Washington Report on Middle East Affairs - January/February 2023 - Vol. XLII No. 1

On Middle East Affairs

THE U.S. ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE

ON THE COVER: Morocco’s midfielder Sofiane Boufal shares unbridled joy, dancing with his mom, after defeating Portugal 1-0 in the Qatar 2022 World Cup quarter-final football match at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on Dec. 10, 2022. The win made Morocco the first Arab and African nation to enter the World Cup semifinals, and gave the entire region something to celebrate. After every win, the players and even their coach Walid Regragui sought out their mothers to share the happiness. Morocco’s defeat by France, their former colonizer for more than four decades before independence in 1956, was a blow.

BY JUAN MABROMATA/AFP

The Friedmans’ Lamentation Gideon Levy, Haaretz OV-1

The American Jewish War Over Zionism Can Begin, Philip Weiss, mondoweiss.net OV-2

Do American Jews Really Know What “Zionist” Means?, Mira Sucharov, Haaretz OV-3

Who’s Afraid to Reveal the Palestinian “Secrets” of 1948?, Shay Hazkani, Haaretz OV-4

Chasing a Mirage: How Israel Arab Parties Validate Israeli Apartheid, Ramzy Baroud, RamzyBaroud.net OV-6

Netflix Faces Israeli Backlash Over Nakba Film, Michael Arria, mondoweiss.net OV-7

Film Festival Brings Palestinian History to Life, Zena Al Tahhan, www.aljazeera.com OV-8

DEPARTMENTS

For Canadian Universities, the Palestinian Is the “Toxic Other,” M. Muhannad Ayyash, www.aljazeera.com OV-9

The Palestinians of Latin America Were Dispossessed Before the Nakba, Marc Martorell Junyent, mondoweiss.net OV-11

Malaysia Operation Shows Mossad’s Growing Use of Outsourcing, Yossi Melman, Haaretz OV-12

Zakhiku: The Ancient City in Iraq Revealed by Severe Drought, Tessa Fox, www.aljazeera.com OV-13

Afghan Needs, Global Priorities, And the Treasures of Mes Aynak, Nadia Ahmad and Luke Danielson, www.aljazeera.com OV-15 People are seen with Palestinian flags at the Katara beach in the evening hours of the FIFA World Cup, in Qatar on Dec. 12, 2022. See articles, p.8.

Compiled by Janet McMahon

PHOTO BY

American Educational Trust Publishers’ Page

Questions at Christmas

We are again at the time of year when we hear “Bethlehem” tenderly referred to again and again in popular music. As close followers of the situation in Palestine, it’s easy to feel “triggered” at the mere mention of the city. How many people invoking the name of the city associated with peace know (or care) about the modernday situation in Bethlehem? Are they even aware an apartheid wall divides the city? Do they know that Israeli policies are driving Christians out of the city of Christ’s birth (see p. 57)? Do they realize that Palestinians in Gaza rarely have a “silent night,” given the constant buzz of Israeli warplanes and drones and the haunting memories of war and suffering? Do Americans realize their tax dollars are facilitating suffering and division in the Holy Land?

Hope...

RIMAWI/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

This fall saw an abundant olive harvest for farmers throughout the West Bank, and Palestinians watching the World Cup saw their brothers and sisters throughout the Arab world (and across the globe) fervently express their solidarity and condemn Israeli policies (see p. 8).

...And Despair

Yet, the past few months have been devastating for many Palestinian families, especially those in and around Jenin. With the rise of the Lions’ Den (an armed group that formed in response to the hapless Palestinian leadership and Israel’s relentless targeting of non-violent activists), Israel has greatly increased the breadth of its military operations in the West Bank. As a result, countless Palestinian children have been brutally arrested or gunned down. Mahmoud alSaadi, a dynamic young man excelling in school and as a member the Jenin Freedom Theater, was murdered on his way to class (see p. 27). Jana Zakarneh, 16, was shot four times by Israeli forces in Jenin on Dec. 11, as she was making

sure her cat was safe at home during another Israeli raid. More invaluable, innocent Palestine lives unceremoniously lost as the result of an “accident” carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Before this magazine reaches your door, there will probably be other “accidents.”

Abu Akleh Case to ICC

As the funerals for children continued across Palestine, Al Jazeera in December submitted a case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. As part of the case, the media company released a documentary that meticulously outlines the events of May 11, 2022, when Abu Akleh was killed by an IDF headshot while covering a story in Jenin. Besides proving that the soldier(s) who killed her knew exactly what they were doing, the documentary makes painfully clear the ongoing trauma experienced by those who witnessed the assassination. Journalist Ali Al Samoudi, who sustained a non-fatal gunshot wound in the incident, said, “Every day, all the time, Shireen’s voice is repeating in my ears.” Journalist Shatha Hanaysha, who hid from the bullets behind a tree feet away from Abu Akleh, said, “None of the things that died inside of me under that tree will come back.” The looks on their faces give tes-

timony to the living trauma that ruminates in the minds of far too many Palestinians.

Impunity

In the same documentary, Hagai El-Ad, executive director of B’Tselem, raises a vital point: Abu Akleh’s killing is a high profile case that reveals what happens nearly every day in Palestine—often with scant media attention. In such cases, the lack of outside interest and independent investigations mean Israel can simply construct any narrative it wants to legitimize the killing of a Palestinian. “You could just imagine how many other cases there are in which there wasn’t that much international attention, there wasn’t video footage, there weren’t witnesses,” El-Ad said. Israel, he added, is “very used to getting away with lying about killings of Palestinians.”

Donation Appeal

You’ve already received our second biannual donation appeal in the mail. We will count every donation you send, postmarked in 2022, as an end-of-theyear lifesaver! You can also donate online and charge your credit card right now. We’ll print our entire 2022 Choir of Angels list in the March/April 2023 magazine...and then start anew. We’re so thankful for every contribution, large and small, and delighted to welcome new subscribers and contributors with every new issue.

As we said in that appeal, after years of sending our tax dollars to Israel, now is the time for us to challenge the morality of writing a blank check for weapons used in violation of U.S. and international laws. We can do this if we unite, like those World Cup fans, and speak with one loud, proud voice and....

Make a Difference Today!

A view of the Christmas tree and fireworks near the Church of the Nativ‐ity, in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Dec. 3, 2022.

PHOTO BY ISSAM

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LetterstotheEditor

WHY IS THE U.S. AMBASSADOR SUPPORTING THE IDF?

Under “Letters to the Editor” in the previous issue of the Washington Report, you quote Tom Nides, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, as stating that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concurred that it was “likely—not intentionally by the way—the IDF shot her [Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh].” Poppycock. It was clearly intentional, they picked just the right spot under her helmet to kill her.

Nides goes on to say that he has a lot of respect for the IDF. Really? This is the military entity of the occupation whose job it is to suppress and kill Palestinians. And they do a very good job at that, indeed. But our ambassador respects and even supports them? How sadly ironic.

Laila Poje, New York, NY

ITAMAR BEN-GVIR AND U.S. POLICY TOWARD ISRAEL

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the hard-right member of Israel’s new coalition government, claims his extremist views resonate with everyone—secular and religious, ultraOrthodox and traditional, Sephardic and Ashkenazi.

Ben-Gvir played a pivotal role in returning Binyamin Netanyahu to power. He will now occupy the important role of Minister of National Security. He has promised to deal harshly with those “disloyal to Israel.” He is a fixture at right-wing rallies, where he encourages his supporters to chant “death to the Arabs.” He has developed a close relationship with Dov Lior, a rabbi who gave justification for the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a far-right Israeli.

Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power Party waged a populist campaign that resonated especially among young Jewish Israelis. Their stated mission is to accelerate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian land and annexation of the West Bank. More Palestinians are being arrested without any due process and killed with blanket impunity by Israel.

Little wonder American Jews are expressing outrage over Israel’s rejection of

democracy in favor of a radical theocracy and its crimes targeting the beleaguered Palestinians. It is time for President Joe Biden to break his long silence and demand an immediate halt to further ethnic cleansing of Palestinian land and slaughter of their people. He should halt all further aid to Israel in keeping with our stated goals of supporting human rights and democracy around the world.

Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA

DOUBLE STANDARD CONCERNING RUSSIA AND ISRAEL

The Economist recently published a letter to the editor encouraging the European Union to deny entry to Russian dissenters, warning that it’s “all too easy to conceal pro-Kremlin provocateurs within an uncontrolled mass migration flow.” Imagine the reaction if The Economist published a letter titled “Keep Israelis Out.” Such a letter would actually be justified, since the majority of Israelis unfortunately support the occupation and persecution of the Palestinians and their country’s bombing of Syria.

Yehuda Littmann, Brooklyn, NY

BIDEN AND MACRON DISPLAY HYPOCRISY

Earlier I was listening to President Joe Biden and President Emmanuel Macron of France speaking in front of the White House. Biden was going on about the human rights violations the Russians are bestowing on the Ukrainians. Yet, Biden said the Israelis, among other nations, would be sending more military support to Ukraine. (A few months back, Biden sent Israel a check for $5 billion to spend on weapons, despite the country’s countless human rights violations against the Palestinian people.)

Biden and Macron both made comments about the necessity of people speaking out about anti-Semitism. I can guess where this is going: laws against speaking out against fascist Israel, which deliberately conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.

Barbara Gravesen, Lady Lake, FL

ISRAEL AND CANADA’S FOREIGN

POLICY

Re: “Canadian Humanitarian Organizations Demand Criminal Code Changes” (November/December 2022 Washington Report ): I could be wrong, but ever since the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the father of the current prime minister, Justin, Canada’s foreign policy, whether with regards to the Middle East (Palestine), the Near East (Afghanistan), the Far East (China), the Caribbean (especially Haiti and Cuba) or Latin America (Ven ezuela), appears to be as reactionary and neoconservative as that of the United States, if not more so—even under socalled liberal administrations, such as the current one.

The only exception that I can think of is their welcoming of refugees and political asylum seekers, such as those from Syria. Whoever said, “Politics is a dirty game,” was right! I sure am glad Canada is not as powerful as the United States.

Mohammed

Soussi, via Facebook

CANADA AND THE IHRA DEFINITION OF ANTI-SEMITISM

Re: “Canadian Government Holds Virtual Summits On Islamophobia and AntiSemitism” (October 2021 Washington Report ): The Canadian government’s embrace of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) “working definition of anti-Semitism” is troubling, given the government’s indifference to Israel’s illegal occupation of conquered Palestinian territory and ongoing defiance of the Geneva Conventions and United Nations resolutions.

By supporting this non-legal “definition,” the government encourages the false notion that even accurate criticism of Israeli state policy is a form of antiSemitism. As one writer noted: “The trick is to enforce a set of boundaries around criticism of Israel without investigating whether these boundaries bear any relation to boundaries on the ground.”

Therefore, the act of documenting the offense becomes a greater sin than the offense itself to those who think the Israeli state deserves preferential treatment and ought to be accorded exceptional status.

KEEP THOSE CARDS AND LETTERS COMING!

Send your letters to the editor to the Washington Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009 or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>.

Effective opposition to Canada’s role in Israeli misdeeds is hampered by mainstream media coverage that routinely portrays even peaceful Palestinian resistance as terrorism. Alternately, the Israeli state is automatically presented as an embattled democracy whose noble intentions sometimes go awry.

Recent reports by Amnesty International and Israeli peace groups have concluded that the Israeli state operates an apartheid system assigning inferior status to Israeli Arabs and open hostility to Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied territories and East Jerusalem.

Canada’s official rejection of accurate criticism of Israeli conduct has little to do with Zionism and everything to do with profitable deference to the U.S. government’s military, financial and diplomatic support for Israel.

Morgan Duchesney, Ottawa, ON

CLARIFICATION ABOUT ALGERIA

In the article, “Algeria’s Hirak Movement: A Success or Failure?” (November/December 2022 Washington Report), the published version omitted a number of key points I made during the George Mason University forum. While my support for that movement for reform and greater democracy in Algeria was fairly noted, I also emphasized that the Algerian government’s traditionally progressive role internationally—such as support for liberation struggles in southern Africa, Palestine and Western Sahara—has made it hard for some to challenge some of their

problematic domestic policies. I also stressed how U.S. support for the far more repressive U.S.backed Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, which Freedom House has ranked as having the least political freedom of any country in the world outside of Syria, makes it difficult for those of us in the West to raise concerns about Algeria.

One of the best ways to support greater freedom in Algeria would be for the United States to stop supporting repressive governments elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East.

Stephen Zunes, professor of politics, University of San Francisco ■

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Views

World Cup Victories Thrill the Arab World

The Political Side of the World Cup: How Palestine United the Arabs

By Dr. Ramzy Baroud

WE WERE MISTAKEN to think that Palestine represents the central issue for all Arabs. Such language suggests that Palestine is an external subject, to be compared to other collective struggles that consume most Arabs, everywhere. The celebration of Palestine and the Palestinian flag at the Qatar World Cup 2022 by millions of Arab fans compels us to rethink our earlier assumptions about the Arab people’s relationship with Palestine.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, co‐edited with Ilan Pappé, Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out, is available from Middle East Books & More. Dr. Baroud is a non‐resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is <www.ramzybaroud.net>.

The starting point for my argument is Rome, Italy, not Doha, Qatar. In August 2021, I attended a friendly football match between Morocco’s Raja Casablanca, and the Italian AS Roma. Thousands of Moroccan fans accompanied their team. Although fewer in numbers, their matching outfits, songs, chants and group dances in the stands made them more visible than the rest.

Although the environment of the game had little or no political context, the Moroccans sang for Palestine and wore Palestinian keffiyahs draped with the colors of the Palestinian flag. It was a heartwarming gesture, typical of Arab fans at football matches. As the fans began leaving the stadium in larger numbers, I realized that the very fan culture of Raja Casablanca was modeled entirely around Palestine. Their main slogan is Rajawi Filistini—Palestinian Rajawis, the words embroidered on their sports jerseys.

Considering the absence of political context to that specific match, clearly, the Moroccans did not see Palestine as a message to be communicated using sports as a platform but have internalized it to the extent that it became an integral part of their everyday reality. When I asked a group of Moroccan fans why they embrace Pales-

Morocco’s defender #18 Jawad El Yamiq waves the Palestinian flag after his team won the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group F football match between Canada and Morocco at the Al‐Thumama Stadium in Doha on Dec. 1, 2022, to advance to the round of 16. Moroccan fans were chanting for Palestine and Morocco.

PHOTO BY NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

tinian symbols and chants, the question puzzled them. “Palestine is in our blood. The love for Palestine runs in our veins,” an older man answered, overcome with emotion.

Multiple studies have been conducted to gauge Arab public opinion in recent years about the importance of Palestine, most notably the Arab Opinion Index survey conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in 2020. This poll found that 85 percent of respondents opposed normalization with Israel. Indeed, the Arab people remain clear in their allegiance to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. No Arab country deviated from this rule, from the Arabian Peninsula to North Africa.

The Qatar World Cup, however, raises new questions, not about the centrality of Palestine to Arab political consciousness, but whether the representations of Palestine are merely political and whether Palestine is just another “issue” to be juxtaposed with other urgent Arab issues and causes.

Even the Israelis, with their much-touted intelligence agencies and a supposedly good grasp of the mood on the so-called “Arab street,” seemed confused and even angry as they rushed to Qatar to report on the World Cup, but also to use the international sports event as a way to translate diplomatic recognition and political normalizations into popular acceptance.

However, the two Israeli reporters, Raz Shechnik and Oz Mualem returned to Israel disappointed. Failing to connect the dots between Israel’s apartheid and military occupation in Palestine, the Yedioth Ahronoth journalists had reached this convenient conclusion: “Despite believing, as the open-minded liberals we are, that the conflict with the Arab world is between governments and not the people, Qatar has taught us that hate exists first and foremost in the mind of the man on the street.”

Not only did the “open-minded liberals” lack any sense of selfawareness, they, like most Israelis, had completely dismissed the Arab people as political actors, capable of thinking and behaving according to their own collective priorities. Moreover, they also confused the Arabs’ justifiable anger for the terrible injustices inflicted by Israelis on the Palestinians for random “hate” that seems to simply reflect the supposed hateful nature of the Arabs.

If the two reporters reflected on their own reporting with a truly— not self-proclaimed—“open mind,” they would have found some clues. “Whenever we report, we are being followed at all times by Palestinians, Iranians, Qataris, Moroccans, Jordanians, Syrians, Egyptians and Lebanese…all giving us looks full of hate,” they wrote.

Considering the deep political divisions that presently exist among Arab nations, one wonders why ordinary people from vastly diverse Arab and Middle Eastern nations are united in “hating” Israel and loving Palestine. The answer does not lie in the word “anti-Semitism,” but in representations.

For Arabs, Israel represents a history of Western imperialism and colonialism, military occupation, racism, violence, political meddling, military interventions, wars and more wars, daily images of handsome Palestinian boys and girls killed by Israeli soldiers, violent Israeli Jewish settlers forcibly expelling Palestinians out of their homes and farms, political arrogance and much more.

Palestinians, on the other hand, represent something else entirely. They embody the unhealed wound of all Arabs. Courage and sacrifice. Refusal to surrender. Resistance. Hope.

Most Israelis are unable to grasp the organic relationship between Arabs and Palestine simply because they refuse to accept that their country summons such negative feelings. Contending with this reality would mean deep and uncomfortable reflections. The likes of Shechnik and Mualem would rather explain such a complex task through some convenient references to inexplicable and unjustifiable Arab “hate” of Israel.

The Arab embrace of Palestine is not only about Israel, but also about the Arabs themselves. Though the Palestinian flag was itself inspired by the pan-Arab flag of 1916, it has morphed, over the years, to serve the role of the unifying Arab symbol.

The fact that Arab football fans in Qatar have spontaneously chosen, without any official instructions or government intervention to use the Palestinian flag as their symbol of unity, speaks volumes about Palestine’s position in the collective Arab consciousness. It also tells us that the love for Palestine is not a direct outcome of hating Israel, nor is it that the Arabs view Palestine as a symbol of defeat or humiliation.

When Moroccan player Jawad El Yamiq celebrated his country’s national team’s victory over Canada on Dec. 1, thus guaranteeing the advancement of Morocco to the knockout stages of the World Cup, he raised a Palestinian flag. In the background, Moroccan fans were chanting for Palestine and Morocco. For them, Palestine is not an external cause, and their cheers are not simply an act of solidarity. For them, Palestine and Morocco are synonymous, describing the same collective experience of defeat, struggle and, ultimately, victory.

Fans hold a Palestinian flag with Free Palestine written on it during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D match between Tunisia and Australia at Al Janoub Stadium on Nov. 26, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar.

PHOTO BY JAMES WILLIAMSONAMA/GETTY IMAGES

World Cup 2022: Palestine Beats Israel on the World Stage

By Dima Khatib

THE FIFA WORLD CUP in Qatar is over, and there is one clear winner: Palestine. It is scoring in the hearts and minds of fans from across the world.

Looking at the abundant number of Palestinian flags, seeing the Palestinian armbands and bracelets, and hearing the “free Palestine” chants at the stadiums, fan zones, in the streets and on social media, one may think that Palestine is among the 32 countries whose teams have participated in this World Cup. Indeed, some Latin American media outlets have branded it the “33rd country” at the tournament.

But the Palestinian national team is not playing, so why is Palestine so ubiquitously present? It is because the World Cup is much more than a sporting event. It is a huge gathering of people from around the world coming together to share their passion for football and celebrate diversity and human solidarity.

This year’s edition of the World Cup is the first one ever to be held in an Arab country. Hence, it has been more accessible—geographically, logistically and culturally—to people from the region than any previous World Cup. It has also given people from the region space to gather in large numbers without the usual fear of repression.

As a result, Palestine has automatically taken center stage, uniting Arabs in a joyful and celebratory atmosphere and reaffirming their commitment to the Palestinian cause.

FREE PALESTINE!

In this rare Arab vox populi moment, supporting Palestine appears to be an expression of freedom, a symbol of resistance not only against the continuous occupation of Palestine but also against the neo-colonial order of repressive Arab regimes. It brings memories of powerful moments during the attempted revolutions from more than a decade ago when Arabs also flew the Palestinian flag and chanted “free Palestine” alongside their demands for freedom and dignity.

Indeed, the Palestinian flag is a sign of Arab political agency and has been a constant feature in the stands at football matches. We saw a big one unfurled at the Tunisia-Australia match on Nov. 26 and then another one at the Morocco-Belgium match a day later. The giant flag kept coming back in subsequent matches.

At the Tunisia-France game, a Tunisian fan waving the Palestinian flag ran onto the field and did a few flips in the air before being forcibly escorted out by security; his feat inspired “Falastin, Falastin!” (Arabic for Palestine) chants in the audience.

Morocco’s players raised the Palestinian flag on the pitch to celebrate defeating Canada and making it to the round of 16 and then again when they scored a historic victory against Spain to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Dima

Moroccan fans have also been seen celebrating at Doha’s iconic Souq Waqif, singing the famous Rajawi chant: Our heart is sad for you

Our eyes have been tearing for you for years, Oh beloved Palestine

Where are the Arabs, they are sleeping

Oh, the most beautiful of all countries, resist May God protect you…

A number of matches have also seen Palestinian flags raised at the 48th minute, accompanied by pro-Palestinian chants, to remind the world of the Nakba (catastrophe) Palestinians experienced in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed and turned into refugees for life.

But it has not been just Arabs expressing their support for Palestine.

“Free Palestine, Free Palestine,” Brazil fans were heard chanting on the Doha metro, as they headed to their match against Cameroon. Fans from all over the world have been happy to accept and wave Palestinian flags given away by Palestinians in the streets of Doha.

NORMALIZATION FAIL

Israeli media and citizens were allowed to attend the World Cup under FIFA requirements, although Israel and Qatar do not have formal diplomatic ties. The Israeli government probably thought the tournament was an incredible opportunity to demonstrate once again that it is able to overcome the decades-old Arab policy of not engaging with the Israeli colonial state. But it did not turn out that way.

Fans have overwhelmingly rejected Israeli media. Dozens of viral videos have circulated on social media showing Israelis trying to talk with fans and utterly failing. Lebanese, Saudi, Moroccan, Egyptian, Jordanian, Qatari, Yemeni, Tunisian, Palestinian, but also Japanese, Brazilian, Iranian, and other fans have been caught on camera adamantly refusing to engage.

“You are not welcome here,” a Saudi Arabian fan tells an Israeli journalist in one video. “Even though this is Qatar, it is still our country. There is no Israel, only Palestine.”

In another video, a few England fans line up behind an Israeli reporter appearing ready to talk. He asks them “is it coming home?” “It is coming home,” they respond. “But more importantly Free Palesteeeeen!” one of them shouts into the microphone before they walk away.

Apparently, it got so bad for the Israeli media that some of its reporters started to pretend they were from other countries, like Portugal, Germany and Ecuador. Others continued to try.

“We have peace, huh? You signed peace, you signed on the peace agreement,” implored one Israeli journalist, desperately trying to convince Morocco fans to talk to him. As they walked away, they shouted: “Palestine, no Israel.”

Indeed, in 2020, Morocco, along with Bahrain, the UAE and Sudan, signed agreements to normalize diplomatic relations. That allowed Israelis to travel to the UAE—among others things—where they had a warm reception. This experience may have misled them to think they would be welcome in the region, but that is not the case.

The Israeli media has been busy talking about Israelis feeling like

Khatib is managing director of AJ+ Channels. This article was printed on Dec. 7, 2022 in Al Jazeera. Reprinted with permission.

persona non grata in Qatar, being kicked out of restaurants and taxis as soon as they say they are from Israel. There seems to be a growing realization in Israel that normalization efforts may not be as successful as they may have thought.

Arabs have known it all along: normalization and peace deals are only valid on paper with governments that do not represent the people. Their hearts remain with Palestine until Palestinians become free, which will only happen when the rest of the region is also free.

The survival of the Israeli apartheid state is essentially dependent on dictatorial antidemocratic regimes that turn a deaf ear to the voices of their people on all things freedom, including Palestine.

SUCCESSFUL BOYCOTT

The viral videos of Israeli misadventures in the World Cup seem to have receded. Israeli diplomats have reportedly expressed discontent with how Israeli citizens have been treated and called on FIFA and Qatar to ensure the safety and comfort of its journalists.

Complaints from the Israeli media have been received with mockery, with some pointing to the long list of Palestinian journalists Israel has abused, arrested and killed, including Al Jazeera’s reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. Her portrait could also be spotted at the tournament.

This strong Palestinian presence has served as a reminder to the global community that the situation in Palestine is intolerable and cannot be ignored. As the World Cup proceeds, Palestinians are being killed, displaced, deported, intimidated and arrested with no solution on the horizon. A coalition of far-right parties has taken over the Israeli government, threatening to escalate apartheid violence against the Palestinians even more.

In the World Cup, the Palestinians have also seen an opportunity to strengthen their Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). While Ukraine and its supporters have managed to get FIFA and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to suspend the Russian national team and football

clubs from competing in their tournaments over Russian aggression, the Palestinian efforts to get the same treatment for Israel over its occupation of Palestinian land have so far failed.

Still, Palestinians and their allies have succeeded in making this boycott happen at FIFA’s biggest event in their own way: from the bottom up. While it remains to be seen how this powerful show of solidarity will translate into political action, this World Cup will definitely be remembered for a clear-cut historic victory: Palestine vs Israel 1-0. ■

Morocco's players celebrate at the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between Morocco and Spain at the Education City Stadium in Al‐Rayyan, west of Doha on Dec. 6, 2022.

