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Proud Iranians who have survived political repression and international sanctions are saying they’ve had enough (see p. 36). Palestinians who have endured ever-worsening conditions living under Israel’s apartheid occupation are saying that’s enough (see p. 26)! Gazans, cut off from the world, who have so many talents (see photos) but few opportunities are ready to blow. People are protesting around the world, and the fuel shortages which will make heating this winter a challenge for some—or even impossible for others— are only just beginning. It’s time to... Put People Ahead of Politics The U.S. can’t use weapons to solve any of the problems now besetting the world. We have to use other tools in our arsenal like the United Nations, which was built to peacefully resolve the world’s problems. (See p. 28 for a border dispute that has been solved by discussions with Lebanon and Israel and p. 34 for our U.N. column which describes illegal annexations that are not faring so well.) That means enough with the U.N. bashing and threats to defund it from Capitol Hill. That’s why our readers, letter writers and others need to step up and remember.... Your Vote is Your Voice You’ll notice there is a lot focus on your elected officials in this issue. Candidates actually listen to your concerns when they are running for office. Show up at town halls and debates, volunteer, phone bank and donate. As you can see from the congressional voting records and pro-Israel PAC donations reported in recent issues and always available online, <www.wrmea.org>, some candidates are starting to take notice of human rights-first voices. And then again, others are still listening to Israel-firsters (see our vital articles from pp 18-25). We’re Feeling the Money Crunch Like many of you, the Washington Report and Middle East Books and More are feeling the squeeze during this...dare we say it?...recession. We’ve been alerted that paper, postage and printing costs are going to hit the roof in 2023. To start tightening our already strained belt, we omitted our usual postcard insert this issue. So if you need to start or renew a subscription, please use the form on p. 32 or visit our website.

You can also use that form to add the 16-page “Other Voices” insert to your subscription. That way, you won’t miss stunning reprints like the Haaretz article by Yossi Melman in this issue. It’s a pageturner, describing the Mossad’s history of using poison to assassinate enemies, beginning in 1948 when Israeli soldiers were sent to poison Arab water wells to spread typhoid bacteria! More Magazine and Bookstore News We had a deluge of brilliant applicants for our job opening for a bookstore assistant.

ABED ZAGOUT/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES Palestinian entrepreneur Akram al‐Umur, 45, turns collected paper into egg cartons in Khan Yunis, Gaza on Oct. 17, 2022. Palestinians are experts in making do with nothing. If Israel lifted its apartheid policies in occupied Palestine and its land, air and sea blockade of Gaza, which devastate their economies and isolate them from the outside world, there is no telling what Palestinians could accomplish. Hajira Asghar, founder of Students Against Imperialism at the George Washington University, now staffs the bookstore on weekends and will also use her writing talents in the magazine (see p. 42). Associate editors Julia Pitner (now our congressional reporter, see pp. 2025) and Ida Audeh (see p. 46) are both using their editing expertise on our team. We’d like to actually hire these folks and select others who could help us reach out beyond our own choir to find new readers, writers, advertisers and grants. It’s exhausting running this magazine on fumes. A Constant Drip A major renovation has repaired a decades-old leak in the back of Middle East Books and More. So now we can roll up our sleeves and expand the shop to provide more room for book talks, film screenings and co-hosting events with our neighbors, the Museum of the Palestinian People. We need a serious grant or many smaller donations to fund this project. Don’t wait for our second biannual donation appeal....donate online or send a check, just please dig deep so we can all... Make a Difference Today!