Washington of Penfield, PHOTO BOB HRANKOWSKI
Michael Skowronski, commander of VFW Post 16 in Rochester, which created the memorial, put it eloquently when he said of Hrankowski and the Liberty crew: “The sacrifices they made and the deeds they performed are written in history and shall remain alive in our memories for generations to come. We sincerely express our pride and gratitude for tasks they fulfilled.” Hrankowski was 64 when he died on March 22, 2011 from a heart attack at home, after a tough winter battling increasingly poor health. I called him the day before he died, and he said he was getting out again, seeing friends and family and going to his favorite diner, a place my parents and I enjoyed when we visited him and Mary Ann in Rochester several years ago. Everywhere he took us, people waved when they saw John, who was immediately recognizable thanks to his USS Liberty hat, jacket, T-shirt or license plate. Hrankowski said he was anxious to see the new film, “Justice for the Liberty,” due out later this summer. Then he was gone. The Washington Report asked Hrankow ski’s friends to share their memories of this gentle hero, known to many of them as “Ski,” who was always eager to place the spotlight on his shipmates instead of himself. “John remained a lifelong giant in his absolute devotion to the glorious traditions of the U.S. Navy and his endeavors to enlighten all Americans on the unsung heroism of his shipmates,” former Congressman Paul Findley wrote. “He was one of the great people of my acquaintance.” Don and Eva Pageler said they were thankful that the new Liberty memorial was completed before Hrankowski’s death. “Now I have a place to go,” Hrankowski told his friend. John was “a shining example of courage” and a man Pageler said he could trust. Robert A. Casale, a crewman on the Liberty from 1964 to 1966, before the attack, said he “remembered dearly” some of the men who lost their lives that day. Casale recalled that he first met John at the first USS Liberty reunion in 1981, and said they became “loyal friends” over the years. “He was one person you could never forget in a million years...He was a hero. That is something he never talked much about because I could tell he was uncomfortable.... John was eager to give credit to others whom he envisioned as the real heroes. “Whenever I was depressed, a simple call to John made me laugh and brightened my day,” Casale concluded. [Watch
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
New York wrote. “We’ve lost a great friend and shipmate. No one worked harder than Ski to tell our story even while his health failed,” shipmate Jim Ennes said. “Anchors Away, My Friend...May you rest in peace. I know you’re making the angels around you smile because you had a way of doing that every time you met someone new,” Tom Richardson, Jr. wrote from Rochester, New York. Bruno Barsoum, the jeweler who designed the USS Liberty ring and gives them without charge to families of men who died in the attack, wrote: “Rest in Peace. Justice for Liberty.” John Hrankowski is survived by Mary Ann Natalie Hrankowski, the wife he cherished and who listened, laughed and helped him love his all-too-short life; his son, David P. Hrankowski; sister Mary Ann; brother Robert; nieces and nephews; and his faithful pup, “Baci.” ❑
Activists… Continued from page 24
tian Peacemaker Teams (CPTs) who works on the ground in Hebron, argues against this strategy from a Christian-based standpoint. “If military aid to Israel were the solution to reaching peace in Palestine/Israel,” he notes, “we would have established Heaven on Earth in the Holy Land by now. I can't imagine military aid to Israel in any way leading us to fulfilling Jesus’ words.” In response to the divergence between national organizations and local peace activists who may belong to them, Kennedy offers a simple solution. “Most of us at the local level are now actively engaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to pressure Israel. We should adopt the same approach in our affiliations with national advocacy groups supporting military aid in our name. We merely need to ‘unsubscribe.’” ❑ 29
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Resolution to Remove U.S. Troops From Afghanistan Fails in the House CongressWatch
By Shirl McArthur f the four measures introduced in Congress to require that U.S. troops be O removed from Afghanistan, the House leadership allowed one to be brought to a floor vote on March 17. That measure, H.Con.Res. 28, introduced on March 9 by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) with 12 cosponsors, would direct the president to remove U.S. forces from Afghanistan by no later than Dec. 31, 2011. It failed by a roll call vote of 93-321, with one House member voting “present.” While it is perhaps significant that the measure got 93 votes, most members of Congress generally seem satisfied with President Barack Obama’s announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, with the withdrawal to be completed by the end of 2014. That attitude was apparent at the March 15 and 16 appearances of Gen. David Petraeus before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, where he testified that real progress is being made in Afghanistan. That assertion was not challenged by committee members. Senate committee chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and ranking Republican John McCain (R-AZ) both agreed that Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy has been “instrumental in turning the tide in Afghanistan.” Similarly, House committee chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and ranking Democrat Adam Smith (D-WA) both commended Petraeus for the progress made in Afghanistan. Of the three other bills to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, S. 186, introduced in January by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and described in the previous issue of the Washington Report, has gained no co-sponsors and still has five, including Boxer. H.R. 780, introduced on Feb. 17 by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), has gained the most support. It has 57 co-sponsors, including Lee. H.J.Res. 49, introduced March 15 by Palestinian-American Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), has five co-sponsors, including Amash. Taking a different approach, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), with 42 co-sponsors, on Feb. 10 introduced H.R. 651, which would direct the president to “seek to enter into a bilateral status of forces agreement with the government of Afghanistan”—which, among other things, would provide that within one year of the agreement coming into force, U.S. armed forces, Department of Defense civilian Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service officer, is a consultant based in the Washington, DC area. 30
personnel and contractors would be redeployed from Afghanistan. Consistent with the current emphasis on fiscal restraint, on March 9 Reps. Bruce Braley (D-IA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced H.R. 974 “to direct the president to submit to Congress a report on the longterm costs of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Regarding Iraq, H.R. 232, introduced in January by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), which would repeal the 2002 “Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq” resolution, described in the previous issue, still has no co-sponsors.
Congressional Ambivalence About Libya No-Fly Zone Both prior to and after the March 17 U.N. resolution authorizing member states to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya, resulting in the imposition of a “no-fly zone” over Libya, members of Congress were divided over whether, or to what extent, the U.S. should get involved. In early March the only congressional action regarding Libya was S.Res. 85, “condemning the gross and systematic violations of human rights in Libya.” It was introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), with 10 co-sponsors, on March 1 and passed the same day. Prior to the U.N. resolution, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and McCain were the most outspoken proponents of establishing a no-fly zone to aid the Libyan insurgents. On March 15 McCain, joined by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Lieberman and Marco Rubio (R-FL), introduced S.Res. 102 “calling for a no-fly zone and the recognition of the Transitional National Council in Libya.” The most outspoken opponent of that position was Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking Republican Richard Lugar (R-IN), who also said that Obama should first seek a formal congressional declaration of war before taking such a step. On March 15 Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), with seven co-sponsors, introduced H.Con.Res. 31 giving the “sense of Congress that the president is required to obtain in advance specific statutory authority for the use of U.S. armed forces” in Libya. But, ignoring Lugar and Paul, just 90 minutes before his announcement of the no-fly zone on March 18, Obama “consulted” with 18 senior members of Congress, nine Democrats and nine Republicans and nine from each house of ConTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
gress. It was more a briefing than a consultation, however, because plans for military action already were under way. Democratic members of Congress mostly supported the limited nature of the military action. Senator Levin—who has received more money from pro-Israel PACs than any other member of Congress (see p. 34)—said that Obama had allayed earlier concerns about possible “mission creep,” and that the mission had been “carefully limited.” Levin, joined by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI), predicted strong bipartisan support for the U.S. role in the action. Similarly, House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking Democrat Howard “Even before I was a Democrat, I was a Zionist” Berman (D-CA) praised Obama’s action, noting that the plan was limited to protecting civilians but did not allow international forces to overthrow the Libyan government. But many Republicans seemed determined to find fault. In a March 23 letter to Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (ROH) complained that troops were committed without a clearly defined mission. He also questioned the costs of the action. McKeon also expressed concern about “the absence of clear political objectives.” Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who earlier had been a strong proponent of establishing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo, changed her tune after Obama’s announcement. She complained that “the president has yet to clearly define for the American people what vital U.S. security interests he believes are currently at stake in Libya.” Predictably, she also said that “deferring to the U.N. and calling on our military personnel to enforce the writ of the international community sets a dangerous precedent.”
Israel-Firsters Continue to Profess Concern Over Events in Egypt Letters were sent from the Senate and the House to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging that the Obama administration emphasize with Egypt’s new leaders “that Egypt’s international obligations must be respected during this period of transition and in the future.” Both letters then emphasize that it is important that Egypt “maintains its commitment to peace with Israel.” The Senate letter, signed by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Levin, was sent before the Feb. 11 resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It urged that the U.S. should send this message to “key Egyptian leadMAY/JUNE 2011
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ers and members of the opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood.” The House letter, sent on March 17, was initiated by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rogers (RWA) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (DFL) and strongly pushed by AIPAC. It was signed by 326 House members. Interestingly, this letter, like its Senate counterpart, says nothing to the effect that the Muslim Brotherhood should be excluded, as earlier demanded by Ros-Lehtinen and reported in the previous issue of this magazine. At a March 10 House Foreign Affairs Middle East subcommittee hearing on the “Challenges in the Middle East,” subcommittee ranking Democrat Gary Ackerman (D-NY) made a strong plea for the U.S. to lead “a global effort to eliminate the debt accrued by Mubarak’s Egypt.” (Egypt owes the U.S. about $3 billion in accrued debt.) Most significantly, on March 17 Senators Kerry, Lieberman and McCain introduced S. 618, a far-reaching bill “to promote the strengthening of the private sector in Egypt and Tunisia.” Kerry said the bill “will support the transition to democratic rule in Egypt and Tunisia, and…will spur sustainable economic development throughout the region.” Meanwhile, H.Res. 88, introduced in February by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and “expressing solidarity with the people of Egypt in their democratic aspirations as they begin a new chapter in their country’s proud history,” now has 112 co-sponsors, including Schiff.
ing to strengthen institution and statebuilding efforts in the West Bank, to grow the economy, meet basic needs, and reduce the risk of terror aimed at Israel will greatly benefit the peace process.”
House Hearing on Radicalization of Muslims Provides Few Fireworks The March 10 hearing by House Homeland Security chairman Peter King (R-NY) was widely reported on, and widely condemned as scapegoating one religious minority and being a throw-back to McCarthyism. As a result, King made a slight effort to tone down his opening remarks (he did not include some of his more inflammatory earlier comments, such as saying “there are too many mosques in this country” and that most of them are run by radical extremists). He also added some
balance to the witness list by including Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. Dingell cautioned the committee not “to blot the good name or the loyalty” of Arabs or Muslims. Ellison, one of two Muslims in Congress (the other being Democratic Rep. André Carson of Indiana), emotionally told of a MuslimAmerican paramedic who lost his life responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 Twin Towers attack. Baca praised the cooperation of California Muslim groups, especially citing cooperation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which King and other committee Republicans specifically targeted. The witness list did not include representatives from CAIR or any other major Muslim organizations, nor did it include any federal law enforcement or justice offi-
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House Republican Freshmen Say No Fiscal Restraint on Aid to Israel… In an impressive display of chutzpah (Yiddish for a lot of nerve), 67 of the 87 new Republican House members signed a Feb. 11 letter to Boehner, initiated by Reps. Robert Dodd (R-IL) and Austin Scott (RGA), saying that they “strongly support the people’s call to reduce government spending.” But they then go on to say that it is important to maintain the full commitment of aid to Israel, including “the promised funding to help Israel deploy the Iron Dome rocket defense system.”
But Others Urge Continued Aid to Both Israel and Palestinian Authority On March 17 116 House members signed a more balanced letter to Obama, initiated by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), in which they “support your administration’s efforts to prevent reductions in foreign aid that advances U.S. interests in the Middle East and to forestall efforts to separate aid to Israel from other assistance.” Supporting his FY ’12 budget request providing $3.075 billion in aid to Israel, they also encouraged “consistent aid to the Palestinian Authority,” saying that “your request for continued strong fundMAY/JUNE 2011
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cials. The one representative of a Muslim group was Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a small group that believes that Islam needs a reformation. The other witnesses were Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who condemned CAIR, saying it is hurting the American Muslim community, and two private citizens who anecdotally described how relatives had become radical Muslims. Committee member Jackson Lee criticized the hearing, saying it “is playing right now into al-Qaeda around the world.” Similarly, on the House floor on March 9, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) condemned the hearing, saying it potentially could “make our nation less safe.” And on the Senate floor on March 17, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) expressed “grave concern” over the hearing, saying “this approach is the wrong way to fight terrorism.” Countering the King hearing, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on civil and human rights, announced a March 29 subcommittee hearing on “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims.” However, subcommittee staffers told The Washington Post that the hearing had been planned since early January and was not a response to the King hearing.
Iran Continues to Receive Congressional Attention Identical bills were introduced in the Senate and the House on Feb. 16 with the title
“Iran Transparency and Accountability Act.” The bills would require publicly traded companies to report any potentially sanctionable investments in Iran to the Securities and Exchange Commission. S. 366 was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and two co-sponsors. The House version, H.R. 740, was introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), with 14 co-sponsors. Two resolutions were introduced condemning the violence and human rights violations against demonstrators by the government of Iran. In the House, H.Res. 94, introduced on Feb. 15 by Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), also calls for “the president to impose sanctions while welcoming the U.S. government’s efforts to create an international consensus to deal with Iran’s nuclear program.” In the Senate, S. Res. 73, introduced with six co-sponsors on Feb. 17 by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), the freshman senator who received more money from pro-Israel PACs than any other candidate in 2010 (see p. 34), also calls on the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish an independent human rights monitor for Iran. Similarly, 24 senators, led by Levin, signed a letter to Clinton urging her to push for a UNHRC human rights monitor for Iran. Perhaps the measures had some effect, because on March 24 the UNHRC voted 22-7 with 14 abstentions to appoint a “special investigator” to look into human rights abuses in Iran. Taking a different approach, 10 senators, led by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Menendez, signed a March 10 letter to Clinton seeking
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an update on the status of investigations of companies, especially Chinese energy and banking companies, thought to be in violation of the Iran Sanctions Act. And Ros-Lehtinen told CQ Today in early March that she is still working on a new bill to further tighten unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Ros-Lehtinen Continues Her Attack On the U.N. and UNRWA As reported in the April 2011 Washington Report, Ros-Lehtinen continuously has called for the U.S. to use its contributions to international organizations as leverage to force changes at the U.N. She repeated this call at a March 3 hearing on “Reforming the United Nations: Lessons Learned.” She also repeated her attacks on the UNHRC and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides essential services to Palestinian refugees. Again, she promised to soon introduce a revised version of the “United Nations Transparency, Accountability, and Reform Act,” which she first introduced in 2007. Berman, in his statement, said that the U.N. “plays an important and often essential role in supporting U.S. foreign policy and national security interests.” Two new U.N.-related bills were introduced. On March 3, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), with seven co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 921, which would “prohibit U.S. assistance to foreign countries that oppose the position of the U.S. in the U.N.” The bill includes presidential waiver authority. On March 17 Representative Paul, with no cosponsors, introduced H.R. 1146, whose title says it all: “To end membership of the United States in the United Nations.”
Bills Introduced to Limit the Use of Cluster Munitions As in previous congresses, identical bills were introduced on March 10 in the Senate and House to limit the use of cluster munitions, with tightly defined exceptions. S. 558 was introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein with 21 co-sponsors. H.R. 996 was introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) with two co-sponsors.
Another New Jerusalem Resolution H.Con.Res. 5, “Supporting the Reunification of Jerusalem,” introduced in January by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and described in the previous issue, still has no co-sponsors. However, a new, more far-reaching bill, H.R. 1006, was introduced on March 10 by Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) with 14 cosponsors. It includes all the negative provisions included in all previous Jerusalem bills, including eliminating the presidential waiver authority. It so blatantly impinges on the president’s constitutional prerogative to conduct foreign affairs that it would certainly be vetoed if passed. ❑ 32
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MAY/JUNE 2011
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ELECTION WATCH
By Janet McMahon
With Massive Help From Pro-Israel PACs, Mark Kirk (R-IL) Ekes Out a Senate Win espite receiving more contributions
Dfrom pro-Israel PACs than any other
candidate in the 2010 congressional elections, Rep. Mark Kirk won the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama by less than 2 percentage points. As a result of those contributions, however, Kirk was able to join the list of top 10 Senate recipients before he even took his new seat. Of course, it didn’t hurt that in 2008 he received $91,200 for his House race. In an election year characterized by anti-incumbent feeling, pro-Israel PACs suffered some significant setbacks. Indeed, some of their perennial beneficiaries—such as Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Robert Bennett (R-UT)—didn’t even make it to November’s general election. Among other top Senate recipients of pro-Israel PAC money, Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) lost to plastics executive Ron Johnson, who received $5,000 in pro-Israel PAC funds, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) managed to hold on to his seat in the face of an aggressive challenge by his Tea Party Republican opponent, Sharon Angle, who raised nearly $4 million more than Reid. The top House recipient in 2010, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-M), was defeated after 17 terms in office by Republican former state legislator Vicky Hartzler, author of Running God’s Way: Step by Step to a Successful Political Campaign. Florida Democratic incumbent Ron Klein, the fourth highest House recipient of 2010 pro-Israel PAC contributions, lost to retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West, whom Klein had defeated by 8.5 percentage points in 2006, and who received a measly $2,500 in pro-Israel PAC contributions in 2010. West did, however, raise a total of $6.5 million to Klein’s $3.7 million.
State Races of Interest Another Florida race that did not turn out the way the Lobby would have liked was the race to replace Sen. Mel Martinez. Of the three candidates vying for the seat, pro-Israel PACs gave $11,000 to Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek and only $5,100 to his Janet McMahon is managing editor of the Washington Report. 34
TOP TEN 2010 AND CAREER RECIPIENTS OF PRO-ISRAEL PAC FUNDS Compiled by Hugh Galford HOUSE: CURRENT Skelton, Ike (D-MO) Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) Deutch, Theodore E. (D-FL) Klein, Ron (D-FL) Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) Cantor, Eric (R-VA) Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) Berman, Howard L. (D-CA) Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY)
SENATE: CURRENT 51,000 45,000 43,600 42,650 42,000 41,500 36,000 35,500 34,000 28,000
House: Career Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) Engel, Eliot L. (D-NY) Hoyer, Steny H. (D-MD) Cantor, Eric (R-VA) Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) Lowey, Nita M. (D-NY) Burton, Dan L. (R-IN) Levin, Sander M. (D-MI) Berman, Howard (D-CA) Harman, Jane (D-CA)
Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL) Reid, Harry (D-NV) Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI) Wyden, Ronald L. (D-OR) Inouye, Daniel K. (D-HI) Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) Gillibrand, Kirsten E. (D-NY) Specter, Arlen (D-PA) Bennett, Robert F. (R-UT) Vitter, David (R-LA) Thune, John R. (R-SD)
115,304 72,700 69,128 67,400 57,000 50,250 46,200 46,000 42,000 40,500 40,500
Senate: Career 326,055 269,418 235,275 217,730 208,740 177,238 143,336 132,727 124,550 123,771
Republican opponent, Marco Rubio. Meek could have used a little more help, however: in a losing cause, he raised a total of $8.8 million to Rubio’s $21.7 million. Perhaps the pro-Israel PACs were ambivalent about Meek’s candidacy, since they gave almost the same amount—$10,000—to incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, who wasn’t even up for re-election in 2010. Pro-Israel PACs were somewhat less ambivalent in Illinois. In addition to the Senate race won by Kirk, Democratic incumbent Rep. Janice Schakowsky received a paltry $2,145 in contributions, while her Republican challenger, Joel Pollak, received $6,500. Nevertheless, Schakowsky was re-elected—let’s hope she remembers who her friends aren’t. In the race for the House seat vacated by Kirk, the Lobby hedged its bets, giving $7,000 to Democrat Daniel Seals, who twice had challenged Kirk unsuccessfully, and $7,500 to Republican Robert J. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Levin, Carl (D-MI) Harkin, Thomas R. (D-IA) Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ) McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) Reid, Harry (D-NV) Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) Lieberman, Joseph I. (Ind.-CT) Baucus, Max (D-MT) Wyden, Ronald L. (D-OR) Kirk, Mark S. (R-IL)
728,937 552,950 503,578 485,141 393,001 373,421 368,851 349,648 344,962 336,386
Dold, who won the seat. Vying for the Indiana Senate seat vacated months before the November election by Sen. Evan Bayh were Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D) and former Sen. Dan Coats, appointed to replace Dan Quayle when he became vice president under George H.W. Bush. Both have been on the receiving end of pro-Israel PAC contributions: in 2008 Ellsworth had amassed a total of $80,250, while Coats had received $44,200 in the course of his decade-long (1989-1999) Senate career. The Lobby clearly preferred Coats, however, giving him $23,860 to Ellsworth’s $12,600, and Coats is once again a U.S. senator. The state where pro-Israel PACs took the biggest hit was Kentucky. Their first choice to fill the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Jim Bunning was establishment Republican candidate Trey Grayson, to whom they gave $33,500. But they could have lived with his Democratic oppoMAY/JUNE 2011
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nent, Jack Conway ($16,250). Instead they got Tea Party Republican Rand Paul ($2,000)—who, days after he took office, told former AIPAC staffer Wolf Blitzer on CNN that “all” foreign aid should be cut—including U.S. aid to Israel. But apparently not all Tea Partiers are alike to the Israel Lobby—as evidenced by the fact that the Minnesota candidate who received the most in pro-Israel PAC contributions ($10,500) was Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann. Go figure. In Missouri, home of the Carnahans, pro-Israel PACs demonstrated their preference for incumbency over family. Members of the Carnahan family have long been favored recipients—the late Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was killed in a 2000 plane crash just weeks before the election in which he was challenging Sen. John Ashcroft, received $10,693 in pro-Israel PAC contributions. Ashcroft surely is one of the few incumbent senators to have been defeated by a dead man. Carnahan’s
wife, Jean, was appointed to fill the seat won by her late husband for two years. In the 2002 special election, she received a whopping $87,422—and Mel, who had been dead for two years, an additional $3,000. Nevertheless, she was narrowly defeated by Republican James Talent. Running for the open Senate seat in 2010, daughter Robin Carnahan, Missouri’s popular secretary of state, received $16,000 in pro-Israel PAC contributions. Republican Rep. Roy Blunt already had proven his loyalty, however, so pro-Israel PACs rewarded him with $32,500 for the Senate race, in which he prevailed. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Russ Carnahan, Robin’s brother, retained his seat with the help of $13,000 in pro-Israel PAC contributions. The defeat of Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter in the state’s primary election meant the Lobby faced the possibility that his successor might be Democratic Rep. Joseph Sestak, who signed a letter calling for an end to the blockade of
Gaza. Pro-Israel PACs poured $29,500 into the campaign of his Republican opponent, former Rep. Patrick Toomey, and gave just $7,000 to Sestak (although both have similar career totals). Toomey was elected with 51.1 percent of the vote.
Hardly a Level Playing Field Pro-Israel PACs contributed a total of more than $3 million to 2010 congressional candidates. The handful of Araband Muslim-American PACs contributed a mere 1 percent of that amount: $36,500. Since 1972 pro-Israel PACS have invested more than $51 million in American congressmen and candidates to ensure that Israel’s demands are met. Arab- and Muslim-American PACs, on the other hand, have donated less than $700,000 since 1972. Not surprisingly—and not by accident—once the recipients of such pro-Israel largesse take their seats in the House and Senate, they are only too willing to take their marching orders from AIPAC. ❑
PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State Alabama
Alaska Arizona
Arkansas
California
MAY/JUNE 2011
Office District S S H H H H H H H S H S S H H H H S S H H S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 At-L. 1 5 7 8 1 3 3 3 6 7 8 11 12 14 15 17 20 22 23 24 25
Candidate Shelby, Richard C.* Miller, Joseph W.* Bonner, Jo Bright, Bobby Neal, Sr. Rogers, Michael Aderholt, Robert B. Parker, Wayne, Jr. Bachus, Spencer T. Sewell, Terri A. Murkowski, Lisa* Young, Donald E. Kyl, Jon L. McCain, John S.* Kirkpatrick, Ann Mitchell, Harry E. Grijalva, Raul M. Giffords, Gabrielle Lincoln, Blanche L.* Boozman, John*# Causey, Chad Womack, Steve Boxer, Barbara* Fiorina, Carly* Lungren, Daniel E. Bera, Amerish B. Woolsey, Lynn C. Miller, George Pelosi, Nancy McNerney, Jerry Speier, Jackie Eshoo, Anna Honda, Mike Farr, Sam Costa, Jim McCarthy, Kevin Capps, Lois G. Gallegly, Elton McKeon, Howard P. (Buck)
Party
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
R R R D R R R R D R R R R D D D D D R D R D R R D D D D D D D D D D R D R R
I C I I I I I I O I I I I I I I I I C O O I C I C I I I I I I I I I I I I I
6,000 5,000 2,500 5,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 5,000 2,500 22,000 250 1,000 30,500 4,000 7,000 5,000 21,600 14,050 7,500 1,000 8,000 50,250 15,000 13,500 4,200 1,000 1,000 19,500 14,100 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 21,000 1,500 1,000 2,000 1,000
200,825 5,000 11,150 11,000 18,325 18,000 7,500 19,500 2,500 75,600 2,950 166,525 206,000 7,000 13,000 6,000 52,324 57,577 8,500 1,000 8,000 279,044 15,000 13,500 4,200 3,500 9,193 122,300 27,100 4,000 4,250 10,000 9,150 39,500 1,500 17,917 50,250 5,500
A(D, HS)
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
A AS AS, HS, I A, B
A(HS) AS, HS, I HS AS, FR FR C, FR(NE) HS FR House Minority Ldr. C C, I A A(HS) FR(NE) C FR, I AS 35
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Office District H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H S S S H H H H H S S S H H H S S H H S S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 33 36 37 43 45 45 46 47 47 51 53
3 4 5 6 7
4 4 5 At-L. At-L.