PHOTO BY GLYN KIRK/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Special Report

World Cup and U.N. Provide Context for Assessing the Abrahamic Accords

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING, and both the World Cup in Qatar and the United Nations in New York added their distinctive textures to temper the orthodoxies of geopolitics, not least about the Palestine issue. Sadly, I suspect you had to be on social media to see how the world trashed the Abrahamic Accords during the World Cup in Qatar. Were the Israeli TV reporters really as naïve and shocked as they appeared when fans gave them the finger? I watched with appreciation as fans from across the world scorned interviews with the oppressors. Brazilians, Japanese, and even seemingly stereotypical English soccer fans told them where to go. But the famous mainstream media ignored it, except perhaps in Israel where it followed the trope of how the rest of the world was out of step!

But since most Western media had been uncritically celebrating former President Donald Trump and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner’s triumph in securing the Abrahamic Accords, seeing the Arab

U.N. correspondent Ian Williams is the author of U.N.told: the Real Story of the United Nations in Peace and War (available from Middle East Books and More).

including the Palestinian question, at

Peace Process Tor Wennesland called

Street response was so much more telling. Qataris, Lebanese and Saudis alike displayed a distinct lack of “accord,” more Cain and Abel than Abraham. Emblematic was the reaction of the Moroccan fans and team, which despite their king’s long-term attempts to cozy up to Israel, was triumphantly and in-your-face pro-Palestinian.

Arabs and many others across the world know apartheid when they see it. Just as the people of Africa reacted viscerally to apartheid South Africa because it explicitly subordinated and suppressed people like themselves, Arabs can see Israel oppressing Palestinians—because they are Arabs.

Over at the U.N., Arab delegations engaged in what their chums in Tel Aviv call “Israel-bashing.” Their degree of tolerance for Israel is in inverse proportion to popular involvement in government and foreign policy, but even their authoritarian elites dare not get too close to endorsing explicit apartheid against fellow Arabs.

ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO/HANDOUT VIA XINHUA

the U.N. headquar‐ters in New York, on Nov. 28, 2022. U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East

for urgent steps toward a two‐state solution to the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict.

poking up through the bowdlerized Western headlines which is gradually osmosing through into popular discourse. It is occurring to people that if we are so upset about Russian invasion and annexation, bombing and killing civilians in Ukraine, then why the international acquiesce when Israel does the same?

Some of this surfaced in the annual round of General Assembly resolutions in late November and early December. Following President Vladimir Putin’s on and off bluster about annexation and nuclear weapons, condemned by all Western countries, delegates called on Israel to renounce nuclear weapons and accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Apart from the assorted atolls in the U.S. pocket, Israel, Canada and Australia voted against the resolution. It is of course all the more absurd since the resolution called upon Israel to renounce weapons it has never admitted having. Even more scandalously, France, Germany and Britain abstained. A British House of Commons report this July declared that “it is universally acknowledged that Israel possesses a nuclear weapons capability, outside of the framework of the NPT.” France knows this—it provided the nuclear knowhow for the Dimona reactor and the original versions of the Jericho missiles, while Germany has provided nuclear capable submarines.

But even the abstainers could not oppose the call for a Nuclear Free Middle East. Only Israel itself had the temerity to vote against the global equivalent of motherhood and apple pie even though it was not singled out for the criticism it so richly deserves. The U.S. delegation abstained, as though they could not make up their mind whether a nuclear free Middle East was desirable.

The Putinesque diplomatic gymnastics of the U.S. were well expressed by U.S. “public delegate” to the U.N. Rep. Andrew Weinstein, nominated by Biden for his work with the ADL and Democratic fundraising in Florida, who complained, “we are engaged in the annual U.N. ritual of rubber-stamping outdated and ineffec-

tive resolutions that purport to advance the cause for the Palestinian people but instead reveal a profound anti-Israel bias” and reaffirmed U.S. determination to oppose “all one-sided resolutions that denigrate Israel.” Far from being outdated, the resolutions all describe the current state of affairs on the ground, the wall, the apartheid, the settlements, confiscations, demolitions and killings of 184 Palestinians since the start of the year, and recently several a day. If the resolutions are ineffective, it is only because of U.S. financial, diplomatic and military support for the perpetrator.

We trust the U.S. will just as vehemently oppose all one-sided resolutions denigrating Russia. But perhaps sometime the State Department could keep a straight face and propose a balanced resolution condemning Palestinian settlement building in the Galilee and Negev, or Ukrainian occupation of Siberia. The atmosphere is attenuated on planet AIPAC, where the delegations of the U.S. and its more slavish allies seem to live.

The Australian delegation tied itself in a moebius striplike knot. As every topologist knows, a moebius strip only has one edge and one side. The diplomatic equivalent is to do what Australia did: to evoke the rule of law to welcome the successful reference of the occupation to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion— but to stress that it should be recorded that the opinion is non-binding. It knows Israel is committing grossly illegal acts and

wants to distance itself when Israel is inevitably called out. In other words, the Western paragons of international law and order cannot disavow the instruments of international legality, so they seek to deflect it in advance.

So many at the U.N. drew at least spiritual comfort from the decision to dedicate next year’s work on Palestinian rights to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba. It was even more satisfying that this provoked paroxysms of indignation from Israel and its supporters. It coincided with their massive campaign against the excellent Netflix movie “Farha” which movingly illustrated the realities of the atrocities of the Nakba as chronicled by survivors, Palestinian and other historians and many Israeli sources and denied by lobbyists and their paymasters.

The Nakba commemoration added spice to the decision to rename the U.N.’s program for Palestinian journalists after Shireen Abu Akleh. These are small triumphs but in the face of President Joe Biden’s stonewalling on investigating the Israeli murder of an American citizen, we have to celebrate them—“Lest we forget.”

On the “lest we forget” front, one could not help but wonder if the success of the Moroccan team, obviously so significant for Arabs everywhere, not to mention Africans, could have been made even more delicious if they had brandished the Sahrawi flag as well. However, we have to content ourselves with actual rather than imagined wins. ■

Will Netanyahu and His Extremist Ministers Undermine Unquestioned U.S. Support?

By Walter L. Hixson

Palestinians inspect a destroyed truck loaded with citrus after it was set on fire by Jewish settlers during an attack near the Shavei Shomron settlement, west of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 16, 2022.

RIGHT-WING extremism and cult of personality politics suffered a sharp defeat last November in the U.S. midterm elections and in Brazil, with the defeat of Trump-wannabe and rainforest plower Jair Bolsonaro. But Israel demonstrated yet again that it is one of the most politically reactionary regimes in the world by returning

History’s Shadows, a regular column by contributing editor Walter L. Hixson, seeks to place various aspects of Middle East politics and diplomacy in historical perspective. Hixson is the author of Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy and Israel’s Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict (available from Middle East Books and More), along with several other books and journal articles. He was a professor of history for 36 years, achieving the rank of distinguished professor.

to office Binyamin Netanyahu, whose 15 years in power already make him the longest serving prime minister in Israeli history.

Netanyahu is a war criminal responsible for several massacres of Palestinians in repeated indiscriminate assaults on the Gaza Strip and elsewhere. No one—other than fanatical Jewish settlers—has done more to encourage the illegal occupation of the West Bank (now referenced on official Israeli maps as Judea and Samaria) than Netanyahu. The nation-state law of 2018, which makes Jewish settlement and colonization a national value, happened on his watch. No one has done more to ensconce apartheid by designating Israel an exclusively Jewish state, formally relegating Palestinians and other non-Jews to (at best) second-class citizenship. No Israeli prime minister, with the possible exception of Ariel Sharon, has been more openly racist and

PHOTO BY NASSER ISHTAYEH/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET

hate-filled. As for domestic politics, Netanyahu long has been deeply implicated in a series of greed-drenched corrupt practices.

That Israel would return to power such a decadent and despicable individual is damning enough, but the situation is much worse than that. To recapture the government, Netanyahu offered key ministerial posts to neo-fascist religious zealots and openly racist ultra-nationalists. Illegal settlement (even under Israeli law) and formal annexation of occupied territories will be the order of the day. Religious extremists will no longer be bellowing from the sidelines—they will be shaping and driving policy.

Opposition parties and critical media warned that Israel was becoming a religious state like Iran, in which yeshiva students would be paid more than IDF soldiers; football matches would be outlawed on the Sabbath; and men and women would be separated in the public sphere (as they already are at the Western Wall in the Old City).

Settlement expansion and ethnic cleansing are likely to be turbo charged now. But the preeminent goal of Netanyahu and the neo-fascists is to arrogate to the new government the power to override the pesky Israeli Supreme Court, which occasionally rules against the most repressive actions of the government. Undermining the Supreme Court could also help Netanyahu escape justice for his corruption.

In addition, he promised to “neutralize” an agreement the outgoing government signed in October with Lebanon, resolving a long-standing maritime border dispute on the Mediterranean Sea. Netanyahu has long detested conducting diplomacy with Arab states—except of course for cutting deals with oil-rich monarchies that accede to recognition of Israel.

A master manipulator—especially of the United States, which he once bragged was “a thing you can move very easily” in Israel’s favor—Netanyahu declared he would “preserve Israeli democ-

racy,” but what he intends to preserve is apartheid, repression and injustice. He has shown he will work with any coalition, no matter how extreme, to exercise power.

For the Biden administration and liberal American Jews who claim there are limits to their support of Israel, Netanyahu and his new extremist allies pose yet another embarrassing challenge as Israel takes on the character of a far-right religious state. Does anyone in the administration or Congress, other than a few progressives, have the courage to challenge the unquestioned political support and bankrolling of this increasingly reactionary and brutally repressive militarized regime?

If history is any guide, the answer, sadly, will be “no.” But history can deliver surprises on occasion, so we can hope that Israel’s growing extremism will eventually undermine the heretofore unquestioned—but never more indefensible— U.S. support for a virulent apartheid regime. ■

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The Final Efforts of the 117th Congress

By Julia Pitner

A view of the U.S. Capitol building on Nov. 28, 2022 in Washington, DC, as Congress wraps up the current lame‐duck session, tries to fund the government and pass an omnibus bill.

POST-ELECTIONS and the end of the current congressional session, the FY2023 is racing toward its end as an omnibus bill. The Senate’s good intentions for finishing its own bill (S. 4543) shifted to the House version (H.R. 7900) in late October, with the intention of replacing the House text with the Senate Armed Services Committee bill. However, the campaign and election season got in the way.

Yet, the Senate has used the Arm Services bill to negotiate changes on the House version instead. As a result of this approach, provisions that had no corresponding text in the two bills (i.e., conditioning arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Turkey) were eliminated. However, several Middle East-related provisions made it into the consensus/compromise H.R. 7776 omnibus bill. As has been noted previously in these pages, tightening the knot on Iran and supporting Israel remain the key features in these provisions.

Of note is the one provision that explicitly does both—the Middle East integrated air and missile defense act, originally known as H.R. 7987—DEFEND Act of 2022. Touted by congressional members as support for the Abraham Accords, while finding common cause with the anti-Iran negotiation members, this section of the omnibus bill states that, “The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, shall seek to cooperate with allies and partners in the Middle East with respect to implementing an integrated air and missile defense architecture to protect the people, infrastructure, and territory of such countries from cruise and ballistic missiles, manned and unmanned aerial systems, and rocket attacks from Iran and groups linked to Iran.”

Other related defense provisions include an increase of money for the extension of United States-Israel cooperation to counter unmanned aerial systems “including directed energy capabilities” and authorizing an increase of $15 million (to $40 million total) to support the “DOD to research, develop, test and evaluate joint

PHOTO BY DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES

Julia Pitner is a contributing editor of the Washington Report. She lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

U.S.-Israel directed energy capabilities to address threats to both the United States and Israel.” This originated as H.R. 9256, “U.S.-Israel Anti-Killer Drone Act of 2022, sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (DNJ) and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY). Also included in the omnibus bill is $200 million in funding for the Iron Dome shortrange rocket defense system and Israel’s cooperative missile defense program, with co-development and co-production totaling $200 million. On Dec. 6, it was announced that Lockheed Martin and the Israeli company Rafael are cooperating to jointly develop, test and manufacture highenergy laser weapon systems.

Putting additional squeezes on Iran, the omnibus bill also includes provisions requiring the modification of the annual report on the military capabilities of Iran and related activities, to include “Iranianlinked proxy groups” and its support of specifically named groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen; maintaining sanctions against Iranian officials and embargos on arms and resources as well as additional constraints on the transfer of funds and ultimately on any progress on the Iranian nuclear negotiations. At the same time, a provision was added supporting the IAEA’s work on monitoring Iran’s nuclear facilities.

RESPONDING TO IRANIAN PROTESTS

In October and November, as demonstrations in Iran expanded, congressional tweets flew. The majority of tweets by Democratic members expressed support for the demonstrators, especially women and girls who are at the forefront, calling for free speech and decrying Iran’s closure of social media platforms. The majority of their Republican colleagues, however, tweeted that the demonstrations were not only a reason to call for an end the nuclear negotiations with Iran but to also fire the special envoy, Rob Malley. Post-election results, a few began to call for investigations into Biden’s foreign policies.

On the practical side, noting the closure of internet sites by the Iranian government, on Dec. 1, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (DVA) sponsored H.R. 9397—INFO Act of 2022, together with co-sponsors, Rep.

Chris Stewart (R-UT) and Rep. William Keating (D-MA) “to promote internet freedom through programs of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that preserve and expand the internet as an open, global space for freedom of expression and association, which shall be prioritized for countries (1) whose governments restrict freedom of expression on the internet; and (2) that are important to the national interest of the United States.” The text of the bill specifically mentions Iran as one of those countries.

AN IRONIC TWIST

In a twist of the ironic, while U.S. congressional members began demanding that Iran allow the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in to investigate human rights abuses of the protesters, several were continuing their push to defund the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Israel/Palestine. Not satisfied with just targeting the COI and UNRWA, on Nov. 3, Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Steve Chabot (R-OH) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration make the “retiring” of two Palestinian-focused U.N. bodies—the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR)—a U.S. diplomatic priority and “urgently press other countries with whom we cooperate” to join the U.S. in voting against annual U.N. resolutions that approve their continued functioning and activities.

After letters from Congress to the administration, lobbying by the family, and the inclusion of language of the House NDAA (and now omnibus bill) calling for an independent investigation into Shireen Abu Akleh’s death, on Nov. 14, it was reported in Israeli media that the FBI was launching an investigation. In response, Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and 18 cosponsors introduced H.R. 9291, the “Justice for Shireen Act” requiring “not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the

Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report on the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. Matters to be included (1) an identification of those individuals or entities that carried out, participated in, or were otherwise complicit in, or responsible for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh; and (2) an identification of any United States defense materials or services that were implicated in the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. (c) The report required shall be submitted in unclassified form and made available to the public at the same time on the website of the Department of State.” By Dec. 1, the bill had 22 all Democrat cosponsors. The Republicans cried “bias” and “politicization of DoJ” over Twitter.

A final piece of news on the Israel Visa Waiver request—it was denied after advocates lobbied members of Congress regarding Israel’s treatment of Palestinian Americans and others visiting the occupied territories.

The Washington Report will begin anew tracking the efforts of the 118th Congress as they try to shape U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa region with legislation and appropriations, or just tweet about it. And, as of this writing, they may begin their session with the FY23 budget. ■

Israel Lobby Targeted Key Democrats in 2022 Midterm Elections

By Walter L. Hixson

THE ISRAEL LOBBY pumped unprecedented millions into the November 2022 midterm congressional election cycle, with most of it concentrated on Democratic Party races. Zionist political action committees (PACs) targeted for defeat a select group of candidates deemed proPalestinian, anti-Israel or insufficiently pro-Israel.

According to an in-depth analysis by Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action), the Israel lobby injected more than $70 million into the 2022 races, far exceeding contributions in any previous election, including the 2020 presidential canvass. “ProIsrael groups collectively contributed more than $30 million to candidates in congressional races across the U.S.—more than triple the contributions of abortion rights, gun control, and environmental groups and individuals combined,” according to the AJP report. In addition to money provided to individual campaigns, the lobby spent $40 million to influence voters’ perceptions for or against candidates in specific elections.

Pro-Israel organizations donated to Democrats at twice the rate of Republican candidates, collectively contributing $20 million to Democrats compared to $10 million to Republicans. AJP Action explains the disparity as an effort by rightwing Zionist groups to counteract the growing influence of pro-Palestinian members of the Democratic Party.

Contributing editor Walter L. Hixson is the author of Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy and Israel’s Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Pales‐tine Conflict (available from Middle East Books and More), along with several other books and journal articles. He was a professor of history for 36 years, achieving the rank of distinguished professor.

Until 2021, AIPAC did not raise funds for political candidates itself. Its members raised money for candidates through political action committees. In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee (AIPAC PAC) as well as a Super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP).

The Democratic Majority for Israel Super PAC, founded in 2019 by right-wing pro-Israel groups, is touted as an advocacy group that supports pro-Israel policies among the U.S. Democratic Party’s political leaders. It was created after AIPAC affiliated too closely with the Republican right during the Obama and Trump administrations, opening a schism among Israel’s supporters in Congress.

Together the Democratic Majority for Israel and AIPAC’s new UDP Super PAC spent $40,277,175 to influence the 2022 midterms. The spending represented a dramatic increase from the $6 million spent in the 2020 presidential election cycle, according to the AJP Action report, entitled “Rightwing Zionist Money & its Influence on U.S. Elections.” Not to be left out of the pro-Israel debate, the J Street PAC and its affiliates spent $3,262,066 on candidates, who were often challengers to AIPAC’s chosen list.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D‐NY), incoming House Democratic leader, speaks at the 2019 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Pro‐Israel funders were his second largest contributors in 2022.

PHOTO BY CHERISS MAY/NURPHOTO

VIA GETTY IMAGES

All of AIPAC’s UDP Super PAC spending went to Democratic elections, the majority spent in the primaries to either support or oppose candidates. AIPAC PAC, meanwhile, spent 66.1 percent of its money in Democrat races, with little spending on Republican races, while its affiliate lobby groups such as the Republican Jewish Coalition, Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs, and the U.S. Israel PAC, to name a few, were actively supporting Republican races.

Top Ten Recipients of Israel Lobby Funding in the 2022 Congressional Elections

1. Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH): $1,038,202

2. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI): $790,729

3. Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA): $731,038

4. Rep.-elect Glenn Ivey (D-MD): $697,205

5. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): $689,375

6. Steven Irwin (D-PA)*: $687,367

7. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ): $548,262

8. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): $459,670

9. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH): $436,625

10. Rep.-elect Valerie Foushee (D-NC): $429,305

*Defeated in primary election

The lobby did not win them all, however, and the progressive antiapartheid coalition in the House remains largely intact. Rep.-elect Summer Lee (D-PA), targeted for defeat, fended off a heavily funded lobby backed opponent (Steven Irwin) to win her seat.

However, the AJP report found that lobby spending was “hyper focused against vulnerable Democrats that were deemed as not sufficiently pro-Israel.” The lobby largesse succeeded in a few races, as some of the targeted candidates went down in defeat, though many others weathered the onslaught. Notably only one (Rep. Marie Newman, D-IL) of the heavily targeted co-sponsors of the proposed Defending the Human Rights of Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation (H.R. 2590) was defeated. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), has 32 co-sponsors and is bitterly opposed by the Israel lobby.

All ten of the highest grossing recipients of pro-Israel contributions were Democrats.

The spending pattern highlights the two Super PACs’ efforts to undermine progressive Democrats in the House, who com-

prise essentially the only coalition that defies the lobby and is openly critical of Israel’s illegal occupation and repressive policies. The massive contributions to Rep. Shontel Brown’s (D-OH) campaign had less to do with her and more to do with her primary opponent, Nina Turner, a Bernie Sanders-allied critic of Israeli repression. Similarly, the lobby heavily funded the primary campaign of Glenn Ivey in a successful campaign to defeat former Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), an opponent of Israeli apartheid.

But the Zionist PACs also targeted moderates, notably Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI), deemed insufficiently supportive of Israel, who was defeated by the lobby-backed candidate Rep. Haley Stevens. AIPAC and other lobby groups invested heavily in Michigan, spending more than $10 million altogether on three congressional races, headlined by Stevens’ ouster of Levin.

Recognizing that Israel was not a central public issue in the nationwide campaigns, lobby political advertising homed in on other issues while shrouding its own motives. The UDP Super PAC touted Ivey for his support for gun control, abortion and public-school investments, while ignoring Israel altogether. Likewise, the lobby alleged that Lee would “defund the police” and was “more interested in fighting Democrats than getting results.”

In addition to targeting critics of Israel, the lobby contributions shored up longstanding support for two New York power brokers, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the newly chosen leader of the House Democrats. In 2020, the Israel lobby did not even rank in the top twenty sources for funding Jeffries’ campaign, but in 2022 “pro-Israel funders were the second largest contributor,” AJP Action notes.

The full AJP Action report can be accessed at: <https://ajpaction.org/wp-content/ uploads/2022/11/Rightwing-ZionistMoney.pdf>. ■

The Growing “Battle” Inside U.S. Jewish Institutions As Israel Embraces Racist Parties

By Allan C. Brownfeld

In October 2022, Mondoweiss noted that, “Wolpe and Greenblatt are trying to stop the tide: young Jews are giving up on Zionism, with sizable numbers saying they believe Israel is an apartheid state.”

In an interview with the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), Zachary Lockman, professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University, provided this assessment: “The Jewish community—the organized, very Israeli-connected Zionist mainstream organizations—think they don’t have as much power as they did because the community has changed. Younger American Jews don’t care about those big organizations. They may or may not belong to a local synagogue, but the synagogues themselves have changed.”

In Lockman’s view, “there’s been a sea change...Segments of the American Jewish community were actively hostile to Zionism [and] into the 1930s and 1940s, Reform Judaism was formally opposed to Zionism...Polls show that a good chunk of the younger generation don’t feel much connection to Israel, or are critical of it, have no great desire to visit...The assaults on Gaza horrify a lot of people. The asymmetry of power and violence and death is hard to miss.”

All of this discussion in the American Jewish community comes just as far-right racist groups are gaining extraordinary influence in Binyamin Netanyahu’s new Israeli government.

THERE IS A GROWING EFFORT to stifle free speech within the American Jewish community. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the AntiDefamation League (ADL), recently called for a battle inside Jewish religious denominations against Jews who oppose Zionism, a group which is growing dramatically in number.

“Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism,” he declared at the World Zionist Congress’ August meeting in Basel, Switzerland. “We must reckon with the fact that there are anti-Zionists within the Jewish community. We must be honest and acknowledge that reality. The reality is just because you are Jewish doesn’t exempt you from trafficking in antiZionism…We have got to deal with this openly…This will be a fight.”

David Wolpe, a Conservative rabbi in Los Angeles, endorsed the idea of a battle against anti-Zionists at the same August conference. He said that his “Sinai Temple takes the largest delegation to the AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] conference every year of any synagogue in the country. We have an absolutely unapologetic Zionist commitment…It’s true in America, as you know, Zionism is a word that often draws tremendous ire, but it’s a battle that is important for Jews to fight.”

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.

In 1984, Rabbi Meir Kahane won a seat in the Knesset pledging to expel Palestinians from Israel and the occupied territories. He also advocated Nuremberg-like legislation to make marriage between Jews and non-Jews illegal. He and his Kach party were expelled from the Knesset for racism. Today, that same racism is welcomed in the Knesset.

Discussing the Nov. 1 election results, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz declared, “Kahanism won. Israel is now closing in on a rightwing, religious authoritarian revolution. The big winner is Itamar BenGvir. The big loser is Israel.”

In October, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) noted that when Ben-Gvir, the extremist follower of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, was in talks in 2019 to coordinate tactics with other parties, “the message from the U.S. Jewish community was clear: Don’t.” That’s no longer the case.

According to JTA, “At least four of the major Jewish groups that spoke out in 2019 say they will not get involved this time: AIPAC, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Two groups that spoke up in 2019, the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement, told JTA that they are just as alarmed now as they were then. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said a failure by the organized Jewish community to present a solid wall of opposition to allowing into government a party based on the teachings of the racist late

Itamar Ben‐Gvir (r), leader of the Israeli far ‐right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, during a memorial ceremony for the late Israeli‐American Rabbi Meir Kahane, in Jerusalem on Nov. 10, 2022. Kahane, a cofounder of the Jewish Defense League (JDL), was convicted of acts of terrorism and assassinated in 1990. Ben‐Gvir will be Israel’s national security minister under a coalition deal with Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

PHOTO BY ILIA YEFIMOVICH/PICTURE

Rabbi Meir Kahane would have far-reaching consequences not just for the U.S.Israel relationship but for Israel’s relationship with U.S. Jews.”

Ben-Gvir was, the Washington Post notes, “for decades a political untouchable. His roots in the overtly racist Kach party...banned by Israel, put him beyond the fringe of even the most right-wing parties. That changed last year when then-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu...desperate for a few more parliamentary votes, invited Ben-Gvir into his alliance.”

