Washington Report on Middle East Affairs - May 2021 - Vol. XL No. 3 by American Educational Trust

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CRITICS INCREASINGLY DESCRIBE ISRAELI POLICIES AS “APARTHEID”

DISPLAY UNTIL 6/15/2021

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TELLING THE TRUTH SINCE 1982

Volume XL, No. 3

On Middle East Affairs

May 2021

INTERPRETING THE MIDDLE EAST FOR NORTH AMERICANS ✮ INTERPRETING NORTH AMERICA FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

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

Palestinians Face Election Obstacles—Two Views— Ramzy Baroud, Asya Abdul-Hadi

Israel Election Results: Is it Kahanist Ben-Gvir That Bothers You?—Gideon Levy

Increasingly, Jewish Critics of Israeli Policies Are Using the Term “Apartheid”—Allan C. Brownfeld

Poll: Americans Say Israel Should Not Be a Leading Recipient of U.S. Aid Given Evidence of Apartheid —Grant F. Smith

The Washington Post Redacted Facts About Israel’s Destruction of COVID-19 Clinics —Rosemarie M. Esber, Ph.D.

26 28 30

The Nakba of Sheikh Jarrah: How Israel Uses “The Law” to Ethnically Cleanse East Jerusalem —Ramzy Baroud

U.S. Palestinian Activist Defeats Israeli “Defamation” Lawsuit—Nora Barrows-Friedman Lawmakers Embracing Fantasy of Being Both “ProIsrael” and “Pro-Palestine”—Dale Sprusansky

An Interview with Father Abraham—Rev. Alex Awad Gaza Calls for Fair Vaccine Distribution —Mohammed Omer

Congressional Republicans Oppose Returning to the Iran Nuclear Agreement—Shirl McArthur

47 48 62

The Man Who Bought Washington—Eric S. Margolis

SPECIAL REPORTS

U.S.-Iran Relations: Crafting a New Beginning —Dr. M. Reza Behnam

Exonerating the Saudis—Again—Walter L. Hixson

Myanmar Coup: Former Israeli Secret Agent BenMenashe to the Rescue—John Gee

Why is Russia Involved in Yemen, Again? —Dr. Mohammad Salami

Erdogan, Turkey and the Rhetoric of “Reform” —Jonathan Gorvett

Marking Four Years Since Mosque Attack in Quebec City, Canada Announces National Day of Remembrance—Candice Bodnaruk

Legendary Leaders Lost in 2021—Delinda C. Hanley

Lighting Up Young Palestinian Lives With Books —John Cassell Photos by Dr. Estephan Salameh

ON THE COVER: A young Palestinian protester challenges Israeli troops as bulldozers demolish a home for

allegedly being unauthorized, on Feb. 4, 2021 in Hebron, West Bank. The dwelling belonged to a family with five children, now homeless during a pandemic. The demolition also destroyed an electricity grid that was supplying 10 homes in the same area with power. (PHOTO BY MAMOUN WAZWAZ/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES)

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(A Supplement to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs available by subscription at $15 per year. To subscribe, call toll-free 1-888-881-5861.)

Other Voices

Compiled by Janet McMahon

“Leaving Aside” International Law: Why Democrats Are as Dangerous as Republicans to A Just Peace in Palestine, Ramzy Baroud, www.ramzybaroud.net OV-1 Why Did the United States Add Israel to CENTCOM?, Nasim Ahmed, politicstoday.org

OV-3

U.S. Firm That Provided Israeli Nuke Facility Imagery Photographed Another Highly Sensitive Site, Chaim Levinson, Haaretz

OV-4

Bangladesh Bought Phone-Hacking Tools From Israel, Documents Show, Yarno Ritzen & Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com OV-5 Picture Israeli Labor Party Leader Michaeli in Prison, Gideon Levy, Haaretz Is Harvard Denying Tenure to Cornel West Over His Views On Palestine?, Juan Cole, www.juancole.com

OV-6

Is Biden Re-enlisting in the Forever Wars?, Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate, Inc.

OV-8

It’s Time to Rethink U.S. Terrorism Designation, Barbara Slavin, www.responsiblestatecraft.org

OV-9

“Every Day Is War”—a Decade Of Slow Suffering and Destruction in Syria, Ammar Azzouz, www.theconversation.com

OV-10

Tahrir Square Is Egypt’s Heart, Martin Roux, Le Monde diplomatique

OV-12

The Pearl of the Indian Ocean, Mohamed Duale & Jabril Abdullahi, www.africaisacountry.com

OV-13

Gaza’s First Digital Archive Documents Rich Cultural History, Hana Adli, www.aljazeera.com

OV-15

OV-7

DEPARTMENTS 5 Publishers’ Page 6 letters to the editor 50 huMaN rights:

Egypt’s Political Prisoners and U.S. Aid

51 WagiNg PeaCe:

Passionate Debate Offers Three

Avenues for U.S. Role in Syria 59 FilMs:

61 arab aMeriCaN aCtiVisM: NAAWA Celebrates Women

64 Middle east books reVieW 70 the World looks at the Middle east —CARTOONS 71 other PeoPle’s Mail 73 obituaries

Retired Patriarch of Jerusalem:

74 2021 aet Choir oF aNgels

Happen” to Palestinian Christians

43 iNdeX to

America “Does Not Care What Will

adVertisers

Poster by artist/designer/photographer Rajie Cook, 2013

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U.S. Aid and Israeli Apartheid

American Educational Trust

Publishers’ Page

it is often those working hard and under the radar who do the greatest good in this world. Her article pays tribute to four such individuals who have died this year: Dr. Agha K. Saeed, Thomas R. Shaker, James McKendree Wall and Rajie Cook. We hope you are inspired by the stories of their lives and remember that the work you do for peace and justice really does make a lasting difference.

MAJDI FATHI/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

Very rarely do you hear anyone in politics or the media question U.S. aid to Israel. The reality of apartheid from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River is likewise ignored, even when Israeli groups note this fact. But we are here to bring both Israeli apartheid and U.S. aid to the forefront—and to explore how they are interconnected. On April 17 and April 24, the Washington Report and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Be a Difference Maker Policy (IRmep) will host a twoThe country is beginning to part free virtual conference A child waits with her pot to receive free food in Gaza City, on Feb. 25, slowly wake up from a year of titled, “End US Support for Is- 2021. During the month of Ramadan, charities will distribute food to COVID. As we look toward the raeli Apartheid?” We are confi- the hungry around the world. post-pandemic world, we are dent this year’s event will coneager to get moving with our tinue our tradition of bluntly challenging plan to revamp our popular bookstore COVID-19 testing sites from Rosemarie the status quo and pushing U.S. policy in and install a coffee bar. While Middle East M. Esber’s letter to the editor. See pp. 18a better direction. See the advertisement Books and More has enjoyed tremen20 for Esber’s maddening account of her on p. 17 for more information on speakers dous online sales over the past year, we ordeal with the Post. You can also read and how to participate. know our customers are eager to get out Mohammed Omer’s article on Israel’s un-

Setting the Record Straight

Several articles in this issue will help you prepare for the upcoming conference. Allan C. Brownfeld (pp. 13-15) reveals that Jewish groups and intellectuals are increasingly describing Israel’s system of government as apartheid. An IRmep poll (p. 16) shows that many Americans do not want their taxpayer dollars supporting apartheid. Ramzy Baroud (pp. 22-23) highlights Israel’s ongoing effort to ethnically cleanse the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. You can also use this issue’s postcard to implore your elected officials to stand up to Israel’s program of home demolitions and evictions.

A False Record

This issue is packed with facts that point to Israeli apartheid. We wish these facts were readily available via “newspapers of record.” However, all too often Israel’s actions are ignored or justified by this country’s press. One such example recently occurred when the Washington Post removed facts about Israel’s demolition of MAY 2021

willingness to provide vaccines to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank on pp. 30-31.

Slow Progress with Iran

It’s in the best interest of both the U.S. and Iran to reach a common understanding regarding the nuclear deal the Trump administration unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Yet, the two sides remain far apart. The Biden administration wants a “compliancefor-compliance” approach, in which both sides take mutual steps toward fully rejoining the agreement. Iran, however, believes the U.S. ought to take the first step, since it is the party that first severed the deal. Unsurprisingly, neocons and their Israel lobby friends are working overtime to scuttle any sort of rapprochement between the two countries. On pp. 34-36, M. Reza Behnam explores some of the recent missteps the U.S. has taken toward Tehran, and he argues that it is long past time for the U.S. to reset its Iran policy.

Remembering Unsung Heroes

As Delinda C. Hanley notes on pp. 48-49,

of their homes and sip some coffee as they enjoy a good book or catch up with friends and fellow activists. We are convinced our coffee shop/bookstore can become a hub for showcasing the best of Middle Eastern culture, as well as the best ideas for revamping our paltry policy toward the region. We need your help to make this possible! Please consider making a generous donation to make this project a reality.

Delivery Issues

Some of our readers are still experiencing excessive delays in the delivery of their magazine. Likewise, some donations have been slow to reach us—or have not arrived at all! If you are experiencing such issues, please don’t hesitate to contact us immediately. We will work quickly to resolve any problem. We are always humbly aware that this is your magazine. It is your support and your determination that keep our collective, vital work going.

Make a Difference Today!

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Executive Editor: Managing Editor: Contributing Editor: Contributing Editor: Other Voices Editor: Middle East Books and More Director: Finance & Admin. Dir.: Art Director: Founding Publisher: Founding Exec. Editor: Board of Directors:

DELINDA C. HANLEY DALE SPRUSANSKY WALTER HIXSON JULIA PITNER JANET McMAHON NATHANIEL BAILEY CHARLES R. CARTER RALPH-UWE SCHERER ANDREW I. KILLGORE (1919-2016) RICHARD H. CURTISS (1927-2013) HENRIETTA FANNER JANET McMAHON JANE KILLGORE

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 87554917) is published 7 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April, June/July and Aug./Sept. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 9396050. Subscription prices (United States and possessions): one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. For Canadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. Published by the American Educational Trust (AET), a nonprofit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers to provide the American public with balanced and accurate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states. AET’s Foreign Policy Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of Congress, including the late Democratic Sen. J. William Fulbright and Republican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Members of AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committees receive no fees for their services. The new Board of Advisers includes: Anisa Mehdi, John Gareeb, Dr. Najat Khelil Arafat, William Lightfoot and Susan Abulhawa. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution 242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by nine successive U.S. presidents. In general, it supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination, and fair play. Material from the Washington Report may be reprinted without charge with attribution to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Bylined material must also be attributed to the author. This release does not apply to photographs, cartoons or reprints from other publications. Indexed by ProQuest, Gale, Ebsco Information Services, InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Public Affairs Information Service, Index to Jewish Periodicals, Ethnic News Watch, Periodica Islamica. CONTACT INFORMATION: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Editorial Office and Bookstore: 1902 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009-9062 Phone: (202) 939-6050 • (800) 368-5788 Fax: (202) 265-4574 E-mail: wrmea@wrmea.org bookstore@wrmea.org circulation@wrmea.org advertising@wrmea.org Web sites: http://www.wrmea.org http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056 Phone: (888) 881-5861 • Fax: (714) 226-9733 Printed in the USA

LetterstotheEditor THE LOBBY IS THE TRUE DRIVER OF U.S. POLICY TOWARD ISRAEL

Re: Walter L. Hixson’s article, “Israel and America: Allied in Racism,” published in the March/April issue. The premise of his analysis would make more sense if American popular opinion were actually in line with America’s extremely pro-Israel foreign policy, but it’s not. Researcher Grant F. Smith (author of Big Israel, perhaps the best book on Israel’s political power in the U.S.) has shown that the oft-cited opinion polls supposedly showing strong popular support in the United States for Israel are skewed and deceptive, tendentiously contrived and interpreted in Israel’s favor, and that Americans generally are far less sympathetic to Israel and far more sympathetic to the Palestinians than their bipartisan foreign policy of slavish devotion to the self-professed Jewish state might suggest. By posting this glib truism, the Washington Report is in fact promoting a favorite Zionist talking point, a lie that protects pro-Israel Jews from the uncomfortable truth: that what drives America’s bipartisan lockstep support for Israel is not some deep cultural affinity but rather the disproportionate money, power and ruthless zeal of the organized pro-Israel Jewish community. That combination of lobbying organizations, media and entertainment magnates, Washington think tanks, large donors to political campaigns and university endowments, and so on, is collectively known as (for lack of a better word) the Israel lobby. Mark Williams, via Facebook Thanks for the spirited response, with which I have little fundamental disagreement. Note that I began the column by saying that “one reason” Israel and the United States get along is mutual racism, not the “only reason” they get along. I didn’t cite any opinion polls and don’t dispute Grant F. Smith’s analysis of them, though evaluating polls is a tricky business. Polls aside, I do believe there is a “cultural affinity” in the United States

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

concerning Israel and would invite readers to see my earlier column on settler colonialism and also the insightful book by Amy Kaplan (Our American Israel), among other works. I do not believe this is an either-or question. I totally agree that the lobby (on which I’m finishing a new book) plays an extremely powerful role, but it skillfully manipulates and builds on an existing cultural foundation. The cultural affinity is exaggerated by the lobby, but it exists and is rooted in American history—and not solely because of wealthy pro-Israel donors. Religion, race and mutual histories of settler colonialism conjoin with the lobby’s nefarious activities to anchor the “special relationship” with Israel. —Walter L. Hixson

ISRAEL’S VACCINE APARTHEID

Re: Your email action alert drawing attention Rosemarie M. Esber’s letter to The Washington Post concerning Israel’s failure to provide sufficient supplies of COVID vaccines to Palestinians. It is no surprise to see the biased Western press congratulating Israel for its COVID vaccination program. What people don’t read is any similar Israeli vaccination plan for the Palestinians! This obligation is enshrined in the Geneva Convention for all peoples under military occupation. However, it is also unbelievable that Egypt, with a border crossing to Gaza, does nothing to help. There are many donor countries, who are only too willing to provide the vaccines! Barry M. Watson, Dunsville, United Kingdom Speaking of “the biased Western press,” The Washington Post altered Rosemarie M. Esber’s letter on its website, removing her reference to Israel’s targeting of Palestinian COVID testing sites. You can learn more about Esber’s ordeal on p. 18.

TIME FOR ONE STATE

As a Palestinian refugee who was subjected to ethnic cleansing by Jewish gangs in 1948, I appreciate the letter MAY 2021

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Rosemarie M. Esber’s wrote to the Anti-Semitism: A Challenge to KEEP THOSE CARDS AND LETTERS Washington Post. Free Speech,” is overall a good COMING! During our journey from our piece, but there’s a terribly Send your letters to the editor to the Washington Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009 home in Yazour/Jafa to Jericho, important factual/legal error or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>. my family of seven and I slept in near the beginning. The author caves, streets, mosques and states the 1964 Civil Rights churches. My older sister and I lived for Act “does not mention religion.” The colonial power supported by all coloabout 18 months the hunter-gatherer act contains 11 individual titles, each nialist Western powers. Now, I am calllife. Despite all this pain and injustice, I of which addresses discrimination in ing for the transformation of Israel/ committed my life to peacemaking and a different setting, such as voting, pubPalestine into one state with two peocompromise solutions. I was a member lic accommodations, employment and ples sharing power. of the board of Search for Common education. Almost all of the act’s variI am looking for a few Jewish intellecGround and author of Conflict Resoluous titles protect people on the basis tuals to join me and others to form what tion and Ethnicity, published in 1994 by of their religion, but Title VI, which I call The Palestine Peace Movement to Praeger. In addition, I conceived the ensures nondiscrimination in federally pursue this goal. If you are interested, we idea for the U.S.-PLO dialogue and coassisted programs, does not. It fails can become partners in this humane and ordinated the secret contacts between to bar discrimination based on religion peaceful project. the two parties. for very good reason: to allow reliMohamed Rabie, via email After meeting with Israelis probably a giously affiliated schools and instituCANADA LOOKS THE OTHER WAY hundred times in universities and retions to apply for and receive federal AS IDF RECRUITS ITS CITIZENS search institutes, I realized that our funds. Thanks for the important article in the rights are not going to be granted by a Barbara Harvey, via email January/February issue of the You are correct. Religion is not covWashington Report about illeered under Title VI. Since legal jargon is gal Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tedious, here’s a simple example from a recruitment. 2012 Forward article as to why this is Canada’s refusal to either the case: “If religious discrimination prosecute or end illegal IDF rewere prohibited under Title VI, [a Jewcruitment within its borders ish] nursing home [accepting Medicaid] shows the need for Canadians to might be barred from giving preferential demand that their government treatment to Jews in hiring employees enforce its criminal legislation. and admitting clients.” The Canada-based HESEG In Dec. 2019, President Trump Foundation (illegally) offers insigned a somewhat opaque Executive centives to about 6,000 “lone solOrder essentially stating that an alleged diers” worldwide every year, act of anti-Semitism ought to be remany of whom come from viewed as a potential Title VI violation Canada and the U.S. to fight for to determine if it was based on one’s Israel. Soldiers bear personal national origin, race or color. The order legal responsibility for their acalso perfidiously endorsed a definition tions, many of which will involve of anti-Semitism that includes criticism violations of international law, or of Israel. This gives leeway for pro-Iswar crimes. rael groups to claim that those chalOTHER VOICES is an optional 16-page supple Haaretz reports these “lone lenging Israel’s policies, especially stument available only to subscribers of the Washingsoldiers” are also at far greater dents, are engaging in discrimination risk of suicide than Israeli covered by Title VI. ton Report on Middle East Affairs. For an additional draftees. It appears that Canada It’s worth pointing out the Depart$15 per year (see postcard insert for Washington is more concerned about not anment of Education’s Office for Civil Report subscription rates), subscribers will receive tagonizing Israel than protecting Rights emphasizes that the Civil Rights Other Voices inside each issue of their Washington Canadian youth. Act “shall not diminish or infringe upon Report on Middle East Affairs. Karin Brothers, Toronto, any right protected under the First Back issues of both publications are available. Canada Amendment.” This not only guarantees To subscribe telephone 1 (888) 881-5861, fax religious freedom, but also the right to CLARIFICATION ON THE (714) 226-9733, e-mail circulation@wrmea. org>, free speech. Title VI, even in light of CIVIL RIGHTS ACT Trump’s Executive Order, must thus or write to P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809The article in the March/ never be used to silence legitimate criti1056. April issue titled “Redefining cism of Israel. ■ MAY 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Two Views

Palestinians Face Election Obstacles

PHOTO BY MAJDI FATHI/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

As far as inner Palestinian dialogue is concerned, the elections, if held unobstructed, could present a ray of hope that, finally, Palestinians in the occupied territories will enjoy a degree of democratic representation, a first step toward a more comprehensive representation that could include millions of Palestinians outside the occupied territories. But even such humble expectations are conditioned on many “ifs”: only if Palestinian factions honor their commitments to the Istanbul Agreement of Sept. 24; only if Israel allows Palestinians, including Jerusalemites, to vote unhindered and refrains from arA Palestinian artist paints a mural depicting Palestinian elections, in Gaza City on March 24, 2021. resting Palestinian candidates; only if the U.S.-led international community accepts the outcome of the democratic elections without punishing victorious parties and candidates; only if the legislative and presidential elections are followed by the more consequential and substantive elections in the Palestinian National Council (PNC)—the Palestinian Parliament in By Ramzy Baroud exile—and so on. If any of these conditions is unsatisfactory, the May elections MANY PALESTINIAN intellectuals and political analysts find are likely to serve no practical purpose, aside from giving Abbas themselves in the unenviable position of having to declare a and his rivals the veneer of legitimacy, thus allowing them to buy stance on whether they support or reject upcoming Palestinian yet more time and acquire yet more funds from their financial elections, which are scheduled for May 22 and July 31. But benefactors. there are no easy answers. All of this compels us to consider the following question: is The long-awaited decree by Palestinian Authority President democracy possible under military occupation? Mahmoud Abbas last January to hold legislative and presidential Almost immediately following the last democratic Palestinian elections in the coming months was widely welcomed, not as a legislative elections in 2006, the outcome of which displeased Istriumph for democracy, but as the first tangible positive outcome rael, 62 Palestinian ministers and members of the new parliaof dialogue between rival Palestinian factions, mainly Abbas’ ment were thrown into prison, with many still imprisoned. Fatah party and Hamas. History is repeating itself, as Israel has already begun to arrest Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and editor of the palestine Chronicle. Hamas leaders and members in the West Bank. On Feb. 22, He is the author of five books. His latest is these Chains Will Be Bromore than 20 Palestinian activists, including Hamas officials, ken: palestinian stories of struggle and defiance in israeli prisons were detained as a clear message from the Israeli occupation to (Clarity Press). Dr. Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at Palestinians that Israel does not recognize their dialogue, their the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) and also at the AfroMiddle East Center (AMEC). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net. unity agreements, or their democracy.

Elections Under Fire: Palestine’s Impossible Democracy Dilemma

Washington RepoRt on Middle east affaiRs

May 2021

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take place, will finally allow Palestinians to mount a united front Two days later, 67-year-old Hamas leader Omar Barghouti in the struggle against Israeli occupation and for Palestinian (not to be confused with Omar Barghouti, the leading Palestinian freedom. activist in the BDS movement) was summoned by Israeli military Then, there is the issue of the possible position of the “internaintelligence in the occupied West Bank and warned against runtional community” regarding the outcome of the elections. News ning in the upcoming May elections. “The Israeli officer warned reports speak of efforts made by Hamas to seek guarantees from me not to run in the upcoming elections and threatened me with Qatar and Egypt “to ensure Israel will not pursue its representaimprisonment if I did,” Barghouti was quoted as saying by Altives and candidates in the upcoming elections,” Al-Monitor also Monitor. [N.B.: Omar Barghouti died on March 25 from COVIDreported. 19 complications.] But what kind of guarantees can Arab countries obtain from Tel Palestinian Basic Law allows prisoners to run for elections, Aviv, and what kind of leverage can Doha and Cairo have when whether legislative or presidential, simply because the most popIsrael continues to disregard the United Nations, international ular among Palestinian leaders are often behind bars. Marwan law, the International Criminal Court, and so on? Barghouti is one such example. Nevertheless, can Palestinian democracy afford to subsist in Imprisoned since 2002, Barghouti remains Fatah’s most popits state of inertia? Abbas’ mandate as president expired in ular leader, though appreciated more by the movement’s young 2009, the PLC’s mandate expired in 2010 and, in fact, the cadre, as opposed to Abbas’ old guard. The latter group has Palestinian Authority was set up as an interim political body, immensely benefited from the corrupt system of political patronwhose function should have ceased in 1999. Since then, the age upon which the 85-year-old president has constructed his “Palestinian leadership” has not enjoyed legitimacy among authority. Palestinians, deriving its relevance, instead, from the support of To sustain this corrupt system, Abbas and his clique labored to its benefactors, who are rarely interested in supporting democmarginalize Barghouti, leading to the suggestion that Israel’s imracy in Palestine. prisonment of Fatah’s vibrant leader serves the interests of the The only silver lining in the story is that Fatah and Hamas have current Palestinian president. also agreed on the restructuring of the Palestine Liberation OrgaThis claim has much substance, not only because Abbas has nization (PLO), which is now largely monopolized by Abbas’ done little to pressure Israel to release Barghouti, but also beFatah movement. Whether the democratic revamping of the PLO cause all credible public opinion polls suggest that Barghouti is takes place or not, largely depends on the outcome of the May far more popular among Fatah’s supporters—in fact, all Palestiniand July elections. ans—than Abbas. Palestine, like other Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, On Feb. 11, Abbas dispatched Hussein al-Sheikh, the Minister does have a crisis of political legitimacy. Since Palestine is an ocof Civilian Affairs and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, to cupied land with little or no freedom, one is justified to argue that dissuade Barghouti from running in the upcoming presidential true democracy under these horrific conditions cannot possibly elections. An ideal scenario for the Palestinian president would be achieved. be to take advantage of Barghouti’s popularity by having him lead the Fatah list in the con(Advertisement) test for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Hence, Abbas could ensure a strong turnout by Fatah supporters, while securing the chair of presidency for himself. Barghouti vehemently rePalestinian Medical Relief Society, a grassroots jected Abbas’ request, thus community-baseddPalestinian health organization, founded in raising an unexpected challenge to Abbas, who now 1979 by Palestinian doctors, needs your support today. risks dividing the Fatah vote, Visit www.pmrs.ps to see our work in action. losing the PLC election, again, to Hamas and losing Visit www.friendsofpmrs.org to support our work and donate. the presidential election to Barghouti. Mail your U.S. Tax-Deductible check to our American Foundation: Between the nightly raids and crackdowns by the Israeli Friends of PMRS, Inc military and the political inPO Box 450554 • Atlanta, GA 31145 trigues within the divided Fatah movement, one wonFor more information call: (404) 441-2702 or e-mail: fabuakel@gmail.com ders if the elections, if they MAY 2021

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The PNI was founded by Barghouti in 2002 to represent Fatah and Hamas, aiming to end the division and bridge the gap between the groups. On March 28, the Initiative registered its Palestinian Legislative Council candidate By Asya Abdul-Hadi list headed by its secretary and founder, Mustafa Barghouti. One third of its candiDESPITE THE DILIGENT preparations to begin holding Palestinian elections in May, dacy list is made up of young people and people in the occupied territories are skep32 percent of the list is women. The Initiatical that they will be held on the dates set tive’s program calls for “a comprehensive by President Mahmoud Abbas—or that change to combat all forms of nepotism, they will be held at all. The Palestinian favoritism and discrimination.” electoral process is overshadowed by Barghouti hopes that the elections are many obstacles, such as a deep split held on the set date and that divisions bewithin the Fatah movement, the long divitween the Palestinian political factions will not negatively impact the process. He called on the parties to implement what was agreed upon during February talks in Cairo, including the release of prisoners, the abolition of political arrests, and the prohibition of any interference by security apparatuses, in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, in the electoral process. Then there is the Israeli factor. “The main challenge we face is Israeli interference with regard to the reconciliation between the main Palestinian factions, preventing the elections from being held in East Jerusalem or sabotaging them in other areas,” Barghouti said. In February, Israeli military A picture of Palestinian Marwan Barghouti, in Israeli custody for nearly two decades, at an office forces arrested Hamas leaders supporting his candidacy in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 3, 2021. Two powerful players Yasser Mansour and Sheikh are challenging President Mahmoud Abbas. Mohammed Dahlan lives in the UAE and delivered a large Adnan Asfour in the West Bank shipment of COVID vaccines to the impoverished Gaza Strip and Barghouti, who is sometimes dubbed city of Nablus, storming their the “Palestinian Mandela.” homes. “The arrests of Palestinsion between Palestinian political parties began reconciliation efforts in February to ian leaders in the occupied West Bank will discuss mechanisms of ending the divi- not deter anyone from the electoral and Israeli interference in the elections. process,” Hamas leader Omar Barghouti, On Jan. 15, 2021, Abbas issued a presi- sions, as well as holding the elections. “The electoral process is a process of who has also been threatened by Israel not dential decree setting the process for holding elections in three stages: Palestinian struggle. We face many obstacles and, up to run in elections, told Palestine Online. until now, we’re doing our best,” Dr. [N.B.: Omar Barghouti passed away on Asya Abdul-Hadi, a Palestinian-American Mustafa Barghouti, founder of the Palestin- March 25 from COVID-19 complications.] translator and interpreter living in Maryland, ian National Initiative (PNI) told the WashKhalil al-Hayya, a Palestinian legislator was born in Gaza. She worked for News- ington Report, stressing that unless a real and senior Hamas official, said that his week,Al-Hayat,TheIndependent and ABC News before becoming a Gaza bureau chief change in the political system is created, movement is ready to form a unified nafor the Jerusalem Media Communications the frustration among the average Pales- tional list, stressing that the party is ready Center. tinian will grow. for all possibilities. Unlike Fatah, Hamas Legislative Council elections in May, a presidential contest in July and Palestinian National Council elections in August. This will be the third time elections will be held since the return of PLO in 1994 and the formation of the Palestinian Authority thereafter. It will also be the first time in 15 years that such elections are held. “I think we’re 60 percent unlikely to have our elections and 40 percent we are,” said Mustafa al-Sawaf, a Palestinian political analyst who lives in Gaza, describing the major differences between the political parties, especially within the Fatah movement. Fourteen Palestinian political factions

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Deep Splits Remain Between Palestinian Political Parties