2 5 5 5 6 8 8 9 11 12 14 15 17 17 17 18 19 19 20 21 21
Candidate Sherman, Brad Berman, Howard L. Schiff, Adam Waxman, Henry A. Becerra, Xavier Cedillo, Gilbert Watson, Diane E. Bass, Karen Harman, Jane Richardson, Laura Baca, Joe Bono Mack, Mary Pougnet, Stephen P. Rohrabacher, Dana Sanchez, Loretta Tran, Van Filner, Bob Davis, Susan A. Bennet, Michael F.* Buck, Kenneth R.* Udall, Mark E. Salazar, John T. Markey, Elizabeth H. (Betsy) Lamborn, Douglas Coffman, Michael Perlmutter, Edwin G. Dodd, Christopher J.* Blumenthal, Richard* Lieberman, Joseph I. Himes, Jim Debicella, Dan Murphy, Christopher S. Carper, Thomas R. Coons, Christopher A.*† Castle, Michael N. Carney, John Charles, Jr. Nelson, Bill Meek, Kendrick B.*# Rubio, Marco* Boyd, F. Allen, Jr. Brown-Waite, Virginia Nugent, Richard B. Piccillo, James J. Stearns, Clifford B. Grayson, Alan M. Webster, Daniel Bilirakis, Gus M. Castor, Kathy Ross, Dennis A. Mack, Connie Posey, Bill Moise, Rudolph Williams, Andre L. Wilson, Frederica S. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Wexler, Robert Deutch, Theodore E. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario
Party
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
D D D D D D D D D D D R D R D R D D D R D D D R R D D D Ind. D R D D D R D D D R D R R D R D R R D R R R D D D R D D D R R
I I I I I O N O I I I I C I I C I I I C I I I I I I N O I I C I I C I C I O O I N O O I I C I I O I I O O O I N O I N O
12,500 35,500 8,000 2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 2,500 20,000 3,000 1,000 6,000 1,000 1,000 12,250 1,000 1,000 1,000 12,500 6,000 1,000 3,500 7,000 1,000 250 2,000 8,000 24,000 2,500 4,000 2,500 3,000 1,000 18,000 13,600 4,000 10,000 11,000 5,100 10,500 2,500 8,000 1,000 3,000 5,500 2,500 5,000 3,900 9,500 3,000 1,000 250 250 5,000 45,000 0 43,600 21,500 500 3,500
72,430 124,550 67,417 40,832 3,000 2,000 13,500 2,500 123,771 5,000 2,000 11,000 1,000 1,250 63,450 1,000 91,514 10,163 12,500 6,000 48,250 30,100 14,100 2,500 250 9,224 242,178 24,000 368,851 4,000 2,500 7,000 37,600 18,000 13,600 4,000 137,221 32,500 5,100 20,200 10,800 8,000 1,000 13,500 7,500 2,500 41,316 9,900 9,500 11,200 1,000 250 250 5,000 208,740 33,250 43,600 53,300 58,000 46,500
FR(NE) FR A(FO), I C B, W FR C, HS HS C FR(NE) AS, HS AS AS A AS FR(NE) AS, HS HS C HS
AS, B, C, I W A(D), B W C FR(NE), I C B, FR
FR
B
KEY: The “Career Total” column represents the total amount of pro-Israel PAC money received from Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2010. S=Senate, H=House of Representatives. Party affiliation: D=Democrat, R=Republican, Ref=Reform, DFL=Democratic Farmers Labor, Ind=Independent, Lib=Libertarian. Status: C=Challenger, I=Incumbent, N=Not Running, O=Open Seat (no incumbent). *=Senate election year, #=House member running for Senate seat, †=Special Election, ‡=Defeated in primary election. Committees: A=Appropriations (D=Defense subcommittee, FO=Foreign Operations subcommittee, HS=Homeland Security, NS=National Security subcommittee), AS=Armed Services, B=Budget, C=Commerce, FR=Foreign Relations (NE=Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs subcommittee), HS=Homeland Security, I=Intelligence, IR=International Relations, NS=National Security, W=Ways and Means. “–” indicates money returned by candidate, “0” that all money received was returned, “[]” = independent expenditures on behalf of candidate (not included in candidate totals). 36
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MAY/JUNE 2011
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State Florida
Georgia
Hawaii Idaho Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
MAY/JUNE 2011
Office District H H H H H H S H H H H H S H H S H S S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H S S S H H H H H H H H H S H H H S S H H H S S S S H H
22 22 23 24 25 25 2 4 6 8 12 1 1 1
2 3 5 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 13 14 14 17 18 19
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 1 2 3 1 3 3
3 6
Candidate Klein, Ron West, Allen B. Hastings, Alcee L. Kosmas, Suzanne Garcia, Jose A. Rivera, David Isakson, John H. (Johnny)* Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. Johnson, Henry C. (Hank), Jr. Price, Thomas E. Marshall, Jim Barrow, John J. Inouye, Daniel K.* Djou, Charles K. Hanabusa, Colleen Wakako Crapo, Michael D.* Minnick, Walter C. Durbin, Richard J. Giannoulias, Alexander* Kirk, Mark S.*# Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. Lipinski, Daniel W. Quigley, Mike Feigenholtz, Sara Roskam, Peter J. Davis, Danny K. Bean, Melissa Luburich Schakowsky, Janice D. Pollak, Joel B. Dold, Robert J., Jr. Hamos, Julie Seals, Daniel J. Halvorson, Deborah Kinzinger, Adam Costello, Jerry F. Biggert, Judy Foster, G. William (Bill) Hultgren, Randy Hare, Philip G. Schock, Aaron J. Shimkus, John M. Bayh, Evan* Coats, Daniel R.* Ellsworth, Brad*# Visclosky, Peter J. Donnelly, Joseph S. Rokita, Theodore E. Burton, Dan L. Pence, Mike Scott, Marvin B. Bucshon, Larry D. Hill, Baron Paul Young, Todd C. Grassley, Charles E.* Braley, Bruce L. Loebsack, David W. Boswell, Leonard L. Moran, Jerry*# Tiahrt, Todd W.*# Wasinger, Robert K. Moore, Stephene Ann Yoder, Kevin W. Bunning, Jim* Conway, John W. (Jack)* Grayson, C.M. (Trey)* Paul, Rand* Yarmuth, John A. Chandler, A. Ben, III
Party
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
D R D D D R R D D R D D D R D R D D D R D D D D R D D D R R D D D R D R D R D R R D R D D D R R R R R D R R D D D R R R D R R D R R D D
I C I I O O I I I I I I I I C I I I O O I I I C I I I I C O O O I C I I I C I I I N O O I I O I I C O I C I I I I O O O O O N O O O I I
42,650 2,500 24,000 4,000 12,000 2,500 16,000 2,000 2,000 4,500 2,000 500 57,000 7,000 4,000 14,500 2,500 1,000 9,000 115,304 3,100 -250 1,000 2,000 6,500 1,000 8,000 2,145 6,500 7,000 500 7,500 8,000 3,000 500 3,000 11,000 500 7,500 8,000 2,000 8,250 23,860 12,600 1,000 3,000 1,500 22,836 24,500 1,500 1,000 11,500 2,500 19,000 1,000 3,000 4,000 15,700 20,550 2,000 1,000 500 10,940 16,250 33,500 2,000 1,000 5,000
90,174 2,500 94,850 6,000 14,000 2,500 41,500 2,500 32,200 5,500 12,500 49,074 262,425 7,000 4,000 56,500 5,500 373,421 9,000 336,386 15,850 5,400 1,000 2,000 15,750 6,250 59,529 32,145 6,500 7,000 500 11,500 18,500 3,000 9,000 13,227 16,000 500 18,650 14,500 14,500 92,500 68,060 92,850 16,700 10,000 1,500 143,336 82,250 1,500 1,000 45,465 2,500 160,323 6,000 7,000 38,675 15,700 20,550 2,000 1,000 500 100,690 16,250 33,500 2,000 10,500 24,500
FR(NE)
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
I
C, FR(NE) A(D) AS AS C A(D, FO, HS), C B A(D, FO) A(FO, HS) A(FO)
W W C, I
C AS AS A(D) FR(NE) FR C B C AS A(D)
B
B, W A(FO) 37
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
S S H H H H H H H H H Maine S H H Maryland S S H H H H H H Massachusetts S S H H H H H H H H Michigan S H H H H H H H H H H H Minnesota S H H H H H H H Mississippi H H H Missouri S S H H H H Montana S S Nevada S H H H Louisiana
38
1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 1 1 4 5 7 8 3 4 5 6 6 8 10 10 1 1 2 7 9 11 12 13 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 1 3 4 3 4 5 8
1 3 3
Candidate Landrieu, Mary L. Vitter, David* Scalise, Steve Cao, Anh (Joseph) Richmond, Cedric L. Landry, Jeffrey M. Sangisetty, Ravi Fleming, John C., Jr. Alexander, Rodney M. Cassidy, William Boustany, Charles, Jr. Collins, Susan M. Pingree, Chellie M. Michaud, Michael H. Cardin, Benjamin L. Mikulski, Barbara* Kratovil, Frank M., Jr. Harris, Andrew P. Edwards, Donna Hoyer, Steny H. Cummings, Elijah E. Van Hollen, Chris Brown, Scott P.*† Coakley, Martha*† McGovern, Jim Frank, Barney Tsongas, Nicola S. Tierney, John F. Hudak, William John, Jr. Capuano, Michael E. Keating, William R. Perry, Jeffrey D. Levin, Carl Benishek, Daniel J. McDowell, Gary J. Huizenga, William P. Schauer, Mark H. Peters, Gary McCotter, Thaddeus G. Levin, Sander M. Kilpatrick, Carolyn Clarke, Hansen Conyers, John, Jr. Dingell, John D., Jr. Franken, Al Walz, Timothy J. Kline, John P., Jr. Paulsen, Erik McCollum, Betty Ellison, Keith M. Torgerson, Lynne Bachmann, Michele Childers, Travis W. Harper, Gregg Palazzo, Steven McC. Blunt, Roy*# Carnahan, Robin* Carnahan, Russ Skelton, Ike Cleaver, Emanuel, II Emerson, Jo Ann Baucus, Max Burns, Conrad Reid, Harry* Berkley, Shelley Titus, Dina Heck, Joe
Party D R R R D R D R R R R R D D D D D R D D D D R D D D D D R D D R D R D R D D R D D D D D D DFL R R D DFL Ind. R D R R R D D D D R D R D D D R
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
I I I I C O O I I I I I I I I I I C I I I I O O I I I I C I O O I O O O I I I I I C I I I I I I I I C I I I C O O I I I I I N I I I C
-1,000 40,500 9,000 15,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 5,000 5,000 4,000 1,000 3,000 1,000 4,000 1,000 35,500 6,000 2,500 3,500 42,000 2,000 500 4,000 17,000 1,000 2,000 3,000 2,000 2,500 1,000 2,000 2,500 200 2,000 1,500 500 11,000 21,000 2,000 4,000 1,000 250 1,000 2,000 3,000 5,500 3,000 3,000 1,000 2,000 500 10,500 1,000 2,000 2,000 32,500 16,000 13,000 51,000 2,500 500 1,000 -1,000 72,700 36,000 8,000 2,500
205,389 82,000 19,000 15,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 7,500 16,000 4,000 11,000 111,000 3,676 14,250 93,015 213,099 11,000 6,000 4,500 235,275 22,500 4,500 4,000 17,000 7,075 24,433 7,000 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 2,500 728,937 2,000 1,500 500 15,500 28,000 14,500 132,727 7,500 250 2,500 12,700 5,680 5,500 17,500 7,500 5,750 3,000 500 29,500 6,000 2,500 2,000 78,350 16,000 29,100 139,450 5,500 3,500 349,648 210,210 393,001 326,055 13,100 2,500
A(FO, HS), HS AS, C C HS
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AS A W A, AS, HS AS B, FR(NE) A(D, FO, HS), I AS House Dem. Whip W B AS, B I
AS, HS, I
W A(D) C AS A(FO), B FR(NE)
B C, I FR(NE) AS HS A I FR(NE), W HS MAY/JUNE 2011
election_watch_34-41_Pac Charts for May-June 2011 4/12/11 8:13 PM Page 39
PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
New Hampshire S S S H H H H H New Jersey S H H H H H H H H H H H H New Mexico H H New York S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H North Carolina S H H H H H H North Dakota S S H Ohio S S H H H H H MAY/JUNE 2011
1 1 2 2 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 12 12 13 1 2 1 1 2 3 5 7 8 8 9 13 14 17 18 19 19 20 20 22 22 23 23 23 24 25 29 1 4 7 8 11 13 At-L. 1 1 6 8 10
Candidate Gregg, Judd A.* Ayotte, Kelly A.* Hodes, Paul W.*# Shea-Porter, Carol Guinta, Frank Bass, Charles F. Kuster, Ann McLane Swett, Katrina Lautenberg, Frank R. Andrews, Robert E. (House) LoBiondo, Frank A. Adler, John H. Smith, Christopher H. Garrett, Scott Pallone, Frank, Jr. Lance, Leonard Rothman, Steven R. Payne, Donald M. Holt, Rush D. Sipprelle, Scott Sires, Albio Heinrich, Martin Teague, Harry Gillibrand, Kirsten E.*† Schumer, Charles E.* Bishop, Timothy Altschuler, Randolph Israel, Steve J. King, Peter T. Ackerman, Gary L. Crowley, Joseph Nadler, Jerrold L. Kone, Susan Weiner, Anthony D. McMahon, Michael E. Maloney, Carolyn B. Engel, Eliot L. Lowey, Nita M. Hall, John J. Hayworth, Nan Murphy, Scott M.† Tedisco, James† Hinchey, Maurice D. Phillips, George K. Owens, William† Doheny, Matt† Scozzafava, Dierdre K.† Arcuri, Michael A. Maffei, Daniel B. Massa, Eric J.J. Burr, Richard* Butterfield, G.K. Price, David McIntyre, Mike Kissell, Larry W. Shuler, Joseph H. (Heath) Miller, Ralph B. (Brad) Dorgan, Byron L.* Hoeven, John* Pomeroy, Earl R. Fisher, Lee I.* Portman, Robert J.* Chabot, Steve Driehaus, Steven L. Wilson, Charles A. Boehner, John A. Corrigan, Peter J.
Party
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
R R D D R R D D D D R D R R D R D D D R D D D D D D R D R D D D R D D D D D D R D R D R R R R D D D R D D D D D D D R D D R R D D R R
N O O I C O O O I I I I I I I I I I I C I I I I I I C I I I I I C I I I I I I C I C I C I C C I I N I I I I I I I N O I O O C I I I C
1,000 14,500 22,400 5,000 2,500 4,500 1,000 11,000 1,000 22,500 3,000 17,000 2,000 1,000 6,000 2,000 10,000 1,000 8,000 3,500 1,000 6,000 4,000 46,200 26,750 7,000 7,500 12,500 1,000 4,850 12,000 3,000 1,500 1,000 6,000 4,970 34,000 28,000 4,000 1,500 10,000 2,500 3,000 1,500 10,000 1,500 1,500 6,500 7,000 10 23,500 2,000 1,000 3,000 4,000 2,000 2,000 21,000 29,500 2,000 28,000 16,500 3,000 4,000 3,000 27,000 500
15,000 14,500 44,037 7,000 2,500 16,850 1,000 76,000 503,578 85,525 25,750 20,000 58,750 41,200 76,550 7,000 83,503 28,750 23,741 3,500 1,000 11,000 6,000 62,450 84,385 10,000 7,500 51,059 26,500 55,350 105,657 28,000 1,500 36,050 8,000 29,970 269,418 177,238 14,500 1,500 10,000 2,500 7,280 1,500 10,000 1,500 1,500 18,500 16,000 11,110 34,250 7,000 55,827 3,000 8,000 9,250 11,000 172,350 29,500 29,150 28,000 16,500 16,500 6,000 9,000 84,000 500
A(D, FO, HS), B
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
AS
A(FO, HS), C AS, B AS FR B C A(D, FO, HS) FR I FR AS FR B A(FO) HS, I FR(NE) FR(NE), W C FR(NE) C, FR(NE) A(HS) AS A(D) AS, HS
AS, HS AS, I C A AS AS FR A(D), C W
House Speaker 39
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
H H H H H H H H Oklahoma S Oregon S S H H H Pennsylvania S S S S H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H Rhode Island H South Carolina S H H H H South Dakota S H H Tennessee H H H H Texas H H H H H H H Utah S S S H Vermont S H Virginia S H H H H H H H Ohio
40
11 13 14 15 15 16 17 18
1 3 5
1 3 3 4 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 10 11 11 12 13 15 15 1 4 5 5 6 At-L. At-L. 4 5 7 9 7 12 16 17 20 23 28
3 At-L. 2 2 5 7 9 10 11
Candidate Fudge, Marcia L. Sutton, Betty S. LaTourette, Steven C. Kilroy, Mary Jo Stivers, Steve E. Boccieri, John A. Ryan, Timothy J. Space, Zachary T. Coburn, Thomas A.* Merkley, Jeffrey A. Wyden, Ronald L.* Wu, David Blumenauer, Earl Schrader, Kurt Casey, Robert P., Jr. Specter, Arlen* Sestak, Joseph A., Jr.*# Toomey, Patrick J.* Brady, Robert A. Dahlkemper, Kathleen Kelly, George J., Jr. (“Mike”) Altmire, Jason Gerlach, Jim Cohen, Howard A. Pike, Douglas A. Lentz, Bryan R. Meehan, Patrick L. Murphy, Patrick J. Fitzpatrick, Michael G. Carney, Christopher P. Kanjorski, Paul E. Barletta, Lou Critz, Mark Schwartz, Allyson Y. Dent, Charles W. Callahan, John Burk Cicilline, David N. DeMint, James W.* Inglis, Robert D. Spratt, John McK., Jr. Mulvaney, John M. (Mick) Clyburn, James E. Thune, John R.* Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie M. Noem, Kristi Lynn Davis, Lincoln E. Cooper, James H.S. Blackburn, Marsha Cohen, Stephen I. Culberson, John A. Granger, Kay Reyes, Silvestre Edwards, Chet Gonzalez, Charles A. Rodriguez, Ciro D. Cuellar, Henry R. Bennett, Robert F.* Bridgewater, Tim* Lee, Mike* Chaffetz, Jason Leahy, Patrick J.* Welch, Peter Warner, Mark R. Nye, Glenn C., III Rigell, Edward S. Perriello, Thomas S.P. Cantor, Eric Boucher, Frederick C. Wolf, Frank R. Connolly, Gerry E.
Party
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
D D R D R D D D R D D D D D D D D R D D R D R R D D R D R D D R D D R D D R R D R D R D R D D R D R R D D D D D R R R R D D D D R D R D R D
I I I I C I I I I I I I I I I I C C I I C I I C C O O I C I I C I I I C O I I I C I I I C I I I I I I I I I I I I C C I I I I I C I I I I I
1,000 12,500 2,500 6,012 2,500 8,000 1,000 17,000 21,000 12,500 67,400 2,000 1,000 6,000 1,000 46,000 7,000 29,500 500 6,000 2,500 2,000 500 1,000 1,000 4,000 3,500 11,850 2,500 2,500 2,000 2,500 6,000 4,500 5,000 2,000 6,000 3,970 1,004 22,500 2,500 12,500 40,500 2,000 2,500 2,000 1,000 1,000 4,500 10,000 15,500 22,000 2,000 1,000 5,500 0 42,000 6,000 20,500 5,000 27,711 1,000 -1,500 10,000 2,500 7,000 41,500 4,000 1,000 11,000
2,000 19,500 27,000 16,012 8,500 10,000 7,500 31,000 23,500 21,600 344,962 33,927 4,000 6,000 17,000 549,473 29,000 30,250 9,250 8,000 2,500 11,250 18,700 1,000 1,000 4,000 3,500 30,450 18,500 13,500 18,600 2,500 6,000 48,650 13,250 2,000 6,000 28,470 1,004 56,900 2,500 20,600 54,730 32,000 2,500 6,000 26,250 2,000 21,500 12,500 15,500 23,000 71,700 1,000 16,500 4,500 141,250 6,000 20,500 5,000 145,911 4,000 39,000 10,000 2,500 8,000 217,730 19,650 73,000 14,000
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Committees C A HS A C HS, I B B, I B, W B FR(NE) A(D, FO, HS) AS AS
AS, I HS
B, W HS C, FR FR(NE) AS, B AS, C A AS C A(HS) A(D, FO) AS, I A, B A(HS) HS A(D, FO), HS
A(D, FO, HS) C B, C AS House Majority Ldr. C A B, FR(NE) MAY/JUNE 2011
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PRO-ISRAEL PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
Washington
West Virginia Wisconsin
Wyoming
S S H H H H S S H S S H H H H H S
1 2 7 8 3 2 3 7 7 8
Candidate
Party
Murray, Patty* Rossi, Dino* Inslee, Jay R. Larsen, Richard R. McDermott, James Reichert, Dave Manchin, Joe, III*† Warner, Andrew McC. (Mac)*† Maynard, Elliott E. Feingold, Russell D.* Johnson, Ronald H.* Baldwin, Tammy Kind, Ron Obey, David R. Duffy, Sean Kagen, Steven L. Barrasso, John
D R D D D R D R R D R D D D R D R
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
Committees
I C I I I I O O C I C I I N O I I
32,000 10,000 1,000 4,000 1,000 5,000 9,000 5,000 2,500 69,128 5,000 1,000 1,000 4,000 1,500 10,000 10,000
195,293 10,000 3,500 22,500 2,000 17,500 9,000 5,000 2,500 213,438 5,000 5,000 1,000 164,600 1,500 30,500 11,000
A(D, HS), B
2009-2010 Total Contributions: Total Contributions (1978-2010): Total No. of Recipients (1978-2010):
C AS, B W W
B, FR(NE), I C W A FR(NE)
$3,310,490 $51,160,333 2,295
ARAB- AND MUSLIM-AMERICAN PAC CONTRIBUTIONS TO 2010 CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES State
Office District
H H H H H H H H H H H Indiana H Maryland H Massachusetts H H H H Michigan H H H Minnesota H H New Jersey H H New York H H North Carolina H Ohio H H Oregon H H Virginia H Washington H West Virginia H Wisconsin H Arizona California
7 6 7 9 13 14 15 17 23 36 51 7 4 1 3 6 8 11 14 15 4 5 10 12 22 24 4 9 10 3 4 8 7 3 2
Candidate Grijalva, Raul M. Woolsey, Lynn C. Miller, George Lee, Barbara Stark, Fortney P. (Pete) Eshoo, Anna Honda, Mike Farr, Sam Capps, Lois G. Winograd, Marcy Filner, Bob Carson, André Edwards, Donna Olver, John W. McGovern, Jim Tierney, John F. Capuano, Michael E. Mosher, Natalie Conyers, John, Jr. Dingell, John D., Jr. McCollum, Betty Ellison, Keith M. Payne, Donald M. Holt, Rush D. Hinchey, Maurice D. Hanna, Richard L. Price, David E. Kaptur, Marcy C. Kucinich, Dennis J. Blumenauer, Earl DeFazio, Peter A. Moran, James P., Jr. McDermott, James Rahall, Nick Joe, II Baldwin, Tammy
Party D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D DFL D D D R D D D D D D D D D
Status
2009-10 Contributions
Career
I I I I I I I I I C I I I I I I I C I I I I I I I C I I I I I I I I I
1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 500 1,000 1,000 1,000 500 500 1,000 1,000 500 1,000 500 1,000 500 2,000 1,000 2,500 500 500 1,000 1,000 500 1,000 1,000 500 1,000 1,000 1,000 5,000 1,000
3,000 3,000 1,000 9,500 5,500 1,000 1,500 3,000 3,000 1,000 500 2,800 1,000 1,000 500 1,000 4,500 1,000 19,900 17,450 3,000 6,750 3,750 1,500 7,000 3,000 2,500 6,750 15,100 3,000 3,000 25,600 7,000 37,443 2,000
2009-2010 Total Contributions: Total Contributions (1978-2010): Total No. of Recipients (1978-2010): MAY/JUNE 2011
Committees FR A(FO), FR W C, I A A(HS) C
A B I
C A(FO), B FR(NE) FR I A(D) A A(D), B B, W HS A(D) W C
$36,500 $692,420 279 THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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photo_collage_42-43_May-June 2011 Template 4/18/11 11:07 AM Page 42
A handful of established artists and thousands of anonymous people from around the world have traveled to Palestine to mark their individual protest against Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s illegal separation wall and their own governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complicity, and to lend their idiosyncratic support, through words and images, to a people penned in by the wall. The wall has become an enormous visual petition, an ephemeral forum, a pictorial rant and repri-
42
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MAY/JUNE 2011
photo_collage_42-43_May-June 2011 Template 4/18/11 11:07 AM Page 43
mand, calling for resistance, justice, freedom and solidarity, and a plea for understanding and humanity. —William Parry William Parry’s justpublished Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine, from which these photographs are taken, is available from the AET Book Club.