Ben-Gvir, who one commentator called the “David Duke of Israel,” first came to prominence as a 19-year-old in 1995 in the wake of a peace deal with the Palestinians signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Post reports that, “An outraged Ben-Gvir brandished a car ornament reportedly ripped from Rabin’s Cadillac and said, ‘we got the car. We’ll get to Rabin, too.’ Weeks later, Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli extremist. Ben-Gvir was not connected to the killing, though he campaigned for the assassin’s release from prison. He has been prosecuted for inciting violence and was known to keep on his wall a portrait of Baruch Goldstein, the American Israeli who massacred 29 Palestinian worshipers at Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs.”

The Times of Israel noted that Ben-Gvir and his allies “appear to have staked positions even more extreme than the far-right parties troubling Europe…their most prominent policy positions…include encouraging Arab citizens of Israel to emigrate; annexing the West Bank without affording Palestinians the right to vote or other civil rights;… using live fire against Palestinian rioters; refraining from prosecuting IDF soldiers for military actions they carry out; overhauling the legal system, crimping the high court’s ability to strike down legislation and giving the government the ability to pack the bench with ideological compatriots.”

Yaakov Katz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, told BBC, “Ben-Gvir and [coalition member Bezalel] Smotrich want to change the type of democracy we have. They want to take us into a potential dark moment. They would have the power and influence to dramatically change the country and that’s what they say they want to do. When

it comes to Arabs, when it comes to LGBTQ rights, when it comes to the rights of women, they could do a lot of damage.”

The silence of major American Jewish groups is coming under increasing criticism. Susie Gelman, who heads the Israel Policy Forum, told the Times of Israel, “It takes an excessive measure of cognitive dissonance to condemn displays of racist supremacy at home as American citizens while dismissing similar displays as irrelevant or beyond our legitimate concerns when they so prominently occur in the Jewish state.”

by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem.

In a much-discussed article, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a long-time supporter of Israel, used the headline, “The Israel We Knew Is Gone.” He quotes Moshe Halbertal, a Hebrew University Jewish philosopher, who notes, “Israeli hawkishness toward Palestinians is now morphing into something new—a kind of general ultranationalism” that not only rejects any notion of a Palestinian state, but also views every Israeli Arab, who make up about 21 percent of Israel’s population, as a potential terrorist.”

Halbertal declares that, “The Torah stands for the equality of all people and the notion that we are all created in God’s image. Israelis, of all people, need to respect minority rights because we, as Jews, know what it is to be a minority— with and without rights. This is a deep Jewish ethos and it is now being challenged from within Israel itself.”

Writing in Mondoweiss, Philip Weiss says that, “Finally, American Jews will see what Zionism has done to us, corrupted almost every Jewish institution with racism, turned Jewish leaders into apologists for persecution and massacres.”

Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, largely ignored by American Jewish groups, has been compared to South African apartheid

John Dugard, a South African jurist, and scholar of international law who was a prominent opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa and served as U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, provides this assessment of South Africa’s Bantustans and Palestine’s territorial enclaves: “South Africa’s Bantustans were a devious and wicked device designed to exclude black South Africans from participation in the political life and wealth of the Republic of South Africa, but the apartheid regime of South Africa spent millions of dollars on establishing schools, universities, clinics, hospitals and industries designed to provide jobs for black South Africans. The comparison provides further evidence, if evidence be needed, that Israeli apartheid is worse than that of South Africa. The evidence for this is clear, but the West refuses to notice it.”

On Nov. 10, 1975, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 3379 declaring that Zionism “is a form of racism and racial discrimination.” It was revoked in 1991. Recent events in Israel indicate that this revocation might have been premature. Those Jews who opposed Zionism from the beginning are now looking increasingly prophetic. The argument that Israel and America share common democratic values will be increasingly difficult to advance in light of Israel’s turn away from any notion of genuine democracy and its embrace of what looks increasingly like racism. American Jewish leaders will have a difficult time explaining their opposition to racism in the United States and their continuing embrace of Israel, as it appears to adopt the very mindset found so objectionable at home.

The reason that more and more Jewish Americans feel ambivalent about, and increasingly critical of, Israel is clear. Isn’t it time for American synagogues to finally stop displaying Israeli flags and to reject Israel’s claim that it is the “homeland” of all Jews? No other nation in the world claims to be the “homeland” of millions of people who are citizens of other countries. Hopefully, the latest events will move American Jewish opinion further in this direction. ■

Israeli apartheid is worse than that of South Africa. The evidence for this is clear, but the West refuses to notice it.

How a Right-Wing Definition of Anti-Semitism Got Foisted on a Liberal Community

By Susan Kerin

Against Censorship. That same year, Florida State Representative Randy Fine began contacting conservative politicians who had just returned from an American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference to launch an expansion of the IHRA definition across right-wing municipalities nationally. In an email to attendees a week after the meeting Rep. Fine wrote, “Students for Justice in Palestine is now treated the same way as the Ku Klux Klan—as they should be.” Fine’s racial underpinnings gained national attention when he used the hashtags #bombsaway and #nomercy during Israel’s 2021 assault on Gaza, including in response to a picture of a dead Gazan child.

Most people in Montgomery County, MD would support a resolution that condemns anti‐Semitic hate, but the council passed a resolution without a public hearing using the IHRA definition of anti‐Semitism, which could quash criticisms of Israeli government policies and actions.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND isn’t the first and won’t be the last community to pass a resolution that redefines anti-Semitism to include criticisms of Israel. However, the unanimous passage by the County Council on Nov. 1 is destined to serve as a legacy turning point in the growing national policy trend to suppress Palestinian human rights activism.

At the core of the debate is the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism. It gives eleven examples of what the IHRA considers to be anti-Semitic discourse, some of which are simply criticisms of Israel/Zionism.

IHRA’S ROOTS IN RIGHT-WING IDEOLOGY

The model legislation is rooted in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13899 of 2019, “Combatting Anti-Semitism,” and has been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Association of University Professors and the National Coalition

While Trump’s Executive Order authorizes the Department of Education to adjudicate and withhold Title VI funds from entities deemed to be anti-Semitic using this new definition, the department needs local data to substantiate the allegations. So local resolutions are intended to change how local police departments track bias incidents. Local protests of Israel’s bombing of Gaza or attempts to ethnically cleanse Sheikh Jarrah would be counted as anti-Semitic incidents.

PASSED WITHOUT PUBLIC DEBATE

Prior to its passage in Montgomery County, the resolution had already begun creeping into less conservative municipalities like Arlington, VA and Washington, DC. But those resolutions passed unnoticed, for the most part, by activists and elected officials who had no idea that it went beyond affirming that anti-Semitism was a form of racism and would not be tolerated.

According to Rosie Saah, from the county’s chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, “The situation in Montgomery County was very different. Our elected officials heard from hundreds of residents and nearly 40 organizations concerned about the implications. But they chose to pass it anyway. And refused to allow a public hearing.”

The council, which unanimously supported the resolution, refused to allow a public hearing. During a packed meeting, most of the council

Susan Kerin is chair of Peace Action Montgomery, a chapter of Peace Action, the nation’s largest peace organization.

PHOTO COURTESY MD2PALESTINE

members peppered their comments with claims that the county is a beacon against hate, bigotry and discrimination. But Council President Gabe Albornoz acknowledged that there “is a lot of emotion in the room” and Councilmember Will Jawando expressed “dismay over the process.” When Councilmember Evan Glass, who co-sponsored the resolution, said that he appreciated the conversation, several activists interrupted him: “this is not a conversation,” they told him, and “this is not how democracy works.”

Yasmine, a college student who is a member of the Palestinian diaspora, attended the meeting but wasn’t one of the disrupters. She noted that “audience members’ comments were acts of frustration not only because the council rejected our request for a public hearing but also because we learned the sponsors held closed-door negotiations excluding stakeholders like us.” In fact, three Palestinian-led organizations lodged a formal complaint to the councilmembers about the closed door deliberations earlier that week. And within hours of receiving that notice, lead sponsor Coun-

Plant

cilmember Andrew Friedson sent an internal email to his colleagues saying that the resolution “was discussed and agreed upon by…leading advocates and organizational leaders.” According to Yasmine, “the lack of transparency has really undermined our trust in our elected officials. Here we were advocating for months against the resolution because it silences Palestinian voices. And it turns out that councilmembers were already silencing us with their secret deliberations.”

Lobbyists supporting the resolution included the local Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). While they publicly claimed the resolution was non-binding and only intended for educational purposes, there was already an instance during Israel’s 2021 assaults where the county’s school system sent out a notice to parents intended to chill student and teacher discussions. The note warned that the “ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has resulted in a significant uptick of threats of violence, expressions of bigotry and anti-Semitism locally and across the nation. These reports

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have raised anxiety and concerns about safety among students and staff, particularly Jewish students and their families. Students must feel safe in school to learn.” The note concluded with recommended resources and teaching materials for educators and parents to use to stop the rise of anti-Semitism. Internal documents revealed that the JCRC advocated for the notice and had specifically referenced criticisms of Israel in its allegations of anti-Semitism.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Within a week of the resolution’s passage by the County Council, Friedson sent an email to all constituents who criticized the resolution indicating that he already had begun implementing the “educational” component of the resolution. Saah notes: “We know that our work isn’t over. We intend to continue to push back on the implementation of the resolution into our schools and community. But we also don’t want this issue to distract us from our main advocacy, which is to end the Israeli occupation and support Palestinian human rights.” ■

Gaza Fishermen’s Nightmare

By Mohammed Omer

“GAZA’S FISHING INDUSTRY is dying,” says Nizar Ayash, head of the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate. He pauses a moment and continues, “We are watching its gradual destruction.”

In the old days, before Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2006, Ayash would sit just before sunrise by the harbor and await the safe return of the fishermen with their catches: sardines, sea bream, Sultan Ibrahim, sea bass, mullet, meagre and gilt-head bream. His office colleagues would sit outside, preparing Gazan hot tomato and dill salad with toasted bread, awaiting the night or early morning’s catch.

These days, Ayash cannot always enjoy this friendly gathering; often the fishermen come bearing grim news. In the past, the fishermen would have had fish with their early breakfast. They continue to make their salad but today there are fewer fish. Gazan fishermen were once known for making tatbilit samak (fish marinade). Today, the catch is sent to the local hisba, the fish market, yet sales do not cover the cost of boat fuel and lighting.

Under the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, Israel is obligated to permit fishing up to 20 nautical miles, but this has never been implemented and over the years Israel has set varying limits to the fishing zone, which has been reduced to as low as 3 nautical miles. Ayash explains: “Israel has restricted fishing rights off the coast of Gaza from 25 to 6 miles,” a narrow over-fished area. “The Israeli occupation has increased its attacks on the seashore targeting fishermen and their fishing gear,” Ayash explains. The fishing trade is Gaza’s second largest, after agriculture; there are 4,500 fishermen in Gaza and 1,000 fishing boats, supporting some 50,000 family members. “The fishermen are critical for Palestinian food security,” he continues, and they “are being targeted by gunboats.” Each time they set off to fish, “they risk imprisonment or death.”

Hundreds of fishermen have been killed or arrested off the coast Gaza for fishing beyond 3 nautical miles; their job is among the most dangerous. The Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental human rights organization, stated that in 2022, there were over 441 violations by the Israeli navy against fishermen who were shot at, arrested or had their fishing boat confiscated; 64 were arrested, 21 were injured and 23 boats were confiscated.

A view of a fiberglass repair workshop for fishing boats supervised by the United Nations at the Gaza seaport, Nov. 29, 2022. Israel allowed fiberglass into the Palestinian enclave for the first time since 2007 under international supervision. Israel bans scores of items needed to repair fishing boats, claiming materials can be used for military purposes.

PHOTO BY MOHAMMED ABED/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Award‐winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports regularly on the Gaza Strip.

“Gazan fishermen can no longer support their families,” Ayash says. Israel has banned the import of spare parts for maintaining fishing vessels. Most boats have now been destroyed or fallen into disrepair. Ayash expects the fishing industry in Gaza to collapse and the number of fishermen to halve.

In the last week of November, Israeli gunboats opened fire on Palestinian fisherman Mubarak Baker, shooting him in the foot. He sailed back while bleeding and then had to await evacuation to Shifa Hospital’s emergency room.

Palestinian fishermen complain that they cannot work freely. Israel claims that they are permitted to fish across an area spanning 15 nautical miles to the south and 6 to the north of the Strip. The reality is that these fishermen can sail no further than 3 nautical miles before coming under fire, limiting them to a small over-fished area.

Another Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor report states that poverty levels have increased by nearly 30 percent over the last 16 years, while unemployment has risen by 26.6 percent. This report links these figures with import restrictions upon reparatory materials and spare parts.

A NIGHTMARE FOR REPAIRS

In Gaza City, Fawzi Alnajjar states that over the past three years, he has only worked one day per week.

“I have to visit the mechanic every week; I am accumulating unaffordable debt,” he says, while attempting to mend leaks in his boat himself. When he finally sets sail, the leaks soon force his return; “We are being suffocated by these restrictions.” Alnajjar calls upon the international community to put pressure on Israel to allow spare parts into Gaza’s coastal enclave.

There was a time when repairs were easy and affordable. With the blockade, however, they have become costly and scarce; some fishermen have given up, dumping their no-longer-salvageable boats

in the cemetery. Ayash insists that if Israeli restrictions are not relaxed, Gaza’s fishing sector risks complete collapse; the number of unserviceable boats continues to grow. Some are already 30 years old.

In defense of its actions, Israel cites its own security needs; the fishermen argue that their fishing boats aren’t security threats and that they have been forced into poverty.

Following months of negotiations, a U.N.initiated program was implemented to allow the import of repair materials for fishing vessels. However, related requests must still be submitted to and approved by Israel. In mid-November 2022, the first batch of these materials entered Gaza—the first since 2007. The shipment included 227 kg of fiberglass; 500 kg of polyester resin; and 31 kg of blue, white and yellow paint.

Many fishermen have no savings left. As Alnajjar explains, you will not find a fisherman who has not been forced to sell his wife’s engagement gold. Alnajjar knows that his 20-year-old boat is no longer fit to sail. Imported fiberglass is only a temporary solution; he must often sail back manually when his motor breaks down.

“It’s a tough job but we knew this when we inherited the trade from our fathers and greatgrandfathers,” the 59-year-old man says.

Most Gazan fishermen are left with few options. They must either accept bank-

ruptcy, leaving their disused boats on the roadside, or surrender them for spare parts.

SUSPENDED LIVES

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recently released a report titled “Gaza’s Youth: Suspended lives, fading opportunities,” presenting the findings of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) survey which found that 90 percent of young people in Gaza believe their lives to be “abnormal.” At least 20 percent of Gazans are between 18 and 29 years old. Almost all these individuals believe that “the next phase of their lives will continue to be defined by the same critical challenges they have faced in recent years.”

Approximately 66 percent of respondents stated that they depend on their families for income, while 40 percent said they had “no hope of finding a job opportunity in the next 15 years.”

The ability to purchase motors, propellers or fiberglass for their boats has become a dream for fishermen like Alnajjar; the tough reality is that, even should these become available, Israeli gunboats remain unlikely to allow passage into deeper waters, where bigger fish are found.

“Someone has to say enough is enough,” Alnajjar insists. “Gazan fishermen have seen enough suffering. The time has come for us to be allowed to survive.” ■

David Grossman Wins Prizes, But He’s Not The Real Hero of the Israeli Left

By Gideon Levy

Israeli journalists who dare to write about “controversial” topics: (l) prize‐winning David Grossman, giving a talk at Bibliothèques idéales, in Strasbourg, France on Sept. 4, 2014, and (r) Israel Frey, who was fired by DemocraTV, at an anti‐settlement protest outside the illegal outpost of Evyatar on Feb. 18, 2022.

WARM WISHES to David Grossman. The King of The Netherlands has just awarded Grossman the prestigious Erasmus Prize at the royal palace. One of the members of the prize committee explained that Grossman received the prize, among other reasons, for “daring to write about controversial political topics such as the occupied territories and the lives of the Palestinian minority in Israel.” Every one of these words is true. The wonderful author never distanced himself from “controversial topics.” But Grossman has always taken care to fight for positions within the bounds of Zionism. That is his belief and his right.

Grossman probably paid a price for his moderate positions, but it’s doubtful if much courage was required in stating them. In our camp, as they say, it’s allowed and even desirable to say “two states,” “Jewish and democratic,” and “a hollow leadership.” Grossman is an eloquent and impressive presenter of such positions, in Israel and around the world, having exposed the harsh conditions in the territories as far back as 1987, in his book The Yellow Wind. He is unrelenting in his campaign. After the death of Amos Oz, Grossman re-

Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist and author. This article was first published in Haaretz , Oct. 2, 2022 © Haaretz . Reprinted with permission.

mains the sole spiritual leader of the Zionist left. At the royal place in The Netherlands they also probably think as Grossman does, that the occupation is bad and that peace should be made.

While Grossman was shaking the hand of the king, another writer, less famous and glittering, was summoned for questioning by the police. Journalist Israel Frey was called to an interrogation after praising, on Twitter, a terrorist who was caught last September in Jaffa, since the terrorist had wished to harm only soldiers, not civilians. “Look what a hero he is. He made it all the way from Nablus to Tel Aviv, and even though all the Israelis around him somehow take part in oppressing, crushing and killing his own people—he still looked for legitimate targets and avoided harming the innocent. In a just world, he would have received a medal,” the tweet read.

Frey was fired from his job at DemocraTV, the quintessential leftist-Zionist TV station, and was later summoned for questioning by the police. He has already paid a price for his statement that no one on the Zionist left has ever paid. If the test of courage is paying a personal price, Frey is a hero.

Frey will not be invited to the royal palace in The Netherlands and will receive no prize for “daring to write about controversial political

PHOTO CREDIT© OREN ROZEN COURTESY CREATIVE COMMONS

PHOTO CREDIT© CLAUDE TRUONG-NGOC / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Just Another Dead Palestinian

ON A RECENT MONDAY

MORNING, Nov. 21, an Israeli soldier killed Mahmoud AbdelJalil al-Saadi on his way to school. We should not forget him and how he died.

By now, the boy’s name has long been buried along with his body.

Just another forgotten Palestinian reduced to an anonymous number who joins the 199 other Palestinians, including 47 children, who have been killed by an apartheid regime this year alone. [Those numbers grew within days of publication as Israeli violence escalated.] Israel is determined not only to drive Palestinians from their ancestral homelands using illegal edicts and brute force but to obliterate them in invasion after invasion and by attrition.

His name was Mahmoud alSaadi. He was 17. His home was a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. A picture of Mahmoud reveals a teenager with a thick mat of short-cropped, black hair, wearing a happy, if slightly wry, smile. A faint, thin black moustache was the unmistakable sign that this effervescent boy was on the cusp of becoming a man.

That Monday morning, Mahmoud was heading to school along with a gaggle of friends. His father, a relative said, had worked hard to make sure that his son and three daughters got an education as a way out of the grinding despair and toward, if possible, a “dignified future.”

“The occupation killed this joy,” the relative said. Indeed, it did.

On the way to his high school, Mahmoud—who was at the top of

By Andrew Mitrovica

his class—encountered Israeli soldiers who, in the pay and at the direction of an apartheid state, were raiding Jenin in a convoy of armored jeeps yet again.

Mahmoud decided to turn around and return home rather than risk, I suppose, the same fate as Shireen Abu Akleh, the renowned Palestinian-American journalist who was shot in the head while wearing a blue vest with “PRESS” written on it by an Israeli assassin on May 11 in Jenin.

Mahmoud did not make it home. (Nor, sadly, did a Canadian youngster, Aryeh Shechopek, aged 16, who was murdered on Nov. 23, while waiting for a bus on Jerusalem’s outskirts to take him to a Jewish seminary.)

Instead, Mahmoud was shot in the stomach by an Israeli soldier because he was a Palestinian and nearby. An easy, convenient killing of a child whose capital offense was, apparently, walking to school.

A wounded Mahmoud called out to his mates for help, telling them that he had been shot. They thought he was kidding. He stumbled forward for about five meters before resting on the ground. Frantic, his friends ferried his bloodied body by car to a nearby hospital. He could not be saved. He was pronounced dead at 9 a.m.

“A civilian succumbed to critical wounds after he was hit by live [Israeli] occupation bullets in the abdomen, in Jenin,” the Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed.

The Palestinian foreign affairs ministry described the killing as a “field execution” and a “heinous crime,” approved by powerful Israeli politicians.

A video taken at the hospital shows Mahmoud lying lifeless on a gurney. Friends and family hover over his pale body, weeping. One man leans in to kiss Mahmoud, now wrapped in a shroud, on his brow.

For Palestinians, it was a familiar scene of death, grief and mourn-

Palestinian high‐schooler Mahmoud Abdel‐Jalil al‐Saadi in Jenin, in the Occupied West Bank. Defense for Children says he was 17 and the 50th Palestinian child killed in 2022.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE AL-SAADI FAMILY

Andrew Mitrovica is an Al Jazeera columnist based in Toronto. This article was published on Nov. 25, 2022 in Al Jazeera. Reprinted with permission.

ing. But the murder of children no doubt makes that grief and mourning more acute and deeply felt.

It has happened so many times before. A 7-year-old child dying of fear after being chased by Israeli soldiers. Children flying kites have been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers perched on hills. Children playing football on the beach have been dismembered by rockets fired by Israeli pilots from high above.

None of the killers have been held to account. And they never will. Rather, they have been shielded and saluted as “heroes” for having protected Israel by killing Palestinian kids and journalists.

The predictable excuses will be trotted out again to defend the inexcusable. Israel is not to blame for Mahmoud’s death; Palestinians are, for resisting the occupation. Mahmoud was in the wrong place at the wrong time—as if he had another place to live and study. Given the confusing cacophony of war, the Israeli soldier made a regrettable, but understandable, “mistake.”

Much of the international press treated Mahmoud and the violent, state-sanctioned manner of his death as unworthy of their notice or attention.

Just another dead Palestinian.

Western governments and their preening leaders, who are always quick to denounce the killing of innocents by the usual gallery of “rogue” states, have gone mute for fear of offending a nation they believe enjoys carte blanche to shoot Palestinian boys and girls.

It was, of course, left to Palestinians to celebrate Mahmoud’s full life and to condemn his sudden death.

Mahmoud was remembered as a generous soul with a “golden heart” who showed promise and purpose as a member of the Jenin Freedom Theater, where he was a mentor to younger students and a champion of “hope” over misery.

“Your heart was big enough to embrace the whole camp, its streets and its homes,” a friend wrote. “I think of you coming to the stage, and joining the workshops to have

fun and play. This is what hurts me the most, that the boy with a golden heart is gone.”

Mahmoud’s body—wrapped in a Palestinian flag—was carried aloft on an orange stretcher through the streets of Jenin, followed by a throng of chanting mourners.

A grey backpack lay at his feet. A poignant reminder of Mahmoud’s youth and his intent to fulfil his father’s dream to enjoy a “dignified future” by going to school.

Mahmoud must not be forgotten. To forget what happened to Mahmoud would mean to accept what happened to him and where and why he was killed. To accept what happened to Mahmoud would mean accepting what happens every day to every imprisoned Palestinian—young or old. To accept what happened to Mahmoud would mean exonerating the perpetrators responsible for his death.

While others may be eager to forget and accept what happened to Mahmoud, we should not. Decency and history demand that we not forget.

Je me souviens. ■

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Palestine. in reedom f foor truggl e s h and policymakers who affect t ef r the movements, activists ove e c At Mondoweiss, w

important than ever. fearless, independent journalism is more th year of publication, Mondoweiss’s Now in our 16 the world’s struggles interconnect. resistance and hope – stories that show us all how We cover Palestinians’ stories of occupation, 29 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

A Mossad Kidnapping in Malaysia?

By John Gee

Hundreds of Malaysian and Palestinian protesters carrying Palestinian flags and anti ‐Australia banners rally outside of the Australian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 21, 2018. Protesters gathered against Australia’s decision to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet reversed that decision on Oct. 18, 2022, saying the status of the city should be resolved through peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people.

A STRANGE TALE of Mossad skullduggery was first reported in the Malaysian media on Oct. 18, 2022. The New Straits Times carried an article titled “Mossad behind KL abduction.” It claimed that a group of Malaysians had been recruited by the Israeli external intelligence service to abduct a Palestinian living in Malaysia. The editor of the NST’s newspaper group was questioned by Malaysian police the following day, since the article had revealed information about an investigation in progress on which the police had not yet provided any public information. Eleven people had already been arrested for suspected involvement in the crime; two more were arrested on October 26.

The Palestinian who was abducted was named Omar ZM Albelbaisy Raeda. He was said to be a computer programmer with links

John Gee is a free ‐ lance journalist based in Singapore and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel.

to Hamas. Raeda was seized and forced into a car on a street near the Petronas Twin Towers, right in the center of Kuala Lumpur. The kidnapping occurred on Sept. 28, at 10:30 pm. He was taken to a chalet in a location in Hulu Langat, a scenic, mainly rural district to the east of Kuala Lumpur. There he was subjected to beating by his captors, allegedly to compel him to answer questions posed by Mossad officers through a video call.

Raeda’s interrogators wanted to know about his experience in developing computer applications and questioned him about connections to Hamas, wanting him to give the names of whatever contacts he had, according to a New Straits Times report.

The kidnapping was reported in articles in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on Oct. 19 and 25 (see “Other Voices” supplement), with a few differences from the initial Malaysian reports, perhaps based on information from other sources. This article said that the Malaysian kidnappers had been trained by Mossad in Europe. It

PHOTO BY CHRIS JUNG/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

identified the victim of the abduction as an Android software developer from Gaza, and indicated that he was not the intended target of the operation. “A second Palestinian, who was the alleged target of the abduction, alerted local police,” said the Haaretz article.

