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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. BenMenashe 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 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

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 unPHOTO BY CREATIVE TOUCH IMAGING LTD./NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES derstanding. 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’ famIN JUST DAYS, leading up to the fourth anniversary of the attack on ilies heal. “We saw national support after [the mosque the Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City, the Canadian government shooting] and a rejection of violence and hate,” he said. announced it had named Jan. 29 the National Day of Remembrance However, with time passing, the sorrow as well as solidarity, of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action Against Islamophobia. starts to fade. He maintained that the federal government’s That was the day, in 2017, when Alexandre Bissonnette killed decision to designate Jan. 29 as a National Day of Rememsix men and critically injured five others inside the mosque brance was a “very good step in the right direction.” during evening prayers. Guillet said Bissonnette had been influenced by Donald

“Any terrorist attack on any place of worship is reprehen- Trump’s presidency, the shooting at the church in North Carsible,” said Tasneem Vali, vice chair of the Manitoba Islamic olina and that he had consulted websites about other masAssociation. After the killing, mosques in Winnipeg began sacres. “These young people, they learn from each other,” thinking about security guards, metal detectors and lock- he warned. down drills, “in places where families should not have to pro- He said that what Canadians need now is a clear piece tect or defend themselves.” of legislation that defines Islamophobia. In November 2020, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled the consecutive life sentences given to Bissonnette in 2019 were unconstitutional and changed his sentence to 25 years CANADA ADDS PROUD BOYS AND 13 OTHER GROUPS TO TERROR WATCH LIST without parole. Bissonnette will be eligible for parole when Members of Parliament passed a motion on Jan. 25, calling on Candice Bodnaruk has been involved in Palestinian issues for the past 14 years through organizations such as the Canadian BDS the federal government to list the Proud Boys as a terrorist group. New Democratic Party (NDP) leader, Jagmeet Singh, started a peCoalition and Peace Alliance Winnipeg. Her political action started tition to label the far-right group a terrorist organization after the with feminism and continued with the peace movement, first with Jan. 6 riots in Washington, DCand on Feb. 3, Canada became the No War on Iraq Coalition in 2003 in Winnipeg. the first country to ban the white nationalist group. The decision

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.

BERNARD WEIL/TORONTO STAR VIA GETTY

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.

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 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. ■

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The Man Who Bought Washington

By Eric S. Margolis

MOST BILLIONAIRES spend government agencies were simitheir money on mansions, yachts, larly purged, including the CIA airplanes and much younger and Voice of America. Media wives. But not so casino mogul commentators who did not toe the Sheldon Adelson who died in Las pro-Likud line were consigned to Vegas on Jan. 11, aged 87. obscurity.

Adelson rose from humble ori- In Israel, Adelson was even gins. He used his $33 billion plus more direct. He created a free gambling fortune to buy governments in order to fulfill his passion for Zionism. He became one of the single most important private political influences in both the United States and Israel. Throughhispoliticalaction committeesandcharities,Adelsonfocusedthehugepowerofhis moneyonexpandingIsrael’sborders,squeezingPalestiniansinto PHOTO BY AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES newspaper, Israel Today, to support the policies of Netanyahu and his Likud Party. Adelson played an important role in crushing Israel’s peace parties that opposed Netanyahu. After years of lavish spending, Adelson ended up giving marching orders to both Trump and Netanyahu. As a Parthian shaft, the departing Trump muscled the eversmallerghettos,andensur- Sheldon Adelson was buried in Jerusalem's Mount of Olives Jewish Arab states of the UAE, Bahrain ingthattheJewishstatereceived cemetery on Jan. 15, 2021. and Morocco to come out of the almostunlimitedAmericanmilitary,financialandpoliticalsupport. closet to recognize Israel and ditch the Palestinians. Orders from

Over recent years, Adelson gave at least $150 million to Donald Washington could not be ignored by these monarchies. Trump and the Republican Party. That’s a lot of money for nickel and Trump’s other pillar of support was America’s Christian fundamendime politicians. Adelson also financed a host of political action com- talists. As author Upton Sinclair wrote before WWII, “when fascism mittees, mostly with tax-deductible funds. Some sources even spoke comes to America, it will be under the sign of the cross.” Some in of $11 billion worth of political donations. Those few legislators who the mob of pro-Trump thugs that stormed Congress were waving did not kowtow to Adelson or the idea of a “Greater Israel” were “Jesus saves” banners, but these were quickly deleted from later TV quickly subjects of his wrath and sharp political attacks. U.S. senators news reports. Still, extreme Christian rightists remain a powerful Newt Gingrich and Marco Rubio became major recipients of dona- force in American life and seemingly limitless support for Israel. They tions from kingmaker Adelson. However, the most important recipient are also the key power bloc in the Republican Party. was Donald Trump. As I wrote three years ago, the Republican Party has become a

An important part of Trump’s political funding came from Adelson’s religious cult. It has nothing at all in common with the old, moderate casinos and a coterie of ardently pro-Israel billionaires. Many were party of Lincoln or Eisenhower. The new Republicans are found in linked to Israel’s rightwing Likud Party. In fact, one of Trump’s prime the southern and midwest Bible Belt that brought the U.S. prohibition political goals was aiding Israel’s hard expansionist government led and racial politics. by Binyamin Netanyahu. Donald Trump was clever enough to gain control of America’s

Critics accused Trump of being a Trojan Horse for Israel’s far right. new Republicans by setting himself up as a quasi-religious Biblical The U.S. State Department was gutted by Trump and his hatchet- figure. Many of his apparently bizarre actions were political theater man Mike Pompeo, allegedly for harboring too many “old Mideast” designed to play to religious fundamentalists or to the type of primhands who were insufficiently submissive to Israel’s demands. Other itives who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist and the author of American Raj: liberation or dominaIn spite of this monstrous political crime, the Republicans remain firmly under Trump’s thumb and almost in power. The next midterm tion? Resolving the Conflict Between the West and the Muslim elections might well bring them back to power. Trump and his World (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). rightwing Israeli allies are counting the days. ■

Legendary Leaders Lost in 2021

By Delinda C. Hanley

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 writing 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, wereclose 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 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.

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 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. ■