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has maintained internal cohesion in the buildup to elections. Regarding the reaction of Europeans and Americans to the election results, alHayya told Al-Quds newspaper, “We are managing our Palestinian national program according to our needs and our national interest and we undoubtedly take into consideration the international and regional moods. But this does not mean that we should abide by what they want. We must adhere to what we want, and I believe that there are indications that they have no problem with Hamas being part of a national government.” The scenario of the upcoming elections will be different from that of the 2006 elections, where the main competition was between Fatah and Hamas. Internal splits within Fatah have led to the creation of two new parties. The Democratic Reform Movement is headed by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Palestinian legislator now living in the UAE. The other potential party is run by Fatah leader and prisoner, Marwan Barghouti. Anadolu News Agency quoted Palestinian sources as saying Barghouti intends to run in the presidential election. The two emerging parties are likely to run under lists that are separate from the official Fatah list. Quds Press published results of a poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, showing that the Palestinian public favors Barghouti as a candidate over Abbas. The results also showed that the president of the Hamasrun government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, would outperform Abbas, if he ran. However, if Barghouti runs as the “Fatah” movement candidate against Haniyeh, the poll shows he would defeat Haniyeh, 61 percent to 37 percent. But, if Haniyeh runs against Abbas, he is likely to win 50 percent of the vote, compared to Abbas’ 43 percent. Dahlan indicated that he will support Marwan Barghouti’s candidacy, in an interview with the Arabic Channel DW. However, Dahlan clearly has political aspirations of his own. According to the Palestinian Press Agency, Safa, on Jan. 16, Dahlan’s party MAY 2021

announced its intention to participate in the upcoming elections. “The movement will participate under an independent list in the event that an agreement on a unified list with Fatah is not reached,” stated Sufyan Abu Zaida, the general secretary of the Democratic Reform Movement’s political wing in Gaza, on his Facebook page. Given the deep division between Abbas and Dahlan, it is unlikely such an agreement will be reached. Safa reported that new amendments to the electoral system have been introduced, and legal experts believe they were designed to eliminate any attempts by Dahlan’s Reform Movement to participate in the elections. One amendment states that an individual with a criminal record cannot run for office. Dahlan was convicted of corruption more than a decade ago. Another article prohibits “any electoral list or any presidential candidate to spend more than $1 million on their election campaign.” This explains Fatah’s concern that Emirati money may boost Dahlan’s chances of winning the legislative elections over the official list of the Fatah movement. Two prominent members of Dahlan’s party, including Abdel Hakim Awad, the election commission official in the movement, returned to the Gaza Strip in February to prepare for the elections. Many view

it as no coincidence that Dahlan has subsequently worked to secure more than 40,000 COVID-19 vaccines for Gazans, courtesy of the UAE. The division in the Fatah movement was further deepened by the expulsion of one of its prominent members, Nasser alQudwa, over his attempt to field a separate list of candidates in the election. In a statement in March, Fatah’s Central Committee said it had given al-Qudwa two days to reverse his decision and drop his breakaway challenge, but that he had failed to comply. In his response to the expulsion, alQudwa, a member of the committee and a nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said, “The decision taken by the influential party in the Central Committee dated March 8, 2021, raises sadness and pity for the state of affairs in our movement, without any respect to the internal order, political logic, history and traditions.” “On my part, I will remain a Fatah member to the bone, and what happened will not change anything in this regard,” he added. Even if the obstacles facing the elections are overcome and the elections are held, it is unlikely that they will end the division between Hamas and Fatah, or within Fatah. Nor does it seem likely any agreement over a unified national agenda will be reached. ■

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Israel Election Results: Is it Kahanist Ben-Gvir That Bothers You? By Gideon Levy

Israeli settlers carry Itamar Ben-Gvir, Religious Zionism party leader, as they celebrate the Jewish Purim holiday at Shuhada Street in the West Bank town of Hebron, on March 21, 2019. AN ELECTORAL LIST that in Europe would have been classified straight away as neo-Nazi, has just made it into the Knesset. There is no other way to describe the Religious Zionism party. Xenophobia, homophobia and nationalism, combined with religious fundamentalism and violence, with no restraint on any of this: What else can you call it? No Western European country would have the audacity to include such a faction in its government. In Europe, this fascism would be unacceptable. In Israel, it’s on the verge of being part of the next government. But this isn’t the worst news from election night. Even worse is the fact that the right, as usual, won the election. Everyone is talking about Binyamin Netanyahu, but the real winner is the Israeli right. Once again, it has won big. More than 70 MKs in the next Knesset will be proud members of the cruel, hard right. A more

Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist and author. This article was first published in Haaretz, March 25, 2021. © Haaretz. Reprinted with permission. 12

solid majority than any possible coalition could dilute. Just because some on the right also despise Netanyahu, it doesn’t make them any less rightist. Before and after Netanyahu, they represent a violent, arrogant, insulated Israel that chooses to disregard the rest of the world. Among the opposite camp, too, there are rightists pretending to be centrists, but even without them, most of the Knesset is right-wing. Most Israelis voted for the right. Lost in the shuffle amid all the calculations about the blocs that could be for or against Bibi, was the fact that Israel was once again shown to be a rightist country. Religious Zionism’s entry into the Knesset, and the identity of its members, is causing something of an uproar among the defeated camp, but this is self-righteous and hypocritical. It’s good that this camp is waking up but, as usual, it is doing so belatedly. Yes, the thought of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Orit Strock being in the Knesset is horrifying, but it’s easy to focus on them and ascribe Continued on page 46

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Israel and Judaism

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Increasingly, Jewish Critics of Israeli Policies Are Using The Term “Apartheid” By Allan C. Brownfeld

An Israeli settler walks past a Palestinian house with verandas covered in meshing, with one bearing a protest sign reading in English “Arabs are prohibited, this is Apartheid St.,” along Shuhada Street, which Michael Manikin called a “sterile street” forbidden to Palestinians, in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Jan. 28, 2020.

INCREASINGLY, Jewish and Israeli critics of Israel’s policies in the occupied territories are using the term “apartheid” to describe them. In January 2021, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem issued a statement which declared that the Israeli government was an “apartheid regime.” It stated that, “A regime that uses laws, practices and organized violence to establish and maintain the supremacy of one group over another is an apartheid regime.” B’Tselem argues that the Israeli regime “of apartheid” rests on four pillars: citizenship, land, freedom of movement and political participation. Virtually any person of Jewish ancestry anywhere in the world can claim Israeli citizenship; immigration to Israel is all but impossible for Palestinians, and only a minority of Palestinians—about 1.6 million out of seven million—-who live on land controlled by Israel are citizens of Israel and even their rights are limited compared with their

Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated columnist and associate editor of the Lincoln Review, a journal published by the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism. MAY 2021

nearly seven million Jewish counterparts. This report has been largely ignored in the media and by mainstream American Jewish organizations. One who paid close attention was Rabbi Brian Walt, the founder and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Mishkan Shalom, an activist congregation in Philadelphia. He was the founding executive director of Rabbis for Human RightsNorth America and is a member of the Rabbinical Council of Jewish Voice for Peace. Rabbi Walt grew up in South Africa and knows a great deal about apartheid. In an article published on Feb. 17 in Truthout, Rabbi Walt recalls, “When I first heard that B’Tselem was saying matter-of-factly that Israel and the lands it occupies constitute an apartheid system, I immediately flashed back to 2008, to the moment when the truth became clear to me when I led a Rabbis for Human Rights-North America (T’ruah) trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank. When we arrived in Hebron, Michael Manikin, a leader with the Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence, gestured to Shuhada Street, the street our group was about to walk down, and told us it

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was a ‘sterile street’—a street forbidden to Palestinians. Only Jews and other tourists were permitted to walk down the street.” Rabbi Walt remembers that, “I was horrified. My heart beat fast as tears rolled down my face. As a child growing up in apartheid South Africa, I was intimately familiar with separate beaches, buses, cabs, entrances to post offices and public benches with ‘whites only’ signs. But even in Apartheid South Africa, there were no ‘sterile streets’ that only white people could walk on. In South Africa, as a student at the University of Cape Town, I had fought against apartheid. I worked on issues of economic justice for domestic workers and founded and edited a Jewish student newspaper dedicated to ending apartheid. Throughout my anti-apartheid activism, Israel was always an essential part of my Jewish identity. I was a committed progressive Zionist. Creating a just, democratic Israel that reflected the highest moral values of Judaism was—and remains—a core commitment.” Over decades, Rabbi Walt engaged in political activism on the West Bank with groups such as the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and encountered disturbing realities. He witnessed the demolition of Palestinian homes, the expropriation of Palestinian land for Jewish settlements, olive orchards uprooted by settlers, and Palestinians uprooted from homes in Jerusalem that they had owned for generations. “Those experiences were so shocking,” notes Walt, “that, if I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes, I would never have believed they were true. These experiences reminded me of very similar injustices that I had seen in South Africa...At that moment in Hebron, I felt a new determination to name what I saw as apartheid. We, the Jewish people, must tell the truth. We can no longer cover up the shocking systemic discrimination and oppression of the Palestinians by the State of Israel—a state that relies on our support and acts in our names and in the name of our tradition.” More and more Israelis have been using the term “apartheid” to describe their country’s occupation. Professor David Shulman of the Hebrew University notes that, “No 14

matter how we look at it, unless our minds have been poisoned by the ideologies of the religious right, the occupation is a crime. It is first of all based on the permanent disenfranchisement of a huge population...In the end, it is the ongoing moral failure of the country as a whole that is most consequential, most dangerous, most unacceptable. This failure weighs...heavily on our humanity. We are, so we claim, the children of the prophets. Once, they say, we were slaves in Egypt. We know all that can be known about slavery, suffering, prejudice, ghettos, hate, expulsion, exile. I find it astonishing that we, of all people, have reinvented apartheid in the West Bank.” In 2019, in a position paper entitled “Our Approach to Zionism,” Jewish Voice for Peace stated, “Jewish Voice for Peace is guided by a vision of justice, equality and freedom for all people. We unequivocally oppose Zionism because it is counter to those ideals...While it had many strains historically, the Zionism that took hold and stands today is a settler-colonial movement, establishing an apartheid state where Jews have more rights than others. Our own history teaches us how dangerous this can be.” Hagai El-Ad, the director of B’Tselem, declares that, “Calling things by their proper name—apartheid—is not a moment of despair, rather it is a moment of moral clarity, a step on a long walk inspired by hope. See the reality for what it is. Name it without flinching—and help bring about the realization of a just future. People of conscience must reject apartheid in Israel just as clearly and forcefully as we reject white supremacy in the U.S...”

ICC OPENS WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION

In March, Fatou Bensouda, the outgoing International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor opened a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Bensouda, who served a nine-year term until the election of Karim Khan who takes over her seat in June 2021, said the probe would cover events in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since June 13, 2014. The Hague-based court

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ruled that it could exercise its criminal jurisdiction over the territories. Israel rejected Bensouda’s decision while Palestinians praised it. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said it was “antiSemitic.” The ICC has authority to prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes on the territory of states party to the Rome Statute, its founding treaty. Israel has never ratified the Rome Statute, but the Secretary General of the U.N. accepted the accession of the Palestinians in 2015. Many Israeli and Jewish human rights advocates welcome the ICC investigation. Writing in Mondoweiss (March 4, 2021), Larry Derfner, for many years a columnist for the Jerusalem Post and now a contributor to Haaretz, notes that, “There’s a natural resistance to saying that your country deserves to be investigated for war crimes by the ICC in The Hague. But if you believe that Israel’s open-ended occupation and the settlements and lethal onslaughts in Gaza that go with it are morally untenable, how do you avoid that conclusion?” Derfner, the author of No Country For Jewish Liberals, declares that, “The arguments against an investigation don’t stand up. I suspect Netanyahu knows that the real reason the ICC doesn’t investigate Iran or Syria...or a number of other regimes whose criminality exceeds...Israel’s...is because the wrongs these regimes commit don’t effect a state that has granted the ICC jurisdiction over it by signing the Rome Statute. Neither Iran nor Syria or the other countries are terrorizing states that have signed the Rome Statute, so unfortunately North Korea, Zimbabwe, etc. are free to plague their citizens as much as they want to and they will fall outside the ICC’s purview. Israel hasn’t signed the Rome Statute either but the difference is that Palestine has. Palestine—recognized by the U.N. General Assembly as the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza—is where Israel’s persecution has been taking place. It was the government of Palestine, the Palestinian Authority, that asked the ICC to investigate Israel for war crimes.” Israel says that all it is doing in the occupied territories is defending itself against terMAY 2021

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rorists. The Hague defines war crimes mainly as “grave breaches” of the Geneva Convention. These are “(1) willful killing, (2) torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments, (3) willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, (4) extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.” Larry Derfner concludes, “Is it fair that the ICC is investigating Israel for war crimes? In the narrow legal sense, yes. In the larger moral sense, it’s more than fair.” The new ICC role, says Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights attorney, means that it cannot “evade” an investigation and possible prosecution of Israeli officials over the illegal settlements policy on the West Bank. Speaking to Ori Nir on an Americans for Peace Now webinar in February, Sfard said that the ICC can now begin an investigation in earnest: “And Israel is in a box. It will say that it has legal mechanisms to investigate war crimes stemming from its assaults on Gaza and other atrocities but it has no such fig leaf for the settlements...On the issue of settlements, Israel does not claim to investigate and prosecute. For Israel, settlements are not illegal, and so it’s an official policy.... If the ICC were to drop a case against Israel, that would cause a domino effect of developing world countries leaving the court. So it’s an existential problem for the ICC.” In Sfard’s view, “The ICC case will create an enormous restraining effect on Israel over time. We are seeing it already. Consider the case of Al Khan al Ahmad, a West Bank village Israel slated for demolition and the forcible ‘transfer’ of its 200 residents. Netanyahu committed himself to remove it and the Israeli right-wing is obsessed with such moves, and yet Netanyahu has not followed through even in an election season, because the ICC prosecutor issued a statement saying, ‘I remind the parties that forcible transfer is a war crime.’ That’s all she said, and boom, the transfer of Al Khan al Ahmad evaporated and they are there to this day...I think the Palestinians have had this kind of card in their sleeve...It will also put the annexation completely on the highMAY 2021

est shelf...Of course, annexation is ongoing all the time, de facto. But the one-act annexation that Netanyahu wanted a few months ago now seems beyond the horizon.” While Netanyahu calls the ICC probe “the essence of anti-Semitism,” it has the apparent support of the European Union. EU spokesman Peter Stano said that, “The ICC is an independent and impartial judicial institution with no political objectives to pursue.” He reiterated that the EU “respects the court’s independence and impartiality,” an implicit rebuke to Israel’s charge of antiJewish bias. Stano said that, “The ICC is a court of last resort, a fundamental safety net to help victims achieve justice where this is not possible at the national level, thus where the state concerned is genuinely unwilling or unable to carry out the investigation or the prosecution.” In an apparent reference to Israel, the EU urged “states parties to the Rome Statute and non-states parties to have a dialogue with the ICC which should be non-confrontational, non-politicized, and based on law and facts.” Israel’s continuing occupation and the growing use of the term “apartheid” to characterize its policies brings back memories of the time I spent in South Africa during the years of apartheid. For several years, I was the correspondent in Washington for Afrikaans-language newspapers, Die Burger in Cape Town and Beeld in Johannesburg. I visited the country on a number of occasions and had many conversations about its future with my Afrikaner friends. I remember one of them telling me that, “In this country, 5 million white people can control more than 20 million black people indefinitely. But in order to do so, we must become a totalitarian state. But we are Western Christian people who believe in freedom. Our children do not want to live in a totalitarian state. They will leave for America, Canada and Australia. Apartheid violates all of our values. We must bring apartheid to an end.” That, of course, is what happened. White South Africans, recognizing that apartheid was immoral, voluntarily abandoned it. There were, of course, those who wished to maintain apartheid, but they were a mi-

nority. South Africa became a multi-racial democracy. In Israel, there are a growing number of men and women who understand that their country has become eerily similar to South Africa under apartheid. Sadly, at the present time, they are a minority. The majority seems comfortable with the occupation and are prepared to live with millions of second-class Palestinian noncitizens under their control. The fact that this represents a violation of Jewish values and the moral and humane Jewish ethical tradition seems not to disturb them. Already tens of thousands of their children have left the country. White South Africans chose democracy and abandoned apartheid. This is the choice now facing Israelis. It is also a choice facing American Jews. Will American Jewish groups continue to support an Israel which is embracing apartheid at the same time they are opposing white nationalism and other forms of bigotry in the American society? More and more American Jews are making clear that they will not. Time will tell which group will prevail—both in Israel and in the U.S. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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IRmep Polls, Telling Hard Truths Since 2014

Poll: Americans Say Israel Should Not be a Leading Recipient of U.S. Aid Given Evidence of Apartheid By Grant F. Smith

IRmep Poll: “A major Israeli human rights nonprofit says apartheid is rampant inside Israel & territories it occupies. Should Israel continue to be the leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid?” B’TSELEM found growing apartheid inside Israel and controlled territories. Given that reality, a 38.1 percent plurality of Americans say Israel should not be a leading U.S. aid recipient. Our upcoming conference focuses on Israel, its U.S. lobby and the apartheid question.

medical professionals. When advised that such a major Israeli human rights nonprofit found widespread apartheid inside Israel and occupied territories, a plurality of Americans (38.1 percent) said Israel should no longer be the leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid, while 33 percent said it should be a leading aid recipient. Regional differences in opinion varied, with pluralities of 43.4 percent of Northeasterners, 39.1 percent of Midwesterners and 36.2 percent of Westerners saying Israel should not be a leading U.S. aid recipient. 36.4 percent of Southerners said Israel should not be a leading aid recipient, while 36.1 percent said it should. Note: Join the conversation! The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy are hosting the latest edition of the IsraelLobbyCon series focused on the Israel lobby and apartheid themed, "End U.S. Support for Israeli Apartheid?" on April 17 and 24.

Grant F. Smith is the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, DC. For more IRmep polls, visit https://IRmep.org/Polls. Smith’s latest book, the israel lobby enters state government, is available at Middle East Books and More.

Source: IRmep representative poll of 2,194 American adults through Google Surveys on March 22-25, 2021. Answer order randomly reversed. RMSE score sample bias 5.7 percent.

Israeli NGO B’Tselem’s January 2021 report, “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid,” repeated claims made for many years by Palestinian and regional researchers as well as travelers to the region. Israel not only operates a de facto apartheid regime within territories it militarily controls, it also has implemented a robust apartheid system domestically. B’Tselem is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization. It documents human rights violations in Israel, Israeli-occupied territories, combats official and news media denial of the existence of such violations, and works to create a human rights culture in Israel. B’Tselem was founded in 1989 with the support of ten Knesset members and a large group of Israeli lawyers, academics and

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The Washington Post Redacted Facts About Israel’s Destruction of COVID-19 Clinics

Palestinian engineer Raed Maswade inspects the rubble of his drive-through coronavirus testing center in the city of Hebron, on July 21, 2020, after it was demolished by Israeli authorities for allegedly being built without the necessary permits. Maswade decided to build the clinic in memory of his grandfather, who died from COVID. Israeli soldiers watched construction of the desperately needed facility for two months before sending in the bulldozers. COVID-19 has been a scourge worldwide and even more so in poor countries with few resources and scarce vaccines—like Palestine. I responded to a Washington Post article lauding Israel’s success in vaccinating its population with a letter to the editor. I stated that as the occupying power, Israel is responsible for vaccinating the Palestinians. Instead, the Government of Israel has destroyed clinics, harassed Palestinian volunteers and medical staff and blocked vaccines from reaching occupied Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Post published my letter on March 8. However, on March 10, the Post published a “correction” online and in print stating, “Rosemarie M. Esber’s March 8 letter, ‘Gaza needs vaccines, too,’ incorrectly said that ‘Israel has destroyed testing sites’ to prevent

Rosemarie M. Esber, Ph.D., is the author of Under the Cover of War: The Zionist Expulsion of the Palestinians. 18

Palestinians from getting coronavirus tests and vaccines.” The Post redacted the facts and published misinformation—without informing me. I sent to the Post’s editors media reports from ABC News, B’Tselem—the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights—Haaretz, The Times of Israel, Mondoweiss, Palestine Chronicle, Doctors Without Borders, and The South African. The stories corroborate that the Government of Israel destroyed multiple Palestinian COVID19 clinics, materials and testing sites, and prevented medical care to Palestinians in the reported sites of Jenin, Hebron, Khirbet Ibziq and Silwan. The published reports are further supported by firsthand accounts from Palestinians living in occupied Gaza and the West Bank. I repeatedly asked several Post editors to reinstate the facts in my letter and to issue a correction online and in print. I received no response from the editors.

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By Rosemarie M. Esber, Ph.D.

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THE POST’S POWER TO SUPPRESS FACTS

Instead, on March 12, the Post published a biased letter with false information, which a Post editor nonetheless described as “a fair criticism,” despite clear-cut evidence to the contrary. One commenter about the Post’s retraction of readily verifiable facts tweeted, “Doesn’t the Post have Google?” It is shocking that the Washington Post— a newspaper of record—would deliberately suppress verifiable facts and contravene its own Policies and Standards to “tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained,” and to “tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.” I requested a meeting to discuss the Post’s editorial policy on Israel and Palestine reportage. The managing editor of news responded he was not responsible. The editorial page editor wrote that he was too busy to meet with representatives of several human rights organizations. With no opportunity to present the facts directly to the editors, I posted the media reports in the letters’ online comments. They corroborate that the Government of Israel is obstructing critical testing, and preventing vaccines and medical care from reaching Palestinians, as well as blocking the basic human necessities of clean water and reliable electricity—which are vital to sustain life—and to deliver basic medical care and treatment.

ISRAEL’S RESPONSIBILITY IN OCCUPIED PALESTINE

The international community, including the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, “consider the Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, to be under Israeli military occupation, and Israel the occupying power in them.” Israel is therefore “responsible for ensuring and maintaining public hygiene and the MAY 2021

healthcare systems of the occupied populations living under their control, including measures to prevent the spread of infectious disease and epidemics.” The Institute for Middle East Understanding’s fact sheet on “Israel’s Responsibility to Vaccinate Palestinians during the Pandemic” states that according to Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the occupying power has the duty of ensuring and maintaining public hygiene and the healthcare systems of the occupied populations living under their control, including measures to prevent the spread of infectious disease and epidemics.” Since Israel is donating vaccines to other countries, it certainly has the means to vaccinate the Palestinians, which is Israel’s immediate responsibility. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned Israel’s discriminatory policy in a Jan. 21, 2021 statement declaring, “The Israeli government must stop ignoring its international obligations as an occupying power and immediately act to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are equally and fairly provided to Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

SUPPORTING AND FUNDING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

The U.S. government has supported the Zionist colonization of Palestine since Woodrow Wilson endorsed the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British promised to facilitate Zionist immigration to Palestine, a land it did not possess. During the 1948 Palestine war, the Israelis expelled more than 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands. Israel expelled another 200,000 Palestinians during the 1967 war. Through discriminatory laws and policies, Israel continues its policy of forcibly removing the Palestinians, or making living conditions so unbearable that the Palestinians perish or emigrate. Nevertheless, successive U.S. administrations have supported the State of Israel, despite its flagrant breach of U.N. resolutions since December 1948.

The Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have pledged unwavering military, political and economic fealty to the State of Israel—despite its daily human rights abuses. The U.S. government has unconditionally transferred $3 trillion in U.S. taxpayers’ dollars to Israel, which is over $10 million per day—when more than ever we need our tax dollars at home to “build back better.” The U.S. government has also shielded Israel’s impunity at the United Nations, which has seriously corroded America’s own moral authority. The U.S. and state governments are also attempting to deny Americans their First Amendment right to boycott Israel’s gross violations of international and human rights laws and to suppress freedom of speech— particularly at universities. As of 2020, 32 states have passed bills or executive orders to discourage or punish boycotts of Israel, even though 72 percent of Americans oppose such laws that stifle legitimate protest. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement “works to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.” BDS is a nonviolent effort of the Palestinian civil society to achieve freedom, justice, and equality. “BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.” Senator Joe Biden was “proud to have been a leading voice in the U.S. Senate against the white supremacist regime of South Africa.” He called the South African apartheid government “repulsive” and “repugnant.” Yet, Biden has vowed to “firmly reject the BDS movement,” which he asserts “singles out Israel and too often veers into anti-Semitism.” President Joe Biden is defending the indefensible when the South African government describes Israel “as the only apartheid state in the world.”

VIOLATING U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

President Biden pledged his administration would be “upholding human rights” and “respecting laws.” In the case of Israel,

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

An Israeli-run Jerusalem Municipality team along with Israeli soldiers and bulldozers demolish the house owned by Hatem Abu Rayaleh, a disabled Palestinian, near the al-Issawiya neighborhood claiming that it was unlicensed, in East Jerusalem on March 1, 2021. The Israeli government has significantly stepped up the demolition of homes in East Jerusalem this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis. he has done neither. In fact, the BidenHarris administration has pledged to continue unconditional support for Israel despite its defiance of international law. Vice President Kamala Harris stated, “The Biden-Harris administration will sustain our unbreakable commitment to Israel’s security, including the unprecedented military and intelligence cooperation pioneered during the Obama-Biden administration and the guarantee that Israel will always maintain its qualitative military edge.” Biden and Congress also ignore U.S. laws such as the Leahy Law, which “prohibits the United States from providing any weapons or training to ‘any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights.’” Officials in Biden’s cabinet are on record dismissing international and human rights law. During her confirmation hearing for U.N. Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Green20

field, stated “I look forward to standing with Israel.” As a representative of the United States government and the American people, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s responsibility is to stand for the equal enforcement and respect of the rule of law and human rights—including, in the first instance, by the U.S. government.

DAMAGING INTERNATIONAL STANDING

Defending serial abusers of human rights and international humanitarian laws— whether by allies or not—seriously harms U.S. standing in the world, its credibility, and the national security. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, like Biden, stated he “would not tie military assistance to Israel to things like annexation or other decisions by the Israeli government with which we might disagree.” The Biden administration policy therefore is one of indulgence toward Israel’s contravention of international law.

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Why should other countries be obliged to respect the rule of law and human rights when the U.S. government and the Israeli government exempt themselves? The world is watching the United States’ hypocritical “do as we say and not as we do” human rights policy. In recent meetings, China was quick to publicly rebuke Secretary Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan about U.S. problems with racial injustices, and specifically the Black Lives Matter’s movement. Russia also reminded the world of American’s own history of “slaughtering” the Indigenous Peoples, and the enslavement of African Americans.

