activisms_52-63.qxp_June/July 2022 Activisms 5/18/22 1:20 PM Page 61
JUNE/JULY 2022
HUMAN RIGHTS National Press Club Honors Slain Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
son Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav told Army Radio that Abu Akleh and her colleague Ali alSamoudi, who was shot in the back and is in stable condition, were “armed with cameras.” Both journalists were wearing helmets and vests clearly identifying them as members of the press when they were shot. To honor Abu Akleh, the National Press Club in Washington, DC observed a minute of silence for her on May 12, after which Ab-
STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
The killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli sniper on May 11 has outraged journalists and human rights defenders around the world. The 51-year-old veteran correspondent for
Al Jazeera Washington Bureau Chief Abderrahim Foukara (l) and Emily Wilkins of the Na‐ tional Press Club’s Board of Governors hold an event to honor slain Palestinian‐American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in Washington, DC on May 12, 2022. Al Jazeera was reporting on an early morning Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin when she was fatally shot. Despite Israel’s claim of not targeting the journalist, Israel’s chief military spokesper-
PHOTO COURTESY BILL MCGRATH
Ottaway pointed out. The myriad parties “don’t aggregate the interests of their constituencies,” she said, so “they end up not representing anybody.” The weakness of political parties is often enforced and exploited by the state to preserve the status quo, explained Amr Hamzawy, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center and a former member of the Egyptian parliament. “Arab governments have always made a priority of controlling formal political spaces and not allowing political parties to thrive,” he said. It’s logical that attempts to organize politically following the uprisings struggled, Hamzawy said, as it’s exceedingly difficult for neophyte parties to suddenly fill a decades-long political void. As a multitude of individuals and parties contested over post-uprising life, establishment political, military and business leaders were able to swoop in and undermine the goals of the protesters, he noted. In a way, the overflourishing of new political life helped create an opportunity for the old forces to reemerge, gain control and again clamp down on political organizing. Political parties, however, are not always innocent victims of the state, Hamzawy noted. In some cases, particularly in the 2019 “second wave” uprisings that took place in Iraq and Lebanon, political parties themselves were the target of the people’s ire. This, he explained, is because protesters viewed parties as representative of the corruption, abuse of power and sectarian politics that sent them into the streets. Ottaway stressed that the failure of political parties to gain momentum is not emblematic of a scarcity of political life in the Arab world. Instead, she noted that public mobilizations now tend to happen sporadically, only to flame out due to a lack of backing from institutionalized parties. If they have any hope of capturing the public and stirring real change in the region, Hamzawy said political parties must begin forming coalitions across societal and economic lines. Many parties tend to over represent urban, middle class individuals, he noted, leaving rural and poor citizens to find alternative forms of representation. —Dale Sprusansky
derrahim Foukara, bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Washington, spoke briefly to reporters and friends of the slain journalist. “Al Jazeera is clear in its position that the bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh was an
For the past nine years, the Nakba has been observed dur‐ ing mid‐May in Northfield, MN using a procession. As names of destroyed Palestinian vil‐ lages are read, participants insert a small flag into a 4‐by‐8 styrofoam map of Israel/Pales‐ tine. A bell is rung as the name of each village is read through a microphone. The resulting sound attracts curious folks who are walking along the main downtown street. There are a few speeches explaining what happened in 1948, and finally an open‐mic session. The event is organized by Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel. This year’s event took place on Saturday, May 14. WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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