The eleven Malaysians who were arrested in connection to the incident could face life imprisonment or death if convicted of kidnapping.

Only four years ago, on April 21, 2018, Dr. Fadi Mohammed al-Batsh, a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who was a lecturer in electrical engineering at a Malaysian university was gunned down by two men on motorcycles while walking to a local mosque in Kuala Lumpur for dawn prayers. Hamas later confirmed that he was a member of the organization, but other sources said that he took no part in producing weapons. Israel denied any role in his assassination, although then-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman alleged that he was a rocket expert. He ascribed the murder to an internal Palestinian dispute. In January 2022, it was reported that Malaysian police had requested Palestinian cooperation in

extraditing a man who was detained on January 10, accused of the assassination. The Hamas-run interior ministry reported that he had confessed to having been recruited by Mossad. Malaysia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

AUSTRALIA CORRECTS BAD DECISION

In October, Australia’s recently elected Labor government announced that it was reversing a four-year-old decision to recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. That initiative was taken by the previous Liberal-National Party government of Scott Morrison.

Morrison raised the prospect of transferring Australia’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in October 2018, when his Liberal party faced a key by-election in the Wentworth seat of Sydney, where there is a sizeable Jewish community, whose votes he hoped to rally. The ploy failed and the Liberals lost the byelection, but that December, Morrison announced that Australia would recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital but keep its embassy in Tel Aviv. Because

Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, this was seen as a compromise move at the time in the face of opposition from many people in Australia and from Indonesia, one of its most important bilateral relationships.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the 2018 decision had undermined peace and “put Australia out of step with the majority of the international community,” although she stressed that Australia was a friend of Israel. The decision was criticized by the Israeli government and welcomed warmly by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh. Hamas gave the move a cooler reception, saying that it was a step in the right direction—no doubt in consideration of the fact that overall Australian policy remains weighted against the Palestinian people.

Bad policy decisions of previous governments in international relations can be put right. When President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. embassy there, he thought that it was an irreversible decision, but it shouldn’t be, especially in light of international resolutions and law. ■

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The Next Iran

WHEN I WAS TURNING 8 or 9, my parents let me pick the restaurant we’d dine at to celebrate my birthday with a few friends. I picked an Indian restaurant not too far from our house in Tehran, more because I was intrigued by the idea of this spicy exotic cuisine than because I yearned for the thing itself. Seemingly playing to such ethnic curiosity, the owners of the restaurant had cranked the tacky-Indian-décor factor to eleven. No matter where you looked, your eyes ended up resting on some tapestry featuring an ornamented elephant fit for a Mughal prince or a statuette of Shiva the god destroyer.

The place was secluded when we arrived, the lighting was dim, and it felt so private that the dining area might as well have been an extension of our own living room (that is, if we lived in a house that could have doubled as a set for “Indiana Jones: The Temple of

Sohrab Ahmari is a founder and editor of Compact magazine, a con‐tributing editor of The American Conservative, and a visiting fellow of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University. First published by The American Conservative on Dec 6, 2022. Reprinted with permission.

By Sohrab Ahmari

Doom”). The sense of secluded comfort must have made an especially strong impression on my mother, who did something unspeakable in the Islamic Republic of Iran as we sat down: she took off her headscarf and laid it on the back of her chair.

I won’t soon forget the reactions of our friends and of the waiter hovering in the background—or the mix of bafflement, fear and excitement that overcame me. All of us might as well have witnessed one of those Shiva statuettes coming to life to announce the end of the age in some inscrutable tongue and otherworldly voice. No one said a word, but the looks of shock alerted my mother that something was amiss with her appearance. You don’t do that in Iran, all said, silently. Think of the morality police! After another beat, she raced to bring herself into conformity with the law of the land. The torn fabric of everyday reality reconstituted itself, and soon we, my mother and the waiter included, were laughing about the incident.

Now, nearly three decades later, that fabric is coming apart on a much greater—indeed, national—scale. When it finally does reconstitute itself, the country won’t be the same.

In response to the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Zina Amini last September (which set off waves of protest that continue to this writing), Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, said in early December that the morality police, known as the gasht-e-irshad, had been disbanded. He added that the government is reconsidering the compulsory hijab rules that have pestered more secular-minded Iranian women, like my mother and my late maternal grandmother, since the revolutionary regime’s beginnings. Although it is unclear whether Montazeri’s statement represents a real shift in policy, it is significant that his off-the-cuff remarks were memorialized by state-run media—though other state organs have notably contradicted him.

Whether the hijab rule has been abrogated, and whether the morality police have been formally abolished, the old order is de facto kaput. As the nationalist vlogger Omid Dana—a far more reliable Iran watcher than the likes of the BBC and Voice of America, though sadly

woman standing on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way toward Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, to mark 40 days since her death.

UGC/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

his content is exclusively in Persian—has reported, easily 50 percent of women in large cities are no longer covering up. The figures, Dana says, are likely higher in the more affluent neighborhoods. Enforcement is no more. Filmmakers dealing with domestic scenes are reportedly doing double takes of each scene, one with female actresses in hijab and the other without it, in the expectation that they will soon be permitted to show uncovered women on state TV.

What was once unthinkable and unsayable in the Islamic Republic has become quotidian. On state TV, for example, a cleric named Reza Gholami explained why Iran has been exploding with social turmoil:

“In years past, we committed mistakes in governance, and these mistakes have increased of late. One reason has to do with the growing complexity and delicacy of the governing arena. Governance in today’s global conditions has nothing to do with governance 30, 40 years ago...In today’s atmosphere, we have to accept that the security forces have done wrong. For starters, the security forces shouldn’t have been in the business of enforcing hijab in the first place, and this person

[Mahsa Amini, the woman whose death at the hands of the morality police sparked weeks of protests] wasn’t even wearing bad hijab to such a degree that it required her detention...And in recent months, as a result of a long process, we confront a vast social polarization, a polarization that is now accelerating, and elements within the Islamic leadership and system caused this polarization to widen.”

These are stunning words. Here you have a member of the ruling clerics taking to state media to blame not the United States, nor Israel, nor Britain, but the regime’s own mismanagement of popular demands. And they are popular. Last month Mostafa Rostami, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative to the universities, conceded that 55 percent of the population, or roughly 44 million Iranians, approved of the anti-hijab protests, according to the regime’s own internal surveys.

What comes next remains unclear. There are those in the West who think these transformations prefigure a regimechange scenario. I used to be among their ranks. But the Middle East’s experience over the past two decades has

taught me to be wary of turmoil.

Fact is, the regime enjoys a hard core of supporters who fervently believe its message and materially benefit from it. I would put the figure at about 20 million—20 million people who have given life and limb for the Islamic order founded by the Ayatollah Khomeini and who happen to control the most powerful and prestigious elements of the security forces. Iran, moreover, is a multinational state riven by ethnic and sectarian fault lines. No one should welcome its violent dissolution amid internal turmoil, because a civil-war scenario in Iran would make Syria look benign.

The saner route, as I argued Commentary in 2018 and the New York Post a year later, is a managed transition involving figures inside the security forces, men who realize that Khomeini’s brand of Islamism has run its course, that an Iran governed along more nationalist lines can deliver the normalcy—which is not necessarily liberal democracy—for which the people are so desperate. At stake is nothing less than the stability and territorial integrity of one of the most strategically significant nations on earth. ■

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U.S.-Saudi Ties Hit a “Rough Patch”

By Stasa Salacanin

impact of the sanctions, but the Kingdom as well as OPEC members dismissed the accusations.

Suhail al Mazroui, the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, said that the decision is “technical, not political,” and Haitham al Ghais, the secretarygeneral of OPEC, insisted that OPEC+ is working to provide “security [and] stability to the energy markets.”

16, 2022.

THE 13 OPEC member countries plus 10 other oil-producing countries including Russia (referred to collectively as OPEC+) announced in Vienna, on Oct. 5, a sharp cut of output by two million barrels per day, which equals around two percent of global supply.

The announcement immediately caused shockwaves across the entire globe. The decision was roundly condemned in Washington, which believed it had achieved an understanding over this issue during the July meeting between President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that Saudi Arabia would boost oil production to bring down global oil prices. It has become evident, however, that Biden’s trip has not produced the desired outcome and just confirmed the assumptions of those who criticized his meeting with the Saudi de facto ruler.

U.S.-SAUDI DIVERGING INTERESTS

The Biden administration immediately accused Saudi Arabia of supporting Russia by increasing its oil profits and lowering the

Stasa Salacanin is a widely published author and analyst focusing on the Middle East and Europe. He produces in‐depth analysis of the region’s most pertinent issues for regional and international publications including the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Middle East Monitor, The New Arab, Gulf News, Al Bawaba, Qantara, Inside Arabia and many more.

Despite sporadic attempts to fix the deteriorating relations (such as Biden’s July visit), numerous frictions have accumulated over the years between Washington and Riyadh over such issues as the war in Yemen, foreign policy, pricing of oil in the Chinese yuan, energy prices and the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In the words of Joseph A. Kéchichian, a prominent expert on Saudi-U.S. relations and a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, “beyond any misunderstandings that may exist between Saudi Arabia and the United States over the October OPEC+ decisions, there is a desire on the part of the Kingdom not to be taken for granted.” Although Washington is the senior partner in this relationship, he explained that “Riyadh is no longer interested in playing a third fiddle, and would very much like to be taken far more seriously than the United States is willing to grant.” This is the crux of the matter, he insists; this is “the legitimate search for relevance by the world’s premier oil producer.”

Washington was naive to expect that Saudi Arabia will automatically follow the U.S.-led crusade against Russia and simply deliver enough oil to keep the prices low. The Saudis evidently refused to take a hit and opted to continue to fund its own diversification projects at home. The Kingdom has significant development plans to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, such as the erection of the smart city of NEOM—the country’s flagship business and tourism project, expected to cost a $1 trillion upon completion.

Many Arab leaders don’t want to take sides in a conflict between Russia, China, the U.S and other Western countries. U.S. President Joe Biden and Arab leaders attend the Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July

PHOTO BY ROYAL HASHEMITE COURT/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

BACK?

Washington views the recent decision of OPEC and OPEC+ as a hostile and politically motivated act. While the Western world, led by the U.S., tries to enforce the narrative that the current crises and hostilities with Russia and China will reshape future strategic and international relations and expects the rest of the world to choose sides, the conflict is viewed differently in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Africa and including the Gulf region.

Joe Macaron, an independent geopolitical analyst and consultant, observes that the problems between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia predate the conflict in Ukraine and that the Saudi position remains relatively neutral on this issue, neither endorsing the Russian invasion nor imposing sanctions on Moscow.

Kéchichian recalls that Riyadh upheld Ukraine’s sovereignty and voted with Kyiv at the United Nations in a decision that irritated Moscow. This, above all else, “illustrated that Riyadh has not chosen the Russian side—notwithstanding poorly informed Western propagandists whose agenda is to portray a Saudi-American crisis where only temporary misunderstandings exist,” he told the Washington Report. As Saudi leadership is keen to forge solid ties with all global powers, Kéchichian is convinced that Saudi Arabia will continue to pursue such an approach.

However, Macaron thinks that the “conflict in Ukraine reinforced how U.S. and Saudi interests are no longer aligned, especially when there is a Democratic president in the White House.” He noticed that “the Biden administration might seek to mend fences with the Saudi leadership in the coming period,” but believes this might be complicated “given the U.S. domestic pressure and the Saudi perception that this might be Biden’s last term as president.”

ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

While it is no secret that Saudi-U.S. relations had been far warmer during the

Trump administration than they are today, some media outlets and authors have speculated that the Saudi decision to cut output was actually aimed at shaking up U.S. domestic affairs just before midterm elections to weaken the position of the Democratic Party. Although it is difficult to assess the calculations of the Saudi leadership, Macaron thinks that although “they definitely considered the political impact of their oil decision on the U.S. domestic politics, this might not have been the primary motivation for their decision.” He noted that “Riyadh’s oil decision is above all a self-serving act.”

Kéchichian also categorically plays down such speculations. He is convinced that “Riyadh is not part of, not interested in, and cannot possibly influence American domestic political life even if wanted to.” He attributes such theses to “daily alphabet soups of entertaining rhetoric” of some media aimed “to fill pages and airwaves.”

WILL THE U.S. RETALIATE?

Loud voices in Congress have called for retaliatory measures against Riyadh. Macaron believes that only a consensus in Congress can impose a change of policy on the White House. However, a cut in oil production does not provide a legal ground for punitive measures; “the U.S. can resort to other outstanding issues to take retaliatory actions against Saudi Arabia if that’s the path it wants to choose.”

Members of Congress have debated legislation that would inflict pain on the Kingdom. For instance, legislative director for Middle East policy Hassan El-Tayyab, from Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), recently published an article on FCLN’s web site that argues that the Yemen War Power Resolution would end U.S. military support to Saudi Arabia—and implicitly Saudi aggression in Yemen. Enacting this legislation would significantly change U.S.Saudi relations, and El-Tayyab believes that this would be an appropriate response to Crown Prince Salman, showing him that Washington’s support for Riyadh is not unconditional and that it is ready to reconsider security guarantees.

The export of U.S. military equipment is also seen as providing leverage over Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is the largest customer for U.S. military equipment, with more than $100 billion in active military contracts. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Riyadh bought 23 percent of all U.S. weapons sold between 2017 and 2021.

But halting security cooperation could be very short-sighted. “It is not in the interest of the United States to threaten Saudi Arabia; one ought not to cut off one’s own nose as it seeks short-term gains that smack more of revenge than calculated policies,” according to Kéchichian. He recalls that “Washington is the ultimate beneficiary of the eight-decades-long securityfor-oil relationship that has been forged by several administrations, which will continue as long as the United States aspires to lead the international community.” While there is always the option of punishing Saudi Arabia by curtailing or severely cutting the security relationship, he warns that this is a double-edged sword that will accomplish very little.

Indeed, recalibration of U.S.-Saudi relations may affect the overall ties with Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The council members share similar diversification strategies toward great powers, and the U.S. may further weaken its stance in the Middle East.

Both the U.S. and France sought to appease the Saudi leadership ahead of the next OPEC meeting. French President Emmanuel Macron called on the Biden administration to recommended that the U.S. not sue bin Salman in U.S. courts for the killing of Khashoggi. Biden agreed, but this might not be enough; the Saudi prince seeks to ascend to power with the widest global recognition possible. Given the status of the global energy market, “one should not expect a big Saudi policy shift in the next OPEC meeting,” Kéchichian concluded.

The Kingdom’s plans to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons require a steady cash flow, meaning that oil prices must remain at a certain level. It’s that simple. ■

Special

Report

A photo taken in April 2014, as the author, Mustafa Fetouri, inspected the Al‐Gharai family’s home, east of Tripoli, hit by NATO in 2011.

WHEN THE SO-CALLED “Arab Spring” reached Libya in February 2011, it turned into a civil war. The world witnessed massive protests of citizens demanding freedom in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but foreign military intervention played a critical and divisive role in Libya’s bloody spring.

Mustafa Fetouri is a Libyan academic and freelance journalist. He is a recipient of the EU’s Freedom of the Press prize. He has written extensively for various media outlets on Libyan and MENA issues. He has published three books in Arabic. His email is mustafa fetouri@hotmail.com and Twitter: @MFetouri.

How did the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) get involved in what should have been an internal issue? Accusing Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi government of using heavy weapons to suppress demonstrations, the Western world went to the United Nations Security Council. The council adopted two resolutions in the space of three weeks. Resolution 1970, adopted on Feb. 26, 2011, imposed harsh sanctions on the country and was followed by Resolution 1973, adopted on March 17, authorizing the use of force against the Libyan government.

PHOTO COURTESY M. FETOURI

Killed By NATO, Betrayed by Their Government: Libyan Survivors Look for Answers

essary measures” to “protect civilians and civilian populated areas” allegedly under attack by the Qaddafi government. At this point the U.N. hardly understood what was happening inside Libya, yet it went ahead and, literally, invited any willing state to bomb Libya.

On March 19, France, the U.S. and UK launched the first sea and air attacks against targets inside Libya. By the end of March, NATO took over by launching its own military operation, code-named “Unified Protector,” to enforce Resolution 1973, aiming to protect Libyan civilians by imposing a no-fly zone over the country. At the time the entire Libyan air force and its civilian aircrafts were already grounded by Resolution 1970. More countries like Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar joined the NATO-led campaign.

NATO STRIKES IN LIBYA

On the night of Aug. 4, 2011, Mustafa alMorabit, his wife Ibtisam, his two sons Mohamed, 5, and Mo’taz, 3, were sleeping in his home in Zlitin, about 170 k.m. east of Tripoli, Libya, when a NATO rocket hit, at 6:30 a.m., killing Ibtisam and their two children. Until today Mustafa, who survived, still does not know who killed his family or why.

In Souq al-Juma’a district, east of the capital Tripoli, Mohamed al-Gharari was asleep on the night of June 19 when a NATO missile hit his family home, killing his brother Faraj, 48, sister Karima, 38, her 44-year-old husband ’Abdallah Shihab, and their two children, Jomana, 2, and Khaled, 7 months old. Eight others sustained injuries. This is the only occasion in which NATO admitted that it might have killed civilians. Later on the same day, the alliance’s statement said “NATO regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives” and blamed “a weapons system failure” as a possible cause for the strike. The bombardment continued and civilian causalities kept mounting, but NATO never acknowledged any more civilian deaths despite conducting some 26,000 sorties over Libya.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR LIBYAN CASUALTIES

The destruction of Libya continued for seven months. By the time the bombardment stopped, in October 2011, hundreds of civilians were killed, Libya was ruined and ungovernable, and Qaddafi himself was murdered, paving the way for NATO to declare victory as if it had just prevailed over a superpower.

Eleven years later, no one knows exactly how many women, children and elderly Libyans were killed. While most deaths are well documented, a precise figure has eluded even major international rights groups who investigated what happened. Amnesty International, for example, puts the death toll at 55 civilians while Human Rights Watch estimates the number to be 72, one-third of whom were children under the age of 8. In the latest investigation conducted just last year by Airwars, an independent investigation web site, estimated that anywhere from 223 to 403 civilians were killed by NATO air strikes over Libya from March to October. I conducted numerous eye-witness interviews in 2015 and think the figure is around 200 Libyans killed. Most of the civilian deaths occurred in residential areas, private homes and farm land in more than 10 cities and towns across western Libya, including Tripoli; Surman, west of Tripoli; Bani Walid in the southwest; and Berga, east of the capital.

NATO has never investigated the deaths and still does not acknowledge any responsibility. Over several years I wrote to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, asking for answers, but no one answered my questions. In October 2015 I attended a NATO-organized event in Madrid, Spain, where I confronted the alliance’s then Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow and asked whether NATO knew how many civilians were killed in Libya. He denied that a single civilian ever was killed despite NATO admitting to at least one incident—the aforementioned incident in Souq al-Juma’a. His colleague, Catherine Royle, Political

Adviser, Joint Forces Command Brunssum, refused to discuss the issue.

SEEKING JUSTICE THROUGH THE COURTS

In 2012, Khaled el-Hamedi, who lost his entire family when NATO destroyed his family residential compound in Surman, in June 2011, brought a case before a Belgian court. Two years later his lawyer, Jan Fermon, told me that the case was rejected because NATO, as an organization, has diplomatic immunity. In October 2021, in Paris, France Fermon reported that he is preparing to file a case before the European Court of Human Rights as a last resort to get some kind of acknowledgment and maybe an apology from the alliance. However the prospects of getting either are pretty slim.

In 2012, survivor Mohamed al-Gharari appointed a Belgian lawyer to hold NATO accountable. He paid him several thousand dollars but nothing happened and the lawyer never contacted him again. Desperate, Al-Gharari turned to me asking if I could get in touch with the elusive Georges Henri Beauthier, the lawyer. I tried several times but in vain.

RESPONSE OF LIBYAN OFFICIALS

The other painful side of the tragedy for NATO victims’ families is purely Libyan. All successive governments that have come to power in Libya since October 2011 failed to do anything to help them. They do not seem to think that their fellow Libyan civilians killed by NATO deserve some kind of recognition.

Worst still, the entire judicial community in Libya, including private lawyers, have for political reasons shunned the issue and hesitated to even meet with the victims’ families. The latest attempt was last summer when Al-Gharari and Al-Morabit petitioned Libya’s Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate the matter. Several months later the petition was shelved. Just last November I wrote to several private lawyers in Tripoli asking whether they would meet some of the victims’ an-

Handshakes and Tensions in Elections Countdown

By Jonathan Gorvett

WHEN TURKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan grasped the hand of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at November’s opening of the soccer World Cup in Qatar, jaws dropped from Doha to Cairo, and from Luxor to Ankara.

The Turkish leader had supported the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government in Egypt—and even adopted the MB’s four-finger salute after el-Sisi’s troops killed hundreds of MB supporters in August 2013. He had spent years slamming el-Sisi and his military rule.

Yet this enormous U-turn was only one of several undertaken by Erdogan recently, with peace overtures also now underway to President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the government of newly reelected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Israel.

On the domestic front, former foes in Turkey’s Kurdish political movement have also been courted by senior figures in Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP)/National Movement Party (MHP) coalition government.

Those overtures ended when a horrific bomb explosion on Istanbul’s crowded Istiklal Caddesi Avenue killed six and wounded many more on Nov. 13. Blamed by the government on Kurdish militants, the bombing led to a wave of Turkish airstrikes and artillery barrages on Kurdish targets in northern Syria, along with repeated threats of a ground invasion.

For many, what lies behind these expected and unexpected developments is a single event: the June 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. Widely described as the most significant in two decades, the balloting will pitch Erdogan and his AKP/MHP coalition against a collection of opposition parties, who have their best chance in years of taking office.

Yet Turkey’s veteran president has a range of cards to play still and a lot of new hands to shake.

THE LONG AND THE SHORT

Elections are often won or lost on the back of economic concerns— and Turks certainly have plenty of those right now.

In October 2022, inflation was running at an official 85.51 percent,

Turkish flags line Istiklal Avenue after the deadly terror attack in Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey on Nov. 16, 2022.

PHOTO BY MURAT SENGUL/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Jonathan Gorvett is a free‐lance writer specializing on European and Middle Eastern affairs.

although many would claim that was an under-estimation. The Turkish lira has received a battering in recent times, too, making vital imports, such as oil and gas, much more expensive.

At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered lockdowns, which in turn led to a major slump in one of the country’s most important sectors, tourism.

These factors—and a perception that Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies were fanning the flames of inflation and currency depreciation—have led to a significant boost for the opposition. Six of the opposition parties have also managed to establish an alliance, dubbed the “table of six,” which many Turkish voters appreciate.

Yet Turkey’s wily leader is still very much a force to be reckoned with. On the economy, Erdogan has recently announced a new housing incentive program and an early retirement scheme, popular policies previously advocated by the opposition.

Inflation is likely to fall, too, due to the “base effect”—prices have already risen so much that further rises will start from a much higher baseline. The summer of 2022 was also a good one for the tourism industry; currency devaluation made Turkey a much cheaper destination than its European rivals.

Erdogan’s foreign policy has also helped the economy. NATO member Turkey has maintained good relations with Russia, receiving a flood of Russian oligarchs, oppositionists and draft-dodgers— along with their money—since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More discreetly, Turkey has also become a sanctions work-around for Russian trade with Europe and the West.

Iranians now constitute the third largest foreign purchasers of real estate in Turkey, as their country rumbles with protests and uncertainty.

Erdogan’s sudden friendships with old regional foes also have a major economic angle. “With the economy on a tightrope, Erdogan needs to find as much investment as he can,” Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, from the German Marshall Fund in Ankara, told the Washington Report. “So he has been much

more conciliatory with countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

A major influx of foreign exchange has thus recently enabled the central bank to stabilize the currency, which in turn should help bring down inflation and ease the burden on Turkish voters.

OPPOSITION DILEMMAS

Erdogan’s domestic woes have been eased further by the inability of the six-party opposition to coalesce around a single presidential candidate to run against him.

The 73-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the largest opposition grouping, the left-of-center Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP), has made it clear he would like to run. But so would Meral Aksener, leader of the right-wing Good Party (İYİ Party). And most opinion polls suggest that the CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, would be more popular than either.

A further divisive issue is the “seventh leg” of the six-leg opposition table—the proKurdish Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP). This is also very much opposed to Erdogan and the AKP/MHP coalition. The CHP is open to including the pro-Kurdish party, but the right-wing İYİ Party cannot work with a group many of its members see as a front for the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), with whom the Turkish state has been fighting since the 1980s.

Sensing this division, the AKP made some conciliatory moves toward the HDP earlier this year, consulting them on possible future constitutional changes and allowing the HDP’s imprisoned leader, Selahattin Demirtas, to visit his ailing father.

After the Istanbul bombing, however, those goodwill gestures ended. The AKP/MHP now uses the HDP (and its alleged connections to the PKK) as a wedge issue to break support away from the İYİ Party.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 14, Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in jail and banned from politics for criticizing the election officials who overturned his mayoral election victory back in March 2019. While Imamoglu was elected mayor again a few months later, he had called the

decision by the AKP/MHP-appointed officials “foolish.” His sentence and the ban must be confirmed by an appeals court.

This illustrates another of Erdogan’s weapons in the 2023 vote: the AKP/MHP’s control over what can and can’t be said, thanks to a battery of draconian media laws.