MAY/JUNE 2011
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
43
williams_44-45_United Nations Report 4/13/11 9:46 PM Page 44
Resolution 1973: Responsibility to Protect, Not Humanitarian Intervention in Libya
United Nations Report
By Ian Williams ith Security Council Resolution 1973
Won Libya, the U.N. for the first time
effectively fulfilled its mandate under the concept of Responsibility to Protect that the General Assembly accepted in 2005. The resolution called for member nations to undertake the protection of Libyan civilians—but ruled out the involvement of ground forces or “occupation.” The background of the present actions and attitudes in Libya owe much to the first Gulf war. The very concept of Responsibility to Protect owes its origins to Desert Storm two decades ago, and to the suspicion that surrounded it. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, it was in clear violation of the U.N. Charter, which was drafted to stop just such annexations. For those who might be cynical about the organization’s accomplishments, no member of the U.N. has been invaded and annexed since those early days, which is of course one of the reasons why Palestine wants recognized membership—and why Israel does not want it to. Countries have been invaded, and regime changes effected, as when Tanzania chased Idi Amin out of Uganda, or indeed India’s war against Pakistan led to the establishment of Bangladesh—but no member state has involuntarily disappeared. Initially the U.N. imposed sanctions on Iraq, and when Saddam did not withdraw from Kuwait, President George H.W. Bush, using a broad U.N. mandate, assembled a genuinely wide coalition including contingents from most of the Arab world—and American technology and airpower inflicted devastating economic damage on Iraq from which its infrastructure has never really recovered. In the aftermath of the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait, President Bush knew that the coalition he had assembled to liberate Kuwait would fall apart if Desert Storm became an invasion of Iraq in turn. He did not go to Baghdad, and the Shi’i of the south and the Kurds in the north, whom the U.S. had encouraged to revolt, were left to their fates as Saddam Hussain reasserted control. And that is where the modern concept of humanitarian intervention, now called Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations and has a blog at <www.deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>. 44
the Responsibility to Protect, came from. The French invoked it to help the Kurds, whom Washington was leaving to a bloody fate in the mountains. John Major, Britain’s prime minister, hovered uncertainly, until his predecessor Margaret Thatcher made it plain that if she were still in office, she would certainly intervene, shaming both Major and Bush into going along.
o U.N. member state has N involuntarily disappeared— which is why Palestine wants membership. At the time the U.N. could produce no public precedent for the concept. Although its more zealous legal scholars did discover that Hitler had (ab)used the concept to justify going into Czechoslovakia to rescue the Sudeten Germans, they were politic enough to ventilate their discovery. When, in 2005, with Srebrenica and Rwanda (not to mention Sabra and Shatila, because few people did) behind it, the U.N. and many of its members felt that something must be done to defend populations against governments, they did not want to invoke “humanitarian intervention.” The abuse of the concept in Iraq had given intervention a bad name, even before Tony Blair invoked it to cover the embarrassing lack of weapons of mass destruction. “Responsibility to Protect” was in some measure a marketing concept, less aggressive in tone. When it came to applying the concept in the Security Council, however, the long shadow of Iraq and American arrogance, combined with the politics of Russia and China, led to deadlock. The Russians had, in post-Glasnost euphoria, gone along with the New World Order—only to find that they had been suckered by the triumphalists in Washington. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for example, was Moscow’s U.N. ambassador for the long years in which the U.S. and UK (and initially France as well, lest we forget) insisted on “implementing” the resolutions against Saddam Hussain’s Iraq far beyond any reasonable interpretation and equally beyond the wishes of members on the Council. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
The sanctions passed in 1990 were maintained, and Washington and London continued air strikes claiming a mandate from the original resolutions. Indeed they claimed that they authorized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, although few other people accepted the claim. In addition, Russia’s behavior in Chechnya certainly could have merited invocation of the principle, while China saw every invocation of the subject as the beginning of a Long March through Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang. To be fair, China also suffered, with India, a history of foreign interference that left long nationalist memories. The veto might have been necessary to get the Soviet Union and the U.S. to sign on to the original United Nations Charter, but in the hands of suspicious states it can turn the Security Council into the diplomatic equivalent of a Sumo dojo, the ring in which massive wrestlers grunt and pant in immobility until suddenly one of them is hoisted out of the ring. A veto plus that pervasive suspicion is enough to inhibit fine tuning of resolutions in a way to ensure command and control. And so came Resolution 1973, which passed with five abstentions. It helps that Colonel Qaddafi’s eccentricities left him few friends in the region, and most of those would not stick around if the money supply ran out, as it was sure to do with sanctions abroad and revolt at home. Russia and China could have vetoed the resolution, but if they had they would have fallen athwart of the Arab League, as well as the West. Brazil and India were showing independence and the German foreign minister, by all accounts, was writing his resignation letter as a result of the vote. Certainly the resolution could have been better written, but its injunction to protect civilians, using force if necessary, called Qaddafi’s bluff. He was, after all, defying an earlier resolution and clear signals from member states to stop his repression. The suspicions of U.S. intentions meant that Resolution 1973 precludes occupying forces on the ground, which obviously hearkens back to the bitter experiences of the previous two decades. Not only did it call for a no-fly zone, as requested by the Arab League, it “authorizes member states that have notified the secretary-general, MAY/JUNE 2011
williams_44-45_United Nations Report 4/13/11 9:46 PM Page 45
acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the secretary-general, to take all necessary measures…to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya...while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.” Learning from previous liberties taken by Washington, it also “requests the member states concerned to inform the secretary-general immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council.” For the no-fly zone it “authorizes member states that have notified the secretarygeneral and the secretary-general of the League of Arab States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights,” and “requests the states concerned in cooperation with the League of Arab States to coordinate closely with the secretarygeneral on the measures they are taking to implement this ban.” In between calling for liaison of activities with the secretaries-general of the U.N. and Arab League, it mandates Ban Ki-moon “to report to the Council within 7 days and every month thereafter on the implementation of this resolution.” Politically that should be enough to inhibit reckless enthusiasm for technological mayhem on the part of the U.S. or other participants, who would be bound to call a halt if the Arab League or the U.N. secretary-general thought they were going too far. Even so, one would have thought that the Russians, at least, would have learned to put a sunset clause in the resolution so that its effect would not be prolonged past its useful life. That they didn’t suggests negligence or satisfaction with the results. Of course the big question even 20 years ago was, why punish an Arab state for defiance of U.N. resolutions when Israel gets off scot-free? Sadly, this is a question that must be addressed to Washington. There is clear evidence that most members would indeed like to address, for example, settlement building, or the use of heavy weaponry against civilians.
Goldstone’s Revealing Fate In that context, the fate of Judge Richard Goldstone was revealing. It only took a few hundred incoherent and inconsistent words in the April 2 Washington Post to MAY/JUNE 2011
convert the former self-hating traitor to the Jewish people, duplicitous Israel-hater and traitor to become a Daniel come to judgement whose every word is amplified by the very Israeli ministers and American Zionist leaders who had been reviling him for the last two years. All proclaimed that he had “retracted” the report and in effect exonerated Israel of the allegations made against its forces in the course of Operation Cast Lead. Israeli ministers called on the U.N. to drop the Goldstone Report. However, there are some substantial objections to that. Firstly, while his name is indeed on the report, he had three other jurists with him, none of whom so far has wavered. The report was commissioned and adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council, and also by the U.N. General Assembly. Even the British have demurred at the idea that an evasive short editorial by one member of the team is grounds for overturning a chain of U.N. resolutions. And evasive the wording is. The closest thing to a retraction is the sentence, “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.” As a distinguished jurist, Goldstone must know that his wording could mean almost anything. Even so, the tone of his editorial suggests that he is now giving undue weight to the Israeli attempts at whitewash investigations—and ignoring the obvious fact that, without the report, Israel would not have even pretended to begin investigations. Indeed, the tone of his op-ed is of someone writing under duress and wondering how much he could give his tormentors and yet retain a modicum of self-respect. We can guess who his torturers were: pretty much the entire pro-Israeli establishment worldwide which since the report came out has excluded him from the community that clearly was so important to him, reviled him, demonized him, and even at one point barred him from his grandson’s bar-mitzvah. One’s sympathy is all the stronger since, no matter what he gives them, they will never forgive him. Where one loses sympathy, however, is when he claims “the most serious attack the Goldstone Report focused on was the killing of some 29 members of the al-Simouni family in their home. The shelling of the home was apparently [my italics] the consequence of an Israeli commander’s erroneous interpretation of a drone image, and an Israeli officer is under investigation for having ordered the attack. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
While the length of this investigation is frustrating, it appears that an appropriate process is underway, and I am confident that if the officer is found to have been negligent, Israel will respond accordingly.” There is nothing in real life, or in Goldston’s report, to justify such confidence in an Israeli process—let alone response. The Simouni massacre goes far beyond negligence, as attested to by U.N. and ICRC sources. For example, how can “negligence” explain keeping the ambulances away, leaving wounded children whimpering with the festering corpses of their family for days on end? Goldstone has always had a deserved reputation for integrity and service to international justice. They must have really applied the thumbscrews to extract a travesty like this out of him. However, in an April 5 interview, Goldstone did tell the Associated Press that “as presently advised I have no reason to believe any part of the report needs to be reconsidered at this time.” ❑ (Advertisement)
The old Richard Goldstone found evidence that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. The new Richard Goldstone suggests it didn’t. Here’s the evidence. Decide for yourself where the truth is. An expanded and revised edition of Norman Finkelstein’s This Time We Went Too Far, refutes Richard Goldstone’s recent recantation of his report on Gaza. Order Finkelstein’s new book through the Web site: http://www.orbooks.com/ourbooks/this-time-revised/
Paperback is $15 and e-Book is $10.
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“We, the People”: In Tahrir Square With My Fellow Egyptians SpecialReport
PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Prof. Ibrahim M. Oweiss
Egyptian demonstrators perform Friday prayer during protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Feb. 11, 2011. vents leading to the downfall of Hosni
EMubarak’s regime began accumulating
long before Jan. 25, 2011. They included the spread of poverty, unemployment, lack of housing, oppression by the police force and State Security Investigation (SSI) headquartered in Alexandria, and the continuation of Emergency Laws originally initiated when Mubarak took office in 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, depriving people of their freedoms, exposing them to painful investigations, torture ending with death or other injuries or psychological traumas. An example was the case of my colleague Saad Eddin Ibrahim, currently a visiting professor of Arab and Islamic studies at Harvard University. While teaching at the American University in Cairo, he established the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, among numerous other organizations, setting an agenda for Ibrahim M. Oweiss is professor emeritus of economics at Georgetown University. 46
democracy, monitoring elections and transparency in Egypt. As a human rights defender, he was thrown in jail along with other activists in May 2001. As founder of the Council on Egyptian-American Relations, which included the publisher of this magazine and other former U.S. ambassadors, we called on Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy to protest Ibrahim’s imprisonment and demanded his release. Even though Mubarak’s regime turned a deaf ear, Ibrahim fought his legal battle until the Egyptian Supreme Court ordered his release. The spark that ignited the Egyptian Revolution of Jan. 25, 2011 was the torture of 27-year-old Khaled Mohamed Saeed, who was caught by the notorious SSI in Sidi Gaber Alexandria June 6, 2010 while he was at a cyber café fiddling with Facebook and whose face was smashed until he died (see November 2010 Washington Report, p. 38). In no time, photos of his disfigured corpse spread all over Egypt and even outside the country. I was on my way THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
to the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC, and saw demonstrators carrying banners showing Saeed’s face. The least I could do was join the protest to express my utter disbelief at his torture until death by the Egyptian security forces. Wael Ghonim, who has been named a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on behalf of the Egyptian people, launched and moderated a Facebook page saying, “we are Khaled Said” which grew to more than a million and a half subscribers. As it turned out, it was Facebook that led to a super organization of the Egyptian Revolution and the peaceful march calling for an end to Mubarak’s regime and emergency laws and for the dissolution of the Egyptian parliament. Another important factor was the unbelievable irregularities in Egypt’s Nov. 28, 2010 elections, with a second round held on Dec. 5. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) managed to marginalize the opposition and frighten or bribe voters, thereby winning the vast majority of parliamentary seats, while the opposition was left out with 1.1 percent of the total seats. Observers and human rights groups concluded it was the most fraudulent election ever. Following the civil resistance of the Tunisians that led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early January, Ahmed Mansour of Al-Jazeera informed me over the phone that he was on his way to Cairo, because Egypt was ripe for a popular revolution as well. While I had been unable to go to Egypt in the last two years because of my published statements against the Mubarak regime, I decided to fly to Cairo following Mubarak’s ouster. On Friday, Feb. 25 I went to Tahrir Square, where a couple of journalists recognized me and suggested I speak before a huge crowd of hundreds of thousands still camping out there and demanding, among other things, the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who had been appointed a few days earlier by Mubarak before he departed. A couple of days later, Shafiq resigned. From an elevated podium I spoke about the historical achievements of the young MAY/JUNE 2011
oweiss_46-47_May-June 2011 Template 4/13/11 9:48 PM Page 47
resourceful Egyptians. I said I admired their impeccable organization and their collaborative nature (for an interactive photo of Tahrir Square visit <www.bbc. co.uk/news/world-12434787>). I ended up by saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this unique juncture of history, I propose that the new constitution start with WE, THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT.â&#x20AC;? Upon repeating it, a thunderous sound from the largest enthusiastic crowd I have ever addressed kept echoing in the Tahrir Square with jubilant cheers. I had never been that moved in my life in public as I was at those moments. The story of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt created a domino effect against regimes in Libya and Yemen among others. While the cataclysm of Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earthquake of March 17, 2011 out-shadowed the massacre by Col. Muammer Qaddafi of his own Libyan people for a few days, the historical impact continues to unfold. â?&#x2018;
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Abuse of War Powersâ&#x20AC;Ś Continued from page 13
stitution. He did not even return to Washington from a visit in South America to make the announcement. He acted as if war-making is a routine privilege a president may undertake entirely at his option, like shaving or adjusting his necktie, without even a wink or nod toward the peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s branch of government. Obama violated important requirements set forth in the War Powers Resolution, but Congress did nothing to prompt presidential compliance or protest his violations. To this day Congress has not authorized acts of war in Libya. We must face reality: the War Powers Resolution will work only if Congress is vigilant and demands full compliance by the president. With few exceptions, todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s members of Congress, like those in the recent past, unwisely see decisions on war as a prickly nettle they are content to leave to the president. They need to be reminded that war is the worst burden government can place on citizens. It becomes heavier with the emergence of massive new high-tech war instruments, each of which magnifies, rather than reduces, the necessity of congressional restraint on presidential war-making. No citizen, not even the president, should have the authority to initiate war measures. Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abuse of war powers stands the Constitution on its head. He should be ashamed, and so should our complacent Congress for letting it happen. â?&#x2018; MAY/JUNE 2011
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
47
gee_48-49_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 4/13/11 12:45 PM Page 48
Studying “Counter Terrorism” in Israel
Islam and the Near East in theFar East
AFP PHOTO/MUNIR UZ ZAMAN
By John Gee
Relatives of some of the 60,000 Bangladeshi migrant laborers working on construction sites in Libya wait outside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for their family members to return. mong the institutions offering
Acourses for professionals in Singapore
is the Aventis School of Management, which advertises itself as a “Graduate School for Professionals.” It does indeed provide a large range of courses for its niche market, but an advertisement in The Straits Times on March 22 caught my eye for other reasons. On that occasion, the publicized courses were “Professional Graduate Diploma in Counter Terrorism and Security” and “Graduate Diploma in Digital Forensics and Counter Terrorism.” The first was described as the only graduate diploma offered on the subject in Asia. The advertisement contains the words “Incorporates three days of facilitated site visit in Tel Aviv, Israel (Optional).” The school’s Web site offers more information: John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. 48
“Led by Israeli security professionals, the three-day site trip to Israel is a unique opportunity as well as a professional experience for participants to gain on-site understanding of the characteristics of modern terrorism. The trip will include visits to sites of suicide attacks, assassinations and mass casualty terror incidents. Participants will also visit a protected government installation and a shopping mall in order to observe first-hand some of the methodologies developed in recent years to counter terrorist threats. The visit will consist of primarily on-site analysis of security events, exemplifying many of the principles that will be taught during the course in a hands-on and engaging way. On-site analysis will take place at a number of sites throughout Israel that have been targeted by terrorism.” Being shown the sites where Israeli civilians have been killed and maimed in attacks and then offered an official Israeli account of what happened seems bound to incline open-minded visitors toward a THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
strong identification with their hosts’ viewpoint. Anything the hosts then do in the name of security is likely to appear justified. Absent is any real contextualization: participants are unlikely to gain any accurate understanding of what led to these attacks, or of the broader issues at stake, and many must go away with their minds closed to the possibility of any pro-Palestinian case having plausibility. They will also have only a partial idea of what “counter-terrorism” Israel-style means. They’ll learn about security at shopping malls, protection on city streets and being on guard against suspicious characters, but not what Israel does under the guise of countering terrorism: perpetuating an occupational regime over another people who wish to live in freedom in their own land, and doing so using violence and collective punishment.
Migrants and the Revolts Since the revolt against the Qaddafi regime began, many migrants have left Libya in search of safety. The largest single group by nationality was from Egypt. Egyptians and Tunisians had the fewest problems in returning home, though some Egyptians in western Libya had to return home via Tunisia rather than by traveling eastward into their own country. As was extensively reported at the time, migrants of sub-Saharan origin felt at particular risk, as the Qaddafi regime was reported to be hiring African mercenaries and, in the chaos of cities in revolt, suspicions easily fell upon anyone from the countries to the south. Those seeking to escape also included migrants from Asia. Prior to the revolt, there were 63,000 Bangladeshis, 30,000 Chinese, 26,000 Filipinos, 23,000 Thais and 18,000 Indians in Libya. Bangladesh appealed for help for its nationals, but was able to do very little for them practically, and so they were particularly vulnerable to unscrupulous employers who did not pay them, and freelance robbers. China, by contrast, evacuated half its nationals within days of the unrest becoming visible. Thousands who fled were assisted by the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. High Commission for Refugees. MAY/JUNE 2011
gee_48-49_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 4/13/11 12:45 PM Page 49
The International Organization for Migration reported on April 5 that almost 300,000 foreign nationals had left so far, which begs the question: what has happened to the rest? There were over 2.5 million migrant workers in Libya before the unrest began, and they made up around half of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total workforce. The majority were employed in low-paying sectors: most manual work in the country was handled by foreigners. Some media reports suggest that, once the government forces reasserted control of the border crossings into Tunisia, they stopped many would-be escapees from leaving. That would not be surprising, though that is not to deny that many workers must also believe that they should stay on and earn money for their families. E.M. Forsterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s short story â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Machine Stopsâ&#x20AC;? tells of a future world in which most people have become dependent on a global computer and the technology it supports, and they are unable to survive when the computer breaks down. A country that allows itself to become dependent on migrant labor is likewise not able to adjust easily to being without it. The oil-rich states are all in a similar position: in the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar, more than 80 percent of the workforce is foreign, and Saudi Arabia is not far behind, with 65 percent foreign. Even in the wealthier non-oil producing states, certain economic sectors have become reliant upon migrant work-
ers: Israel depends heavily on African and Asian workers in its construction and agricultural sectors. More than three million migrant domestic workers are employed in homes in the Arab world, normally working long hours for derisory levels of pay and all too often exposed to abuse by members of the families for whom they work. Amid the upheavals taking place in the region, migrant workers need support and protection when they want to leave an area where they are under threatâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or just not being paid any longerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but it might also be hoped that the tide of change in the Middle East does not pass migrant workers by, leaving their status unimproved.
A Necessary Correction In the January-February 2011 issue, I wrote concerning migrant workers: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In most Gulf countries, workers come under a sponsorship system, which ties them to a specific employer who can prevent them from seeking another employer, deport them at will, or withhold permission for them to leave the country. Bahrain abolished this system in 2009.â&#x20AC;? Alas, this information appears to be inaccurate. A reader wrote to me: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can understand why you might think thisâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the press have widely reported that the administrative changes implemented in 2009 led to substantial reforms and effectively eliminated the sponsorship system. This is not the case, however. It is also very
important to note that Bahrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2009 amendment excludes domestic workers. Their work visas continue to be tied to their employers and they are legally required to reside with their employers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My understanding of the amendment is as follows: Under the new law, a company or individual seeking to hire a foreign worker must apply to the Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), which then issues a visa for the worker. If the worker wishes to change jobs after arriving in Bahrain, he or she must file an end-of-contract notice three months in advance, and a new employer can then apply to re-register them. These amendments have the potential to allow greater flexibility in employment but have not altered the fact that workers still require an individual or company to oversee their stay. There is also a great deal of scope for abuse. For example, because workers must apply three months in advance, vengeful employers can cancel the visa beforehand. False accusations made against workers who try to leave also continue to be a problem and can result in detention and deportation for the worker. Many migrants remain unaware of the new policies or face difficulties extricating themselves from employment contracts. Moreover, many do not possess copies of their employment contracts, which the authorities demand to see if they wish to change jobs.â&#x20AC;? I would like to thank her for pointing this out. â?&#x2018;
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MAY/JUNE 2011
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
49
howe_50-51_Special Report 4/13/11 12:51 PM Page 50
Despite Right-Wing Attacks, “East Meets West” at the Virginia Military Institute SpecialReport
By Marvine Howe
PHOTO M. HOWE
cupation of Spain. Others denounced some speakers as having terrorist ties or being apologists for the Muslim Brothers. Two documentary films on the cultural program were trashed as jihadi propaganda. Some outraged citizens even urged VMI to call off the conference. A blogger named Patrick S. Poole, who led the charge against VMI, leveled the ultimate insult, suggesting that the school’s beloved hero, Stonewall Jackson, “is rolling over in his grave.” Reacting to the angry barrage of blogs, e-mail messages and phone calls, VMI issued Spain’s Ambassador to Washington, Jorge Dezcallar de a response ”to dispel some of Mazarredo, addresses the opening ceremony of VMI’s the misinformation.” The “East Meets West” conference. controversy was said to center on the use of the word e need you…this country is at “celebrate” in promotional material, when war,” Retired U.S. Marine Corps referring to the period of cultural harmony Gen. Peter Pace told some 500 cadets, and scholarly achievement by Jews, Chrisscholars and experts on the Middle East, tians and Muslims. Noting that some comassembled at the Virginia Military Institute plaints had come from people who suffered (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia in late March. losses since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, As he spoke about recent events in the VMI said it “regrets the misunderstandMiddle East, the former chairman of the ing” and the wording had been revised. Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized principles, Sticking to its guns, however, VMI said it values, moral compass and doing the right would proceed with the conference, concluding: ”The topic of East Meets West is thing. It was not what the far right-wing blo- both timely and important.“ “The attacks came as a surprise,” Col. gosphere had been predicting and denouncing for months, ever since VMI’s Stewart MacInnis, director of communicaCenter for Leadership & Ethics announced tions and marketing, acknowledged in an plans to hold a three-day conference on interview before the event. “The conferEast-West relations in connection with its ence is seen as the right thing to do in Arabic-language programs. Many bloggers, preparing young people to be sent by the including some VMI alumni, were in- government into a very difficult situation censed over the theme of the conference, where knowledge of Arabs and Arabic “711-2011: East meets West,” calling it a could be essential to the survival of their celebration of the Muslim invasion and oc- mission. Our aim is to foster understanding among Christians, Jews and Muslims, look Marvine Howe, former New York Times bu- at history and what worked and what didreau chief and author of Morocco: The Is- n’t work, and give some direction for the lamist Awakening and Other Challenges future.“ When the controversy exploded (available from the AET Book Club). Her online, the college spokesman said, VMI new book, Al Andalus Rediscovered: explained its position to the Virginia AsIberia’s New Muslims and Other Minori- sembly, which ruled that the charges against the conference were “a non-issue.” ties, is due out in September.
“W
50
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
This bastion of conservative tradition is not new to controversy, but the school does not usually come under fire from the far right. Founded in 1839 as a male college, VMI resisted pressures to become coeducational until 1996, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it must admit women. In the current academic year, there are 144 women, or about 9 percent of the total 1,569 cadets, according to Colonel MacInnis, who added: “Many alumni—I would say a healthy majority of them—have come to terms with the presence of women, although some never will.” The latest debate to attract national attention took place in 2001, when the ACLU sued VMI on behalf of two cadets who objected to the custom of saying grace before dinner. U.S. district and appeals courts found the practice unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court declined in 2004 to hear the case, thereby supporting the lower court decisions.
Arabic Enrollment Swells Dr. Kathleen Bulger-Barnett, professor of Spanish and head of VMI’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, described the Arabic program’s spectacular growth, beginning in 1997 with only elementary-level Arabic. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 have swelled enrollment in Arabic, she pointed out. Dr. Mohamed Taifi, a Moroccan scholar, arrived at VMI in 2003 and has developed 15 courses for the cadets including: Arabic for Business, Arabic Civilizations and Cultures, Advanced Arabic Grammar and Syntax, Arabic Literature of the 20th Century, and Advanced Arabic. This academic year 253 cadets are studying Arabic, and last year 27 cadets took part in the summer abroad study program in Morocco. In 2008, VMI was one of eight schools to receive a three-year grant of $665,000 from the Department of Defense to “enhance its Arabic studies program and provide opportunities for cadets to study the language and culture abroad.” The grant also provided funding for “a cross-cultural” conference. In opening remarks, Retired Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, superintendant of VMI, noted “the unanticipated timeliness” of the MAY/JUNE 2011
conference and the expectation that it would serve to inform both the conference participants and members of the VMI Corps of Cadets on the issues behind â&#x20AC;&#x153;the important and dramatic changes currently sweeping the Middle East.â&#x20AC;? Guest of honor Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo, Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador to the United States, pointed out that East meets West at the Strait of Gibraltarâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an eightmile stretch between two different but complementary worlds. He spoke of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need for immigrants and energy from North Africa, pointing out that Europe imports 50 percent of its oil and gas from Algeria and Libya. He also alluded to Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;fears and misconceptionsâ&#x20AC;? of radical Islam. Ending on a positive note, Dezcallar said he was as surprised as everyone else by the Arab revolts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We applaud the change to democracy from Morocco to Jordan,â&#x20AC;? the diplomat said, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Arabs want exactly what we wantâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;democracy.â&#x20AC;? In his keynote speech, General Pace also addressed misconceptions. Until recently, there was the belief that Arabs are apathetic, autocratic, resistant to change. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not true,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone is making adjustment to change.â&#x20AC;? There was the belief that only Islamists could change things, he pursued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not a single revolution was based on religion.â&#x20AC;? It was thought that the Arabsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; main concern was the Palestinian question: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very important, but none of the revolutions were about Palestine.â&#x20AC;? The four-star general emphasized that the current Arab uprisings were about the peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attempts to â&#x20AC;&#x153;gain fundamental freedoms,â&#x20AC;? and praised the Tunisian and Egyptian military for â&#x20AC;&#x153;facilitating the peoplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; desire.â&#x20AC;? He expressed pride in the U.S. government for listening to the people, even though the former Egyptian dictator had well served our interests and honored the treaty with Israel. Addressing the subject of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diplomacy and Democratizationâ&#x20AC;? by video conference from the United Arab Emirates, John Duke Anthony, head of the National Council on US-Arab relations, offered some blunt truths about U.S. policy in the region. Noting that four million Iraqis, or one-sixth of the population, are refugees displaced by the war, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The United States attacked Iraq, and Iran won. The United States attacked Afghanistan, and Iran won without firing a single shot.â&#x20AC;? The region is deeply rooted in the concept of consensus and consultation, Anthony emphasized, and recommended that Washington â&#x20AC;&#x153;avoid demanding radical changes in institutionsâ&#x20AC;? MAY/JUNE 2011
PHOTO M. HOWE
howe_50-51_Special Report 4/13/11 12:52 PM Page 51
A special session on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Egypt and Beyondâ&#x20AC;? featured (l-r) Col. Joseph Englehardt, former director for Middle East studies at the U.S. Army War College and former U.S. defense attachĂŠ in Cairo; Heba El-Shazli, Egyptian-born visiting professor in Arabic studies at VMI; and Charles Dunne, scholar at the Middle East Institute. and â&#x20AC;&#x153;not impose self-centric credentialsâ&#x20AC;? on new leaders. On the same panel, Daniel Brumberg of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention at the U.S. Institute of Peace, spoke hopefully of the beginning of a democratic process in Cairo, but was less sanguine about Libya and Yemen. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a long political struggle ahead of us,â&#x20AC;? he said, insisting on the need to work through Islamists as well as secularists. Hussein Hassouna, chief representative of the Arab League to the United States, gave credit to President Barack Obama for not imposing a Western solution to the Arab uprising and saying it was up to the people in the Arab world. The Arab League asked for U.N. and U.S. intervention in Libya out of concern for the security of the population, he said, but stressed no ground troops and warned against partition.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Egypt and Beyondâ&#x20AC;? In a special session on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Egypt and Beyond,â&#x20AC;? Egyptian-American Heba El-Shazli, visiting professor of Arabic at VMI, said Egyptians have been trying to implant democracy in their country for 25 years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now Egypt is free, I have tremendous anxiety because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no map, no guidebook.â&#x20AC;? According to retired Col. Joseph Englehardt, former U.S. defense attachĂŠ in Cairo, most of the old guard of the Soviet school had retired, and Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Westerntrained junior officers were more openminded and believed in civilian control of the military. Charles E. Dunne, scholar at the Middle East Institute, argued that the U.S., which had ignored Arab parliamentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; push for greater authority, â&#x20AC;&#x153;needs to support Arab democratic demands.â&#x20AC;? He called THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
for increased aid to Egyptian military and non-governmental agencies and, along with other foreign donors, economic aid to make up for the loss of billions of dollars in tourism. Students from universities around the world presented some 60 academic papers on a broad range of topics, including military history, warfare and memoirs, images of Islam and the media, parallels and paradox in religion and faith, migration, and educational bridges. The cultural program featured the documentary films â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Out of Cordoba,â&#x20AC;? which depict the vibrant, tolerant civilization of Al Andalus, or Islamic Iberia, fashioned by Muslims, Christians and Jews, which was extinguished after two centuries by merciless Muslim armies from Morocco and the cruel forces of the Christian reconquista. â?&#x2018; (Advertisement)
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twair_52-53_Southern California Chronicle 4/13/11 12:57 PM Page 52
Arab Revolutions Debunk Myth That Only The West Can Handle Democracy
Southern California Chronicle
STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR
By Pat and Samir Twair
MPAC Forum panelists (l-r) Sarah Eltantawi, Prof. Mark LeVine, Prof. Nayereh Tohidi, Dr. Maher Hathout and moderator Jihad Turk. ubilation, exhilaration and enthusiasm
Jwere shared Feb. 27 at the Islamic Center
of Southern California as more than 400 people of all faiths gathered for a special forum entitled, “The New Middle East: Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Beyond.” Dr. Maher Hathout, senior adviser to the Muslim Political Affairs Council (MPAC), noted that, in the two past weeks, journalists and acquaintances were asking him, “What’s going on?” “I can tell you what’s not going on,” said the retired cardiologist, who was forced as a political dissident to flee his native Egypt in the 1960s. “This is not an uprising—it’s a revolution starting from a base. “This is not a youth movement—youth energized the spark that galvanized all the people: old, poor, professional, men and women. “This is not a desperate movement to gain higher wages or cheaper food—that would belittle the people who’ve died— but to achieve respect and freedom. “This is not a threat to stability—a dictaPat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles. 52
torship isn’t stability—a real revolution establishes stability.” In closing, he emphasized, “The key to any revolution is when the oppressed no longer have fear of tyranny.” Dr. Hathout predicted that the Arab Spring of 2011 will have more far-reaching reverberations than the French Revolution. Panelist Sarah Eltantawi, a Ph.D. candidate in Islamic studies at Harvard University, expressed concern about the Egyptian army. “The dictatorial attitude remains,” she cautioned. “Only yesterday the army destroyed an old Coptic wall on state land.” Prof. Mark LeVine, who teaches modern Middle East history at the University of California Irvine, concurred: “The army wants to be assured of how much money it’s going to get. It’s not going to give up its power willingly. The military has been made rich by the U.S., and this reality must be dealt with.” LeVine, who also is a musician, author of Heavy Metal Islam, speaks Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Italian, French and German, and annually visits the Mideast, went on to say: “In the past, people would never go out to demonstrate—now everyone was in Tahrir. Little 5-year-old girls were leading THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
chants in the square.” Dr. Nayereh Tohidi, who teaches women’s studies at California State University Northridge, commented that the popularly held opinion was that Arabs only accept “hard” rule and that Iranians were the trendsetters for revolution in the Middle East. “We’ve observed [on TV] the active role of women as agents of change—except in Libya,” she said. Regrettably, she noted, there are no women on Egypt’s constitution committee. Moderator Jihad Turk asked how the U.S. might react to the Arab revolutions as a threat to Israel or to petroleum deposits in the region. “Who’s threatening Israel?” Dr. Hathout responded. “Israel already is protected by thousands of nuclear weapons and the U.S. veto in the U.N. What may happen is that Israel can no longer strike out with impunity.” Referring to the unspoken U.S. preference for Arab dictators to maintain stability, Eltantawi said: “The people must make it clear [to Washington], we will no longer live under suppression because of your interests.” As for U.S. interference in the Arab peoples’ revolution, Dr. Hathout opined: “Foreign intervention is not wanted. The consequences would be horrific if U.S. troops land in Libya. That’s the way all colonial invasions start—they’re moving in to ‘protect’ the civilian populace.’”