ENFORCE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

In his remarks about the “skyrocketing” anti-Asian American attacks across the United States, President Biden said, “Our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act.” Likewise, Biden must speak out and demand that Israel immediately lift the illegal blockade of Gaza (abetted by Egypt), end the military occupation, reverse the annexation of Jerusalem (and the Golan Heights), and stop Israel’s illegal settlement activities on occupied lands and resources. Otherwise, the Biden administration, like his predecessors, will remain complicit in Israel’s egregious discriminatory record. Despite misinformation or bias from The Washington Post and other corporate media, American taxpayers are increasingly aware of Israel’s daily human rights abuses against the Palestinians. They are tired of supporting a militaristic system of Zionist supremacy that evicts elders and the disabled from their homes, imprisons and tortures children and political prisoners, steals land and water, murders and maims civilians with impunity, and humiliates Palestinians on a daily basis. Palestinians are human beings and are deserving of the same equal human and civil rights enjoyed by most Israelis. Anything short of equality under the law—as B’Tselem concluded in its recent report—is apartheid. ■ MAY 2021

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MAY 2021

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From the Diaspora

The Nakba of Sheikh Jarrah: How Israel Uses “The Law” to Ethnically Cleanse East Jerusalem

Palestinian, Israeli and foreign activists lift banners and placards during a demonstration against Israeli occupation, evictions and settlement activity in the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem, in Jerusalem’s Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, on March 19, 2021. A PALESTINIAN MAN, Atef Yousef Hanaysha, was killed by Israeli occupation forces on March 19 during a weekly protest against illegal Israeli settlement expansion in Beit Dajan, near Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Although tragic, the above news reads like a routine item from occupied Palestine, where shooting and killing unarmed protesters is part of the daily reality. However, this is not true. Since right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced, in September 2019, his intentions to formally and illegally annex nearly a third of the occupied Palestinian West Bank, tensions have remained high. The killing of Hanaysha is only the tip of the iceberg. In occupied

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of palestine Chronicle. His latest book is these Chains Will Be Broken: palestinian stories of struggle and defiance in israeli prisons (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). Dr. Baroud is a non-resident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) and also at the Afro-Middle East Center (AMEC). His website is <www.ramzybaroud.net>. 22

East Jerusalem and the West Bank, a massive battle is already underway. On one side, Israeli soldiers, army bulldozers and armed illegal Jewish settlers are carrying out daily missions of evicting Palestinian families, displacing farmers, burning orchards, demolishing homes and confiscating land. On the other side, Palestinian civilians, often disorganized, unprotected and leaderless, are fighting back. The territorial boundaries of this battle are largely located in occupied East Jerusalem and in the so-called “Area C” of the West Bank—nearly 60 percent of the total size of the occupied West Bank—which is under complete and direct Israeli military control. No other place represents the perfect microcosm of this uneven war like that of the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. Fourteen Palestinian and Arab organizations issued a “joint urgent appeal to the United Nations Special Procedures on forced evictions in East Jerusalem” on March 10, to stop the Israeli evictions in the area. Successive decisions by Israeli courts have paved the way for the Israeli army and police to evict 15 Palestinian fam-

Washington RepoRt on Middle east affaiRs

May 2021

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By Ramzy Baroud

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Much of the evictions in East Jerusalem pleases. Since those “absentee” Palesilies—37 households of around 195 take place within the context of these three tinians were not allowed to exercise their people—in the Karm Al-Ja’ouni area in interconnected and strange legal arguright of return, as stipulated by internaSheikh Jarrah and Batn Al-Hawa neighborments: the Absentees’ Law, the Legal and tional law, the Israeli law was a statehood in the town of Silwan. Administrative Matters Law and the Master sanctioned wholesale theft. It ultimately These imminent evictions are not the Plan 2000. Understood together, one is aimed at achieving two objectives: one, to first, nor will they be the last. Israel occupied easily able to decipher the nature of the Isensure Palestinian refugees do not return Palestinian East Jerusalem in June 1967 raeli colonial scheme in East Jerusalem, or attempt to claim their stolen properties and formally, though illegally, annexed it in where Israeli individuals, in coordination in Palestine and, two, to give Israel a legal 1980. Since then, the Israeli government with settler organizations, work together to cover for permanently confiscating Paleshas vehemently rejected international critifulfill the vision of the state. tinian lands and homes. cism of the Israeli occupation, dubbing, inIn their joint appeal, Palestinian human The Israeli military occupation of the restead, Jerusalem as the “eternal and undirights organizations describe the flow of mainder of historic Palestine in 1967 necesvided capital of Israel.” how eviction orders, issued by Israeli sitated, from an Israeli colonial perspective, To ensure its annexation of the city is ircourts, culminate into the construction of ilthe creation of fresh laws that would allow reversible, the Israeli government approved legal Jewish settlements. Confiscated the state and the illegal settlement enterthe Master Plan 2000, a massive scheme Palestinian properties are usually transprise to claim yet more Palestinian properthat was undertaken by Israel to rearrange ferred to a branch within the Israeli Ministry ties. This took place in 1970 in the form of the boundaries of the city in such a way that of Justice called the Israeli Custodian Genthe Legal and Administrative Matters Law. it would ensure a permanent demographic eral. The latter holds on to these properties According to the new legal framework, only majority for Israeli Jews at the expense of until they are claimed by Israeli Jews, in acIsraeli Jews were allowed to claim lost land the city’s native inhabitants. The Master cordance with the 1970 law. Once Israeli and property in Palestinian areas. Plan was no more than a blueprint for a courts honor Israeli Jewish individustate-sponsored ethnic cleansing (Advertisement) als’ legal claims to the confiscated campaign, which saw the destruction Palestinian lands, these individuals of thousands of Palestinian homes often transfer their ownership rights and the subsequent eviction of nuor management to settler organizamerous families. tions. In no time, the latter organizaWhile news headlines occasionally tions utilize the newly-acquired proppresent the habitual evictions of erty to expand existing settlements Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, or to start new ones. Silwan and other parts of East While the Israeli state claims to Jerusalem as if they are a matter that play an impartial role in this scheme, involves counterclaims by Palestinian it is actually the facilitator of the entire residents and Jewish settlers, the process. The final outcome manistory is, in fact, a wider representation fests in the ever-predictable scene, of Palestine’s modern history. where an Israeli flag is triumphantly Indeed, the innocent families which hoisted over a Palestinian home and are now facing “the imminent risk of a Palestinian family is assigned an forced eviction” are re-living their anPlaygrounds for Palestine is a project to build playgrounds for our U.N.-supplied tent and a few blancestral nightmare of the Nakba—the children. It is a minimal recognition of their right to childhood and creative expression. It is an act of love. kets. ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine While the above picture can be in 1948. Playgrounds for Palestine (PfP) is a registered 501(c)3 non-proﬁt organization, established in 2001. We’re an all-volunteer organizadismissed by some as another rouTwo years after the native inhabition (no paid staﬀ) that raises money throughout the year to contine, common occurrence, the situatants of historic Palestine were disstruct playgrounds and fund programs for children in Palestine. tion in the occupied West Bank and possessed of their homes and lands East Jerusalem has become exand ethnically cleansed altogether, Selling Organic, Fair Trade Palestinian olive oil is PfP’s principle source of fundraising. tremely volatile. Palestinians feel that Israel enacted the so-called Absenis year, PfP launched AIDA, a private they have nothing more to lose and tees’ Property Law of 1950. label olive oil from Palestinian farmers. Please come by and taste it at our table. Netanyahu’s government is more The law, which, of course, has no emboldened than ever. The killing of legal or moral validity, simply We hope you’ll love it and make it a staple in your pantry. Atef Hanaysha, and others like him, granted the properties of PalestiniFor more information or to make a donation visit: is only the beginning of that immians who were evicted or fled the war https://playgroundsforpalestine.org • P.O. Box 559 • Yardley, PA 19067 nent, widespread confrontation. ■ to the state, to do with it as it MAY 2021

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Special Report

Razan al-Najjar (r), a 21-year-old Palestinian paramedic, works with a colleague to tend to an injured man during the Great March of Return protests, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2018. She was killed by an Israeli sniper two months later.

IN A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY for free speech, a California court has ruled in favor of a Palestinian American activist who was sued for defamation by a former Israeli soldier over a Facebook post. The suit was explicitly meant to bully, silence and smear activists for Palestinian rights. The soldier was represented by Shurat HaDin, an Israeli lawfare group with ties to Mossad, Israel’s spying and assassination agency—and whose co-founder led an extremist cell that carried out attacks on Palestinian civilians in the 1980s. As part of the lawsuit, the group requested that the California court apply Israeli defamation laws in order to attach criminal penalties to their claim. On March 1, the court not only rebuked the request to apply Israeli law, but entirely dismissed the lawsuit and upheld the activist’s speech as a matter of public interest. On June 1, 2018, Suhair Nafal, who was based in Chicago at the time, wrote a post on Facebook about Razan al-Najjar, the young

Nora Barrows-Friedman is a staff writer and associate editor at The Electronic Intifada, and is the author of In Our Power: U.S. Students Organize for Justice in Palestine, available from Middle East Books and More. Reprinted with permission from The Electronic Intifada. 24

medic who was shot and killed that day by Israeli snipers. Al-Najjar was helping treat and evacuate wounded protesters participating in the Great March of Return in the Gaza Strip when she was shot, wearing clothing clearly identifying her as a medic. Angered over the killing, Nafal included a photo of al-Najjar in her post, initially alongside a photo of an American-born Israeli soldier that had been used by the army as a marketing tool. The image of Rebecca Rumshiskaya—a young woman in full military gear standing in the desert, smiling and holding a large M16 rifle—had been posted to the official Facebook page of the Israeli army in May 2014, but has since apparently been deleted. That photo went viral after the killing of al-Najjar, even though Rumshiskaya was not involved in the war crime at that time and had reportedly left the army three years prior. Court documents show that she currently lives in Israel and is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen. In her post, Nafal did not accuse Rumshiskaya of killing al-Najjar. The image was meant to highlight the injustice of a foreigner without ties to Palestine moving across the world to shoot dead an indigenous Palestinian, she told The Electronic Intifada.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MAY 2021

PHOTO BY SAID KHATIB /AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

U.S. Palestinian Activist Defeats Israeli “Defamation” Lawsuit By Nora Barrows-Friedman

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Nafal said she edited her post shortly after it was published and removed the photo of Rumshiskaya, replacing it with an image of another unidentified female Israeli soldier. Her post went viral and she had received threatening messages and comments on articles in Israeli media. “But then it slowly went away and nothing happened—until a few months ago,” she told The Electronic Intifada. Last September, nearly two years after Nafal published the post, she was notified that Rumshiskaya was suing her for defamation. Israel-based attorney Nitsana DarshanLeitner, director of Shurat HaDin, worked with California lawyer Michael Weiser to petition the court to override California’s defamation laws—and apply much more draconian Israeli law instead. Israel’s defamation laws have a statute of limitations period of seven years, whereas California’s are limited to one year. Israel’s law also applies criminal penalties for defamation—up to one year in prison—while defamation is a civil matter in California. They claimed that Nafal’s implications that Rumshiskaya “committed murder and a war crime as part of her job” as an Israeli soldier was an act of libel, and that Israel “has a crucial interest that libel claims arising from such allegations will be heard on their merits and not be dismissed on limitation grounds in particular online cases.”

WAR ON BDS

Shurat HaDin uses lawfare—spurious and politically motivated legal proceedings— in an effort to harass, silence and deter supporters of Palestinian rights. For example, the group has used this tactic to bully a U.S. trade union over its support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign for Palestinian rights, and in 2018 filed a lawsuit against activists in New Zealand for helping persuade pop star Lorde to cancel a Tel Aviv concert in accordance with the BDS call. Shurat HaDin did not win these lawsuits, but they did waste money and time for defendants. MAY 2021

Notably, Darshan-Leitner boasted to The Jerusalem Post in September that her lawsuit was simply an opportunity to threaten and intimidate activists for Palestinian rights. “Rebecca’s lawsuit is the spearhead of our struggle against the global boycott movement against Israel,” Darshan-Leitner said. “This is a message to all BDS activists, who should know that they too may be held responsible for their anti-Zionist activity and may even need to pay a heavy price,” she added. Shurat HaDin had raised more than $280,000 in donations to support its spurious lawsuit against Nafal. “This wasn’t just a regular lawsuit,” Nafal’s lawyer Haytham Faraj told The Electronic Intifada. “We filed a motion to dismiss, and we immediately got hit with a motion asking the judge to consider the application of Israeli law.” Shurat HaDin produced lengthy declaraI’m proud to announce that I have joined forces with @ShuratHaDin to file suit against a BDS supporter who viciously defamed a former @IDF soldier. If we succeed, the precedent could have far reaching implications in cases where American statute of limitations have expired. —on Twitter, Michael Weiser (@Mike WeiserEsq) Sept. 22, 2020 tions from handpicked experts arguing why Israeli law should apply in this case, as well as Hebrew-language copies of Israeli defamation law translated into English. “Although we were able to win at a relatively early stage,” Faraj added, “they were ready for a fight. It was systematic.” In a court document, Faraj called the suit “an example of the most vile type of attempted oppression of free speech by so-called private actors in conspiracy with a foreign government” to silence the free speech rights of a U.S. citizen in expressing criticism of a foreign country “and its official actions.” Not only did the judge dismiss the lawsuit against Nafal on procedural grounds, but Nafal and Faraj countersued under a California law that allows sanctions against

anyone who files a lawsuit seeking to curb speech about matters of public interest. Nadal’s lawyers called for the court to sanction Darshan-Leitner over her “unauthorized practice of law” in California, and Weiser, as well, for aiding her. The court, however, did not grant that request.

FIGHTING BACK

Winning this lawsuit is a significant victory for activists for Palestinian rights, Faraj said. It is a reminder that even with the Israel lobby’s well-funded efforts to silence criticism of Israel, that criticism is protected free speech. The judge’s ruling that Nafal’s Facebook posts were political speech on a topic of public interest and therefore subject to the protections of California law “means that even if this lawsuit had been brought within the time allowed in California, we would have won on substance—not just on procedure,” Faraj explained. California statute seeks to prevent anyone from trying to chill speech on matters of public interest by abusing the judicial process, Faraj added. “The judge found that the Israeli soldier was guilty of just that and granted our request to have all our costs and fees recovered,” he said. “So instead of [Nafal] paying the Israeli agent, the Israeli agent must now pay [Nafal].” Faraj will soon be submitting a motion to recover damages after tabulating the time he and Nafal spent fighting this lawsuit. But while the lawsuit was handily defeated, Faraj said he is not quick to celebrate. “Even when you win, you start to selfcensor,” he explained, adding that the purpose of lawsuits like these is to scare activists, students and scholars into silencing themselves, and to waste their time and financial resources. However, Nafal said that this process has only emboldened her. “I was self-censoring the whole time while this was going on, because I know they were watching,” she said. “But now, I feel this sense of empowerment and I feel protected by this state and this judge…And I want to speak louder.” ■

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Special Report

Lawmakers Embracing Fantasy of Being Both “Pro-Israel” and “Pro-Palestine”

Progressive Nina Turner, pictured protesting the closure of a hospital in Philadelphia, is currently running in a special election to represent Ohio's 11th congressional district. Turner recently told a Jewish Democratic group that she is “strongly pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian.” Photo was taken on July 11, 2019. IT’S BEEN WELL-DOCUMENTED that many Democrats are increasingly willing to criticize Israeli policies and place conditions on U.S. aid to the country. This way of thinking, however, is largely confined to the rank and file of the party, and rarely reflected in the way Democratic legislators speak and vote. Even many self-styled “woke” progressive politicians, who advocate for a wide-range of leftist policies, are reluctant to go all-in when it comes to holding Israel accountable to the law. While such progressives typically distinguish themselves from “mainstream” Democrats by speaking of Palestinian rights, they do so while also regurgitating many traditional pro-Israel talking points. The result is a new brand of Democrat that incongruently seeks to appease both sides of the Israel-Palestine divide.

ORIGINS IN THE LIBERAL ZIONIST LOBBY

It’s no wonder some progressive politicians have taken to espousing support for “both sides.” Given that unequivocal support for

Dale Sprusansky is managing editor of the Washington Report. 26

Israel is now associated with the presidency of Donald Trump, many on the left are weary of taking such a stand. This has created something of a chasm between progressive politicians and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the unwaveringly pro-Israel lobby organization that has traditionally steered bipartisan support for Israel. The “liberal Zionist” group J Street, on the other hand, serves as a natural home for progressives seeking to distinguish themselves from the status quo while also not pushing too many buttons. J Street’s slogan, “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” presents a safe, respectable middle ground. Unlike AIPAC, J Street speaks of Palestinian rights, supports the Iran nuclear deal, all while still espousing a deep commitment to Israel. The J Street platform can be sold as new and progressive, while simultaneously offering political cover from charges of anti-Semitism and blind hatred of Israel. While one cannot deny that J Street is progressive in comparison to AIPAC, the organization’s “pro-Israel, pro-peace” mantra reveals the fatal flaw at the heart of liberal Zionism: How does supporting the oppressor facilitate peace? It’s a question progressive politi-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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By Dale Sprusansky

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cians aligning themselves with liberal Zionist thinking ought to ponder.

THE OHIO CASE STUDY

While most congressional elections ended in November, a heated race is currently taking place in Ohio’s 11th congressional district to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Marcia Fudge’s appointment as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Nina Turner, a progressive former state senator endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), is one of two presumptive frontrunners to assume Fudge’s seat. Her primary opponent, county commissioner Shontel Brown, is campaigning as an establishment Democrat. As such, she has predictably taken an unequivocally pro-Israel stance, resulting in an endorsement from the hawkish Democratic Majority for Israel political action committee. Turner, on the other hand, has thus far run as a “pro-both sides” progressive. “I am strongly pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian,” she declared on a March 4 forum hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “I believe firmly in the right of Israelis to live in safety and peace, free from fear of violence and terrorism from Hamas and other extremists, so of course I support continued U.S. aid to Israel to confront the security challenges,” Turner said. “I also believe that Palestinians are entitled to the same human rights and safety from violence, and to be able to have self-determination in a state of their own,” she added. In response to a Jewish Insider questionnaire, Turner continued this “both sides” theme. “I support assistance for Israel for the legitimate security threats it faces. I also support continued humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” she said. “Security and justice for Israelis and security and justice for Palestinians are two sides of the same coin—you don’t get one without the other. Both are equal people in God’s eyes, and both deserve the same.” Turner’s position is understandable, and even commendable, from a broad moral standpoint. Indeed, it sounds a lot like Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas’ famous definition of love: “willing the good of the other—as other.” There’s nothing wrong with willing a just peace and mutual security for both sides. MAY 2021

However, from a practical geopolitical standpoint, Turner’s positions are impossible to square. Can you simultaneously support the colonizer while defending the rights of the colonized? In fact, Turner’s approach, while wrapped in more pro-Palestinian veneer than one typically hears from politicians, is actually an endorsement of the status quo long pushed and implemented by traditional pro-Israel Democrats and Republicans. Here’s how Turner’s approach has panned out in reality over the past few decades: The U.S. states it is working to facilitate a two-state solution, even as Israel expands its settlements and its leaders campaign on never allowing a Palestinian state to exist. U.S. assistance continues anyway because the powerful pro-Israel lobby points to the “existential threat” du jour facing Israel, be it Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran. It is of course worth noting that Israel helped create Hamas in an effort to sow crippling internal division between Hamas’ God-fearing supporters and the secular Palestine Liberation Organization. Hezbollah, on the other hand, came to power in part due to Israel’s brutal invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon in 1982. Finally, Iran only emerged as an “existential threat” to Israel after the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference laid the groundwork for Arab-Israeli peace, thus jeopardizing Israel’s ability to portray itself as surrounded by enemies. Iran was eager to participate in the Madrid process, but was snubbed by the U.S., per Israel’s request. Suffice it to say, Israel and its lobby will always find ways to present Turner and others with “legitimate” security threats that necessitate the constant flow of billions in aid. In combating these threats, particularly Hamas, Israel will always leave behind homeless, starving and mangled Palestinians for the U.S. to assist via a few hundred million dollars in humanitarian aid. Turner says Palestinians deserve “safety from violence” and “self-determination,” but it’s hard to imagine this coming to fruition when the U.S. funds the violence being inflicted upon them and looks the other way as Israel’s colonizing activity progressively strips them of their land, let alone their national aspirations.

Turner is correct to state that the fates of the Israelis and Palestinians are “two sides of the same coin,” but only in the sense that under the current paradigm supported and funded by the U.S., the Israeli side of the coin is always facing up, while the Palestinian end is perpetually jammed in the dirt. Long story short, there are uneven power, legal and moral dichotomies that make the “pro-both sides” position untenable. Perhaps the best way Turner could make her statements congruent and truly progressive would be to contemplate the words of Israeli columnist Gideon Levy, who has often compared the U.S.-Israel relationship to the “affinity” shared between addicts and their enablers. “A drug addict…supplied with more money, he will be so grateful to you. But are you really caring about him?” Levy asks. “Try to send him to a rehabilitation center. He will be so mad at you, but isn’t this real care? Does anyone here have the slightest doubt that Israel is occupation-addicted? Do you have any kind of doubt that this addiction is dangerous, first of all for Israel’s future? The real victims are obviously the Palestinians, and in many ways the entire Middle East.” If Turner and other progressives are serious about changing U.S. policy for the better, they would be wise to stop emphasizing their support for both Israel and Palestine. It’s akin to fueling the addict while providing some relief to those victimized by the addict’s behavior. Indeed, Turner came close to adopting this approach when she told Jewish Insider, “I don’t believe any taxpayer money should be going toward entrenching the occupation of the Palestinian territories, settlement expansion, the detention of children or annexation.” This is precisely the correct tone to take, but it is utterly incompatible with supporting “both sides.” For the good of Palestine and Israel, it’s time to stop equivocating and to be squarely pro-Palestine. Doing so seeks to free Palestinians from the bondage of occupation and injustice, while also freeing Israel from its addiction to colonialism, inequality and militarism. Being pro-Palestine is how to love—to will the good of— “both sides” via practical politics. ■

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Christianity in the Middle East By Rev. Alex Awad

An engraving by Lemaitre from Palestine of the mosque erected in Hebron on the site of the Patriarch Abraham’s tomb. Geographique, Historique et Archeologique by Salomon Munk, L'Univers pittoresque, published by Firmin Didot Freres, Paris, 1845. IF A ONE-DAY TIME MACHINE is invented and travel to the past becomes possible, one of the people I would love to meet and have a conversation with is the biblical patriarch, Abraham. However, since that is out of the realm of reality, I will present an imaginary interview with Abraham. Q: Father Abraham, you finished your mission on earth thousands of years ago but you are still a celebrity on this planet. Recently, Pope Francis visited your birthplace in Iraq and the pope along with a host of top Iraqi leaders poured praise on you during their press conferences, prayers, messages and public addresses. Moreover, before the election in the U.S., the Trump administration took a shot at peace between Israel and a few Arab countries and called the project “The Abraham Accords.” You continue to be popular among billions of Muslims, Jews and Christians. What do you think of all this attention?

Rev. Dr. Alex Awad is a retired United Methodist Missionary. He and his wife, Brenda, served in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem for more than 25 years. Rev. Awad served as pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College, and director of the Shepherd Society. Awad has written two books, Through the Eyes of the Victims and Palestinian Memories. Rev. Awad is a member of the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP). 28

Abraham: To start with, I would like to confess that before I chose to follow God, he chose me. Every merit that I attained and anything that I accomplished can be traced to God’s grace. All I had to do was to trust in God’s wisdom and follow his lead. The more I believed, the more I was blessed. This attention that I am receiving from your compatriots is welcome, as long as it is coming from men and women who honor me because they want to celebrate God’s grace and goodness. I welcome people using my name and example to end conflicts and establish peace and justice. What I detest is when my name is used by conniving people and shrewd politicians to cover up their evil designs. Q: Father Abraham, 25 years ago, a man named Baruch Goldstein, who highly esteemed you, entered the Cave of Machpelah where it is believed that you and members of your immediate family were laid to rest. It was dawn and Muslims were having their morning prayers. Goldstein used his automatic gun to kill 29 men in cold blood before the crowd turned on and killed him. What do you say about Goldstein and people like him who highly adore you and yet kill others in your name and in name of your God? Abraham: God is merciful and just. The massacre that Goldstein committed is in total defiance of the heart, will and character

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PHOTO CREDIT: DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY/ VIA GETTY IMAGES

An Interview with Father Abraham

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of God. In Arabic, Hebron, the city where I was buried, is called Al-Khalil, meaning,”the friend.” Arabs and Muslims consider me “a friend of God” and that is confirmed by both Jewish prophets and the Christian Bible (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23) and in the Qur’an (Surah 4:125). A friend of God is a friend of all people. True friends of God do not go around killing other people to get credit with God. Goldstein was totally misguided and any Jew, Muslim or Christian that commits atrocities in the name of God is equally misguided. And yes, Christians, Muslims and Jews have a dark history of crimes and massacres against each other. Neither God nor I are pleased to see innocent people being massacred in our name. Q: Father, Jewish settlers who live in Hebron are very zealous for you and your burial place. They have forcefully taken lands from Palestinians in Hebron to establish a settlement that would guarantee a Jewish presence and dominance in Hebron. These settlers daily attack Palestinians and intimidate all the citizens of Hebron assuming that they are doing you and your legacy a favor. They are zealous about the Cave and those who are buried there. What message do you have for those who are willing to kill and do harm with the stated goal of “protecting” the Cave and the city of Hebron? Abraham: From my perspective and after following the human story for thousands of years, I am appalled that some humans continue to think that God cares more for dead stones and tombs than for living souls. As Jesus said, “God is spirit and those who worship him must do so in spirit and in truth.” God longs for the sanctity of the human heart more than the sanctity of any earthly place. I say to the zealots of Hebron, focus on your heart and love your Palestinian neighbor. Only then, the earth that you walk upon will become holy ground. Q: I hear you talk a lot about justice, is this something that you learned through your walk with your God? Abraham: I am glad that you asked this question because a lot of Jews, Muslims and Christians know many stories about MAY 2021

my life and my walk with God but are not aware that God instructed me to be a teacher of justice. God gave me a specific command to teach my children and my grandchildren to do what is just. Look at what is written about me: Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. Genesis 18:17-19 Perhaps I am the first human that was chosen by God to instruct people to do justice. Notice another aspect that many people who think that they are following in my footsteps ignore. It is the fact that the promises that God generously gave me, and my descendants were linked with us doing justice and righteousness. Q: So how did you go about teaching justice and righteousness? Abraham: During my time on earth, we did not have schools, colleges and universities as you know them. I taught my household to do justice by setting an example before them. For instance, when the shepherds of my nephew, Lot, quarreled with my shepherds, I told my nephew: Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left. (Genesis 13:8-9) Another example is after my wife Sarah died, and I needed a place to bury her. When I found the proper place, I went to the Hittites who owned the Cave of Machpelah, and I asked them if I could buy the land and the Cave to bury my wife. The Hittites offered me the land free of charge. But I insisted on paying the full price for the land. Mind you, this is the very land that God promised to give to me. I did not use my religious rights, nor did I use violence to take over the Cave and the land around it. A third example about my passion for justice is when God told me that he was plan-

ning to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Not fully understanding what was going on, I argued and pleaded with God to deal justly with the righteous inhabitants of the cities. Q: In one large U.S. city I attended an interfaith meeting called “The Cousins Club.” The title expresses that we—Jews, Muslims and Christians—are all cousins through our connection to you. What do you think of these interfaith meetings? Would you attend one? Abraham: As one of my children wrote in the Book of Psalms, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1. From one perspective, if I were still living on earth and invited, and they were willing to receive such an incredibly old man, I would attend. But from my current vantage point, I see things that I do not like in these interfaith meetings. The people eat a lot of food, drink all kinds of drinks, sing, dance and listen to lively music but they shy away from discussing the reasons why Christians, Muslims and Jews are killing each other in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. These interfaith gatherings are self-serving. I don’t mind the celebration time as long as the meetings also include serious discussion of how participants strive to influence politicians to make peace in the Middle East and around the world. Q: Thank you Father Abraham for responding to these questions. Do you have a final statement to the folks who will read this interview? Abraham: Yes! Look at your world today—millions are suffering from hunger. Think about the millions who feel the pain of wars and military conflicts. Consider the untold numbers of young men and women who are unemployed and are utterly hopeless. Turn your eyes to the plight of refugees and those who languish from homelessness. Add to this list the millions who suffer from the curse of racism and discrimination. On the other hand, consider how God blessed humanity with enough wealth, wisdom, technological abilities and goodwill to address all the above challenges. Practicing justice is the key to healing many of humanity’s wounds. ■

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Gaza on the Ground

Gaza Calls for Fair Vaccine Distribution

By Mohammed Omer

PHOTO BY MOHAMMED ABED/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The United Nations human rights body released a statement on Jan. 14, saying that it is Israel’s responsibility to provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The U.N. said that differential access is “morally and legally” unacceptable under international law as laid out in the Geneva Conventions, on the regulation of occupied territories. “As Palestinians living under occupation, Israel has an obligation to inoculate the population” says Umm Fayez Al-Khalidi, a 45-year-old teacher living in Gaza. Ignoring that responsibility, instead, in mid-FebVials of the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine are pictured in Gaza City on March 25, 2021. Thousands of ruary, Israel sent spare Palestinian health workers, the elderly and patients with cancer or kidney disease were set to get vaccines as vaccines to Honduras, the health ministry ramped up its inoculation campaign. Guatemala, Hungary and the Czech Republic to reward those countries for opening embassies or recognizing IsISRAEL LEADS with the world’s highest rate of COVID-19 vacciraeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. nations per capita. By April 1, Israel had fully vaccinated 50 percent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and other members of Congress, of its 9 million citizens, including settlers living in the West Bank, as joined human rights groups and the U.N. to criticize Israel for well as foreigners living in Israel. But at the same time, in the West its vaccination distribution failures. “As the occupying power, Bank and Gaza, where Israel remains an occupying power, PalesIsrael is responsible for the health of all the people under its tinians only just started getting limited amounts of vaccines in late control,” said Sanders on Twitter. “It is outrageous that NeFebruary. That is when Israel finally allowed the transfer of a few tanyahu would use spare vaccines to reward his foreign allies thousand Sputnik V doses donated by Russia for the 5 million Paleswhile so many Palestinians in the occupied territories are still tinians in the West Bank. Gaza initially received just 2,000 doses waiting.” for 2 million Gazans from Russia, followed by a much larger donation Addressing the equitable distribution of vaccines against the from the UAE. The first vaccinations went to frontline health workers. coronavirus in the Security Council on Feb. 17, U.N. SecretaryIsrael, meanwhile, sent its stockpile elsewhere. General António Guterres proposed the creation of an emergency task force of the G20 countries to prepare and help impleAward-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports regularly on the Gaza Strip. ment a global immunization plan. 30

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“The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is generating hope,” he told the 15-member council’s video conference meeting. “At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community.” Israel failed that moral test, waiting until early March to vaccinate Palestinians who come to work in Israel or in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The PA received 61,440 vaccines on March 16, through COVAX, a global vaccine program for poor and middle-income countries backed by the World Health Organization. Some 20,000 doses from that shipment were sent to Gaza later the same day. Then on March 29, China sent another 100,000 doses of their Sinopharm vaccine. Six Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on March 24, demanding that Israel act to ensure the vaccination of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The petition suggested Israel hand over surplus supplies of its own vaccine stocks.