This control was tightened further in November with the passing of a new online censorship law, which introduced the crime of “disinformation.” This received its first usage after the Istanbul bombing, when social media channels were shut down and TV was banned from broadcasting news of the blast.

That blast was blamed on Kurdish militants from Syria, with the chief suspect described as having got to Istanbul via a shortlist of places Ankara has been looking to attack for several years.

These include Kobane—where U.S. special forces are also deployed, alongside the largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and People’s Defense Units (YPG)—and Tell Rifaat, where Russian forces are stationed alongside the SDF and YPG.

Retaliatory strikes on these areas, which came shortly after the bombing, were thus likely limited by the presence of these foreign powers, both of whom have warned Turkey against wider action.

With winter now here, a Turkish ground offensive is less likely, although further air and artillery strikes are almost certain. In the spring, with the Turkish elections by then only a few weeks away, that calculation could change.

“We’ve seen this all before,” Erdem Aydin from the political risk and corporate intelligence consulting firm RDM Advisory in Istanbul told the Washington Report. “In 2015, 2016, 2017—there was an escalation of violence in the run up to elections.”

Until Nov. 13, there had been no bombings in major Turkish cities since 2017. Many will be hoping and praying that the atrocity in Istanbul does not signal a repeat of those grim old days as the Turkish Republic prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2023. ■

A Sobering Visit to Beirut

Photos and Article By

Cat Essoyan

An old house on the corniche overlooking the sea.

I VISITED LEBANON in early November 2022 in my capacity as a board member for the UK and Belgium boards of the Near East Foundation. It was a sobering time to be in a place to which I still feel deeply attached. I stayed in the famed Hamra area, known for its shops and nightlife, but it had a beaten down, tired air to it, lacking the positive energy it exuded on previous visits. Instead, I saw lines of people waiting outside banks and encountered beggars on

Cat Essoyan is a member of the UK and Belgium boards of the Near East Foundation. She lived in Beirut from 1965 to 1973, graduating from the American Community School. She has a BA in Literature from Yale and an MA in Middle East Studies from Harvard. She vis‐ited Beirut regularly when she worked on issues related to the MENA region, first for the American Friends Service Committee from 1982 to 1992, and then for Oxfam Novib from 1992 to 2021. She has lived in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands since 1992.

the streets. There were big trucks delivering water to buildings and noisy diesel generators on the sidewalks, contributing to air pollution. Energy costs are prohibitive and there are limited hours of electricity provision, which is a challenge for everyone, particularly small businesses.

A year prior to my trip, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) estimated that almost 75 percent of the Lebanese population lived in poverty. I was told that the middle class has effectively disappeared. Since the banking sector collapse in 2019, there is a huge discrepancy between exchange rates of the Lebanese pound to the dollar, with the official rate set at 1,500 LL to the dollar while the black-market rate during my visit was at around 37,000 LL. For those paid in Lebanese pounds, the effects of this are devastating. A teacher who used to earn the equivalent of USD 4,000 a month now effectively earns

USD 300. A policeman or member of the army used to earn the equivalent of USD 1,000 a month and now earns USD 70 and is usually obliged to take on a second or third job, for example driving a taxi, to try to cope.

There are stark contrasts and sharp inequalities. While many shops and restaurants have closed, a number of new ones are being opened. While many of the lovely old Lebanese buildings are in disrepair, huge skyscrapers now fill the skyline and construction is underway on new buildings, for example near the American University Hospital. While Hamra is a shadow of its former self, the Gemmayze night life is vibrant and lively. If one’s salary is dollarized, one can afford to go out, if one is paid in Lebanese pounds it is desperately difficult to survive.

People are unable to access savings in their bank accounts and the fear is that a lot of that money is no longer there, stolen and moved to bank accounts overseas. Rumors suggest that many banks in Lebanon will not survive the present crisis. At the same time, I heard that investment is starting again in Lebanon, which would be encouraging, but I was told it will be essential to stabilize the currency in order to move forward. Some argue that it is good that the present economic collapse happened because in the past the government was heavily subsidizing the costs of medicine and fuel and going quietly deeper into debt, which was not sustainable.

The day before I arrived, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun had stepped down at the end of his six-year term. People expected it could take more than six months to reach consensus about his successor. In the most recent elections, ten new independent candidates were elected to the parliament. Although this is not a large number, it was a positive step and these new parliamentarians are now endeavoring to share with the public the discussions in government, a welcome change from the past when little was known about such deliberations. In the wake of the maritime oil exploration agreement with Israel, and the last elections where they lost seats, I heard that

(Top) An old building in the Hamra area of Beirut. (Above): The American University of Beirut gate on Bliss Street.

Hezbollah had reduced its level of preparedness for conflict.

Many feel that the present crisis is the worst Lebanon has ever faced. Some are doubtful the country will be able to recover this time. Some people I asked bristled when I referred to the fabled resilience of the Lebanese population. People are tired and discouraged. The country is still feeling the repercussions of the devastating Beirut blast and the failure of the government to be held accountable. Many people who can are again leaving the country, as they did during Lebanon’s civil war. On the

other hand, one person quoted to me a proverb that if you throw a cat in the air, it will always land on its four feet. It remains to be seen.

It is of course impossible to know what the future will bring for Lebanon but on a personal level it was good to be there. I took long walks across Beirut, revisiting my high school and the Raouche neighborhood I lived in 50 years ago, sparking many memories but also noticing a lot that has changed.

I went to a multimedia exhibit called “Allo Beirut” in the Beit Beirut building. It uses

video and audio tapes to recall the Beirut of the 1960s, and through the civil war, and is evocative of Lebanon’s multi-confessional character. Beirut remains a beautiful city, with the corniche and the sea, the lovely green haven of the AUB campus and the old buildings still standing. Of course, it goes without saying that Lebanese food is still the best in the region.

Despite the current obstacles, I still believe in the strength and positive energy of the Lebanese people and hope they will once again be able to meet the formidable challenges facing their country. ■

The corniche boulevard along the sea coast. INSERT: The old lighthouse in the Manara area of Beirut.

Flooded with Corruption: Pakistan’s Relief Effort

By Hasan Aga

*The

AS THE MONSOON clouds congregated over Pakistan, people barely batted an eyelid. A country born out of conflict has grown accustomed to being tested in various ways and often without warning.

Pakistanis are enduring a plummeting economy, skyrocketing inflation and serious political upheaval with the popular Prime Minister Imran Khan having been ousted in a controversial move in April 2022. So when the skies turned grey and the clouds rained down mercilessly, the Pakistanis just took it in stride. But as the days went by and the rain failed to relent, the water levels rose and the battlehardened Pakistanis knew what was coming. Neglected infrastructure eventually relented and people, homes and everything in between were washed away in another blow to an exhausted society.

Pakistan is no stranger to natural disasters. The 2005 earthquake took almost 80,000 lives, and the floods of 2010, 2011 and 2012 devastated the country; thousands lost their lives, and damages were estimated at $16 billion. According to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, the death toll from the 2022 floods has reached nearly 1,700, displaced over 33 million and caused economic damages to the tune of $40 billion.

Hasan Aga, an avid explorer of foreign cuisines, cultures and history, writes on his travels and work across conflict zones, natural wonders and all places in between.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO UNPRECEDENTED FLOODING

Visiting Pakistan in October 2022, I met and spoke with individuals representing various associations who are playing an active role in the flood relief and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

I asked district-level government official Junaid Khan* about the government’s strategy to address the country’s most recent aquatic disaster and its rate of progress.

“I would say if we break it down into three phases—immediate response, relief work and rehabilitation—we are into the last one. I would say we are currently at 60-70 percent completion. We have faced a number of challenges, such as getting people back into their homes where the water has receded, helping rebuild these homes, stopping waterborne diseases and getting general life back on track. Then we have to implement permanent changes before the next disaster, and that is what would bring the process up to 100 percent,” Khan said.

Earlier in the relief effort, he said, their responsibilities included settling internally displaced persons (IDPs) in makeshift and established tent sites, ensuring education isn’t disrupted, tending to sick and injured residents and vulnerable livestock and creating medical camps.

“More recently the flood has ended and water is standing still, so we have focused on ration packs and hygiene kits, nonfood items,

A disheveled man stands in front of what used to be his home.

PHOTO BY HASAN AGA

names of people and organizations have been changed for reasons of confidentiality and safety concerns.

setting up water filtration systems and dewatering the flooded areas so people can go back.”

Did he feel the government’s response where he was working—the north western provinces of Pakistan—has been adequate?

“Within the government, the usual limitations have remained: a lack of manpower and the need for more resources. Most flooded areas have flooded every 10-12 years with smaller floods in between. The weather and climate patterns here are well-established and people did prepare for them.

“Reforms the government took after the 2010 floods, such as modifying irrigation channels or building embankments, were probably not enough. But on the whole, the government responded fairly well. On the provincial and federal levels, a lot has been done to structure relief efforts and give working capital to district commissioners, which has helped in mitigating some issues.”

That is a fair and modest response: acknowledging room for improvement while conveying a belief that the government was there for its people in their time of need.

“THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO MORE”

Pakistan is home to a large contingent of local and international NGOs who specialize in a broad range of social issues. Often in developing countries, concerns are raised that charitable funds go missing, never quite reaching the intended recipients, or are misused. Well-intentioned donors have expressed a need for accountability to ensure that donations reach those in need.

One such Karachi-based organization, Sindh Charitable Trust (SCT)*, was started at the turn of the millennium. Operated with efficiency, it consists of a handful of board members responsible for raising and providing funds, an accountant, and one man on the ground who does it all— Iftikhar Abbasi.*

Abbasi has been with SCT for the past 17 years, organizing and executing all relief

operations for every disaster which has taken place in the country over the past two decades.

SCT relies solely on Abbasi’s network, experience and volunteers to carry out its action plans.

“The people of Pakistan have big hearts,” Abbasi observes. “We have never had an issue in recruiting volunteers who come out in great numbers at a moment’s notice.”

SCT plays a significant and active role in the flood relief; it provides temporary shelters and access to healthcare, distributes essential ration bags and rebuilds homes in affected areas. I asked Abbasi for his opinion on how the government has responded to the country’s latest crisis. He hesitated to comment on the government’s efforts for obvious reasons: as making the wrong enemies in a country like Pakistan can easily be a fatal move.

“When the 2005 earthquake happened, I worked in the affected areas for five years. For two and a half years we worked in Muzaffarabad and the government at that time was giving 25,000 rupees per house. I often observed a team of four people—a local teacher, a patwari (government official who keeps records regarding the ownership of land), an army official and a member of an NGO—go to homes to survey the damage before handing out the payments, which could also go up to 50,000 rupees (roughly $250). At that time, about 95 or 96 percent of people received the money promised; we used to ask people whether they actually received it.”

Abbasi added that people might have received money after the recent monsoon, but since he is not a government worker he has no way of knowing for sure.

“The biggest difference between this time and the 2005 disaster is that the losses people have suffered have not yet been compensated for. Not only were people’s homes and possessions destroyed, but also their livelihoods; the majority of the victims are farmers, and their crops have been washed away and their livestock reduced significantly.”

In Abbasi’s opinion, the government could do more. “All the survivors I have met and helped are so worried. They are concerned about their living conditions and how they will build their homes to take care of their families. They need homes as soon as possible so that they can focus on their work and earning money. These are poor people who do not have much to their names and if they don’t work they don’t earn. They need stability,” Abbasi said.

“This time the government has not responded in a manner commensurate with the scale of the crisis. I haven’t heard it from anyone within my NGO network, nor seen for myself where the government is helping

A relief worker walks through the rubble.

PHOTO BY HASAN AGA

flood victims in a particular area or doing anything extraordinary for them.

“People didn’t get basic facilities such as food and water from the government which they should have received. I’m sure it did contribute to the relief effort, but it hasn’t done anywhere near enough. Maybe the government has not received enough funds, though with funds coming in from around the world I don’t think that is the case. Unfortunately, what is more likely to be the case is that they are receiving funds but those funds aren’t reaching the flood victims.”

It seems to be the country’s worst-kept secret that so-called leaders plot and scheme their way into power to fill their foreign bank accounts before joining the back of the queue for another go. This abuse of power and selfish mentality has infiltrated the society top-down.

“I have heard that the government has received funds but they haven’t yet announced that they will donate money to people, or how they will divide between building them homes and repairing the damage.”

Abbasi seemed pensive when I asked him about government neglect. “It saddens me to say this because I love my country and I don’t want this type of message to be sent out—but I believe that this government has no interest in their people anymore, especially the poor.”

Unfortunately, I understood what he meant by that. My last visit to Pakistan in 2019 brought me nostalgia and optimism. A hopefulness for the future. Even though things were difficult back then, the people’s spirit and resilience shone through during my six-week trip. I left wanting to return sooner than I did and felt that the people of Karachi were unbreakable.

Fast forward to October 2022, and just ten days in the former capital eradicated any sense of hope I once had. The struggle of daily life had reached a new level of chaos. The underlying mood of the public was on a knife edge. It felt like they’ve just had enough. That they have been let down one too many times, and

now they are doing whatever they need just to survive. I caught glimpses in markets, businesses and homes of what Abbasi meant when he said the government just doesn’t care.

THE NEED FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

Iftikhar Abbasi’s insinuation that government funds were mismanaged was somewhat confirmed by Khan’s* response when I asked him what he thinks the government can do better moving forward.

“More accountability over spending, more third-party validation and watchdogs, more training for long-term relief work. This is especially needed in ignored areas, such as child and women protection, protection from violence, encouraging psychosocial support. And finally, some evidence that we will fix our water and drainage systems in the long term to minimize loss of life and property damage when this happens again.”

I pressed him further on the very first recommendation, accountability over spending and he said: “It’s not as easily discernible how well each district administration has spent this money, how much is toward longterm change, and how accountable we can hold everyone.”

When I asked Khan how corruption influenced this year’s natural disaster, he pondered the question before confessing it was hard to say. “In the 2005 earthquake and the 2010 floods, a lot of private and state

actors made money—as is true everywhere in every crisis. Funds are pilfered and relief trucks burgled. Things go missing. Receipts forged. However, I can say quite a lot of work has been done to try and tackle this. Donors and nonprofits especially have kept us accountable. Nonetheless, more accountability and transparency won’t hurt.”

Pakistan has always been a country with limitless potential. It’s a land blessed with an abundance of natural resources, landscapes of vast range, a culture steeped in tradition and a complex culinary cuisine the people take great pride in. However, as I have found through my travels in many developing countries across Asia, it’s the people who are emblematic of all that is right and wrong with the state.

Having a strong connection with Pakistan and having travelled there often since childhood, it’s been highly frustrating and saddening to witness a country and people of such promise gradually being brought down to its knees. Talented and gifted people who have the ability to excel in all walks of life are held down by a culture of systemic corruption, bribery and nepotism, which has slowly become woven into the fabric of the country. Whereas those at the top do engage in corrupt practices for fortune, the rest do it simply to survive. If Pakistan wants to break this downward spiral, the collective must finally be prioritized over the individual. ■

A makeshift tent beside flood water.

PHOTO BY HASAN AGA

Canada Announces 5th Round of Sanctions Against Iran

By Candice Bodnaruk

IRANIAN HEADS OF STATE and senior officials as well as thousands of Iranian government officials were recently barred from entering Canada as part of a new listing under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced the sanctions in November and also designated Iran as a regime that engaged in terrorism and gross human rights violations. “Those listed under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act shall be permanently inadmissible and have no safe haven in Canada,” Mendicino said in a November press release.

Yet despite recent pressure from opposition parties in the House of Commons, the Canadian government stopped short of adding

Candice Bodnaruk has been involved in Palestinian issues for the past 14 years through organizations such as the Canadian BDS Coalition and Peace Alliance Winnipeg. Her political action started with feminism and continued with the peace movement, first with the No War on Iraq Coalition in 2003 in Winnipeg.

the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its Terrorist Entities List. The list was created after 9/11 and does include the Quds Force (a branch of the IRGC), which was added in 2012 under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. The Conservative Party introduced a motion in 2018 to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity and the Liberal Party supported the action at the time, but the IRGC has yet to be officially included on that list.

Since Mahsa Amini’s death in custody last September, there have been renewed calls for the governing Liberal Party to include the IRGC on the Terrorist Entities List. The government has instead chosen to use the designation under IRPA, which also allows the Canadian government to seize assets and prosecute people who send money to the IRGC.

“It’s a good step in the right direction,” Kourosh Doustshenas, chair of the Government and Stakeholder Relations Committee for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, said about Canada’s new sanctions against the Iranian regime. Doustshenas’

Kourosh Doustshenas and his fiance Dr. Forough Khadem who was killed on Flight PS752 in January 2020.

PHOTO COURTESY K. DOUSTSHENAS

fiance, Dr. Forough Khadem, was a passenger on Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv, brought down by an Iranian missile on Jan. 8, 2020.

Canada’s recent measures target 10,000 IRGC personnel by making them permanently inadmissible to the country, as well as restricting their financial transactions in the country. Doustshenas’ organization says those actions are a “significant step” as they aim to limit the influence of the Iranian regime in Canada and support the feminist uprising in Iran.

He said he hopes Canada also targets some of the people involved in the shooting down of Flight PS752 and in the crackdown on the popular uprising in Iran. Amini’s death has had a far-reaching impact, he noted. “Her name is becoming code for the revolution. The Iranian people don’t just want relaxed hijab rules, they don’t want the Islamic regime anymore,” he said.

Immigration lawyer Arghavan Gerami said she believes if Canada does decide to include the IRGC on the Terrorist Entities List, the move could have far-reaching and “unintended” consequences. Anyone who worked for the organization would have to prove they did not make a major contribution to the crimes committed.

Gerami told the Washington Report that even if a person was working for the IRGC to support family but they opposed the regime themselves, they could still be caught up by the “potential of inadmissibility.”

According to Gerami, a finding of inadmissibility for human rights violations will not subsequently allow the person to make an application for humanitarian and compassionate permanent residency to overcome inadmissibility.

“The only option would be to seek relief through a govern-

ment minister, which may take several years and in some cases more than a decade, with very low chances of success,” she said.

Gerami explained that having an inadmissible family member will also cause problems for other family members. “I think this is why Canada has been reluctant to make a decision on this, and I do not disagree with proceeding with extreme caution because of the far-reaching consequences,” she explained.

Canada recently sanctioned six more individuals and froze their Canadian assets. Two companies that support the Iranian regime also face Canadian sanctions. Qods Aviation Industries designs and pro-

duces combat drones and was founded by the IRGC. Shahed Aviation Industries, a research and development firm connected to the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, is also on the sanctioned list.

As of November 2022, Canada had imposed sanctions on 99 Iranian individuals as well 181 Iranian entities, including the IRGC and the regime’s security, intelligence and economic organizations.

NDP TAKES A STAND ON PALESTINIAN RIGHTS BUT MORE COULD BE DONE

In an August 2022 letter to specific party supporters, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh presented 13 policy demands he plans to pursue with the federal Liberal government on Palestine.

Palestinian advocacy organizations like Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims have since thanked him for his announcement.

Playgrounds for Palestine is a project to build playgrounds for our children. It is a minimal recognition of their right to childhood and creative expression. It is an act of love.

Playgrounds for Palestine (PfP) is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, established in 2001. We’re an all-volunteer organization (no paid staff) that raises money throughout the year to construct playgrounds and fund programs for children in Palestine.

Selling Organic, Fair Trade Palestinian olive oil is PfP’s principle source of fundraising. This year, PfP launched AIDA, a private label olive oil from Palestinian farmers. Please come by and taste it at our table.

We hope you’ll love it and make it a staple in your pantry.

For more information or to make a donation visit: https://playgroundsforpalestine.org • P.O. Box 559 • Yardley, PA 19067

Singh has been criticized over the years for refusing to discuss Palestine when speaking with Canadian media and for preventing candidates from running in the 2019 federal election because they supported Palestinian rights. He has also been hesitant to support the BDS movement and has regularly met with leaders from the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to hear their concerns.

However, several NDP MPs have also signed IJV’s Together Against Apartheid pledge.

“New Democrats believe Canada must do far more to work toward peace in Israel and Palestine,” Singh’s letter said.

In his 13 demands, Singh asks the federal government to specifically respond to the

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Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports, refer the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to the ICC, and condemn the construction of illegal settlements and home demolitions in the West Bank and evictions from East Jerusalem, including in Sheikh Jarrah.

“It is time for Canada to show the principled commitment required to help bring an end to the occupation,” he writes.

Yet Just Peace Advocates and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute are now calling on the NDP to go further and withdraw from the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group (CIIG). Former NDP MPs, as well as Noam Chomsky, Roger Waters and Linda McQuaig are just a few of the 200 signatories to the request, made in an open letter to Singh. “Over the past 18 months the NDP has made important strides in opposing Canada’s contribution to Palestinian dispossession,” the letter states, pointing out Singh's 13 demands to the Trudeau government on Palestinian rights. Yet, the writers continue, the NDP is still part of a group promoting “greater friendship” with Israel.

In 2018 the NDP was asked to leave CIIG when Israel launched an attack on Gaza. At the time, the party said no NDP MP would be leaving the group.

Heather McPherson, the NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs, says the party’s policy on Israel/Palestine is unchanged. “Our party believes that both Israelis and Palestinians have the unconditional right to live in peace and security, and that all actors involved have responsibilities they must uphold in order for peace to be achieved,” McPherson said in an emailed statement to the Washington Report.

She added that at their most recent convention, the party passed a resolution to advocate an end to trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements as well as to suspend bilateral trade of all weapons and related materials with the State of Israel until Palestinian rights are upheld. Yet McPherson did not respond to a question from the Washington Report about the NDP’s membership in CIIG going forward.

Meanwhile, as a response to Singh’s 13 demands, the Center for Israel and Jewish

Affairs (CIJA) started an email campaign called “Tell Jagmeet Singh This Letter Doesn’t Promote Peace,” asking their supporters to take action and email Singh in protest.

WINNIPEG MUSLIM WOMEN’S SHELTER OPENING SOON

A new women’s shelter that aims to serve the needs of Muslim women in Manitoba is set to open in Winnipeg soon. Sakeenah (Arabic for serenity) already operates shelters in Toronto, Ottawa, Brampton, London and Montreal. With room for 13 women and their children, the Winnipeg shelter is a partnership with Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA). The shelter receives no public funding and is mainly funded through private donations, grants and community partners.

“There is a growing Muslim population in Manitoba, and there are a large number of immigrants that have settled, and will continue to settle, in Winnipeg,” the shelter’s executive director, Zena Chaudhry told the Washington Report. Chaudhry added that she founded Sakeenah in 2018 to “fill a gap in the system.”

Chaudhry said the organization decided to open a shelter (their first one west of Toronto) in Winnipeg when they began receiving an increasing amount of phone calls from Muslim women in Manitoba

during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Chaudhry said the need for a Muslim women’s shelter in Winnipeg already existed several years before COVID.

“Muslim women are looking for refuge and safety, but mainstream shelters do little to address their religious and cultural needs,” she said. Chaudhry also explained that from her own research, uneducated refugees who face language barriers and financial struggles are challenged when trying to access services.

Islamophobia is prevalent at a lot of shelters. “I personally have heard stories where Muslim women have tried to escape abusive situations at home, only to be met with abuse at shelters,” she explained. Some women will actually stay in an abusive situation rather than deal with the mainstream system.

Reaction to the shelter from the Manitoba public has been positive. Corporate donors, families, other shelters and the community at large have all been working together to help the organization set up.

Sakeenah plans to open three more locations soon, including in Winnipeg and Mississauga. “These services are for the community and we are elated when we see the community come together to ensure that those who need these services are able to access them,” Chaudhry concluded. ■

Sakeenah’s executive director Zena Chaudhry.

PHOTO COURTESY SAKEENAH

The Rise of Dubai-Based Reality TV: They Weren’t Kidding About the Bling

By Diana Safieh

“Dubai

WATCHING “DUBAI BLING” reminded me of Lola and Bruce, sibling canines who found homes at the same time. When I got my dog Lola, she was driven around in a Citroen C3, while the wealthy couple who adopted Bruce flew him around the world on a private jet—two very different dog (not to mention dog-owner) experiences.

Watching “Dubai Bling” is a bit like that. They are Arab like I am Arab, but the similarity ends there. And who doesn’t love a bit of voyeurism into a lifestyle so unlike one’s own? The morbid fascination is akin to watching a true crime documentary or road traffic accident: It might horrify us, but we can’t look away, and we love to be given a safe space to judge how others brought misfortune on themselves. The characters on “Dubai Bling” almost beg to be judged; after all, they chose to go on this public platform where the only thing

Diana Safieh hosts We Knew The Moon Podcast, on all things em‐path, spiritual, witchy, unexplained, creepy and spooky. She is a co ‐ founder of The Goddess Temple, Twickenham, which holds guided meditations and workshops, like Tea & Tarot and Make Your Own Smudge Sticks. She hosts a monthly webinar series on the situation in Palestine/Israel for The Balfour Project charity.

they are offering, rather than any kind of actual talent, is an insight into their personal lives.

The cast of “Dubai Bling” describe themselves as “materialistic and proud” and feature real estate CEOs, Saudi TV personalities and socialites alike. They shop for trinkets like a $300,000 necklace that involve the same amount of deliberation as I put into deciding whether to splurge on a cafe latte.