Second Look at Arab Spring “Revolution in the Arab World: What Does the Future Hold?” was the theme of a March 25 luncheon hosted by the Orange County World Affairs Council in the Irvine Marriott Hotel. Dr. Maher Hathout was joined on the panel by Chapman College academics Dr. James Coyle, Dr. Nubar Hovsepian and Dr. Michael Moodian, who was the moderator. In discussing the political tsunamis roiling the Arab world, Hovesepian said that 2011 may be recalled as the year authoritarianism in the region was defeated. “The old leaders have been removed in Tunisia and Egypt—the new is yet to be replaced,” stated the political science professor. “The regimes in Yemen and Libya have reacted with violence and Saudi Arabia has interfered to stop the pro-democracy deMAY/JUNE 2011
twair_52-53_Southern California Chronicle 4/13/11 12:57 PM Page 53
Marcy Winograd for Congress A little more than three months after winning her ninth term representing California’s 36th congressional district, Democratic Rep. Jane Harman resigned to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. In the recent November 2010 election, Harman was chalMAY/JUNE 2011
ters of aerospace and weapons technology are in her congressional district, but Winograd’s platform calls for a transition from a war economy to a green economy based on developing solar cities, mass transit and health clinics. More than 18 candidates have filed to run for Harman’s seat. The best known Democrats in the heavily Democratic district are Los Angles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, both of whom voiced their attachment to Israel in their candidacy speeches. The top two votegetters in a May 17 primary election will compete in a July 12 runoff. To learn more about Winograd, visit <htpp://winogradforcongress.com/ 2011>.
PIMCO CEO Receives AEO Award
STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR
mands. “Washington’s relationships with these movements will be questioned,” he noted, “and if a wave of anti-Americanism arises it will depend on our actions.” Egypt has a slippery road ahead, and calling for speedy elections is a recipe for chaos.” Coyle, who heads global education at Chapman, opined that what all the aforementioned countries have in common is a computer-savvy youth which is aware of what other people enjoy in less authoritarian states. The uprisings aren’t a united mass movement, he said, and described what is going on in Libya as a civil war between two tribes. “What does this mean to the U.S.?” he asked rhetorically. “The system has been good for us over the past 50 years. [Col. Muammar] Qaddafi gave up his nuclear capabilities at our insistence.” According to Dr. Hathout, the people have lost their fear of despotic control, and the energy of the masses has been elevated. The dictators’ predictions of civil wars, chaos or Islamist takeovers have been discounted, he said. Responding to a query during the question-and-answer session about President Barack Obama’s doctrine for the region, Hopsevian predicted Obama’s strategy will be shaped by the national security prism of whatever is best for U.S. interests—essentially a continuation of old policies. “I don’t believe in doctrines,” asserted Dr. Hathout. “A U.S. doctrine should call for the people to be free, to redefine stability, not to continue the status quo. In response to a question of whether the pro-democracy movement will spread to Saudi Arabia, Hathout said he hopes so, but explained that the situation there is complex: it’s not a regime, but a ruling family. In defense of Saudi Arabia, Coyle said that if the U.S. didn’t have access to cheap oil, our way of life would be over. Dr. Hathout countered: “I thought the U.S. is a model for the rest of the world. The Saudis need to sell their oil to someone, they can’t drink it.” He called on the Obama administration to establish programs to develop green sources of energy so that we will be less dependent on oil in the next 50 years.
TOP: California congressional candidate Marcy Winograd speaks at a March ANSWER anti-war demonstration ABOVE: Dr. Mohamed El-Erian. lenged by educator Marcy Winograd, who received 41 percent of the vote. Winograd’s ardent supporters immediately asked her to consider running for the soon-to-be vacant seat. She announced her decision Feb. 26 with a kick-off campaign speech at a Torrance drugstore owned by Egyptian-American pharmacist Ahmed Atallah. An outspoken critic of Israel’s policies, Winograd is a cofounder of Los Angeles Jews for Peace and calls for the end of U.S. aid to Israel. Some of the nation’s corporate headquarTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Dr. Mohamed El-Erian was honored with the Egyptian American Organization’s Outstanding Achievement Award during a Feb. 13 program at UCLA’s Faculty Center. The title of his acceptance speech was “Navigating Change in Today’s World.” The occasion coincided with the momentous changes taking place in Egypt, and Dr. El-Erian prefaced his comments by stating that when he left his homeland as a boy in 1968, he never dreamed he would be so proud of Egypt and its people who had nonviolently brought down a dictator. “The Egyptian people deserve the Nobel Peace Prize,” stated the director of PIMCO, a global investment firm with more than $1 trillion in assets under management. The revolution must avoid many traps, he said, but he sensed that the rise of another autocrat, or corruption, will not be tolerated. Dr. El-Erian graduated from Cambridge University and holds a doctorate from Oxford University. Before becoming CEO of PIMCO in 2007, he was president and CEO of Harvard Management Co. He also worked at the International Monetary Fund. On the road from Tahrir Square to democracy, Dr. El-Erian called for the Egyptian armed forces to lift the emergency law, for constitutional reforms to be enacted, and for fair and free elections to be held. The nation’s economy must be reset, he emphasized, and capital flight must be controlled through financial buffers, with reforms to political parties and corporations. Social grievances must be addressed, he added, along with the efficient provision of basic food, health and shelter needs of the poorest segments of the population. The program closed with a panel discussion by Dr. Mahmood Ibrahim and Mahmoud Elbayar, moderated by Dr. El-Erian. ❑ 53
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Distinguished Panel Sheds Light on Egypt’s Historic Revolution
Northern California Chronicle
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By Elaine Pasquini
(L-r) Jamal Dajani, Stephen Zunes, Chris Taylor, Dan Williams and Nour Ahmadein. nforum, the young professionals divi-
Ision of San Francisco’s Commonwealth
Club, held a March 10 panel discussion on Egypt’s Jan. 25 revolution. Panelists included Jamal Dajani, Internews Network’s vice president for the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean; Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the Middle Eastern Studies program; Chris Taylor, San Francisco bureau chief of Mashable; Dan Williams, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch; and Nour Ahmadein, an Egyptian-born student at the University of San Francisco. Opening the program, Al-Jazeera English correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin addressed the panel and the audience via Skype from Cairo. “The military, which is essentially running the country, wants to accelerate the process of handing over the reins of power to a democratically elected government within six months,” he said. “On the surface that looks good, but the problem is that the institutions of this state, while they exist on paper, have not been functional for the past 30 years. The question is whether in the next six months people can be galvanized to participate in politics and to build the mechanisms that allow for free and fair elections.” Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 54
together and asked them: “What kept you going?” Their answers were the same, he recalled: “Because the world was watching. Because everyone knew what we were doing—and that is why we were not afraid anymore.” The part Egyptian women played in the revolution, and their future roles, inspired a lively discussion. “I think women had a major role to play in the revolution and I actually fault the media for not highlighting this,” Dajani stated. “In both Tunisia and Egypt women played a major role in assembly and the communications aspect, but somehow they have been invisible in the media.” According to Williams, “Post-Mubarak, they did have a role, but in their recent march in Tahrir Square to demand equal rights, they were attacked by gangs of men. Egypt has a major social problem with regard to women’s place in society.” A growing number of women are becoming Facebook users, Taylor added. “Sixty percent of Facebook users in Egypt are men, but the fastest growing group is women over 60.” On the subject of noticeable changes since Mubarak was ousted, Dajani cited the
Moderating the discussion, Adam Yamaguchi, correspondent and executive producer for Current TV’s Vanguard series, posed questions to the panel on a wide range of subjects. “Although the will of the people is primary in creating a revolution, technology is a platform for democracy,” Taylor posited on the topic of social media. “In January in Egypt there were five million people on Facebook and, in the last week of their revPanelists Discuss Intervention in Libya olution, Egyptians created 32,000 groups Panelists at the March 10 Inforum discussion also voiced on Facebook.” their opinions on U.S. or other countries intervening in In Egypt, however, Libya. Zunes countered, the “As far as foreign intervention in Libya, I would say this is movement gained its really what Qaddafi wants,” Dajani opined. “Any kind of intervention, including a no-fly zone, would just prolong the greatest support durmisery. Even though it saddens me to see the effects on civiling the six days the ians, I am against foreign intervention at this point.” Internet was shut Recalling a study of 300 cases of revolutions against dictadown. “When peotors, foreign occupational armies or colonialism, Zunes reple couldn’t find out lated that armed struggles were successful 23 percent and through the Internet primarily non-violent struggles were successful 52 percent what was going on, of the time. “I’m not against the idea of humanitarian intervention or responsibility to protect, in principle, but it would they had to go out have to be close to genocide before I think it would end up and see for themdoing more good than harm,” he stated. “It’s always a selves,” he noted, dilemma when things get to this level.” “and they got caught Ahmadein added, “I think fiscally and militarily they do up in the protests.” need to stay out because the revolutions we’ve seen are After the ouster of fragile and volatile. In Egypt, people didn’t want anyone from the West or anywhere else to hijack their revolution. The the Egyptian and people won’t feel truly empowered if anyone interferes.” Tunisian presidents, —E.P. Dajani brought journalists and activists THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Post-9/11 harassment is personal for the increased presence and enthusiasm of the Twitter and Facebook.” Hoping one of these uprisings works, author, as law enforcement agents targeted youth. “When you go to any street corner you see youths taking charge of traffic, because “none of them are guaranteed,” two of her brothers after the attacks. Her cleaning the streets, removing graffiti, help- Williams commented, “I think Egypt is the brother Anjum, a United Airlines pilot, 20ing the elderly. This is what really has key. Egypt has a mythical status in the year U.S. military veteran and retired Air Middle East.” Force officer, was investigated by the FBI changed—to see that youthful energy.” On a lighter note, Ahmadein pleaded for while on a routine overnight stay in ArZunes agreed, adding, “It’s an energy that seems to have taken over the entire Middle Cairo’s cab drivers to “stop drinking so gentina on the night of 9/11. Although East. The feelings of fatalism and hopeless- many cups of tea.” Seriously, he called on never arrested, the media attention resultness that they would forever be victims of Egypt’s civil society to “stand up” and be- ing from the agents’ search of his Florida these dictators is gone. I think it has changed come engaged with the democratic process home while he was still out of the country caused him immeasurable personal and our attitudes as well. Not only has al-Qaeda’s to move their country forward. professional harm. whole thesis been disproved that the only Shiekh’s collection of oral histories reway to overthrow a U.S.-backed dictator is Bay Area Rallies for Libya counts crimes ranging from racial through terrorism and extremism, it profiling and indefinite detention to also has challenged the neocon idea physical abuse by guards in Amerithat you need the United States or can prisons and detention centers, some Western power to invade and and torturous extraordinary rendioverthrow these dictators and…sometion in Egypt. how install a democracy.” Published in 2011 by Palgrave From a human rights point of MacMillan, Detained comprises six view, however, “It’s the system now interviews of the 40 Shiekh conthat’s at stake,” Williams cautioned. ducted. Since some of the intervie“They’ve gotten rid of Mubarak, but wees were expelled from the United are they going to get their freedom, States, she traveled overseas to meet an end to the daily humiliation of with detainees in their native counhaving to show their documents, tries. These first-hand accounts give plainclothes people still shaking you voice to the human suffering endown for money or simply taking you away to a police station or tried Sporting a Libyan flag around his neck, a young boy calls dured in the Orwellian world of law for a free Libya. enforcement after Sept. 11, 2001. Esin a military trial?” pecially timely in light of the controArticulating his hopes for Egypt, Ahmadein pointed out the need for trans- Libyan Americans and human rights ac- versial March 10 McCarthy-style congresparent, democratic elections. “We need to tivists rallied in San Francisco Feb. 26 and sional hearings of Rep. Peter King (R-NY), start educating the civil society on how to March 19 in solidarity with the Libyans Detained’s powerful narratives reveal the monitor the upcoming election, how to ac- who are waging a brave protest to oust Col. danger of suspending civil liberties, bendtually fill out a ballot and to have civil so- Muammar Qaddafi. “We are protesting in ing the rule of law, and justifying human ciety represented in the electoral commis- solidarity with the Libyans because we rights abuses allegedly in the name of nasion,” he explained. “And everyone needs need to give them a voice,” said Libyan tional security or the George W. Bush adto participate.” American Hoda Emneina. “It’s important ministration’s infamous “war on terror.” ❑ The moderator concluded by asking to show the world that we are united and each panelist for his idea on how to change will stand with them.” the world. “If I had one wish to change the Middle Detained Without Cause: Post-9/11 East, I would abolish every single ministry Experiences of Muslim Americans of information,” said Dajani, who works to Oakland-based author, filmmaker and empower local media around the world. scholar Irum Shiekh is a post-doctoral re“I think it’s imperative to recognize the searcher on the highly politicized issues of power of nonviolent action,” Zunes said, social justice, gender, immigration, civil “not out of a pacifist or moral principle, liberties, political activism and human but simply because it works and that is the rights. Her new book, Detained Without road to democracy in the Middle East and Cause: Muslims’ Stories of Detention and elsewhere.” Deportation in America after 9/11, meticuChris Taylor, author of an article titled, lously illuminates the struggles, humilia“Why not call it a Facebook revolution,” tion and life-changing experiences of Muscalled for complete freedom of informa- lims in the United States following the 9/11 tion. “We need more connections on the attacks. Presently, the Pakistani-born auInternet,” he opined. “We need the world thor is a Fulbright scholar at Birzeit Unito keep watching, and we need to get rid versity, where she is lecturing about stereoof this notion that Americans are not in- types of Arabs and Muslims in American terested in foreign news, because we all are films. She is also coordinator of American Irum Shiekh outside Jerusalem’s Damascus when it matters, and we followed it on studies at An-Najah University in Nablus. Gate. MAY/JUNE 2011
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By Jane Adas
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pressive regimes in the Arab world; al-Qaeda; religious-based regimes—Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran; the Palestine Authority, which, as the client of a client, no longer represents its people; and the peace process that is “so wrong, yet keeps on failing successfully.” With each phase of the process, Bishara noted, the situation worsens: when it began in 1991, there were 70,000 Jewish settlers; after 20 years with seven major signed agreements and numerous understandings, there are now 500,000. He observed that the 600 documents leaked to Al Jazeera, known as the Palestine Papers, show something very simple: Israel’s rejection of Palestinian negotiators’ offers to give away so much Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara. demonstrates that there is no Israeli partner for peace. Bishara sees U.S. support for Israel in three arwan Bishara, senior political analyst with Al Jazeera, discussed the areas: theology (Christian Zionists in the “Arab Revolt and the Future of Palestine” at South), economics (the military-industrial New York University on Feb. 15. Having complex in the West), and ideology (the neospent the previous few days in Washington, conservative agenda in the East). The majorBishara described the U.S. as “a great coun- ity of Americans don’t subscribe to any of try with an autistic capital.” Analysts brain- these, he noted—therefore what is going on storming at D.C. think tanks, he elaborated, in D.C., where politicians are more conview the events in Tunisia and Egypt “only cerned about financial support for the next through the prisms of Israel, terrorism, and election than about policy, is not representaoil.” Knowing much about Israel, but terri- tive. Yet, he asserted, “never in the history bly ignorant about the Arab world, the of this country and that region have moral think tankers ask only if this is good or bad and national interests been so aligned.” For Arabs, Bishara emphasized, Palestine for Israel and whether the new Egypt will “play ball.” An audience member demon- is the symbol for justice, the metaphor for strated this kind of blinkered concern with repression they have faced in their own an anxious question about the Muslim countries. The revolutions have made Arab Brotherhood participating in elections. people’s yearning for freedom and dignity “That’s not your business,” Bishara replied. visible. It is unthinkable, he concluded, that “Egyptians don’t come over here to ask people power would succeed in the Arab world and lose in Palestine. about right-wing Christians in Congress.” Bishara views the Tunisian and Egyptian people as clear winners, and predicted that Mohammed Omer on Israeli Control the next phase, whatever form it takes, will Of Gaza be modern, pluralistic, and representative. Mohammed Omer, the Washington Report’s He identified current and future losers as op- “Gaza on the Ground” correspondent, spoke about “Structural Violence in Gaza” Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the at the Princeton Theological Seminary on New York City metropolitan area. March 2. Israel had begun sealing off Gaza
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
New York City and Tri-StateNews even before the onset of the “peace process” in 1991, he pointed out. When Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006, Israel instituted a siege designed, Omer explained, to keep Gaza’s economy on the brink of collapse without entirely pushing it over the edge. Among the mechanics of maintaining the siege, Omer first cited Israel’s total control of all points of entry and exit for people and goods by land, air and sea. Before the Netherlands recently pressured Israel to allow Gazans to export strawberries and flowers to the European market, farmers fed these items to their livestock. Only after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault in 2008-09, which led to some high-level officials visiting Gaza for the first time, did Israel compile a list of 81 permitted items such as toilet paper, toothpaste, coriander and pasta. Omer’s mother instructed him to thank Sen. John Kerry personally for the macaroni the family is now able to eat, the young journalist said. Even with that, however, Gazans are still forced to spend time in bread lines. The international community donated 24 tons of medicine, which Israel held at the border until their expiration date, as well as 10,000 coffins for children—which, Omer wryly noted, do not expire. Israel controls the flow of fuel into Gaza, especially after having bombed the main generator, with the result that electricity is so erratic that Omer’s mother can’t run a refrigerator. Mail deliv-
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Marwan Bashara Discusses People Power in The Arab World
Washington Report correspondent Mohammed Omer. MAY/JUNE 2011
ery is equally unreliable for the same reason. A second method of control is by security zone. Israel has imposed a three-to-five-mile limit at sea, but even within this confined area its naval patrols fire on Palestinian boats and people on the beaches. Just the previous week, Omer reported, three fishermen had been killed. He asked if any in the audience had read about this. None had. Because of this man-made crisis, Omer said, 80 percent of Gazans live below the poverty line. In an earlier presentation on his lecture tour, Omer stated that all of the 1.2 million Palestinians living in Gaza suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. A psychologist in the audience corrected him: it is not PTSD, the doctor said, but CTSD: continuing traumatic stress disorder.
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Current, Former Congressmen Debate Goldstone Report
besieged enclave (see April 2009 Washington Report, p. 21) and has returned four times since. Baird found the Goldstone Report a sadly accurate account of what he had seen. He was even more troubled that no congressman approached him for firsthand information—nor was Judge Goldstone invited to testify when Congress voted 344 to 36 to condemn the report and give it no further consideration. Thus, Baird added, “What we are doing here tonight is a violation.” Wiener accused the Goldstone Report of bias for not accepting that Israel was acting in self-defense in response to rocket fire from Gaza, and for addressing the motivations of both sides and finding Israel’s sinister. Baird responded that the rockets are unacceptable, but qualitatively different than Israel’s high-tech arsenal, adding that “we would not tolerate rockets; nei-
(L-r) Moderator Roger Cohen, former Rep. Brian Baird and Rep. Anthony Wiener. According to New York Congressman Anthony Wiener (D-Brooklyn), there is no occupation in the West Bank, nor in East Jerusalem, nor in Gaza after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2005; there is no Israeli military presence in the West Bank except maybe at checkpoints; all Israeli settlements are within Israel; the eastern border of Israel is the Jordan River; and “the U.N. exists to beat the bejesus out of Israel.” His was the jaw-dropping side of an otherwise informed discussion of “The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict” at New York City’s The New School on March 3. Wiener accused moderator Roger Cohen of The New York Times of failing to be impartial, perhaps because Cohen repeatedly asked him if anything Israel has done troubles his conscience as a Jew. (Cohen is also Jewish.) Defending the Goldstone Report was former Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA). Baird, whose constituent Rachel Corey was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, went to Gaza shortly after Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on the MAY/JUNE 2011
ther would we accept confiscation and encirclement of our land.” Given Israel’s actions, such as its white phosphorus attack on the UNRWA compound and its leveling of Gaza’s entire industrial zone after the area was secured, Baird continued, the report had to consider collective punishment as a motivation. To Cohen’s remark that Wiener is a liberal on everything but this issue, Wiener replied that because Israel’s 22 neighbors have declared war on her, the progressive position is for Israel. This led Baird to observe that the unanimous Arab League Peace Initiative seems virtually unknown in Congress. Singling out one example of ongoing indignities, Baird told of visiting a Jerusalem hospital where Palestinian children with cancer were unable to be accompanied by their parents. “How is this just?” Baird asked. “How is it consistent with progressive values? How is it strategically smart?”
Ahdaf Soueif, From Cairo to Columbia Egyptian author Ahdaf Soueif, who was the first recipient of the Mahmoud Darwish THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Ahdaf Soueif speaks at Columbia University. Award, gave the Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University on March 8 entitled “Notes from the Egyptian Revolution.” Having spent much time at the demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Soueif warned that she might quickly sound mystical because it was a “near miraculous event”—one that Said himself would have cherished for vindicating his will to optimism. Egyptians are now proud, she said, after feeling awful about themselves for so long. She recalled feeling ashamed during an earlier visit to the West Bank, when a merchant had given her gifts with the words, “Never mind, your day will come,” because Egypt had done nothing for Palestinians except send them down the river. Now Egyptians are proud of the nature of their revolution, which Soueif described as inclusive, peaceful, decent and law-abiding. Everyone had a sense of agency and community, of being part of something bigger. It was, she said, as though Egyptians had a sense of breaking out of a horrible isolation. Soueif accused the Mubarak regime of using every tired trick they had been using for over 30 years, trying to turn rich and poor, Muslim and Christian Egyptians against each other. It told the middle classes they were infiltrated by slum dwellers, told Islamists the demonstrators were amoral socialists, and tried to frighten the secular with Islam and shariah law. Mubarak’s ponderous address to the nation when he promised not to stay past the September elections almost swung the people. “Yes, he is old,” some said. “What’s the harm? Let him die here.” Then the following morning came the counterrevolution: thugs on camels and horses with whips 57
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and swords followed by plainclothes “Mubarak supporters,” and behind them the security police. “It really did feel,” Soueif added, “as though a young, vigorous movement was opposed by a Neanderthal regime, like a jerky ‘40s movie monster unable to adapt.” Soueif is well aware that the situation is still in progress, that the revolutions are potentially harming some powerful interests who will surely meddle, and that no one can be sure where it will lead. But, she concluded, there is no point in not being optimistic while remaining alert.