As the world continues to fight COVID19, together and in collaboration, many questions are being asked about the allocation of and access to vaccines as they become available. Yet, back in Gaza, Umm Momen Hijazi, a cancer patient who had to stop her chemotherapy for a year due to travel restrictions, is still waiting for her vaccine. Umm Momen described how she has been isolated from others, including her own grandchildren, since she belongs to the vulnerable group of cancer patients. “We are all waiting for the vaccine rollout to unite us, as much as the COVID lockdown did,” she said, adding, “It does not look like this is happening. The occupation has already locked us in and treated us as lesser human beings for decades. Some have the golden spoon, and others will have to wait for some luck,” she commented. The inoculation drive in Gaza “will result in more immunity among the people and further curb the spread of the pandemic,” said Palestinian Health Ministry spokesper(Advertisement)

son Ashraf Al Qedra. COVID has drawn attention to the worldwide inequity in health care and vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations. Gaza has been no exception, but the vaccine distribution there has been largely fueled by political tension and polarization. “At the end, there is one thing that I wish to underscore—no one is safe until everyone is safe,” says Umm Momen. Yet, she knows the vaccine will be used as yet another tool to crush Gaza. “What we will always have is the Palestinian will to continue as long as we have oxygen in our lungs,” she adds. Vaccine discrimination is a main topic amid the talks about the upcoming Palestinian presidential and legislative council elections. It’s the latest outrage, added to the high unemployment, collapsing health care, travel restrictions, shortages of essential supplies and energy rationing, that have made the Palestinians’ daily lives increasingly more difficult during the decades of Israel’s occupation and blockade. ■

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WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Congress Watch

Congressional Republicans Oppose Returning to the Iran Nuclear Agreement

By Shirl McArthur

PHOTO COURTESY PHIL PASQUINI

However, although the so-called “maximum pressure” policy of the previous administration only emboldened Iran’s hardliners, Congressional Republicans and some Democrats continue to oppose returning to the JCPOA. At a Senate confirmation hearing for Wendy Sherman as deputy secretary of state, Sen. James Risch (R-ID) said that, to him, rejoining the JCPOA “is a non-starter.” But Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that by seeking to expand the agreement, “I worry that we may be setting ourselves up for The U.S. Capitol as seen from the metal security fence topped by razor wire installed after the insurrection of failure.” January 6, 2021. Several measures were introduced, and one letter was sent to Biden opposing returning to the agreement. THE WASHINGTON Report’s previous issue reported that 150 On Feb. 3, 52 Republican representatives, led by Rep. Greg representatives signed a Dec. 23 letter to President Joseph Biden Murphy (R-NC), signed a letter to Biden urging him not to return to saying that they endorse his “call for diplomacy as the best path the agreement. The letter’s signers claim the JCPOA was “a failure to halt and reverse Iran’s nuclear program, decrease tensions in to begin with,” and indirectly funded “the killing of American soldiers the region, and facilitate our nation’s reincorporation into the inand innocent people.” ternational community.” Then, on Feb. 24, Sen. Edward Markey Six measures were introduced specifically opposing the return to (D-MA), with 10 cosponsors, introduced S. 434, the “Iran Diplothe JCPOA unless Iran complies with several conditions, mostly unmacy” bill, to “seek a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s nuclear prorelated to Iran’s nuclear program. Gaining the most support are idengram.” Recognizing that most objections to the Joint Comprehentical Feb. 24 House and Senate resolutions, “opposing the lifting of sive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement’s official sanctions imposed with respect to Iran without addressing the full name, are that it doesn’t deal with Iran’s other destabilizing acscope of Iran’s malign activities, including its nuclear program, baltions, S. 434 says that, after both Iran and the U.S. return to full listic and cruise missile capabilities, weapons proliferation, support compliance with their commitments under the JCPOA, the U.S. for terrorism, hostage-taking, gross human rights violations, and should lead international efforts to deal with other aspect of Iran’s other destabilizing activities.” The Senate resolution, S.Res. 72, inbehavior. troduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), has 31 Republican cosponsors, and the House resolution, H.Res. 157, introduced by Rep. Shirl McArthur is a retired foreign service officer. He lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), has 34 cosponsors. 32

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In the Senate, on Feb. 3, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and two cosponsors, introduced the non-binding S.Res. 31, which would urge “the president not to return to the JCPOA unless the agreement is revised and Iran meets specified conditions.” In the House, H.R. 1203 was introduced on Feb. 22 by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), with 10 cosponsors, to “limit the U.S. from rejoining the JCPOA,” and H.R. 1231 was introduced Feb. 23 by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) “to prohibit the reentry of the U.S. into the JCPOA unless the president makes certain certifications relating to Iran.” On March 2, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and six cosponsors introduced H.R. 1479 “to prohibit the use of federal funds relating to rejoining the JCPOA with Iran.” More responsibly, companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate “to provide for congressional review of actions to terminate or waive sanctions imposed with respect to Iran.” S. 488, introduced Feb. 25 by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), has 32 cosponsors, and H.R. 1699, introduced March 9 by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), has 43 cosponsors. The non-binding H.Res. 214, expressing the sense of the House “that Iran must cease enriching uranium to 20 percent purity and abandon its pursuit of a nuclear weapon” was introduced March 10 by Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) and five cosponsors. On Feb. 5, Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) also introduced H.R. 857, “to impose sanctions on certain persons contributing to the proliferation of arms of Iran.” Two bills targeting Iran, similar to the bills from the last Congress, were introduced. H.R. 733, the “Stop Evasions of Iran Sanctions” bill, was introduced Feb. 2 by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), with four cosponsors. H.R. 819, “to require a report on oligarchs and parastatal entities of Iran,” was introduced Feb. 4 by Rep. David Kustoff (RTN). It has 10 cosponsors.

but strong, congressional reaction. On March 1, Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and 19 cosponsors introduced H.R. 1464, the “Saudi Arabia Accountability for Gross Violations of Human Rights” bill. It would prohibit travel to the U.S. by all parties named in the report, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On March 2, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced H.R. 1511 “to impose sanctions with respect to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.” The bill would freeze bin Salman’s assets in the U.S. and make him inadmissible to the country. The bill has nine cosponsors. Earlier, on Feb. 4, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 226, the “Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability” bill, “to protect journalists and other members of the press from gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” On Jan. 15, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Gregory Meeks (D-NY), introduced two joint resolutions, H.J.Res. 15 and H.J.Res. 16, “providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of certain defense articles and services.” Each of the measures has 29 cosponsors. On Feb. 26, Reps. David Trone (D-MD), Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and James McGovern (D-MA), introduced the non-binding H.Res. 175 calling on “the U.S. government to cease all arms transfers to Saudi Arabia” until Saudi Arabia meets certain conditions, including demonstrating “true accountability for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.” On Feb. 25, 41 representatives, led by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Debbie Dingell (D-MI), signed a letter to Biden expressing their “strong support” for his “decision to end U.S. participation in offensive operations in the Saudi/UAE-led war in Yemen.”

RELEASE OF REPORT ON THE KHASHOGGI MURDER BRINGS CONGRESSIONAL REACTION

BILLS INTRODUCED TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATIONS FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE

The Feb. 11 release of the Director of National Intelligence report on the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi elicited limited,

MAY 2021

On Jan. 11, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced H.R. 255 and H.R. 256 to repeal the authorizations for use of military force

(AUMF) against terrorist groups of 2001 and against Iraq of 2002. Since their enactment, these authorizations have been used to justify several military operations. H.R. 255 has 54 cosponsors and H.R. 256 has 112 cosponsors. On March 3, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), with 13 cosponsors, introduced S.J. Res. 10 to repeal the authorizations for use of military force in Iraq of 1991 and 2002. Repeal of these authorizations would formally end the authorizations for use of military force for the Gulf and Iraq wars. On March 8, DeFazio, with 17 cosponsors, introduced H.J. Res. 29 “to amend the War Powers Resolution.” As DeFazio said in a press release, this legislation “clarifies under the Constitution that any president must seek congressional authorization prior to sending U.S. forces into hostilities, and sets out strict parameters for any future AUMF that Congress might consider.” The measure would provide exceptions for certain emergencies. More problematic is H.R. 1457, introduced March 1 by Rep. James Himes (DCT) and three cosponsors. It would simply prohibit funds “for the U.S. Armed Forces to be obligated or expended for introduction of U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities.”

A NEW CONGRESS, A NEW ANTIPALESTINIAN BILL

On Jan. 11, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced H.R. 261, the “Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention” bill. It would require sanctions on “each foreign person or instrumentality that knowingly assists, provides significant support or services to, or is involved in a significant transaction with a senior member” of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and any affiliate or successor groups. It has 17 cosponsors. Identical bills were introduced on Feb. 23, in the House and Senate, “to advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Libya and support the people of Libya.” H.R. 1228, introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch (DFL), has nine cosponsors, and S. 379, introduced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), has three cosponsors. ■

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Special Report

U.S.-Iran Relations: Crafting a New Beginning By Dr. M. Reza Behnam

PHOTO BY MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

tate, threaten, and assassinate leaders, bomb, invade, and destroy lives and eco-systems in a region it knows only in terms of the energy resources it provides? America’s forever-sanctions-war has taken its toll on Iran, but it has not produced the changes Washington has desired. A major reason is that, unlike other countries in the Middle East, Iran is not the product of British or French colonial plans or a military coup. It is one of the world’s oldest, proudest and abiding civilizations, which has endured Medical personnel gather around a table spread of Haft-Seen for Nowruz in a COVID-19 ward in Shahr-e-Rey, south of Tehran. Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, marks the first day of spring and has been celebrated in Iran since all manner of attack over the Zoroastrian era. The historical ceremony includes the Haft-Seen (seven items beginning with the letter “s” in its 7,000-year history. Farsi). Each item comes with promises for renewal, prosperity, fertility, happiness, health and joy for the new year. To remedy its foreign policy failures, WashingAT A FEB. 2021 meeting of the Munich Security Council, President ton must take account of its own history with and failed policies Joe Biden proclaimed, “America is back.” The question is: America toward Iran and reevaluate its current alliances and strategic partis back “to do what?” nerships in the Middle East. For Iranians, the question is especially salient. “America is back” Such an accounting would reveal that U.S. interests have been should mean respect for Iran’s sovereignty and an end to the fear poorly served by U.S. animus toward Iran, and that America has mongering of past decades. Additionally, President Biden should more in common with Iran than with most countries in Southwest clearly affirm what American and Israeli intelligence agencies have Asia. Because of its regional stature, Iran could provide Washington been saying for years—that Iran has never wanted to build a bomb with the meaningful assistance it needs in tackling its difficult imand has never been a threat to the United States, Israel or its repasses in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and in Palestine-Israel, gional neighbors. as it did by providing valuable assistance on al-Qaeda after the Sept. America’s “big stick” policies have not achieved the regime 11, 2001 attacks. change many in the Washington establishment have been hoping The ideals of Iran’s 1979 revolution have yet to be realized. The for. Unfortunately, few among them question the efficacy, let alone Islamic Republic has been under continued attack since its inception the morality, of U.S. foreign policy toward Iran. What right, for exand yet it has survived despite all obstacles the U.S. and its allies ample, does the United States have to overthrow governments, dicin the region have thrown its way. After millennia of monarchy, Iran has formed a republic with a written constitution and regularly held parliamentary and presidential elections. Iran’s government is unDr. M. Reza Behnam is a political scientist specializing in the history, precedented in the Islamic world. politics and governments of the Middle East. 34

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The Biden administration has thus far displayed the same imperial attitude and lack of historical insight that has brought about America’s disastrous history with Iran; a history that first derailed with an illfated decision in 1953, and continues to haunt both countries to this day. With British urging, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. It set the stage for Washington’s future acts of trickery and malign behavior and for Iran’s continuing mistrust of the United States. With the defeat of Mossadegh’s democratic government, CIA coup plotter, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr., reported to Washington that the shah had been “safely installed” back on the Peacock Throne. Before leaving Tehran, Roosevelt met with the shah. Raising his glass in a toast to Roosevelt, the shah remarked, “I owe my throne to God, my people, my army—and to you!” The prime minister was arrested and hauled before a military tribunal. There he uttered the words that resonated with Irani-

ans then and now: “I have had only one objective, and that was for the people of Iran to control their own destiny and for the fate of the nation to be determined by nothing other than the will of the people...” He continued, “I am well aware that my fate must serve as an example in the future throughout the Middle East in breaking the chains of slavery and servitude to colonial interests.” The shah loyally executed U.S. interests until 1979 when millions of Iranians brought down “America’s shah” to, in Mossadegh’s words, control their own destiny. The 1979 Iranian Revolution—the most consequential of the 20th century—inspired hope for political transformation and has changed the balance of power in the region. One of Washington’s greatest fears was the power of the ideology born of the revolution, particularly through the messages of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founding father of the Islamic Republic. His calls for Shi’a-Sunni unity with entreaties such as, “The Muslims must be a united, single fist, none can rise up against them,” echoed across the Islamic world, much to the con(Advertisement)

HopeHasWings

sternation of Arab dictators in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The political and economic power of a unified Middle East, inherent in the Ayatollah’s rhetoric, much like Mossadegh’s 26 years earlier, was not lost on the United States. America’s intense anti-Iran policy, already on the rise after the revolution, intensified with the seizure, by Iranian students, of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the taking of 52 American hostages from November 1979 to January 1981. The Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) further deepened Iran’s distrust of the United States. Although Iraq started the war, President Ronald Reagan decided that it would be in America’s interests to help Saddam Hussain defeat Iran. The U.S. provided financial and military assistance to the Iraqi regime, including dual-use technology that allowed Iraq to make chemical weapons. Iraq’s use of chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers was met with a muted response from Washington. Although Saddam was using chemical weapons against Iranian forces and civilians, Aya-

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tollah Khomeini specifically prohibited the production or use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. In March 1984, the U.S. State Department issued the following statement: “While condemning Iraq’s chemical weapons use…The United States finds the present Iranian regime’s intransigent refusal to deviate from its avowed objective of eliminating the legitimate government of neighboring Iraq to be inconsistent with the accepted norms of behavior among nations… .” The statement was more condemnatory of Iran than Iraq. However, by 1991, Iraq had lost favor with Washington after Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. Containing Iran and Iraq became the official policy of President Bill Clinton. Using Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, Clinton’s “dual containment” policy objective was to isolate both countries politically, economically and militarily. It was a policy underwritten and supported by Israel and its lobby groups, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a think tank funded by AIPAC and its supporters. To garner international support for harsher additional sanctions, the U.S. and Israel accused Tehran of sponsoring terrorism, pursuing nuclear weapons and of being a “rogue state”—a narrative that has become uncontested doctrine. Washington’s efforts to destabilize Iran have been ongoing. The U.S. Congress authorized millions of dollars for covert operations in the Intelligence Authorization Act of 1996 and the Iran Freedom Support Act of 2006. U.S. perfidy was clearly reflected in President George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address when he included Iran among his “axis of evil” countries. The slight was particularly confounding to Iranians because they had been working with the U.S. to help establish an interim government in Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion of that country in October 2001. In a 2003 proposal to Washington, which later came be known as the “grand bargain,” Iran offered to discuss several issues of concern to both countries, including will36

ingness to accept full transparency of its nuclear program. Iranians were stunned by Bush’s refusal to even reply to Tehran’s proposal. Instead, he launched an unprecedented financial war intended to drive Iran out of the global economy.

RAPPROCHEMENT MOVES

In 2015, it seemed that rapprochement was finally possible. President Barack Obama had managed to conclude a nuclear agreement despite the relentless machinations of war zealots in Congress, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Although it had no nuclear weapons, Iran agreed to the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which included more restrictions and intrusive monitoring than other states with nuclear programs or weapons. The JCPOA was the most important pact between the United States and Iran since 1979. But in 2018, entrenched U.S. anti-Iran institutional forces proved more powerful than the word of President Obama. Israel and its American supporters applauded President Donald Trump’s unceremonious withdrawal from the agreement and his efforts to bring the Iranian economy to its knees. For over five years, the U.S. has been punishing Iran for a nuclear weapons program that does not exist. Despite Trump’s 1,000 crippling sanctions, Tehran abided by the terms of the agreement. That changed in January 2020 when Trump ordered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani. When he boasted about his murder and conspired with Israel to assassinate yet another nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020, Iran ramped up its uranium enrichment level to 20 percent, where it was before the accord. Iranians believe that a double standard exists for them. The world, for example, continues to be outraged by the brutal murder, in 2018, of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on the orders of de facto Saudi ruler, Mohammad bin Salman. The U.S. murders of Soleimani and Fakhrizadeh did not prompt the same out-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

rage, although both were in violation of international law and could be considered an act of war. For over 40 years, the U.S. has used Iran as a foil to maintain its primacy in the Middle East. The country has been under constant attack because of its refusal to acquiesce to U.S.-Israeli plans for the region. This, not Iran’s nuclear program, is the actual reason for America’s hostility toward Iran. Israel has successfully hyped Iran as a nuclear danger to the Jewish state. However, if Iran were to at-tack Israel using nuclear weapons, it would not only kill Israelis but the Palestinians Iran supports. It would also obliterate Jerusalem and other sites sacred to Islam and Iran. This would be an illogical and inconceivable act by the Islamic Republic. Like all nations, Iran has a right to defend itself. U.S. provocations and threats from regional neighbors have forced it to pursue a defensive security posture. Although Tehran has not drawn on nuclear weapons for security, it may have to decide that nuclear weapons would be a safeguard from the “axis of evil” it confronts at its doorstep—the U.S., Israel and Gulf Arab regimes. Furthermore, Iran deserves a guarantee that if it reenters the JCPOA no change of government in Washington will abrogate it. America has spent enormous financial, political and military energy trying to eliminate the Islamic Republic, to no good end. Since it was President Trump who unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018, the onus is on Washington to reenter it without preconditions. By reentering the JCPOA, President Biden could begin the process of undoing the damage that America’s adversarial policies have caused Iran over many decades. The United States has yet to understand that if it wants to achieve any of its objectives in the region, it will need Iran as a strategic partner, not apartheid Israel or Arab strongmen. An equitable U.S.-Iran partnership could be the ballast America needs if it intends to play a more visionary role in the Middle East. ■ MAY 2021

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Exonerating the Saudis—Again NO ONE SHOULD BE surprised that the United States is letting Saudi Arabia get away with murder—again. U.S. support for the reactionary oil-rich regime in Riyadh is a staple of America’s consistently failed Middle East policy, right up there with embracing Israeli apartheid and ceaselessly demonizing Iran. At the end of February, the Biden administration announced that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Mohammad bin Salman—affectionately known as MBS—was directly responsible for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018. That was hardly breaking news, as the Biden administration merely made official, through release of the findings of an intelligence report, what was already well known. Moreover, the administration announced it was not going to sanction MBS—who took the occasion to again mendaciously deny any responsibility for the killing—thus assuring there would be no real accountability for his actions. So, it’s business as usual—that would be the oil and arms sales businesses, to be more precise. Twenty years ago, the United States did not blame Saudi Arabia for 9/11 despite the fact that Osama Bin Laden and 15 of the 19 hijackers hailed from the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom, so who would expect MBS to be blamed for the mere murder and grotesque dismemberment of an award-winning journalist? At the time of 9/11, the Bush administration hurriedly spirited highlevel Saudis out of the country before they might be questioned about any connections between the regime and those responsible for the attacks. If Saudi Arabia stood for anything besides oil sales and repressing its own people, it was for funding the intolerant Wahhabi Islamic “education” and supporting reactionary movements at the expense of secular and reformist Islamic traditions.

History’s Shadows By Walter L. Hixson

citing their role in perpetuating the Yemen catastrophe. Reuters later reported the U.S. is considering outright canceling the sale of all offensive arms to Riyadh over human rights concerns. A decade ago, Saudi Arabia—as well as the United States—feared the rise of reform governments in the Arab Spring movement, which has since been crushed. If Middle Eastern countries like Yemen, which overthrew its longtime dictator during the Arab Spring uprisings, were actually allowed to reform and take control of their own destinies that would put pressure on the Saudi regime. The Kingdom might be forced to do more than allowing women to drive. Taken to the logical extreme, the reform movements might even topple the Saudi regime, in which case the United States would be deprived of the cheap oil to which it has long been addicted and might force the Americans to reckon with the existential crisis of climate change—oh, perish the thought! The United States, Saudi Arabia and their allied regimes in the Gulf prefer to support right-wing reactionaries even at the cost of turning countries like Syria and Yemen into visions right out of Dante’s Inferno. They only wish they could do the same to predominately Shi’i Iran, which supports the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Bashar al-Assad in Syria, but which is absurdly charged by the Saudis—and their new-found friends in Israel—with trying to dominate the entire Middle East. MBS had a soulmate in President Donald Trump, who backed his play in Yemen and yawned over the murder of Khashoggi. MBS and Trump got on so well because both were born to massive wealth, having earned nothing on their own, and were accustomed to taking no responsibility for their arrogance, ignorance and wanton destructiveness. Biden could have signaled that a new day was coming but he chose the tried-and-true path of appeasing the Saudis. You know, because it has worked so well in the past. ■

So, it’s business as usual—that would

be the oil and arms sales businesses...

THE NIGHTMARE IN NEIGHBORING YEMEN

Khashoggi, who had the audacity to criticize his country in print, is not the only death for which MBS is responsible—he has killed tens of thousands of people through a reckless and failed intervention in Yemen, a conflict that has also put millions of Yemenis on the brink of famine. To its credit, the Biden administration is at least making a push to end the Yemeni conflict, which long has been blamed on Iran even though the most overtly interventionist foreign power in the country is Saudi Arabia. In January, the Biden administration announced they were pausing U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, MAy 2021

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 has been a professor of history for 36 years, achieving the rank of distinguished professor.

WASHInGTon REPoRT on MIddLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Special Report

Why is Russia Involved in Yemen, Again?

KARIM SAHIB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

By Dr. Mohammad Salami

Fishermen sit in their boat at a harbor in the southern city of Aden, situated at the mouth of the Red Sea, on Nov. 30, 2010. IN RECENT MONTHS, the visit of officials from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) to Moscow shows the group’s growing ties with Russia. Moscow’s goal, from the beginning of these relations, is to secure its geopolitical interests and, of course, pursue economic and political goals. Russia seeks to achieve these goals through close cooperation with the Transitional Council while trying to maintain its extensive relations with all parties involved in Yemen. Moscow’s policy is not to side with any particular party in the Yemeni political-military scene. It legitimizes the Abd-Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi administration, maintains ties with the Houthis, and respects the power-seeking attitudes of the southern movements. However, Russia’s main goal in south-

ern Yemen is to gain military bases in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Russia’s relations with Yemen are not new but began during 1960 civil war in Yemen, which ended with the formation of South Yemen—officially the “People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen.” The Soviet Union immediately recognized the country and South Yemen became the first country in the region to officially use communist ideas in governing, and maintained its extensive relations with the Soviet Union between 1967 and 1990. In 1990, South Yemen united with North Yemen and the Republic of Yemen was established. The relations between the two countries changed.

Mohammad Salami has a Ph.D. in International Relations. He writes as an analyst and columnist in various media outlets. His area of expertise is Middle East issues, especially Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and the GCC countries. This article was published by the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis <www. mideastcenter.org> on March 11. Reprinted with permission.

During the Cold War, Yemen was one of Moscow’s main priorities in the Middle East. Beginning in 1962, at an invitation from Egypt, which supported the Republicans in Yemen, the Soviet Union sent military “advisers” and equipment to Yemen. This presence was expanded after 1968, when Russia had a presence in the south

RUSSIA’S GEOPOLITICAL GOALS IN SOUTHERN YEMEN

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MAY 2021

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of the country. Moscow was allowed to specifically establish a naval base on Socotra. The base received 120 Soviet ships during its duration. The base, in the Gulf of Aden, enabled the Soviet Union to conduct continuous operations in the Indian Ocean until 1985. Moreover, during the period 1968-1991, at least 5,245 Soviet military specialists served in Yemen. With the unification of Yemen in 1990, Russia lost the base and the equation changed in favor of the United States. But Russia is still dreaming of reestablishing a base on the island of Socotra, a strategic location at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. Shipping traffic, on the way to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal, passes next to it. In this regard, the former commander-inchief of the Russian navy, Feliks Gromov, and academics at Moscow’s Institute of Oriental Studies advised Russian authorities to regain former Soviet influence in Yemen. That is why Russia held the first talks with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in order to have a base in the Red Sea. Saleh said, in an interview with Russia 2 TV, “In the fight against terrorism we reach out and offer all facilities. Our airports, our ports...We are ready to provide this to the Russian Federation.” The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is strategically important to Russia and is Russia’s entry point into the Horn of Africa. The Horn is a trade and investment gateway to a continent brimming with economic potential that has drawn the attention of traditional partners and new entrants. Putin wants extensive ties with the Horn of Africa and has begun extensive economic and political relations with Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The long-term goal of Moscow’s foreign policy in the Horn of Africa is to establish military bases and increase trade with the region. To this end, Moscow seeks to establish a logistics center in Eritrea to increase trade with the country. Russia also is exploring the possibility of creating a naval base in Somaliland, which would increase Moscow’s access to the Port of Berbera, co-owned by Somaliland, Ethiopia and a UAE company. In light of MAY 2021

these projects, Russia prizes a military base in southern Yemen, as it would link these installations to the Arabian Peninsula.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GOALS OF RUSSIA’S PRESENCE IN SOUTHERN YEMEN

One of Russia’s political goals in Yemen and, more broadly, the Middle East is to reduce U.S. influence in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf. After the two countries of North and South Yemen united, the role of the Soviet Union and later Russia in Yemen and the Persian Gulf diminished, and the U.S. replaced Russia in the Persian Gulf region and the Arabian Peninsula. Russia is now seeking to revive its traditional influence in the Persian Gulf, particularly Yemen, with the “Persian Gulf Peace” plan. Russia thinks it can compete with the U.S. in Yemen because it can act as a mediator between different groups in Yemen, something the U.S. cannot do. This approach was actively implemented by a former head of the Russian government, Yevgeny Primakov, who, in his political activities, tried not to take the side of any of the participants in regional conflicts, preferring to be a friend to everyone. This allowed Moscow, through its intermediary role, to promote its own interests. China also supports Russia’s peace plan in the Persian Gulf. It seems that the Arabs of the region are confused and in a dilemma over U.S.-Iranian relations in light of the JCPOA nuclear agreement and current U.S.-Iranian tensions. They seem ready to welcome a third party in the Persian Gulf. One of Russia’s economic goals, with its growing presence in southern Yemen, is to increase its bargaining power in the oil conflict with Saudi Arabia. In March 2020, the two countries started an economic conflict over oil prices, and the world saw a 65 percent drop in oil prices. In this struggle, Russia, which had less oil reserves, suffered significant losses and its economy suffered. Russia’s goal now is to use the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to put pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil economy, as 4.8 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait daily,

and the Saudi oil industry is dependent on the Strait. The key to Russia’s recent active role in Yemen is in its strategic neutrality. Russia acts as a mediator between the various groups involved in Yemen and has friendly relations with all the powers involved in the country, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It seems that Russia is pursuing geopolitical interests and an official military presence in Yemen, specifically the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and this presence takes precedence over other Russian political and economic interests in Yemen. Moscow is well aware that the United States has nearly 50,000 troops at 29 military bases in the Persian Gulf. Washington has more than 300 warplanes and hundreds of billions of dollars in arms sales in the region. The key to resolving the balance of power on the Arabian Peninsula in Moscow’s favor, it believes, is to have a physical presence in one of the world’s most geostrategic regions. ■ (Advertisement)

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WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Talking Turkey

A protester argues with a Turkish policeman during a demonstration against Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international accord designed to protect women, in Istanbul, on March 20, 2021. Thousands protested in Turkey calling for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse his decision to withdraw from the world’s first binding treaty to prevent and combat violence against women. WITH A GOOD DEAL of fanfare, March 2 saw Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan take the stage in Ankara to announce a brand new “Human Rights Action Plan” for the country. Kicking off the launch by saying he was “for justice, no matter who is for or against it”—a quote from Malcolm X—the Turkish leader then said that the 11-point plan aimed “to further strengthen the rule of law, based on human rights.” The presumption of innocence, freedom of expression, unfettered access to legal remedies, human dignity, equality before the law and more were stressed in the plan, which contains nine main aims, 50 targets and 393 actions. Yet, no sooner had the announcement been made, than reasons for calling into doubt its sincerity began to emerge. Indeed, that very day, the deputy parliamentary chair of Erdogan’s Justice and Devel-

Jonathan Gorvett is a free-lance writer specializing on European and Middle Eastern affairs. 40

opment Party (AKP), Cahit Ozkan, called for the banning of the country’s second largest opposition grouping, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). On March 18, the chief prosecutor duly opened a case with the country’s top court to ban the grouping. Erdogan had earlier seemed to suggest the same fate for Turkey’s largest opposition grouping, the Republican People’s Party (CHP). “We see that there is no place for a party called CHP in Turkey’s future,” he said on March 4, at an online meeting of AKP provincial heads. Banning the opposition is by no means an untypical view in the Turkish government these days, while the practice of human rights can also be hard to spot. Currently, there are 37 journalists in prison in the country—the highest total in the world, after China. Press censorship is also widespread. An example of this occurred just the day before the action plan was launched. The Turkish Radio and TV Supreme Council—the government-appointed broadcast sector’s regulatory body—issued a record-breaking fine to indepen-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MAY 2021

PHOTO BY BULENT KILIC/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Erdogan, Turkey and the Rhetoric of “Reform” By Jonathan Gorvett

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dent TV channel Haberturk. The fine was imposed over the failure of one of its presenters to “strongly object” to an opposition deputy’s on-air criticism of the government. Elsewhere, a few days following the plan’s announcement, 18 women were detained, after attending an International Women’s Day demonstration in Istanbul. The women were charged with “insulting” Erdogan by chanting, “Tayyip run, women are coming!” and “Jump, jump! Whoever doesn’t jump is Tayyip!” during the march. That chant was repeated on March 20 around the country, too, at demonstrations called after Erdogan issued a decree the night before, withdrawing Turkey from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty on women’s rights. “You have a situation in which the law is not functioning properly in Turkey,” Erdem Aydin, Turkey expert and director of consultancy at RDM Advisory, told the Washington Report. The “Human Rights Action Plan” is unlikely to fix that. Instead, it may have more to do with the AKP’s shrinking popularity and Turkey’s increasing diplomatic and political isolation.

POWER AND POPULARITY

The most recent opinion polls show a steady decline in support for the AKP, along with its main partner in the ruling People’s Alliance (PA) coalition, the farright Nationalist Action Party (MHP). Polling data from Istanbul Economics institute shows the PA hit a high of 48 percent support in April 2020, with this falling to 36.7 percent in February 2021. Within that, the AKP accounts for around 29 points and the MHP the remaining seven. At the last general election, in 2018, the AKP scored 42.56 percent, while the MHP scored 11.1 percent. Turkey’s current election rules impose a 10 percent threshold on a party gaining representation in parliament. If an election were held today, the MHP would very likely fail to qualify to enter parliament. Under constitutional changes pushed through by Erdogan back in 2017, a presiMAY 2021

dential system is currently operating. In this, the president is elected directly under a “50 percent + 1” rule, meaning the winner needs a majority of the total vote, rather than just being the most popular candidate. Given current opinion polls, that may well not be Erdogan. Indeed, a February poll by Avrasya Arastirma put the CHP mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas, and the CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, both ahead of Erdogan by a margin of 5-6 percentage points. As a result, “Wrapped up in the package of human rights reforms,” says Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, the German Marshall Fund’s Ankara Director, “is a new election law that increases the chances of the ruling alliance maintaining power.” This change would lower the 10 percent election threshold to 7 percent. It also introduces a “narrowed regional system” for constituencies, which will have the effect of adding deputies to AKP strongholds. The AKP’s longer game plan is to also make changes to the presidential system. “The Human Rights Action Plan is a precursor to constitutional change,” says Aydin, “because, while the 2017 changes gave more power to the president, even that doesn’t seem to be enough for Erdogan.” A new constitution would likely ditch the “50 percent + 1” rule while also further centralizing power in the hands of the Presidential Palace.

ENTER BIDEN

The other driving force for the action plan is external pressure. With the election of President Joe Biden, Erdogan lost the support he had in Washington from former President Donald Trump. Biden has been much more hostile —at time of writing, he had still not even called Erdogan, two months after the inauguration. The call seemed even more unlikely to come after Erdogan condemned Biden for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer” in an interview that aired on March 17. “Erdogan knows Biden has more regard for democratic rights, so he is trying to pre-

empt him by announcing this package,” says Unluhisarcikli. The Turkish leader is also likely trying to pre-empt the European Union, which met on March 25-26 to decide whether to impose further sanctions on Turkey, following its disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean with Greece and Cyprus. Turkey’s poor human rights record is also a concern in Brussels.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Few in Turkey would dispute that the country needs reforms in human rights and the rule of law. “If judges and prosecutors give decisions the president doesn’t like, they get fired, one court refuses to obey another, people end up detained for years on ridiculous charges,” says Aydin. “More and more decisions are also centralized at the Palace, too, right down to what happens in a provincial town in Anatolia.” Yet, the human rights package does little to address any of these concerns or bring justice to those still suffering under existing draconian laws. “It’s window dressing,” says Aydin. “Democratization, reversing encroachment on judicial independence—none of these issues are addressed.” Bad news for businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, in jail for the last three years, and for the former co-leader of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, in prison since 2016. “Look around,” says Unluhisarcikli. “I don’t see any expansion of human rights, here.” ■

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WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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The Middle East in the Far East

Posters featuring Senior General Min Aung Hlaing are placed on the road during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on March 9, 2021. THE MILITARY JUNTA, established by the coup in Myanmar on February 1, found itself facing massive popular opposition and widespread international condemnation. Health workers and lawyers took to the streets to protest and trade unions struck. Young people were at the forefront of peaceful protests against the coup, staging demonstrations day after day, despite the arrest of more than 2,000 people, including elected representatives, human rights advocates and protesters, as well as beatings and killings by state forces that had claimed the lives of over 261 people by March 22. Protesters came from almost all strata of society and different ethnic groups, including Muslims who had kept their heads down since the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state in 2017. Countries with democratically elected governments were over-

John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. 42

whelmingly condemnatory of the coup. Sanctions against military leaders were introduced or reinforced by the U.S., and some companies with Myanmar interests pulled out or suspended operations. Even China and Russia, arms-supplying states that have had a strong relationship with Myanmar’s military, seemed embarrassed by the evident unpopularity of the coup and the isolation of the junta. They adopted a pose of neutrality in the conflict between the army leadership and the people, while managing to water down a U.N. Security Council resolution so that it condemned violent repression of protesters but avoided calling the military take over a “coup” or calling for meaningful action to restore the elected authorities. Soon after the coup, 137 non-governmental organizations from 31 countries called upon the United Nations Security Council to impose a worldwide arms embargo on Myanmar. They called on governments that allow arms exports to Myanmar to stop the supply of weapons, ammunition and military equipment immediately.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MAY 2021

PHOTO BY STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Myanmar Coup: Former Israeli Secret Agent Ben-Menashe To the Rescue By John Gee

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However, thanks to its control of more than 140 companies in Myanmar, the military, often referred to as Tatmadaw, has been capable of making arms deals and paying for them without reference to the elected government. An August 2019 U.N. report had identified China, India, Israel, North Korea, Philippines, Russia, Singapore and Ukraine as countries engaged in this trade with Myanmar, since the 2017 conflict in which Rohingyas faced violence and expulsion. China is by far the largest supplier of arms to the Myanmar military, though recently the latter has been keen to diversify its sources, notably in a recent deal with Russia. Israel’s role in supplying weaponry is comparatively small, but the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries did agree to supply four Super-Dvora Mk III fast attack vessels to Myanmar’s navy. Only two were delivered, before Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of a petition opposing the sale in 2017. Although, according to the U.N. report a private Israeli firm, TAR Ideal Concepts, did provide training and equipment to the Tatmadaw Special Forces. The leader of the coup, commander-inchief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, visited Israel in September 2015, when he toured Israeli military facilities including the Palmahim air base, as well as leading military industries, such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit. He met Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Gadi Eisenkot, chief of staff of the Israeli army, and President Reuven Rivlin. It is hard to know whether the beleaguered military regime acted out of ignorance, desperation, or a mixture of the two when it agreed to hire Israeli-Canadian businessman Ari Ben-Menashe to undertake a public relations campaign following the coup. Ben-Menashe worked for Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate from 1977 to 1987 and later became an arms dealer and a source for numerous accounts of Israeli skullduggery. There has been much controversy about the man himself and the reliability of his claims, including those concerning his role in the 1980 “October Surprise” that delayed release of 66 Americans hostages held hostage in Iran. BenMAY 2021

Menashe also claims Robert Maxwell, the ardently Zionist newspaper owner, was assassinated by Mossad. What is definite is that he has worked for Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, where he took part in a scheme to record opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, as appearing to support the assassination of Mugabe, in 2002, and more recently, his work with the Sudanese military leadership. On March 7, Ben-Menashe told Michael Safi, of The Guardian, that he had been hired by Tatmadaw to “assist in explaining the real situation in the country.” He said that he was being paid a large amount and would receive a bonus if sanctions against military leaders were lifted. In order to comply with the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ben-Menashe’s consultancy, Dickens & Madson Canada, had to file documents with the U.S. Justice Department. They show that the amount paid to Ben-Menashe was $2 million U.S. dollars. Acting for his paymasters, Ben-Menashe has claimed that Tatmadaw wants to move away from China and develop friendlier relationships with the West and that the military, which drove the Rohingyas into exile in 2017, wants to resettle them. He claimed that Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was actually responsible for what happened to the Rohingyas, not the army. He repeated Tatmadaw’s claim that the November elections in Myanmar, which were won by a landslide by the NLD, were rigged and asserting that most people in Myanmar did not support the protests against the coup. Ben-Menashe’s claims are likely to be received with more than a pinch of salt, flying in the face of all available evidence as they do. How long he will persist with them remains to be seen. The Washington-based Foreign Lobby Report says that U.S. and Canadian sanctions mean that he may be barred from receiving the $2 million that he reported being paid, and in any case, there are strict restrictions on what a registered foreign agent can legally do in lobbying U.S. politicians. It is often wrong to judge people by the company they keep, but sometimes….In

the end, who looks worse in this partnership, the military regime or the lobbyist?

EQUATORIAL GUINEA PALLY WITH ISRAEL

Equatorial Guinea, a small former Spanish colony in sub-Saharan Africa, announced in February that it would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. The country has lived under the dictatorship of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo since he seized power in a coup in 1979. In July 2003, according to a BBC report, the country’s state radio claimed that he was “in permanent contact with the Almighty” and was himself Equatorial Guinea’s god. He has one of the world’s worst records for human rights violations, including torture and unlawful killing of critics. While the dictator’s family have enriched themselves, most of the country’s citizens live in poverty, despite considerable government revenue from oil since the 1990s. On March 7, huge explosions at the Nkuantoma military barracks ravaged many civilian buildings in Bata, Equatorial Guinea’s largest city, killing more than 100 people and injuring many more. Israel sent aid. The dictator’s son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, was reported to have visited the scene of the explosion, the causes of which are still under investigation, accompanied by his Israeli bodyguards. ■

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Canada Calling

Marking Four Years Since Mosque Attack in Quebec City, Canada Announces National Day of Remembrance By Candice Bodnaruk PHOTO BY CREATIVE TOUCH IMAGING LTD./NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

he is 67. Bissonnette’s sentence change was based on humanitarian grounds, after he was depicted by the media as a person who needs compassion and understanding. Vali argued that Islamophobia needs to be redefined for what it is, a strongly held hatred of Muslims and Islam and not a phobia that may be treatable. “We, as a community, are determined to overcome fear and hate,” Vali said. Vali also questioned why the decision to appeal a ruling of consecutive sentences was only applied to a white racist, when other incidents with fewer lives lost have been given consecutive sentences that have not been overturned in court. Hassan Guillet, the Muslim RepresenCanadian Muslims joined hundreds of protesters during in a rally against white supremacy tative for the Interfaith Roundtable in at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Canada, on Oct. 15, 2017. Quebec, said designating a national day of remembrance has helped victims’ families heal. “We saw national support after [the mosque IN JUST DAYS, leading up to the fourth anniversary of the attack on shooting] and a rejection of violence and hate,” he said. the Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City, the Canadian government However, with time passing, the sorrow as well as solidarity, announced it had named Jan. 29 the National Day of Remembrance starts to fade. He maintained that the federal government’s of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia. decision to designate Jan. 29 as a National Day of RememThat was the day, in 2017, when Alexandre Bissonnette killed brance was a “very good step in the right direction.” six men and critically injured five others inside the mosque Guillet said Bissonnette had been influenced by Donald during evening prayers. Trump’s presidency, the shooting at the church in North Car“Any terrorist attack on any place of worship is reprehenolina and that he had consulted websites about other massible,” said Tasneem Vali, vice chair of the Manitoba Islamic sacres. “These young people, they learn from each other,” Association. After the killing, mosques in Winnipeg began he warned. thinking about security guards, metal detectors and lockHe said that what Canadians need now is a clear piece down drills, “in places where families should not have to proof legislation that defines Islamophobia. tect or defend themselves.” In November 2020, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled the CANADA ADDS PROUD BOYS AND 13 OTHER consecutive life sentences given to Bissonnette in 2019 GROUPS TO TERROR WATCH LIST were unconstitutional and changed his sentence to 25 years without parole. Bissonnette will be eligible for parole when Members of Parliament passed a motion on Jan. 25, calling on the federal government to list the Proud Boys as a terrorist group. Candice Bodnaruk has been involved in Palestinian issues for the New Democratic Party (NDP) leader, Jagmeet Singh, started a pepast 14 years through organizations such as the Canadian BDS tition to label the far-right group a terrorist organization after the Coalition and Peace Alliance Winnipeg. Her political action started Jan. 6 riots in Washington, DC and on Feb. 3, Canada became with feminism and continued with the peace movement, first with the No War on Iraq Coalition in 2003 in Winnipeg. the first country to ban the white nationalist group. The decision 44

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MAY 2021

means it will be more difficult for the organization to operate, raise funds and collect property in Canada. According to the Canadian government, the Proud Boys are a neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence and whose members “espouse misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and/or white supremacist ideologies.” Along with the addition of the Proud Boys, the Canadian government also added 13 other groups to its Criminal Code List of Terrorist Entities, which was created after Sept. 11, 2001. Sarah Teich, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute based in Ottawa, called Canada’s terror watch list “a really great tool.” Canada’s decision to add the Proud Boys to the list is “historic because we are the first country in the world to list the Proud Boys,” Teich said. Teich, who has a degree in counter-terrorism, said it is clear that right wing extremism has been on the rise. “Whether they are a threat in Canada doesn’t matter,” she said, explaining that a group’s terrorist activity doesn’t have to take place in Canada for them to be a candidate for the list. Atomwaffen Division, Russian Imperial Movement and The Base were other new additions to Canada’s list. Three new alQaeda affiliates and four new ISIS affiliates were also added to the list. One new international terror group, Hizbul Mujahideen was also newly listed. Teich said, unlike the U.S., where the FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) list only applies to foreign entities and doesn’t designate domestic terrorist groups, Canada doesn’t have such restrictions. “National security analysts across the world agree right wing extremism is rising,” she said, adding that there aren’t that many right wing groups on terror lists internationally. The government also stated that ideologically motivated violent extremism (IMVE) is a growing threat in Canada and around the world. IMVE includes xenophobic violence, anti-authority violence, gender-driven violence, religiously motivated violence, violent extremism and politically motivated violent extremism. MAY 2021

BERNARD WEIL/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY

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Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, recently subjected to Islamophobic smears, talks to supporters on Oct. 19, 2015.

CANADA’S NEW TRANSPORT MINISTER FACES DRIVE-BY SMEAR

A recent verbal attack on newly appointed Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, is being called a drive-by smear by a group that studies hate and xenophobia in Canada. During a recent sitting of the House of Commons, Bloc Quebecois leader, YvesFrancois Blanchet expressed doubt about Alghabra, who was born in Saudi Arabia to a Syrian family and moved to Canada in 1989 to study engineering. Blanchet questioned Alghabra’s previous work with the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF). He also suggested Alghabra may be a supporter of shariah law. Fareed Khan, the founder of Canadians United Against Hate, described Blanchet’s initial statement as a “drive-by smear” that is both Islamophobic and dangerously prejudicial toward the politician. “What Mr. Blanchet tried to do was to use smears to try to imply that there was some sort of nefarious connection between Mr. Alghabra and terrorists, radicalized terrorists, so this is totally unacceptable—it’s Islamophobic, it’s racist. Canadians should be up in arms when we have politicians use such language and try and foment racism,” Khan said. Since Blanchet made his accusations, many people, including Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau, and members of Parliament, have spoken out to support Alghabra. Both Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, also demanded that Blanchet apologize for his comments. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemned the Bloc leader’s comments. Khan also voiced his concern about the rise of Islamophobia in Canada, specifically in the province of Quebec. “We need to get to the bottom of this or we are going to have someone else decide they are going to physically harm Muslims in some fashion,” Khan said, referring to the 2017 attack on a Quebec City mosque. Khan went on to point out that since Bill 21 became law in Quebec, there have been instances of Muslims, in particular women wearing hijabs, being harassed and verbally attacked. Bill 21, which was passed in Quebec’s National Assembly in 2019, prohibits the display of religious symbols by public sector workers in the work place. Blanchet’s comments give “license to people who have bigoted attitudes toward Muslims,” Khan said, and they could lead to bad news down the road and possible violence. “It’s deeply disappointing and worrying. It seems like Mr. Blanchet and others like him don’t seem to care about the actions their words will generate among radicalized individuals in the country,” Khan said.

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Khan said that provincial governments need to eliminate racism through public education. “Until you do that you are not going to put a dent into the rising tide of hate and Islamophobia,” Khan said. Minister Alghabra issued a statement in response to the accusations, saying that he is proud of his record to date. “From the beginning of my political involvement and even before, I have always supported and advocated for the principles of equality, freedom and inclusion,” Alghabra said in an emailed statement. He said Blanchet has made his choice and decided to continue with dangerous rhetoric. “I’m curious why Mr. Blanchet is relying on unsubstantiated innuendo rather than my actual track record,” Alghabra concluded. ■

Israeli Election Results Continued from page 12

just to them what many others, who are perceived as much less ugly, actually think and say and do. What Ben-Gvir says is what many Israelis think, even if

they didn’t vote for him. Israel’s government and army are already realizing many of the goals of the 24th Knesset’s most nationalistic party. So Religious Zionism’s entry into the Knesset isn’t necessarily bad news. Why? Because it will make hidden intentions very plain, in their crudest form, and perhaps finally awaken opposition. It’s very easy to be horrified by Ben-Gvir, the convicted thug, but he needn’t scare anyone anymore. What is truly scary is that Israel is executing his policy and has been dancing to his tune for quite some time. So, it is hypocritical and self-righteous to be appalled by his election when we haven’t heard the same people expressing similar horror when the IDF shoots unarmed protesters in the head, as happened on March 19. No one is appalled when soldiers break into homes and yank people out of their beds each week. No one is appalled when settlers daily seize more and more private lands and attack shepherds and farmers with iron chains, ATVs, drones and live weapons, and no (Advertisement)

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

one charges them with any crime. And, of course, when Israel keeps 2.5 million people trapped in the prison of Gaza, in awful conditions, hardly anyone is upset. Now, the supporters of all these atrocities will be in the Knesset. It’s good that the Knesset will hear what they have to say, and that the world will hear it too. They didn’t gain legitimacy by being elected now—they were given that long ago by a majority of Israelis who silently support them. It will be quite unpleasant to hear talk about “transfer” in the Knesset, but that is what the state is already doing in the Jordan Valley, Silwan and southern Mount Hebron—a quieter transfer than what Ben-Gvir has in mind, but just as despicable. It’s a good thing that the Hebrew letter tet—the first letter of the word transfer and Religious Zionism’s ballot symbol— will take its place in the Knesset alongside the picture of Theodor Herzl. This is just what the state he envisioned has been doing ever since 1948, albeit sometimes far from view. ■

MAY 2021

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The Man Who Bought Washington

Special Report By Eric S. Margolis

PHOTO BY AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

government agencies were simiMOST BILLIONAIRES spend larly purged, including the CIA their money on mansions, yachts, and Voice of America. Media airplanes and much younger commentators who did not toe the wives. But not so casino mogul pro-Likud line were consigned to Sheldon Adelson who died in Las obscurity. Vegas on Jan. 11, aged 87. In Israel, Adelson was even Adelson rose from humble orimore direct. He created a free gins. He used his $33 billion plus newspaper, Israel Today, to supgambling fortune to buy governport the policies of Netanyahu ments in order to fulfill his passion and his Likud Party. Adelson for Zionism. He became one of played an important role in crushthe single most important private ing Israel’s peace parties that oppolitical influences in both the posed Netanyahu. United States and Israel. After years of lavish spending, Through his political action Adelson ended up giving marchcommittees and charities, Adeling orders to both Trump and Neson focused the huge power of his tanyahu. As a Parthian shaft, the money on expanding Israel’s bordeparting Trump muscled the ders, squeezing Palestinians into ever smaller ghettos, and ensur- Sheldon Adelson was buried in Jerusalem's Mount of Olives Jewish Arab states of the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco to come out of the ing that the Jewish state received cemetery on Jan. 15, 2021. closet to recognize Israel and ditch the Palestinians. Orders from almost unlimited American military, financial and political support. Washington could not be ignored by these monarchies. Over recent years, Adelson gave at least $150 million to Donald Trump’s other pillar of support was America’s Christian fundamenTrump and the Republican Party. That’s a lot of money for nickel and talists. As author Upton Sinclair wrote before WWII, “when fascism dime politicians. Adelson also financed a host of political action comcomes to America, it will be under the sign of the cross.” Some in mittees, mostly with tax-deductible funds. Some sources even spoke the mob of pro-Trump thugs that stormed Congress were waving of $11 billion worth of political donations. Those few legislators who “Jesus saves” banners, but these were quickly deleted from later TV did not kowtow to Adelson or the idea of a “Greater Israel” were news reports. Still, extreme Christian rightists remain a powerful quickly subjects of his wrath and sharp political attacks. U.S. senators force in American life and seemingly limitless support for Israel. They Newt Gingrich and Marco Rubio became major recipients of donaare also the key power bloc in the Republican Party. tions from kingmaker Adelson. However, the most important recipient As I wrote three years ago, the Republican Party has become a was Donald Trump. religious cult. It has nothing at all in common with the old, moderate An important part of Trump’s political funding came from Adelson’s party of Lincoln or Eisenhower. The new Republicans are found in casinos and a coterie of ardently pro-Israel billionaires. Many were the southern and midwest Bible Belt that brought the U.S. prohibition linked to Israel’s rightwing Likud Party. In fact, one of Trump’s prime and racial politics. political goals was aiding Israel’s hard expansionist government led Donald Trump was clever enough to gain control of America’s by Binyamin Netanyahu. new Republicans by setting himself up as a quasi-religious Biblical Critics accused Trump of being a Trojan Horse for Israel’s far right. figure. Many of his apparently bizarre actions were political theater The U.S. State Department was gutted by Trump and his hatchetdesigned to play to religious fundamentalists or to the type of primman Mike Pompeo, allegedly for harboring too many “old Mideast” itives who stormed the U.S. Capitol. hands who were insufficiently submissive to Israel’s demands. Other In spite of this monstrous political crime, the Republicans remain Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated firmly under Trump’s thumb and almost in power. The next midterm columnist and the author of American Raj: liberation or dominaelections might well bring them back to power. Trump and his tion? Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim rightwing Israeli allies are counting the days. ■ World (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). MAY 2021

WAshington RepoRt on Middle eAst AffAiRs

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Legendary Leaders Lost in 2021 ONE OF THE MANY PRIVILEGES of working at the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, is getting to know both legendary and unsung heroes. These are

men and women who use their oratory, artistic and writ-

ing skills to work for peace. The world has lost some true visionaries during this pandemic, and our magazine misses their friendship.

1948-2021

Dr. Agha Khalid Saeed, 73, a Pakistan-born, California-based professor, the “father of American Muslim political activism,” died Feb. 19, 2021 in Monterey, CA due to complications from COVD-19, after years of fighting Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Saeed and Richard H. Curtiss, my father as well as the cofounder of the Washington Report, were close friends who believed that Arab- and Muslim-Americans could play an important role in improving U.S. policy if they formed a powerful voting bloc. Dr. Saeed spearheaded the first Muslim bloc vote in 2000. Dr. Saeed founded the American Muslim Alliance, in 1994, to provide civic education and leadership training to American Muslims. Under his leadership, immigrant and indigenous American Muslims worked together to achieve effective political action. By rights, this poet, author and political philosopher should have spent his career surrounded by books in his comfortable office or by students in his California State University classroom in Hayward. Instead, Saeed was constantly on the move, traveling across the United States and speaking to groups of American Muslims. This quiet man could galvanize his audience. They left a meeting eager to get out and help return America to the principles of freedom, justice, fairness and equality for all. Former Congressman Paul Findley (R-IL) described Dr. Saeed as “a driven man,” who spent nearly every waking hour building organizations to politically empower U.S. Muslims and

Delinda C. Hanley is executive editor of the Washington Report. 48

In Memoriam By Delinda C. Hanley

increase voter turnout. “He is not a lone wolf,” Findley wrote. “Far from it—he is more like the proverbial Pied Piper, a modern-day one who is able to rally scores of people to the worthy causes he embraces and the organizations he formulates.” The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caused the abrupt postponement of a 3 p.m. meeting, scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001, between Dr. Saeed and other national Muslim leaders and President George W. Bush. They had gathered in Washington, DC to discuss the Middle East conflict and the treatment of Muslims in America. Days before the scheduled meeting, according to New York Times revelations, published on Oct. 2, 2001, President Bush had decided to launch a new initiative that would include U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian state, and recommendations on crucial issues such as borders, the right of return of Palestinian refugees, the future of Jerusalem and implementation of U.N. resolutions. That initiative was another terrible victim of 9/11. The terrorist attacks made Dr. Saeed’s work even more essential, as Muslims increasingly found themselves a target instead of a partner in a grieving nation. Another dear friend, Prof. Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian political activist, was caught up in the subsequent “war on terror,” and indicted on trumped up Patriot Act charges in 2003. Prof. Al-Arian recalled Dr. Saeed not only stood by him from the beginning to the end, but he also formed the American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) to lead efforts to end the erosion of civil liberties in the U.S. during the so-called war on terror, and to encourage American Muslims to continue to be active politically. Magazine co-founder Curtiss lauded Dr. Saeed for his effective efforts to bring American Muslims off the political margins and onto the political playing field. Back in 1997, Curtiss shared a powerful quote by Dr. Saeed: “By now we’ve arrived at the same place as African Americans did with Jesse Jackson, who turned them into influential political activists on the national level...It’s time for us to start making our contribution to America’s uniqueness, as have so many other groups that preceded us, and who now are indispensable components of the American tapestry.” Dr. Saeed would be pleased to know that President Joe Biden has nominated Zahid N. Quraishi, of Pakistani descent, to be the first Muslim American federal judge in U.S. history.

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MAY 2021

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1926-2021

Thomas R. Shaker, 94, a lifelong Poughkeepsie, NY resident, died on Jan. 21, 2021. He was a frequent contributor to newspaper letter columns, advocating for fairness in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and for Palestinian freedom. He told us he used many Washington Report articles in those letters to the editor and also remarked that he received some heat, as well as occasional support, each time those letters were published. Shaker designed and funded ads that ran in his local paper. Each anniversary, Shaker’s ads reminded readers that Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an American-supplied Israeli bulldozer as she blocked it from destroying the home of a Palestinian doctor on March 16, 2003. Shaker called her a “great soldier of non-violence, she stood courageously for truth and justice, yet her country has abandoned her. She will live forever in our hearts as a beacon of liberty to the oppressed.” In June, Shaker’s ads commemorated the 34 killed and 171 wounded crewmembers aboard the USS Liberty, attacked by Israel on June 8, 1967. He wrote “If little old Poughkeepsie can do this, other towns and cities should too!” Our staff misses his phone calls and notes.

1928-2021

James McKendree Wall, 92, launched a blog he called “Wallwritings,” on April 27, 2008, before most Americans even knew what a blog was. It covered “news, analysis of politics, cinema, modern culture and the ambiguity of human existence addressed from a religious perspective.” Wall received his Master of Divinity from Emory University and a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago. Ordained a minister in the United Methodist Church in 1955, he traveled to the Middle East more than 20 times, which influenced his many years of writing about the injustice he witnessed in Israel/Palestine. From 1972 through 1999, Wall was editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine and continued as a contributing editor from 1999 through 2017. Wall turned the magazine into a hard-hitting news publication and covered such events as Anwar Sadat’s 1977 trip to Jerusalem, the first and second intifadas, and the 2006 MAY 2021

Palestinian legislative election. He interviewed journalists, religious leaders, political leaders and private citizens in the region. In 2005, Jim and his wife, Mary Eleanor Wall, were among a small group of visionaries who helped Estephan and Laurie Salameh launch the Seraj Library Project (see p. 62).

1930-2021

Rajie Cook, 90, the awardwinning Palestinian-American graphic designer, artist, peace activist, humanitarian and photographer, died of myelodysplastic syndromes on Feb. 6, 2021. Cook and his partner, Don Shanosky, earned national recognition in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan honored them with a Presidential Design Award for their 1974 work in creating a collection of iconic public symbols. Those simple pictographs, which designate men’s and women’s restrooms, nosmoking areas, airports, train stations and many more public places, are still used today. In 1981, Cook began creating assemblage sculptures that featured ordinary items he had collected set in wooden frames. He used locks, keys, dolls’ heads, plastic hands, barbed wire or metal faucets to construct powerful political messages about ongoing injustice in Palestine, his parents’ homeland. His iconic boxes were frequently displayed in Gallery al-Quds exhibits in Washington, DC’s Jerusalem Fund, as well as the Palestinian Museum U.S., in Woodbridge, CT. He also volunteered his time and imagination to design logos for nonprofits. Over the years, he designed brilliant posters, including one printed in 2013 with the letters OCCUPAYTION, captioned, “U.S. Aid to Israel totals $233.7 billion over six decades, every day you pay $8.5 million more.” Another featured a keffiyeh with colorful peace buttons printed in 2014. Cook generously donated copies of his posters as well as his unforgettable memoir, A Vision for My Father: The Life and Work of Palestinian-American Artist and Designer Rajie Cook, published in 2017 to Middle East Books and More. The book, which is still available, is a deeply personal tribute to America and the immigrants who, like his father, Najeeb Esa Cook, left all that they knew and loved to come to America. One sight that haunts a reader is the photo of his father, who died at the age of 94, “old and blind and sitting by the radio saying he was waiting to hear something good on the radio about peace in the Middle East.” His talented son, Rajie, used his art, and his unforgettable memoir, to open eyes that may be blind to the injustice of the ongoing Palestinian Nakba. ■

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HUMAN RIGHTS There are currently an estimated 70,000100,000 political prisoners from all walks of life being held in Egyptian prisons. The United States’ continued support for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, despite his willingness to use extreme measures of repression against dissidents, was the subject of a virtual event hosted by several different organizations on March 9. Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), noted that the U.S. sends roughly $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt annually. She believes this aid should be suspended under the Leahy Law, which prohibits arms transfers to military units violating human rights, and under the Arms Export Control Act, which forbids arms transfers to governments that systematically abuse human rights. For too long, U.S. officials have maintained that their aid can be used as leverage to push for human rights advances in Egypt, or that the aid is necessary for national security and geopolitical interests, Whitson said. Such arguments are “lazy, stale and extremely dangerous,” she charged. “They rely on unexamined, decades-old assumptions about U.S. interests in Egypt that don’t withstand any serious scrutiny.” As just one example, Whitson noted that Egypt’s large aid package was initially intended to make sure it maintained peaceful relations with Israel after signing a peace treaty with the country in 1979. Today, the U.S. no longer needs to bribe Egypt to maintain peace with Israel, she said, as the two countries freely conduct joint military exercises and collaborate in enforcing the blockade on Gaza. Mohamed Soltan, founder of the Freedom Initiative and a former political prisoner in Egypt who survived a 489-day hunger strike prior to his release, noted that Egypt is now actively targeting and intimidating dissidents outside of its borders. Last year, he filed a civil suit in U.S. court 50

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Egypt’s Political Prisoners and U.S. Aid

Guard towers outside of Egypt’s notorious Tora prison, Feb. 11, 2020. against former Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi, alleging torture and other human rights violations. Days later, authorities in Egypt arrested five of Soltan’s cousins and “disappeared” his already imprisoned father, whose whereabouts are still unknown. “This is the Egyptian regime reaching into the United States and trying to silence me, and trying to deter me from my constitutionally-protected right to raise a lawsuit,” Soltan said. “They’re sending a message across the world to folks in exile and the diaspora that the arm of the state can reach you anywhere, and if we can’t reach you, we’ll get your family.” Soltan is hopeful that officials in Washington are beginning to take a stronger stand against Egypt’s human rights abuses. He noted that an Egypt Human Rights Caucus was launched in Congress this year, on the tenth anniversary of the revolution. He also believes that many in Congress are beginning to see traditional talking points used by the Sisi regime, such as its support for the country’s Coptic Christian minority, as efforts to deflect from widespread abuses. Whitson noted that the latest aid package to Egypt conditions $75 million in aid on human rights. For the first time ever, this condition cannot be waived by the Executive Branch on national security grounds. “That’s considered a breakthrough, [but] that’s less than five percent of the aid,” she noted. “It obviously has a tiny bit of sym-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

bolic significance, but nowhere near the significance of over $1 billion in unconditional military aid that will continue unimpeded.” Soltan is encouraged that progressive Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has replaced retired Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) as chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “Lowey was not great on Egypt; she saw Egypt through the prism of Israel and couldn’t separate them,” Soltan said. Soltan and Whitson said changing U.S. policy on Egypt is difficult because several powerful lobbies support the status quo. “When Biden wants to ‘recalibrate the relationship with Egypt,’ he’s not only taking on the Egypt lobby…he also has to take on the lobbies of the defense industry, and Israel, and Saudi [Arabia] and the UAE,” Whitson said. Soltan noted that these lobbies closely monitored efforts to release him from prison. “When I was in prison, the advocates for my release would tell me that as soon as they would go into a meeting with a senator, they would get a call ten minutes after from AIPAC [the American Israel Public Affairs Committee], from the Emirati lobbyists, from the Saudi lobbyists, from the Egyptian lobbyists,” he noted. The event was co-sponsored by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), the Arab Studies Institute, Internationalism From Below, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and Haymarket Books. —Dale Sprusansky MAY 2020 2021 JUNE/JULY

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On Feb. 24, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) delivered a petition signed by more than 54,000 people to Facebook, opposing the social media giant’s apparent consideration of including the term “Zionist” in its hate speech policy. Lobbied by Israeli-American real estate millionaire Adam Milstein and other proIsrael extremists, Facebook is considering whether the term “Zionist” is being used as a proxy for attacking Israelis or Jews and could therefore be considered hate speech under Facebook’s Community Standards policy. “The proposed policy would too easily mischaracterize conversations about Zionists—and by extension, Zionism—as inherently anti-Semitic, harming Facebook users and undermining efforts to dismantle real anti-Semitism and all forms of racism, extremism and oppression,” declared the open letter petition from JVP. Signed by leading human rights activists, academics and artists and cosponsored by 55 organizations, the petitions were delivered virtually as well as in person to 17 Facebook offices from San Francisco to Johannesburg. Prominent Jewish and Palestinian activists promoted the open-letter petition. “As Palestinians, we cannot underestimate the impact of social media in enabling us to be seen and to actually tell our story,” explained Noura Erakat, a legal scholar and human rights attorney. “When I tried to share the story of how my cousin was killed by Israeli soldiers, Facebook took it down. This is why we have to fight.” Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), the U.S. branch of a Christian theological organization headquartered in Jerusalem, endorsed the petition drive and held a webinar in support of it on Feb. 22 that featured Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of JVP. Wise declared that the proposed Facebook policy “to adopt ‘Zionist’ as a proxy for Jew or Israeli” would undermine freedom of speech and moreover have “real world implications for Palestinians, for Israelis, for Jewish people and MAY 2021

PHOTO COURTESY JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE

JVP Petitions Facebook Over Proposed Policy on “Zionism”

Activists delivering the JVP petition to Facebook’s offices in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Palestinian people all over the world.” If the Facebook policy were to be implemented, “important attempts to hold Israel accountable through constitutionally protected political speech could be labeled as hate speech and removed from the platform,” Wise explained. “To conflate Zionism with all Jews is a very harmful assumption...because it’s premised on the anti-Semitic notion that Jews are uniform in our beliefs” and “fundamentally loyal to a foreign government,” and thus “don’t truly belong in our home countries and communities.” FOSNA’s Jonathan Brenneman explained that the proposed Facebook policy would impede anti-Zionist Christian groups like FOSNA from shedding light on the oppression of Palestinians being enabled by other Christians. Brenneman declared there are “more Christian Zionists than Jewish Zionists, and they hold not only antiSemitic ideas but also extremely anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim beliefs as well.” Also appearing on the FOSNA webinar, Palestinian law student Carmel Abuzaid noted, “We’ve had several posts taken down” on Facebook, including a photograph of a Palestinian child with a slingshot, even as other posts showing the Israel Defense Forces with tanks and automatic weapons went unimpeded by Facebook’s Community Standards policy. “Tactics to silence us,” she added, “are a reflection of how our work is effective and how we have to continue to push our narrative and not back down.” Palestinian journalist Nour Odeh noted that the “targeting of Palestinian voices, Palestinian narratives” by Facebook mirrors

the actual daily oppression on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. “There is a lot of intimidation out there,” she explained, noting that Palestinians are stopped and questioned and prevented from observing and filming events on a regular basis. “The root of this trend is racism. Palestinians are not allowed to be seen as humans of equal worth, as people who have rights that are being suppressed.” Facebook made no comment on the JVP petition or the likelihood of revising its Community Standards policy. —Walter L. Hixson

WAGING PEACE Passionate Debate Offers Three Avenues for U.S. Role in Syria

On Feb. 26, the SETA Foundation’s Washington, DC office hosted a candid online discussion on U.S. policy in Syria. Panelists offered a wide-range of views as to how President Joe Biden ought to handle the Syrian conflict. “I think there will be more continuity with the Trump administration than there will be change,” said Robert Ford, former U.S. ambassador to Syria, now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. President Biden is unlikely to reduce or withdraw American military forces in Syria, he said, because the administration believes keeping troops there provides “leverage” against the government in Damascus, and a withdrawal would hurt U.S. credibility with partners in the region. Ford also doubts the Biden administra-

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Abdel Karim Junaid (l), 15, and Abdel Karim Hassan (r), 7, work at a dump center in Idlib, Syria that recycles the remnants of shellings and unexploded ordnances. Photo taken on March 1, 2021. tion will reduce or remove U.S. sanctions against Syria, as they “have broad bipartisan support in Congress.” Ford is an advocate for withdrawing all U.S. forces from Syria. He argued that the U.S. does not have any national security interest in who governs northeastern Syria, where several hundred U.S. troops are currently stationed. The sole U.S. concern in the territory is ensuring terrorist groups don’t use the area as a launching pad to conduct attacks on American targets, he noted. The retired ambassador believes Russia’s ongoing intervention in eastern Syria is doing more than enough to cripple terror cells in the area. “I don’t know that it matters if it is U.S. forces…or Russian forces east of the Euphrates in terms of American national security interests,” he said. “It doesn’t cost the U.S. government any money for the Russians to be in eastern Syria,” he added. Ford hit back at those who claim a U.S. withdrawal would give Russia a geopolitical victory. “Syria, dating back to the 1960s, has been much closer to Moscow than it ever was to Washington,” he noted. “It’s ridiculous to say that were the Americans to withdraw, the Russians would suddenly be predominant in Syria—they always have been.” Ford believes the U.S. can also ease 52

concerns about extremist groups by diplomatically engaging Turkey over its shared border with Syria. “The Turks played a very dirty game over the years by looking the other way and in some cases facilitating the movement of extremists back and forth across that border,” he said. This should be a point of serious discussion between the Turks and the Biden administration, he suggested. Ultimately, Ford believes the solution to the Syria crisis must come from within. “I would look to the Syrians to be developing a national plan that has broad countrywide support,” he said. “I do not think the answer lies in Washington.” Dima Moussa, vice president of the Syrian National Coalition and a member of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, a United Nations-facilitated constituent assembly process that seeks to reconcile the Assad-led government with Syrian opposition forces, argued that the U.S. has an obligation not to walk away from Syria. Given Washington’s participation in the country’s violence, it must now work to ensure peace and stability, she argued. “Syrians are not waiting for the West to fix Syria,” Moussa asserted. However, she said, “Syrians are waiting for the U.S. to do its part as one of the major international players.”

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Every country that has contributed to the Syria crisis is in one way or another part of the problem and “has to be part of the solution,” Moussa argued. “What the U.S. has not done for ten years is use its leverage...for political gains to push politically toward the solution,” she argued. When pressed by Ford to explicitly state what the U.S. ought to do, Moussa did not produce an answer. While Ford called for a U.S. withdrawal and Moussa an escalation, MEI senior fellow Wa’el Alzayat argued for the U.S. to stay the course in Syria for humanitarian reasons. The several hundred U.S. troops in Syria are there to project power, which is important for civilian protection in the areas where the United States is operating, he explained. Presently, the U.S. holds almost one-third of territorial Syria, he noted. In these areas, “civilians do not have to endure barrel bombs, or arbitrary arrest by the Syrian regime...or be bombed by the Russian air force,” he said. Alzayat added that he understands the economic needs the U.S. faces at home, and the war-weariness of Americans. But, “when it comes to foreign policy and military involvement, this [U.S. military presence in Syria] is pretty damn cheap,” he argued. “For a relatively cheap engagement, in onethird of the country we have civilians who are protected.” Ford was not unsympathetic to humanitarian concerns, but hit back at Alzayat’s proposal. “The operation in Syria is costing us in the neighborhood of $2 billion a year,” he noted. “Could we use the money in better ways? I think many people would say yes.” In any event, all the panelists agreed on the need for serious U.S. diplomatic engagement in Syria, and that there is ultimately no military solution to the conflict. “It’s my hope that the Biden administration…puts a lot of power into diplomacy,” Alzayat said. —Elaine Pasquini

Biden Takes First Actions on Yemen

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Yemenis register to receive a free medical checkup and treatment at a school temporarily being used as a clinic, in the capital Sana’a, on Jan. 31, 2021.

Yemen, and that he would be stepping up diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed, was well-received by those working for an end to the devastating conflict. On Feb. 11, Quincy Institute executive vice president Trita Parsi moderated a virtual discussion on these developments and other challenges affecting a negotiated peace settlement. The president’s decision to rescind the Trump administration’s designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization was particularly welcome news for aid organizations delivering desperately-needed food and medicine to Yemenis suffering from near starvation and illnesses. Biden’s action allows donors to continue funding NGOs that distribute aid within Yemen, said Aisha Jumaan, president and founder of the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation. “There are 24 million people in Yemen today in need of humanitarian assistance,” she explained. More than six million Yemeni children are experiencing severe malnutrition—one of the highest rates in the world—or complete starvation, according to the United Nations. Jumaan urged the U.S. and the international community to ensure that the countries responsible for the suffering in Yemen contribute to solving the humanitarian situation and rebuilding hospitals and crucial infrastructure. “The Saudis MAY 2021

and Emiratis need to pay their fair share,” Jumaan stated. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) noted that the U.S. has enormous influence on Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “They are desperate for relationships with the United States, as evidenced by their large lobbies and presence on the Hill,” he said. Khanna predicted that increased American pressure would help in getting the United Kingdom and other countries to also cease any support that they are currently giving. “Any country that is making the humanitarian situation worse in Yemen through intervention, bombing or funding should be condemned—loudly, clearly, morally—by every nation in the world,” he said. Khanna hopes Biden’s moves are the beginning of a fundamental rethinking of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. needs “a foreign policy that centers on human rights,” he said. In addition, more diversity among the U.S. foreign policymaking team is crucial, Khanna argued. “A clique of foreign policy elites is part of what has driven foreign policy decisions that have been mistakes and unjust. We need to allow many more voices in.” Jumaan agreed. “They do not bring in people who understand these countries well and are willing to tell them they are wrong,” she said. “I hope they will do so.” Pointing out that the Yemeni civil war

predates Saudi intervention, Annelle Sheline, research fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute, said, “Even if the U.S. convinces Saudi Arabia to stop bombing Yemen the war is still going to continue, so this notion that Biden ended the war just by withdrawing U.S. support is completely inaccurate.” The impact of “a war economy in Yemen” is another factor, Sheline said. “It is crucial to stop the foreign funding pouring in that is contributing to that dynamic.” Responding to a question on how the U.S. should restructure its relationship with Saudi Arabia, Sheline said Biden should “make it abundantly clear that the United States is no longer going to do the bidding of local actors on the ground, including Israel, and that it is in all of their mutual interests to come to a regional security agreement that allows them to spend less of their reduced budgets on the military and instead to focus on investing in people.” —Elaine Pasquini

One Year Later: The “Afghanistan Papers” and the Two-Decade War

In Dec. 2019, the Washington Post released a slew of government documents known as the “Afghanistan Papers,” revealing the U.S. government has long realized the 20-year war in Afghanistan is directionless. Nonetheless, the government has publically maintained the war effort must continue, at times willfully providing misleading statements about the war to the American people Craig Whitlock, an investigative reporter with the Washington Post, led the paper’s years-long effort to obtain and analyze the damning documents from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). On March 24, he joined the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft to discuss the impact of the papers. Whitlock said the papers did not shock the American people, as much as they confirmed suspicions that the Afghanistan war has long been rudderless. It “solidified in the public’s mind just what went wrong with the war,” he said. “It showed in people’s own voices—generals, diplomats, aid workers,

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Afghan officials—how they knew things were screwed up, and they went ahead anyway and the war kept going.” At the very outset of the war, the objective was clear: to erase al-Qaeda’s footprint in Afghanistan. After a year, however, the group maintained an “extraordinarily minimal” presence in the country, Whitlock noted. Ever since, the papers show, the U.S. has been unsure of who exactly they are fighting—sometimes it’s the Taliban, sometimes it isn’t, other times it’s ISIS, or warlords, or drug traffickers, and so on. “We’ve been fighting this war for almost 20 years, and in the vernacular of the troops and the senior people at the Pentagon, they don’t know who the enemy is,” Whitlock noted. “That shows you how screwed up the war is, if you can’t even really articulate who the enemy is.” The mission has been further muddled by the lack of a clear objective, or rather an abundance of opaque objectives: eliminating terrorist threats, establishing a democracy, advancing women’s rights, clamping down on the narcotics trade, etc. Whitlock pointed out that these goals have been proffered without any clear goalposts for gauging progress. “What are the benchmarks for when we can leave?” he asked. “That’s never really been spelled out.” The “Afghanistan Papers” also show that the U.S. has attempted to hasten 54

Afghanistan’s progress by throwing money at development projects. Doing so has only fueled rampant corruption. “There was a real rush to spend as much as possible, and frankly it backfired, it didn’t work and it caused a lot more corruption in the long-term,” Whitlock noted. Asked how the U.S. war in Afghanistan has been permitted to continue in such a wayward and costly direction for decades, Whitlock pointed to a lack of oversight by Congress as one explanation. “There really never has been a public accounting of what happened in Afghanistan,

why the war went off the rails and why it’s taken two decades and how we ended up where we ended up,” he noted. “The one portion of accountability that’s lacking is Congress. Congress really just doesn’t do much in terms of public oversight regarding the war in Afghanistan.” Last year, the U.S. negotiated an agreement with the Taliban in which it promised to remove all troops from Afghanistan by May 1. However, the Biden administration has signaled it may not meet this deadline. —Dale Sprusansky

Biden Following Trump Policy on Iran, Nuclear Deal

Thus far the Biden administration is essentially upholding the Trump administration’s decision to abrogate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had succeeded in arresting Iranian nuclear enrichment in return for sanctions relief. Trita Parsi, an author and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, declared during a March 9 webinar that Trump’s policy is “still the policy being implemented by the Biden administration.” It was the United States that unilaterally withdrew from the international accord, which is supported by the European Union, Russia, China, and most of the rest of the world—but not by U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. Yet, the Biden administration now insists that “the ball is in [Iran’s] court

People walk along a street in Tehran, Iran on March 10, 2021.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin (l) meets with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on March 21, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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United States reenters the Iran accord, reviving the JCPOA is in the national interest. Parsi expressed concern that with Iran entering into the “silly season” of presidential elections, the JCPOA could become a political football in Iranian domestic politics. The deal could be exploited to the benefit of hardliners who can emphasize that there is no use in negotiating with the United States because it cannot be trusted to keep its agreements, he noted. “We’re running a huge risk for reasons that are really quite inexplicable,” Parsi declared. —Walter L. Hixson

Rami Khouri: Lebanon Has Lost Its Distinctiveness

On a Feb. 2 webinar hosted by the Arab Center Washington DC, Rami Khouri, director of global engagement at the American University of Beirut, argued that Lebanon’s political and economic crises have left the country virtually indistinguishable from many other Arab countries facing similar circumstances. “Lebanon is no longer a distinctive political system,” he said. “It was always somehow different from the rest of the Arab world, partly because of its serious pluralism—religious, cultural and political—partly because it was always more open, there was more freedom. That’s why, for many years, the great universities

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to see if they are serious about engaging or not,” as Secretary of State Antony Blinken put it in testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10. “I am quite worried about the trajectory” of the JCPOA discussion, Parsi noted in the webinar sponsored by the Women’s National Democratic Club. The Biden administration is engaging in a “childish fight” in which “Iran has to go first,” an approach that could result in the “utter failure” of negotiations aimed at reviving the accord. The JCPOA was achieved through “real negotiations” that produced a “waterproof” deal in which Iran’s uranium enrichment could be carefully monitored to the point that there was “no way for them to cheat without being caught,” Parsi noted. Trump’s shelving of the agreement and replacing it with a “maximum pressure campaign” has created a “much, much worse situation now,” Parsi declared. The approach “gifted the Iranians with more time to advance their nuclear program,” which is now reportedly within months of crossing a threshold. Parsi believes, however, that Iran does not even especially desire nuclear weapons. The country actually started its nuclear program under the Shah in the 1970s at the behest of the Ford administration and specifically at the urging of Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. corporations such as Westinghouse. Iran entered into the JCPOA because “lifting sanctions ended 40 years of American policy seeking to contain and isolate Iran.” More than anything else Iran wants “out of the doghouse” and to escape its “permanent pariah status” in world affairs, Parsi said. Asked about the influence of Israel and the lobby on the administration, Parsi declared their impact will be “as important as Biden allows it to be.” Noting that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, nearly all Republicans and powerful Senate Democrats Robert Menendez (NJ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) are against the JCPOA, Parsi acknowledged that Biden is “going to have to pay a domestic political price.” Even though “plenty of people will not be happy” if the

of Lebanon flourished, the media, publishing, theater, the arts—any activity that required using your full human brain or your full cultural and creative instincts—flourished in Lebanon, because people had that space to do so.” Now, however, Khouri believes Lebanon is not defined by its distinctiveness, but is rather merely another example of failed Arab governance. “Lebanon has now become a full-fledged Arab country, in the sense that its population is politically helpless and pauperized economically,” he said. While Lebanon has long faced economic challenges and political stagnation stemming from its confessional system of government, the depths of the current crises have left the country completely paralyzed, Khouri said. It’s believed that 5070 percent of the population is either living in poverty or on the edge of poverty, while the citizenry and their leaders have reached a political stalemate. As in other Arab countries, recent popular protests in Lebanon have been met with heavy-handed force by the state. “It comes out of the same reality, which is that a political elite that is not accountable in any meaningful way has treated its people with disdain and has shown the citizens that it doesn’t really care about their wellbeing,” he said. It’s unlikely the people of Lebanon will ac-

Protesters in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli participate in protests, on Jan. 31, 2021. Tripoli has emerged as a flashpoint in Lebanon’s ongoing protest movement against government corruption. WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

quiesce to their corrupt rulers, setting up something of a showdown, in Khouri’s view. “This is quite an extraordinary situation where the state and the citizenry don’t want each other, but they don’t know how to come up with a better situation,” he said. Lebanon is facing “a terrible stalemate which is going to have to be resolved somehow in the coming year or two, but nobody knows how.” While Lebanon is ripe to become another failed state governed by “tribal fiefdoms,” Khouri believes this fate will not befall the country. This is because Hezbollah, the powerful, Iranian-backed group with a large base of support in the country’s south, has enough power and incentives to stymie complete state failure. “Hezbollah cannot allow Lebanon to become Somalia,” Khouri said. “Nor does Hezbollah want to run Lebanon—which it can take over, in theory, it’s strong enough.” While a sizable number of Lebanese detest Hezbollah, and the group has been branded a terrorist organization by most Western states, Khouri noted that its existence is inextricably tied to two fundamental issues that have crippled Lebanon: failed governance and foreign intervention. “The issue of Hezbollah is an issue that reflects the collapse of the Lebanese state, the inability of the Lebanese state historically to take care of its people, which was one reason why Hezbollah was born, in terms of internal social equity, and in terms of Israeli occupation and harassment of the south of Lebanon,” he said. Those bothered by Hezbollah’s existence as a powerful semi-state actor within Lebanon must thus realize that the group cannot be disassociated from the fundamental issues challenging the country, Khouri said. Ignoring or blacklisting the group is attacking the symptom of Lebanon’s collapse, rather than addressing its cause. —Dale Sprusansky

Iraqi Protests and the 2021 National Elections

On March 3, the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) hosted a virtual event discussing the recent protests in Iraq and their impact on the upcoming Oct. 56

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Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah, on Feb. 27, 2021. The protests followed a deadly day of violence in the city that left four antigovernment protesters dead and dozens wounded.

2021 Iraqi national elections. Geneive Abdo of AGSIW moderated the discussion between Sajad Jiyad of the Century Foundation, Lahib Higel of the International Crisis Group and Marsin Alshamary of the Brookings Institution. Abdo began with an overview of the protest movement that reached its height in 2018 and 2019, but continues today. The protesters, she noted, share common grievances, including “high unemployment rates and deep corruption within the Iraqi government,” as well as the large role that external actors, particularly Iran, have played in the country since the 2003 U.S. invasion. Two characteristics of the movement are particularly notable to Abdo. The first: “These are [mostly] Shi’i protesters opposing a Shi’i-led government.” The second is the use of violence by security forces against protesters. “Things will only get worse,” Jiyad warned, because Iraq has a growing youth population and life is not improving for them because the government has not made any serious changes or reforms. Additionally, COVID-19, a precipitous decline in oil prices, and U.S.-Iran tensions have all added to public frustrations. He predicted that turnout for the national elections will be low due to the fact that many people

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have lost confidence in the political system. Jiyad is also concerned that political elites are “closing ranks to push back against the protest movement.” He fears Iraq’s leaders have learned that responding in a heavy-handed manner to protests draws too much criticism and popular backlash. They may pivot, he said, and instead attempt to “co-opt or break up the protest movement through non-violent measures,” such as bringing people into political parties or offering superficial reforms. Higel said the issue of overreach by the security forces is Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s biggest challenge, one he has thus far failed to tackle. “It is known in Iraq that we have an issue with impunity among all security forces,” she noted. Looking to the future, Higel warned that the protests are not over. “The frustration is still there and I think that the potential to mobilize again still exists.” Alshamary analyzed the role of the clerical establishment in the protests. At first, she observed, a lot of people liked that the protests seemed to have “anti-Islamist rhetoric” since “there is a fatigue of Islamist parties” among many in the country. However, she noted that this sentiment applies to religious political parties, not traditional religious figures (such as Grand MAY 2021

Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani), “whose authority and influence in society have only grown through the protest movement.” Despite generally being viewed favorably among protesters, the respected apolitical religious class have a vested interest in the fundamentals of the country not collapsing, and thus reacted to the protest movement by pushing for “stability and non-disruptive change,” she noted. Going forward, Abdo sees an existential rift at the heart of Iraqi politics: the animosity between the protest movement and the powerful Iranian-backed Shi’i militias operating in Iraq. They are “polar opposites, two great powers within the political system that are vying for control of the Iraqi state” and have very different visions for the future, Abdo noted. This struggle, she predicted, will continue—and escalate—the closer Iraq gets to national elections in October. —Alex Shanahan

New Government Brings Cautious Hope to Libya

Washington, DC’s Atlantic Council and the Tripoli-based think tank Sadeq Institute cohosted a Feb. 18 virtual roundtable to discuss a recently published report titled, “Libya: The Great Game. A Decade of Revolution, Civil War and Foreign Intervention.” After ten years of civil conflict, a new Libyan interim government emerged Feb. 5 from United Nations-sponsored talks in Geneva. Preparing for presidential and primary elections on Dec. 24, 2021 will be the primary task for the new administration led by President Mohamed Al-Menfi and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dabaiba. “In 2011 there was a premature assumption that Libyans themselves could be the custodian to take Libya from this dystopian authoritarian regime into a new utopia and a democracy,” said Anas ElGomati, founder and director of the Sadeq Institute. The reality is that beginning with NATO’s 2011 intervention, powers including Turkey, the Gulf states, Europe, Russia and others have played a large role in shaping Libya’s narrative, he noted. Similar to Afghanistan, Libya has become an arena where global powers “scramble for influence,” he observed. MAY 2021

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Libya’s new Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dabaiba (c) meets people celebrating the tenth anniversary of the country’s revolution in Tripoli’s Martyrs’ Square, on Feb. 17, 2021. Roberto Menotti, senior adviser for international activities at the Aspen Institute Italia, pointed out Libya’s importance on the global stage. A member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya possesses the largest oil reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. The country’s high quality, low sulfur sweet crude oil is exported mostly to Europe. In addition, Libya’s geographic location and trade routes are strategic. “It is a pathway to Europe from the rest of Africa,” he said. From 2014 to 2017, some 625,000 migrants from numerous countries have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe from North Africa, many using the Libyan coast to begin their perilous sea journey. Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations noted that Turkey asserts it intervened in Libya to support the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and is pursuing “a foreign policy based on principles and values.” The Turks have played an important role in stabilizing the situation and setting the stage for the recent successful negotiations in Geneva, he said. “That is a testament to the Turks’ diplomatic efforts there,” as well as military maneuvers. Former U.S. ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones predicted that under President Joe Biden, U.S. foreign policy on Libya is going to be focused less on military action and more on rebuilding and leveraging alliances in order to form a forward-looking consensus.

Jones hopes the U.S. will “play a more assertive role in preventing destabilizing actions in Libya by external players,” particularly when it comes to limiting the flow of arms and foreign mercenaries into the country. Going forward, El-Gomati believes the big question is whether Libya will be a civilian-led state or one controlled by the military. El-Gomati pointed out that Libya’s transition is ultimately about its people. “Libyans have the potential to reconcile,” he stated. “I think a deeper commitment from the West is one way to achieve it, but I believe we need to think of this now before the situation gets much worse.” Menotti said a new generation of Libyan leaders are needed to change the country’s trajectory and that Libyan ownership of any peace process is absolutely crucial. “We should not forget that it should be a Libyan process and configuration that makes it possible,” he said. —Elaine Pasquini

Will Ireland Use its Security Council Seat to Challenge Israel?

On Jan. 1, Ireland began its two-year term as a member of the United Nations’ Security Council. Upon being selected to occupy one of the 10 non-permanent seats, the country said three principles would guide its time on the council: building peace, strengthening conflict prevention and ensuring accountability.

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Street art in Belfast, Northern Ireland draws a connection between the Irish and Palestinian struggles. Photo taken on July 30, 2014.

Comhlámh, a Dublin-based social justice organization, held a webinar on Feb. 3 to assess if and how Ireland will apply these principles to the Israel-Palestine issue. Richard Falk, the former U.N. Special Rapporteur for Occupied Palestine, said Ireland should focus on holding Israel accountable for its “flagrant, continuing defiance of U.N. authority on the [illegal West Bank] settlements.” Dublin ought to also raise the controversial apartheid issue, Falk said. “Ireland, by its experience, it has a credibility, probably greater than any other country except South Africa, to raise the issue of both settler colonialism and apartheid in the context of the ordeal endured by the Palestinian people for so long now,” he said. Abeer al-Mashni, a social safeguards specialist at the World Bank’s office in Jerusalem, said Ireland should forgo promoting the failed, decades-old “peaceprocess.” The international community, she urged, needs to realize such an outcome has become a fantasy in light of the de facto one-state reality on the ground. “If Ireland would like to really take a step on this issue, they need to speak in the name of reality,” she said. Eamonn Meehan, the former director of Trócaire, an Irish organization dedicated to tackling poverty and injustice around the world, sees no reason to believe the Irish government will use its Security Council post to push a radical new approach on 58

Israel-Palestine. It’s “highly unlikely that Ireland will put itself out there in that place of danger, that position of being honest,” he said. “Frankly, I haven’t seen any evidence that they will do that.” Indeed, the issue of Israel-Palestine was not included in a fairly lengthy list of topics Dublin said it would prioritize on the council. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney did condemn settlements, express support for two states and condemn settler violence in his first Security Council speech. However, Meehan believes that such statements do “very little to take Ireland beyond anything that it has said over the last ten years, or indeed that the European Union has said.” Recycling valid, but ultimately “platitudinous” talking points does very little to advance a just resolution to Palestinian suffering, Meehan argued. The international community can no longer just condemn settlements and de jure annexation, he emphasized. “There needs to be a complete change of the narrative, and Ireland could lead on this.” If Ireland is serious about actualizing its “very strong commitment” to the Palestinian people, Meehan said it needs to be bold, push buttons and be willing to “put itself out there into a place of potential danger and criticism in support of Palestine.” Meehan is keenly aware that any sharply worded resolution condemning Israel put forth by Ireland would almost certainly be quickly shot down by permanent Security

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Council members, most notably the United States. “But what’s the point in being there if we don’t try that?” he asked. “If you’re not speaking the truth, you share the guilt.” Even if it’s dead on arrival, Meehan believes Ireland could help move the international discussion forward by introducing a resolution that clearly describes the reality of apartheid in Israel-Palestine. He also thinks Dublin should create an opportunity for Palestinian civil society organizations to address the Security Council about the realities they face on the ground. Ultimately, Meehan thinks Dublin will not be willing to ruffle any feathers with the U.S., which has long shielded Israel from criticism at the U.N. “No Irish government is going to do or say anything in the public sphere without somebody at the minister’s shoulder whispering in his ear, ‘What will the U.S. think of this?’” Meehan also noted that many of Ireland’s closest allies on Capitol Hill are strong supporters of Israel. “There is a very strong pro-Israel lobby within the Irish Caucus in Washington,” he pointed out. Falk urged the people of Ireland to pressure their government to speak clearly and honestly about Israel’s violations of international law. “It’s up to Irish civil society to make the government uncomfortable if it doesn’t make that case,” he said. “It’s not only the government that’s challenged by this election to the Security Council, it’s also the people of Ireland—do they care enough to make this issue a priority?” —Dale Sprusansky

Join Iqraa and UPA in Running for Palestinian Scholarships

We’re all looking forward to 2021 being “better” than 2020—and that includes the Iqraa runners! I don’t need to recount the general difficulties of life during COVID, but most runners I know came to cherish our sport and lifestyle more than ever. While we couldn’t run in a throng of 30,000 strong in the streets of our capital city, as we’ve been accustomed to every October as part of the Marine Corps Marathon, we still ran. For Team Iqraa, we ran every Saturday in any of a half-dozen venues on trails that MAY 2021

Iqraa and other Marathon Charity Cooperation runners at Fletcher's Cove in Washington, DC ready to start the “virtual” Marine Corps Marathon, on Oct. 25, 2020.

showed us the diverse natural beauty that abounds in the Washington, DC area: trails by rivers and creeks, through woods and over hills and next to neighborhoods and parks. We met our running buddies and ran in a group—socially distanced and with a gaiter or mask to protect ourselves and others. Our Saturday running friends became like our wolf pack and satisfied our need for social interaction. And the good works we did for our cause helped fulfil our desire to participate in social justice action on behalf of our one human race. What is Iqraa? Iqraa—we’re entering our 14th year of running for a brighter Palestine—is a running club that raises funds for university scholarships for students in Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan in partnership with United Palestinian Appeal (UPA). We’ve raised over $305,000 since 2008 in support of the Mahmoud Darwish Scholarship Fund. (Visit <act.upaconnect. org/Iqraa2021> to contribute.) Interested in joining the Iqraa running team? Our training program begins in May and continues through October. Most runners train for either the Baltimore Racing Festival (5k, half marathon or marathon) or the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. We partner with Marathon Charity Cooperation to provide coaching and support for the Saturday training runs and on race day. Iqraa coordinates the training and fundraising activity, e.g. providing advice and fundraising templates to our runners through weekly emails, as well as information about the cause to assist with fundraising. We also ensure our runners have direct access to coaches, two of whom are MAY 2021

Iqraa runners. If you want to join the Iqraa email list, contact me at kirkcruachan@yahoo.com. You can also visit <iqraadc.org> to learn more. And don’t forget that you can make a difference by Running for a Brighter Palestine! —Kirk Campbell

FILMS Retired Patriarch of Jerusalem: America “Does Not Care What Will Happen” to Palestinian Christians

In the 26-minute film “The People’s Patriarch,” Michel Sabbah, the first Palestinian in 500 years to serve as the Latin (Roman Catholic) Patriarch of Jerusalem, obliterates all illusion that Israel has any intention of ever letting up on the Palestinians and granting them statehood—or that the United States cares. “You will not have a

HAZEM BADER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

PHOTO VIA K. CAMPBELL

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state,” he says. In fact, only two choices are on offer, the patriarch emeritus tells his people: “either to swallow the poison forced upon us” or to persevere in demanding full political rights, even as “the worst may be yet to come.” Superb cinematography and a gripping soundtrack reinforce the sense of peril of the moment. Now that Israel’s “mask has fallen,” Sabbah says, the Palestinians face the “direst situation” since the ethnic cleansing of their country began in 1948. The patriarch’s dark foreboding extends beyond his homeland to the Middle East as a whole. In his view, the West, led by United States, “wants to destroy the existing Middle East and create a new Middle East” to achieve its own geopolitical objectives. In doing so, they “do not care what happens” to the people of the region, not even the Christians; “If they die, then they die.” For Sabbah, Jerusalem is the key political and moral indicator. “Jerusalem today is not a holy city of love,” he says. “It is a city of hatred. It is a city of war.” The U.S. decision to move its embassy to East Jerusalem was the act by which “America closed the doors for peace,” he adds. Sabbah, who is in his 80s and lives in the West Bank village of Taybeh, was appointed patriarch by Pope John Paul II in 1988, and served until 2008. The film includes footage of the ancient and solemn Vatican ritual of investiture to the position, and of Sabbah’s momentous return from

Michel Sabbah, then the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, passes by the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem, on Dec. 24, 2005. WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Rome at the very outset of the First Intifada. We see and hear the sounds of the popular uprising—and its merciless suppression. Sabbah and his fellow patriarchs of other denominations are barred entrance into the largely Christian town of Beit Sahour, under siege for withholding tax payments to the occupier, Israel. Upon his arrival in Israel-Palestine, the world’s press badgered the new patriarch to say where he stood on the intifada. His reply was direct and simple: “The people have a right to their freedom. They have a right to their uprising.” In the film, he emphasizes that he is not on the side of the Palestinians because he himself is a Palestinian, but because as a human being and a Christian he is obligated to advocate for the oppressed. Because he is “not a politician and not a warrior,” but “a Christian clergyman,” he doesn’t map the path ahead. He does, however, call for a nationwide, open and comprehensive discussion of “how we got to this point” and the formulation of a “realistic vision and sensible discourse…that can prepare us to enter a new era after 70 years have elapsed.” In his most chilling statements, he says, “We have been told that you have no right to exist. And those delivering this message to us are the rulers of the earth today.” Even more bluntly, he warns, “We need to know that we are facing death and therefore, we must take the simplest of things seriously.” Some might feel that these words are too dark, but the patriarch ultimately centers his message on resilience and dismissing feelings of despair and defeat. He calls for “hope, resistance and not running away,” coupled with a rootedness in the power of transcendent love. “We have to raise our children to survive and thrive and be capable of loving one another. Only this kind of love will enable them to address their oppressors,” he says. “I should not let despair get to me….One day I will be master of my fate—free of oppression.” At the same time, as a man of prayer, he humbly places his trust in God and seeks guidance, acknowledging to the Lord that ultimately, “humankind is for you to handle.” No written article quoting his strong 60

words and describing his concerns can adequately convey to readers the immense dignity, simplicity and gravitas with which the patriarch expresses his anguish and outrage. “The People’s Patriarch” must be seen to be fully understood. The film, produced by Dr. Lily Habash and directed by Mohammed Alatar, is available for free on YouTube. —Steve France

“The Mauritanian” Shines Light, Hope into Gitmo’s Darkness

“The Mauritanian,” released in theaters this February, tells the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was wrongfully detained and tortured at the United States’ Guantanamo Bay detention facility for 14 years. In November 2001, a rendition team transported Slahi from his native Mauritania to Jordan at the request of the United States. Months later, Slahi was taken to a U.S. base in Afghanistan and then transferred to Guantanamo Bay. At every stop, he faced dehumanizing questioning and torture. The U.S. detained and tortured Slahi for nearly a decade and a half despite having no evidence directly tying him to terrorism. In fact, prior to his kidnapping by the U.S., Slahi had been questioned and cleared by the security agencies of several countries, all of which determined he only had unfortunate tangential ties to terror suspects.

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On Feb. 19, the Muslim Public Affairs Council held an online interview with key members of “The Mauritanian,” including Slahi and two of the film’s leading stars, Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim. Central to the film is Slahi’s ability to forgive those who inflicted unimaginable pain upon him and his family. “In the beginning I was fantasizing about getting back, about getting even with those who visited a great harm upon me,” he admitted. “After torture, you become someone else.” However, he ultimately found peace and strength in practicing the virtue of forgiveness extolled by Islam. “I have no bitterness toward anyone, and I completely and utterly forgive everyone because that’s what my faith tells me,” he said. “If you forgive, you are closer to Allah,” he added, quoting the Qur’an. “This film is really about Mohamedou’s character,” Foster noted. She plays the role of Slahi’s no-nonsense lawyer, Nancy Hollander. Foster also hopes the film helps Slahi process his ordeal. “The greatest satisfaction of this movie is that I think that it can be healing for Mohamedou,” she said. Slahi was involved in the film’s production, making sure the set and the script were true to his experience. Foster also noted that the film provides an inspiring message of interreligious unity. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of Lt. Col. Stuart Couch, who was tasked with prosecuting Slahi’s case. Having lost a friend in the 9/11 attacks, Couch was motivated to prove Slahi’s guilt. However, citing his Christian faith and devotion to the law, he refused to prosecute the case after learning that torture was used to force Slahi into making self-indicting statements. “I would say that the Christian side to the movie in some ways is as strong as the Muslim side,” Foster said. “The most important part of Islam is justice and the most important part of Christianity is love, and this film is really about those two things coming together.” Rahim, who plays Slahi, hopes the movie helps Americans understand the travesty of Guantanamo. Film, he noted, helps people think, digest and contemMAY 2021

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plate in ways other mediums do not. “It’s way stronger to make a movie than to go on TV and talk for 20 minutes,” he said. The rapid churn of the news means people “don’t even have time to digest it and to think about it.” Rahim also hopes the film will put pressure on the Mauritanian and U.S. governments to allow Slahi to travel freely. Released in 2016, Slahi is currently prohibited from traveling outside of Mauritania. “It’s one thing to be released from Guantanamo, but then if you go to an open sky prison, you still have something to fix,” Rahim said. “The Mauritanian,” distributed by STXFilms, is currently available on demand. Slahi’s book, Guantanamo Diary, is available from Middle East Books and More. —Dale Sprusansky

ARAB AMERICAN ACTIVISM NAAWA Celebrates Women

The National Arab American Women’s Association (NAAWA) held its sixth annual International Women’s Day Gala virtually on March 7. Nearly 5,000 viewers watched this year’s star-studded event, titled, “Empowering Arab American Women: Empowering Humanity,” skillfully emceed by Ameera David, WXYZ Detroit anchor and daughter of Arab America founders Amal and Warren David. Nearly every speaker challenged listeners to lift each other up. Singer/songwriter Elise Azkoul, a Lebanese-American contestant from the 17th season of “The Voice,” launched the evening by singing “Rise Up,” a song to empower everyone who is fighting the exhaustion and loneliness of COVID-19. Renowned Syrian singer/composer Badya Hasan sang Arabic favorites. Dr. Pearlette Ramos, a motivational speaker and author, gave some solid tips on how women can be relentless and authentic. By uniting, they can achieve their goals despite all obstacles like inequality, poverty, violence and earning 71 cents for every dollar earned by men. Ramos concluded, “no one can dim our light and our voices if we are relentless...and support one another.” MAY 2021

NAAWA Emcee Ameera David (l) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

Board members, including Janeen Rashmawi, described the educational outreach work NAAWA is accomplishing, providing lesson plans and teaching resources to national and local social studies teachers. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) described the many ways Arab American women can speak up to support communities of color, Black Lives Matter, fair and just immigration reform, equitable education, clean air and water. “It shows who we are as a community that we don’t wait until it’s our community that is a target...help our country stay connected and make sure everyone can thrive.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) urged women to hold the door wide open for others to follow or to leave a ladder in place behind us for the use of the next generation. Cynthia Terrell, the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen, which seeks to advance women’s leadership in the U.S., provided sobering statistics about women, who are 51 percent of the U.S. population but make up only: 24 percent of the U.S. Senate; 27 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives; 30 percent of statewide elected executives; 31 percent of state legislative seats; 23 percent of mayors in cities with populations over 30,000; and 0 percent of presidents of the United States. At least now there is finally a female vice president, Terrell added. “Women around the world are entering political office at higher rates than in the

United States—we are only 70th for women’s representation in politics.” Terrell urged more women to run for office, win their races and serve effectively. Iraqi-American Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International and host of “Through Her Eyes” with Yahoo News, said her mother made her read books about women and struggles. Each generation of women pushes the next generation to go further, she said. She admitted that the Arab culture is not in its golden age and Arab women are held back by traditions and religion. Like the other speakers, Salbi counseled viewers to stand up for each other and push the other forward. International corporate lawyer/activist Lina Hadid congratulated NAAWA on its work and noted that she has founded a lobby to work for Palestinian rights. Palestinian-American/actress/comedian/disability advocate Maysoon Zayid offered “advice you don’t want to hear” on National Women’s Day. She ended her set with a caution to internet trolls: “Words matter. Never be the person who causes another human being harm...If you feel the need to spew hate online, google ‘cats on glass tables.’ You’ll thank me.” Azkoul concluded the evening with an uplifting rendition of “Here Comes the Sun,” to celebrate a brighter future and the approaching end to COVID isolation. —Delinda C. Hanley

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Helping Hands

Lighting Up Young Palestinian Lives with Books By John Cassel Photos by Dr. Estephan Salameh

The Seraj Library Project empowers readers in Palestinian villages. ESTEPHAN SALAMEH left Jerusalem with a scholarship to attend graduate school at North Park University in Chicago and half a month’s rent in his pocket. To help pay the bills, Salameh taught Arabic to North Park students and others in the community. One of his students, Laurie Millner, who was studying for a master’s degree in nonprofit management, became his wife in 2004. The Salamehs wanted to improve the situation in Palestine, where some 5 million Palestinians live severely constrained lives under Israeli occupation. Their shared love of books kept the couple’s conversation returning to the need for libraries for both children and their families. They launched the Seraj Library Project in 2005 to bring knowledge and engagement with the world to isolated villages and

John Cassel, an officer with Seraj, compiled this article from various Seraj sources. Estephan Salameh, who returned to Jerusalem with a Ph.D. in urban planning and public policy, teaches at Birzeit University and works as an adviser to the Palestinian Prime Minister for Planning and Aid Coordination. Laurie Salameh is on the board of World Vision Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza. 62

refugee camps in Palestine. Seraj, the Arabic word for oil lamp or light, was chosen as the project’s symbol. Libraries are a perfect fit in Palestine, where the culture is very family oriented, and education is highly valued. According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, more than half of the West Bank and Gaza residents are under the age of 25 and more than 97 percent over the age of 15 are literate. Palestinians are a people hungry for knowledge. Sadly, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, only 3 percent of households indicate they have access to a library or the Internet after school hours. There are now 10 community libraries in the West Bank, starting with the Jifna Library, which Seraj launched in partnership with the Jifna Women Charitable Society. Seraj U.S., an all-volunteer organization, has contributed almost $900,000 toward the creation of those 10 libraries as well as a network of cultural programs for children and their families. The libraries are always developed through partnerships between Seraj and a local community-based organization. Typically, the com-

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munity provides the space, volunteers, and leadership; Seraj provides books, furniture, computers and experience. This year, Seraj Palestine, now a formally recognized NGO in Palestine with its own governing board, is about to launch two major projects, one in Kufor Aqab near Jerusalem and another in Birzeit near the city of Ramallah. These represent a major innovation for the organization, and a major contribution to the cultural life of Palestine. Storytelling has always been especially important to Seraj. In fact, all Seraj’s work and activities are born out of stories—rediscovering lost ones as well as preserving both the significant and seemingly insignificant ones—to bring them to life again in Palestinian communities through the interpretation of various types of artists. Stories tell us where we’ve come from and can guide us to where we are going. They tell the truth about our past so that we can begin to heal as we face the future. They connect us to those who have come before, those around us, and those yet to come. This is why Seraj’s National Storytelling Center, the first of its kind in Palestine, is so exciting. Remarkably, Seraj was invited to be part of a project of the Riwaq Center for Architectural Conservation to renovate two 150-year-old houses in Kufor Aqab. Riwaq completed the renovation beautifully and gave the keys to Seraj to begin the work of furnishing and stocking the interior. These two homes will house a library, a café/study center, a small office for Seraj, and most notably, the new Storytelling Center. Likewise, the West Bank municipality of Birzeit plans to revitalize its Old City, “activating” the area by bringing together cultural organizations, interesting small businesses and educational institutions. The municipality believes having a library and cultural center would draw people into the historic part of the town. So, the municipality approached Seraj about opening a Library and Cultural Center. The anchor, of course, is the libraries. There will be enough space for a children’s library and a library for the college students. MAY 2021

The Seraj Library in Jiftlek, created in honor of James and Mary Wall, who helped establish the Seraj Library Project, is a cooperative effort with the village of Jiftlek, Jordan Valley Solidarity and Sanabel Al Reef women’s organization. James Wall, who launched a “must-read” blog he called “Wallwritings” in 2008, died March 22, 2021. (See pp. 48-49.) Right now, there is no library in Birzeit, outside of the university, and no place for the college students to go after the university closes at 4:30 p.m. In addition, Seraj plans to open a music and arts library to house pieces of art and to host music performances created by other Palestinian organizations. Something Seraj has always done well, over the past 15 years, is partner with community organizations to work cooperatively on a shared goal. Seraj’s philosophy is not to compete with the work of other organizations, but to work alongside, to create something different and valuable. Because partnership is essential to everything Seraj does, working with local organizations, families, artists, musicians and storytellers are the foundation of both the Kufor Aqab and Birzeit projects. But the fundamental partnership is between the U.S. and Palestine. Volunteers in the U.S. raise funds by describing the work and needs to a network of donors. The funds are transformed into libraries and programs by volunteers and a few staff in Palestine. Director, Laurie Salameh, and library coordinator, Fida’a Ataya (a master storyteller), have developed a wealth of expertise during their years of community library and program development.

Seraj Library Project continues to connect with interested individuals and organizations who want to be a part of this important work as they expand their circle of supporters. And, of course, visitors are always welcome to come to the various libraries throughout the West Bank. For more information about individual libraries or for other contact information, visit <www.serajlibraries.org>. ■

ADVERTISE! Put the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs to work for you! Have you thought about advertising your company, charity, book, craft, skills or personal service with us—but have never gotten around to it? For information on prices and deadlines, please visit wrmea.org/advertise or e-mail advertising@wrmea.org or call (202) 939-6050 ext. 1105. We will help make your advertising effective. (We offer a 30 percent discount on combinations of print and online banner advertising!)

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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. 1

Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics By Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick, The New Press, 2021, hardcover, 240 pp. MEB $25.99

Reviewed by Walter L. Hixson

This important new book targets the “double standard” on the part of liberal Democrats who stand for democracy and freedom—except in Palestine A short and readable book (only 158 pages of text), Except for Palestine argues convincingly that “self-titled progressives contradict their beliefs by justifying or ignoring behavior by Israel that they oppose.” Journalist and professor Marc Lamont Hill and longtime Middle East political analyst Mitchell Plitnick argue that Democrats perpetuate the repression of Palestine by refusing to condemn it even though “Israel’s escalating authoritarianism” contradicts their general support for “universal liberal values.” Following an Introduction entitled “Palestine Cannot be an Exception,” the book offers chapters entitled “The Right to Exist,” “Criminalizing BDS,” “Trumped-Up Policy,” “The Crisis of Gaza,” and a Conclusion.

Contributing editor Walter L. Hixson is the author of 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 has been a professor of history for 36 years, achieving the rank of distinguished professor. 64

Chapter 1 homes in on the “immoral demand” that Israel should receive explicit recognition from Palestinians of its right to exist as a Jewish state—echoing Israel’s Basic Law passed in 2018—even as it contemptuously continues to reject the national aspirations of Palestinians. The authors emphasize that Israel does not demand that Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States or any other country recognize it as a Jewish state—the demand is uniquely placed on Palestinians. The second chapter chronicles the history of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. The authors call out liberals who did not, to cite two examples oppose boycotts of Chick-fil-A, which funded anti-LGBTQ groups, or Hobby Lobby, which denied women employees medical coverage for certain forms of contraception, but did strongly oppose BDS targeting Israeli apartheid. Hill and Plitnick do not insist that all liberals should embrace BDS, but they do

indict them for supporting or not opposing efforts to limit BDS advocacy thus undermining free speech and democratic political activism. “Those who support (actively or through silent complicity) laws that stigmatize, penalize, or even criminalize BDS are absolutely out of step with liberal and progressive values,” they argue. The next chapter calls on liberals to “acknowledge that [President Donald] Trump was merely a dangerous extension, not the source, of deeply rooted and thoroughly bipartisan policies that have harmed the Palestinian people—and positioned Palestine as an exception to which core liberal American values are not applied.” The fourth chapter emphasizes the liberals’ complicity in support of Israel’s brutal violence and ongoing blockade of Gaza. “The United States has not merely been indifferent to the crisis in Gaza,” they demonstrate convincingly, “but played an active, significant, and thoroughly bipartisan role in degrading the conditions.” Hill and Plitnick point out that Democrats “rarely, if ever, express the basic premise that Palestinians should have all of the same rights as Israelis.” On the comparatively rare occasions when they do advocate for Palestinian rights, liberals often stress that such change would “benefit the vast majority of Israeli Jews.” Similarly, liberal Democrats sometimes condemn Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, yet “when it comes to actual substantive policy debate, there is no appetite for it.” The authors conclude on a positive note, citing polls that show that while Republicans are largely uncritically pro-Israeli, more and more Democrats acknowledge Israeli repression and are demanding change, even to the point of supporting making financial assistance to Israel contingent on human rights for Palestinians. “There is a clear, strong, and growing movement opposing the United States’ one-sided and unwaveringly proIsrael policies and actions,” they note. MAY 2021

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The major weakness of this book is the failure of the authors to explain why liberal Democrats abandon their own progressive values on the issue of Palestine. The answer is in large part that these “progressives” cower in the shadow of the Israel lobby, but Hill and Plitnick virtually ignore that subject with only three isolated references to AIPAC in the entire book. In an otherwise useful book, the failure to deal with the overarching power of the Israel lobby is a serious weakness, one that points to the limitations of the two authors’ own liberal perceptions.

American Zionism. It then carefully digs through presidential, congressional and agency confrontations with the Israel lobby from WWII to the present. The unsparing depictions of how presidents— some harshly opposed to Israel and its U.S. lobby’s demands—gradually acquiesced under tremendous coordinated pressure are unnerving to read in such stunning detail and masterful prose. American government agencies are sim-

Architects of Repression: How Israel and its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of U.S. Middle East Policy By Walter L. Hixson, IRmep, 2021, paperback, 250 pp. MEB $19.45

Reviewed by Grant F. Smith

Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of U.S. Middle East Policy deeply mines long overlooked veins, extracting undiscovered ore from specialty archives and the Near East Report, house organ of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC. Distinguished historian and author Walter L. Hixson pulls no punches in his conclusion. “The Israel lobby became the most powerful lobby advancing the interests of a foreign country in all of American history, yet its pivotal role in the conflict is typically either willfully denied or naively downplayed.” The book skillfully makes that case with an examination of the staggered rise of

Grant F. Smith is the director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy in Washington, DC. Smith has written eight books, including Big Israel: How Israel’s Lobby Moves America and The Israel Lobby Enters State Government, available from MEB. MAY 2021

ilarly emasculated as Israel lobby operatives build and expand—in partnership with Israel—ever wider express lanes through the corridors of policymaking and around bureaucratic safeguards. Architects of Repression then delves into the most recent initiatives of the lobby and growing, long overdue backlash by advocates of human rights, free speech and academic freedom. Like Hixson’s other histories, such as American Foreign Relations: A New Diplomatic History (Routledge, 2015) and his previous book about the lobby, Israel’s Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict (Cambridge University Press, 2019), Architects of Repression is self-evidently peer reviewed and a pleasure to read. Hixson’s tight prose doesn’t linger over minor details, and the book has hundreds of endnotes, a bibliography and an appendix rich with historical context as well as a full index. In the course of a few hours, it can bring a novice or informed reader fully up to date on the key facts about one of the

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

most harmful foreign influences ever to subvert American politics. Having written a great many books about the Israel lobby, I was nevertheless surprised at how convincingly Hixson distills precise conclusions from lobby obfuscations and the cloudy historical morass. Defeats of Israel lobby initiatives—such as opposing the Reagan era sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia, or the Iran nuclear deal signed by President Obama? These are exceptions that proved the rule—yet were ultimately only fleeting problems for Israel and its lobby. Declarations by Israel lobby spokespersons that Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? Irrefutable psychological projection. Hixson has effectively reversed a shallow flow of arguments eroding the banks of nascent awareness of the Israel lobby’s decisive role in shaping horrific U.S. Israel/Palestine policies in the years since John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt’s The Israel Lobby. A great deal of that marginalization of the Israel lobby’s primacy— though the lobby never accepts blame or responsibility—has been advanced by self-appointed experts who admittedly never bothered to invest much time seriously researching the lobby. They nevertheless are comfortable proclaiming that it doesn’t ultimately matter much, and that those seeking productive change should focus elsewhere. By naming names, and taking no prisoners, this book forms the new retaining wall against their fuzzy thinking and unfounded conclusions proposing that somehow our horrific present is the fault of Palestinians, foundering American progressive activists and other marginalized constituencies. They are clearly not, and Hixson convincingly lays blame at Israel and its U.S. lobby's doorstep—in much the same way Ilan Pappé precisely revealed the parties responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine before and after 1948. Americans would therefore do well to abide by Pappé’s own recent admonition 65

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about Architects of Repression. “If you ever wondered how the Israeli lobby in the USA corrupted the American foreign policy toward Palestine and beyond, you need to read this book. This book analyzes in a clear narration, based on solid analysis and documentation, how this corrupted and vicious American policy culminated in the Trumpian era. This book points clearly to all the culprits who bred racism, violence and injustice in the USA and inflicted this unholy trinity on Palestine and its people.”

The Ralph Nader and Family Cookbook: Classic Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond

By Ralph Nader, Akashic Books, 2020, hardcover, 104 pp. MEB $25

Reviewed by Delinda C. Hanley

Consumers have to thank Ralph Nader for automobile safety regulations, the Clean Water and Air acts, the law establishing the Environmental Protection Agency, and many other government reforms meant to protect us. With the publication of The Ralph Nader and Family Cookbook, we now have to thank him for his sage advice on cooking healthy meals. True confession: I just love gazing at scrumptious-looking food photographed in the cookbooks on the shelves of Middle East Books and More. I’m not alone when it comes to salivating at the images,

Delinda C. Hanley is executive editor of the Washington Report. 66

glancing at the ingredients and intimidating directions, and then running to the nearest Middle Eastern restaurant. During a pandemic that became more problematic. At last there is a cookbook even I can follow and I actually already have the ingredients. So not only did I make cannellini bean soup with Swiss chard for dinner on this cold windy evening, but I also got to know Nader’s mother, Rose, who had a way with food and children. Her recipes for soup and other Middle Eastern comfort food can help us survive a freezing snowstorm (or an endless pandemic) because, as Rose says, “These are simple foods that will warm you from the tips of your toes to the roots of your hairs and will fill the empty places between.” Nader also shares his mother’s sensible child-rearing advice. “To her, food— whether at breakfast, lunch, or supper— was a daily occasion for education, for finding what was on our minds, for recounting traditions of food, culture, and kinship in Lebanon,” where Nader’s parents were born. Rose also enlisted her children’s help with food preparation and baking, helping them build cooking skills and appreciation for good food. The Nader family owned the Highland Arms Restaurant in Winsted, CT, which served traditional American food in the days before our nation discovered the joy of international cuisines. Rose’s nutritious meals were cooked from scratch, using fresh ingredients. “For Mother, the family table was a mosaic of sights, scents, and tastes, of talking, teaching, and teasing, of health, culture, stimulation, and delight.” Nader said he was inspired to create this cookbook because, after his work on food safety laws, people asked him what he eats. In 1991, his parents published a popular cookbook, It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought. Nader acknowledges their work, as well as considerable help he received from his sisters Claire and Laura, his nieces and nephew, his mother’s sister, as well as chef George Noujaim. He also empha-

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sizes the fact that in the past few years, scientists have decided that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world. Arab cuisine is heavy on vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and spices and doesn’t include much red meat. The Nader family’s Lebanese recipes are easy to prepare and stress-free because, we are assured, it isn’t necessary to follow rigid proportions and ingredients. Rose believed in “keeping it simple” and “everything in moderation,” her son recalls. I’ll try to keep that in mind when Claire Nader’s “Two-two-two Cookies,” come out of the oven.

B O O K TA L K S

Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism, and the Case for One Democratic State

By Jeff Halper, Pluto Press, 2021, 256 pp. MEB $19.95

Activist and scholar Jeff Halper believes we are living at an inflection point in the history of the Israel-Palestine “conflict.” There’s a caveat, though: In order for the impending waters of justice to rise, the Palestinian people must coalesce behind a clear and cohesive political plan, he argues. Halper’s latest book, Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine, makes the case for one state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and argues that the global civil society and solidarity infrastructure is in place to make this outcome a reality. The book is a byproduct of the One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC), an upstart movement launched by Halper and others to provide a clear vision for one, democratic state. The one state idea has been out there for a while, Halper acknowledged on a Jan. 27 webinar with his publisher, Pluto Press. However, he believes his book and MAY 2021

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the ODSC is finally putting meat on the subject. “We’ve given some substance to it, we have a ten-point program that’s very detailed,” he noted. “I wrote this book partly to get our program out.” In order for this plan to work it needs buy-in from weary Palestinians, and Halper acknowledged this has yet to happen. If Palestinians were to take off and run with the one-state solution, Halper believes it would be a success. Palestinians, he argued, need to move to a more active form of resistance. “Samud [steadfastness] keeps them on the map, keeps them in place, doesn’t allow Israel to win, but at the same time, there’s no program connected to it, you

have to have a political program if you are in a political struggle,” he said. Halper sees a plethora of groups and individuals advocating for Palestinians and engaging in movements such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, but he fears this energy is not being effectively channeled. In his mind, it’s time to move from resistance and advocacy to action. Palestinians, he believes, can energize this global support in a historical way if they launch a clear political campaign. In South Africa, the ANC took down apartheid by mobilizing their only allies, “the people, in all their different forms”— religious communities, universities, political organizations, trade unions, etc. “The MAY 2021

N E W A R R I VA L S America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present by John Ghazvinian, Knopf, 2021, 688 pp. MEB $35.00. In this fascinating history, John Ghazvinian traces the complex story of U.S.-Iran relations back to the Persian Empire of the 18th century. Ghazvinian, with a masterful grasp and a storyteller's ability, makes clear where, how, and when it all went wrong. He shows why two countries that once had such heartfelt admiration for each other became such committed enemies; showing us, as well, how it didn’t have to turn out this way.

War in the Age of Trump: The Defeat of ISIS, the Fall of the Kurds, the Conflict with Iran by Patrick Cockburn, Verso, 2020, 320 pp. MEB $29.95. Donald Trump may no longer be in office, but the impacts of his policies remain. In this book, Patrick Cockburn charts the period from the recapture of Mosul in 2017 to Turkey’s attack on Kurdish territory in November 2019, and recounts the new phase in the wars of disintegration that have plagued the region. The ground battle with the caliphate is perhaps over, but was this the end of the conflict that has scarred these nations for decades?

Bride of the Sea: A Novel by Eman Quotah, Tin House Books, 2021, 320 pp. MEB $16.95. During a snowy Cleveland February, newlywed university students Muneer and Saeedah are expecting their first child, and he is harboring a secret: the word divorce is whispering in his ear. Soon, their marriage will end, and Muneer will return to Saudi Arabia, while Saeedah remains in Cleveland with their daughter, Hanadi. Consumed by a growing fear of losing her daughter, Saeedah disappears with the little girl, leaving Muneer to desperately search for his daughter for years. The repercussions of the abduction ripple outward, not only changing the lives of Hanadi and her parents, but also their interwoven family and friends— those who must choose sides and hide their own deeply guarded secrets. And when Hanadi comes of age, she finds herself at the center of this conflict, torn between the world she grew up in and a family across the ocean. How can she exist between parents, between countries? Eman Quotah’s Bride of the Sea is a spellbinding debut of colliding cultures, immigration, religion, and family; an intimate portrait of loss and healing; and, ultimately, a testament to the ways we find ourselves inside love, distance, and heartbreak. WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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good news is that the Palestinians have that infrastructure as well,” Halper said. “I think the Palestinian issue has achieved the level of significance of the anti-apartheid struggle in the world, but what we’re missing is a political program,” he said. “You can have all the sympathy and all the solidarity in the world, but unless you have a program that you’re advocating for, you’re powerless.” It’s hard to disagree with Halper’s analysis, but it’s admittedly somewhat awkward listening to an American-Israeli dual citizen lecture Palestinians about their political choices. However, one cannot doubt Halper’s sincerity or credibility. In 1997, he co-founded the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and has since worked tirelessly to fight the many injustices faced by Palestinians. His candor is thus not without justification. It’s important to note that Halper’s book is not merely a plea to encourage a course change among Palestinians. Decolonizing Israel offers people of goodwill across the world an opportunity to rethink how this issue is discussed and what outcomes citizens and practitioners alike ought to be realistically promoting. Halper admitted that he struggles to forgo academic jargon in favor of a more accessible writing style, but believes Decolonizing Israel is his most approachable book yet. He hopes this book helps laymen understand terms such as “settler colonialism” and “decolonization.” These terms have “yet to penetrate into the popular discourse” and “are not easy for people to understand,” he acknowledged. But he believes they are important to explain, as they fundamentally transform one’s view of the world when fully understood. The settler colonial framework crushes the notion that what is happening on the land in “Israel/Palestine” is a “conflict,” he said. Realizing that the “conflict” is between colonizers and natives rather than between equals makes one rethink approaches and mechanisms for peace and justice. Understanding settler colonialism “really does open up all kinds of possibil68

ities of resolving this in a way that the term ‘conflict’ doesn’t,” Halper said. “Conflict locks us into a ‘conflict resolution mode’ that’s never worked. Settler colonialism really opens things up and lets us get to a genuine resolution.” While Palestinians are the primary victims of settler colonialism, Halper noted that this pernicious reality also leaves Israelis feeling unsettled. “One of the problems with settler colonialism is that you are constantly living in a state of insecurity because everything is built on injustice,” he said. “You can’t relax and say ‘I’m in my country, I’m at home, I’m at peace’… because you’re constantly aware that there is that underside of oppression and suffering that is ongoing that will never go away until decolonization takes place.” Halper makes a valiant case that the status quo needs to be reimagined. There is no doubt that the lexicon surrounding the issue, the approaches taken, and long-engrained political programs need to be fundamentally rethought. Halper also convincingly argues that there is much global energy and solidarity to be tapped into. Yet, one cannot but remain cynical that those in power—from Washington to Israel—are prepared to let the voices of Palestinians and their supporters be heard, regardless of how organized and numerous they are. But, let’s hope that Halper is right, and that with a tweak of strategy and a more cohesive and precise political and solidarity movement, mountains can be moved and the valleys and hills from the River to the Sea can be righteously transformed into one, democratic state. —Dale Sprusansky

The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians

By Sa′ed Atshan and Katharina Galor, Duke University Press, 2020, 256 pp. MEB $25.95 The horrid history of the Nazi Holocaust still haunts modern Germany. Guilt and a

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sense of culpability for their country’s past crimes against the Jewish people have led many Germans—particularly the country’s government—to adopt highly supportive positions vis-à-vis Israel. In The Moral Triangle, scholars Sa’ed Atshan and Katharina Galor dare to explore the sensitive intricacies of this issue. The book is a result of extensive fieldwork they conducted in Berlin, interviewing residents of Israeli, Palestinian and German

background. Their research seeks to answer one central question: What moral responsibility does the German state and society have toward the Israeli and Palestinian populations currently living within its borders? Galor and Atshan discussed the findings of their book on a Feb. 17 webinar hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Middle East Center. “Bringing these three populations into dialogue touched upon a really huge taboo,” Galor noted. However, Galor, a Jew, and Atshan, a Palestinian, believed it was important to overcome this discomfort and discuss a topic that has been avoided for too long. Among Germans, Atshan said they found mixed results. Some believed Germany has an equal moral responsibility to both Israelis and Palestinians, others sided with one group, some said Germany has an obligation to neither, and others expressed indifference. Their research did find that Germans have significantly more knowledge about MAY 2021

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the Holocaust than they do about the Palestinian Nakba. “Most Germans have never heard of the Nakba, they’re completely clueless,” Galor noted. The scholars don’t think the two events are equal, but they do believe they are inextricably tied together. “We argue in our book that the Holocaust and the Nakba are historically related events, and that these traumas are intertwined, and therefore our consciousness has to take into account the Holocaust and the Nakba,” Atshan said. There are an estimated 25,000 Israelis living in Berlin today, the researches estimate. The Israeli population tends to be left-leaning and young, having moved to the city for economic opportunities. Many are also transient, splitting their time between Berlin and Israel, and in some cases third cities. The city’s 60,000 Palestinians tend to be much less mobile, as many of them are refugees who fled camps in Lebanon. They also tend to be more religious than their Israeli counterparts. Atshan said that many Israelis and Palestinians live in the same neighborhoods, and some work together on joint initiatives to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The cosmopolitan nature of Berlin makes it easy for diverse communities to exist without much tension, he noted. While the results of their work are fascinating and groundbreaking, the scholars acknowledge their Berlin-based research isn’t necessarily applicable to Germany as a whole. Indeed, Atshan noted that even Germany’s left-wing political parties engage in “very robust pro-Zionist discourse.” And Galor pointed out that pro-BDS Germans, including Jews, have been targeted for their advocacy. “An ironic reality in present-day Germany,” she commented. —Dale Sprusansky

Dale Sprusansky is the managing editor of the Washington Report. MAY 2021

N E W A R R I VA L S The Ardent Swarm: A Novel by Yamen Mana, Amazon Crossing, 2021, 204 pp. MEB $24.95. Sidi lives a hermetic life as a bee whisperer, tending to his beloved “girls” on the outskirts of the desolate North African village of Nawa. He wakes one morning to find that a mysterious swarm of vicious hornets has decimated a hive. But where did they come from, and how can he stop them? Sidi ventures out to the big city and beyond in search of answers. Along the way, he discovers a country and a people turned upside down by their new post-Arab Spring reality, as Islamic fundamentalists seek to influence votes any way they can on the eve of the country’s first democratic elections. To succeed in his quest, and find a glimmer of hope to protect all that he holds dear, Sidi will have to look further than he ever imagined.

The Blood of the Colony: Wine and the Rise and Fall of French Algeria by Owen White, Harvard University Press, 2021, 336 pp. MEB $39.95. In the last decades of the 19th century, Europeans had displaced Algerians from the colony’s best agricultural land and planted grapevines. Soon enough, wine was the primary export of a region whose mostly Muslim inhabitants didn’t drink alcohol. Settlers made fortunes while drawing large numbers of Algerians into salaried work for the first time. But the success of Algerian wine resulted in friction with French producers, challenging the traditional view that imperial possessions should complement, not compete with, the metropole. By the middle of the 20th century, amid the fight for independence, Algerians had come to see the rows of vines as an especially hated symbol of French domination. After the war, Algerians had to decide how far they would go to undo the transformations the colonists had wrought―including the world’s fourth-biggest wine industry. Owen White examines Algeria’s experiment with nationalized wine production in worker-run vineyards, the pressures that resulted in the failure of that experiment, and the eventual uprooting of most of the country’s vines.

The Son King: Reform and Repression in Saudi Arabia by Madawi Al-Rasheed, Oxford University Press, 2021, 312 pp. MEB $29.95. Madawi Al-Rasheed lays bare the world of repression behind the crown prince’s reforms. She dissects the Saudi regime’s propaganda and progressive new image, while also dismissing Orientalist views that despotism is the only pathway to stable governance in the Middle East. Charting old and new challenges to the fragile Saudi nation from the Kingdom’s very inception, this blistering book exposes the dangerous contradictions at the heart of the Son King’s Saudi Arabia. WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore, Singapore

Cartoon Movement, Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Alaraby Jadeed, Amman, Jordan

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Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon

www.Otherwords.org MAY 2021

24 Horas, Mexico City, Mexico WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky REP. DELGADO IS IGNORING HIS CONSTITUENTS ON PALESTINE

To the Daily Freeman, Feb. 13, 2021 Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) certainly has Israel as his friend. The Israel lobby gave him a free trip to Israel at the start of this first term, and has been very kind to him ever since. The website Open Secrets has Rep. Delgado receiving $29,698 from the lobby for 2020. Rep. Delgado's constituents haven't been so lucky. Four local groups (Jewish Voice for Peace-Hudson Valley, Middle East Crisis, Veterans For Peace and Women in Black-New Paltz) have been asking for a meeting with him for the last two years. According to his junior legislative assistant, Matthew Gerson, Rep. Delgado has just been too busy to talk about Palestinian rights. Gerson didn't seem particularly interested either, but that might have been because he interned at the Jewish People Policy Institute, a private non-profit in Israel that promotes the apartheid state. Rep. Delgado has been similarly effective in avoiding questions about Palestine in town hall Zoom meetings. He has refused to cosponsor H.R. 2407, the bill that protects the rights of Palestinian children held in Israeli jails. He never responded to a petition with 2,300 signatures urging him to meet with our four groups. There were numerous letters to the editor and two full page newspaper ads, and still our representative has never let the word “Palestine” slip from between his lips. Isn’t it time for all his constituents to simply ask him to stop taking money from the Israel lobby? We voted for Rep. Delgado to represent us, not Israel. Fred Nagel, Rhinebeck, NY

APPLY THE LEAHY LAW TO ISRAEL

To The Patriot-News, March 14, 2021 Imagine being awakened at 3 a.m. by a loud knock on your front door. Struggling to get awake you find a police officer demanding to apprehend your 16-yearold son. He insists on taking him to the MAY 2021

TELL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WHAT YOU THINK PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW WASHINGTON, DC 20500 COMMENT LINE: (202) 456-1111 WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/CONTACT

SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2201 C ST. NW WASHINGTON, DC 20520 PHONE: (202) 647-6575 VISIT WWW.STATE.GOV TO E-MAIL

ANY MEMBER: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-312

police station for questioning. You strongly protest, but in minutes your son is taken away by force from your home. Each year, the Israeli military detains and prosecutes some 700 Palestinian children, mostly teenagers. Of those detained, three out of four experience physical violence during arrest or interrogation. The end product is traumatized children, many showing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a flagrant abuse of human rights by the Israeli military. The United States is complicit in these human rights abuses. We send approximately $4 billion in military aid to Israel each year. If our government would comply with the Leahy Law this aid would be stopped. The Leahy Law was passed in 1997 by Congress; it prohibits the Department of State and Department of Defense from providing military assistance to foreign countries that violate human rights. Why is our government not complying with the Leahy Law and instead continuing to send substantial monetary aid to Israel every year? Israel is a country guilty of flagrant human rights abuses against Palestinian children. This is a grave injustice. Roger J. Olson, Mechanicsburg, PA

THE U.S. IS NOT A CREDIBLE PEACE BROKER ON ISRAEL-PALESTINE

To the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 25, 2021 Many thanks to columnist Nicholas Goldberg for calling for renewed efforts toward Palestinian-Israeli peace. His column notes the suffering on both sides and the shared culpability, but a major factor is missing: the vast power differential in which Israel has a crushing advantage over the Palestinians. The numbers reveal a disturbing inequity. For instance, in fiscal year 2018, the United States provided Israel with more than $3.1 billion in military aid and gave the Palestinians exactly $0. Since September 2000, about 1,300 Israelis

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have been killed compared with about 10,000 Palestinians, according to organizations that monitor Israeli-Palestinian violence. This raises serious questions: Should the U.S., with its one-sided commitment, be the broker in peace talks? And where does the major responsibility lie when one side holds the power and the other suffers an outsize share of casualties? Any call for negotiations should bring these issues to the fore. Barbara Erickson, Berkeley, CA

ISRAEL FITS THE DEFINITION OF APARTHEID

To The Times-Tribune, March 17, 2021 I thank David Fallk (“Target misplaced,” March 3) for continuing the debate on whether Israel is a democracy or an apartheid regime. It is a necessary conversation as the American public is swamped with false narratives about the Middle East, particularly the Palestine issue. By definition an apartheid regime is the antithesis of a democracy. The 1973 International Convention on Apartheid defines it as, “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.” Does Israel satisfy the conditions of apartheid? Let’s count the ways. Palestinians and Israelis in the same territory are subject to two legal systems—military courts for Palestinians, civilian courts for Israelis. In the Occupied Territories, Jews can immigrate and gain citizenship; Palestinians cannot. Palestinians in the Occupied Territories are subject to military rule, denied freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and even the right not to be detained indefinitely without trial. In the West Bank, Israel has demolished thousands of Palestinian houses

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and built thousands of houses for Israeli Jews, while rejecting 96 percent of Palestinian building applications. We witness medical apartheid as Israel has set world records on vaccinating Israeli Jews, with no public rollout for Palestinians, even delaying a shipment to Gaza. Dominic Saadi, Scranton, PA

PALESTINIANS NEED COVID VACCINES

To the Akron Beacon Journal, March 6, 2021 The Feb. 26 article “Israel plan to share vaccines frozen by legal questions,” and the Feb. 5 article “Three decades later, nonprofit founded by Kent man still helping injured Palestinian children,” highlight the need for the Palestinian people to receive vaccines and critical hospital care in Israel. While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attempts to share Israel’s vaccines with other nations, he needs to make sure that the Palestinian people receive the vaccine. If the world is serious about stopping the spread of the deadly coronavirus, then it must include vaccinations for all, including the Palestinians. I hope more people will consider donating to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), as it was started by a local Kent resident who worked with others to fund medical projects in the West Bank and Gaza. My hope is that everyone can be vaccinated against the coronavirus, including Palestinian families and children. Nancy Dollard, Lake Township, OH

U.S. MUST ACT FIRST ON IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

To the Daily Record, March 13, 2021 In 2015, the United States and Iran made an agreement concerning (1) Iran’s processing of uranium that could be a step toward making a nuclear weapon and (2) sanctions which the United States had placed on Iran. In 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement and reimposed sanctions. After the United States withdrew from the agreement, Iran continued in compliance for a year before returning to activities that were not allowed by the agreement. Since Joseph Biden has become president, Iran has stated a willingness to return to return to the agreement if the United States does also. In March, 140 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA), signed a letter to 72

Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Iran. The letter, in effect, asks Secretary Blinken to take a hard line. It asks that he negotiate on issues that fall outside the original agreement, such as Iran’s missile program and Iran’s assistance to other groups in the region. Iran has said that it will not negotiate the other issues as part of the reinstatement of the original agreement. That does not mean that the United States could not talk with Iran about the other issues, only that the reinstatement of the original agreement should stand on its own and not be contingent on talks about other issues. The House members who signed the letter to Secretary Blinken should know that insisting on talks on other issues as part of the reinstatement of the original agreement is a non-starter. There will be no agreement if there is such an insistence. One should hope that relations between the United States and Iran will improve and that the tensions between them will ease. If the 2015 agreement is not reinstated, then it is very likely that poor relations will continue and that the sanctions imposed by the United States will continue to cause hardship on the people of Iran. I think the 140 members of Congress, including Rep. Schrier, should reconsider their position. Bill Stansbery, Ellensburg, WA

WHAT DO RETALIATORY ATTACKS ACCOMPLISH?

To the Times Union, March 7, 2021 During his campaign, President Joe Biden repeatedly mentioned that he was in a battle for the soul of the nation. I realize now that I neglected to concentrate on the word “battle.” I assumed the soul of his foreign policy would be nonviolence and dedicated not to retaliation but to diplomacy. When I read the news “U.S. bombs militia facilities in Syria,” Feb. 26, I was disheartened and angry. Here, as usual, our country’s leader was justifying a path of violence in the name of national security. Why were we bombing the sovereign nation of Syria? What is the legal authority for these strikes? Did the president go to Congress first to seek authorization for this military action? Our Constitution is clear: Congress, not the president, has the authority to declare war. To revert to the use of military force in a region devastated by years of U.S. warmaking left me sad. I had hoped that, as

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we withdraw troops in the Middle East, diplomacy would have been used before this retaliatory attack. I fear this is putting us on the path to continue our endless wars. My hope is that Biden will participate in a diplomatic process by which this war can be brought to a conclusion, followed by a surge in humanitarian relief. I pray that the soul of our foreign policy will be defined by nonviolence, diplomacy and empathy. My involvement in the Capital District Women Against War helps me support this position. Movements for justice and peace must stay strong now. Sister Doreen Glynn, CSJ, Latham, NY

IT’S TIME TO FINALLY REPEAL THE 2002 AUMF

To the Portland Press Herald, March 19, 2021 As the 18th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq draws close, so does a promising opportunity to promote peace and end endless war: a bill to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Iraq. The 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force was passed when some people in our government mistakenly thought that Saddam Hussain was developing nuclear weapons. It gave our nation permission to invade Iraq and remove the regime of Saddam Hussain. Saddam was removed long ago, but the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force is still on the books. It has been misused against forces that had nothing to do with Saddam, and our continual warmongering has cost us countless dollars and lives. It could be used to involve us in a continuous cycle of retaliation. H.R. 256 repeals the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force. To bring the bill to the House floor so it can be passed, we need as many co-sponsors as we can get. I see that Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) has co-sponsored H.R. 256, and I commend her decision. She is in good company, as many representatives on all sides of the political spectrum are pushing this cause. We must continue to rally both the public and our leaders to work to use tools of peace and diplomacy rather than the weapons of destruction that continue the cycle of war. I thank Rep. Pingree for her support as we work to have harmony replace war. Beatrice Braeuer, Scarborough, ME ■ MAY 2021

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O• B • I • T • U • A • R • I • E • S Mourid Barghouti, 76, Palestinian poet and writer, died on Feb. 14, 2021. Barghouti was born in 1944 in a village near Ramallah four years before the Nakba and the establishment of Israel. Barghouti was studying in Cairo when the 1967 war broke out. It was not until the Oslo Accords that he was finally allowed to return to his homeland. He wrote about his life and 30-year exile in his 1997 book, I Saw Ramallah, which won a Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. Upon his return to Ramallah, he and his son, Tamim, also a poet, wrote a novel together, I Was Born There, I Was Born Here.

Akel Biltaji, 80, a personification of diversity and religious harmony in Jordan, died on Feb. 28, 2021. In 1997, King Hussein appointed Biltaji as Jordan’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held until 2001. King Abdullah II appointed Biltaji as the Chief Commissioner for the Region of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. He later served as Consul to the Royal Hashemite Court and as mayor of Amman.

Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, 89, the worldrenowned Egyptian author, a leading feminist in the Arab world died in Cairo on March 21, 2021. El Saadawi rose to prominence and lost her job as Egypt’s public health director in 1972 with her taboo-breaking book, Women and Sex, which linked violence against women’s bodies with political and economic oppression. She wrote about rape, sexual abuse, female genital mutilation and other taboo subjects while publishing more than 55 novels, plays and non-fiction books. While imprisoned by President Anwar Sadat, she wrote her memoirs on toilet paper. “Feminism was not invented by American women, as many people think,” El Saadawi told Britain’s Channel 4 News in a 2018 interview. “No, feminism is embedded in the culture, and in the struggle of all women all over the world.” MAY 2021

Lt. Gen. Dr. Suhaila Siddiq, 71, one of the few female government leaders in Afghanistan, and the only woman in the history of that country to have held the title of lieutenant general, died on Dec. 4, 2020. Born in Kabul, likely in 1938, her exact birth year is unknown, Siddiq attended Kabul Medical University but completed her medical studies at Moscow State University in the Soviet Union. Siddiq was well respected by many Afghan feminists for her actions during the Taliban era. She and her sister Sidiqa were two of the few women who successfully refused to wear the burka. She is quoted as having said, “When the religious police came with their canes and raised their arms to hit me, I raised mine to hit them back. Then they lowered their arms and let me go.”

Luqman Slim, 58, a Lebanese publisher, political activist, and long time critic of Hezbollah died on Feb. 4, 2021, after being shot multiple times in what his friends called a political assassination. Slim was a member of a small group of political activists from the country’s Shi’a Muslim minority who openly criticized Hezbollah. “It is dangerous that there could be a return to assassinations,” said his friend, Ali al-Amine, a fellow Shi’a journalist and Hezbollah critic. The U.N. said Slim was investigating Beirut’s port explosion. Slim studied philosophy and ancient languages at the Sorbonne in Paris before returning to Lebanon in the late ’80s. Over the next decades, he launched projects aimed at documenting Lebanon’s violent history and paving the way for what he hoped would be a more peaceful future, based on secular values and respect for religious diversity.

Ilse Martha Stauffer, 86, died Feb. 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. She and her husband, economist Thomas R. Stauffer, who died in 2005, traveled extensively, spending time in Iran, Ecuador, Russia,

By Nathaniel Bailey Austria, Yemen, Oman, Germany, Norway and Turkey. Ilse followed her husband as he taught economics and Middle East studies at Harvard, the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna and Georgetown University. His article “The Costs to American Taxpayers of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: $3 Trillion,” published in the June 2003 Washington Report is still raising hackles. The economist demonstrated that by 2002 the conflict had cost the U.S. almost four times more than the Vietnam War. Moufida Tlatli, 78, a Tunisian film director, died on Feb. 7, 2021. Tlatli’s 1994 film, “The Silences of the Palace,” a story set in the mid-1960s before Tunisian independence from France, became the first international hit for a female filmmaker from the Arab world. Tlatli’s achievements are celebrated by women in the Arab world’s traditionally patriarchal film industry. “Silences” has a visibility that outshines the achievements of other films, according to Rasha Salti, a programmer for Arab film festivals.

Ahmed Zaki Yamani, 90, a Saudi Arabian politician who served as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from 1962 to 1986, and a minister in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 25 years, died on Feb. 23, 2021 in London. Born in Mecca, Yamani held degrees from New York University School of Law, Harvard Law School, and the University of Exeter before becoming a close adviser to the Saudi government in 1958 and oil minister in 1962. Known for his calm persona and diplomatic skills, Yamani rose to global prominence with his role in assisting Saudi Arabia obtain a dominating presence in OPEC, as well as in the 1973 oil embargo. Yamani was dismissed from his positions in 1986, and went on to found the London-based consulting firm, the Center for Global Energy Studies. ■

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AET’s 2021 Choir of Angels

the following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2021 and March 17, 2021 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt aet library endowment (federal id #52-1460362) and the american educational trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. some angels are helping us co-sponsor the annual israellobbyCon. others are donating to our “Capital Building fund,” which will help us expand and add coffee service to the Middle east Books and More bookstore. thank you all for helping us survive the turmoil caused by the pandemic. We are deeply honored by your conﬁdence and profoundly grateful for your generosity.

HUMMERS ($100 or more)

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May 2021 Vol. XL, No. 3

People play tug-of-war during a celebration of the annual Nowruz festival in Bamiyan province, central Afghanistan, on March 21, 2021, the start of the year 1400 in the Persian calendar. Nowruz is a public holiday in Afghanistan, and Afghans celebrate the day by holding conferences, organizing stage shows, exhibitions and airing colorful programs on TV. (Photo by Azimi/XinhuA viA Getty)

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs - May 2021 - Vol. XL No. 3

Articles inside

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2021 aet Choir oF aNgels

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Middle east books reVieW

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