Does this program give you insight into Dubai culture, where 88 percent of the population are expats? To be honest, I don’t know. This show definitely confirms what I presumed about Dubai being the Arab Disneyland full of extravagance and luxury. But I can’t tell you how realistic it is. I don't think anyone is watching it hoping to get a representative sample of the population!

What it does show us is that every day is a school day. Or at least, that the fights are definitely very school playground in nature. Seriously, is anyone capable of having a party or a professional work event without a loud argument and someone storming out, followed by days of all the interested parties having lunches to discuss the interactions? Whatever happens, in

(L‐r) Ebraheem Al Samadi, Danya Mohammed AKA Diva Dee, DJ Marwan Al‐Awadhi AKA DJ Bliss, Fadie Musallet, Zeina Khoury, Safa Siddiqui, Lojain Omran, Loujain Juffali, Brianna Ramirez, Farhana Bodi and Kris Fade attend the Netflix celebration of the latest Arabic reality show

Bling,” with an exclusive gathering of Dubai's “elite ton" at the INTI Edition Hotel, on Oct. 20, 2022, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

PHOTO BY NEVILLE HOPWOOD/GETTY IMAGES FOR NETFLIX

Dubai, every day is definitely a fashion show.

Now, I confess, I love this kind of trashy TV. After a long hard day, I no longer have the headspace for any kind of intense viewing where I have to think too hard. My mum always complains that these shows put her to sleep, and I argue that that is one of their main purposes: easy viewing to help you unwind.

So I’ll admit I had already seen “Bling Empire,” from which “Dubai Bling” has spun off. Set in Los Angeles and focusing on its wealthy Asian population, think the reality TV show version of “Crazy Rich Asians.” But unlike that show, “Dubai Bling” is half in Arabic. This makes a pleasant change and it is wonderful hearing all the different accents. It is also fantastic to hear some Arab music on the soundtrack.

On a serious note, this show does tackle some issues often taboo in Arab cultures, such as divorce and therapy, and one of the main storylines involves Safa debating surrogacy for her next pregnancy. Watching

everyone, including other women, telling Safa what to do with her body, what God would be OK with and what is “natural” was incredibly hard viewing, especially from a Western perspective.

There is one scene where Ebraheem mansplains feminism to the women (who sadly in this case, needed it). I had to remind myself that the fact that these conversations were happening at all on an Arab show was progress. And it had its unintentionally comical moments, involving people with Botox and breast implants accusing one another of being fake.

One thing I take issue with is the lack of diversity within the cast. There is no one openly from the LGBTQI+ community, for example. This is understandable with the laws regarding this in the region. But to a Western audience, it is noticeably absent. There isn’t anyone who isn’t fabulously wealthy. They do all technically have jobs (in the real estate and entertainment industries, CEOs and influencers). A lot of the scenes are at their work events. Whether

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they work is a different matter!

The majority of the cast are from the Arab world. If you want a bit more diversity in terms of origin stories, check out “Real Housewives of Dubai,” which features a bunch of ethnicities, including the fabulous model Chanel Ayan from Kenya. I mean, who brings a goat to a party as a gift? The opening credits start with “Those that think money can’t buy you happiness clearly haven't been to Dubai” and that sets the tone for the rest of the season.

If you want an iota more substance with your viewing, try “Dubai Hustle.” The Dubai equivalent of “Selling Sunset,” you at least get to see inside some obscenely flamboyant properties in between the office politics and the shouting matches.

Did these shows make me feel sick? Yes.

Did it feel obscene during this cost-ofliving crisis? Yes.

Did I binge the whole season of “Dubai Bling” anyway? In one sitting, no joke.

Will I watch season two when it comes out? Most definitely. ■

ARAB AMERICAN ACTIVISM

ADC’s Turaath Celebrates Arab Culture With Stand-Up Comedy

tinian-American champion storyteller Majdy Fares, from Dearborn, MI, who currently lives in Washington, DC, presented his version of “comedy with a cause.” Diala Taneeb, who writes headlines, scripts and

Boxer and author Nina Kharoufeh joked about her search for a wealthy husband and explaining Islam to curious coworkers.

Turaath Night is a not-to-be-missed yearly ADC tradition of cultural celebration, and one of ADC’s core missions. To host a similar event in your city, email ADC national organizer Jinan Shbat at jshbat@adc.org. —Delinda C. Hanley

Iman Jodeh Inspires at Museum of the Palestinian People’s Gala

The Museum of the Palestinian People (MPP) celebrated its 5th Annual Gala and auction with a seated dinner hosted by the Tabard Inn, in Washington, DC, on Nov. 3. Emmy-nominated reporter and producer Rhana Natour emceed the event, which featured stand-up comedy by Said Durrah. MPP chairman and founder Bshara Nassar described the accomplishments of the museum, which has hosted thousands of visitors for tours and events. He said, “We’re so lucky and grateful to the Goelet family who have provided this place to amplify Palestinian voices.”

A sold-out crowd celebrated Arab culture and heritage at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) Turaath Night at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium on Dec. 8. ADC’s national executive director Abed A. Ayoub welcomed attendees, noting that there could be no better way to start the holiday season than by laughing together. The comedians joked about what it means to be truly Arab and fully American—and their audience nearly fell out of their seats laughing.

Host comedian Said Durrah poked fun at his Gaza/Syrian American family and the hilarious ways he navigated growing up in his white neighborhood in Mayo, MD. He and every subsequent comedian singled out “Roger,” a hapless white (i.e. non-Arab) man in the front row, to explain the fine points of some jokes or plays on Arabic words. (In the end, Durrah presented Roger with a keffiyah from Middle East Books and More, which prompted a rush of sales at our booth after the program!)

Iraqi-American Reem Edan, an awardwinning digital content creator, showcased her unique “Muslim-ennial” humor. Pales-

jokes for a purpose-led ad agency in Boston, hilariously described culture shock growing up in Roanoke, VA, as well as during trips to Palestine. Mike Easmeil, another Palestinian-American, joked about fatherhood and life in a different southern community with few Arabs: Virginia Beach.

A keynote speech by Colorado State Representative Iman Jodeh, a Palestinian American Muslim and progressive Democrat, inspired listeners. After proudly sharing her story as a first-generation Palestinian American, and telling voters that everyone deserves a fair shot at the American

Comedians (l‐r) Nina Kharoufeh, Reem Edan, Diala Taneeb, Mike Easmeil, Majdy Fares and Said Durrah joke about the Arab American experience.

PHOTO @DC_MAJIDPHOTOGRAPHY

(L‐ r) Maytham Alshadood, his wife, Colorado State Representative Iman Jodeh, MPP chairman of the board Farshid Hakimyar and MPP founder and director Bshara Nassar.

MUSLIM AMERICAN ACTIVISM

CAIR-LA Celebrates 26th Annual Gala Dinner

More than 1,500 people attended the Council on American-Islamic RelationsLos Angeles’ (CAIR-LA) 26th Annual Gala Dinner on Oct. 29 at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, CA. The theme of the banquet was “Resilient in Our Pursuit of Justice.” Zahra Billoo of CAIR’s office in the San Francisco Bay Area emceed the event.

Dream, Jodeh was elected in 2020.

“My parents, Mohamad and Siham, came to Colorado from Palestine as immigrants and refugees in 1974, looking for the American Dream, for safety, opportunity and freedom. And they found it,” she said. They started a small business from scratch, and then another, as their family grew. By the time the Denver-born Jodeh was 8, she was working at the family deli on weekends and vacations, interacting with people from all walks of life. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but those interactions normalized diverse lifestyles and identities.”

In the summer, her mom took the kids to visit family in Palestine, where they were exposed to war, violence and oppression. She recognized the same oppression they experienced in Palestine was manifesting itself in different forms for vulnerable and marginalized communities in the U.S. Since she and her siblings were raised with the expectation that they would be of service to their community, she has devoted her career to public service.

She urged the museum to continue to say the names, honor and memorialize the Palestinian villages, like Deir Yassin, that were “erased from the maps but not from our hearts” in 1948. She also noted the importance of remembering the innocents killed after violent police encounters, like 23year-old Elijah McClain, a Black man from

Aurora, CO who died after a police assault, and so many Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers.

Delinda C. Hanley

“Naila and the Uprising” Screening

Attendees marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Nov. 29 by taking a tour of the Museum of the Palestinian People, followed by a screening of “Naila and the Uprising” next door at Middle East Books and More.

This must-see film, directed by awardwinning filmmaker Julia Bacha, chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh and a fierce community of women at the frontlines of the First Intifada in the late 1980s. It was especially fitting to watch archival footage and interviews with courageous women activists while women are currently protesting in Iran and a third Palestinian intifada may already be underway.

Viewers were stirred by the tremendous power of nonviolent organizing and the sacrifices women make when they take the lead in struggles for rights and justice. They were also angered as these same women were sidelined and stripped of their roles in the peace talks that brought no peace.

“Naila and the Uprising” shows that women are often at the forefront of struggles around the world, but too often remain on the margins of the history told by men.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Dr. Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five (a group of five Black young men wrongly convicted in the brutal 1989 rape and assault of a woman in New York’s Central Park), was presented with the Champion of Justice Award. He gave a moving speech about how his Muslim faith and the pursuit of justice transformed his early adulthood and sustained him for nearly seven years in prison.

Hussam Ayloush, CAIR-LA executive director and CAIR California CEO, explained that CAIR switched from the Hilton Hotel to the Marriott Hotel for the evening’s event because Hilton operates a new hotel on the site of a Uyghur mosque that the Chinese government demolished in 2018. CAIR asked Hilton to back out of the deal, but the company refused. In addition to the Uyghurs, Ayloush highlighted CAIR’s recent work to uplift the struggles of the people of Palestine, Syria and Kashmir.

Former South African Ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool, a member of the antiapartheid movement in South Africa and a leader in the African National Congress, offered hope to those still fighting for freedom. He also emphasized the importance of continuing to press forward after victories. “We knew that the defeat of the forces of evil, of racism, against Blacks [in South Africa] was not enough, and we need to defeat the forces behind Islamophobia and all the other evil forces,” he said. “I met with Nelson Mandela after he was out of prison. He told me, ‘My brother Ebrahim, now is the time to fight discrimination against Muslims,’ and that’s what we did.”

Sheikh AbdulNasir Jangda, the founder and director of the Qalam Institute, deliv-

Middle East Books and More visitors watch a scene from “Naila and the Uprising,” when President George H.W. Bush warns that U.S. loan guarantees would stop unless Israel halts its settlement building.

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PHOTO D. HANLEY

ered the keynote address. He highlighted the importance of resilience within the American Muslim community as it works to combat discrimination, Islamophobia and hate. “If one Muslim’s rights are violated, it means all the rights of others are violated,” he said.

Sheikh Ahmed Billoo, the religious director of the Islamic Center of Cypress, helped CAIR raise more than $500,000 during the dinner. Samir Twair

WAGING PEACE

Despite Gas Deal, Lebanon’s Humanitarian Crisis Continues

The closing panel of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ conference in Washington, DC on Nov. 3 featured an update on Lebanon by former U.S. ambassador to Morocco Edward M. Gabriel, who is also the president and CEO of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL).

The maritime border agreement recently negotiated between Israel and Lebanon was “diplomacy at its best,” Gabriel asserted. “Now that the dispute and the threat of instability is gone, it will open up the market for investors to come in there in the oil and gas area.”

The deal reached on Oct. 11 between the two adversaries will bring “some sort of se-

curity to south Lebanon and bring some prosperity,” Gabriel said. Although economic benefits will not appear for five to eight years, “it was a great win for the region,” he averred. He believes that money generated by energy exploration off Lebanon’s shores should be put into a sovereign wealth fund to make sure it does not go to “corrupt politicians.”

In the short term, the outlook for Lebanon is still bleak. With a poverty rate at around

80 percent, the country’s humanitarian situation continues unabated, Gabriel noted. Fuel is in short supply and households only have electricity for two hours each day.

The United States’ proposal to bring Egyptian gas into Lebanon through Syria should increase power availability to about ten hours a day, Gabriel related. The arrangement is close to becoming a reality, he noted, and the Lebanese government is working to set up a regulatory commission that would independently regulate electricity. World Bank financing of the Egyptian gas deal is contingent on the creation of the commission.

Among other pressing issues, Gabriel noted that Lebanese universities are facing dire conditions. One private university doesn’t even have pens and paper and holds its classes virtually, he noted. Lebanon, once known for its education system, is losing about 40 percent of university workers and professors.

The country’s healthcare sector is still declining, and to improve medical services for the population the ATFL is attempting to send U.S. doctors to Lebanon. “We think that the healthcare problem is not shortterm,” Gabriel warned.

While parliamentary elections in May resulted in opposition parties acquiring more

Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool (l) and Hussam Ayloush at CAIR’s gala dinner in Anaheim, CA.

PHOTO S. TWAIR

MARWAN

NAAMANI/PICTURE

seats than Hezbollah and its traditional allies, “the opposition must come together,” he insisted. A new president has not been elected since former president Michel Aoun’s term ended Oct. 30, but the parties are going through a democratic process “in which they are fighting with each other to elect the right kind of president,” Gabriel said. “The United States hopes the parliament chooses a president that meets the needs of the people of Lebanon and has the competence to lead it out of this disaster.”—Elaine Pasquini

U.S. Policy and Yemen’s Path Forward

benefits and dramatically reduced civilian casualties, Lenderking stressed the need for an enduring peace plan originating within Yemen itself. “As the United States has said repeatedly, the future of Yemen lies in the hands of Yemenis,” he commented. “They are the ones who are going to make the key decisions about the disposition of their country.”

The parties to the conflict “can either build on this unprecedented period of calm and transition to a durable cease-fire and an inclusive political process or choose to return to a war that is crippling the country and robbing its people of a future,” Lenderking added.

continue encouraging the parties to maintain or renew the cease-fire, Henzel recommended, and to continue to encourage the Saudis in their direct engagement with the Houthis. “After all, in the end, only the Saudis can offer the monetary incentives that will be needed to persuade the Houthis to compromise,” he said.

Sarah Charles of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance conveyed the United States’ continued humanitarian support for Yemenis.

Despite the relief provided by the truce, Yemenis’ needs continue to grow at an alarming rate and the humanitarian crisis in the country remains one of the worst in the world, she said. Nearly 75 percent of the population requires humanitarian assistance to just meet basic needs. “Nineteen million Yemenis are in need of food assistance and more than two million young children face deadly malnutrition,” she noted.

Highly fortified nutritional products that support the most malnourished children under the age of five are particularly needed, Charles related. “[Humanitarian] interventions can work quite quickly to restore children from really being at death’s door to thriving,” she said. “But if [malnutrition is] not treated, this impacts their brain development, their ability to learn and grow much later in life.”

“Yemen in Focus” was the first of many panels addressing challenges facing the Arab world at the National Council on U.S.Arab Relations’ 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on Nov. 2-3.

U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking began by addressing ongoing peace efforts.

While the recently expired U.N.-mediated truce—which lasted from April 2 to Oct. 2— provided the Yemeni people with life-saving

Christopher Henzel, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, shared his view that the United States’ approach to Yemen is partly restrained by Washington’s relationship with other countries in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia and Israel. “What we do in Yemen is contained or limited by these higher priorities,” he commented. “In other words, the U.S. in reality lacks the freedom to simply walk away from Yemen or to even…cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia. I feel that is very unlikely to happen.”

The best way ahead is for the U.S. to

The threat of renewed conflict will only further strain an already stretched aid operation, and the U.N.’s humanitarian appeal for Yemen is only 48 percent funded. The United States has provided more than $1 billion this year alone, which accounts for more than half of all contributions made by donors. “We are the top donor by far,” she stated. “Every month food provided by the United States reaches 13 million vulnerable people in Yemen.”

David Des Roches, associate professor in the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, summed up the global food crisis. “If you have a food crisis, you have political instability,” he said. “This hunger situation is real, and it will lead to political instability, and it is much bigger than Yemen, although Yemen is one of the worst cases.”

Elaine Pasquini

A man sells dried fish in an open‐air market in Taez, Yemen, on Oct. 4, 2022. The country is currently experiencing a food crisis due to the Ukraine war and its own civil war.

AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Women’s Role in Peace and Security Efforts

On Nov. 29, the Gulf International Forum held a panel discussion on its new report, “Women, Peace and Security: Gulf Perspectives on Integration, Inclusiveness and Integrity,” which was organized in partnership with the U.S. Mission to NATO.

The session included the following speakers: Ambassador Rend Al-Rahim, co-founder and president of the Iraq Foundation and former Iraqi ambassador to the U.S.; Dr. Banafsheh Keynoush, president of MidEast Analysts; Maali Al-Asousi, former director of Direct Aid in Yemen; and Dr. Mira Al Hussein, non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford.

Low levels of formal representation are one challenge facing women in peace and security. Al-Rahim believes that international scrutiny of the Iraqi parliament led to the creation of documents that mandate key roles for women, including the 25 percent quota for women in parliament set forth in the Iraqi constitution of 2005. By 2021, female representation in Iraq’s parliament reached 29 percent, exceeding the mandated level. However, she explained this has not translated into real influence on issues of national security, nor clear parliamentary effectiveness, and women’s voices remain absent from male-dominated circles

that are decisive in setting security policies.

Al Hussein emphasized the same point by focusing on the fact that the appointment of women to leadership positions in the Gulf is aimed at containing international criticism and achieving high rankings on global indices of gender equality. According to Al Hussein, “In the Gulf, women’s inclusion is determined by their acquiescence to the state and its official narrative, and their ability to serve the state’s mission…They’re the soft power of the state, a public-facing image of the state that beautifies the message. It could be a message about ‘let’s purchase these fighter jets and let’s go bomb this country,’ but it’s nicer when it’s said by a woman, it’s less malignant.”

In Iran, women are similarly welcomed into government only if they don’t question official policies and practices, including those biased against women. “Gender sectarianizing, therefore, happens, perpetrated by the state, and its policies of exclusion of women who do not subscribe to state-led security policies or state-dictated forms of nationalism,” Keynoush said.

Furthermore, women are not empowered in diplomatic and academic fields despite their ability to play a broader role in peacemaking. In the words of Al-Rahim, “Now we have many think tanks [in Iraq]. Women are absent from these think tanks, they are not represented, whether by default or choice. Women really need to enter

these knowledge-rich and policy-rich environments and platforms because that’s how you get known.”

Civil wars in some countries of the region have caused social gaps that seriously impact the role of women. Al-Asousi pointed to two main gaps in Yemeni society: first, the emigration of activists and influencers abroad, and thus the loss of their initiatives, expertise and abilities to limit conflicts; and second, the closure of most embassies, which has led to the suspension of many community development programs and projects, with local initiatives becoming weaker and lacking the necessary funding and sponsorship. Most international organizations and commissions have begun to focus primarily on humanitarian aid and have neglected the empowerment of individual activists and the building of social capabilities, she noted.

The participants proposed various ideas for dealing with the challenges impeding women’s participation in the fields of security and peace, including international sponsorship of awareness programs about the importance of empowering women in peacebuilding processes; inclusion of expatriate activists in national dialogues on women’s empowerment; the continued imposition of women’s participation in legislatures to break stereotypes about the role of women and facilitate their assumption of leadership positions; and promoting education as a mechanism for achieving women’s financial security and enabling them to assume leadership positions.

Mona Ali

Veterans Question the U.S. Military’s Role in the World

On Nov. 11, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft held a virtual discussion with four veterans of the United States’ post-9/11 wars. Army veterans Jason Dempsey, Joy Damiani and Erik Edstrom, along with Marine Corps veteran Gil Barndollar, reflected on their service and how it impacted their perception of the United States and its foreign wars.

The four veterans first discussed how their military service changed their outlook on citizenship, war and the United States’

A woman on a campaign poster in the Iraqi city of Basra, on Oct. 6, 2021.

HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

place in the world. “What it taught me about citizenship,” Dempsey began, is to “be engaged, be critical and be questioning.” Citizenship means critically examining the value of one’s service, what the government is doing and how it makes decisions, he said.

Barndollar criticized the U.S. military’s branding as an all-volunteer force, preferring the term “all-recruited force” because few people join for idealistic reasons. He lamented that most citizens do not contribute anything to the U.S. military except by “passively paying the bill,” which leads to apathy about its actions. “We have a system in which the majority of Americans have no skin in the game, despite being, functionally, an empire,” he explained. Barndollar’s service, especially in Afghanistan, reinforced for him “both how overmilitarized our foreign policy is…and at the same time what the limits of military power are.”

Damiani disparaged the military as an institution as well as its role in the U.S. and the world. She believes she was “suckered” into enlisting by a military that knew she had no other opportunities for professional advancement. Her time in the Army, she said, “caused me to question everything I was ever told.” Damiani believes that “the United States military is the largest terrorist organization in the world” and that

“the only way forward is to abolish the military and use the money for things that actually help people.” Reflecting on her personal role in the Army as a public affairs officer, she described herself as “mixing the Kool-Aid” to “help create the narratives that keep the other soldiers fighting.”

Edstrom celebrated critical veteran voices, emphasizing that dissent is vital and strengthens the national debate. “If you see something wrong as a citizen, it is your obligation to attempt to right it,” he added. The “war on terror,” he observed, was a “strategically stupid decision” that resulted in countless civilian and U.S. military deaths, and will also burden future generations with debt.

Edstrom questioned why American generals and political leaders continued to devote more and more resources to wars that returned worse and worse outcomes. If the leadership did not see this coming, he continued, either they are “absolute dimwits” or the military institutions themselves are “educationally bereft and barren.” If, however, the leadership did know the wars were lost causes, then they were either lying or did not have the courage to speak out. Either way, he insisted, “this should require an absolute reckoning over how the U.S. operates as a military,” and the military leaders responsible need to be removed from command.

The veterans elaborated on the systemic failings of the all-volunteer force. “Americans have the privilege to not care about what the military is doing,” noted Dempsey, adding that there is just a “spectrum of unquestioning fandom.” Barndollar advocated for a much smaller military that would reduce its role to national defense, as well as a selective conscription system instead of the all-volunteer system. Damiani countered that the system is not actually broken, but rather is functioning as intended: to control, oppress, seize power and perpetuate war. Edstrom envisioned a society that raised the standard of living for the disadvantaged so they could imagine other possibilities for their future besides joining the military.

Alex Shanahan

The Work of Churches in the Holy Land

On Nov. 16, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University held a memorial lecture to honor the late Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., who died on April 6, 2022. As a frequent consultant to the Holy See and a member of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network’s steering committee, Fr. Christiansen worked to raise awareness about the challenges facing Christians living in the Middle East.

The evening’s lecturer, Sami ElYousef, the chief executive officer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, provided a thorough analysis of the human impact of the various Christian organizations in the Holy Land.

While governing authorities have changed regularly in the Holy Land over the past 100 years, El-Yousef described Christian institutions as an enduring and essential constant for the people of the region. He noted his own immediate family’s unique history of living under Ottoman, British, Jordanian and Israeli rule in Jerusalem. “Four generations born in the same city, and yet each generation has a birth certificate issued by a different governing authority,” he pointed out. “Despite this unstable situation, what has been a constant safety net in people’s lives has been the church.”

A military recruitment center in Brooklyn, NY, pictured on Sept. 4, 2020.

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El-Yousef noted that churches—spanning from the Orthodox Church to Protestant denominations—provide a large number of critical services in the Holy Land, such as education and healthcare, despite the fact that Christians make up less than one percent of the population of Palestine, and less than two percent of the combined population of Israel and Palestine. He said that an estimated 37 percent of the population in Palestine is in some way reached by a church institution. “It should be stressed that the services provided are in all instances open to all sectors of society, with no discrimination in any way,” he noted.

In Palestine alone, there are 296 various church institutions that play an important role in fostering societal infrastructure, El-Yousef explained. Among those, 93 specialize in education (many of them being Catholic schools), 19 provide health services and 47 are social services such as orphanages and senior citizen care centers. Elsewhere in the Holy Land, he noted that churches provide assistance to migrants in Israel and refugees in Jordan. In many instances, churches are the only institutions offering quality and dignified social services

to local populations, he said.

With limited resources, El-Yousef noted that many Christian institutions are under constant financial strain, especially as donors grow weary of maintaining old buildings and aging infrastructure. Given that they serve all of society—Muslims, Jews, Christians and others—he said it’s critical that generous individuals keep the good work of the churches viable.

A perhaps even harder task is keeping Christians in the Holy Land, he acknowl-

edged. Many leave due to political instability, security concerns and financial strains, he noted. As their numbers dwindle, El-Yousef said it’s important for Christians not to move inward, but to be integrated members of the broader society.

Politically, he said the churches often rely on their allies outside of the Holy Land to push for change. Churches are weary of authorities targeting their essential humanitarian work in retaliation for their political activism, he said. “We must be reserved at times with local authorities, to avoid conflicts,” he explained. “That is when the international groups need to be more vocal.” He said fellow Christians must not “simply give up if a conflict like ours has become chronic.” —Reilly Holder

Palestinian Solidarity at Scottish Christmas Walk

Who doesn’t love a parade? For the second year in a row, the Palestinian American Friendship and Cultural Association marched in the Scottish Christmas Walk through downtown Alexandria, VA on Dec. 3. Marchers wearing keffiyahs, tatreez and Santa hats carried a huge banner and led a pickup truck festooned with Palestinian American solidarity signs and flags. The jolly musical street theater brought the voices of too-often silenced Palestinians into the celebration. In spite of a cold damp day, the smiles, applause and solidarity of parade attendees warmed up

Palestinian kindergarten students gather outside of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in the West Bank city of Jericho, on April 1, 2019.