Director Julian Schnabel, Author Rula Jebreal Discuss “Miral” “Miral,” which opened commercially on March 25, is based on Rula Jebreal’s autobiographical novel (available from the AET Book Club) about an Israeli Palestinian woman, from her childhood in the 1970s until she leaves for Italy on a scholarship in the early 1990s. The film was directed by the well-known Jewish-American artist Julian Schnabel, nominated for best director for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” in 2007, and distributed by the Weinstein brothers, whose “The King’s Speech” won this year’s Academy Award for best picture. Freida Pinto, who starred in 2009’s best picture, “Slum Dog Millionaire,” plays the title role. All of this Oscar-recognized clout, however, has not shielded a movie that presents a Palestinian narrative from controversy and disdain from critics. We first meet a member of a prominent Jerusalem family, Hind al-Husseini, played magnificently by Hiam Abbass. On an early morning walk on April 11, 1948 in Jerusalem, Hind finds 55 children, survivors of the Deir Yassin massacre. She takes them home to feed and care for them, and soon many more arrive. This is the genesis of Jerusalem’s famous Dar al-Tifl orphanage. In 1978, Miral’s father, Jamal, brings his 5-year-old daughter to Dar al-Tifl after her mother, Nadia, the victim of an abusive father and alcoholism, commits suicide. Ten years later Miral is drawn into the first Palestinian intifada, against the wishes of her father and of Hind. She is detained and tortured by the Israelis. While recovering with her aunt in Haifa, she meets her cousin’s girlfriend Lisa, an Israeli Jew played by Schnabel’s daughter Stella, and an uneasy friendship develops. Miral realizes that the road of violence “has no exit” and comes to accept the 22 percent of Palestine that seems to be promised by the impending Oslo negotiations. The film ends with Hind’s funeral in September 1994. 58
“Miral” author Rula Jebreal (l) and director Julian Schnabel. In the question-and-answer period after the screening, Schnabel said critics can’t seem to understand the movie, and singled out A.O. Scott of The New York Times. He’s right. Scott characterized Miral’s “defiance” of her father and Hind during the intifada as “normal adolescent rebellion,” not seeming to realize that no Palestinian has a normal adolescence. He criticized the music over the final scene and credits, but gets the song wrong—it is not Tom Waits’ “All the World is Green,” but his “Down There by the Train.” Schnabel said he chose it because in it Waits talks of forgiveness: “And even the soldier who pierced the side of the Lord/Is down there by the train.” Asked how difficult it was filming on location in Jerusalem, including in Hind’s home, Schnabel replied that the cast and crew received cooperation from both sides, even though filming began three days into Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza. They lost some locations, but found others and there was a “beautiful spirit from everyone.” In answer to another question about how they could get the children Hind rescued to say such scary things, Jebreal replied that these children lived through the second intifada. Growing up in a war zone, he explained, “they see it every day.” Schnabel added that they filmed early on a cold morning; the 55 kids were uncomfortable and didn’t have to act. Jebreal said the real-life Lisa was the first non-soldier Israeli she ever met. When she realized that Lisa was fighting her own family over having a Palestinian boyfriend, Jebreal’s eyes were opened to the idea that there are “Israelis like us, waiting still today for something to change.” Jebreal took Lisa to a refugee camp and told the audience of Lisa’s shocked reaction: “I didn’t think in THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
my country a place like this could exist.” “Miral” has also been criticized from the left for seeming to present the Oslo accords as an acceptable solution. Schnabel’s original final scene showed Yitzhak Rabin before cheering crowds with Palestinian and Israeli flags. He cut that completely and replaced it with bare words on the screen saying that Oslo has not yet been honored. The emotional effect, on this viewer at least, is devastating. Schnabel’s hope for “Miral” is that it promote much needed dialogue. There is no reason good enough, he said, to justify Palestinian and Israeli mothers and fathers worrying for 63 years whether their child will come home from school. ❑ (Advertisement)
Why did this happen to us? And why are we bogged down in these interminable wars? For the answer our government does not want us to know, go to http://vimeo.com/15528714 to watch and share WHY 9/11?, a powerful new video featuring Daniel A. McGowan, Executive Director of Deir Yassin Remembered. It cuts to the chase.
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Mideast Turmoil Produces Calls for Israel to Move Toward Peace With the Palestinians Israel andJudaism
By Allan C. Brownfeld he current turmoil in the Middle East
toward peace with the Palestinians and withdraw from the occupied West Bank, and for the creation of a viable Palestinian state. These calls have come from many long-time friends and supporters of Israel. Writing in The Wall Street Journal March 1, Andre Aciman, who teaches comparative literature at the City University of New York and is the author of Out of Egypt: A Memoir, noted that, “Israel...cannot afford to wait and see which way the wind blows as rebellion sweeps through the Middle East. Rather, it should seize the moment and show that it can bring about changes as momentous as those witnessed elsewhere in the region today. That means striking an honorable deal with the Palestinians, vacating areas whose occupation is unjustifiable and allowing the Palestinians to have a country with a capital Israel learns to share. Israel must show its Arab neighbors that it can up the ante on their revolution and produce the long-awaited miracle of peace in the Middle East.” At J Street’s February conference in Washington, DC, Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy emphasized that “The hatred of Israel will not end until you start treating Palestinians with freedom and dignity. This is the time for Israel to sit down and make concrete concessions.” Even before the recent and historic Arab uprisings, however, criticism of Israel’s role in the West Bank and Gaza had been growing on the part of many thoughtful Jewish observers. Toward the end of 2010, a small book by a 93-year-old man unexpectedly reached the top of the best seller list in France. Indignez-vous (“Time for Outrage!”) by Stéphane Hessel sold more than 600,000 copies between October and the end of December. Hessel has lived an extraordinary life. His father, Franz Hessel, was a German Jewish writer who emigrated to France Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated columnist and associate editor of the Lincoln Review, a journal published by the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism. MAY/JUNE 2011
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Thas produced calls for Israel to move
Author and former French diplomat Stéphane Hessel speaks in front of mock barriers representing Israel’s apartheid wall during a March 5, 2004 demonstration in Paris against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. with his family in 1924. The younger Hessel served in the French army during the Battle of France and became a prisoner of war. Following his escape from a POW camp, he joined Gen. Charles de Gaulle and the Free French resistance. He parachuted into occupied France in advance of the Allied invasion of 1944 to organize Resistance networks. The Gestapo captured and tortured him. He was transported to Buchenwald and Dora concentration camps—then, while being transferred to Bergen-Belsen, escaped. After the war, Hessel became a diplomat and was involved, along with Eleanor Roosevelt, in drafting the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He received the 2008 UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of Culture and Human Rights. His book is a testament to his belief in the universality of rights, as his defense of Palestinians under Israeli occupation and of illegal immigrants in France attests. Regarding current violations of human rights, Hessel writes: “Today, my strongest feelings of indignation is over Palestine, both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The starting point of my outrage was the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
appeal launched by courageous Israelis to the Diaspora: you, our older siblings, come and see where our leaders are taking this country and how they are forgetting the fundamental human values of Judaism. I went to Gaza and the West Bank in 2002, then five more times until 2009. It is absolutely imperative to read Richard Goldstone’s report of September 2009 on Gaza, in which the South African judge, himself Jewish, in fact a self-proclaimed Zionist, accuses the Israeli army of having committed ‘actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity’ during its three-week ‘Operation Cast Lead.’ I went to Gaza in 2009 in order to see with my own eyes what this report described.” Hessel and his wife also visited the Palestinian refugee camps established after 1948 by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, where more than three million Palestinians live—the descendants over the past 40 years of the 750,000 driven from their homes, first in l948-9, then in l967. “As for Gaza,” he writes, “it is an open-air prison for a million and a half Palestinians. In this prison they must organize to survive. Even then the physical de59
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struction from Operation Cast Lead, such as the destroyed Red Cross hospital, it is the behavior of the Gazans—their patriotism, their love of the ocean and the beach, their constant preoccupation with the well-being of their countless laughing children—that haunts our memories...I share the South African judge’s conclusions. For Jews themselves to perpetuate war crimes is intolerable. Unfortunately, history gives few examples of people who learn the lessons of their own history.” Sadly, many in France did not want to hear Hessel’s views. Students at the Ecole Normale invited him to address them in Paris in January, but the authorities stepped in. Monique Canto-Sperber, the school’s director, withdrew the invitation and refused to allow Hessel to give an address. She objected to his insistence that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applied as much to Palestinians as to the French. An ultra-Zionist French Web site, Des Infos, praised Canto-Sperber’s decision: “There are men and women in this country of intellectual courage. Mme. Monique-Canto-Sperber...is an example. She has on the afternoon of 12 January 2011 canceled a scandalous conference-debate.” According to Charles Glass, author of Americans In Paris: Life and Death Under Nazi Occupation, “This may be the first time, in an ostensibly free country, that praise has been applied to the ‘courage’ of canceling a debate. Such courage was not confined to the censorious director of the school. The Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France [Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France] lauded those who favored suppressing Hessel’s right to speak. They included Minister of Higher Education Valérie Pécresse, self-styled philosopher BernardHenri Lévy, Alain Finkielkraut, Claude Cohen-Tanoudji and Arielle Schwab. The administrations at other colleges succumbed to the pressure and refused to allow Hessel to speak on their campuses.” To charges that he is either anti-Semitic or anti-Israel, Hessel replies: “I feel that I am completely in solidarity with Jews in the world, because I know what it is to be a Jew. I’ve seen what it is, I am myself of Jewish origin, and therefore I can only be fully in support of the idea that Jews, after all they’ve suffered, need a country where they are at home. I shouted my joy when Israel was founded. I said, ‘At last.’” To his critics, he states: “My love for Israel is stronger than yours. But I want it to be an honest country.” 60
New Yorker’s Remnick on Haaretz New Yorker editor David Remnick wrote an article in the magazine’s Feb. 28 issue titled “The Dissenters,” about the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and its publisher and owner, Amos Schocken. “As a newspaper proprietor,” wrote Remnick, “Schocken faces all the familiar challenges of his peers around the world...His ideological focus, however, is distinct and unyielding. He is thoroughly committed to ending Israel’s 44-year occupation of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. He is also a singular force in Israeli journalism on issues such as free speech, equal rights for Israeli Arabs, the independence of the Supreme Court, and the exposure of military abuse. On the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence, Schocken published an article saying that ‘Hatikvah,’ the national anthem, should be changed, as its lyrics are about only Jewish aspirations.” In that editorial, Shocken wrote: “Hasn’t the time come to recognize that the establishment of Israel is not just the story of the Jewish people, of Zionism, of the heroism of the Israel Defense Forces and of bereavement? That it is also the story of the reflection of Zionism and the heroism of IDF soldiers in the lives of the Arabs: the Nakba—the Palestinian ‘Catastrophe,’ as the Arabs call the events of 1948—the loss, the families that were split up, the disruption of lives, the property that was taken away, the life under military government and other elements of the history shared by Jews and Arabs, which are presented on Independence Day, and now only on that day, in an entirely one-sided way.” In mid-June 1967, little more than a week after the end of the Six-Day War, while nearly all of Israeli journalism joined the country in what became a prolonged period of postwar exultation, Amos Elon, then a young Haaretz reporter, traveled to Aqbat Jabar, a refugee camp near the West Bank City of Jericho. He wrote: “Whatever the fate of the occupied territories in our hands at the moment may be—we can already do something with respect to the problem of the refugees who have remained in the areas under the control of the state of Israel. We have a moral obligation to do this. For on the backs of these people Israel’s independence was plowed and they paid with their bodies, their property and their future for the pogroms in Ukraine and the Nazi gas chambers. We owe a huge debt to these forlorn people... They are victims of our independence.” Unlike many in Israel, Haaretz has welTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
comed the movement toward democracy in Egypt. “Israeli leaders have always preferred to do business with Mubarak, and his ilk,” it editorialized, “on the assumption that they would ‘preserve stability’ and forcibly repress the radical forces seeking change in the region. This view led Israel to disregard the citizens of neighboring countries, viewing them as devoid of political influence in the best case and as hostile Israelhaters in the worst case. Israel viewed itself as a Western outpost and displayed no interest in the language, culture, and public opinion of its immediate surroundings. Integration into the Middle East seemed like a trivial, if not downright harmful, fantasy.” While establishment Jewish groups in the U.S. remain passive about the growth of democracy in the Middle East, critics argue that they should stand firmly with the Arab dissidents in spite of their fears about what the future may hold. “Egyptians are as entitled to human rights as we are,” said Andrew Apostolou, senior program manager at Freedom House and also a board member of the Jewish Community of Greater Washington. “We cannot call for Egyptians to live under despotism because we deem it strategically convenient. It is embarrassing to make a song and dance about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East and then oppose the emergence of other prospective democracies.” “There was quite a bit of hypocrisy on this issue,” noted Ori Nir of Americans for Peace Now. “It [Jewish groups’ rhetoric] was a means to divert attention from the peace process and the occupation...it was undemocratic regimes that for years maintained a stable status quo that serviced Israel’s interests. If undemocratic regimes serve stability, why rock the boat?“ This line of thought is flawed, argued Nir. Jewish groups would best serve Israel’s interests by using this opportunity to push for a final peace agreement with the Palestinians. Moves such as this, he declared, would foster trust in the region. Those Jewish groups who urge Israel to move toward peace with the Palestinians, reported the March 3 Washington Jewish Week, “say that if Israel does not resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict quickly with a peace deal, the new generation of leaders emerging in the Arab world won’t be able to see Israel as anything other than an occupier and repressor of Palestinian rights. Arab commentators echo that thinking.” If ever Israel needed a proper incentive to move toward genuine peace, the current upheaval in the region surely provides it. ❑ MAY/JUNE 2011
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Al-Mubadarah chairman Victor Shiblie (l) and president Hazami Barmada. providing space for a free ad in hopes that our readers will do the same and support this exciting venture. For more information visit <https://sites.google.com/site/aeisummit/Arab-Empowerment-Initiative>. —Delinda C. Hanley
citizen—not an expat—who comes from a large lower class and who can’t move upward. Polls give the constants, Zogby emphasized, but they don’t give the variables, which can be a surprise to all. Dr. Zogby explained how ignorance toward the Arab world has pervaded American administrations. Eight years of the Bush administration had a “devastating impact,” he said. Bush officials were not willing to listen to Arab grievances, but were eager to lecture Arab political leaders and intellectuals on the merits of democratic reform and gender equality. America has sent more troops, lost more lives, and had more interests at stake in the Arab world, but Americans still have no knowledge of that world—37 percent couldn’t find Iraq on a map and know nothing about the culture. Less than 1 percent of high school students study Arabic—more study ancient Greek, Zogby said. American’s lack of knowledge “helps us dig the hole we’re in even deeper,” he warned.
Dr. James Zogby Says Americans Should Listen to Arab Voices Amjad Atallah, co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, invited Dr. James Zogby to talk about his new book, Arab Voices (available from the AET Book Club), on March 4. Atallah asked the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI) if he could have predicted the wave of unrest sweeping the region. After decades of polling the Arab world with his brother John, listening to both leaders and common people, and writing Arab Voices, did Zogby have a sense for what was about to happen? This is the most critical development in the region since the advent of colonialism, Zogby replied. “As significant as Tunisia was,” he added, “Egypt is even more.” What surprised everyone was that when attacks against demonstrators came, the protests got even larger. Zogby pointed out that, unlike other episodes of popular unrest in the region, the current revolutions and uprisings are not led by political elites or vanguard Islamists—these are popular movements, with a strong civic component. The participants, male and female, are voicing largely non-ideological demands, he noted. People are demanding democracy, accountability and fair wages. Zogby cited memorable examples of unhappy workers he’s met on his travels. He described an elevator operator in Egypt, a man who speaks three languages but who is stuck pushing buttons in an automatic elevator for a tiny salary. Or a taxi driver in Bahrain, a Shi’i, a THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Al-Mubadarah (Arabic for “taking initiative”) held a reception at Turnberry Tower in Arlington, VA on March 5 to introduce themselves to potential investors, supporters and media. According to Hazami Barmada, Al-Mubadarah’s president and CEO, “the initiative is a new independent international NGO devoted to developing a global platform for Arab development and strengthening professional ties in and between the Arab world and its Diaspora through innovative human and institutional capacity-building programs.” Victor Shiblie, founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Washington Diplomat, and now also chairman of Al-Mubadarah, told the gathering that the Arab Empowerment Initiative was formed to help the Arab-American community, collectively or individually, invest in their homelands. The initiative intends to have a major impact on the employment of young graduates and to halt the growing feeling of hopelessness among youth in the Middle East and North Africa. It’s an apolitical organization, whose time has come as changes sweep the region, Shiblie added. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel; we want to add value to or facilitate what other organizations may be doing.” If there are 100 million diaspora Arabs, and only 1 percent give $25 back and contribute to building businesses or infrastructure back home...it would be huge, he said. Arab League Ambassador to the U.S. Hussein Hassouna “cross-examined” AlMubadarah committee members who came in to see if he thought this would be a viable project. “I totally agree with the goals of the initiative to promote development and create a bridge between the Arab world and the Diaspora,” the ambassador told guests at the reception. “It’s all worthwhile, and with hard work and perseverance it’s a goal that can be achieved,” Hassouna stated. Strengthening Arab communities and building a brighter, resourceful and interconnected future for the Arab world really does matter, speakers agreed. The development of Al-Mubadarah is a significant and necessary development to engage the Arab Diaspora to become motivated, empowered and personally vested in development throughout the Arab world. The Washington Report backs this important Al-Mubadarah initiative—and we’re “putting our money where our mouth is,”
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Introducing Al-Mubadarah: Arab Empowerment Initiative
Dr. James Zogby argues that Americans have little knowledge of the Arab world. MAY/JUNE 2011
Zogby argued that popular American political culture has reinforced myths and inaccurate stereotypes about the region and contributed to Americans’ misunderstanding. American soldiers are still taught about the region by reading The Arab Mind and Thomas Friedman’s books. Is it willful ignorance, Zogby asked, or plain dumbness? President Barack Obama led Arabs to expect a more understanding, open-minded approach, he noted. Sadly, the Obama administration has mastered the art of public diplomacy, but not necessarily engaged the Arab people in a meaningful two-way discussion, Zogby observed. Arabs want partnership programs, capacity building, investments to create jobs, education, youth empowerment, a solution to the Arab/Israeli problem. They don’t want American involvement in their internal affairs. The Obama administration has not had much outreach into the Arab and Muslim American community, either, Zogby said. There have been some briefings, but no sitdown conversations. Zogby concluded his discussion by focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza continues to galvanize Arabs, for whom the narratives of occupation and injustice resonate. For more information visit <http://www. newamerica.net/events/archives>. —Delinda C. Hanley
ATFL Gala Headlines Famous Lebanese Americans The American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL) held its annual gala awards night on March 23 at the Fairmont Washington, DC Hotel. George Cody, Ph.D., ATFL’s executive director, warmed up the audience with a teasing film spoofing “novelist” Peter J. Tanous, ATFL’s president, who has actually written many well-received books about the American economy. Tanous acknowledged past recipients of ATFL awards in the audience, including veteran journalist Helen Thomas, who received a standing ovation. Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Chedid paid tribute to Americans of Lebanese descent, especially “Lebanon’s beautiful gift to the United States,” Rima Fakih, who won the national title of Miss USA in May 2010. Thanking ATFL for its crucial help in Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts, Ambassador Chedid also thanked Lebanese Americans for all their work. “Lebanon enjoys a reservoir of good will on both sides of the aisle,” he added. Thomas A. Nassif, ATFL’s “longest servMAY/JUNE 2011
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Miss USA Rima Fakih. ing chairman—even longer than Hosni Mubarak,” introduced some of this year’s honorees, including Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA), who was just reelected to his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before entering Congress, Boustany was a cardiovascular surgeon. He now serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade, healthcare and entitlement policy, and has assumed a prominent role as perhaps his party’s leading authority on healthcare. Sadly, he was called to Louisiana and missed the award night. Gregory Jbara, who won a Tony for his role as Jackie Elliot in the Broadway production of “Billy Elliot The Musical,” was introduced by his brother Mike, CEO of Warner Music Group (WMG). The Jbara brothers thanked their parents for being supportive of their kids when they took “unfamiliar paths.” Rima Fakih, whose sister said she was always a tomboy, was born in Sour, Lebanon. Miss America said she has enjoyed being a spokeswoman for breast and ovarian cancer education and research, as well as an unofficial Lebanese-American ambassador. “Hopefully,” she said, “I can be an official ambassador someday.” Explaining that she appreciated the land she came from, Fakih quoted the famous song by the Lebanese singer Fairouz: “Take me and plant me in the land of Lebanon.” —Delinda C. Hanley
Muslim-American Activism African-American Muslim Women Discuss Their Journeys of Faith Four African-American Muslim women from different Muslim traditions—Sunni, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Shi’i, Sufi and the Nation of Islam—described their paths to Islam at a March 22 luncheon hosted by the Buxton Initiative in Washington, DC. The Buxton Initiative, with offices at the Case Foundation, is an organization of Muslims, Christians and Jews from a variety of backgrounds and professions who are dedicated to building understanding and dialogue among their respective communities. Launched in the aftermath of 9/11 by two former ambassadors, Dr. Akbar Ahmed and J. Douglas Holladay, the Initiative hosts forums and dialogues throughout the year. Zarinah Shakir, producer and host of the TV show “Perspectives of Interfaith,” introduced the panelists, noting that Muslims are not a monolithic group of people. Shakir, whose father and brother are both imams in Baltimore, said many of the enslaved Africans came to America as Muslims. Other African Americans came to Islam during their college or university years, as they learned about the Black Panthers and black power. They don’t only come through prison ministries. Amina Cisse Muhammad, founder of Keys to Power Editorial Services and Success Coaching, said that Sufis don’t distinguish themselves from other Muslims. ”We’re all Muslims,” she said, adding with a smile, “Islam is like cake, and Sufis are the icing on the cake—some like icing and some don’t.” Sufis emphasize the mystical dimensions of Islam and enjoy a “one-on-one” relationship with God, Muhammad said. They’re “earning spiritual overtime.” Raised in North Carolina in a military family where “mediocrity was not accepted,” Amina Muhammad, the granddaughter of a Baptist minister, said she went to Greensboro College, took classes in the black experience, read the Autobiography of Malcolm X and embraced Islam. “We have the responsibility to share our religion and say who we’re not. We’re not the oppressed women portrayed by media,” she declared. While in this day and age no one wants to discuss religion at their jobs, with Islamophobia increasing and Peter King‘s congressional hearings on “Islamic radicalization,” Muhammad emphasized, “We have to. We need to stand up and say what is true.” Muneera Afifa, a Washington, DC native, and currently a graduate student at Trinity Washington University, grew up Catholic— one aunt is a nun. Her mother, she said, “encouraged us to think,” so she began to question the racism and bigotry she saw all around her. “I saw a rich church asking people living in poverty to give and give.” She decided to take the Shi’i path, studied 63
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branch being Sunni. Though a minority, their focus on balancing spiritual and material lives has made the Ismaili community socially conscious, with a strong work ethic. The Baptists came expecting to see a place of worship, but (L-r) Muneera Afifa, Nisa Islam Muhammad, Amina Cisse they soon found themMuhammad and Zarinah Shakir discuss Islam in America. selves engaged in a direligion, traveled to Iran, and even lived in alogue of understanding and cooperation. a “collective group, where people prayed to- The Ismailis, along with other Muslims, gether and if one was hungry, we all were firmly believe in the dignity of all hungry.” Afifa said that people in America mankind and regard other faith communidon’t realize how arrogant we are. “We’re all ties as People of the Book, Ahl-al Bayt, to on the same journey, we shouldn’t be pass- be respected and treated as brothers and sisters, all created by the one God. ing judgment on each other,” she said. “It was a magnificent experience,” Another Washingtonian, Nisa Islam Muhammad, who writes for the Nation of Miller said. “As Christians, sometimes we Islam’s newspaper, The Final Call, spoke think that everyone should be Christian, next. She is founder of Wedded Bliss Foun- but frankly that’s just not going to happen, dation, a community-based organization and doesn’t need to. What we do need is to helping teens, singles and couples create understand other religious communities, healthy relationships and healthy mar- and if we do that we can see that we are in riages so more children grow up with the fact more alike than we could have imagbenefits of a two-parent family. African- ined.” One of the main objectives of this visit American Muslims need to challenge bigotry, just like they challenge racism, she was to explore the role of women in Islam said, and make allies out of neighbors, and examine the misconceived notion that friends and co-workers. Allies who know women are ill-treated. “It is they who run you will come to your defense, she the household and they are professionals just like us,” Miller said. Women within promised. Zarihah Shakir, who follows the Sunni the Muslim world, and this specific compath, told a story about introducing herself munity, are encouraged to work hard, edduring a visit to Egypt. “You have three ucate themselves, become professionals strikes against you,” her host said. “You’re and volunteer to help others. Hosting the Baptist visitors is the first of African-American, a Muslim and a woman,” her host commiserated. For once, many future events that participants hope Shakir said, she had an immediate come- will help forge a relationship. “What betback and replied, “That depends on what ter way to extend a hand in friendship game you’re playing. Baseball, three strikes than to invite someone over to your space; and you’re out of the game. If you’re bowl- your sanctuary?” asked Salima Dhamani, ing, strikes are in your favor. Let’s bowl,” program manager for this event. The openshe suggested. “God made me who I am,” she said. “He didn’t make a mistake and I thank Him for that.” —Delinda C. Hanley
ness of the event allowed everyone to question their stereotypes and learn more about each other. Congressman Peter King recently held congressional hearings on American Muslims, determined to prove that religious extremism prevails in the American Muslim community. This, Miller said, is simply unacceptable and uncalled for. “Just because someone looks some way or believes something doesn’t necessarily mean they are dangerous…it just makes the issue even worse. “There really is a fear still out there...people are afraid of Muslims,” Miller added, “and I tell people that there are good people and bad people and that happens in every religion and that’s just the way it is. I always remind people of all the Muslims who were killed in the towers.” Miller said she felt the Baptist visitors all walked away with a better understanding of the Ismaili community and “they really want to reach out and work together.” —Samreen Hooda
MFSA Opens Muslim Understanding Series In Des Moines The Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) Iowa opened its Spring Regional Gatherings series, “Understanding our Muslim Brothers and Sisters,” with a March 6 discussion of current events at Drake University in Des Moines. Hugh Stone, minister at Osceola United Methodist Church, introduced the speakers. “This is the first social revolution in Egypt in 5,000 years,” said Mahmoud Hamad, assistant professor of politics and international relations at Drake. A former Fulbright scholar from Egypt, Hamad returned from Egypt only 10 days before the recent popular uprising there began. “If you compare political and economic rights in Middle Eastern countries with other countries you will see that, except for Turkey for the last few years and in Is-
“I think the Ismailis are a remarkable people,” said Becky Miller, a former mayor of the City of Carrollton, Texas. On Jan. 17 Miller and eight representatives of the First Baptist Church of Carrollton visited Headquarters Jamatkhana in Dallas, TX, where the local Ismaili community in Carrollton worship. The Shi’i Imami Ismaili Muslims, generally known as the Ismailis, belong to the Shi’i branch of Islam—the other major 64
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Baptists, Ismaili Texans Get to Know Each Other, Thanks to Becky Miller
Becky Miller (center, back row) inspired a visit by Baptist Church of Carrollton members with the Ismaili community. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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which had been under the control of the British since 1913. “Iran came under the thumb of the Shah [of Iran, Mohamed Reza Pahlavi] for 20 more years, and we all know the results,” said Hamad. Noting that economic circumstances have played a role not conducive to democratic reform, he went on to point out that, while in the West governments are supported by financial resources that flow to government from the bottom up in the form of taxes, in many Prof. Mahmoud Hamad speaks at Wesley House in Des Middle Eastern countries oil resources, the major contributor Moines on March 6. to national wealth, are conrael for the Jewish population, there is no trolled by authoritarian regimes, and the Middle Eastern country that is democra- flow of financial resources is from the govtic,” added Hamad, who noted that there ernment to the people, from the top down, thus strengthening the positions of those are many explanations for this. Citing the colonial experience as the regimes. He mentioned as an example most important factor, Hamad explained Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s recent dethat most of the countries of the Middle cision to boost dramatically his regime’s East were created by Western colonial spending on housing, education and social powers—and too often, he said, when welfare, widely viewed as an effort to boldemocracy has developed, it has been ster support for the status quo at a time thwarted by Western intervention, as in when popular uprisings are sweeping Iran in 1953, and, more recently, in Pales- across the Arab world. Luai Amro, president of the Islamic Cultine, following the 2006 legislative electural Center of Des Moines, addressed the tions. “The colonial powers had one interest, audience next. Originally from Palestine to keep the power in place, and that is why and an Iowan for well over a decade, Amro they empowered the political and military said the revolts are not based on any Arab establishments,” Hamad stated. “So, even or Muslim animus toward Christians, Jews, after independence, the only part of the or the West. “They don’t like their politistate that was actually functioning was the cal status, they don’t like the way they are security and military apparatus. That’s treated,” Amro explained. In Palestine, people are fighting for their why, in many countries, when democracy began to develop, the generals would take human and civil rights and for their digover. Pakistan is an example. Algeria is an nity as a people, said Amro. “When they say, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ they are protecting example. Syria is another example.” Following independence, the colonial their rights, but not because they want to powers continued to exert influence on be- spread Islam or convert everybody to half of those interests and often intervened Islam. No! They are doing it because they on the side of authoritarian leaders, are human. They happen to be Muslims, thwarting democratic impulses and move- and they are expressing their rights like ments and overthrowing democratic gov- everybody else,” said Amro. Both Amro and Hamad emphasized that ernments, Hamad explained. “The most important example is the ex- human rights are central to Islam, and perience in Iran. [Mohammad] Mosadegh both spoke warmly about their experiences —Michael Gillespie was a nationalist leader, not Islamic, not in Iowa. communist, nothing of that sort. He became the first democratically elected prime CAIR, Other Muslim Groups Label minister of Iran,” said Hamad, who noted King Hearing a “Political Stunt” that the CIA collaborated with the Iranian A coalition of Muslim, interfaith and civil military at the behest of Britain’s MI-6 to rights groups held a news conference at the overthrow Mosadegh, who had instituted National Press Club in Washington, DC on a number of progressive social reforms and March 9, the day before the House Homehad nationalized the oil industry in Iran, land Security Committee’s first hearing on MAY/JUNE 2011
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
“Radicalization in the American Muslim Community.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Muslim groups challenged Rep. Peter King’s (R-NY) decision to hold the hearings and addressed the misinformation King had already supplied to feed a growing media circus. King has falsely claimed that “85 percent” of mosques in his state and nationwide are run by “radicals” and that law enforcement officials receive little cooperation from American Muslim leaders. “These hearings are nothing but a political stunt by Representative King, who is well-known for his flagrant anti-Muslim sentiments,” Naeem Baig, vice president for public affairs at the Islamic Circle of North America, told the crush of reporters. “His bias toward the Muslim community makes him unfit to lead a very, very important committee like Homeland Security in our Congress,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR. King’s allegations against the Muslim community are “demonstrably false,” Awad stated, reminding reporters that the Muslim community has been instrumental in foiling terrorist plots. Homeland Security should be opening doors and developing trust so communities report worrisome activities— pulling together citizens to meet the challenge of public safety. Why should King target only Muslim radicalization, instead of expanding his query to other groups potentially fostering terrorism? the press conference participants asked. They voiced their concern that King’s hearings would further vilify the Muslim-American community and fuel Islamophobia in this country. “We are concerned that the hearings called by Rep. Peter King will not uncover new information about criminality or radicalism in America,” said Mohammad Dawood, president of the DC chapter of the Muslim American Society. “These proceedings will give voice to people with clear agendas against the very religion of Islam and those who have made a cottage industry out of the demonization of an entire religious community.” Shahid Buttar, executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, compared King to Rep. Joseph McCarthy and his antiCommunist hearings in the 1950s. “The concern I have is the open and overt embrace of bias and xenophobia in a body, let’s be fair, that has done this before,” Buttar pointed out. “The House Un-American Activities Committee was a central ingredient in the McCarthyism that Representative 65
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CAIR’s executive director Nihad Awad speaks at a press conference called to object to Rep. Peter King’s hearings. King now aims to replicate.” Speakers answering a barrage of questions at the press conference included representatives from CAIR, ACLU, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Islamic Circle of North America, My Faith, My Voice, Muslim American Society, Council of Muslim Organizations, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections, and Northern Virginia Muslim Civic Coalition. —Delinda C. Hanley
Human Rights Civil Rights Activists, Supporters Gather to Discuss FBI Repression
Egyptian Novelist Nawal el Saadawi Headlines “Revolutionary Women”
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On Friday, March 4, Chicagoans concerned about civil rights abuses in America gathered at Aqsa School in Bridgeview, IL for a community forum entitled “Justice for all & all for Justice: Building Community Resistance to FBI & Grand Jury Repression.” The meeting addressed the recent FBI raid and grand jury subpoenas issued to 23 anti-war activists and supporters of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM) in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. All 23 are resisting subpoenas to testify, invoking
their rights under the Fifth Amendment. The FBI is focused on people supporting the PSM. “Our government does not want us to see what’s actually happening in Palestine,” said Sarah Smith, one of the event’s panelists. A Jewish American, she took a trip with two Palestinian-American friends to Tel Aviv and the West Bank last summer to sightsee and learn about the history of the land. Just a few months after returning, she was harassed by the FBI and subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. The U.S. government’s goal “is to intimidate the Palestinian Solidarity Movement,” she said, “but I am not intimidated.” FBI agents raided the home of Hatem Abudayyeh, executive director of the ArabAmerican Action Network (AAAN), on Sept. 24, 2010, and subsequently subpoenaed the longtime activist for the Palestinian liberation movement. “This happened now because people in the U.S. and around the world have been realizing for many years that Israel is a criminal state and a financial leech to America and is becoming a pariah to the U.S.,” he stated. “This social movement is effective. That’s why we are the ones being repressed by the attorney general’s office.”
(L-r) Rafeeq Jaber, Hatem Abudayyeh, Michael Deutsch, Sarah Smith and moderator Abdelrahman Ghouleh. 66
There is concern that Palestinian activists and supporters will be charged and convicted under the 1996 “Material Support” law, which states that the government reserves the right to arrest and charge people who provide support to foreign terrorist organizations, explained Michael Deutsch, the attorney for the subpoenaed activists. Material support includes not only financial support, but also writing, peaceful demonstrating and speaking out—all rights guaranteed to Americans under the First Amendment. The evening concluded with a motivational speech by Rafeeq Jaber, Palestinian activist and co-founder of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR). “It’s always darker before the dawn,” he reminded the audience. “We can only win if we fight back, and not with violence but with words and work and protecting our rights…No one has the right to take away our right to speak.” The gathering was sponsored by the Coalition to Protect People’s Rights, and the Arab and Muslim sub-committee of Chicago Committee against Political Repression. —Leen Jaber
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Manhattan’s Brecht Forum hosted three remarkable women March 11, who reported on the conflicts and popular uprisings transforming the Middle East. First to speak was Dr. Nawal el-Saadawi, author of many books that explore Arab women’s sexuality and legal status, including The Hidden Face of Eve, Daughter of Isis, and Woman at Point Zero. Still a firebrand at 80, her activism has led to threats on her life, loss of her position as Egypt’s director of public health, imprisonment in 1981 and exile to the U.S. in 1988. “Revolution is infectious,” commented Saadwai, fresh from protesting the Mubarek regime in Tahrir Square. “I have survived the events of my life because of the pleasures of writing. The revolution gives me the same pleasure. It makes me feel young.” She explained that her son and daughter urged her not to join demonstrators, especially after “bloody Wednesday” [Feb. 2] when police dressed in street clothes attacked them. But, Saadawi said, “I belonged there. I didn’t feel the danger.” More dangerous perhaps was the motorcycle ride that brought her home over Cairo’s notoriously potholed streets. Saadawi enthusiastically threw her support behind those defending workers’ rights in Madison, Wisconsin, but she enMAY/JUNE 2011
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Nawal el Saadawi (l) and Brecht Forum executive director Liz Mestres.
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couraged Americans to demand even more change—Egyptian-style. “People ask me: how can we help you?” she said. “I tell them: help yourselves. When you rise up, it gives us strength to do the same.” She drew much laughter when she compared the 2011 Women in the World Summit, where she would speak the next day, to the Brecht Forum’s more modest gathering. “It’s two very different worlds,” Saadawi said. “I listened today to Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright lecture us about democracy and wanted to explode.” Next, Fawzia Afzal-Khan, professor of English and director of Women and Gender Studies at New Jersey’s Montclair State University, read from her recent memoir, Lahore With Love: Growing Up With Girlfriends Pakistani Style. A poet and playwright, she has also written Cultural Imperialism and the Indo-English Novel and edited Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out. As a political commentator, Afzal-Khan was featured by the next presenter—Kath-
Fawzia Afzal-Khan launches her memoir, Lahore with Love. MAY/JUNE 2011
leen Foster—in her documentary “Afghan Women: A History of Struggle.” Afzal-Khan and Fahima Vorgetts, a human rights advocate and director of the Afghan Women’s Fund, share their reactions as the U.S. war against the Taliban escalates and spills over from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Foster screened new footage of Afghans coping with violence and corruption, and asked for donations to complete the editing process. To contribute, visit her Web site at <www.kathleenfoster.com>. —Lisa Mullenneaux
Waging Peace Jewish Voice for Peace: A New Beginning A small conference with around 200 participants gathered on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia March 11-13, with potential significance extending far beyond its modest attendance. This was the national membership meeting of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a group founded in San Francisco in 1996 that, in the wake of the siege of Gaza in late 2008, has aggressively grown into a national organization with 27 local chapters and seven full-time staff. The meeting and its discussions were closed to the press (though this writer was in attendance), but this only highlights the newsworthiness of the meeting in itself. Late last year, the Anti-Defamation League named JVP on a list it released of the “Top Ten Anti-Israel Groups in America,” and since then well-known members of the group have in some cases been met with violence or threats of violence, particularly on the West Coast, and lesser forms of intimidation from various Jewish community leaders. The furor with which JVP is greeted by the official Jewish community largely centers around the group’s outspoken identification with the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli occupation (increasingly known by the acronym “BDS”). There have been principled objections to this movement from some who cannot be accused of being apologists for Israel. Michael Desch wrote a penetrating critique of the movement and its effectiveness for The American Conservative in the spring of 2010, and among those who were quoted approvingly in that article was Rabbi Arthur Waskow. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
To its credit, JVP appears to be conscious of these concerns and to want to allay many of these criticisms. It draws few rigid boundaries of discussion and nuance, acknowledging drawbacks to academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, though drawing a firm line against academic institutions involved in the occupation and the Israeli military more generally. Moreover, JVP is decidedly averse to any agenda of narrow Palestinian nationalism, greeting with great enthusiasm an address by Ali Abunimah emphasizing that the struggle against the occupation is one for democratic and civil rights as opposed to land and sovereignty. Nevertheless, and perhaps especially for all these reasons, the official Jewish community, or what Peter Beinart has named “the Jewish establishment,” has greeted the rise of JVP and of the BDS movement generally with unmitigated hysteria. Indeed, the event at which JVP first made headlines—the interruption by a group of young protesters of a speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to an arm of the Israel lobby in New Orleans—was a direct response to a $6 million initiative being announced at that conference to combat the larger BDS movement, which it has styled as a campaign of “delegitimization” toward Israel. To this, JVP emphasizes that it is agnostic about the political parameters of a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but emphasizes that the cardinal principle of any solution must be full democratic, political and civil rights for Palestinians under whichever government they may reside upon a resolution of the conflict. Though JVP may have some reluctance to explicitly say so, this must mean that Israel will cease to be a “Jewish” state rather than a state of all its citizens. In addition, JVP emphatically refuses to be drawn into any official position on Zionism as an ideology. It is therefore no mystery why the Jewish establishment seeks, where it can, the effective excommunication of JVP. Most recently, the leading Jewish campus society Hillel refused the application of the Brandeis University JVP chapter for affiliation, citing its opposition to “Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” an incident that was covered by the Boston Globe. Yet Beinart, though still very much in the progressive Zionist camp, has warned that “the best way for the Jewish establishment to ensure that BDS enters the mainstream is to keep doing what it’s doing.” The best indicator of the impact JVP and 67
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leans even attended Jewish day school. Others, such as Elaina Ellis of Seattle, grew up in a marginally Jewish family and had her passions brought out by a return to Judaism in college. Ellis led off a poetry reading the second night of the JVP conference, along with her co-author Rae Abileah, by reading the “Young, Jewish and Proud” manifesto that had been issued by their cohort in New Orleans. For even the Jewish estabRebecca Vilkomerson of Jewish Voice for Peace protests lishment may not realize the Sept. 16 at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum Of Tolerance full importance of what JVP in New York. represents. In one of the most remarkable manifestations of the larger milieu it represents may be its the organization’s growing national reach, influence on the better known protest in the last year JVP announced the formagroup J Street. When it was first founded, tion of its “Rabbinical Council,” which at J Street appeared to be drawing a line that this writing numbers 30, including several while it insisted on being “pro-Israel” and rabbinical students and one cantor. This is emphatically for a two-state solution, that the largest organized dissent by Jewish reit was nonetheless agnostic on first princi- ligious leaders from the first principles of ples with respect to Zionism, as JVP is at the Jewish establishment, if not from Zionleast officially. This has changed cosmeti- ism itself, since 1943, when 33 rabbis of cally in the last year, as J Street has come the American Council for Judaism issued to repeat the mantra of seeking to preserve their founding statement dissenting from “the national homeland of the Jewish peo- the “American Jewish Conference” which ple”. But at the same time, J Street has established the “official” Jewish commubeen forced to make stronger appeals to the nity constitutionally committed to Zionaudience of JVP, with national spokes- ism— what we have now come to call “the woman Rebecca Vilkomerson speaking at Jewish establishment.” In registering its protest of that estabthe most recent J Street conference. Perhaps more importantly than its spe- lishment today, and of the Israeli policies it cific views on resolving the Israeli-Pales- has indispensably enabled, JVP could do tinian conflict, J Street remains deeply well to quote the statement of the Americommitted to maintaining the legitimacy of can Council for Judaism upon the foundthe “collective” identified as the Jewish es- ing of the State of Israel: “We shall contablishment, however radically it may wish tinue to reject concepts and programs for to reform it. JVP is at best ambivalent Jews that derive from national or racial about “the Jewish collective” but has been theories. We pray that the State of Israel perfectly at ease opposing it, leading many may also construct itself upon that basis, of its figures who might begrudgingly ac- granting full equality of rights and obligacommodate J Street to begin proposing for- tions, in all aspects of life, to all of its peomal lines of demarcation that would ex- ple. But for ourselves, and our relationclude the likes of JVP. The Jewish estab- ships in the American scene, we entertain lishment could be making a grave and pos- no question as to our determination in —Jack Ross sibly fatal mistake if it continues to pursue these matters.” an inquisition against the so-called “delegitimizers.” As David Remnick observed in J Street’s Second Annual Conference a recent article, “even J Street is a tough Sparks Controversy sell to the younger generation.” J Street held its second annual conference One of the most extraordinary develop- in Washington, DC, from Feb. 26-28. The ments has been that the young people who “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization have flocked to JVP are far removed from sparked enormous controversy and was the old stereotype of adolescent leftists re- solidly criticized by lawmakers and other belling as much against their Jewish up- pro-Israel groups when it announced its bringing as anything else. Some of those support of a proposed UN Security Council who interrupted Netanyahu in New Or- resolution condemning Israeli housing de68
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velopment on the West Bank. [Under pressure from key members including Majority Leader Eric Cantor, (RVA) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, (DMD), the Obama administration ultimately vetoed the resolution on Feb. 18.] J Street even lost the backing of a key politician, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), the former chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, over its opposition to the U.S. veto. Ackerman accused J Street of being “so open-minded about what constitutes support for Israel that its brains have fallen out.” Founded in 2008 as a progressive Jewish political alternative to more conservative pro-Israel organizations, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), J Street often takes heat over its self-definition as pro-Israel while advocating a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. “As we see it, the cause of the Palestinian people—the creation of an independent state of their own—is essential to our cause as well,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, told reporters Feb. 27. “Those who seek to silence criticism of Israeli policy in the name of fighting de-legitimization of Israel are making an enormous mistake. Do not ask us to stand by quietly as the present Israeli government charts a course that erodes its Jewish character, undermines its democratic principles and leads to international isolation,” said Ben-Ami. Its pro-peace principles brought in more than 2,000 attendees but it was boycotted by the Israeli Embassy which did not send a representative. “I think Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren made an enormous mistake by not attending the conference,” Ben-Ami said. But several liberal Knesset members and 50 U.S. members of Congress did show up, as well as an impressive array of respected experts from the Middle East community. Invited guest speakers included Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, head of the Cordoba Initiative (derogatorily known as the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’), and Mona Eltahawy, the outspoken international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues. Speaking at a seminar entitled “Working Together,” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf encouraged those present to “battle to eliminate the myths that many people propagate to divide us through hostility. “The real battlefront is not between Arabs and Jews, nor Muslims and Jews, nor Muslims and the West,” he said. “The MAY/JUNE 2011
Programming, Muslim Public Affairs Council, agreed, saying their group had also found that establishing relationships was the best way of dealing with assumptions of each other. “This is how authentic relations are created, we are working together to fight both anti-Semitism and Islamophobism outside our communities.” “Our relationship must be strong enough so we can survive our differences. We have to have strong relationships so that people don’t walk away from the table when an international event (such as Israel’s war on Gaza) can divide them.” Rabbi Andrea London, co-chair of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (l) the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and Kathleen Peratis, a J-Street founder. Muslim Initiative in Chicago, IL, conreal battlefront is between peace loving curred and focused on the “many common people in all faith communities against the values between Jewish and Muslim comradical extremists in all faith communities.” munities,” adding that “one of the most That many of us have been taught that common is that of justice.” They had developed relations, she said, ‘the other’ is our enemy—all Jews or all Muslims—is a huge mistake, said Imam by sharing communal work, “including Feisel: “Prophet Muhammad warned building coalitions through education, culagainst extremism in religion. Perfection tural events and social justice programs to build bridges together.” lies in moderation.” —Barbara Ferguson He warned of the problems of the “politicalization of religious differences and Activists Protest Stephen Hadley politicalization of religion.” “This politicalization of religion is one of “Hadley lied, a million died. Bush lied, a the most dangerous developments in the million died,” chanted World Can’t Wait last century,” he said, adding that we all activists outside San Francisco’s St. Regis have differences, and we need diversity of Hotel on March 19. Stephen Hadley, nareligion, but let’s not politicize them. tional security adviser to President George What we do together has a huge impact on W. Bush from 2005 to 2009, was inside the the rest of the world.” tony hotel addressing a World Affairs Elissa Barrett, executive director of the Council audience on the topic, “Seeing OpProgressive Jewish Alliance, the West Coast’s leading Jewish social justice organization, said one of the most effective ways to overcome this fear of other is by working together. “We must place curiosity about each other over our assumptions about each other.” A good way to accomplish this, she said, was working together through community organizing. “It’s so easy to speak to other people in the choir; investment in change is speaking to those whom we do not always agree with,” said Barrett. She said her group became more active with the Muslim community “after 9/11, when we saw members of the Muslim community being rounded up for questioning, and we decided to step forward and get involved to help our Muslim neighbors. Now our group actively takes steps to speak out Activists protest a speaking appearance by against Islamophobia in Los Angeles.” former National Security Adviser Stephen Edina Lekovic, director of Policy and Hadley for his role in Iraq war. STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
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portunity in Times of Crisis.” As adviser to the president, Hadley allowed a discredited claim concerning Iraq’s alleged quest to acquire nuclear weapons material, specifically yellowcake uranium, from Niger to be included in Bush’s Jan. 28, 2003 State of the Union Address. The false claim of the yellowcake purchase was a major component of the former president’s motivation to invade Iraq on March 19, 2003. “Stephen Hadley is a war criminal and should not be a keynote speaker before the World Affairs Council,” said Stephanie Tang of World Can’t Wait. “He should be charged and prosecuted for his past crimes and not allowed to commit new crimes. For this illegal, immoral war—eight years and counting—Hadley has blood on his hands.” —Elaine Pasquini
Brian Terrell Recalls Afghanistan Visit Catholic Worker Brian Terrell of Maloy, Iowa spoke about his recent sojourn in Afghanistan before a receptive audience of about 60 at Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines on March 2. He had traveled to Afghanistan with a group that included New York writer Eric Stoner, former U.S. Foreign Service officer Ann Wright, Voices for Creative Nonviolence (VCNV) coordinator Kathy Kelly, VCNV activist Farah Mokhtareizadeh, Fellowship of Reconciliation representative Leila Zand, and Veterans For Peace president Mike Ferner. The group arrived in Afghanistan on Dec. 11, and Terrell returned to the U.S. on Dec. 30. “They’ve lived under our occupation for 10 years,” Terrell said of Afghans he spoke with in Kabul, “and they don’t really see the U.S. and the Taliban as enemies, but more like opposing teams, or dancers in some kind of tango with all the back and forth. They both make each other necessary,” he observed. “Many people say, ‘Well, less than onefifth of the people we’re fighting are associated with the Taliban.’ And nobody really knows what that means anymore, whether they are ideological Taliban or just [people] fighting an occupation. Many people believe the Taliban would cease to exist if they didn’t have the U.S. and NATO forces as a foil. And I think it’s vice versa— the U.S. needs to have fighting to justify keeping our bases there,” said Terrell. “There is evidence that we are paying people to fight when we want them to fight,” he added, “and paying them not to fight us when we don’t want them to.” Terrell said he had spoken with medical 69
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cans should remember, said Ter- Against the War, Vietnam Veterans rell, explaining that as an inde- Against the War, March Forward and a pendent candidate in the Afghan coalition of peace and justice groups presidential election in 2009, “he chanted “Stop the wars, expose the lies, was the one who came in third, free Bradley Manning!” Among the antiand he didn’t cheat.” war activists who addressed the crowd Terrell explained that humani- were Daniel Ellsberg, who released the toptarian aid in war zones like secret Vietnam War-era “Pentagon Papers”; Afghanistan needs to happen at four-time presidential candidate Ralph a far remove from the military Nader; Ann Wright, retired Army colonel forces on both sides of the con- and State Department diplomat who reflict. signed over the 2003 Iraq invasion; and “Schools are being built by writer Chris Hedges. the U.S. Army. We feel real good Military veterans from four national about that. We’re trying to ‘win anti-war veterans organizations led peace hearts and minds’ and are doing activists in a nonviolent civil resistance acBrian Terrell speaks March 2 at Grace United these things to get people on our tion, and 113 people were arrested at the side,” he said. “But if you send White House fence. “Since 2003,” said Methodist Church in Des Moines. your kids to that school, the Tal- Mike Ferner, former Veterans For Peace president and Navy corpsman, “U.S. taxpersonnel who worked with German iban sees that as a political act.” In a wartime situation, Terrell cautioned, payers have spent over $780 billion to kill troops based in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan and who described a Western humanitarian work is best done by organi- more than a million Iraqis, leaving the surzations and groups not connected to the vivors considerably worse off than before; strategy that seemed confused at best. Their frustration is that when the Ger- military. People need to be able to access killing 4,439 U.S. troops and wounding mans would decide that a group of people necessary services without putting them- many thousands more. At every level our were friendly and start giving them selves and their families at risk of reprisal economy is bankrupt, while state budget crises prove that maintaining an empire weapons and training and conducting ma- from either side. Terrell declared that the U.S. military has kills people abroad and turns our people neuvers with them, the U.S. military would decide that the same group were enemies devastated Afghanistan over the past 10 and cities into ‘collateral damage.’ Our inand start fighting with them. And if the years and our government is in no position frastructure isn’t bombed, it simply rots Germans decided that a group was un- to tell the Afghan people how to rebuild from neglect.” Said Bill Homans, with Vietnam Veterans friendly, they would find out that the U.S. their country. Instead, he concluded, “We Against the War, “We must stop making was arming and training that group and need to apologize and pay reparations.” —Michael Gillespie new combat veterans every day and treat doing maneuvers with them, said Terrell, the ones we have now with fairness and rewho described the situation as very com113 Arrested at White House spect. Bring our brothers and sisters home plicated. now!” “The whole connection between the Tal- Anti-War Protest Garett Reppenhagen, an Army Infantry iban and the Pakistan ISI, the Pakistani in- Some 1,500 activists rallied in Lafayette telligence agency, is bizarre and Byzantine. Park and marched to the White House for a combat veteran of the Iraq war and chair It all makes for a situation that is—well, “Stop-All-The-Wars Rally,” on March 19, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, some people are getting rich off of this,” he 2011, the eighth anniversary of the war called for the release of “the one person said. and occupation in Iraq, and the first day of who’s done the most to tell us the truth, A seasoned activist who works and trav- U.S. and European air strikes in Libya, Pfc. Bradley Manning.” The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are els widely in the U.S. and abroad on behalf aimed at enforcing a U.N.-mandated no-fly of peace and social justice, Terrell said the zone. Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans based on willful lies and deceptions, argued Mike Prysner, co-founder of group met with the Afghan Youth March Forward! and an Army comPeace Volunteers (AYPV), a group of bat veteran of the Iraq war. “While Afghan college students and youth over $700 million a day is spent on who work with their mentor, Dr. Rathese criminal wars, unions, educamazon Bashardost, to present nonvition and social services are slashed. olent options for Afghanistan to the We can change this, but we have to U.S./NATO coalition, the Taliban/alstand up and fight back.” Qaeda/warlords, regional countries, For more information visit: the United Nations and to the world. <www.stopthesewars.org>. Bashardost, an independent scholar —Bill Hughes and political activist well known for his support and defense of human Nationwide Protests To “Stop rights, served as Afghanistan’s forthe Bombing of Libya” mer planning minister and is a current member of the National AssemAct Now to Stop War and End bly of Afghanistan. 113 activists are arrested outside the White House at a Racism (ANSWER) Coalition held Bashardost’s name is one Ameri- “Stop-All-The Wars Rally” on March 19. protests across the country from 70
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Today’s Mideast Tur- 20 percent said things “were about right”; moil.” Session modera- but a startling 60 percent of Saudis said tor and NCUSAR pres- “things have changed too much.” Lacey said he asked a Jeddah businessident Dr. John Duke Anthony noted that man what he thought about the latest rethe U.S. is in a self-im- forms announced by King Abdullah bin posed bind. On one Abdul-Aziz upon his recent return to Arahand, he said, it has bia. Lacey’s friend responded that the had little choice but to changes “were long overdue,” adding that weigh the potential im- “so much of the Saudi economy is linked plications of regional to government spending. There is a need turmoil for its regional for a more diversified economy.” “What is happening in the Arab world strategic, economic and national security inter- is in line with much of what King AbdulANSWER Coalition sponsors a rally to “Stop the War on ests. On the other, he lah has spoken about during the past few noted, it was simulta- years,” Lacey added. “King Abdullah Libya” on March 24 at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD. neously confronted views what’s going on in the Arab world as March 23 to 26 to mark the eighth an- with how best to promote its officially de- an endorsement of what he stands for as a niversary of the “shock and awe” invasion clared additional interests in furthering po- leader.” According to Lacey, noticeable changes of Iraq and to “Stop the bombing of litical pluralism, economic reforms, a range of human rights issues and democratiza- are occurring in the Kingdom, particularly Libya.” in Saudi newspapers, which, he said, Demonstrations took place in cities na- tion. He indicated it hardly helped to burnish “have become more open and more investionwide—including Washington, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco, New Haven, America’s credentials regarding the latter tigative” about issues within the Kingdom. David Long, a consultant on Middle East Naples, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Min- goal when Washington recently thwarted neapolis, Albuquerque, New York City, the democratic will of the world’s highest and Gulf affairs and international terrorCleveland, Greenville, Hilton Head Island, political body, the U.N. Security Council, ism, agreed with Lacey’s assessment, Austin, Seattle and Milwaukee—as well as by vetoing an otherwise unanimously sup- adding simply: “The Saudi royal family has internationally, including in El Salvador ported resolution denouncing the illegality a difficult fine line to walk. I think they’re of Israeli settlements in the occupied Pales- doing a great job.” and Canada. Peter Iseman, an historian and commen“War in Libya—We say NO! U.S. inter- tinian territories. Robert Lacey, who moved to Jeddah tator on Mideast and Gulf affairs, provided vention has got to go!” protesters in front of the White House shouted on March 26, with his family in 1978, wrote The King- an overview of the region. “Kuwait, Oman, as others stood just feet away chanting in dom: Arabia and the House of Sa’ud in the Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia will resupport of intervention while holding 1982. His recent book, Inside the Kingdom: main stable, Bahrain will make it by a Libyan, U.S., French, British and Canadian Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and whisker,” he predicted, but doubted that the Struggle for Saudi Arabia, has won ac- Yemen, specifically the Ali Saleh regime, flags. Protesters braved snow and hail on claim both inside and outside Saudi Ara- would make it. Iseman predicted that if the Saleh regime March 23, in front of the Armed Forces Re- bia. The author acknowledged that Saudi cruiting Station in New York City’s Times Arabia is “facing some major challenges,” does fall, “Stock markets may over-react.” Square. “Libya for Libyans—Not for Wall including development issues. For exam- And here in the U.S., he said, “we’ll get Street dividends,” they shouted, and ple, he noted, in November 2009 floods in slightly hysterical here about Muslim ter“Money for jobs and education—Not for Jeddah killed residents and destroyed rorists in Yemen.” Iseman foresaw two thousands of family homes. Since then courses for Yemen if the Saleh regime fails: war and occupation.” Despite freezing winds, demonstrators at yearly floods have McKeldin Square near Baltimore’s Inner killed people, cut off Harbor demanded an end to the war on power supplies and anLibya on March 24. The crowd carried gered many Saudis who signs that read “Money for jobs and blame flawed building schools, not war against Libya!” Poverty codes and emergency and unemployment rates are on the rise in preparedness plans for Baltimore, where schools are severely un- the repeated disasters. Lacey brought up a derfunded. Protesters chanted: “From Baghdad to Tripoli, stop the U.S. war ma- fascinating poll rechine.” —Bill Hughes cently conducted by the British Embassy reExperts Discuss Effects of Mideast garding change in the Turmoil on Saudi Arabia Kingdom. The poll reThe National Council on U.S.-Arab Rela- sults showed that 20 tions (NCUSAR) held a March 2 briefing at percent of Saudis said the DC offices of Miller and Chevalier to they wanted “much The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations holds a briefing on examine “The Arabian Dimension in more change”; another the effects of turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. MAY/JUNE 2011
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major U.S. cities the same day. “The next leader could be a modMore than 4,000 demonstrators ernizing colonel, or could come gathered to protest the ongoing from the tribes. I am told that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As Hussein bin Abdullah al Amar is they approached CNN headquarthe paramount tribal leader ters on Sunset Boulevard, the there.” throng was informed that the U.S. Regarding North Africa, Iseman had begun to drop bombs on predicted that “Morocco will make Tripoli, Libya. it. Algeria will muddle through. Huge banners proclaimed, But Libya presents a whole fright“Money for jobs and education, ening set of prospects.” not for wars and occupation.” In Dr. Herman Franssen, senior difront of the world famous Kodak rector of the Energy Intelligence Theater and Chinese Theater, Group, worked as an adviser to members of military families carthe Minister of Petroleum and Minerals in Oman from 1985 to In San Francisco, activists protest wars in Iraq, Afghanistan ried out street theater enactments under the theme “War Is Not a 1996. Saudi Arabia is the perfect and the new military action against Libya. Movie.” custodian of the world’s oil wells, Congressional candidate Marcy Winograd Dr. Franssen said: the Kingdom wants ifornians mourned the March 12 death in competitive oil pricing—not too high. Afghanistan’s Paktika province of Pfc. Ar- spoke along with Blasé Bonpane of the OfThe Saudi reserves, he said, translate to turo E. Rodriguez, 19, of Bellflower, CA, fice of the Americas, Vietnam War veteran 25 percent of the world’s oil reserves and from wounds suffered when insurgents at- Ron Kovic, and Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild. Chris Shiflet, lead guitarist 15 percent of the global production capac- tacked his unit using small arms fire. ity, 20 percent of global capacity. “Saudi The demonstrators called on President for the Foo Fighters, performed and delivArabia is to the oil market what corn is to Barack Obama to bring U.S. troops home ered a resounding speech. —Samir Twair the U.S. market,” said Franssen. now and not participate in military action Even if Libyan oil is taken off the market, against Libya. “You can’t stand by and Libyans Residing in U.S. and Canada Franssen stated, “We should not be too con- watch people being slaughtered,” Bishop Ask for Help cerned, as Saudi Arabia will put more oil on Otis Charles told reporters. “At the same The Libyan Outreach Group called for the market from its spare capacity, along time, you don’t want to foster war. It’s recognition of the Libyan Transitional Nawith the Emirates and Kuwait. walking a very fine line.” tional Council at a March 11 press confer“Saudi Arabia has been the most stable Following the rally sponsored by the ence in the ballroom of the National Press producer of oil,” he pointed out, “and has March 19 Coalition, consisting of some 50 Club in Washington, DC. As the audience gone out of its way to add and remove ad- human rights organizations, the protesters waited for Libya’s former ambassador to the ditional supply as needed.” marched through the city’s busy down- United Nations, Abdurrahman Mohamed “Libya produces 1.7 million barrels per town shopping district despite the unsea- Shalgham, and Libya’s former ambassador day of oil which has had a significant im- sonably cold rain and strong winds. to the United States Ali Sulaiman Aujali to pact globally,” Franssen said. Saudi Arabia —Elaine Pasquini return from meetings at the State Departimmediately increased its production to ment, the Treasury and Congress, reporters offset Libya’s decreases during the trou- ANSWER Marches in Hollywood and Libyans living in America conversed. bles—and, he added, most Libyan crude On March 19, the eighth anniversary of Aly R. Abuzaakouk, executive director of goes to Europe, 25 percent to Italy, and the George W. Bush’s war on Iraq, the Los An- the Libyan Human and Political Forum, said remainder to the Far East. geles chapter of Act Now to Stop War and that within five days of posting a petition “There is no physical shortage of oil; it End Racism (ANSWER) staged the largest on the Web site <www.northamericanis the anxiety of bankers and analysts that anti-war demonstration going on in several libyans.org> to recognize the Libyan Trandrives the pricing of oil at record high sitional National Council as prices,” Franssen concluded. For more inthe only legitimate governformation visit <www.ncusar.org>. ing entity in Libya, more —Barbara Ferguson than 1,000 Libyans living in North America had On Eighth Anniversary of Iraq War, signed. Dr. Naeem A. GheSF Protesters Decry Bombing of riany, founding member of Libya the National Front for the Salvation of Libya in the As military action against the rule of early 1980s, and Dr. Idris Libya’s Col. Muammar Qaddafi began on Traina, an active member of March 19, nearly 2,000 human rights acthe Libyan opposition since tivists marked the eighth anniversary of the 1970s, read the petition the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with a rally in in English and Arabic. San Francisco’s U.N. Plaza. Ambassador Aujali reSince 2003, 4,439 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, while in Afghanistan the number Protesters hear the U.S. launched its first bombs into Libya signed on Feb. 22, saying he no longer could repreof soldiers killed has surpassed 1,500. Cal- during the march. 72
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discussed how the U.S. can assist the opposition by transferring Qaddafi’s assets, estimated to be more than $30 billion, to the Libyan people. “Freedom takes minutes,” Shalgham noted, “but democracy takes time.” It may take decades to build up the necessary democratic institutions, he acknowledged, but there are thousands of thousands of edAmbassadors Ali Sulaiman Aujali (l) and Abdurrahman ucated people in Libya who can do it. Mohamed Shalgham. Abuzaakouk pointed out that sent a government that willfully slaughtered following the liberation of some Libyan its own people. On Feb. 25, Aujali replaced cities from Qaddafi’s control, most have esthe green flag of the Qaddafi regime at the tablished civilian governing bodies, includLibyan Embassy with the green, black and ing judges, lawyers and youths, who are red of Libya’s pre-1969 monarch. Aujali governing the people and providing them stated that the main priority is the imple- with services. He also spoke to concerns mentation of a no-fly zone. He also called raised in the media about a post-Qaddafi for the recognition of the transitional coun- Libya, saying there are no tribal divisions cil, stating that he believes the body, which and any possibility of civil war would be has coordinated efforts on the ground, between the opposition and mercenaries. He should be the one to which the interna- also stated that al-Qaeda does not have a tional community talks. Aujali warned that strong foothold in Libya. Ambassador Aujali closed by saying the special police had begun assassinating opposition members in Benghazi, where he Libyans have two choices: fight or die. They is from. He also called for increased human- will either die in war or will be killed by Qaddafi. —Delinda C. Hanley itarian assistance. Ambassador Shalgham, who denounced Qaddafi in a powerful speech at the U.N. on Who Profits From the Occupation of Feb. 25, and called for U.N. sanctions after Palestine? the Libyan leader had ordered troops to fire Dalit Baum, Ph.D., who heads Global Exon protesters, spoke next, noting that the change’s new Palestine Economic Activism Libyan people have taught us that “free- Project, explained to an audience at New dom is not free.” Since the oppression is York City’s Barnard College March 9 that greater in Libya than in Tunisia or Egypt, Israel’s military control of historic Palestine he stated, the “operation to cut out the can- may be costly to Arabs, but is a huge cer will be more painful and bloody.” Shal- money-maker for Israeli and multinational gham said he feared that Qaddafi could at- companies. tack Benghazi using chemical weapons, deIn 2005 Baum and other members of Isscribing him as insane, troubled and dis- rael’s Coalition of Women for Peace were connected from his people. He suspects that Qaddafi will not flee and may be killed by a member of his internal circle. Qaddafi will be “the last dictator,” he predicted, and Libyans will have democracy and freedom. Finally, he reminded the audience of the resilience of Libyans during the war against Italy. “We will never surrender,” he concluded. In response to questions about his ability to work in Washington, Ambassador Aujali said that by March 15, on orders from the State Department, the Libyan Embassy would close, but he was authorized to represent the Transitional National Council and would find new quarters. During their meetings at the State De- According to Dr. Dalit Baum, Israel’s occupartment and Treasury, the ambassadors pation is a huge money-maker. STAFF PHOTO L. MULLENNEAUX
STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY
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debating how to respond to the call from Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). They realized they knew very little about the corporations that fueled the “settlement industry.” The result of their ongoing research—<www.whoprofits.org>—has become an essential tool for activists. “It’s a switch from getting hit with tear gas at a demonstration,” explained Baum, “to asking ‘who makes that tear gas?’ We look for logos. That’s who profits from Israel’s occupation.” Using slides to illustrate, she showed how corporations profit in three main ways from Israel’s occupation since 1967 of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Golan Heights. West Bank settlements currently house more than half a million Jewish residents, and companies are attracted by cheap land and labor, tax incentives, and lax enforcement of environmental and labor laws. Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, the target of a CODEPINK boycott campaign, makes cosmetic products in the West Bank settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. Eden Springs gets the water it sells from a spring in the occupied Golan Heights. Baum cited SodaStream as an example of deceptive labeling. The company makes carbonating devices to transform water into soda that it retails in Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Bloomingdale’s. Although store buyers see a “Made in Israel” label on SodaStream’s popular products, they’re actually made in the illegal West Bank settlement of Mishor Edomin. Economic exploitation is another way companies benefit from the occupation, Baum continued. Palestinian consumers are a captive market for Israeli goods, and Arab businesses can’t compete with Israeli industries. Alon Group, for example, monopolizes gas supplied to the besieged Gaza Strip, while Paz monopolizes petroleum supplied to the West Bank. Because of these and other monopolies, Palestinians are forced to pay more for goods and services than they would if prices were competitive. Finally, Baum described how control of the 3.5 million Palestinians under Israeli military rule has boosted other businesses, including those involved in private security; construction and maintenance of walls, roadblocks, checkpoints and prisons; and specialized equipment and services. Combined Systems Inc. (CSI), for example, manufactures crowd control weapons, including projectile and chemical munitions, flash-bang grenades and 73
STAFF PHOTO WILLIAM HUGHES
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STAFF PHOTO A. BEGLEY
was whether this system would work elsewhere. The first panel was on the Jewish experience. Catholic University law professor Marshall J. Breger opened the discussion by focusing on how the Jewish community in America has em- (L-r) Ed Husain, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Asma braced the idea of separation Uddin. Religious Tolerance: Does it Work? of church and state. After On March 1, Georgetown University’s World War II, many in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and Jewish community preferred World Affairs assembled the leading repre- the lack of connection besentatives of four major religious groups for tween religion and the state a marathon of panels discussing the state of because it meant freedom for religion in America and how the U.S. system Jews. “Jews are afraid of relishould—or shouldn’t—be applied in newly gion in the political world,” formed democracies. “Religion in American Breger said, “because if it’s Politics and Society: A Model for Other going to be a religion, it Countries?” was the last installment in the probably won’t be their reliuniversity’s 4-year-long, 12-part series on gion.” (L-r) John Witte, Eric Patterson, Jerry Rankin and Jim Randi L. Rashkover, an as- Wallis. religion and foreign policy. According to opening comments, around 70 percent of sociate professor in the relithe world’s population lives in places where gious studies department at George Mason Jews, he said, did the same thing. Religious there is a crackdown on religious freedom. University, politely disagreed with some of morals that aren’t specific to one religion— Many of these places are familiar, and vital Breger’s more philosophical points before including the equality of all people, the cato international security—places like Egypt, launching into her own scholarly speech. pability to move upwards in society, and the Libya, Tunisia and Yemen. It was agreed She waxed philosophical about the assump- freedom of choice—are universal values that the United States had incorporated re- tions made when we talk about religion and that he believes have a place in policy. Saperstein encouraged newly democratic ligious tolerance in a way few other coun- politics. Rashkover noted, most people astries had—but the topic of debate today sume that the two ideas can’t be discussed to- countries to include religious freedom in gether with reason and their progress, giving people the right to logic. “Religion,” she said, worship as they please and to not have their “can’t be integrated with the rights compromised by their chosen religion. On the other hand, Saperstein warned, machine-ism of the state.” Rabbi David Saperstein, governments shouldn’t go too far and bedirector and counsel at the come controlled by religion. “Total separaReligious Action Center of tion of church and state isn’t necessary to Reform Judaism and the freedom of religion, but it helps,” he said. The second hour marked the start of the rabbi who delivered the invocation at the 2008 Demo- Muslim response, which featured the cratic National Convention, biggest seat-filler yet: Imam Feisal Abdul tackled the hot-button Rauf, founder and chairman of the Cordoba topic of whether or not reli- Initiative, better known to the general pubgious groups should speak lic as the man behind the “Ground Zero out on public policy—a Mosque.” “The Muslim Experience” panel theme that would be re- was marked with a sense of sadness at CODEPINK activists stage a March 14 rally in front of peated time and again dur- American’s view of Islam but also hope for the White House to protest the “continuing abusive treating the Christian panel. He improvement. ment” of alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning, who Panelists Ed Husain and Asma Uddin repargued that religious groups is in prison awaiting trial. The Army private is accused absolutely can and should resented the younger generation of Muslims of leaking classified government documents to the Web speak out on public policy, finding their voice in these exciting times. site WikiLeaks. Earlier in the day, the activists rallied but that “no one has a right Husain spoke first, pressing the importance at the U.S. State Department to protest the March 13 to impose their belief on of government support for Muslim organiresignation of top State Department spokesman P.J. others through govern- zations and embracing moderates in the Crowley after comments he made criticizing the adminment.” He commended struggle for religious understanding. He istration’s handling of Manning became public. When an Catholic leaders who used laid out a list of aims—the preservation of audience member at a Massachusetts Institute of Techtheir moral code to form religion, life, lineage, intellect and propnology (MIT) talk on new media asked the spokesman about WikiLeaks and the “torturing” of a prisoner in a policy, instead of imposing erty—and said that any society whose purmilitary brig, Crowley described Manning’s treatment as the religious dogma that the pose is to protect these goals is also an Is“ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” group is known to practice. lamic society, because these are the tenets of launching accessories it sells to the Israeli army. The security firm G4S Israel (Hashmira) provided the security systems for Ktziot and Megido prisons which hold Palestinian political prisoners, as well as equipment for Israeli-run checkpoints and terminals in the West Bank and Gaza. For more information visit <www.whoprofits.org/> —Lisa Mullenneaux
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politics is a sticky subject. Using Egypt as an example, he pointed out that U.S. support had preferred stability over a democracy; while we weren’t paying attention, Egyptians rejected theocracy and autocracy in the same instance. He was adamant in stressing the importance of religious tolerance, especially for the Muslim community in America, noting that an attack on one religion is an attack on religious freedom. John Witte, Jr., professor of law and director of Emory University’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion, called for more separation but signaled that the “rise of the Christian right should be met with the rise of the Christian left, Jews, Muslims and Sunnis.” He cautioned that “exporting the U.S. system is very dangerous. Don’t export the system, instead export human rights.” As the conference closed, it seemed that despite the optimistic rhetoric it would still be some time before true religious cooperation would be seen around the world. Each speaker seemed to remain convinced that it was his religion’s values that ultimately would serve as the best model. Nonetheless, the conference was an enriching experience for those who argue both for and against a greater presence of religion in public lives. For more information, visit <http://berk leycenter.georgetown.edu/home>. —Alex Begley
Music & Arts DC’s North African Film Festival Includes “Bab’ Aziz” “Bab’Aziz—The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul” was screened Feb. 17 at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC as part of the North African Film Festival. Stephen
King, from Georgetown University, introduced the film and led a question-and-answer session after the viewing. Director Nacer Khemir’s film tells the story of a blind dervish Bab’Aziz and his granddaughter, Ishtar, who wander the desert in search of a great reunion of dervishes. To keep Ishtar entertained, Bab’Aziz tells the ancient story of a prince who gives up everything to examine his soul. While many viewers were moved by the spiritual message of the film, shot in Tunisia and Iran, and the natural beauty of the desert, the ensuing discussion revealed mixed reactions. Born in the village of Korba, near Tunis, Khemir is French-educated and now lives in Paris. Some critics charge him with Orientalism and a failure to engage with present-day realities. While several audience members seemed more than a little discontented, others were avid Khemir fans. One participant noted that Khemir has frequently said he chooses to focus on the sublime and address humanity at large. The whole debate felt in keeping with Sufism itself. While some describe it as the mystical dimension of Islam, others have criticized it as not authentically Islamic. At one point in the movie, even the granddaughter asks what a dervish is. As always, the grandfather replies with more questions, suggesting that answers need to arise from one’s own contemplation and experience. Professor King presided over the whole exchange with marked diplomacy. As a Tunisian himself and a comparativist with a particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa, he said he feels hopeful about the recent changes that started in his home country, and puts his trust in people’s movements. —Anne O’Rourke
PHOTO COURTESY HTTP://TYPECASTFILMS.COM
shariah law. According to Husain, religious tolerance and freedom is an essential part of shariah. Uddin, a blogger and international legal fellow with the Becket Fund, argued that freedom of speech was the most important American concept that could be transferred to the Arab world, and that this new concept would further press democracy forward in Egypt. Speaking last, Rauf touched on much of what had been said before: coercive powers should not be used to bolster one religion over another; there should be no politicization of religion. Indeed, he argued, it was this very politicization of religion that stood at the epicenter of the world’s worst religious conflicts, such as the battles between Hindus and Muslims, Israel and the Arab world, and Sunni and Shi’i Muslims. He advised against using an American model of religion as the foundation of a democracy, comparing it to applying the U.S. penal code and expecting a democracy to follow. The values of Islam are the same as in the Christian religion, he said: love God and thy neighbor to further the interests of humanity in this life and the next. Ultimately, Rauf explained, an Islamic state was not much different at its heart from a Christian or democratic one. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput delivered the luncheon keynote address from the Catholic perspective. His core message was that America exists as a country founded on Christian ideals, since the Constitution is a religious document written by people who had foundations in Christian ideas of man, state and God. While the archbishop declared that the American model does work in democratizing countries overseas, it is inherently Christian in thought and practice, and he cautioned the audience that dumping those beliefs on a non-Christian society can be disastrous. We cannot ignore faith, he said, but Christian ideals are inherent to all, and can be incorporated into the international rule of law. He said that the marriage of church and state is to be avoided because the loser is always the church. “The system we have works,” he concluded. Jerry Rankin, president emeritus of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, opened the ”Christian Experience” panel and spoke with suchconviction that his talk was not unlike a pastor at the pulpit. Unlike all the previous speakers, he called for a greater degree of religion infused into public policy. Separation of church and state was a thing of the past, he said, and not having religion in public values had robbed people of their ethics. Rev. Jim Wallis admitted that religion in
A scene from “Bab’ Aziz.” THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Books Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice By Ronald J. Olive, Naval Institute Press, 2009, paperback, 320 pp. List: $18.95; AET: $14.50. Reviewed by Andrew I. Killgore So eager was Jonathan Pollard to sneak American secret intelligence to Israel that he left his luncheon companion to obtain the telephone numbers of some pay telephones near his apartment. Pollard’s companion was Aviem Sella, a colonel in the Israeli air force deputized by Yosef Yagur of the Israeli Consulate in New York to check Pollard out. Sella had told Pollard that he would set up a communications link with a single Hebrew letter assigned to each pay telephone near Pollard’s apartment in Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. The colonel would call Pollard at home, give him the Hebrew letter for a designated phone, and Pollard would then go to that phone to receive Sella’s instructions. Sella had discovered that Pollard was a nonstop, boastful talker. But to test how good he was, Sella told Pollard to provide him with a, presumably, top secret photo of Tuwaitra, Iraq, a nuclear facility which Sella had bombed in 1981. This Pollard provided at their next meeting, plus other highly secret material. Pollard, who liked to be called Jay, was the youngest of three siblings born in Galveston, Texas. His father, Dr. Morris Pollard, was a well-known research microbiologist who had attained a prestigious position at Notre Dame University while his son was young. The family traveled a lot in Europe, including Germany. Jonathan’s visit to the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, near Munich, made a powerful impression on him and increased his already strong love for Israel. Pollard, who had been picked on in undergraduate school, graduated from Stanford University, where he told fanciful stoAndrew I. Killgore is publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 76
ries about being in the Mossad, Israel’s secret foreign intelligence service. He also claimed to be a member of the Golani Brigade, a prestigious Israeli military unit. Some of his fellow students said dismissively, “That’s just Pollard.” Pollard tried to get into the CIA, but was turned down. He did manage to get a top secret job with the U.S. Navy, however, and later received a SSI (special security) clearance. Throughout his life Pollard was considered to be very bright, but unstable and inclined to stretch the truth and lie. Pollard stole more than a million pages of highly classified material for Israel. By virtue of his clearances he could simply carry bundles of material out of his office. The Israeli Embassy rented a special apartment on Washington’s Van Ness Street, a few blocks from the embassy, for receiving and photocopying the purloined documents supplied by Pollard. Pollard and his girlfriend Anne made an Israeli-sponsored and paid-for trip to Europe and a separate trip to Israel, where they met Mossad chief Rafael Eitan and talked about what financial reward Pollard could expect. Pollard pushed for more, Eitan pushed back. Some “spy excitement” appears when Pollard calls Anne, now his wife, in November 1985 with two out-of-context words: “cactus” and “wedding album.” This alerted a frantic Anne that Pollard had been arrested, that she was to inform Sella and Yagur of Pollard’s arrest, and that she was to remove all classified material from their Dupont Circle apartment. Sella made heroic efforts to get from Washington to New York to Tel Aviv to avoid arrest and a possible prison sentence. He succeeded, as did Yagur. Meanwhile, Pollard seemed to believe that the Israelis had a scheme to protect him. Anne, a small woman, gathered up 70 pounds of secret material which she planned to throw in a dumpster in the alley. But she saw two men, whom she took to be FBI agents, parked in a car. She assumed they were after the Pollards—when actually they were looking for another spy. Anne asked a neighbor to take the sack to Washington’s Four Seasons Hotel. Not finding Anne there, the neighbor took the package back to his apartment and put it in his bathtub. Author Olive, the agent at the heart of the Pollard investigation, and his FBI colleagues had no idea of Pollard’s religion (he claimed he was a Presbyterian) or to whom he would deliver his stolen secrets. He had had a habit of offering secret material to various people, perhaps to bolster his ego. But when he ran for cover to the Israeli THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Embassy on Van Ness Street, a light suddenly dawned: It was for Israel that Pollard had stolen American secrets. Pollard had been instructed to stall for 72 hours if arrested. He never mentioned Israel during the first 72 hours of his interrogations—thereby enabling not only Sella and Yagur to escape, but also Erit Erb, Israeli Embassy secretary in Washington. Jonathan Jay Pollard was first of all arrogant. When his Israeli connection finally became clear, he rebuked his captors, “You botched it, you thought it was the Soviet Union.” His passion was to help Israel, but he insisted on being paid. Israel did agree to $2,500 a month. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger’s 40-page memorandum to the sentencing judge about the enormous cost of Pollard’s theft and urging a harsh prison sentence made no impression on Pollard. He appeared to feel no remorse. The American team that went to Israel to “recover” Pollard’s stolen materials got a truly shoddy runaround fron the Israelis. When a prominent American member of the team was leaving Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport he was asked by a security guard if he had enjoyed his stay in Israel, and replied that he had “for the most part.” The guard then said in a cold, hard voice, “Good, because you will never be coming back here again.” His remark reflected the way the American delegation had been treated in Israel. Capturing Jonathan Pollard is recommended reading for those looking for the grubby details of Israel’s massive theft of U.S. secrets, and for an Israel that looked out for its own interests without a care for the interests of its patron and ally, the United States. ❑ Advertisement
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AET Book Club Catalog Literature
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Spring 2011 On the State of Egypt: What Made the Revolution Inevitable, Alaa Al Aswany, Vintage, 2011, paperback, 208 pp., List: $15; AET: $10. The acclaimed author of The Yacoubian Building offers a rich account of Egyptian society, with perceptive insight into the factors that led to the overthrow of the Mubarak regime. Addressing some of the most pertinent questions facing the transformed nation, On the State of Egypt is a candid and controversial assessment of Egyptian potential and limitations.
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights, by Omar Barghouti, Haymarket Books, 2011, paperback, 220 pp. List: $16; AET: $9. Independent Palestinian commentator and human rights activist Omar Barghouti makes the case for a rightsbased boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign to end the Israeli occupation, colonization and apartheid against the Palestinian people. In this compelling work, Barghouti points the way forward to a global civil society movement for freedom, justice, selfdetermination and equality for all.
An Islam of Her Own: Reconsidering Religion and Secularism in Women’s Islamic Movements, Sherine Hafez, New York University Press, 2011, paperback, 191 pp. List: $21; AET: $19. Focusing on women’s Islamic movements in Egypt, the author reveals a burgeoning activism rooted in Islam, as well as principles associated with secularism. Based on six years of ethnographic fieldwork in Cairo, Hafez analyzes the ways in which women who participate in Islamic activism identify themselves, articulate their desires, and navigate the blurred boundaries between their religious and secular lives.
Gaza: Symbol of Resistance, edited by Joyce Chediac, World View Forum, 2010, paperback, 178 pp. List: $19.95; AET: $15. This collection of powerful essays helps document Israel’s ongoing war crimes in Gaza, and explains how Gazans withstand the deprivations caused by siege and war while refusing to give up. Gaza includes valuable eyewitness testimony from participants in the Viva Palestina humanitarian convoys that broke the blockade to deliver aid, and gives voice to Palestinian and Jewish activists who oppose the torture of Gaza.
Islamophobia: The Challenge of Pluralism in the 21st Century, edited by John L. Esposito & Ibrahim Kalin, Oxford University Press, 2011, hardcover, 280 pp. List: 24.95; AET: $20. This collection of essays by Juan Cole, Mohamed Nimer and others takes a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of Islamophobia, providing constructive analysis and policy recommendations. Contributors discuss and evaluate good practices already in place and offer new methods for dealing with discrimination, hatred and racism.
Are Muslims Distinctive?: A Look at the Evidence, by M. Steven Fish, Oxford University Press, 2011, paperback, 408 pp. List: $27.95; AET: $22. This provocative work represents the first major scientific effort to assess how Muslims and nonMuslims differ—and do not differ—in the contemporary world. Using rigorous empirical methods and data drawn from around the globe, Fish’s findings shatter stereotypes and reveal important political and social challenges facing the Muslim world today.
The Calligrapher’s Secret, by Rafik Schami, trans. by Anthea Ball, Interlink Publishing, 2010, paperback, 444 pp. List: $20; AET: $14. Syrian author Rafik Schami paints a richly detailed portrait of life in mid-20th century Damascus. Filled with a compelling set of characters, including Nasri Abbani, a wealthy man and hopeless playboy whose life is changed when he sets foot in the studio of the leading calligrapher in all of Syria. Underneath its magnificent story, The Calligrapher’s Secret is a thoughtful exploration of modern identity and religious tradition.
This Burning Land: Lessons From the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, by Greg Myre & Jennifer Griffin, Wiley Publishing, 2011, hardcover, 336 pp. List: $25.95; AET: $18. Seasoned journalists Myre and Griffin examine the lives of individuals caught up on both sides of the conflict to reveal how rational people can choose extremism over moderation. Their conclusions are neither simplistic nor ambiguous. Of note is their argument that the asymmetry of the conflict will continue to thwart the traditional peacemaking attempts made by leadership on both sides.
Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation, edited by Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, Ithaca Press, 2010, paperback, 502 pp. List: 24.95; AET: $20. This thorough collection of essays surveys the voices of over 100 practitioners and theorists of nonviolence, the vast majority either Palestinian or Israeli, as they reflect on their own involvement in nonviolent resistance and discuss the nonviolent strategies and tactics employed by Palestinian and Israeli organizations, both separately and in joint initiatives.
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CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore
National Post, Toronto
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The Economist, London
New York Times Syndicate, NY
Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington
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Other People’s Mail Compiled by Kate Hilmy and Delinda C. Hanley Goldstone’s Backtracking To The New York Times, April 5, 2011 The significance of Richard Goldstone’s op-ed article in The Washington Post is being overblown. As the judge who led an investigation into the Gaza conflict, he stands by most of his report. Mr. Goldstone’s shift focuses on his allegation that Israel had an apparent policy to target civilians. He says that because of information now available, he no longer concludes that civilians were intentionally targeted as a matter of policy. Human Rights Watch’s investigation in Gaza found some cases of apparently deliberate killing of civilians by Israeli soldiers, such as the killing of 11 civilians holding white flags, but no evidence that these resulted from a policy to target civilians. However, Mr. Goldstone has not repudiated his panel’s findings that Israel committed numerous serious violations of the laws of war. Israeli forces, according to the Goldstone report, indiscriminately used heavy artillery and white phosphorus in densely populated areas and deliberately destroyed civilian buildings and infrastructure without a lawful military reason. That conduct was so widespread and systematic that it must have reflected policy. As for investigations, Israel looks good only by comparison with Hamas, which has done nothing at all to investigate its war crimes. Israel has indicted four soldiers and convicted three. Only one has served jail time (71⁄2 months), for stealing a credit card. Israel has yet to investigate the policies behind the indiscriminate attacks that caused so much civilian harm. Kenneth Roth, New York, NY. The writer is executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Spotlight on Israel’s Conduct To the Guardian, April 8, 2011 Western hypocrisy is the reason that so many people focus on the particular conduct of Israel. When a single Chinese dissident disappears the U.S., Britain and others instantly respond. When the Israeli government was killing 700 civilians in Gaza, the U.S., British and other Western governments said nothing. Peter Nicklin, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
A “Risk” That’s Worth Taking To the Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2011 The notion that a Palestinian move to MAY/JUNE 2011
“go international” in its quest for statehood, forsaking negotiations with the Israelis, is “risky” is almost laughable. What have years of negotiations produced for the Palestinians? There has been a relentless expropriation of Palestinian land and continued dispossession of the Arab population. Indeed, the only reasonable chance for the Palestinians to achieve independence is to appeal to the world community. The fate of the Gaza Strip, too, may only be determined with the active involvement of international organizations. The chance of failure is very high, of course. Without the effort, however, there is no hope for an independent Palestine. This is surely a risk worth taking. Raymond Hansen, Los Angeles, CA
Tresspassers in West Bank To The Calgary Herald, March 26, 2011 Re: “Silence on Itamar massacre and Middle East uprisings”: I remind Scott Gelfand that no credible evidence has been produced that implicates Palestinians in the recent heinous murder of the Fogel family in the settlement of Itamar in the occupied West Bank. Surely, a legitimate question to ask is why did Rabbi Udi and Ruth Fogel have their children accompany them while they were illegally occupying other people’s land through force of arms and residing in a Jewish-only settlement well known for its extremism? In my view, it is comparable to an armed robber taking his children with him during a bank heist. Gary Keenan, Vancouver, Canada
Libya’s Future To The Independent, March 29, 2011 Democracies begin with revolutions that take a chance for democracy. With the educating of a new generation by al-Jazeera, blogs and Internet, the Arabs seem to have studied the concept, and be ready to fight for it. Most democracies had help. The German, Italian and Japanese democracies were imposed by the Allies after the Second World War. The Eastern European democrats had NATO as an ally, though they were slaughtered twice by the U.S.S.R.’s tanks trying to do it on their own. We could do nothing to help then. But we can and should help now. It’s our moral duty. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Anybody with the courage of the Libyans deserves their chance to try for it. Matthew Greally, Sydney, Australia
As Allies Wage War on Qaddafi To The New York Times, March 22, 2011 The military attack on Libya raises many questions: How does the United States plan to end the war? What if a short war turns into a long war? Can our volunteer military fight yet a third war? Will United States ground troops eventually be required to finish off what air attacks cannot? Who, precisely, are the Libyan rebels in Benghazi? Why Libya and not also Bahrain and Yemen? And finally, why the silence among all those antiwar dissidents who enthusiastically supported President Obama and rightly excoriated President George W. Bush for Iraq and Afghanistan? Murray Polner, Great Neck, NY
Obama’s Address on Libya To The New York Times, March 30, 2011 Re: “President Obama on Libya” (editorial, March 29): Whether President Obama calls his action in Libya an intervention, an international mandate, a humanitarian mission or Operation Odyssey Dawn, and even if we try to protect civilians without sending in American ground troops or trying to overthrow Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, it is, plain and simple, a war. It is a war that has already unleashed its vicious dogs, bringing what all wars bring: death and destruction. Violence begetting violence. The spending of precious resources for bloodshed abroad rather than for rebuilding at home. I expected the man whom I worked for and voted for in 2008, my intelligent, educated, sensitive, poetic president, to know that. I expected a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize to know that. Sandra Gordon Pettijohn, Denver, CO
Debate Congressional Consent To The New York Times, March 11, 2011 Re: “Attack Renews Debate Over Congressional Consent” (news article, March 22): It is misguided to invoke the Constitution to justify inaction in a humanitarian crisis. To argue that the Obama administration should have consulted Congress before ordering military action in Libya is to argue that the president should have allowed the civilian population of Benghazi 79
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to be slaughtered, which was imminent and was prevented only by the timely use of force. The president is paying a price for this decision both with the right and with the left; there was no political payoff here. Let’s hope that the majority of Americans can recognize a courageous and ethical decision when they see it and give credit where credit is due. Brian D’Agostino, New York, NY
Doing the Right Thing in Libya To The Washington Post, March 31, 2011 What the March 29 editorial “Mr. Obama speaks on Libya” and the administration’s critics seemingly fail to understand is that how Muammar Qaddafi goes, not when, will determine the ultimate success of our policy. What seems fairly obvious to even the casual observer is that the U.S. government and our allies are doing everything they possibly can to remove Mr. Qaddafi without poisoning the core narrative that it is ultimately the Libyan people, not the allies, who must win this rebellion. The United States shows strength by giving the rebels the chance to be the heroes of their own story—this is their fight against a murderous tyrant. This means the fight may take longer, there will be uncertainty and America won’t completely control the outcome. And that’s okay. Finally we have a nuanced, strategic foreign policy that balances risk and rewards, recognizes the views and roles of others, and aligns with our core values and longterm national interest. We should feel good that our government has not only a crystalclear strategy but the right strategy. Ben Powell, Washington, DC
Libya Is the Decider To The Independent, March 22, 2011 Libyans must be allowed to remove the tyrant of Tripoli and his progeny from power. It is their right and they want their chance to do what Egyptians and Tunisians did to their detested despots. Let us hope they prevail, but never forget that when the dust settles it must be Libyans alone who determine the fate of their country and not us. Chris Doyle, Council for Advancing Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), London, UK
This legislation is a gross violation of a person’s fundamental rights, and is a smokescreen for his wider anti-Islamic sentiments. The ban is really about a wider agenda of appeasing the right. The ban is also intended to curb Muslim immigration. If I were to give Sarkozy the benefit of the doubt and believe him that the ban was to stop the oppression of women, I’d still think it a bad idea. Instead he should implement policies that stop domestic violence in the home and make it easier for women to go to the authorities with complaints. The state should be protecting vulnerable women. But this ban does nothing to do that. Oppressed women who were forced to wear the niqab will still be oppressed at home. And women who actually want to wear it have been denied a fundamental right. Omar Mesbahuddin, London, UK
Roots of Radicalization To The Washington Post, March 14, 2011 Rep. Peter T. King correctly stated that an increasing number of Muslims are be-
WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON. President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1414 White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 Fax: (202) 456-2461 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Department of State Washington, DC 20520 State Department Public Information Line: (202) 647-6575 Any Senator U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3121 Any Representative U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-3121
E-MAIL CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE E-mail Congress: visit the Web site <www.congress.org> for contact information.
Burka Ban Attack on Muslims?
E-mail President Obama: <president@whitehouse.gov>
To The Independent, April 12, 2011 Mr. Sarkozy is marginalizing Muslims by banning women from wearing the burka.
E-mail Vice President Joe Biden: <vice.president@whitehouse.gov>
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coming radicalized and that this is a problem. But his hearing was likely to make matters worse rather than better. He claimed that it was intended to determine why this trend exists and to find ways to build leadership among moderate Islamic leaders. We already know the answer to the first part: the animosity some Americans have directed toward Arab Americans and Muslims. As for the second question, the answer is also clear: There needs to be more positive leadership from our politicians toward the Muslim community. The leadership Mr. King talks about needs to come from him and his colleagues and be directed toward Americans who are biased against Muslims. David Martin-McCormick, Washington, DC
Coverage of Muslims in CMU To National Public Radio, March 3, 2011 Thank you Carrie Johnson and Margot Williams for long overdue coverage of the Communication Management Units (CMUs). I hope you will follow up this twopart article by addressing the issue of what the government defines as a “terrorist” when placing people in the CMU. For example, Dr. Rafil Dhafir is held in the CMU and was convicted of only white-collar crime, mostly related to his charity, Help the Needy, that sent aid to starving Iraqi civilians during the brutal embargo on that country. You can find out more about his case here: <www.dhafirtrial.net/2011/02/21/430>. And as many of the prisoners held at the CMU are there because of their involvement in Muslim charities, I also suggest that Carrie Johnson and Margot Williams look at this OMB report, “Collateral Damage: How the War on Terror Hurts Charities, Foundations, and the People They Serve”: <www.omb watch.org/node/3578”>. Katherine Hughes, Syracuse, NY
Sound Familiar? To The New York Times, April 8, 2011 Re: “White House Assails Pakistan Effort on Militants”: The Obama administration’s report to Congress on Pakistan states, “As a result of political gridlock, the government continues to be unable to develop consensus on difficult economic and fiscal reforms that are urgently required, including systemic tax reform.” Gee, what other country does this remind me of? Jonathan D. Reichman, Chappaqua, NY❑ MAY/JUNE 2011
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Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries —Compiled by Andrew Stimson Upcoming Events: The Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society will host the 36th Annual ICNA-MAS Convention entitled “Qur’an: Guidance Towards a Just and Balanced Way,” May 28-30 in Hartford, CT. For more information visit <www.icna.org> or call (718) 658-1199. CODEPINK, Global Exchange, and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, along with more than 80 peace and justice groups, have organized a Move Over AIPAC gathering, May 21-24 in Washington, DC. Speakers will include John Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, Alice Walker, Phyllis Bennis, Laila El-Haddad, the Washington Report’s Janet McMahon, and many more. For more information visit <www.moveoveraipac.org>. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee will hold its 30th Annual National ADC Convention, June 10-12 at Washington, DC’s Wyndham Marriot Wardman Park Hotel. Visit <www.adc. org>, e-mail <organizing@adc.org>, or call (202) 244-2990 for more information. The American Arab Chamber of Commerce will host the 16th Annual Dearborn Arab International Festival, June 17-19, in Dearborn, MI. For more information visit <www.americanarab.com>. The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation’s Know Thy Heritage program will send Palestinian youths in the Diaspora to Palestine for three weeks beginning on July 13. For application info or to donate to the program, visit <www.hcef.org>.
Announcements: The international NGO, Search for Common Ground (<www.sfcg.org>), has launched a new Web site: 1001 Stories of Common Ground and invites participants. It is a platform for proponents of constructive, cooperative change who not only imagine a bright future for the Middle East, but are shaping their own community accordingly and want to share it with the world. Please visit <www.1001cgstories.org>. The Hasselblad Foundation named Lebanese-American photographer Walid Raad recipient of the 2011 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography. The $15,000 prize was presented March 8, and Raad’s work will MAY/JUNE 2011
be on display Nov. 12, 2011 at the Hasselblad Center at Sweden’s Gothenburg Museum of Art.
Obituaries: Necmettin Erbakan, 85, former Turkish prime minister and leader of the country’s Islamic political movement, died of heart failure Feb. 27 in Ankara. Affectionately known as Hodja, or “teacher,” by colleagues, he was an accomplished professor of mechanics, founder of several influential political parties, and Turkey’s first Islamist prime minister. While his brief tenure in office was cut short by military pressure, he is widely credited with laying the foundations for political Islam in Turkey, despite the entrenched tradition of Kemalist secularism. Born in Sinop, Erbakan attended one of Turkey’s most elite high schools, then studied at prestigious mechanical and engineering programs in Turkey and Germany. Upon returning to Turkey, he took positions in both academia and in Turkey’s burgeoning auto and arms industries. The publication of his manifesto Millî Görü , and his election to the Grand National Assembly, helped establish him as the backbone of the religious wing of Turkish politics. He founded and inspired the rise of a series of Islamist political parties that were banned by Turkey’s secular authorities. Following a military coup in 1980, Erbakan and his National Salvation Party were barred from politics until the ban was lifted in a 1987 referendum. As leader of the Welfare Party, he became prime minister in 1996 and focused on strengthening ties with Arab governments and other Muslim countries in an effort to counter Zionist influence in the region. Turkey’s traditionally secular military applied increasing pressure on the Erbakan government, prompting him to step down after less than a year. From 1997 until his death Erbakan remained an important force in Turkish politics. One of Erbakan’s former lieutenants, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was elected prime minister in 2003. Tawfik Toubi, 88, an Israeli Arab communist politician and sole surviving member of Israel’s first parliament, died March 12 in Haifa. He joined the Palestinian Communist Party in 1941 and later founded the League for National Liberation. In 1949 he was elected to the Knesset, where he remained for 12 consecutive terms, or 41 years, serving as a strident communist and voice for many Arab Israelis. Born in Haifa to an Arab Greek OrTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
BulletinBoard thodox family, he was educated at a missionary school at Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. During his political career he also worked as an editor and journalist for al Ittihad, an Israeli Arabic daily newspaper owned by the communist Maki party. In the Knesset, Toubi often was a lone voice representing the grievances of Arab Israelis, especially between 1949-1966, when the community lived under Israeli military rule. In 1950 he called for the right of return for residents of al-Birwah and protested the forced removal of Arabs from Majdal, and in 1967 he raised the issue of the right of return for the residents of Yalo. Toubi was one of only two Knesset members to raise the issue of the 1956 Kafir Qasim massacre, in which an Israeli border officer fired on Israeli Arab citizens, including women and children, killing 49 and wounding 13. The IDF initially banned the publication of details about the incident until Toubi and Meir Vilne made the issue public in 1965. Mohammad Nabbous, 28, Libyan journalist and founder of Libya Alhurra TV, was killed by Qaddafi loyalists March 19 in the city of Benghazi. A technology expert, he became one of the Western media’s most trusted sources of information on the conflict. After ejecting Qaddafi forces from the Benghazi courthouse, Nabbous and others set up a protest command center. Working around the regime’s firewalls, he set up a live camera feed that became Libya’s first independent television station, Libya Alhurra TV, the only source for on-the-ground reporting during the first days of the uprising. Born in Benghazi in 1983, Nabbous graduated from Garyounis University with a degree in mathematics and computing. During the last few weeks of his life he braved gunfights and explosions with his camera to provide an up-close view of the regime’s violence. During his first broadcast he declared, “I am not afraid to die, I am afraid to lose the battle.” On March 19, as government forces assaulted Benghazi, Nabbous issued his final report. In an audio-only broadcast from his cell phone, he appeared to have been shot, possibly by a sniper. In a video issued shortly thereafter, his wife, appearing pregnant, announced his death. She vowed to continue the channel and requested contributions of raw footage from contributors inside and outside the country. ❑ 81
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AETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2011 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and March 14, 2011 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) Americans For a Palestinian State, Oakland, CA Catherine Abbott, Edina, MN Jeff Abood, Silver Lake, OH Diane Adkin, Camas, WA Raji Akileh, Tampa, FL Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ Haroune Alameddine, Canton, MI Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Dr. Nabih Ammari, Cleveland, OH Dr. Abdullah Arar, Amman, Jordan Alma Ball, Venice, FL Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA William Battistoni, Dickinson, TX Heidi Beck, Cedarville, CA Joseph Benedict, Mystic, CT John Carley, Pointe-Claire, Canada Ouahib Chalbi, Coon Rapids, MN Dr. Robert Collmer, Waco, TX Mr. & Mrs. Rajie Cook, Washington Crossing, PA William Coughlin, Brookline, MA Dr. Hassan Dannawi, Macon, GA Lee & Amelia Dinsmore, Elcho, WI Dr. George Doumani, Washington, DC Gloria El-Khouri, Scottsdale, AZ Kassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TX Barbara Ferguson & Tim Kennedy, Arlington, VA Elisabeth Fitzhugh, Mitchellville, MD Ken Galal, San Francisco, CA Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA Ahmad & Shirley Gazori, Mill Creek, WA Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Guenther, Newtown, PA Joyce Guinn, Germantown, WI Dr. Wasif Hafeez, West Bloomfield, MI Allen Hamood, Dearborn Heights, MI Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Prof. & Mrs. Brice Harris, Los Angeles, CA Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Alan Heil, Alexandria, VA Dr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Waco, TX Rich Hoban, Cleveland Heights, OH Veronica Hoke, Hillcrest Heights, MD Edmund Hopper, Hilton Head Island, SC Said Jibrin, Bethesda, MD Omar & Nancy Kader, Vienna, VA Ambassador Robert Keeley, Washington, DC Rev. Charles Kennedy, Newbury, NH 82
Dr. M. Jamil Khan, Bloomfield Hills, MI Dr. & Mrs. Assad Khoury, Potomac, MD Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA J. Robert Lunney, Bronxville, NY Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Peter MacHarrie, Silver Spring, MD Hon. Clovis Maksoud, Washington, DC Trini Marquez, Beach, ND Martha Martin, Paia, HI Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Ben Monk, St. Paul, MN Liz Mulford, Cupertino, CA Charles Murphy, Upper Falls, MD Howard & Mary Norton, Austin, TX Michio Oka, El Sobrante, CA Dr. Ibrahim Oweiss, Kensington, MD Edmond & Lorraine Parker, Chicago, IL Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA Patricia & Herbert Pratt, Cambridge, MA Dr. Amani Ramahi, Lakewood, OH Mr. & Mrs. Duane Rames, Mesa, AZ Nayla Rathle, Belmont, MA Frank & Mary Regier, Strongsville, OH Kyle Reynolds, Cypress, TX Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Edward & Alice Saad, Cheshire, CT Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA Ma-moun Sakkal, Bothell, WA Anis Salib, Huntsville, AL Betty Sams, Washington, DC Elizabeth Schiltz, Kokomo, IN Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL Mahmud Shaikhaly, Hollywood, CA Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab, Odenton, MD Kathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA Shahida Siddiqui, Trenton, NJ Lucy Skivens-Smith, Dinwiddie, VA Glenn Smith, Santa Rosa, CA David Snider, Airmont, NY Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY Dr. Yusuf Tamimi, Hilo, HI Joan Tanous, Boulder, CO Charles Thomas, La Conner, WA Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA John V. Whitbeck, Paris, France Bernice Youtz, Tacoma, WA
ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) William Coughlin, Brookline, MA
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Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Boulder, CO Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL Mohamed Dabbagh, Mahwah, NJ Dr. Rafeek Farah, New Boston, MI Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO H. Clark Griswold, Woodbury, CT Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ Salman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD Fahd Jajeh, Lake Forest, IL Matt Labadie, Portland, OR Barbara Leclerq, Overland Park, KS John Malouf, Lubbock, TX Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI John Van Wagoner, McLean, VA James Wall, Elmhurst, IL
TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more) Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Dr. Lois Aroian, Willow Lake, SD Kamel Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Dr. Joseph Bailey, Valley Center, CA Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Ghulam Qadir & Huda Zenati, Dearborn, MI
BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD The Estate of Pascal Biagini, Drexel Hill, PA Joe Chamy, Colleyville, TX Luella Crow, Eugene, OR Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, West Kingston, RI Linda Emmet, Paris, France Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more) Dick & Donna Curtiss, Kensington, MD John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, France Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC* *In memory of Grace Perolio MAY/JUNE 2011
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American Educational Trust The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009
May/June 2011 Vol. XXX, No. 4
A Palestinian child sits on steps by a floor covered with flour after an April 11 raid on her family home in the West Bank village of Awarta during which Israeli troops tossed food from the cupboards and broke household items. JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images .