DOMINIKA ZARZYCKA/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Palestinian American Friendship and Cultural Association participate in the Scottish Christmas Walk.

Muna Howard

the marchers. Virginians in the crowd and their senators in the grandstand saw that Palestinians are not “the other.” They are neighbors.

AMEU Announces Inaugural Mahoney Award Recipient

At its Nov. 15 fall board meeting, Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU), publisher of The Link, announced the inaugural recipient of the AMEU/John F. and Sharon Mahoney Award for Service: the Chicago-based illustrator/graphic artist known as Shirien Creates.

The AMEU/Mahoney Award is given annually to a person who exemplifies the spirit of the work to which AMEU executive director emeritus John Mahoney and his wife, Sharon, devoted themselves for four decades. The selection of Shirien Creates recognizes her exceptional visual voice, which speaks so empathically and emphatically to American publics, and in particular its younger generations.

At its November meeting, AMEU’s board passed the following resolution: The AMEU/John F. and Sharon Mahoney Award for Service was established in 2022 as an expression of the board of directors’ profound appreciation for two lifetimes of ongoing service and commitment. By providing American audiences with better-informed understandings of the Middle East—including its people, cultures, politics and histories—John and Sharon Mahoney’s commitment to education has improved the way America engages with the Middle Eastern region.

The board of directors of Americans for Middle East Understanding is pleased to confer the inaugural award, The 2022 AMEU/John F. and Sharon Mahoney Award, to Shirien Creates in recognition of the unique graphic artistry she has inserted into seminal American conversations about justice and empathy. The AMEU board hopes that the $5,000 unrestricted grant the award carries will amplify her voice and narrow the distance between Americans and the people of the Middle East.

For additional details about the award, please visit <www.ameu.org>, or e-mail

<AMEUMahoneyAward@gmail.com>.

Shirien Creates’ work can be found at: <www.instagram.com/shirien.creates>. Nicholas Griffin

Will Protests Topple the Iranian Regime?

Washington, DC’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a panel on Oct. 18 to discuss Iran’s future in

light of the wave of protests currently engulfing the country.

“In the 43-year history of the Islamic Republic there have always been protests, always been people pushing back,” noted Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, a non-resident senior associate at CSIS’ Middle East Program. “But what is different right now is the coalescing of disparate groups de-

An example of graphic artist Shirien Creates’ work.

COURTESY SHIRIEN CREATES’ INSTAGRAM PAGE

Protesters express their solidarity with Iranian revolutionaries at a rally in Washington, DC, on Nov. 5, 2022.

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manding fundamental change and more representative rights.”

Rezaian reported from Iran for the Washington Post for several years until he was arrested on espionage charges in 2014. He subsequently spent 544 days in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison.

Kirsten Fontenrose, a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, enumerated the indicators that political analysts look for as signs that a protest movement is seriously threatening a sitting regime.

The high participation of men in protests is one indicator, and presently men are out on the streets along with women, Fontenrose noted.

How well the sitting government is functioning is another gauge. “We’re looking at whether the security services have been undermined, and they are not,” Fontenrose said. Political elite infighting and elite support of the opposition, both important indicators, presently are not happening at high levels either, she added.

The turndown of the economy, which is presently the case in Iran, is another sign a regime is in trouble.

But Fontenrose said the most important indicators of political change are: an organized resistance, a charismatic opposition leader, an off-ramp for the current government and whether workers in the gas and oil industry go on strike. All of these critical components are presently missing in Iran, she noted, making the imminent fall of the government unlikely.

Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Rezaian, a senior researcher at the Committee to Protect Journalists who was also detained by Iran in 2014, explained the difference between the current protests and the large 2009 Green Movement demonstrations. This time, she said, “the protesters are asking for fundamental change, not for small changes. People are not asking for reform within the system; people are asking for the change of the system.”

The younger generation is out in the streets “sacrificing everything they have, including their lives,” she noted. “I call it a women-led revolution because it started as

a protest against 40 years of gender apartheid that this regime has imposed on Iranian women.”

Arash Azizi, an adjunct instructor at New York University who focuses on the history of socialist and Islamist revolutionary movements, said the government of President Ebrahim Raisi has lost its legitimacy and fails to represent Iranians on basic levels.

Azizi addressed the lack of formal opposition groups within the country. “Because of repression inside Iran, people have not made effective political organizations,” he explained. “Some regimes, I believe, you can overthrow without organization, but the Islamic Republic is not one of them.”

Azizi reminded the audience that “there is an Iran beyond this regime,” and the world should “legitimize Iranian civil society because we will be part of the future of Iran.”

“There will be a life beyond this regime,” Azizi declared. “The idea that it will always be in power is not true. It is quite clear that the Iranian nation-state…has traditions that go way back before the [1979 Islamic] Revolution and they will be here to stay, but this regime won’t be.”

The Origins and Future of Islamophobia in India

On Nov. 21 Jocelyne Cesari, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, along with Kalpana Jain, a journalist and editor at The Conversation US, delivered a discussion on the rise of antiMuslim hate speech and violence in India. Combining scholarly and journalistic perspectives, the two argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have constructed hostile attitudes toward Muslims among the country’s Hindu majority.

After Modi came to power in 2014, India experienced a large increase in anti-Muslim religious violence, with many conflicts centered around allegations of Muslims illegally selling and consuming cow meat. Modi and many prominent members of the BJP contributed to the hatred through their inflammatory rhetoric and their unwillingness to address or punish instances of violence against Muslims.

“Despite all of our differences, what gives me hope is that the national identity of Iranians is strong and has a lot of credence compared to many countries,” he concluded.

Elaine Pasquini

The pandemic exasperated religious tensions in many unprecedented ways. As Cesari pointed out, Muslims were arbitrarily denied basic needs: “Muslims were prevented in some cases from getting into hospitals. Their businesses were shut down.”

Muslim worshipers gather outside the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India to venerate a relic of the Prophet Muhammad on the occasion of the prophet’s birthday (Eid‐e‐Milad), on Oct. 14, 2022.

The BJP has also recently enacted “security” laws that disproportionally target Muslims. “The moment that the state starts to scrutinize one religious group, they also turn to do it to other religious groups,” Jain warned.

Cesari views the current religious tensions as a legacy of British interference in the region. Historically, religious groups on the Indian subcontinent tended to see themselves first and foremost as members of a local community. This local sense of belonging typically superseded religious differences.

This began to change when British rule introduced the modern notion of the state and different groups began competing over the national image and national resources. While, for instance, Muslims previously existed as members of a local community, now they had to conceptualize what it meant to be an Indian Muslim. “Until the encounter with the British, the Muslims never thought of themselves as a minority because they saw themselves as a thread in the tapestry of what was India,” Cesari said.

Thus, even though the British imposed a secular vision for the state, the new system actually created an enormous amount of tension between Muslims and Hindus by forcing the two communities to construct sometimes divergent national identities.

The BJP emerged within this context, appealing to the Hindu fear that secularization both threatened the Hindu identity and disproportionately favored minorities. The BJP “is trying to preserve or strengthen the rights of the majority against the power given, or too much [perceived] power, given to the minorities,” Cesari said. This framework explains the common arguments made by Hindi nationalists aligned with the BJP: “Islam will take over India…Hindus will have no land left…all their girls will be converted to Islam…Muslim men are launching their jihad by way of marrying women.”

While the BJP has become by far the most popular political party in India, Jain argued that its significance

is overblown. Despite the British legacy of creating the concept of “minorities” in India, she noted that extreme anti-Muslim sentiments did not emerge on a wide scale until more recently, meaning Islamophobia is more of a modern populist Hindu political ploy by Modi rather than an institutionalized way of thinking among the populace.

Jain suggested that Hindu nationalism as a defining identity for Indians is unsustainable, and that the public will eventually desire a political party that does more than appeal to religious sentiment. “People want more than religion, and I think people are smart enough to see, are we being fooled in the name of religion? Are we getting enough from our politicians?”

Zakaria Clark-Elsayed

DIPLOMATIC DOINGS

Ambassador Calls for Renewed U.S.-Pakistan Relationship

Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, the University of Lahore and the Atlantic Council co-organized a conference in Washington, DC on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to discuss the future of U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Delivering the keynote address, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. Masood Khan said U.S.-Pakistan relations are “bright and our ties are poised to grow in the future.”

Pakistan assisted the U.S. with massive evacuations from Afghanistan after U.S. troops withdrew last year, “and continues to do so,” the ambassador noted.

The U.S., meanwhile, assisted Pakistan in the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering 78 million vaccine doses, making it the largest donor to the country. “We appreciate that the United States has provided $80 million to us to beat the coronavirus and build capacity for disease surveillance,” Khan said.

With regard to the recent flooding in Pakistan, the ambassador noted that the country sustained losses estimated to be around $40 billion. With the help of the international community, “we should be able to rebuild our destroyed infrastructure, houses, health care systems and educational institutions,” he said.

Khan thanked the United States for providing $97 million in humanitarian assistance to support the rescue, relief and early recovery operations. “We also thank American citizens, including Pakistani Americans and U.S. businesses, for contributing another $27 million in cash and kind.”

The Pakistani government welcomes the recent initiative announced by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome to launch a green alliance to fight climate change. Among other things, the ambassador said, “this would provide an umbrella for our cooperation to develop weather-resistant hybrid seeds and promote linkages between our agricultural universities for research in GMOs, genetic engineering and biotechnology.”

Pakistan also hopes to scale up bilateral ties with the United States in the economic, technological and educational domains. “This is not merely aspirational,” Khan said. “Hard work is underway on both sides to translate this into policy.”

Regarding U.S.-Pakistan relations going forward, former Pakistani national security adviser Dr. Moeed

Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Masood Khan calls for the U.S. to expand its economic relationship with Pakistan, in Washington, DC on Oct. 31, 2022.

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PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

Yusuf said one problem is the constant need to explain that Islamabad does not want to take sides in great power competitions.

“We have very good relations with a number of countries,” Yusuf asserted. “China is one of them, but that does not change the fact that Pakistan has had, will continue to have, and wants to have, a relationship with the U.S. that goes beyond security.”

Closer to home, Yusuf said the Pakistani government must do a better job of allocating economic resources within its borders. “We are very bad with distributing the resources we have, both in terms of rich to poor and from core developed cities and regions to the periphery,” he said.

Elaine Pasquini

HISTORY

The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy

Author Diana Darke discussed her recently published book, The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy, on a Nov. 15 webcast with the Middle East Institute (MEI). The 288-page tome focuses on the cultural life and many achievements of the Ottoman Empire, including architecture, astronomy, science, cuisine, music and cartography. “I think it is a genuine reflection of everything that the Ottomans did extremely well,” she said.

In her overview of Ottoman architecture, Darke explores in a particular way the work of Mimar Sinan, a water engineer who eventually became the chief Ottoman architect. “Sinan had a 16th century recycling flare that we could learn a lot from,” Darke told the MEI audience. The dome of his masterpiece, the Süleymaniye Mosque, was designed so that soot from the candles and oil lamps was channeled into a filter room where it was passed through water and turned into ink. The high-quality ink was then used in calligraphy and had insect-repelling qualities.

Socially, the Ottoman philosophy was to form an egalitarian state from the bottom up, Darke explained. The poorest were assisted, with the idea that they would ultimately become prosperous and then be taxed as much as they could afford to pro-

vide for the common good. The empire eventually became the most cosmopolitan state in the world, she noted, becoming one huge single common market.

The Ottoman approach to refugees was basically “everyone was welcome,” Darke said. During the Reconquista when Catholic Spain kicked out its Jews and Muslims, the Ottoman sultan sent ships to bring them to his empire. “All of the persecuted found refuge in the Ottoman Empire,” she noted.

“The state was not concerned with what ethnicity or religion you were. As long as you paid your taxes, you would be looked after.”

Darke believes the Ottoman legacy and mindset toward refugees is still evident today in the Levant. The way that Syrian refugees were taken in by neighboring countries goes back to the Ottomans always opening their borders to refugees, she pointed out. “Relating to people as humans is still in evidence even though it has come at a huge cost to the governments now struggling with the huge number of refugees,” Darke said, noting that Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have taken in millions of refugees.

Due to their nomadic origins, the Ottomans were also protective of animals and set up the first animal hospital—way ahead of Europe—to look after storks with broken wings, Darke pointed out.

Additionally, public hygiene was massively important to the Ottomans, who provided public toilets across Constantinople, Darke noted. Public drinking fountains were

also prevalent across the city to provide clean water for everyone. There were many plagues during the 600 years of the Ottoman Empire, and they understood the importance of mask-wearing and quarantine. “They took their responsibilities extremely seriously in all these areas,” she stated.

Like all empires, the Ottoman Empire was one of conquest, but Darke’s book does not discuss the conflict or bloodshed committed by the Ottomans because she believes there’s been an overemphasis on the ugly side. “I’m not attempting to whitewash any of that; it’s just not the focus of the book,” she explained.

But she did dispel the myth of the Ottomans as Eastern conquerors of the West. When Mehmed II seized Constantinople in 1453, his Ottoman army of Muslims and Christians came from the European mainland, not from the Central Asian steppes, Darke noted. The idea of “a noble Christian Europe fighting against a despotic Muslim Orient is the Disney version [of history],” she posited. “The Ottomans did not have a sense of division between Europe and Asia.”

“One of my motivations in writing this book is to try to open peoples’ eyes to a different way of looking at the Ottomans so that their cultural heritage can be more appreciated and put in perspective,” Darke explained. “I think it is important to learn from what they got right. You don’t survive for 600 years without getting some things right.”

Elaine Pasquini

Istanbul’s Süleymaniye Mosque, pictured on Feb. 17, 2021, is one the Ottoman Empire’s greatest architectural achievements.

ISA TERLI/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Cartoon Movement, Leiden, Netherlands

Correio Do Povo, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Cartoon Movement, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Verdens Gang, Oslo, Norway

Cartoon Movement, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Middle East Books Review

All books featured in this section are available from Middle East Books and More, the nation’s preeminent bookstore on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. www.MiddleEastBooks.com • (202) 939-6050 ext. 1101

They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl’s Fight for Freedom

By Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri, One World, 2022, hardcover, 288 pp. MEB $25

Reviewed by Delinda C. Hanley

Full disclosure: I am not an impartial reviewer of this passionate memoir co-written by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri. Tamimi graced the cover of our March/April 2018 Washington Report. In my office I have a huge protest sign depicting Ahed Tamimi and her mother Nariman, left over from 2018 solidarity marches calling for their release and an end to Israel’s practice of arresting and detaining Palestinian children. The Tamimis had been imprisoned since their pre-dawn arrest at home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh on Dec. 19, 2017. Their crimes? The diminutive 16year-old girl had slapped an armed Israeli soldier following the point-blank shooting of her 14-year-old cousin, Mohammed. Her mother’s crime was embarrassing Israel by recording the “slap heard ’round the world.”

After their video went viral, the two were arrested and protests erupted around the world. Tamimi writes, “I was not the first child to be arrested and detained by Israel, nor would I be the last, but my case seemed to be drawing attention to Israel’s abuses in a way that hadn’t been achieved before.” While Israeli soldiers or settlers are barely slapped on the wrist for murdering Palestinians, Israeli lawmakers urged lengthy sentences for this child. One Israeli

journalist, Ben Caspit, wrote, “We should exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras.” Mother and daughter were sentenced to eight months in Hasharon Prison.

Tamimi’s award-winning co-author Dena Takruri, who has fearlessly reported on injustices around the world, seamlessly blends a deeply personal story with the history of an apartheid state and the constant humiliation and cruelty endured by the indigenous Palestinians. Indeed, the beginning is a heavy read as Tamimi shares her family’s history and the brutality of Israel’s occupation as the nearby illegal settlement of Halamish confiscates the village’s beloved spring and land. Soon the reader is swept up by the Nabi Saleh community’s unarmed grassroots resistance movement against incursions and harassment by soldiers and settlers.

You feel like you are right there with the child as Tamimi recalls one summer night waking up to see an Israeli soldier’s rifle poking through her open bedroom window. Your fury mounts as wantonly destructive IDF soldiers raid her family home, toss their belongings and steal their computers, over and

over. Somehow, through it all, love, laughter and strength triumph, uplifting the reader.

My favorite part of the book was reading about Tamimi’s time in prison, which she says helped her grow, learn to work with a group and always fight for the interests of the collective. Despite an over-crowded cell, and girls having to take turns sleeping on too few bunk beds, the prisoners became supportive, life-long friends. Tamimi was fortunate that Palestinian lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, repeatedly arrested and subjected to administrative detention or imprisoned “for inciting violence,” managed to teach classes to her fellow prisoners who were missing their education and exams. Jarrar was denied a temporary release from prison to attend her daughter Suha’s funeral in July 2021. “My time in her classroom is one of the many reasons I’ve never viewed this chapter of my life as a loss,” Tamimi explains.

The authors do not gloss over excruciating descriptions of strip searches and relentless interrogations without the presence of a parent or lawyer. There are also frightening narratives of Tamimi’s rides in the bosta, a freezing bus divided into cells to transport shackled prisoners, some of them insane, from various prisons to court. “The psychological toll of riding in the bosta was enough to break anyone,” Tamimi recalls. On her first bosta ride she endured “an onslaught of verbal harassment” from neighboring cells, and an Israeli man exposed himself while he leered at a shocked Tamimi. “Later, two others took off their clothes and had sex with each other for all the riders to see. As a 16-year-old girl who hadn’t witnessed anything beyond a kissing scene in a Hollywood movie, I was appalled. I closed my eyes and tried my hardest to fight back tears.”

Will there be pushback from parents or other “thought police” patrolling public libraries? Parents might object to a 16-yearold reading this. But they should be objecting to a child enduring terrible treatment, in a country supported by U.S. taxpayers.

“When they throw you in prison, the occupation forces want to see you broken and defeated, your spirits as low as the ground,” Tamimi writes. “When, instead, you dare to defy their system of oppression by laugh-

Delinda C. Hanley is executive editor of the Washington Report

ing, it shows them that not even prison will break you or stop you from caring about your cause. Laughter sends a powerful message: We’re still alive, we’re still laughing, and we love life.” That is a lesson everyone can learn.

Each year approximately 500-700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years old, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine. The most common charge is stone throwing, for which the maximum sentence is 20 years in prison. According to Save the Children, these kids “face inhumane treatment such as beatings, strip searches, psychological abuse, weeks in solitary confinement and being denied access to a lawyer during interrogations.” Beyond facts and numbers, this book portrays what happened to a child enduring this treatment.

A traditionally pro-Israel publication, the Washington Post recently published an article titled, “Palestinian parents fear for their children as Israel’s far right rises.” It notes that increasing numbers of children are rounded up in near-nightly raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. More than 30 Palestinian minors have been killed in 2022, and with a far right-wing government now forming, even more children are in danger. That is why it’s urgent for all of us to read They Called Me a Lioness, and gift copies to libraries, classrooms, newsrooms and legislators’ offices.

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire

Edited by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing and Michael Merryman-Lotze, Haymarket Books, 2022, paperback, 280 pp. MEB $24.95

Reviewed by Ida Audeh

This collection of 15 essays and poems, introduced by lead editor Jehad Abusalim, was conceptualized as a platform to humanize Gaza and show that the besieged territory is more than a place of destruction and impoverishment. Light in Gaza is ultimately successful in bringing Gazans to life, showing the dignity, integrity and

creativity with which they endure life’s many hardships.

This is a deeply personal book for the contributors. How can it be anything else? Contributor Refaat Alareer states matter-offactly: “My wife, Nusayba, and I are a perfectly normal Palestinian couple—we have over 30 relatives killed by Israel in the past two decades.” Teaching literature to his university students is Alareer’s way of coping with death and violence all around him. Asmaa Abu Mezied describes clutching her phone and filming while fleeing destruction,

as a way of documenting her own narrative and denying others the ability to distort it. It is a “plea for humanity’s help to end this horror, which is more than our cameras can bear,” she writes.

The essays convey how exhausting and frightening it is to live in Gaza. Subjected to periodic brutal assaults, Gazans (70 percent of whom are refugees) live in a state of “permanent temporality,” a term Shahd Abusalama uses to describe living in a state of suspension, while waiting to return home. During its many assaults on Gaza, Israeli officials shamelessly cite as evidence of their humanity and magnanimity the advance warnings they provide to residents whose homes they are about to bomb. Dorgham Abusalim describes how the intended target processes the alert. His account leaves no doubt that giving midnight warnings to Gazans who have no safe place to seek refuge is sadistic and profoundly cruel.

Yousef Aljamal and Israa Mohammed Jamal help us understand the many practical implications of restrictions on movement. When people are unable to enter or leave Gaza, relatives become strangers to

one another, they explain. (While the blockade of Gaza is particularly restrictive, Palestinians in the West Bank also face severe limits on their movement.)

Abu Mezied’s essay on agrarian practices explains how a rich agricultural area can, with malevolent determination, be reduced to a shadow of its former self. The Gaza District lost most of its villages and its agricultural base in 1948: Out of 22,000 dunams of citrus farms and one million dunams of grain, only 4,000 dunams and 17,000 dunams, respectively, survived the Nakba. About half of Gaza’s agricultural land has been placed off-limits (now falling in Israel’s self-declared “buffer zone”), and labor force participation in agriculture has dropped from 32 percent in 1970 to 4.7 percent in 2019. War, water salinity and the uprooting of trees are further threats to food production. These facts demonstrate the vulnerability of Gazans to an enemy on record as determined to “put them on a diet.”

But Gazans have shown astonishing levels of creativity in finding solutions to problems. Salem Al Qudwa’s description of rebuilding homes that are practical, aesthetically pleasing, using local materials and respecting family needs can apply to other areas facing housing crises. Suhail Taha mentions in passing the invention of airless tires for wheelchairs, which are better on the road and require fewer repairs than regular tires. Nour Naim’s thought-provoking essay on positive applications for artificial intelligence proposes a range of uses, including three-dimensional printing as a workaround for restrictions on imports. Poet Mosab Abu Toha describes the rich cultural life of Gaza, one that probably isn’t known to most readers. I had no idea, for instance, that the Gaza Strip was home to most of Palestine’s libraries. No wonder, then, that his response to the bombing of his university’s library was to establish a lending library, with book donations from Noam Chomsky, the family of Edward Said and others.

The final essay in this collection, by Basman Aldirawi, provocatively imagines three futures for Gaza in the year 2050, only one of which (the one-state option) resembles a “normal” system.

The essays in this volume convey with urgency the need to have a “meaningful conversation about Gaza, led by Palestinians, that reflects on the past, present and future,” Abusalim writes. Gazans (and all Palestinians) desperately need a discourse that goes beyond the sterility of present political discourse—one that recognizes the vitality of Gaza’s people, the crime that has been committed against them for too long, their inseparability from the Palestinian nation and their right to chart their future free of Israeli terrorism.

We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel

By Eric Alterman, Basic Books, 2022, hardcover, 512 pp. MEB $35

Reviewed by Walter L. Hixson

change in American policy, much less a determination to call Israel to account.

Alterman’s book proceeds chronologically across the familiar contours of the history of American Zionism. In the first generation following the creation of Israel much of the American public, including Jews, were less than fully engaged with Middle East politics. That changed in June 1967 when American Jews rallied behind Israel, fearing that it might be destroyed as it went to war with Arab states. Israel’s ringing victory in the six-day conflict proved to be a turning point after which support for Israel was embedded in the identity of many American Jews. From that point forward the Israel lobby, eventually joined by the Christian right and neoconservatives, among others, relentlessly promoted Israel’s interests in the media, popular culture and especially in the Congress.

Eric Alterman has produced a comprehensive and well-written history centered on how Americans have grappled with the Middle East conflict from the creation of Israel to the present. The most important point he makes in We Are Not One is that ever-mounting evidence over the years has made it clear to Americans, including most American Jews, that Israel is an oppressive and ultimately apartheid state. But that awareness has produced no fundamental

Contributing editor Walter L. Hixson is the author of Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy, along with several other books and journal articles. He was a professor of history for 36 years, achieving the rank of distinguished professor.

Alterman provides a straightforward, deeply researched and often damning account of this history. The book concludes fittingly with the New York Times’ tortured response to Amnesty International’s historic designation in 2022 of Israel as an apartheid state. This news apparently was not “fit to print” in America’s much-vaunted “newspaper of record.” After ignoring the report for two months, the Times finally referenced the apartheid designation by Amnesty and other human rights groups in a story buried on its inside pages. This vignette underscores the ongoing denial and failure to confront Israeli repression in mainstream American discourse.

Alterman’s book offers an excellent place to start for those with little knowledge of the U.S.-Israel dynamic, but for specialists or longtime students of the American role in the conflict, there is little that is new here.

Alterman claims that his book is the first to systematically examine the relationship between American Jews and Israel, but in fact the subject has been studied by many other scholars and journalists, including Dov Waxman’s comprehensive account Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel (2016). We Are Not One thus offers an in-depth but unoriginal account.

The book does nonetheless underscore the ever-increasing concern of most American Jews that the repressive and blatantly

apartheid character of Israeli society is out of step with traditionally liberal American Jewish values. We Are Not One is also well researched, well organized, up-to-date and highly readable, none of which is surprising, as Alterman is an accomplished journalist and historian.

While Alterman, to his credit, does not downplay or apologize for the long history of repressing Palestinians, neither does he offer any solutions. Ironically, Alterman’s book echoes the very problem he describes, which is a growing acknowledgment of the realities of Israeli oppression combined with an absence of advice or direction on what to do about it. Ultimately, in New York publishing, which is the milieu in which Alterman operates, there are limits as to how far one can go in condemning Israel’s violent apartheid regime and demanding meaningful change.

Advocating for Palestine in Canada: Histories, Movements, Action

Edited by Emily Regan Wills, Jeremy Wildeman, Michael Bueckert and Nadia Abu-Zahra, Fernwood Publishing, 2022, paperback, 224 pp. MEB $30

Reviewed by Candice Bodnaruk

Advocating for Palestine in Canada is a first-of-its-kind testament to the thriving Palestinian advocacy movement in Canada. Assessing activism from the 1960s to the present, the edited volume is the result of an academic symposium held on the topic at the University of Ottawa in 2019. In the introduction, Libby Davies, a

NEW ARRIVALS

Palestine Hijacked: How Zionism Forged an Apartheid State from River to Sea by Thomas Suárez, Olive Branch Press, 2022, paperback, 470 pp. MEB $25. The Israel-Palestine “conflict” is typically understood to be a clash between two ethnic groups—Arabs and Jews— inhabiting the same land. Thomas Suárez digs deep below these preconceptions and their supporting “narratives” to expose something starkly different: The violent takeover of Palestine by a European racial-nationalist settler movement, Zionism, using terror to assert by force a claim to the land. Drawing extensively from original source documents, Suárez interweaves secret intelligence reports, newly declassified military and diplomatic correspondence and the terrorists’ own records boasting of their successes. His shocking account details a litany of Zionist terrorism against anyone in their way—the indigenous Palestinians, the British who had helped establish Zionism and Jews who opposed the Zionist agenda. Suárez proves that Israel’s regime of apartheid against the Palestinians and the continued expropriation of their country are not the result of complex historical circumstances, but the intended, singular goal of Zionism since its beginning.

An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville by Reza Aslan, W. W. Norton & Company, 2022, hardcover, 384 pp. MEB $30. Little known in America but venerated as a martyr in Iran, Howard Baskerville was a 22-year-old Christian missionary from South Dakota who traveled to Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1907 for a two-year stint teaching English and preaching the Gospel. He arrived in the midst of a democratic revolution. The Persian students Baskerville educated in English in turn educated him about their struggle for democracy, ultimately inspiring him to leave his teaching post and join them in their fight against a tyrannical shah and his British and Russian backers. In 1909, Baskerville was killed in battle alongside his students, but his martyrdom spurred on the revolutionaries who succeeded in removing the shah from power, signing a new constitution and rebuilding parliament in Tehran. In this rip-roaring tale of his life and death, Reza Aslan gives us a powerful parable about the universal ideals of democracyand to what degree Americans are willing to support those ideals in a foreign land. Baskerville’s story, like his life, is at the center of a whirlwind in which Americans must ask themselves: How seriously do we take our ideals of constitutional democracy and whose freedom do we support?

The Blue Scarf by Mohamed Danawi, illustrated by Ruaida Mannaa, Running Press Kids, 2022, hardcover, 48 pp. MEB $18. Layla lives in a beautiful blue world. One day, her mother gives her a gift—a blue scarf that Layla lovingly wears around her neck. But when a gust of wind carries the scarf away, Layla sets out to find it, traveling by boat to various worlds of different colors. But her scarf is nowhere to be found. Eventually, Layla lands at the shores of a rainbow world and discovers the secret of her lost scarf while also finding a welcoming new home. This is a beautiful and poignant refugee story about identity, emigration and acceptance told by Mohamed Danawi and brought to life in gorgeous color by illustrator Ruaida

Mannaa.

former New Democratic Party (NDP) member of parliament who has been involved in Palestinian advocacy since the 1990s, said the book, “clearly and forthrightly lays out the case of the growing strength of the pan-Canadian Palestinian solidarity movement and the need to make connections with people in elected office— especially at the federal level.”

Although many academics contributed to this collection, the book is very readable for grassroots activists and is in many ways a guidebook on how to maneuver through ongoing barriers to Palestinian solidarity activism in Canada—whether they be from the Canadian government itself or from proIsrael lobby groups like B’nai Brith Canada or Honest Reporting Canada.

Advocating for Palestine in Canada is divided into three sections: Systems of Injustice; Insights for Possible Futures; and Closeups—Media, Non-Profits and Campuses (which is the longest section).

In his chapter, journalist Davide Mastracci reveals the censorship he experienced firsthand in the newsroom when writing about Palestine. He outlines the influence of the lobby group Honest Reporting Canada and their role in silencing Palestinian solidarity voices. Mastracci also gives many examples of Canadian journalists who were told that their articles would either be cut outright or put on hold because they were critical of Israel. Furthermore, the chapter highlights the stories of writers who lost their positions at mainstream Canadian dailies for writing honestly about Palestine.

Turning to activism, Thomas Woodley, president of Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), explores specific roadblocks to Palestinian advocacy work, such as what he calls the “weaponization” of anti-Semitism to silence and in effect shut down any and all criticism of Israel. On this theme, other contributors

Candice Bodnaruk has been involved in Palestinian issues for the past 14 years through organizations such as the Canadian BDS Coalition and Peace Alliance Winnipeg. Her political action started with feminism and continued with the peace movement, first with the No War on Iraq Coalition in 2003 in Winnipeg.

discuss efforts to classify the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semitic.

One of the most interesting aspects of this volume is the editors’ decision to include little-known historical information about Palestinian solidarity organizing in Ottawa. The chapter, “Campus Palestine Activism in Ottawa from the 1970s to the 2010s,” although limited to two universities in the capital city, provides a representative snapshot of what many activists have experienced on campuses throughout the country.

If there is a drawback to this collection, it’s the absence of analysis on activism in the Canadian Prairies (Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) and Canada’s Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador). The omission of these areas likely reflects the fact that the editors are all from eastern Canada.

Advocating for Palestine in Canada does conclude on a somewhat positive message. After outlining the history of Palestinian activism in Canada, the editors explain that Palestinian solidarity movements in Canada should be inspired by struggles for indigenous rights and other anti-racism struggles. Moreover, the book embraces inter-sectionalism, focusing on how Palestinian rights movements thrive when working with other groups struggling for rights and social justice.

“One of the lessons of this book is that the solidarity that can be formed among those who care about justice in Palestine is central to the strength of movements for Palestine, as well as movements for justice elsewhere,” the editors conclude.

Ida in the Middle

By Nora Lester Murad, Crocodile Books, 2022, hardcover, 224 pp. MEB $19.95

Reviewed by Mary E. Neznek

This young adult novel, written for 12- to 16year-olds, is a welcome saga of a young Palestinian American middle school girl grappling with her identity.

Ida’s family’s moved from the West Bank to Massachusetts before she was born, and she feels both out of place among her

classmates and unable to fully understand her heritage. However, her life changes after she discovers a magic olive that transports her to Palestine and reveals information about her heritage and family.

In one charming and hope-filled scene, Ida and her Aunt Malayka venture into a Jewish pastry shop where both Palestinians and Israelis are dining on traditional samples of savory mushroom pies and apple turnovers. In this story, Ida’s young mind admirably envisions a world of unity, peace and camaraderie.

However, not all of Ida’s trips are uplifting. In one “adventure,” she travels back to the Second Intifada and witnesses the violence that forced her family to make the difficult decision to move to the United States. Here, we learn about the horrific demise of her aunt, who dies in an automobile accident while covering a story for her newspaper. Palestinian emergency personnel were delayed at an Israeli checkpoint and thus unable to provide medical care at the scene of the crash.

Ida also witnesses the demolition of her friend Layla’s family home. In the dramatic scene, she is chased by armed soldiers and mighty tanks, but is able to elude capture by hiding out in an abandoned store.

Tragically, back in Massachusetts, Ida experiences regular taunts at school due to her Palestinian heritage. In this way, her story mirrors the immigrant experience of many Palestinians, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and other minorities who do not fit into the stereotypical white middle-class norm. The book also explores the paltry curriculum regarding the Middle East in U.S. schools. “Nobody even says

the word ‘Palestine’ in my school,” Ida relates. “The teachers are afraid to teach anything about the Middle East, even if the topic has nothing to do with politics.”

At one point, Ida feels excluded and undervalued as she witnesses a school club promoting the ties between Judaism and Israel. As a Palestinian Muslim, she lacks a forum to tell her own family’s story, and worse yet, is often ridiculed by her peers calling her “terrorist.” Ultimately, Ida is able to embrace her identity as a Palestinian American through a project that offers her the opportunity to share her story with the school community.

After leaving her public school named after the notorious ethnic cleanser President Andrew Jackson, Ida attends an artsinfused private school which embraces a curriculum for creative children who have trouble fitting in at public schools. This only goes so far, but Ida finds relief and joy in the friendships of her immigrant friends.

Ida also receives tremendous love and support from her close-knit family in Massachusetts. With limits on her screen time, Ida is free to enjoy soccer games, shared family meals and stories about Palestine.

In this young adult novel, one can teach the story of Palestine and the challenges Palestinians face every day living under Israeli occupation. At the same time, the book helps children understand and empathize with the plight of immigrants who have come to the United States due to the danger of political and economic turmoil in their native lands.

Ida in the Middle is sure to capture the minds of its teenage readers. Told with a magical realism, one cannot help but become engrossed as Ida vividly travels from homework sessions and soccer games in Massachusetts back to occupied Palestine.

An educator’s guide for the book, as well as resources for teaching and learning about Palestine, are available at <IdaInThe Middle.com>. ■

Mary E. Neznek is an educator who has taught special education and English as a second language in the District of Columbia. She has also been an instructor in children’s literature at the Catholic University of America.

War and Me: A Memoir by Faleeha Hassan, Amazon Crossing, 2022, paperback, 364 pp. MEB $14.95.

Faleeha Hassan became intimately acquainted with loss and fear while growing up in Najaf, Iraq. Now, in a deeply personal account of her life, she remembers those she has loved and lost. As a young woman, Hassan hated seeing her father and brother go off to fight, and when she needed to reach them, she broke all the rules by traveling alone to the war’s front lines—just one of many shocking and moving examples of her resilient spirit. Later, after building a life in the U.S., she realizes that she will coexist with war for most of the years of her life and chooses to focus on education for herself and her children. In a world on fire, she finds courage, compassion and a voice. A testament to endurance and a window into unique aspects of life in the Middle East, Hassan’s memoir offers an intimate perspective on something wars can’t touch: the loving bonds of family.

Arab Boy Delivered: A Novel by Paul Aziz Zarou, Cune Press, 2022, hardcover, 240 pp. MEB $22.

In 1967 Michael Haddad, the teenage son of Palestinian immigrants, maneuvers through his working-class American neighborhood delivering groceries and enters the homes and lives of his customers. He’s confronted by the violence of racist bullies and falls for the radical college coed who teaches him about sex, love and protest. Michael grieves with the mother whose only son died in the Vietnam War and is embraced by the first Black couple to move into the neighborhood. They all shape him, and through the conflict of hate, acts of kindness and his sexual awakening, Michael struggles to figure out who he is as the dutiful son of an immigrant family. Michael’s life is buffeted by the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the death, two months later, of Bobby Kennedy. His girlfriend opens his eyes to the ongoing struggle to test national ideals against the growing diversity of America. But when Michael experiences a sudden tragedy, he must learn to get past his fears, come to terms with his heritage and set himself free.

Slipping: A Novel by Mohamed Kheir, Two Lines Press, 2021, paperback, 187 pp. MEB $16.95.

A struggling journalist named Seif is introduced to a former exile with an encyclopedic knowledge of Egypt’s obscure, magical places. Together, as explorer and guide, they step into the fragmented, elusive world the Arab Spring. But what begins as a fantastical excursion through a splintered nation quickly winds its way inward as Seif begins to piece together the trauma of his own past, including what happened to Alya, his lover with the remarkable ability to sing any sound: crashing waves, fluttering wings, a roaring inferno. Musical and parabolic, Slipping seeks nothing less than to accept the world in all its mystery. An innovative novel that searches for meaning within the haze of trauma, it generously portrays the overlooked miracles of everyday life, and attempts to reconcile past failures—both personal and societal— with a daunting future. Delicately translated from Arabic by Robin Moger, this is a profound introduction to the imagination of Mohamed Kheir, one of the most exciting writers working in Egypt today.

Other People’s Mail

Compiled by Dale Sprusansky

BIDEN LETS MBS OFF THE HOOK

To the Portland Press Herald, Nov. 23, 2022

President Joe Biden backtracked on his promise to do something about the grisly 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Big oil and U.S. weapon sales win again. Biden has decided to derail a U.S. lawsuit over Khashoggi’s killing with a bogus argument that Saudi Arabia’s leader now has immunity. Biden had a chance to stand up for human rights, for freedom of the press, and he blew it.

I worried when he fist-bumped Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman. MBS, as he is known, has bombed famine-stricken Yemen, and is known for cracking down on feminism, journalism, human rights–anything democratic. He represents the worst of autocratic, corrupt rule, and yet there was our president hypocritically meeting with him, as though he were just another head of state. That same hypocrisy shows in Biden’s cozying up to Israel, ignoring that country’s horrific oppression of Palestine.

I wish our president had the integrity of Maine’s Ed Muskie (who served as President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of State), a truly great leader, but he does not. Let’s find a younger, more honest and courageous candidate to run for president two years hence.

Steve Cartwright, Tenants Harbor, ME

CONGRESS MUST TAKE ACTION ON YEMEN

To the Times Union, Dec. 4, 2022

Reid Smith and John Byrnes’ commentary stresses Congress’ duty to end the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (“Congress must reassert its authority over America’s wars,” Nov. 21). That 2002 act, commonly referred to as the “Iraq AUMF,” authorized

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America’s military action to destroy Iraq’s (non-existent) nuclear weapons.

If not ended, this AUMF could still empower a president to start additional “limited force wars,” wars that use only “necessary and appropriate” power. Recall that earlier AUMFs authorized war with Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. Lest the 2002 AUMF be used again, for war against Iran or any country, Congress must, as Smith and Byrnes argue, decertify the 2002 AUMF.

But Congress must also act to stop America’s participation in the horrific endless war in Yemen. The 2001 War Authorization, passed to respond to 9/11, was used by President Barack Obama as authorization to fight al-Qaeda in Yemen, and eventually led to supplying military aid for the Saudi-led war against the country. America then sent munitions for attack helicopters and armed vehicles, used since 2014 to destroy Yemen and its people, as well as ships and training for the naval blockade that denies Yemen desperately needed humanitarian aid.

To end that authorization, both houses of Congress must pass, and President Joe Biden must sign into law, the H.J. Res. 87 Yemen War Powers Resolution. This bill requires ending all continuing U.S. support of the Saudi-led war: weapons sales, aircraft maintenance, spare parts and logistical support.

When, in 2019, both houses of Congress did this, lawmakers failed to overcome former President Donald Trump’s veto. Hopefully, Biden will support this legislation and end, finally, U.S. participation in a violent, endless war.

We must ask Congress to support both actions and move us away from war.

Sister Francine Dempsey, Latham, NY

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ANY SENATOR: U.S. SENATE WASHINGTON, DC 20510 (202) 224-3121

U.S. SANCTIONS ON AFGHANISTAN

To The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 28, 2022

The Associated Press story on the expected suffering this winter in Afghanistan was unsettling. In the article, the director of operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross said that sanctions have led to massive consequences, but the tone of the piece was as if nothing could be done to ease the suffering. The story should have pointed out that a great deal can be done, and the U.S. is in a position to do it. U.S. sanctions are the driving force behind Afghanistan’s economic meltdown.

The U.S. has frozen more than $7 billion of the country’s assets, amounting to roughly 40 percent of Afghanistan’s hard currency reserves. U.S.-led international restrictions on the country’s banking sector are driving mass starvation in Afghanistan. The U.S. must unfreeze the billions of dollars that belong to Afghanistan and stop other forms of sanctions against this sovereign nation.

Andrew Mills, Lower Gwynedd, PA

DEADLY NUMBERS REVEAL BIAS

To the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Dec. 12, 2022

Consider some deadly serious data according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: From Jan. 1, 2008 to Nov. 21, 2022, Palestinian fatalities included 4,130 men, 620 women, 1,119 boys and 271 girls. Israeli fatalities included 229 men, 32 women, 15 boys and six girls.

Those who try to defend the Israeli government and military against critics often loudly complain about anti-Semitism. They usually ignore the Palestinians. Are they guilty of anti-Palestinianism?

Don’t they recognize that Palestinians

are humans too and deserve all the rights of every human, including the right to life and dignity? One reason why the Palestinian-Israeli tragedy persists is because the Palestinians’ terrorized existence under an obviously apartheid state is ignored by so many, including letters to the editor and most media. Another is that the American government and taxpayers support the Israeli military.

Leslie Sponsel, Hawaii Kai, HI

PALESTINE AND UKRAINE

To the Financial Times, Dec. 5, 2022

Kristina Berdynskykh’s return to Kherson (“A bittersweet homecoming,” Life & Arts, FT Weekend, November 26) was a moving account of the effects of occupation on Kherson’s citizens and their happiness at Russia’s withdrawal.

But I have just returned from 11 days visiting the Palestinian occupied territories and each time I go the situation is worse. I witnessed continuing cruelty and grave breaches of international law. More and more land is illegally occupied, and the Israeli army is deployed to protect illegal settlers and oppress and kill Palestinian citizens. Now politicians who openly call for ethnic cleansing will take up senior positions in the new Israeli government.

Clearly Vladimir Putin’s invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory is wrong, violent and cruel. But so is Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. We claim we are upholding an international rules-based order in Ukraine. Yet we ignore international law and the opinion of the International Court of Justice in relation to Israel.

If we upheld international law, the Palestinians would have their state and Israel would be saved from its monstrous record of cruelty and illegality.

It is little wonder that so much of the world does not support NATO on the Ukraine war. They see clearly our hypocrisy and double standards.

Clare Short, former UK International Development Secretary, London, England CAMPUS

SCANDAL ABOUT ISRAEL

To The Observer, Dec. 9, 2022

Dear President Eric Kaler, Case Western Reserve University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), alongside 13 different cosigning organizations,

would like to issue a response to the email you sent to the campus community in regards to the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) passing Resolution 31-15.

In your campus-wide address on Nov. 9, you declared the efforts of SJP and the USG as “hateful,” “naive’’ and “anti-Semitic.” Resolution 31-15 seeks only to investigate CWRU’s investment in companies and institutions that are potentially contributing to the death and suffering of minorities within Israel and its occupied territories, the global military industrial complex and the global prison industrial complex. Resolution 31-15 was debated through open, respectful dialogue and ultimately passed by individuals who have been democratically chosen to represent our undergraduate student body. The members of SJP seek to foster an open dialogue with you in hopes of reaching an understanding. The students of CWRU have shown support for Resolution 31-15 and we urge the administration to implement the outlined conditions.

SJP and its allied organizations recognize and acknowledge the concerns of Jewish students on this campus. We validate the fears expressed by our Jewish peers and we are intent on taking a stand against the very real and growing threat of anti-Semitism in this country and world. The requests in the resolution do not seek to spread hate, nor are they inherently antiSemitic. Resolution 31-15 asserts a legitimate criticism of the actions of the Israeli government and does not target the Jewish community as a whole. The argument that a vote against Israel is one against the Jewish members of our community makes an extremely nuanced conversation morally impenetrable. We must be able to acknowledge when atrocities occur, and we reserve the right as students to request that our university investigate their financial support of said atrocities.

Your statement lacked consideration for the impact your words would have on the students whom you have been appointed to care for. It is evident that you have only prioritized the safety and concerns of the Jewish members of our community, as shown in your meeting with Cleveland Hillel. While you are not at fault for supporting a group of students—who have expressed concern for their safety and well-

being on this campus—you have simultaneously chosen to neglect a community who has also conveyed concerns for their safety. This one-sided sympathy is further emphasized by your failure to meet with SJP, the Muslim Student Association or the Middle Eastern Cultural Association.

It is thus imperative that the voices of students are respected and taken into full consideration. Your desire to ensure that CWRU should be a “welcoming place for all” is contradicted by the fact that this statement draws negative attention to other voices. As the university president, you have power and influence on this campus, and to so rashly dismiss the voices of students acting in a democratic manner is irresponsible. This abuse of power has caused irrefutable harm and has placed a target on the backs of Palestinian students, members of USG and every student standing in solidarity. In the interest of student wellbeing, we expect a community-wide statement addressing the concerns this letter has outlined. Furthermore, we would like to request a public meeting with you and representatives of SJP. We make these requests with the desire to educate people on all sides of the issue, alleviate student concerns and pursue the investigation outlined in Resolution 31-15.

Signed by Students for Justice in Palestine and 13 other campus organizations. ■

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Middle East Children’s Alliance. . . 11

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Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. . 13

Palestinian Medical Relief Society. . 25

Persian Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Playgrounds for Palestine. . . . . . . . 48

Unitarian Universalists. . . . . . . . . . 19

United Palestinian Appeal (UPA). . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover

Zakat Foundation of America. . . . 43

Libyan Survivors

Continued from page 37

guished relatives, as a way of supporting them. I never received any response. Until recently, the subject of NATO’s civilian deaths was a taboo in Libya. Talking about it publically could lead to unpleasant consequences. Libya’s new masters and their supporting militias still view NATO’s 2011 mission favorably since it ended the Qaddafi regime. They seem to believe that all civilians killed by NATO airstrikes in 2011 were, somehow, directly associated with Qaddafi’s efforts to stay in power.

Libya today is worse off than it was when NATO ended its air campaign in October 2011, leaving the U.N. to pick up

the pieces. All U.N. efforts to broker a political settlement have so far failed. Last September the U.N. appointed its latest envoy—number eight in 11 years—to revive the political process prioritizing elections. Abdoulaye Bathily, a former Senegalese minister, is trying to get the Libyan factions to agree to a legislative base for elections to end the long overdue transitional period. It is unlikely that he will get anywhere, given the continuing foreign meddling in the country’s internal affairs and the corrupt political elite. Elections were planned for Dec. 24, 2021, but they never happened. Some optimistic observers think that elections might be possible by next summer, but that is very unlikely.

RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT CIVILIANS

Ironically, the 2011 military intervention in Libya was packaged as an obligation for the international community based on the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) civilians. The civilian population’s overall situation in the country, after all these years, is much worse than it was when Resolution 1973 was enacted, ostensibly to make Libya a democratic and peaceful country.

The Libyan experience is a testimony to the difficulties associated with “humanitarian military intervention,” as it violates the U.N. Charter which cherishes the sovereignty of nations. The involvement of NATO in Libya makes a mockery of everything the U.N. stands for.

Historically, NATO has never been successfully sued and hardly admitted any wrongdoings in the two other major interventions the alliance undertook in the former Yugoslavia (1999) and Afghanistan (2001-2021). Almost all major international rights groups accused NATO of killing civilians in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya but the alliance never answered to such accusations.

Al-Gharari, Al-Morabit and El-Hamedi vow to continue their efforts to hold NATO accountable, however unlikely that might be. They are not giving up just yet. ■

Real Hero of Israeli Left

Continued from page 26

topics.” He is beyond the pale, and his opinion is cast beyond the fence, to the point of incriminating him. Decent and honest people should find it difficult to refute the claims Frey made. But in the ultra-nationalist, propaganda-driven and rapacious reality we live in, there is no room for such integrity. It’s easier to fire him from a workplace that’s enlightened and progressive in its own eyes, while accusing him of incitement to terror.

In an environment in which “terror” is anything the Palestinians do and “self-defense” is anything Israelis do; in a place in which the killing of children and youths in their tens and hundreds, including two brothers only this week, is not considered terror but in which harming violent and land-grabbing settlers or soldiers in the occupation army is illegitimate under any circumstance, there is no point in trying to explain why Frey’s position is correct. We’ll try anyway: There is no left without equality, and equality must include the right of both peoples, not just of one, to engage in resistance and self-defense. Not only Israelis are allowed to kill while calling the killers heroes.

It’s easy to don a sanctimonious anti-violence cloak—we oppose violence—yet see Frey’s words as incitement to violence. “I want to see every terrorist dead,” in the words of Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, is not incitement to violence, since nothing is more fluid than the definition of a Palestinian as a terrorist. “Death to terrorists” is also not incitement. But expressing wonder at a Palestinian who refrained from harming civilians, seeking only soldiers as a target, that’s incitement.

The coming period will be challenging for anyone wishing to express truly courageous statements. One may assume that Grossman will continue to talk about two states and the end of the occupation, and garner more prizes. Frey may end up in jail. Is there any doubt as to which of the two has greater courage? ■

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American

Educational Trust Washington

Report on

Middle East

Affairs

P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009

January/February 2023

Vol. XLII, No. 1

A man watches a video of Iranian singer/songwriter Shervin Hajipour, a 25‐year‐old Iranian pop singer and songwriter, whose song “Baraye,” “For,” has been described as “the anthem” of the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests. His song puts together messages posted on Twitter about the reasons for protests. The emotional performance became a viral hit with millions of views within days. He was arrested on Sept. 29, 2022, two days after the song was initially published, and was released on bail on Oct. 4 2022.

PHOTO BY KHALED DESOUKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES