Washington Report on Middle East Affairs - August/September 2021 - Vol. XL No. 5

cover1.qxp_August/September 2019 Cover 7/14/21 2:06 PM Page 1

“END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID” CONFERENCE

DISPLAY UNTIL 9/21/2021

ANERA_ad_c2.qxp_ANERA Ad Cover 2 7/13/21 2:00 PM Page c2

The Palestinian n people face massive cha allenges to recoverr and rebuiild in Gaza.

With your sup W pport Anera iss delivering urgent r relief and medicines, and responding to o the reconstrruction challe enges ahead.

Photo: Two Palestinian men stand amid the rubble of an apartment buildin ng destroyed by Israelii bombing in Gaza City, May 2021 | Photo by Mohammed Zannoun (@m.z.gaza)

anera.or a g/donate WashReportJune2021 h indd dd 1

6/1/2021 12:48:40 PM

tocr1_3-4.qxp_August-September 2021 TOC 7/15/21 3:01 PM Page 3

TELLING THE TRUTH SINCE 1982

Volume XL, No. 5

On Middle East Affairs

INTERPRETING THE MIDDLE EAST FOR NORTH AMERICANS

✮

August/September 2021

INTERPRETING NORTH AMERICA FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

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

8

10

The People vs. Mahmoud Abbas: Are the Palestinian Authority’s Days Numbered?—Ramzy Baroud Amid Anti-Abbas Protests, Israel Arrests Prominent Palestinian Lawyer—Max Saltman

11

24

“Intel Mapping” i.e. Home Invasions—A Humdrum Routine for Israeli Soldiers—Jonathan Cook

14

27

18 20

Palestinians: The Final Victims of the Holocaust —Allan C. Brownfeld

Beyond Settler Colonialism in Palestine—John Gee

22

32

The Lobby is Right: “Dual Loyalty” is a Misleading Claim—Walter L. Hixson

Israel-Hamas Fighting Draws Congressional Attention, But Little Action—Shirl McArthur Someone Remembers These Children: A Beam of Light from Ireland to Gaza—Mohammed Omer

SPECIAL REPORTS

Destruction as a Tool of Oppression in the U.S. and Israel—Dr. M. Reza Behnam

London, Ontario Business Declares Apartheid Free Zone—Candice Bodnaruk

30

34

36

Even the Israeli Left Voted for Racist Palestinian Family Separation Law—Asa Winstanley

16

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Bombshell—Ian Williams

Resets and Realpolitik: Biden and Erdogan Meet —Jonathan Gorvett

The Second Berlin Conference on Libya: Is America Back on the World Stage?—Mustafa Fetouri

TALKS FROM THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE: END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?

40 43 47

Elaborating on the B’Tselem Report—Richard Falk

The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism —Thomas Suárez

How the U.S. Shielding of Israel at the U.N. Erodes International Law—Ian Williams

ON THE COVER: Nana Al-Akkad, 8, from Khan Younis, poses on June 6, 2021 in Gaza City, Palestine, with the only surviving ornamental fish she managed to rescue from her home, damaged during the Israeli attack on Gaza. The 11-day bombardment ended on May 21, 2021, after Egypt brokered a ceasefire agreement.

(PHOTO BY MOMEN FAIZ/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES)

tocr1_3-4.qxp_August-September 2021 TOC 7/15/21 3:01 PM Page 4

(A Supplement to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs available by subscription at $15 per year. To subscribe, call toll-free 1-888-8815861.)

Other Voices

Compiled by Janet McMahon

“Death to the Jews” Would Have Caused an International Scandal, Yet Israel’s Incitement Gets a Free Pass, Asa Winstanley, Middle East Monitor OV-1 Israel Renews the Use of Indefinite Detention Against Palestinian Citizens, Yoav Haifawi, http://mondoweiss.net OV-2 Israel Claimed Its 1967 Land Conquests Weren’t Planned. Declassified Documents Reveal Otherwise, Adam Raz, Haaretz Palestine’s Forgotten Oil And Gas Resources, Mahmoud Elkhafif, www.aljazeera.com

OV-3

OV-5

Zionist Academics Take the Side of State Power, Lawrence Davidson, www.tothepointanalyses.com

OV-6

There Are Not “Dual Narratives” When it Comes to Justice, Nada Elia, http://mondoweiss.net

OV-8

What’s Behind Ireland’s Support For Palestine?, Ruairi Casey, www.aljazeera.com

OV-10

U.S. Hawks Push Hard-line Presidential Candidate in Iran, Ryan Costello, www.responsiblestatecraft.org

OV-11

What NPR’s “All Things Considered” Won’t Tell You About the Iran Nuclear Issue, John Hickman, www.juancole.com

OV-12

Key Assange Witness Recants—With Zero Corporate Media Coverage, Alan Macleod, www.FAIR.org

OV-13

The Afghan Army We Tried, But Failed, to Build, John Allen Gay, www.responsiblestatecraft.org

OV-14

Neocons Take Aim at Turkey, Matthew Petti, www.responsiblestatecraft.org

OV-15

DEPARTMENTS 5 Publishers’ Page

6 letters to the editor 52 huMaN rights:

Equality for Some: Challenges to Women’s Rights in Egypt

53 WagiNg PeaCe:

What Does Raisi’s Election Mean for Iran?

60 MusiC & arts:

Yemen Through the Lens of

Contemporary Artists

62 Middle east books revieW

This earlier photo of Nana Al-Akkad with her cousin Ahmad and the fish they saved, snapped by Mahmoud al-Akkad on May 16, went viral during Israel’s assault on Gaza.

68 the World looks at the Middle east —CARToonS

70 other PeoPle’s Mail

74 2021 aet Choir oF aNgels 38 iNdeX to advertisers

pubs_5.qxp_Publishers Page 7/15/21 5:32 PM Page 5

Says Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy in response to Israel’s “sadistic decision not to release Khalida Jarrar from prison to attend her daughter’s funeral.” Suha Jarrar, 31, who worked for the Palestinian rights group AlHaq, was recently found dead, apparently from cardiac arrest. Her mother heard the news of her child’s death on the radio. “Damn this new government, which presumed to herald a change, and none of whose ministers acted to oppose the evil institutions that decided to leave Jarrar in prison....Jarrar is a political prisoner.

After a sequence of arrests without trial, she was sentenced to two years in prison for ‘belonging to an illegal organization,’ in a land where there is no organization that is permitted to Palestinians.” Levy notes that the authorities who did this are also parents.

“All that was needed was...

PHOTO BY ISSAM RIMAWI/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IM-

“Damn Them All”

American Educational Trust

Publishers’ Page

tures on the policy conference, and there is a reason for that.” In the void of the AIPAC conference, we hope members of Congress come to hear a more representative sample of opinions about Israel and Palestine.

Conference on Israeli Apartheid

AIPAC is cancelling its public events, but we continue to push forward virtually—and soon physically!

The Washington Report and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) cosponsored a twoday web-based conference titled “End U.S. Support for Israeli Apartheid?” on April 17 and April 24, 2021. In this issue, pp. 40-51, as Suha Jarrar (l) welcomes home her mother Khalida Jarrar, a well as the previous June/July and member of Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of upcoming issue, we edited and conPalestine (PFLP) and former lawmaker on the Palestinian densed for clarity some of these Legislative Council (PLC), in Nablus on Feb. 28, 2019. Khal- talks. Also consider attending the ida Jarrar endured 20-months of administrative of detention, March 3 and 4, 2022 conference only to again be imprisoned by Israel.

“Transcending the Israel Lobby at A Tiny Degree of Humanity.”

Home and Abroad.” Let’s get together and talk about how to end U.S. aid professor has repeatedly called for HarSuch dignity has also not been extended for apartheid Israel once and for all. vard to divest $200 million it has invested to the residents of Sheikh Jarrah and in companies he describes as “complicit Silwan in East Jerusalem, where the joint Calling All Angels! in the Israeli occupation.” In his letter, West effort by settlers and the Israeli state to tells the “unvarnished truth about the forcibly displace thousands of people conWe’re more than half way through the year decadence in our market-driven universitinues. In July, Israel demolished homes in and usually by now our Choir of Angels fills ties! Let us bear witness against this spirSilwan, to facilitate the construction of a almost two pages. Please don’t wait for our itual rot!” We call on our readers to support biblical theme park. Such a move violates “Donation Appeal” to arrive in your mailbox!

Professor West and others who take a the core teachings of the Bible, and of (It hasn’t been written!!) To be honest, moral stand and confront donors and incourse, modern international law. But that we’ve had a really hard time keeping up stitutions with a Zionist agenda. doesn’t seem to matter to Israel. We enwith breaking news in nearly every part of courage all readers to use the postcard in the Middle East this summer and deciding AIPAC Cancels its 2022 Gathering this issue to demand that the U.S. governwhich articles to print in each issue. Which ment stop funding Israel as long as its webinars do our small staff select to cover?

The American Israel Public Affairs Comapartheid policies, such as the ethnic We consider the Washington Report the mittee (AIPAC) recently announced they cleansing of East Jerusalem, continue. record keeper that readers can turn to in are cancelling their 2022 conference, citing the future when they’re trying to figure out the pandemic. While the group will unA Taboo Issue what really happened. Will Middle East hisdoubtedly continue to work behind the tory be written by the current victors, scenes, the strength of AIPAC’s annual U.S. Professor Cornel West announced colonists and corporate media, or the jourevent has always been the organization’s his resignation from Harvard University’s nalists who report on the people who paability to mobilize nearly 20,000 people to Divinity School on June 30 by posting his tiently or impatiently demand their rights physically lobby on Capitol Hill. As Israel blistering resignation letter on Twitter. and a world that upholds international law? lobby expert Grant F. Smith has noted, West is certain his criticism of Israel is the Help us continue to publish the Washing“The core purpose of the gathering is keepprincipal reason he was denied tenure and ton Report and support the best little ing members of Congress in line....The faced discrimination. On the Tight Rope Middle East bookstore in North America. amount AIPAC discloses that it spends on podcast, he said speaking about Israel’s its own dozen or so professional lobbyists occupation of Palestine “is a taboo issue is quite small compared to the expendiamong certain circles in high places.” The Make a Difference Today!

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

5

lte_6-7.qxp_AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7/15/21 12:20 PM Page 6

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

6

LetterstotheEditor THE DATA SHOWS ISRAEL DOES NOT NEED U.S. SUPPORT

Following the latest chapter in the IsraelPalestine “conflict,” America’s unshakable commitment to Israel is beginning to unravel. Images of the wholesale destruction of Gaza and the slaughter of so many innocent Palestinians beamed into our living rooms and has shaken many Americans. More and more Americans are asking why their country is propping up apartheid Israel. Why are we sending economic and military aid to subjugate and terrorize indigenous Palestinians in their homeland, much like the genocide of the Native Americans?

A large part of the answer is that the Biden White House and prior U.S. administrations have buckled under the relentless political pressure of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other powerful Jewish organizations.

In a recent broadcast, Fareed Zakaria shared some startling statistics: “Israel’s per capita GDP dwarves that of its neighbors. It is 14 times that of Egypt, eight times that of Iran, six times that of Lebanon and nearly double that of Saudi Arabia. Israel has built an industrial and information age economy that excels in highly sophisticated arenas like artificial intelligence, aviation, computer aided design and biotechnology. It spends five percent of its GDP on research and development, more than any country. It has built up foreign exchange reserves of more than $180 billion, placing it 13th in the world, just ahead of the United Kingdom.”

For a nation of nine million people, it hardly merits annual U.S. handouts. Israel exceeds Iran’s defense budget and has a qualitative military edge on all of its regional rivals. It remains the only nuclear power in the Middle East, with at least 100 warheads. There is therefore a compelling case for immediately halting all military aid to Israel and redirecting it to its second-class citizens, the Palestinians.

Jagjit Singh, Los Altos, CA

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

THE MYTHOLOGY OF MYRIAD THREATS TO ISRAEL

In his speech at the “End U.S. Support for Israeli Apartheid” conference, former congressman Brian Baird analyzed the U.S.’ unqualified support for Israel based on several “m’s”: money, mythology, malfeasance and millenarianism.

Each of these “m’s” is very important, but I would like to address particularly the mythology one, which deals with the David and Goliath myth, which promotes the idea of “the beleaguered Israelis being besieged by all of the Arab nations.”

Israel likes to continue to promote the idea of “poor little Israel” against surrounding belligerent nations, without allowing for the overwhelming military, nuclear and cyber power of Israel against these weak countries (plus of course unconditional U.S. support).

Doris Rausch, Tullahoma, TN

ISRAEL IS AN EXPENSIVE AND DANGEROUS “ALLY”

Israel’s brutal occupation and oppression of the Palestinians includes land and water theft, home demolitions, targeted assassinations, daily Jewish settler violence against Palestinians and their property, and a strangulating blockade on the suffering population of Gaza.

Israel gets away with committing these atrocities because U.S. politicians from both parties finance, arm and give diplomatic cover to Israel in return for campaign donations from billionaire proIsrael donors.

Not only did Israel and its lobby help drag us into a disastrous war in Iraq, they also have attempted to prod the U.S. into a confrontation with Iran. Our “special relationship” with Israel is the most dangerous and expensive alliance in our nation’s history, draining our treasury and killing Americans.

Ray Gordon, Venice, FL

COMPLICIT IN ISRAELI ABUSES

American rifles manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co., headquartered in Connecticut, are the weapon of choice for the IsAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

lte_6-7.qxp_AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7/15/21 12:20 PM Page 7

rael Defense Forces (IDF), purrity forces of the Palestinian AuKEEP THOSE CARDS AND LETTERS portedly for “crowd control.” In thority, whose main task is faciliCOMING! Dec. 2020, Ali Abu Alia, age 15, tating Israel’s gradual annexation Send your letters to the editor to the Washington Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009 was killed by an IDF soldier in Ali's of the occupied West Bank. or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>.

West Bank hometown of alMeanwhile, Israel also interMughayer as he watched a feres in Palestinian democratic demonstration by unarmed Palestinians It would take a Jonathan Swift to truly activities. These tactics include arresting against home confiscations. He is one of show the madness of Mr. Stephens’ pipe candidates, blocking access to West many in the West Bank and Gaza who dream scenario. By choosing every posBank areas and preventing elections in have been killed or injured by use of this sible negative occurrence at every fork in East Jerusalem for “security” reasons. weapon. Sturm, Ruger & Co. claims no the road, he makes his entirely inane arThese actions undermine Israel’s selfresponsibility, saying it does not control gument that the Palestinians and the Isproclaimed status as the Middle East’s where its rifles are sold. raelis are far better off maintaining their sole democracy.

If Sturm, Ruger & Co. is not responsipresent relationship of one side dominatSince Canada and the U.S. provide ble, then the U.S. certainly is. The 1997 ing the other. diplomatic and military support to Israel, Leahy Law and its updates prohibit the Similar arguments could have been the citizens of the two countries should U.S. from providing funds for assistance made against the deconstruction of colohold Israel to the same standards we exor training to foreign security forces nial rule in Africa and Asia. If only the pect from our own governments. Unforwhere there is credible information that British, French and Portuguese retunately, protecting Israeli exceptionalthese forces have committed a gross viomained, how much evil, how many ism and impunity remains the official prilation of human rights. Numerous interdeaths might have been avoided. And ority of both countries. national human rights organizations have consider our American Revolution and Morgan Duchesney, Ottawa, ON ■ verified Israel’s deplorable human rights how it divided the colonial popurecord toward the non-Jewish population lation causing so many to flee to within its claimed borders. Yet year after Canada. And all these events year the U.S. provides Israel with billions led to yet another war in 1812. of dollars (currently $3.8 billion per Yes, if only we had stayed under annum) so it can receive Americanthe British yoke, how many bad made weapons like the Ruger .22 rifle for consequences might have been its “security.” avoided.

Knowing that this rifle in the hands of As a lawyer, I would often the IDF is responsible for so many bend reality a bit to persuade judeaths and permanent injuries of Palesries, but never so much as to tinians, it would seem like a good time to make my arguments appear to apply the Leahy Law restrictions to be ridiculous fantasies. Bret Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s export of its lethal Stephens apparently knows no product. Raising this with the Biden State such limits in arguing for the Department may be the next step. continuation of the victimization For a coalition working on this, see of a weak and struggling popu<NoRugers2Israel.org>. lation.

Gail Page, Concord, NH Geoffrey Abrams, New York, NY

BRET STEPHENS’ FANCIFUL PROCOLONIALISM TAKE

In a recent New York Times column, Bret Stephens outlined the many evils he foresees if the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank were to be suddenly granted freedom to determine their own future. To continue his line of reasoning: Does he think Hamas, after taking over the Palestinian state, would then invade Europe, starting with Italy, Austria and then Poland? And that it would only be a matter of time before they invaded the U.S. through the liberal northeast and with the help of Jewish Voice for Peace?

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

THE CORRUPTION OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

Well-known activist Nizar Banat’s June 24 death at the hands of Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces is a harsh reminder of the PA’s attitude toward Palestinians who dare to criticize their authoritarian policies and security cooperation with Israel.

Behind the façade of peace enhancement, Canada and the U.S. support and train the secu-

OTHER VOICES is an optional 16-page supplement available only to subscribers of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. For an additional $15 per year (see postcard insert for Washington Report subscription rates), subscribers will receive Other Voices inside each issue of their Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Back issues of both publications are available.

To subscribe telephone 1 (888) 881-5861, fax (714) 226-9733, e-mail circulation@wrmea. org>, or write to P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 908091056.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

7

baroud_8-9.qxp_From the Diaspora 7/14/21 11:42 AM Page 8

From the Diaspora

The People vs. Mahmoud Abbas: Are the Palestinian Authority’s Days Numbered?

Palestinian security forces push protesters during a demonstration calling for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to quit, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on June 24, 2021, following the death of Palestinian human rights activist Nizar Banat.

“THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY’S days are numbered.” This assertion has been oft repeated recently, especially after the torture to death on June 24 of a popular Palestinian activist, Nizar Banat, 42, at the hands of PA security goons in Hebron (Al-Khalil).

The killing—or “assassination’’ as some Palestinian rights groups describe it—of Banat, however, is commonplace. Torture in PA prisons is the modus operandi, through which Palestinian interrogators exact “confessions.” Palestinian political prisoners in PA custody

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>.

8

are usually divided into two main groups: activists who are suspected by Israel of being involved in anti-Israeli occupation activities, and others who have been detained for voicing criticism of the PA’s corruption or subservience to Israel.

In a 2018 report by Human Rights Watch, the group spoke of “dozens of arrests,” carried out by the PA “for critical posts on social media platforms.” Banat fits perfectly into this category, as he was one of the most persistent and outspoken activists, whose many videos and social media posts exposed and embarrassed the PA leadership of Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party. Unlike others, Banat named names and called for severe measures against those who squander Palestinian public funds and betray the causes of the Palestinian people.

Banat had been arrested by PA police several times in the past.

In May, gunmen attacked his home, using live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas. He blamed the attacks on Abbas’ Fatah party.

Washington RepoRt on Middle east affaiRs

august/septeMbeR 2021

PHOTO BY ABBAS MOMANI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

By Ramzy Baroud

baroud_8-9.qxp_From the Diaspora 7/14/21 11:42 AM Page 9

His last social media campaign was concerned with the almost-expired COVID-19 vaccines, which the PA received from Israel on June 18. In return, the Palestinians were supposed to give Israel vaccines they expected from the Pfizer organization later in the year. Because of public pressure by activists like Banat, the PA was forced to return the Israeli vaccines which, before then, were touted as a positive gesture by Israel’s new Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett.

When the PA men descended on Banat’s house on June 24, the ferocity of their violence was unprecedented. His cousin, Ammar, spoke of how nearly 25 PA security personnel raided Banat’s house, pepper-sprayed him while in bed and “began beating him with iron bars and wooden batons.” After stripping him naked, they dragged him into a vehicle. An hour and a half later, the family learned the fate of their son through a WhatsApp group.

Despite initial denial, under pressure from thousands of protesters throughout the West Bank, the PA was forced to admit that Banat’s death was “unnatural.” The PA’s Justice Minister, Mohammed al-Shalaldeh, told Palestine TV that an initial medical report indicated that Banat was subjected to physical violence.

This supposed explosive revelation was meant to demonstrate that the PA is willing to examine and take responsibility for its action. However, this is simply untrue as, one, the PA has never taken responsibility for its past violence and, two, violence is the cornerstone of the PA’s very existence.

Arbitrary arrests, torture and suppression of peaceful protests are synonymous with PA security as numerous reports by rights groups, whether in Palestine or internationally, have indicated.

So, is it true that “the Palestinian Authority’s days are numbered?” To consider this question, it is important to examine the rationale behind the PA’s very existence, and also to compare that initial purpose to what has transpired in the following years.

The PA was founded in 1994 as a transitional national authority with the purpose of guiding the Palestinian people through the process of, ultimately, national liberation, following the “final status negotiaAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

tions,” set to conclude by the end of 1999.

Many years have elapsed, since, without a single political achievement to the PA’s name. This does not mean that the PA, from the viewpoint of its leadership and Israel, has been a total failure, as the PA security continued to fulfill the most important role entrusted to it: security coordination with the Israeli occupation, i.e. protecting illegal Jewish settlers in the West Bank and doing Israel’s dirty bidding in PA-run autonomous Palestinian areas. In exchange, the PA received billions of dollars from U.S.-led “donor countries” and from Palestinian taxes collected on its behalf by Israel.

That same paradigm is still at work, but for how much longer? Following the Palestinian revolt in May, the Palestinian people have exhibited unprecedented national unity and resolve that have transcended factional lines, and have daringly called for the removal of Abbas from power, rightly linking the Israeli occupation with the PA’s corruption.

Since the mass protests in May, the PA’s official discourse has been marred by confusion, desperation and panic. PA leaders, including Abbas, tried to position themselves as revolutionary leaders. They spoke of “resistance,” “martyrs,” and even “revolution,” while simultaneously renewing their commitment to the “peace process” and the American agenda in Palestine.

As Washington resumed its financial support of Abbas’ Authority after it was disrupted by former U.S. President Donald Trump, the PA hoped to return to the status quo; that of relative stability, financial abundance and political relevance. The Palestinian people, however, seem to have moved on, as demonstrated in the mass protests—always met with violent response by PA security throughout the West Bank, including Ramallah, the seat of the PA’s power.

Even the slogans have changed. Following Banat’s murder, thousands of protesters in Ramallah, representing all strands of Palestinian society, called on Abbas, 85, to leave, referring to his security goons as “baltajieh” and “shabeha”—or thugs— terms borrowed from Arab protesters

during the early years of various Middle Eastern revolts.

This change in discourse points to a critical shift in the relationship between ordinary Palestinians—emboldened and ready to stage a mass revolt against Israeli occupation and colonialism—and their quisling, corrupt and self-serving so-called leadership. It is important to note that no aspect of this Palestinian Authority enjoys an iota of democratic credentials. Indeed, on April 30, Abbas canceled the general election that was scheduled to be held in Palestine in May, based on flimsy excuses.

The PA has proven to be an obstacle in the face of Palestinian freedom, with no credibility among Palestinians. It clings on to power only because of U.S. and Israeli support. Whether this Authority’s days are numbered or not, depends on whether the Palestinian people prove that their collective will is stronger than the PA and its benefactors. Historical experience has taught us that the Palestinian people will eventually prevail. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

(Advertisement)

9

saltman_10,38.qxp_Special Report 7/15/21 2:57 PM Page 10

Special Report

Palestinian human rights activist Farid al-Atrash gives a press conference as part of Amnesty International's “Human rights day,” on Nov. 30, 2017 in Paris. He was arrested on July 4 after a protest.

ISRAELI FORCES arrested Palestinian human rights lawyer Farid al-Atrash at a checkpoint near East Jerusalem on July 4, according to a press release from the Hebron-based activist group Youth Against Settlements. At the time of his arrest, al-Atrash was traveling to Bethlehem from a protest against the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah.

According to a statement by the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), of which al-Atrash is chair, he was transferred to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem soon after his arrest. The reason why remains unclear, though Israeli police confirmed al-Atrash’s arrest in a statement and said that the lawyer had been taken into custody for “rioting.”

Though al-Atrash has taken part in peaceful actions against the Israeli occupation in the past, his most recent efforts have focused on the PA’s human rights violations. In response to the murder of Palestinian journalist Nizar Banat, who was clubbed to death in PA custody in June, thousands of Palestinians gathered in Ramallah to protest against President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party.

Max Saltman is an editorial intern at the Washington Report.

10

Issa Amro, founder of Youth Against Settlements, said in an interview with the Washington Report that al-Atrash’s arrest was an unusual move on Israel’s part. Although the police and military frequently detain Palestinian activists, in this case Israel appears to have arrested al-Atrash on behalf of the PA. “What is abnormal is that [Israel arrested al-Atrash] to protect a crime, a human rights crime by the PA,” said Amro, referring to Banat’s death. “Farid was one of the main mobilizers of the Palestinian peaceful protesters against the PA killing of Nizar Banat.”

Though the PA is the de jure government for the Palestinian people, Amro described it as a “sub-contractor” of Israel, noting that the PA has arrested him on numerous occasions for his work as a nonviolence advocate and activist in Hebron. Only a few days before Banat’s death, Amro had been arrested and released by Palestinian police. “[Youth Against Settlements] are banned by the PA,” Amro said, “and all for only peacefully protesting the Israeli occupation.”

In April, Abbas announced that planned Palestinian elections would be canceled after a dispute over voting in East Jerusalem.

The move was vociferously criticized by Palestinians, especially the youth. Because the PA has not held an election since 2006, Continued on page 38

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO CREDIT ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Amid Anti-Abbas Protests, Israel Arrests Prominent Palestinian Lawyer

By Max Saltman

cook_11-13r.qxp_The Nakba Continues 7/14/21 8:46 AM Page 11

The Nakba Continues

“Intel Mapping” i.e. Home Invasions— A Humdrum Routine for Israeli Soldiers

By Jonathan Cook

COURTESY B’TSELEM

THE VIDEOS are all over YouTube. Masked Israeli soldiers storm a Palestinian family’s home in the middle of the night. Parents, dressed in nightwear, are suddenly surrounded by heavily armed men in balaclavas.

Young children are forced awake. With a mix of bleary-eyed confusion and fear, they are made to answer questions posed to them in broken Arabic by these faceless, armed strangers. They are lined up in one room while the soldiers take photographs of them holding their identity cards. And then, just as suddenly as they arrived, the masked men disappear into the night.

There are no questions beyond identifying the people in the house. No one is “arrested.” There’s no obvious purpose; just a family’s sense of security permanently wrecked.

To most people watching these startling videos, such scenes look like an Orwellian nightmare. And sure enough, Israel has given this procedure an Orwellian name: “intel mapping.”

Israeli troops entered 10 apartments in Hebron demanding that children be awakened On June 16, under pressure from the courts, the Is- and photographed. B’Tselem camera volunteer Mai Da’na filmed the night search of raeli army announced that it had ended the practice of her home at 3:20 a.m., Feb. 24, 2015. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRj“mapping,” unless—and this loophole could be easily GF5dwg] exploited—there are “exceptional circumstances.”

Given that the families whose homes, privacy and dignity are According to figures compiled by the United Nations, the Israeli invaded are not suspected of any offense, it is difficult to imagine army carried out around 6,400 “search or arrest operations” in 2017 what “exceptional circumstances” might justify these degrading and 2018 alone—with each operation potentially including more and terrifying raids. than one home. Research by Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights In announcing its decision, the Israeli army said that in the digital group, shows that the vast majority of such operations start between age, there were other tools it could use to gain intelligence on Palesmidnight and 5 a.m. tinians. The statement added that it was a humanitarian gesture In a quarter of cases, soldiers break down the door to enter, and aimed at “mitigating the disruption of citizens’ everyday life.” in a third of cases, a family member is physically assaulted. TwoAs a report by three Israeli human rights organizations published thirds of families have experienced these invasions more than once. last November noted, such raids are not a “disruption” but collective “Intel mapping” operations have been particularly difficult for the punishment and therefore a war crime. Or as they observed, “It is army to justify on any kind of security grounds. That led earlier this highly doubtful that any instance of mapping could be considered year to unwelcome scrutiny from Israel’s top court, which gave the legal under international law.” army until August to divulge the wording of its “mapping” protocol.

Nonetheless, these home invasions are commonplace. They are The army’s cancellation of the practice in June means that the raintegral to the Israeli army’s policy of surveilling, controlling and pertionale for traumatizing thousands of Palestinian families over many secuting Palestinians. years will continue to be a secret.

The reality is that “mapping” was never really about building up a more accurate picture of Palestinian society. It has many other, far Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in Nazareth and a winner of the more sinister aims. In practical terms, it is used to train young Israeli Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He is the author of soldiers, familiarizing them with the techniques of invading Palestinian Blood and Religion and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). homes and intimidating Palestinians—all in a safe environment for AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

11

The 3:10 a.m. search of Nayef and Dalal Da’na’s home in Hebron. After the Israeli soldiers left the frightened children were traumatized. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= OLg-1lHPO0A]

the soldiers. The army knows that Palestinian parents will be primarily concerned with protecting their children from the terrifying presence of armed intruders in what should be the family’s safest space.

In testimony to Breaking the Silence, an organization for whistle-blowing Israeli soldiers, one soldier observed, “There’s rarely an operational motivation for it. Often, the motivation is practice, meaning we got a breaching tool [for forcing open doors] for the first time; no one knows how to use it, so it is decided that we break into a house now.”

But there are other, even darker purposes behind these random “mapping” raids. They are part of the gradual process by which the army acculturates its young soldiers into a life of committing habitual war crimes. It breaks down their sense of morality and any remnants of compassion after years of exposure in Israel’s school system to anti-Palestinian racism.

It turns Palestinians into nothing more than objects of suspicion and fear for the soldiers. Or as one Palestinian woman told Yesh Din, “The way they banged and came into the house was like entering somewhere with animals, not people.”

Terrorizing Palestinians, even children, quickly becomes part of the humdrum routine of military “duties.”

But most important of all, home invasions traumatize Palestinians in ways designed 12

to entrench the occupation and make it more permanent. They are a form of psychological warfare—a campaign of terror— against both the families and the communities in which they live. They reinforce the message that the Israeli army is everywhere, controlling the smallest details of Palestinians’ lives.

Several soldiers told Breaking the Silence that the goal was to make Palestinians feel persecuted. One noted, “The bigger mission was to instill a sense of persecution in the Palestinian population. That’s not my phrase, it’s a phrase that actually appeared in [military] presentations and briefings.”

The soldiers take this guidance to heart. One said he understood the purpose of hiding his face “was to be more intimidating, scarier, and then maybe you get less resistance.”

“Mapping” raids are designed to make Palestinians believe that any kind of opposition to the occupation is futile, or counterproductive. They leave permanent scars, as women often describe feeling violated and losing a sense of pride in their home, while men suffer from the trauma associated with being unable to protect their wives and children. Children are left with anxiety and sleep disorders, and they struggle at school.

There is a further goal to these “mapping” operations when Jewish settlements have

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

COURTESY B’TSELEM

cook_11-13r.qxp_The Nakba Continues 7/14/21 8:46 AM Page 12

been built close to the Palestinian families being targeted. Home invasions take place on a regular basis for these families, serving as a form of pressure to encourage them to abandon their homes so the settlers can replace them.

A 2019 U.N. survey of an area of Hebron coveted by settlers found that over a threeyear period, 75 percent of Palestinian homes in the neighborhood had been “mapped.” One resident whose home was raided more than 20 times told Yesh Din researchers, “I think the entry [by soldiers] is just harassment, to drive us out of the house.”

Even some former soldiers understand that the intelligence-gathering rationales for these invasions are bogus. Several told the human rights groups that the intelligence supposedly gained from these operations was never put to later use. None could identify a database where the information was being stored.

Even if the mapping raids were primarily about collecting information, the army has far more effective means to spy on and control the Palestinian population in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The job of Unit 8200, one of the Israeli military’s many intelligence-gathering arms, includes listening in on Palestinian communications to find secrets that can be used to blackmail and extort Palestinians to collaborate with occupation authorities.

A so-called cyber unit in Israel’s justice ministry is tasked with spying on Palestinians’ internet and social media communications. And, as the veteran Israeli reporter Amira Hass has noted, Israel has endless other sources of intelligence on Palestinians: collaborators, the Palestinian population registry that it controls, biometric identity documents, face-recognition technology, questioning at checkpoints, the use of drones, and the seizure of Palestinians for interrogation.

More importantly, the army knows that it can continue as before with these home invasions by using other pretexts. It will subsume “mapping” operations within even more violent categories of night raids—such as the search for weapons, interrogations of children about stone-throwing, or arrests.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

cook_11-13r.qxp_The Nakba Continues 7/14/21 8:47 AM Page 13

Sadly, the Israeli courts have shown a willingness to collude with the army in precisely these kinds of face-saving deceptions and cynical manipulations of language. There is no reason to believe that the Israeli legal system will do anything in practice to ensure that home invasions, whether for “mapping” or any other purpose, come to an end.

The record of Israeli courts has been consistently dismal in protecting Palestinians from Israeli army abuses. Even when the courts do belatedly rule against army protocols that flagrantly violate international law, the army invariably finds ways to undercut the ruling—usually with the court’s complicity.

For years, the army has continued to use Palestinians as human shields, dragging out legal proceedings by recharacterizing the practice as a so-called “neighbor procedure” or “prior warning.”

It is not hard to imagine that “intel mapping” could be given a similar linguistic makeover.

With other military euphemisms, such as “confirming the kill,” which allows soldiers to execute wounded Palestinians to prevent further attack, the court has shown a willingness to allow the army to stretch the protocol’s meaning far beyond breaking point.

In May, an Israeli judge quashed a Gaza family’s 17-year legal battle to win compensation from Israel after an army commander, Captain R, intentionally executed their 14-year-old daughter. He shot her twice in the head from close range and then emptied his magazine into her body after she had been shot and wounded by soldiers on her way to school. A military court acquitted Captain R at the time, and now a civilian judge has effectively condoned the military’s policy these years later.

There is an additional reason to be skeptical of any change to the army’s raid policy: More than 20 years ago, Israel’s top court banned the torture of Palestinian detainees—yet, it continued almost unabated because the court created a loophole for cases defined as “ticking bombs,” when in-

terrogators supposedly faced a race against time to extract information to save lives. After the ruling, it seemed that every Palestinian seized by the army became a “ticking bomb.” Finally, in 2017, the court reversed its 1999 ruling when it permitted torture as long as interrogators did not cross a threshold of pain that it declined to determine in advance.

The reality is that when Israel treats its occupation as permanent, then preserving the occupation’s infrastructure—for surveillance, control, intimidation and humiliation—becomes an absolute necessity.

When the occupier additionally seeks to drive out Palestinians to replace them with its own settler population, the rot runs deeper still. Palestinian men, women and children are reduced to nothing more than pieces to be swept off a chessboard.

For that reason, home invasions—the terrorizing of families in the middle of the night by masked soldiers—are likely to continue, whatever euphemism is used to justify it. ■

(Advertisement)

PALESTINE: OUR CHILDREN, OUR DUTY! KINDERUSA: CARING FOR CHILDREN IN PALESTINE FOR OVER 16 YEARS

WWW.KINDERUSA.ORG

P.O. Box 224846 Dallas, TX 75222-9785 Toll Free 1-888-451-8908 tel 972-664-1991 KIDS IN NEED OF DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND RELIEF

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

KinderUSA is a 501(c)3 non-for-pro t organization. Your donation is tax deductible.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

13

winstanley_14-15.qxp_Special Report 7/14/21 3:27 PM Page 14

Special Report

Even the Israeli Left Voted for Racist Palestinian Family Separation Law

Palestinian newlyweds Yazen Abu Ramooz (r) and Iman Ghaith, both wearing protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, walk in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in Israeli occupied East Jerusalem, on April 17, 2020.

ISRAEL’S PARLIAMENT, the Knesset, failed to pass an extension to Israel’s racist marriage law in July. The law bars the spouses of Palestinian citizens of Israel from receiving citizenship.

This means that Palestinians from Haifa, Acre or Jaffa are effectively banned from marrying Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza and Arabs from a series of other “enemy” states.

I say “effectively” since technically they could marry, but would then be forced to live apart since Palestinians in the West Bank

Asa Winstanley is an investigative journalist living in London, who writes about Palestine and the Middle East. He’s been visiting Palestine since 2004, and he writes for the award-winning news site electronic intifada, and co-hosts The Electronic Intifada podcast. This is a reprint from his regular column in the Middle east Monitor.

14

and Gaza are banned from living inside “Israel proper” by a whole series of other racist laws.

The law does not apply to marriages of Jewish Israeli citizens or to Jewish Israeli settlers in the West Bank. It is indisputably a racist law, discriminating against Arabs.

It was introduced as a supposed “emergency” law in 2003, but until now, it has been renewed annually without fail. However, what that does mean is that the Knesset must vote each year to ensure the law stays in full effect.

But what happened this summer was not some sudden radical change of heart by Israeli lawmakers. It was rather a matter of opportunism by the new opposition, led by Binyamin Netanyahu, the last prime minister. The vote to extend the law failed by the narrowest possible margin, 59 to 59.

Washington RepoRt on Middle east affaiRs

aUgUst/septeMBeR 2021

PHOTO BY AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

By Asa Winstanley

winstanley_14-15.qxp_Special Report 7/14/21 3:27 PM Page 15

Netanyahu and his political allies in the opposition support the law in principle, and have voted to extend it many times in the past. They simply sought to embarrass the fragile new coalition government led by Naftali Bennett (another hard-right racist and a former Netanyahu coalition partner).

Only a tiny minority of six Knesset lawmakers voted against the law as a matter of principle. These were Palestinians from the Joint List group.

In a crude reminder of how all Zionism is racism—and not only the right-wing Zionism promoted by demagogues like Netanyahu and Bennett—even the supposedly “left-wing” Meretz party voted to extend the racist marriage law.

Meretz is part of the new coalition government led by hard-right racist Bennett, so there was an element of political opportunism to Meretz’s vote in favor of the racist law. But mostly, it was ideological: Meretz is a Zionist party, so it voted for a Zionist law.

One of their lawmakers, Yair Golan, ranted against the opposition in the Knesset. He accused Netanyahu and his ultraright allies in the opposition (such as Kahanist party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir) of being in the “anti-Zionist, anti-nationalist camp” and of “betraying the Zionist vision.”

A retired high-ranking military officer, Golan spoke in openly racist terms of the opposition supposedly wanting to “drown Israeli citizens in a sea of Palestinians.”

Some leftist. It was a phrase that could have just as easily come out of the mouths of far-right British personalities Katie Hopkins or Tommy Robinson.

And it wasn’t only Meretz.

Arise Israel, an activist group that had been one of the leaders of the long-running anti-Netanyahu protests, also lashed out against the opposition in racist terms.

This is the consequence of Zionism: the institutionalization of racism across an entire society on every level.

Seeing a video of opposition politician Bezalel Smotrich, another Kahanist, declaring his refusal to vote with the government on the racist marriage law, the group AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

(Advertisement)

responded on Twitter accusing him of: “Voting against the state of Israel and against the security of the state of Israel… shame on you.”

When I broke the story of Assaf Kaplan, the Israeli spy hired by the Labour Party to help run its social media “listening” campaign, Zionists were hard put to come up with a defense. That didn’t stop them from trying though, with one weakly describing Kaplan as an “anti-Netanyahu protester.”

Irrelevant. As their behavior in Israel this July shows, the Zionist “left” is equally as racist as the Zionist right.

Israel’s new President Isaac Herzog is another example of that. The failed Israeli Labour Party leader now holds the mainly ceremonial role. He’s being praised as a sensible centrist in the West.

But this is the same guy who said that Jews marrying non-Jews is an “actual plague.” Herzog was formerly a spy in Israel’s violent cybercrime and blackmail operation Unit 8200, and who ran an openly racist election ad in which his comrades gushed that he “understands the Arab mentality” because he has seen “the Arabs” through “the sight of a rifle.”

Progressive Israel! ■

(Advertisement)

A Project of Middle East Children’s Alliance

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

15

brownfeld_16-17r.qxp_Israel and Judaism 7/14/21 9:02 AM Page 16

Israel and Judaism

Allan C. Brownfeld (l) interviewing Holocaust survivor and Hebrew University Professor Israel Shahak, chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1973. Dr. Shahak lamented that Jews, who had suffered so terribly under the Nazis, now mistreat the indigenous population of Palestine. The author of numerous books available at Middle East Books and More believed Israel’s treatment of Palestinians represents a violation of Jewish moral and ethical traditions. He upheld Judaism’s commitment to human rights for men and women of every race, religion and nation.

WHEN WE DISCUSS THE HOLOCAUST and Hitler’s slaughter of six million European Jews, we often forget the fact that the Holocaust had other victims as well, namely the Palestinians, whose country was taken from them. They were innocent victims as the world sought to make a place for Jews who had been displaced by the Nazi tyranny, and wished to do so in a way that did not involve inviting Jewish refugees into their own countries.

Zionism was from the beginning a minority movement among Jews. It was created, notes Jeff Halper, in his important new book Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine, by “...Jews with little knowledge of Palestine and its peoples, who launched a movement of Jewish return to its ancestral homeland…after a national absence of 2,000 years….In their eyes, the Arabs of Palestine were mere background.…Palestine was, as the famous Zionist phrase put it,

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.

16

‘a land without a people.’ The European Zionists knew the land was peopled, of course, but to them the Arabs did not amount to ‘a people.’”

Halper, an anthropologist, is a Jewish American who emigrated to Israel and heads the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. From the very beginning, he points out, “Zionism…attracted but a tiny fraction of the world’s Jews in its formative years. Only 3 percent of the 2 million Jews who left Eastern Europe between 1882 and 1914 went to Palestine, and many of those subsequently emigrated to other countries.”

Ironically, the leading Jewish voices in the late 19th and early 20th century rejected Zionism, while it was embraced by anti-Semites as a way to remove unwanted Jews from their own countries. For Reform Jews, the idea of Zionism contradicted almost completely their belief in a universal, prophetic Judaism. The first Reform prayerbook eliminated references to Jews being in exile and to a Messiah who would miraculously restore Jews throughout the world to the historic land of Israel. The prayerbook eliminated all prayers for a

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO COURTESY ALLAN C. BROWNFELD

Palestinians: The Final Victims of the Holocaust

By Allan C. Brownfeld

brownfeld_16-17r.qxp_Israel and Judaism 7/14/21 9:02 AM Page 17

return to Zion. The respected rabbi Abraham Geiger argued that Judaism developed through an evolutionary process, which began with God’s revelation to the Hebrew prophets. That revelation was progressive; new truth became available to every generation. The essence of Judaism was ethical monotheism.

In 1897, the Central Conference of American Rabbis adopted a resolution disapproving of any attempt to establish a Jewish state. The resolution declared, “Zion was a precious possession of the past…as such it is a holy memory, but it is not our hope of the future. America is our Zion.”

While most Jews opposed Zionism, many anti-Semites embraced it. Peter Beinart, an editor for Jewish Currents, writes in The Guardian: “Some of the world leaders who most ardently promoted Jewish statehood did so because they did not want Jews in their countries. Before declaring, as foreign secretary in 1917, that Britain ‘views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,’ Arthur Balfour supported the 1905 Aliens Act, which restricted Jewish immigration to the United Kingdom…Two years after his famous declaration, Balfour said Zionism would mitigate the age-long miseries created for Western civilization by the presence in its midst of a Body (the Jews) which it too long regarded as alien and even hostile, but was equally unable to expel or absorb.”

In England, most Jewish leaders opposed the Balfour Declaration. A Jewish member of Lloyd George’s cabinet, Secretary of State for India Edwin Montagu, insisted that Jews be regarded as a religious community. He used the term “anti-Semitism” to characterize the sponsors of the Balfour Declaration. A document he issued on August 23, 1917 was titled, “The AntiSemitism of the Present Government.”

From the very start of Jewish settlement in Palestine, Zionist leaders were quite open in making it clear that they wanted to remove the country’s indigenous population. As far back as 1914, Moshe Sharett, a future Israeli prime minister, declared, “We have forgotten that we have not come to an empty land to inherit it, but we have AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

come to conquer a country from a people inhabiting it, that governs it by virtue of its language and savage culture…. If we seek to look upon our land, the Land of Israel, as ours alone and we allow a partner into our estate—all content and meaning will be lost to our enterprise.”

David Ben-Gurion advocated for “compulsory transfer” of Palestinians. In 1937, he established a Committee for Population Transfer within the Jewish Agency. “Transfer,” of course, is a euphemism for ethnic cleansing, and was carried out at a mass level in 1948 and again in 1967. One of its perpetrators, Yosef Weitz, director of the Jewish National Fund’s Land Settlement Department, wrote, “It must be clear that there is no room in the country for both peoples…The only solution is a Land of Israel without Arabs…There is no way but to transfer the Arabs from here….”

Israeli historian Tom Segev notes that, “Disappearing the Arabs lay at the heart of the Zionist dream, and was also a necessary condition of its realization…With few exceptions, none of the Zionists disputed the desirability of forced transfer—or its morality.”

Another Israeli historian, Ilan Pappé, writes: “By 1945, Zionism had attracted more than half a million settlers to a country whose population was almost two million...

The local native population was not consulted…nor was its objection to the project of turning Palestine into a Jewish state taken into account…. As with all earlier settler colonial movements, the answer to these problems was the twin logic of annihilation and dehumanization. The settlers’ only way of expanding their hold on the land beyond the 7 percent, and ensuring an exclusive demographic majority, was to remove the natives from their homeland.

Zionism is thus a settler colonial project and one that has not yet been completed…

Israel is still colonizing…dispossessing Palestinians, and denying the rights of the natives to their homeland…the crime committed by the leadership of the Zionist movement, which became the government of Israel, was that of ethnic cleansing.”

The reason that the Palestinians may properly be seen as the final victims of the

Holocaust is that growing anti-Semitism in Europe caused many Jews, who had previously opposed Zionism to begin to look positively upon the idea of creating a Jewish state in Palestine as a refuge for those being persecuted. Jewish organizations in the U.S. that had always opposed Zionism, slowly began to view it more favorably. Without Hitler, there would have been little support from Jews in the U.S. or Western Europe for the creation of a Jewish state. Without the Holocaust, the United Nations would have had little reason to establish the State of Israel.

Now, the victimization of the Palestinians is becoming more widely understood. Both the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have characterized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as “apartheid.”

The groundswell of international opposition to Israel’s occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians is being widely compared to the movement which grew in opposition to apartheid in South Africa. Jeff Halper points out that, “The Palestinian cause has attained a global prominence equal to that of the anti-apartheid movement. Palestinians have become emblematic of oppressed peoples everywhere. Israel is an established and strong settler state just as South Africa was, yet neither was able to defeat or marginalize an indigenous population with state-national aspirations.” Now, the Palestinian struggle has achieved the level of significance of the anti-apartheid struggle in the world.

More and more Israelis, concerned about their country’s treatment of Palestinians, lament its departure from Jewish values.

Professor David Shulman of Hebrew University writes, “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 peoples have reinvented apartheid in the West Bank.”

Making a direct connection between the Holocaust and the suffering of Palestinians, Jane Hirschmann, whose family fled Germany at the time of the Holocaust, writes Continued on page 19

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

17

gee_18-19r.qxp_The Middle East in the Far East 7/14/21 9:00 AM Page 18

The Middle East in the Far East

Beyond Settler Colonialism in Palestine

Israeli settlers sit in the newly built settler outpost of Eviatar watching smoke from nearby clashes, on June 21, 2021, near the Palestinian village of Beita, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Right-wing activists and settler leaders held 14 simultaneous marches to stop “illegal Arab control” in Area C, where Israel retains full control over planning and construction.

In the June/July issue of the Washington Report, I wrote about how the particular course of Israel’s development, with its perseverance in colonial expansion and the consequent growth in power of the nationalist Right, has militated against the tendency toward normalization that can be seen in other settler colonial societies.

In most societies that began as settler colonies, it should be recognized that the term “normalization” is descriptive of a tendency that happens within the settler society itself and how others internationally perceive it. For the surviving indigenous peoples living on a small portion of their ancestral lands, or on other lands allocated to them, with rights curtailed by various means, the sense of loss, of cultural destruction and in many cases, of discrimination, is persistent and fuels a striving to create a new and more just “normal.”

Even in long established societies originating as settler colonies, this quest for justice by the dispossessed can cause anxieties in the

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

18

colonists, perhaps due to a deep-down recognition that wrongs were done in the past and a fear that redress could pose an existential threat. If it is conceded that one patch of land, say, was acquired illegitimately by force or deception and ought to be returned, where might the demands of the indigenous and the concessions demanded of the dominant society end?

Such concerns are usually ill-founded and overblown. Globally, indigenous peoples have generally not sought the wholesale displacement of the dominant society, but rather the establishment of a non-oppressive relationship in which they have the means to support themselves and maintain their identities.

In the United States, the American Indian Movement, founded in 1968, called for the U.S. government to honor its treaties with Native American nations, which would result in restoration of some territory and respect for certain rights, but not the wholesale displacement of the rest of the U.S. population. The demands of indigenous peoples in Australia and the Amazon basin have been similarly limited.

In white minority-ruled South Africa, the African National Congress

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO BY AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

By John Gee

gee_18-19r.qxp_The Middle East in the Far East 7/14/21 9:00 AM Page 19

called for an end to apartheid, and for a nonracial South Africa, with reforms that would redistribute land and further social justice, but not for the expropriation or expulsion of the white population.

Settler colonial societies that became well established created new nations. The early English settlers in North America regarded themselves as English, but little over a century and a half later, their descendants proudly asserted their independence as Americans; likewise, settler societies in countries such as Australia, Canada and Argentina forged distinct national identities. Indigenous peoples came to take this into account: their homelands had become home to others and history could not be wound back to return everything and everybody to their pre-colonial status and location.

Most countries that emerged from settler colonial societies have taken steps— albeit usually limited and only in the fairly recent past—to recognize the wrongs that were done to indigenous peoples and to make some kind of recompense. Australia restored control over the sacred site of Uluru to the local indigenous people, and Canada constituted Nunavut as an Inuit majority territory.

ISRAEL IS AN EXCEPTION

While a few Israeli Jews fully recognize that there was a mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from the territory incorporated into Israel in 1948 and would accept a Palestinian right of return, Israel as a state, as well as its dominant parties and most of its people, will not. Some cling to the old myths of Palestinians fleeing either on their leaders’ orders or to make way for invading Arab armies determined to massacre the Jews. A growing number on the nationalist right recognize that Palestinians were forcibly expelled in 1948, but see it as entirely justified and support the “transfer” of the rest of the Palestinian people from their homeland in the present day.

However, there is a broad consensus, across almost the entire Israeli Jewish political spectrum, who are opposed to acceptance of the right of return for Palestinians exiled from their homeland.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

The Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip live under forms of direct and indirect control by Israel—checkpoints to control movement, high rates of incarceration, control over resources, violent suppression of protest and much more—that are unmatched in degree by systems of control over indigenous peoples in any other developed country today. For the past 30 years, the status of Palestinian citizens of Israel has deteriorated, after limited progress in the 1990s.

In most settler colonial-oriented societies, large scale expropriations of indigenous land came to an end decades ago, though only when there was not a lot left to take.

Within Israeli-controlled territory, seizure of land from Palestinians is an ongoing process that has left them in possession of ever-shrinking pockets of territory divided by a web of colonies and the roads that serve them.

Apologists for the Israeli state attack the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign for unjustly “singling it out,” but Israel has singled itself out through its policies toward the Palestinians.

Nevertheless, Zionist colonialism has been successful in creating an Israeli Jewish nation. Most Israeli Jews were born and raised in Israel and know no other home. They are diverse and yet share a common identity that goes beyond simply being Jewish, as Jews of other lands recognize when they encounter them: they are indeed members of another nation.

Palestinians have grappled with this fact for a long time. Some feel that to recognize Israeli Jews as a nation would be to legitimize a hundred years of settler colonial expansion at their expense and to accept parity in national claims. But like other indigenous peoples, they have come to accept that some form of co-existence with those of settler descent is necessary to the resolution of the conflict with them.

Some, particularly in the PLO leadership, came to see two states, side by side, as a solution. But since the failure of the Oslo “peace process,” there is growing Palestinian support for a single democratic non-sectarian state in historic Palestine.

Now, it remains for the majority of Israelis

to reject colonialist thinking and practices and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian people, as a nation, to dwell in peace and freedom in their homeland. ■

The Final Victims Continued from page 17

the following in a June 14 post in Truthout: “I am a first generation American. My Jewish parents fled Germany as the horrors of the Holocaust were unfolding. They left behind family who perished in the camps…

Once the war was over, Germany gave my father reparations for the loss of his business as well as for the crime of persecution.

Both of my parents were welcomed back by the German government and told they could get their passports and citizenship returned…I wonder why the 750,000 Palestinians forced from their homes and land in 1948 when Israel was founded are not entitled to the same treatment my family received after World War II ended.”

Hirschmann concludes: “But the war against the Palestinians was never over. Instead, Israel continues to this day its policy of ethnic cleansing…I ask myself how is it possible that the victims of the Holocaust and their progeny can so brutally victimize another people on racial grounds? I ask myself why the Palestinians don’t have the same rights to reparations and return afforded to my family after Germany accepted responsibility for their crimes.

Shouldn’t Palestinians be entitled to reparations and the right of return? Shouldn’t they have the same right to self-determination that Israel itself claims? I am deeply ashamed and angry that these acts are committed in the name of the Jewish people and that my government provides the money and arms to support these Israeli crimes.”

The Holocaust casts a long shadow. The declaration “Never Again” is one all of us should take to heart. But it should apply not only to the attacks on Jews but any religious, racial or ethnic group. Today, it is the Palestinians who are being threatened with continued ethnic cleansing, ironically, as a result of the Holocaust itself. They are, sadly, it’s last victims. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

19

hixson_20-21r.qxp_History's Shadows 7/13/21 2:13 PM Page 20

History’s Shadows

U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, who is not Jewish and has visited Israel 15 times, speaking during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, DC on March 24, 2019. He said, ”When someone accuses American supporters of Israel of dual loyalty, I say: Accuse me...I am part of a large, bipartisan coalition in Congress supporting Israel—an overwhelming majority of the United States Congress. I tell Israel’s accusers and detractors: Accuse me.”

GOOD OLD-FASHIONED patriotism seems to be in short supply these days. Most of the members of one of the two established political parties in this country are more loyal to an unhinged demagogue than to the nation, but this is not the time or the place for that discussion. Rather, I have in mind the lack of patriotism on the part of the Israel lobby.

As is well known, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its myriad affiliates are highly allergic to any suggestion that they might hold “dual loyalty” to Israel as well as to their own

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.

20

country, the United States. I don’t blame them, as the charge is certainly misleading: AIPAC doesn’t really have “dual loyalty” to Israel and the United States. In reality, it is loyal only to Israel.

If AIPAC and friends were genuinely loyal to the United States, they would not be engaged in resolutely perverting and undermining one of the nation’s preeminent institutions of government, the Congress of the United States. If AIPAC were genuinely patriotic, it would not be extorting $3.8 billion annually—more U.S. military assistance than provided to any other country—for a small nation of fewer than nine million people, located some 7,000 miles from U.S. shores.

The American largesse further militarizes one of the already most militarized countries in the world, one that faces no actual threats to its security and acts as an unchecked regional aggressor to boot.

If AIPAC really cared about the United States it would support democracy, which America is supposed to stand for in the world, rather than apartheid, which prevails from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite racist policies, illegal occupation and

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO BY MICHAEL BROCHSTEIN/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY

The Lobby is Right: “Dual Loyalty” is a Misleading Claim

By Walter L. Hixson

hixson_20-21r.qxp_History's Shadows 7/13/21 2:13 PM Page 21

illegal settlements, AIPAC propaganda routinely and mendaciously trumpets Israel as the “sole democracy” of the Middle East.

If AIPAC had primary loyalty to the United States, it would not have done everything it could to make the nation a target for terrorists and help drag it into a series of debilitating and failed wars. If AIPAC really loved America, it would not be backing Israel in angling for yet another war, this time with Iran, even though that country willingly entered a verifiable international nuclear arms control accord to limit uranium enrichment below the level needed to manufacture a bomb. That accord, which Israel and the lobby led the campaign to revoke in 2018, came in sharp contrast to Israel’s own record, starting in the 1960s, of systematically lying about its intentions and then unilaterally introducing nuclear weapons into the Middle East.

BEN-GURION’S VERSION OF “DUAL LOYALTY”

In the early 1950s, it was the patriarch of the new Israel, David Ben-Gurion, who

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

first condemned “dual loyalty.” He did so, however, by asserting that American Jews ought to renounce their U.S. citizenship and emigrate to Israel. The American Jewish Committee reacted angrily, insisting, “American Jews owe loyalty to the United States—and only to the United States.” The anti-Zionist American Council for Judaism condemned BenGurion for the statements conveying “dual loyalty on the part of American Jews,” as charges that could “impair the relationship of American Jews to their government.”

At the time Ben-Gurion toned down his rhetoric but as with other issues—such as his call in 1937 for Jewish migrants to “expel Arabs and take their place,” which propelled the settlement and ethnic cleansing operations that carry on to this very day—Ben-Gurion had his way in the end. To be sure, American Jews remained in the United States, but the fervent Zionists among them organized the most powerful lobby representing the interests of a foreign country in all Ameri(Advertisement)

can history. It is, in, fact one of the most powerful lobbies in American history, period.

Today, AIPAC and friends remain quick to assert their patriotic bona fides and mount a vigorous defense against charges of “dual loyalty.” For example, in 2019 when Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) called attention to the lobby’s economic clout, AIPAC indignantly charged her with antiSemitism for suggesting that American Jews had a “dual loyalty” (although in fact she had not used the term) to Israel as well as the United States.

This example, of the by now commonplace and cynical lobby tactic of weaponizing baseless charges of anti-Semitism, would be laughable if it were not so pernicious. I mean, does anyone really believe that the Israel lobby lacks loyalty to Israel?

Isn’t that what the lobby is all about, generating unstinting support for the foreign nation of Israel?

“Dual loyalty” is an obfuscating myth— the plain truth is that AIPAC and its allies are loyal only to the Zionist state. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

21

mcarthur_22-23.qxp_Congress Watch 7/14/21 3:19 PM Page 22

Congress Watch

Israel-Hamas Fighting Draws Congressional Attention, But Little Action

By Shirl McArthur

PHOTO BY CAROLINE BREHMAN/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES

Israel by Hamas” were both introduced May 13. H.Res. 394, introduced by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), has 88 cosponsors, and H.Res. 396, introduced

by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ), has 121 cosponsors.

On May 27, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) together with three cosponsors, introduced S. 1899 “to prohibit any direct or indirect U.S. funding for the territory of Gaza unless certain conditions are met.” Bills were introduced in the (L-r) Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Sen. Mitt Romney House and the Senate (R-UT), make their way to the Senate floor for a vote on June 10, 2021. providing that “funding for Gaza shall be made available instead for the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense THE FIGHTING between Israelis and Palestinians, May 9 to 21, system” in Israel. S. 1751, introduced May 20 by Sen. Bill Hagerty sparked by Israel’s frequent provocations in the al-Aqsa Mosque (R-TN) has five cosponsors, and H.R. 3706, introduced June 4 by compound, demolitions of Palestinian homes in the Jerusalem Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), has 32 cosponsors. More broadly, on Old City, and eviction of Palestinians in the Jerusalem neighborJune 17, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced H.R. 3977 “to limit ashood of Sheikh Jarrah, received considerable congressional atsistance for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation tention, but little action.

Organization.”

As expected, there was much praise for Israel, and much criticism As was to be expected, the previously described H.R. 261, introof Hamas, but there also was a surprising amount of recognition of duced in January by Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), which would sanction the plight of the Palestinians living in Gaza. A May 12 letter to Secany person or organization that has anything to do with “Hamas, the retary of State Antony Blinken, initiated by Rep. Marie Newman (DPalestinian Islamic Jihad, and any affiliate or successor groups,” IL) and signed by 25 Democratic representatives, expressed “deep has gained support. It now has 55 cosponsors. The Senate version, concern” about Israel’s plans to “forcibly displace nearly 2,000 PalesS. 1904, introduced May 27 by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 22 tinians in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Al-Bustan and Sheikh cosponsors. The similar H.R. 3685, introduced June 4 by Rep. Josh Jarrah” and urged the State Department “to exert diplomatic presGottheimer (D-NJ), has 58 cosponsors. sure to prevent these acts from taking place.”

Of course, measures broadly supporting Israel, “our greatest ally H.Res. 394 “Condemning the acts of terrorism committed by in the region,” were introduced. S.Res. 226 was introduced May 19 Hamas against the State of Israel,” and H.Res. 396 “Condemning

by Sen. Rick Scott. It has 31 cosponsors. H.Res. 422 was introthe deadly and indiscriminate rocket attacks perpetrated against duced May 20 by Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) with no cosponsors, and on June 17, Reps. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Gregory Murphy (R-NC) Shirl McArthur is a retired foreign service officer. He lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. introduced H.R. 3976.

22

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

mcarthur_22-23.qxp_Congress Watch 7/14/21 3:19 PM Page 23

and provide additional humanitarian relief the human rights of Palestinians living Finally, after repeatedly defending for Palestinians. A June 1 Senate letter, under Israeli military occupation and to “Israel’s right to defend itself,” Biden on May signed by 17 Democratic senators, led by ensure that U.S. taxpayer funds are not 17, in a phone call with Israeli then-Prime Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tim used by the government of Israel to supMinister Binyamin Netanyahu, said he exKaine (D-VA), urged Blinken “to support port the military detention of Palestinian pected to see an immediate ceasefire. This immediate emergency relief and humanichildren, the unlawful seizure, appropriawas followed by May 19 and 20 congrestarian access, robustly fund humanitarian tion, and destruction of Palestinian propsional letters to Biden urging an immediate efforts and restore the U.S. diplomatic erty, and forcible transfer of civilians in the ceasefire. The May 19 letter was signed by presence on the ground.”

West Bank, or further annexation of 138 House Democrats, led by Rep. David But a June 30 letter to Biden, signed by Palestinian land in violation of internaPrice (D-NC), and the May 20 letter was 17 Republican senators, led by Marco tional law.” signed by eight representatives, led by Rubio, urged Biden to not reopen the PLO A May 21 letter to Blinken, signed by 56 Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Pramila mission in the U.S. or the U.S. Consulate representatives led by Rep. Debbie Dingell Jayapal (D-WA).

General in Jerusalem.

(D-MI), urged him to support the ceasefire The May 20 letter also called upon Biden to delay a $735 billion arms BILLS WOULD URGE (Advertisement) sale to Israel. Joint resolutions OTHER STATES TO were introduced in the Senate ESTABLISH RELAand House on May 20 “proTIONS WITH ISRAEL viding for congressional disapproval of the proposed Companion bills “to endirect commercial sale of cercourage the normalization tain weaponry and munitions.” of relations with Israel” The Senate measure, introhave gained support. S. duced by Sen. Bernie 1061, introduced March 25 Sanders (I-VT), has no

by Sen. Rob Portman (Rcosponsors. The House meaOH), was reported out to sure, introduced by Rep. the full Senate by the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DSenate Foreign Relations NY), has 14 cosponsors. committee (SFRC) on Companion resolutions June 24. It has 59 cosponwere introduced in the Senate sors. H.R. 2748, introand House “regarding the duced April 21 by Rep. value of Palestinian and Israeli Bradley Schneider (D-IL), lives and urging an immediate has 171 cosponsors. ceasefire and diplomatic efBILLS TO REPEAL forts to resolve the IsraeliPlaygrounds for Palestine is a project to build playgrounds for AUTHORIZATIONS our children. It is a minimal recognition of their right to childPalestinian conflict.” S.Res. FOR USE OF MILIhood and creative expression. It is an act of love.

225 was introduced May 19 TARY FORCE (AUMF)

by Sanders with 10 cosponPlaygrounds for Palestine (PfP) is a registered 501(c)3 nonMAKE PROGRESS sors, and H.Res. 429 was inprofit organization, established in 2001. We’re an all-volunteer troduced May 21 by Reps.

H.R. 256, to repeal the organization (no paid staff) that raises money throughout the Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and AUMF against Iraq Resoyear to construct playgrounds and fund Jim McGovern (D-MA). lution of 2002, introduced programs for children in Palestine. in January by Rep. Bar“PALESTINIAN CHILSelling Organic, Fair Trade Palestinian bara Lee (D-CA), was DREN AND FAMILIES” olive oil is PfP’s principle source of taken up by the full House BILL GAINS SUPPORT fundraising. is year, PfP launched and passed June 17 by a AIDA, a private label olive oil from vote of 268-161. It was H.R. 2590, introduced in Palestinian farmers. sent to the Senate where it April by Rep. Betty McColrests with the SFRC. When lum (D-MN), the “Palestinian We hope you’ll love it and make it a staple in your pantry. passed it had 134 cosponChildren and Families” bill, For more information or to make a donation visit: sors. Most of the other now has 27 cosponsors. It https://playgroundsforpalestine.org • P.O. Box 559 • Yardley, PA 19067 calls “to promote and protect Continued on page 38

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

23

behnam_24-26r.qxp_Special Report 7/13/21 2:33 PM Page 24

Special Report

Destruction as a Tool of Oppression in the U.S. and Israel

By Dr. M. Reza Behnam

PHOTO BY HAZEM BADER/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

governments have treated Black Americans and Palestinians as security problems and demographic obstacles to development and expansion. Land seizure, forced removal and displacement policies were established to remove what they have described as “problematic” populations.

From 1950 through the 1960s, the U.S. government initiated “urban renewal” projects to contain what was viewed as their “Negro problem.”

And since 1917, when the British government Members of a Palestinian family check their belongings after Israel demolished their home located within “Area C” of the occupied West Bank, where Israel retains full control over planning and construction, near the village gave its approval for the creation of Israel in the of Halhoul, north of Hebron, on June 17,2021. heart of the Arab world, SURVIVAL is a common thread that runs through the experience Israel has implemented policies to address what they term the of Black Americans and Palestinians. Although their experiences “Arab problem.” are distinct, the racist state systems that have destroyed their Under the guise of “urban renewal,” Black communities were dehomes, property and communities are similar. The preoccupation molished to fashion largely white cities and towns. And under the with survival for both has made the struggle for liberation all the more fig leaf of “reclaiming ancestral land,” Israel bulldozes Palestinian exacting. homes and property to make way for Zionist settlements. The deWherever Black Americans prospered—Greenwood in Oklastruction of both communities has been paid for with U.S. taxpayer homa, Rosewood in Florida, Forsyth County in Georgia, among dollars, including, ironically, the taxes paid by Black Americans. others—white mobs and U.S. government policies made sure they State-sponsored segregation corralled Black Americans into “knew their place.” mostly segregated, poorly resourced housing projects; while in The demolition of Palestinian homes throughout the occupied Palestine, the apartheid policies of the Israeli government have territories is just one of many Israeli land policies meant to Juforced Palestinians into ever-shrinking, tightly controlled, militarized daize all of Palestine and to ensure that Palestinians are kept enclaves. “in their place.”

An “internally colonized” people is how the Student Non-Violent The United States and Israel were built on the establishment of Coordinating Committee (SNCC) described America’s Black popland and property rights over human rights. Because of this, both ulation. The term in like manner depicts Palestinians who have been forced to live under the control of a foreign power in their own land.

Government planners often referred to urban renewal as “slum Dr. M. Reza Behnam is a political scientist specializing in the history, politics and governments of the Middle East. clearance.” James Baldwin, an influential American writer, more 24

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

accurately described such projects as “Negro removal.”

Hundreds of Black neighborhoods were demolished in the name of urban renewal.

It is estimated that from 300,000 to 1.2 million Americans—disproportionally Black— were displaced. Functioning Black communities were designated “blighted” and subsequently leveled. They were replaced by development projects such as universities, hospitals and civic centers that largely benefitted white populations. Construction of the interstate highway system, which often cut through predominantly Black neighborhoods, compounded the displacement impact of urban renewal.

Some of America’s significant structures are the legacy of urban renewal: the Lincoln Center in New York City; University of Pennsylvania; Lafayette Park; and Chrysler Freeway in Detroit.

America’s largest removal project occurred in the West End of Cincinnati in the heart of the Black community—25,737 people (97 percent Black American and low income) were forcefully removed. After razing more than 2,000 structures, the city sold the property to private developers and constructed Highway I-75.

Economic prosperity is tied to the ownership of land and property. Wealth, capital and land were transferred from Black ownership to private developers and business interests, denying Black Americans the opportunity to build wealth to pass on to future generations. Palestinians, too, have seen their wealth “transferred” to Israel through that government’s seizure and illegal occupation of Palestinian land and property.

In Israel, the state directly controls 93 percent of what was once Palestine. It is the Zionist state and its Jewish population who savor the wealth that is derived from “ownership” of Palestinian land.

However innocuous sounding, “urban renewal” in the United States and “ancestral land reclamation” in Israel, have destroyed more than property. The intent of both has been to sever kinship and community bonds, to rob generations of Black AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO CREDIT BETTMAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

behnam_24-26r.qxp_Special Report 7/13/21 2:33 PM Page 25

Sitting amid her possessions on the sidewalk, Mrs. Sam Quaranta of Chicago, IL looks up at the windows of her former apartment. The Quarantas were evicted on Oct. 18, 1946, to make room for a returning veteran and his family.

Americans and Palestinians of a sense of place and to rend the social, political and cultural connections that have filled both communities.

The extent and destructiveness of Israel’s demolition/removal plans are striking. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions estimates that from the beginning of the occupation in 1967 up to 2019, Israel has razed 49,532 Palestinian structures, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Although Israel’s home demolitions are illegal under international law, the government uses them as a tool for territorial expansion.

Occupied East Jerusalem, Galilee and the Negev (the Naqab to Palestinians) are Israel’s most recent targets—labeled by state planners as “at risk” because of the high number of Palestinians living there.

The Zionist campaign to Judaize these areas began as early as 1948. In an April 1948 speech to the Zionist Action Committee, David Ben-Gurion, who would become Israel’s first prime minister, asserted that the 1948 war could be exploited to solve the supposed “Arab demographic problem.” He stated: “We will not be able to win the war if we do not, during the war, populate upper and lower, eastern and western Galilee, the Negev and Jerusalem area....”

Israel has used urban planning and an absentee property law to evict Palestinians and appropriate their land to transform East Jerusalem into a Jewish city since illegally occupying it in 1967. As of 2018, an estimated 218,000 Jewish settlers have moved into Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. From 1967 to 2020, Israel demolished 5,350 Palestinian homes in the city.

For years, Israel has been expanding illegal settlements in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem with the goal of driving Palestinians out. More than 100 buildings, housing 1,500 people, in the alBustan neighborhood of Silwan are currently facing demolition to make way for a biblical tourist park, which Israel intends to build in the heart of Silwan. Families are given the ultimatum to either demolish their own homes or face paying the demolition costs, estimated at $6,000.

Just as highway building projects separated and segregated Black communities in the United States, Israel’s construction of the separation wall in 2002 has partitioned Palestinians from each other. In East Jerusalem, the wall cuts through previously contiguous Palestinian neighborhoods, and in some cases, divides them completely. The concrete barrier fully seals

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

25

behnam_24-26r.qxp_Special Report 7/13/21 2:33 PM Page 26

Palestinian East Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank, severing connections with family and destroying the social fabric of communities.

Israel’s bulldozing policy is not new.

One of its most grievous demolitions took place in the Mughrabi Quarter of East Jerusalem’s Old City on June 10, 1967.

Some of the buildings destroyed in the old Moroccan neighborhood were more than seven centuries old. Israeli bulldozers leveled Arab neighborhoods to make way for an expanded plaza for Jewish worshippers. The mass demolition left 132 families homeless.

Although citizens of Israel, Palestinian Bedouin in the Naqab are among its most vulnerable communities. Under the guise of developing the Naqab, Israel has razed thousands of Bedouin homes and structures.

The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (NCF) found that in a period of six years, Israel leveled 11,518 structures in Bedouin villages. Additionally, the NCF de-

termined that in 2020 alone, 2,586 buildings were razed and that the number continues to grow each year. Thousands of Palestinian Bedouin families are currently facing forced removal to make way for a major new highway in the region.

To pressure them into giving up their land, Israel denies Bedouin villages access to basic infrastructure. The plan is to make life so unbearable that the Bedouin will succumb to what is essentially forced removal to seven existing government-planned townships. Bedouin who relocate to the townships are first required to surrender their ancestral land claims.

Like the housing projects created as an extension of urban renewal in the United States, Israel’s townships are among the poorest communities in the country, with minimal infrastructure, high crime rates and few job opportunities.

The Galilee, most of which came under Israeli control after 1948, is prized because of its fertile soil and because the Sea of Galilee is the primary source of fresh water (Advertisement)

for Palestine/Israel. Israel’s goal of Judaizing the entire Galilee, outlined in its 1948 “Plan Dalet,” continues to this day. The plan called for the removal of the Palestinian population and destruction of their towns, while geographically uniting Jewish settlements scattered throughout Galilee.

Israel uses extensive methods to impose its demographic footprint, including declaring military zones, moving military factories and Jewish employees into Galilee and building roads and airports to support industrial development on seized land.

The U.S. government has it in its power to dismantle the forces of oppression that have formed America and Israel. It has chosen, instead, to remain silent, even as Israeli mobs attacked Palestinians and chanted, “death to Arabs, lynch the Arabs,” during recent skirmishes in East Jerusalem.

America’s uncritical support has enabled Israel to intensify its racist practices. Israel has merely to look at the damaging effects racism has had on the United States to see its future. ■

" #JMJOHVBM $VMUVSBM &EVDBUJPOBM 1VCMJDBUJPO

Persian

Heritage

4VQQPSU :PVS 1FSTJBO )FSJUBHF "EWFSUJTF :PVS #VTJOFTT PS 4FSWJDFT 5P 1MBDF BO "E PS 4VCTDSJCF $POUBDU 6T

5FM 'BY 888 1&34*"/ )&3*5"(& $0. & ."*- .*3"44*3"/!"0- $0.

1FSTJBO )FSJUBHF *OD 1BTTBJD "WF 1BTTBJD /+

26

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

bodnaruk_27-29.qxp_Canada Calling 7/14/21 11:46 AM Page 27

Canada Calling

IMAGE COURTESY OPENSTREETMAP

London, Ontario Business Declares Apartheid Free Zone

By Candice Bodnaruk

Reimagine Co declares itself an Apartheid Free Zone and urges other businesses, institutions and community groups to do the same.

IT BEGAN WITH advice from a customer in August 2020 that eventually led Heenal Rajani to declare his London, Ontario business the first Apartheid Free Zone (AFZ) in Canada.

“We were selling Dead Sea salts in bulk and someone drew attention to that fact that they were coming from occupied territory, from the Dead Sea. We pulled them from the shelves,” Rajani said.

Rajani is co-founder of Reimagine Co, a grocery store with a focus on being zerowaste, package-free and only carrying plant-based food, <https://reimagineco.ca/>.

Rajani is also a long time supporter of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

After learning about the sea salts, Rajani and his wife put out a public statement explaining their decision. “This was something I had never really thought about,” Rajani said, adding that he wondered how many

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

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

other London area businesses are aware of products from illegal settlements. He began to think it would be an opportunity to network on the issue and encourage other companies to become Apartheid Free.

Rajani also contacted Independent Jewish Voices as well as People for Peace London about illegal settlement goods.

Then, a couple of months ago Rajani discovered packages of dates in his stock cupboard. He had not yet put them out on the shelves for sale. He realized the dates were from an illegal settlement through a California supplier. He decided to donate the dates to a local homeless shelter.

It was when Israel attacked Gaza in May that Rajani made the move to declare his business Apartheid Free. “We just have to be more aware,” he said, noting that a lot of people supported his decision but there were others who called him racist and anti-Semitic.

Soon after Reimagine Co published its own statement about the Apartheid Free Zone, Independent Jewish Voices London and People For Peace London also published statements in support of the AFZ in London.

“I got a lot of messages of support. We also got a certain amount of abuse and

people called us anti-Semitic, racist and too political,” he said. However, the positive feedback Rajani received far outweighed the negative comments.

Now, Rajani is interested in expanding the Apartheid Free movement to include other companies and organizations, not just in London, but nationally and even internationally. “I want to see if this continues.

Are there other London businesses and other Canadian businesses that would be willing to sign up?” he wondered, noting that there was another interested local company but they thought they were too big and that the idea was too controversial.

Rajani said he also wants to ensure his company remains Apartheid Free. He has begun writing to the original suppliers of the dates and sea salts and explaining to them why he would no longer be carrying those products. He is also reaching out to all of his suppliers to inform them that Reimagine Co refuses to carry any products originating in illegal Israeli settlements or that are supporting the occupation and profiting from violations of Palestinian human rights.

“I just feel like this is a key time to compare Israel with apartheid South Africa. It’s important. It can be polarizing but is also a

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

27

bodnaruk_27-29.qxp_Canada Calling 7/14/21 11:46 AM Page 28

good conversation to have, actually looking at the facts, seeing what is apartheid and what is the reality of the situation for Palestinians,” Rajani said.

The company’s website now features a world map of Apartheid Free Zones, the company’s statement of support for the BDS Movement and its declaration as an Apartheid Free Zone. “You can get your school, your church, your football club, any institution can sign up for this and get themselves on the map,” he said.

Now, Rajani said he is working on trying to find a coalition of businesses to expand the Apartheid Free movement. He said he and his wife have already reached out to London City Council, asking the city if they [will] consider divesting from any investments they have in Israel.

“The more people do it, the more normal it becomes,” he said, noting that he is trying to figure out how to have conversations with schools, churches and clubs to decide to divest.

Sara Rans, a spokesperson for Independent Jewish Voices London, said Rajani announced his store’s decision to become an AFZ at the right time, when aggression by Israel on Palestine was escalating. She said once Rajani made his announcement, IJV immediately decided to support it.

ferring to the home evictions in the West Bank neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

He added that the action was originally intended to be a car rally to comply with COVID-19 restrictions at the time, but when participants arrived at the legislature, they were met with a number of pro-Israel protesters. Zeid explained that insults were being hurled back and forth on both sides and a young woman on the pro-Palestine side was LOCAL PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST ORstruck in the face and knocked down. While GANIZES RALLY FOR GAZA ON police later handcuffed the victim, they did NAKBA DAY nothing to discipline the man who attacked Hundreds of Palestinians and their supporther. It was only when police saw the video of ers filled the streets near the Manitoba legthe assault that they released the woman. islature in Winnipeg on May 15. They gathZeid added that it was actually a hot dog ered not only to mark the 73 years since the vendor, there to support Israel, who struck Nakba, but also to protest Israel’s recent the woman and also stole her car keys, kefattack on Gaza. Many groups that stand in fiyeh and sunglasses. solidarity with Palestine attended, including Zeid said at one point there were more Independent Jewish Voices and Peace Althan 50 polices officers, all of them facing liance Winnipeg. the pro-Palestine protesters. With their Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian backs turned to the Zionist crowd, they could Palestinian Association of Manitoba, and not see that it was the pro-Israel activists organizer of the “Emergency Rally for who were actually escalating the situation.

Gaza,” said the rally brought out not only “We told them [the police] we were not Palestinians but members of the Muslim leaving and that this young lady had her community to protest because of the recent stuff stolen and then somebody from the raid on al-Aqsa Mosque. “The fact that a lot Israel side found her car keys,” he said. of Palestinians were being removed from Zeid, who was born in Winnipeg but has their homes really hit home,” Zeid said, resiblings who were born in Palestine, said rallies like the one on May 15 (Advertisement) bring awareness for people who wouldn’t normally know what is happening in Palestine. “The young people are our future. We need to educate them about what happened, this is why it hapPalestinian Medical Relief Society, a grassroots pened, and this is what I am community-baseddPalestinian health organization, founded in fighting for,” he said.

1979 by Palestinian doctors, needs your support today.

Zeid, who has four children, Visit www.pmrs.ps ages 17, 18, 13 and 12, said his kids attended the rally. “A lot Visit our Website <friendsofpmrs.org> to see our work in action and donate. more people are engaged right now. We are doing our part Mail your U.S. Tax-Deductible check to our American Foundation: here, through social media, to educate everybody,” he said.

Friends of PMRS, Inc He said he has been “pretty PO Box 450554 • Atlanta, GA 31145 vocal” on Facebook lately because he has family in PalesFor more information call: (404) 441-2702 or e-mail: fabuakel@gmail.com tine and is concerned for them.

28

“For him to start the ball rolling is terrific.

There are similar organizations in London that may be interested in joining him. I think part of IJV’s job is to help encourage those businesses and organizations to do so. We don’t think it’s going to be easy but by having an organization already declared an Apartheid Free Zone, we will be able to encourage others more easily,” she said.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

Since the rally, Zeid has faced some push-back on social media, including calls for a boycott of the chain of Food Fare grocery stores that his family owns in Winnipeg, but he has many Jewish friends who stood up for him and defended his right to speak.

“I want to try to educate people. The mainstream media doesn’t do a good job at showing what’s going on,” he said, adding that if you are Palestinian you are a second or third class citizen and a lot of mainstream media are very pro-Israel. For example, Zeid said, news reports about what was happening in Gaza described Israel firing rockets at Hamas, not at Palestine. “But Hamas is in Palestine. They are fighting Palestinians,” he said.

He also said he thought Canada’s response to Israel’s attack on Gaza was “very weak.” He added that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t denounce or condemn the violence until Hamas said, “enough is enough” and fired rockets. For two weeks before a single rocket was fired from Gaza, Israeli police were spraying skunk water on Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque and firing live ammunition at hundreds of people.

“It’s really unfortunate that for two weeks our government didn’t know anything was going on. It was just another day and then Hamas fired rockets and they [the Canadian government] condemned it,” he said.

He added that the relationship between Canada and Israel has to change. Canada sells weapons to Israel and Israel also sells drones to Canada. “There’s a multi-million dollar deal going on. It’s not just a one-way deal it’s a two-way deal,” he said.

WINNIPEG ACTIVIST TALKS ABOUT WORKING IN HEBRON

Peter, who asked the Washington Report to use a pseudonym, is a longtime activist who has travelled to Hebron four times since 2010. His work for Palestinian human rights began with Christian Peacemaker Teams and then later he worked with the International Solidarity Movement. At home in Winnipeg, he is also involved in indigenous rights campaigns and other anti-racism work.

“Khalil or Hebron is striking in so many ways. The ugliness of the Israeli occupation AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO COURTESY CANDICE BODNARUK

bodnaruk_27-29.qxp_Canada Calling 7/14/21 11:46 AM Page 29

The May 15 rally commemorated the Nakba and protested Israel’s assault on the al-Aqsa Mosque as well as home evictions in Sheikh Jarrah.

is more visible there than anywhere else I’ve been to in Palestine,” Peter said.

On a cold winter day in late March 2021, he was busy leading a small group action on Portage Avenue in front of a large shopping center. At the time, Winnipeg only allowed 10 people to gather due to pandemic restrictions. But Peter was determined to inform the Canadian public about the situation for Palestinians in Hebron.

The March action was also planned in part to show support for the Open Shuhada Street campaign, where, in 1994, Baruch Goldstein attacked the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs), killing 29 and injuring another 125 Palestinian worshippers. For the past 27 years, Shuhada Street has been completely closed to Palestinians. They are unable to enter or exit their own homes through the front door and are restricted to walking on the opposite side of the street from Israelis. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers have complete control over the entire area.

At the Winnipeg action, people carried placards that read, “Why is Shuhada Street Open to Israeli Settlers and Not Palestinians?”, “Canadian Weapons Sales to Israel Enable Israeli Human Rights Abuses” and “Dismantle the Ghetto: End the Occupation of Hebron and Palestine.”

Several interested people stopped to ask about the event. Peter explained that Canada, through its weapons sales to

Israel, has enabled the suffering of the Palestinian people. He added that Canada also condemns the BDS Movement. “If we are a country that seriously claims we support human rights, we should stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are suffering one of the longest running occupations in history,” he said.

He also pointed out that one of the few occupations that has run longer than the occupation of Palestine is Canada’s own occupation of Indigenous land. Several young people thanked the protesters for their work.

Passing cars also honked in support.

Peter, who embraced Islam several years ago, said that working for justice is something that God expects from everyone. He was particularly inspired by Palestinian human rights activists and their international and Israeli counterparts who would stand up to Israeli soldiers even though they could be threatened, thrown to the ground and arrested.

He also said that, although Palestinian families in Hebron face regular harassment from Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers, they still invited him and fellow activists into their homes. They shared food with them, even though they are struggling through dire economic conditions created by the Israeli occupation. He continues to be struck by the incredible kindness, generosity and courage of the Palestinians of Hebron. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

29

williams_30-31r.qxp_UNITED NATIONS REPORT 7/13/21 2:15 PM Page 30

United Nations Report

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Bombshell

By Ian Williams

PHOTO BY EUGENE GOLOGURSKY/GETTY IMAGES FOR INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

son Mandela among others and includes former Irish President and U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson.

The Elders have consistently considered U.N. resolutions and international law as more important on the Middle East than the whims of AIPAC as transmitted by the U.S. It is a comment on the U.S. and Anglosphere that a U.N. Secretary-General uttering truths that are manifestly self-evident should seem a bombshell, but the quiet unassuming Ban puts all of them, Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden to shame. He would have put President Donald Trump to shame as well except the man clearly has none.

“It is clear that the 1993 Oslo Accords no longer offer a viable pathway toward self-determination for the Palestinians and have failed to deliver peace and security in Israel or Palestine. Instead, Israel has pursued a policy of incremental de facto annexation in the territories it has occupied since 1967, to the point where the prospect of a two-state solution has all but vanished,” he wrote for the newspaper, adding: “The starting point of a new approach must be to recognize the fundamental asymmetry between the parties. This is not a conflict between equals that can be resolved through bilateral negotiations, confidence-building measures or mutual sequencing of steps—the traditional conflict-resolution tools. The reality is very different: a powerful state is controlling another people through an open-ended occupation, settling its own people on the land in violation of international law and enforcing a legal regime of institutionalized discrimination.”

In effect, he recognized what this column in the Washington Report has been pointing out for decades. Calls for “non-interference” and for the bilateral negotiations between Israel, ultimately backed as it is by the U.S., and the Palestinians, now shorn of almost all allies by U.S. and Israeli diplomacy, are tantamount to thrusting a toddler in the dojo with a champion Sumo Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations Secretary-General, deputy chair wrestler and calling for a fair fight. of the Elders, speaks at a Business Refugee Action Network event on “It is now time for the international community to recognize and Sept.24, 2019 in New York City. At the event, more than a dozen CEOs confront the consequences of Israel’s policies and actions in this signed up to support refugees. regard. The lack of any international legal accountability has enabled Israel to ignore successive U.N. resolutions, most recently UNSCR 2334 of December 2016, which says that settlement buildFOLLOWING PUBLICATION of his memoir, Resolved: Uniting ing violates international law. That is why the International Criminal Nations in a Divided World, Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Court’s rulings that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories Ki-moon has written a bombshell of an opinion piece for the Fiand plans to investigate war crimes committed by all sides are so nancial Times about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Ban has been important and give grounds for modest hope.” It is a bold, if somein bad company, which might explain it. He is now one of “The Elwhat belated statement of the truth. And we can perhaps judge its ders,” the group of senior states-people that was founded by Nelimportance by the deafening sound of silence from the usual susU.N. correspondent Ian Williams is the author of UNtold: the Real pects, who perhaps judge that attacking such an eminently lucid Story of the United Nations in Peace and War (available from statement would bring publicity to it.

Middle East Books and More).

30

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

williams_30-31r.qxp_UNITED NATIONS REPORT 7/13/21 2:15 PM Page 31

When he first took office, Ban had been foreign minister of South Korea where he could barely see the Eastern Mediterranean past Russia, China, North Korea, Japan and the USA. But the Israelis shrewdly assessed his likely humanitarian reaction to their treatment of Gazans and did their best to keep him out. But he insisted and was horrified.

Consistent with his policy of not fighting in public, he bore insults from Netanyahu, the Moroccan king and other overweening pretenders draped in the borrowed strength of the United States. A master of litotes, as he said of one consultation with Netanyahu about a visit to Iran, “He was never an amicable person, but it was unacceptable for him to speak so rudely to a secretary-general. Our conversation left me feeling bitter.”

And that is the mark of the man—a self-effacing diplomat. Peacemakers and diplomats seem to have felt more indignation about Netanyahu’s abuse than the U.S. politicians, from the Clintons onwards, who got the same arrogant treatment. His attempts to bring Iran into the fold were thwarted by other influences not least Iran and Israel themselves. He sums it up

neatly, “Hamas listened only to Tehran and Damascus, and Israel listened to no one!”

The self-effacement that he practiced as a diplomatic tool almost certainly went too far to uphold his international reputation. He reproached Bashar al-Assad and Netanyahu face to face, but if the U.N. is to redeem the Charter, these people need to be named and shamed publicly. The sad paradox is that the more the U.N. and its leadership fail to do so, the less stature it has to be effective.

To be fair, to use George W. Bush’s neologism, Ban was often “misunderestimated” and was brave, principled and effective in areas like women’s position at the U.N., gay rights there and internationally, and above all climate change.

However, occasionally his lack of familiarity with some issues in the face of determined obfuscation shows through in his new book, like when he says that Algeria and Mauritius withdrew their claims to Western Sahara in in 1979. In the inner dynamics of the U.N., I would suspect that the people around Ban had been browbeaten

by Franc-Moroccan supporters.

In fact, Algeria never made any claims of

Plant Olive Trees

(Advertisement)

its own, supporting Polisario’s bid for independence, and it was neighboring Mauretania, not Mauritius, far away in the Indian Ocean, that gave up its claim in the face of Polisario resistance.

While the Palestinians have been abandoned by many of their allies in the face of relentless U.S./Israeli lobbying they benefit from generations of truth telling by objective U.N. members. Sadly, the Sahrawis have Morocco and France lined up against them with the tacit support of the U.S. under most administrations.

One of the tests for the Biden administration is how soon it will back Trump’s illegal “recognition” of the Moroccan claim to Western Sahara, not least since it was part of the previous administration’s cooked-up deals to get third party acceptance of Israeli occupation.

The other test is, of course, what Ban said. “Lack of any international legal accountability has enabled Israel to ignore successive U.N. resolutions, most recently UNSCR 2334 of December 2016, which says that settlement building violates international law.” The U.S. and Biden need to restore accountability. ■

$20 plants 3

olive trees or 6 almond trees.

Last year friends of Palestinian farmers gifted 37,800 olive and almond saplings to over 350 farmers.

Farmers who have lost land due to the occupation, young farmers, and women farmers are given priority in Trees for Life.

www.landofcanaanfoundation.org

info@landofcanaanfoundation.org The Land of Canaan Foundation 19215 SE 34th Street • #106-122 • Camas, WA 98607 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

31

omer_32-33.qxp_Gaza on the Ground 7/13/21 12:39 PM Page 32

Gaza on the Ground

Someone Remembers These Children: A Beam of Light from Ireland to Gaza

PHOTO COURTESY WWW.IRELANDTOGAZA.COM

By Mohammed Omer

A group called “From Ireland with Love” projected a message of solidarity with Gaza onto the Cliffs of Moher.

FOR NOW, the latest assault on Gaza is over. No one knows when the next major escalation will start, but Israel has already launched rockets into Gaza on multiple occasions since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas on May 21. This has led many in Gaza to fear that another heavy bombardment is not far away.

Meanwhile, reconstruction, recovery and humanitarian aid continue to move at a slow pace, leaving Gaza’s beleaguered residents once again feeling forgotten by the outside world.

However, some—both inside and outside of Gaza—are working at the grassroots level to make sure the youngest victims of this spring’s violence are not soon forgotten.

A total of 69 Palestinian children were killed in the latest round of violence this May, with hundreds more injured. The legacy of these children remains alive amid the ruins of a bombed home in Khan

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

32

Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Here, a group of children have set up a photo exhibit commemorating their peers killed during the 11-day assault.

The Saqqa family is hosting the photographic exhibit in what was once a four-story family home, since turned to dust by an Israeli attack. They are among the tens of thousands who have been internally displaced within Gaza as a result of the assault.

The Khan Younis exhibit memorializes Gaza’s killed and injured children by displaying their toys, dolls and books. The gut-wrenching exhibit also includes keys the children and their families possessed as symbols of their hope to return to the homes and villages they were violently forced to flee from decades ago during the war that marked Israel’s creation in 1948. According to the United Nations, more than 70 percent of Gaza’s two million residents are refugees.

“The aim of the exhibit is to activate and spread the message of Palestinian children,” said Yousef Banat, vice president of the local association Never Stop Dreaming, which promotes child welfare

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

omer_32-33.qxp_Gaza on the Ground 7/13/21 12:39 PM Page 33

through artwork <https://nsd-gaza.com/>.

“The photo exhibition started with a marathon race leaving from the ruins of the demolished house, where images of children represent solidarity and shared pain from multiple losses,” added Banat.

Banat realizes that the constant fire of missiles has stopped for now, but the trauma is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. He hopes this exhibit in some small way helps Gazans cope with their grief and loss.

“FROM IRELAND WITH LOVE”

Banat noted that the exhibition coincided with another powerful event in Ireland.

On June 2, a group of artists and filmmakers representing the “From Ireland with Love” initiative, used the stunning Cliffs of Moher to send a message of solidarity to the people of Gaza. The group beamed the word “Gaza,” followed by a heart, onto the sides of the cliffs, sending what the group described as a message of “love and grief” to the people of the besieged enclave. “We

see you, we grieve with you,” one of the leaders of the initiative said in an Instagram post showing the illuminated cliffs.

The group, made up of Irish artists, filmmakers and humanitarian aid workers, started the initiative in coordination with young Gazan artists and children.

“The image is a symbol of both grief and empathy, and is particularly addressed to children in Gaza, both those who were killed and those who survived the killing of the rest of their families,” the group explained. “Amongst many others, the image is dedicated to survivors, six-year-old Suzy Ishkontana, five-month-old Omar al-Hadidi and 10-year-old Aziz Al-Kolak. It is also dedicated to Rola, Hala and Yara Al-Kolak, each under 12 years of age, and who were already receiving trauma and psychological support in the months leading up to their recent deaths.”

Dearbhla Glynn, who is working on a film in Gaza, helped organize the show of support in Ireland. “We projected grassroots solidarity and deep respect, symbolically, (Advertisement)

as a lighthouse in the storms of injustice, or—as a friend put it—as a ‘beam of love,’” she said in an Instagram post.

The Irish projection helped raise funds for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), which offers medical and humanitarian support in Gaza.

Organizers also hope the actions and shows of solidarity ease the pain in Gaza, where the suffering of so many has only deepened after Israel’s attacks in May that destroyed 1,148 homes and commercial units in Gaza, while 15,000 others were partially damaged, leaving over 100,000 civilians displaced in U.N.-run schools and other refugee communities.

As trauma builds upon trauma for all of Gaza’s residents—and especially its children—it will take more than well-meaning acts of solidarity and remembrance to ease the suffering. More urgently than ever, the people of Gaza need the work of artists from Ireland to Khan Younis to inspire the world to take the humanity of Palestinians seriously. ■

A Hybrid Event in the Washington, DC area October 20-21 2021 • 10 am – 5 pm

the annual expo & summit provides a platform to reach more than 20 million consumers in the united states and over a billion consumers worldwide all under one roof.

for more information visit https://halalexpousa.com tel. 703-645-5395 | email: info@halalexpousa.com

August/september 2021

WAshington report on middle eAst AffAirs

33

gorvett_34-35r.qxp_Talking Turkey 7/14/21 8:43 AM Page 34

Talking Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (l) greets U.S. President Joe Biden (r) with a fist bump at the NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

WHEN PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN sat down with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14, there was certainly plenty to discuss. Most topics on the agenda, however, were likely painful ones.

Recent years have seen relations between Washington and Ankara enter a sharp decline—punctuated by heated exchanges.

On the campaign trail last year, for example, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat” who would have “to pay a price.” This prompted Erdogan’s close adviser, Ibrahim Kalin, to accuse the U.S. leader of “ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy.”

After Biden took office, the atmosphere continued to be frosty, too. The U.S. leader did not even call Erdogan for four months— and when he did, it was to tell the Turkish leader that the U.S. was recognizing the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

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

34

At the very least, the Biden-Erdogan meeting was expected to be awkward, but in the event, the two leaders appear to have set most of their animosity aside—at least for now.

Erdogan described the encounter as “fruitful and sincere,” while a far less effusive Biden described it as “a good meeting.” That may not sound like much, but given the weight of the disagreements the two sides have, it was remarkable enough. It even bolstered the spiraling Turkish currency, which had been widely expected to crash at any sign of further disagreement.

The driving force behind this relative positivity lies a long way to the east of Brussels, though. Indeed, at Hamid Karzai International Airport on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Turkish troops currently secure this vital link to the outside world. With Biden desperate to avoid any “Saigon moment” come September 11—by which date he has pledged to pull all U.S. troops out of the country—that continued Turkish control remains vital in covering the U.S. retreat.

The Biden-Erdogan meeting, then, saw Turkey commit to keeping

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

TURKISH PRESIDENCY / MURAT CETINMUHURDAR / HANDOUT/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Resets and Realpolitik: Biden and Erdogan Meet

By Jonathan Gorvett

gorvett_34-35r.qxp_Talking Turkey 7/14/21 8:43 AM Page 35

its troops at the airport, despite a threat from the Taliban that it will not tolerate any foreign forces remaining on Afghan soil.

The deal—still to be finalized as the Washington Report went to press—is thus a major reminder to Washington that for all the difficulties it has with Turkey, Ankara remains a key partner in a key geography.

“For many years, neither Democrat nor Republican presidents have wanted to harm their relationship with Turkey,” says Muzaffer Senel, from Ankara’s Medipol University.

“It’s still a vital partnership for both countries.”

Indeed, it is a two-way street. Turkey’s continued partnership with the U.S. is also a key part of Erdogan’s strategy of creating space for himself by playing off a range of international powers against each other— from Russia to Iran and the European Union to Saudi Arabia.

SEAS OF TROUBLE

For Ankara, chief on the list of grievances with the U.S. is Washington’s support for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Erdogan described the YPG as a U.S.formed “terror army” back in 2018, given their links to the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkey’s own Kurdish separatist fighters. Ankara wants this support withdrawn and got close to achieving that when former President Donald Trump ordered U.S. special forces supporting the Kurds to withdraw in October 2019. Despite that, however, U.S. support has continued, with Washington seeing the SDF and YPG as vital in its campaign against ISIS and in countering Russia, Iranian and Turkish influence over Iraq and Syria.

Also on Turkey’s list is the Southern District of New York’s continued prosecution of Halkbank, the Turkish state-owned lender accused of Iranian sanctions busting. This case has named a number of key individuals in Erdogan’s family and entourage. The Turkish leader would therefore like this long-running case to go away.

A third grievance is the continued presence in the U.S. of Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric accused by Ankara of being AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

behind a failed coup against Erdogan back in 2016. Gulen has a large, international network of followers and was for many years a close ally of Erdogan’s. Now, however, Ankara has asked for his extradition and the closure of his U.S. operations.

On the U.S. side, the complaints include Turkey’s 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles, which led to Ankara’s ejection from NATO’s F-35 fighter jet program, amidst fears the S-400 deal compromised the warplane’s security. The missile purchase also led to the imposition of U.S. sanctions against Turkey’s defense industries in December 2020.

Another complaint is Ankara’s attempts to challenge maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean—activities Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as “deeply disturbing” in early June.

Erdogan has repeatedly questioned the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which established the frontiers of modern Turkey. This revisionism has caused considerable jitters in neighboring Greece and Cyprus, in particular.

The U.S. also has a slew of human rights complaints against Turkey. These include the arrest of journalists and activists, an ongoing clamp-down on freedom of expression and assembly, and increasingly aggressive actions against opposition parties.

AGREEING TO DISAGREE

Given all this, the meeting was seen by many as likely to produce some fireworks—or at least, concessions.

Yet, Erdogan quickly pointed out afterwards that no change in the S-400 issue had been agreed, while there seemed little to report on the Mediterranean, Halkbank, Gulen or human rights, either.

Indeed, on June 22, Turkey’s Constitutional Court gave the go ahead for a case seeking the closure of Turkey’s second largest opposition party, the largely Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). The group is accused—like the YPG—of having links to the PKK—accusations it denies.

Yet, the meeting gave both sides a clear success. For the U.S., Kabul airport— Ankara had earlier been suggesting it would pull out, too—and for Erdogan, the ability the

meeting gave him to tell international markets that everything with the U.S. was fine.

Indeed, the impact of that “fruitful and sincere” characterization on the Turkish economy was likely quite literally worth its weight in gold.

The Turkish currency has lost 16 percent in value just since mid-March, inflation is at 17 percent and interest rates are at 19 percent—a figure that is squeezing many businesses, including those that have traditionally backed Erdogan. At the same time, youth unemployment is around 25 percent, with per capita GDP declining every year since 2013.

This has undoubtedly impacted the popularity of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), with a June 6 poll by Istanbul Economics showing just 26.2 percent support—down from just under 40 percent in May 2020.

Further disputes with the U.S. would undoubtedly cause a further economic slide— and potentially further erosion of support.

Erdogan’s meeting with Biden then, was a success for the Turkish leader, even if the price may well be the increasingly isolated Turkish garrison at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

Meanwhile, all those other controversies between the two erstwhile NATO allies continue to fester—and are unlikely to go away, any time soon. ■

SEND A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION OR SAMPLE COPY Please help us market the Washington Report and Middle East and More Bookstore. Ask us to send a sample copy of the magazine to your coworker, relative, friend, teacher, favorite talkshow host or columnist. Or better yet, send a gift subscription!

To subscribe visit wrmea.org/subscribe, or email circulation@wrmea.org or call (888) 881-5861. To send a sample copy email the address to samplecopy@wrmea.org.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

35

fetouri_36-37r.qxp_Special Report 7/14/21 8:51 AM Page 36

Special Report

The Second Berlin Conference on Libya: Is America Back on the World Stage?

The second international Libya conference convenes on June 23, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. The conference is bringing together representatives from the U.N. Security Council, the new Libyan government, Turkey, as well as various North African and Middle Eastern states to assess and promote progress toward definitively ending the military conflict in Libya.

AT THE G7 SUMMIT in the United Kingdom on June 13, President Joe Biden sought to reassure America’s allies by saying, “America is back.” The president wanted to send a message to allies and foes, alike, that the chaotic foreign policy of his predecessor is now a bad memory. The previous administration’s four years alienated allies while retreating from regional and international hotspots where the U.S. has important short-term interests and much more long-term strategic stakes to guard.

Libya is one such place where the U.S. appears to be coming back with a foreign policy shift to refocus on the country it helped destroy.

On June 23, Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the second International Berlin Conference on Libya to review progress made since the first conference, which convened on Jan. 19, 2020.

In preparation for the Berlin conference, on May 10, the State De-

Mustafa Fetouri is a Libyan academic and freelance journalist. He is a recipient of the E.U.’s Freedom of the Press prize. He has written extensively for various media outlets on Libyan and MENA issues.

He has published three books in Arabic. His email is mustafa fetouri@hotmail.com and Twitter: @MFetouri 36

partment announced the appointment of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, as special envoy to Libya to “lead U.S. diplomatic efforts to promote international support for a Libyan-led” political settlement process. On May 18, Norland, in his new role, accompanied Joey Hood, acting assistant under secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, on a visit to Tripoli. This was the first such visit by a high-ranking U.S. diplomat to the broken country since the Obama years when Joe Biden was vice president.

This might not be a big shift from the previous Republican administration’s handling of Libya, but it represents a change in approach indicating a change of policy toward the North African country, for which the U.S. has a moral responsibility.

The former U.N. acting envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, believes the change in U.S. policy toward Libya started as early as late January, right after the Biden administration took over. In a recent interview Williams, a former U.S. chargé d’affaires to Libya, told the Washington Report, “the Biden administration is more serious about Libya.” She believes this shift goes beyond the tactical policy of seeking to counter Russia’s increased presence in oil-rich Libya.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

PHOTO BY SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES

By Mustafa Fetouri

fetouri_36-37r.qxp_Special Report 7/14/21 8:51 AM Page 37

Wagner Group, a Russian pseudo-private military company, has several thousand mercenaries in Libya, with whom Moscow always denies it has any links or control. They first started to trickle into the country in 2017 to offer technical assistance to General Khalifa Haftar, a LibyaU.S. dual citizen, who waged war in 2019 to topple the then U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord. Many believe Haftar got what amounted to a green light to launch an attack from former President Trump and his former national security adviser, John Bolton. Williams believes the go ahead from the U.S. came in two phone calls, first with Bolton followed by another call from the president himself in the spring of 2019. Williams said, “while we do not know what was said in the call, we know how it was interpreted.”

Since it was signed on Oct. 23, the country-wide ceasefire in Libya is still holding but thousands of foreign mercenaries and regular Turkish troops are still on the ground. Turkey, which came to the rescue of the former government in Tripoli, brought in thousands of Syrian mercenaries and its own officers, eventually helping defeat Haftar’s army in June of last year.

It is not clear what Secretary Blinken said during the Berlin II conference about this particular issue. However, in a phone call to his Libyan counterpart, Najla AlMangoush on June 17, a few days before the Berlin meeting, he called for all foreign troops and mercenaries to leave Libya as soon as possible. This has been a consistent U.S. position for the last two years.

However, Washington does not seem ready to take any action to make it happen.

While in Berlin, Blinken emphasized his government’s support for Libya as it prepares for elections planned for Dec. 24.

However, elections are now in doubt after the U.N.-led talks in Geneva, Switzerland, ended on July 2 without agreement. The 75-strong Libyan Political Dialogue Forum was supposed to provide the constitutional base required for such elections. No new round of talks has been scheduled yet.

The departure of foreign forces is a requirement of the ceasefire document, and AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

it is linked to the December elections—they should leave before election day. It was also one of the decisions made by the first Berlin conference last year and included in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2510, adopted on Feb. 12, 2020, which also called on all countries to stop interfering in Libya’s affairs. However, Resolution 2510 was never reinforced by any of the countries which committed to it at the Berlin I conference. Russia and Turkey, in particular, are still sending military reinforcements to their respective local proxies.

After his summit with President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva, President Biden said they discussed Libya without providing any details. In the Berlin II conference, Secretary Blinken said nothing about the matter either.

The final statement of the Berlin II meeting, to which Secretary Blinken signed on, said that “all foreign forces and mercenaries need to be withdrawn from Libya.”

However, Turkey did not sign on to this particular demand. There is no indication that Blinken discussed the issue with his Turkish counterpart.

The important question is: what is the new Democratic administration going to do about this, as Libya’s election date gets closer? After all, President Biden was vice president when NATO unleashed its air power to help the rebels topple Libya’s former leader, Muammar Qaddafi, in 2011.

While Biden was not in favor of military action in Libya, in 2016 his previous boss, President Barack Obama, appeared to regret his decision to take on Libya without any actual plans for what to do once Qaddafi was gone.

Since 2011, Libya has been in chaos and enduring wars displacing and killing thousands while thousands more fled abroad.

Lately, Libya has made significant progress, with its transitional Government of National Unity as well as united government institutions and a plan for presidential and legislative elections.

However, all such gains can be wiped out if, for instance, foreign powers keep meddling in the country’s affairs, particularly by offering military support for different

factions that are benefitting from the current state of affairs inside Libya. Here the U.S. has a role to play. Stephanie Williams thinks that the U.S. “ability to convene” on the international stage will make other countries follow.

However, this has not yet been proven, at least in Libya’s case. Many Libyan observers ask the simple question: if the U.S. cannot stop its allies, like Abu Dhabi and Ankara, from meddling in Libya, how could it stop Russia?

The Biden administration’s reignited interest in Libya and its positive rhetoric will not do much good for the country unless concrete steps are taken to show the Libyans and others that the U.S. means business this time around.

Libya is strategically located and a gateway to both Europe and Africa making it a perfect choice for terror groups. ISIS, for example, used to control Sirte, on the Libyan coast, threatening its oil facilities as well as its neighbors. Williams thinks the presence of mercenaries is a “threat” to the entire region. The country’s fragile security has made it a preferred route for human traffickers, drug smugglers and illegal arms traders. The repercussions of what NATO, the U.S. included, did in Libya a decade earlier is still resonating in the area.

The instability in the entire African Sahel area, including Chad, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, is closely linked to Libya. This is a perpetually serious threat that needs concrete counter measures that go beyond attending international conferences and saying nice words. Whether the Biden administration is ready to face that challenge is not yet clear. ■

SEARCH OUR ARCHIVES! Doing research for a report or talk? Decades of Washington Report archives are at your fingertips! Do your search on our home page wrmea.org or visit wrmea.org/archives to read every back issue.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

37

saltman_10,38.qxp_Special Report 7/15/21 2:57 PM Page 38

Farid al-Atrash Arrested Continued from page 10

currently no Palestinian under 34 has ever voted in a national election.

“When I met with Secretary Blinken,” said Amro, referring to the U.S. Secretary of State, who visited Ramallah in May, “I told him that I want him to put high pressure on the PA to hold elections as soon as possible so Palestinians will have the opportunity to choose their new leadership.”

Amro stated that he had met with alAtrash in court the day before speaking to the Washington Report, and emphasized the intensity of the activist’s time in custody.

“He was traumatized,” Amro said. “He was very angry. He told me, ‘Issa, I am only a human rights defender. I am only a lawyer. I never participated in any violence against the Israeli occupation, I never did, and I never will. Why I am behind bars is only because I am protesting against Palestinian corruption and Palestinian human rights violations.’”

Al-Atrash has a hearing scheduled for July 11, and until then Amro intends to lobby the U.S. State Department to put pressure on Israel to release al-Atrash as soon as possible.

“That story doesn’t go out when we talk about it,” Amro concluded, referring to the parallel suppression of Palestinians by Israel and the PA. “We are stuck between occupation and its sub-occupation.” ■

Congress Watch Continued from page 23

measures to repeal authorizations of military force have gained some progress.

H.R. 2014, introduced in March by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), now has eight cosponsors. It would repeal the AUMFs of 1957 (a cold war relic), 1991 (the Gulf War), and 2002 (Iraq). Also, H.R. 255, introduced by Lee in January to repeal the AUMF against ISIS of 2001, now has 69 cosponsors.

38

S.J. Res. 10, introduced in March by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), to repeal the AUMFs against Iraq of 1991 and 2002 was scheduled to be taken up by the SFRC the week of June 21, but reportedly decided to instead hold a hearing on the subject later in the summer. It has 23 cosponsors. H.J. Res. 29, “to amend the War Powers Resolution,” introduced in March by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), which would set “strict parameters for any future AUMF that congress might consider,” now has 20 cosponsors.

H.R. 2108 introduced in March by Rep. Brad Sherman(D-CA) “to prohibit the use of federal funds in contravention of the War Powers Resolution,” now has 33 cosponsors. A new bill, H.R. 3261, to repel the AUMF against Iraq of 1991, was introduced May 17 by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) on May 14. It has 35 cosponsors.

THE IRAN NUCLEAR AGREEMENT CONTINUES TO DRAW ATTENTION

Negotiations to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear agreement’s official name, continues to draw the ire of members of Congress who reject any attempts to improve relations with Iran. Most congressional Republicans and some Democrats continue to oppose returning to the agreement.

The Hamas-Israel conflict in May provided a new avenue for attacking Iran. On May 12, 43 Republican senators, led by Marco Rubio, signed a letter to Biden urging him to stand by Israel as it “is under attack from Iranian-backed terrorists,” and “immediately end negotiations with Iran.”

Most of the previously described bills and resolutions concerning the agreement have received little support. Even S. 434, the “Iran Diplomacy” bill seeking a diplomatic resolution to Iran’s nuclear program, introduced in February by Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), still has only 10 cosponsors.

Of the measures “to provide for congressional review of actions to terminate or waive sanctions imposed with respect to Iran,” H.R. 1699, introduced in March by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), now has 50 cosponsors.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Perhaps a significant new bill, S. 2030, was introduced June 10 by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). It would “declare that any agreement reached by the president relating to the nuclear program of Iran is deemed a treaty that is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.” It has 24 cosponsors.

Three bills were introduced that would impose conditions on reentering the JCPOA. On May 21, Rep. Bob Good (RVA) together with two cosponsors, introduced H.R. 3465. S. 1950 was introduced May 27 by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and two cosponsors, and H.R. 3966 was introduced June 17 by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) with 12 cosponsors.

Of the previously described Iran sanctions bills, only H.R. 2718, introduced April 21 by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), “to impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran and modify other existing sanctions with respect to Iran,” has gained support. It has 109 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,” introduced in March by Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), now has 18 cosponsors. ■

IndextoAdvertisers Al-Mokha Coffee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). . . . . . . Inside Front Cover 2022 Annual Conference . . . . . . . . 39 Halal Expo and Summit . . . . . . . . . 33 Kinder USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Land of Canaan Foundation . . . . . 31 Middle East Children’s Alliance . . . 15 Mondoweiss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Palestinian Medical Relief Society . . 28 Persian Heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Playgrounds for Palestine. . . . . . . . 23 The Ray Hanania Radio Show . . . . 21 Unitarian Universalists . . . . . . . . . . . 9 United Palestinian Appeal (UPA). . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

conference_ad_39.qxp_Conference Full Page Ad 7/13/21 2:04 PM Page 39

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

39

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 40

ANNUAL CONfERENCE: ENd U.S. SUPPORT fOR ISRAELI APARTHEId?

Elaborating on the B’Tselem Report

By Richard Falk

Richard Falk is the Albert G. Milbank professor emeritus of International Law at Princeton University. He is currently chair of Global Law at the law facility of Queen Mary University, London.

In 2008, he succeeded John Dugard as the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Palestinian territories, and he served in that position until 2014. He is the author of numerous books, including Israel-Palestine on Record: How The New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East, which he co-authored with Howard Friel; and Palestine: The Legitimacy of Hope. His political memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, was published in March.

40

Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” It’s significant, I think, that this conception of apartheid is expressed in the title itself because what B’Tselem says, and it’s very compelling to me, is that the situation since 1989, when they originally were established and where they limited their mandate, that that situation no longer exists. And that one can no longer really differentiate meaningfully between the occupation and Israel itself. And that’s quite a radical conception. One that goes beyond saying that under the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an apartheid structure has been imposed.

One of the reasons that they give in the report for enlarging their own mandate beyond the OPT and for the radical conclusion that Israel itself is subject to an apartheid analysis is in unWASHINGTON REPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL

I VISITED SOUTH AFRICA in 1968, which is about 53 years ago, to be the official observer at a political trial of Southwest Africans as they were then called, now Namibians, who were being prosecuted for their resistance activities. It was John Dugard, who was then a rising young jurist in South Africa, who really showed me on the ground what it meant to live in an apartheid regime. I’ve benefited through the years from his knowledge, wisdom and experience.

I am going to comment on B’Tselem's recent report on Israeli apartheid. B’Tselem is a leading Israeli human rights NGO that has been widely admired by many people around the world for its forthright reporting on human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report makes clear that its original intention was not to deal with any issues other than that, other than what was going on under occupation.

I think it’s quite interesting that this respected NGO issued on Jan. 12th of this year, a report with the title, “This is Apartheid: A

The Washington Report and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) cosponsored a two-day web-based conference titled “End U.S. Support for Israeli Apartheid?” on April 17 and April 24, 2021. In this issue, as well as the past June/July 2021 and upcoming October 2021 Washington Reports, we have edited and condensed for clarity some of these talks. For complete transcripts, including the lively Q&A, please visit: https://www.israelapartheidcon.org or watch the proceedings on the Washington Report’s YouTube channel. Reserve your seat for the March 3-4, 2022 “Transcending the Israel Lobby at Home and Abroad,” conference in Washington, DC.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 41

Richard Falk: Elaborating on the B’Tselem Report

PHOTO BY DAVID TURNLEY/CORBIS/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES

derstanding the situAnd so, the Knesation of the Palestinset by itself really ian minority, which gives a fairly strong numbers about 17 reinforcement to the percent of the popuallegation of apartlation behind the heid that has now Green Line. become really quite The two reasons normalized in the unthey give is, first of derstanding of the all, that as a matter situation that exists of public acknowland confronts the edgement, the IsPalestinian people. raeli leadership no And no longer is longer respects the something that is just temporary nature of applicable to the reannexation or occulation between the pation. I should say military administrathat Netanyahu and tion of occupied other Israeli leaders A mother walks with her children through the streets of Soweto on Jan. 1, 1985, during a Palestinians and the speak openly about state of emergency in which the South African military occupies townships throughout way in which the setannexing formally, South Africa in an effort to stop a potential political uprising. tlements and the setas they have done tlers are governed. in Jerusalem and significant parts of the West Bank, and alThe question that I would raise in relation to the B’Tselem reready having annexed in a formal way East Jerusalem. port is one of whether it is appropriate really to limit the notion of So, the implication in the report is that annexation makes it apartheid in the manner that they do; to an enlarged space artificial and not really satisfactory to distinguish between the rather than to the Palestinian people as a whole. I collaborated occupation and Israel itself. In other words, that Israel itself in a U.N. study, that was published in 2017, that adopted the comprises the territory that formally remains under occupation. view that the essence of the kind of apartheid regime that the They reinforced that analysis with the related understanding Palestinian people are subjected to is better understood in that even without formal annexation, the realities for the people terms of policies and practices of Israel by reference to people living on the West Bank is total Israeli control. And that Israel not space, and, therefore, incorporates the Palestinian refugees and the Jewish settlers operate as if, for Jews, there’s no real who have been confined for decades to refugee camps and are difference between Israel proper and the circumstances of the denied the possibility of repatriation in the places of their resiseveral hundred thousand settlers who live in these armed setdence which they originally abandoned back in 1948 and subtlements that are unlawful from the perspective of international sequent periods including ’67. humanitarian law.

So, the point that I think is important to understand conceptuSo, annexation, de facto annexation takes over, in this ally is whether one thinks of apartheid, as has been more consense, from the notion that goes back to the partition that one ventionally done, as a feature or dimension of the way in which should treat the historical mandate territory of Palestine as dioccupation over those long periods since 1967 has been implevided between the two peoples. What underpins this conclumented. Or whether one thinks of it in the B’Tselem way of exsion is the idea that Palestinians under occupation and in Istending the notion of apartheid to what they call all the territory rael are living beneath the shadow of what the B’Tselem refrom the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which is to port calls Jewish supremacy, and that the essence of Jewish say the historic Palestine as it emerged from the Ottoman Emsupremacy is a structure of discrimination based on ethnic pire after World War I. Or the third way, which is what I favor identity. doing, which is to enlarge beyond the B’Tselem notion to incorThat analysis is further reinforced in the report of the adopporate the refugees and involuntary exiles in one’s understandtion, by the Israeli Knesset in 2018, of a so-called basic law ing of what apartheid consists of. which corresponds really to a constitutional assessment of the Let me say also that the B’Tselem report is very helpful in anrelation between Jews and Palestinians. It became very clear alyzing why they come to the conclusion that the policies and that only Jews—it’s stated very clearly in the basic law that only practices of Israel have the characteristics of apartheid that can Jews—have the right of self-determination within Israel. And be both compared to South Africa but also should be distinthat only Hebrew is an official language and that the extension guished from it. The core of the apartheid notion, as an internaof the settlements in occupied Palestine is integral to the territotional crime at the present time, is the structures of domination rial identity of Israel. that involve the victimization of a subordinate people, ethnicity August/September 2021

41

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 42

ANNUAL CONFERENCE: END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?

SAIF DAHLAH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

or race, and the suunless Palestinians premacy of a domiin East Jerusalem nant people or race. vote, it will not In other words, the dihold the elections. vision is one based Some people feel on some form of catthat is just an exegorical identity. cuse by Mahmoud What the B’Tselem Abbas to avoid report points to are elections that have four areas where this not been held for kind of discriminatory the past 15 years. racialized identity is [Palestinian elecrelied upon. First of tions were canall, with respect to imcelled.] We don’t migration, only Jews know what the real have an unlimited explanation is, but right, however slenwe do know that der their connection these four characwith Israel or even A Palestinian woman holding her child passes Israeli tanks in the West Bank city of Jenin teristics of the poliJudaism is, to immi- March 9, 2004. A young Palestinian mother was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in this West cies and practices grate—that there’s a Bank town during an operation to arrest a local leader of the Islamic Jihad movement. of Israel have conright of return. And stituted a form of contrariwise, that Palestinians and generally non-Jews have no discriminatory fragmentation that has rendered the lives of right of immigration other than what may be granted in excepPalestinians as one of pervasive and severe misery. tional circumstances by the minister of interior or the military I think the last thing I would do is to call attention to the end of commander in the West Bank. the B’Tselem report, which says that one must not give up the Secondly, land has been appropriated from the Palestinians struggle for human rights. But it’s also incumbent upon those at a steady rate ever since the 1948 war. At the present time that engage in that struggle to say that there must be an end. as much as 90 percent of the land under Israeli control beWe must first say no. In their language, we must first say no to longs to Jews and less than 3 percent of the land is now apartheid. That, in other words, as long as this apartheid strucowned by Palestinians. Beyond this is that Palestinian resiture persists, there is no path to a sustainable peace that recogdence is manipulated in such a way as to confiscate the land nizes basic Palestinian rights. of Palestinians that for one reason or another either are abI think that’s a very important bottom line. That this structure, sent for a period of time or have violated rules governing the however one labels it, whether it’s called apartheid or not, is a use of the land. decisive obstacle to a rendering of a peaceful form of coexisA third feature, which is primarily associated with the occupatence between these two peoples. And unless that apartheid tion, is restrictions on the Palestinian freedom of movement regime is dismantled in the manner it was in South Africa— which are very stringent, which have made the lives of Palesunder pressure from not governments so much as from the tinians very stressful—all kinds of checkpoints that are consiscombination of global solidarity, a campaign backed at the time tently present or maybe put in place, the so-called flying checkby the U.N., and resistance efforts by opponents within South points. And, the blockading and treatment of Gaza, being one Africa and the neighboring countries. In other words, it was only where there are not checkpoints internally but there’s a strinresistance and global solidarity that led the South African elite gent restriction on going into Gaza or leaving Gaza. to recalculate their interests in such a way as to finally make the Finally, the restrictions on Palestinian participation in either choice that John Dugard referred to as a miracle of a peaceful the normal political life of Israel or in the elections that Palestinitransition to a multiracial form of constitutionalism. ans administer or are supposed to administer in the occupied I think it’s not a miracle but a way in which the accumulated territory but which Israel interferes with to make sure that the pressures of symbolic politics deriving from law and morality, outcomes do not challenge its way of governing. At the present create a pariah status for a country that practices apartheid in time there’s supposed to be elections on May 22, but Israel has such a way that it does really challenge that leadership elite to taken the position that Palestinians in East Jerusalem, which think again about whether they want to exist in opposition to the number about 350,000, will not be entitled to vote in those elecmoral and legal sentiments of the world and have consetions because East Jerusalem is now formally part of quences following from that or whether they want to live in a Jerusalem, which is part of the sovereign territory of Israel. peaceful society based upon equality and justice for people reThe Palestinian Authority has countered with the view that, gardless of their racial or religious identity. ■ 42

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 43

Thomas Suárez: The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism

The Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism

By Thomas Suárez

Thomas Suárez is best known for his 2016 book, State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel. His most recent book is Writings on the Wall, which is an annotated collection of Palestinian oral histories. He’s the author as well of three highly regarded books on the history of cartography and also a Juilliard-trained violinist who has performed around the world. He’s a former faculty member of Palestine’s National Conservatory of Music.

stood by starting from the beginning.

When in the late 19th century, the idea of a socalled Jewish state was being championed, only one true site for this state was possible—Palestine.

Other locations were considered. But as Theodor Herzl made clear, they were only considered as stepping stones to Palestine if Palestine could not be gotten at first. It had to be Palestine because the Zionist project needed a massive influx of Jewish settlers. And Herzl believed that this would be impossible without the magic of the word Palestine, the land of the Bible. Continuing on to the decades leading up to 1948, Zionism’s appeal and exploits continued to be couched in the language of messianism.

As one example, David Ben-Gurion at a secret meeting in 1941 in London, was blunt. Without a biblical name for their proposed state, he said, they would never attract enough Jewish settlers. And so he said it had to be called either Israel or Judea. The messianic ploy continues today and reinforces Israel’s impunity. After all, it’s one thing to criticize a country but quite another to make accusations against the land in the Bible that seems to be a product of Genesis itself. And as loony as it sounds to make a connection between the Israeli state that selfdeclared itself in 1948 and the realm of the Old Testament, it touches the Western collective subconscious and secures a fervent support among Christian Zionists.

Even this messianic advertising gimmick did not at first elicit the enthusiasm Zionists needed. Their project indeed was widely seen as an affront to Jewish identity. But the messianic WASHINGTON REPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL

WHY IS THE DEFINITION of anti-Semitism relevant to the question of ending U.S. support for Israeli apartheid, or as I would put it, for apartheid Israel since apartheid is in the nature of the state itself? It’s not an external aspect of it that can be switched off.

Well, the definition of anti-Semitism is key because the principal weapon being used to squelch any honest reckoning is the word “anti-Semitism.” And so even before turning to my topic, the new Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism (JDA), we need to ask why the definition of bigotry against Jews, unlike bigotry against the rest of humanity, came to be a contested issue needing its own elaborate definitions. On the face of it, the very idea itself seems to be anti-Semitic, playing into the libel of Jewish exceptionalism.

So before we go any further, who or what is keeping the medieval idea of Jews as a race apart not only alive but official U.S. policy? To me, the answer is obvious and indeed reflected in the JDA at issue. The Israeli state promotes and depends on Jewish separatism in part because the use of the smear to block debate requires it. So I think the JDA can only be under-

August/September 2021

43

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 44

ANNUAL CONFERENCE: END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?

PHOTO BY ED JONES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

angle was exploited longer just street to depict Jews worldwarfare. It was now wide as a single, official policy monolithic tribe and among many of IsZionism, its high rael’s benefactors, priest, inseparable principally, in the from Jewish identity EU, the UK, and of itself. course, the United During the years of States. the British Mandate, This weapon has the Zionist intimidacaused great damtion against Jews to age even among secure compliance governments and with this idea, with institutions which this abuse, was so have not formally extreme that most adopted it, but victims of Zionist asnonetheless, find sassination—that is a themselves judged targeted killing rather Pro-Israel demonstrators attend a rally denouncing anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic by it and threatthan just the victims attacks, in lower Manhattan, NY, on May 23, 2021. ened by it. In the of its indiscriminate wake of Protective carnage—were not Edge, new organiBritish, were not Palestinians, but were Jews who were vocally zations were established to wield IHRA under the veneer of unsympathetic to Zionism. Families were ostracized if they did fighting anti-Semitism. not submit. Students were blocked from advancement if they Foremost among these is the so-called Campaign Against did not submit and on and on, leading to where we are today.

Antisemitism, the CAA, which as a result of its Orwellian name, By consolidating its claimed ownership of Jewish identity, Isstarted as a registered UK charity and further helped by a sperael spins criticism of the state as hatred of Jews. Since accial waiver allowing it to keep secret who is behind it despite its cording to this construct, they’re one and the same. This is charity status. CAA has had a great deal of influence in wielding why the simple matter of what is anti-Jewish racism turns into lies of anti-Semitism on Israel’s behalf. And unfortunately, the a lengthy document invoking the Israeli state, as the JDA unCAA has been further popularized by many well-meaning peofortunately does. ple unaware of what the organization actually is.

For decades, Israel’s apologists waged this weapon on IsThis brings us to the Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism rael’s behalf. Intimidating, smearing and silencing critics with which arose in response to the chaos and destruction caused the smear of anti-Semitism. But as the years passed, cracks

by IHRA. Now, unlike IHRA, the JDA does contain an actual dedeveloped in Israel’s narrative of a benevolent nation defending finition of anti-Semitism. I will read it. I quote from the JDA: itself. It largely contained a public relations debacle after the so“Anti-Semitism is discrimination, prejudice, hostility or violence called Cast Lead massacres against Gaza in 2008-2009, but against Jews as Jews or Jewish institutions as Jewish.” found itself dealing with unprecedented grassroots outrage folYes. Now even this is longer than it really needs to be, but it’s lowing its even more horrific Protective Edge massacres in the fine. But the problem is that this definition is qualified by a prefsummer of 2014. ace and a set of guidelines which preserve the fundamental So in the wake of this post-Protective Edge slip in control abuses of the IHRA. Still framing bigotry against Jews in conover its narrative, Israel responded with a two-pronged strattext of the Israeli state and the so-called conflict and still definegy. One was the International Holocaust Remembrance Aling the terms under which Israel’s crimes may be challenged. liance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism to which the JDA is Now to be sure, it is not only a vastly, vastly better document a response. The very purpose of IHRA was to give perthan IHRA, it is also unlike IHRA, a document which I think was ceived legal endorsement to Israel’s use of Jewish identity composed in good faith. But it was composed in good faith as a human shield to empower its crimes. And its use of the within the confines of a particular mindset. word Holocaust in its title, exploiting the memory of Hitler’s The JDA discusses hostility to Israel which it says might be victims to empower new ethnic crimes, made it all the more anti-Semitic animus. OK. Already we have accepted that there obscene. is some intrinsic link between Jews as Jews and the apartheid IHRA lifted Israel’s use of the anti-Semitism smear from the State of Israel. OK. But if we are going to have this linkage, the uncertainties of allegation or opinion and raised it to the level of JDA makes a dangerous inversion. It implicitly inflates the very perceived dispassionate fact. The anti-Semitism tactic was no people we should all fear—white supremacists, apologists like 44

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_40-46.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 3:14 PM Page 45

thomas suárez: the Jerusalem Declaration on anti-semitism

Photo Courtesy the harris Family

Donald Trump, or public weaned on neo-fascists like the Zionist narrative.

Hungarian Prime I will read it: “DenyMinister Viktor ing the right of Jews Orban. And it is in the State of Israel telling that Israel is to exist and flourish fast buddies with collectively and indisuch people. True vidually as Jews in anti-Semites, people accordance with the who harbor hatred principle of equality.” of Jews as Jews are Now on the face far more likely to be of it, this reads as a wholly supportive of self-evident truth. the Israeli state.

But what does it White supremacists mean? First, it imand fascists love Isplicitly means that in rael because of their order not to be antibigotry. Another Semitic, we must clause addresses a accept the existence possible reason for of the Israeli state, a Palestinian “hostility state that still reto Israel.” This hos- Leah Harris at a Nakba Day protest on May 15 at the Washington Monument, sponsored fuses to define what tility “could be the by the Palestinian Youth Movement. it is and where it is. emotion that a Now, personally, I Palestinian person feels on account of their experience at the don’t think any state has the intrinsic natural right to exist. Peohands of the state.” ple have the right to exist. And states are social structures that Now, this is the only use of the word emotion in the entire exist at the pleasure of those it serves. Does Israel exist at the document. Yet it is used to explain the reaction of the very peopleasure of a majority of the people whose lives it controls? Obple who have the most fact-based, lived experience, over viously not. And so it is all the more confusing that the clause seven-and-a-half decades, for entirely rational hostility to the then says, “with the principle of equality.” state. Unfortunately, this invites Israel’s supporters to explain But we have to assume that everybody is supposed to be away Palestinian opposition to their shackles as emotion, reinequal and not just Jews. If everybody is finally equal after 70, forcing existing racist stereotypes in the West. what, 73 years then by definition, Israel will treat the people it Another guideline addresses anti-Semitism hiding in coded ethnically cleansed from the land equally with all the people speech. And here again, Israel is the topic. Grossly exaggeratwho had no link whatsoever with the land but were ethnically ing Israel’s actual influence can be a coded way of racializing correct settlers. and stigmatizing Jews. Now, hold on here. Alleging the influIsrael created itself by importing Jews—Jews alone—as setence of the Israeli state, right or wrong, has nothing to do with tlers to create an ethnically pure state replacing the indigenous anti-Semitism unless it is said to be synonymous with the Jews people. So the principle of equality would be a farce straight out as a people. And ironically, who claims to speak for all Jews as of Orwell’s Animal Farm unless Israel stopped blocking millions Jews? It’s the very basis of the Israeli state. of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, in the camps in surThe JDA states that evidence-based criticism of Israel as a rounding countries and beyond, from returning home. Now sudstate is not on the face of it anti-Semitic. OK. In other words, evdenly equal, they would return to their own homes, on their own idence-based criticism of Israel still might be anti-Semitic. But land, but find them occupied by, as the JDA puts it, Jews in the more to the point, whether the criticism is by some undefined State of Israel. criteria evidence-based is irrelevant to the topic of anti-SemiThis is a conundrum of Israel’s making and Israel’s alone. In tism. All that matters is whether the criticism, or more likely the fact, the principle of equality would return millions of Palestinian accolades, stem from prejudice against Jews as Jews. And businesses, assets, factories and industries stolen by the Israeli those who engage in such anti-Semitism are merely taking Isstate and its settlers to their rightful owners. To be sure, without rael and Zionism at its word. that wholesale theft of a ready-made country, the new state But the ultimate internal contradiction of the document is would doubtfully have ever existed. In short, the principle of found in the final clause among what it calls examples that on equality would mean that there was never an Israeli state. the face of it are anti-Semitic. And it is all the more problematic All along, the JDA presumes a dangerous falsehood: that Isbecause it is written in a way to sound like a good thing to a rael wants an end to anti-Semitism. No. No. Let’s step back and August/September 2021

45

transcripts_40-46.qxp_June-July 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:37 PM Page 46

ANNUAL CONFERENCE: END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?

not be forced to view the world on Israel’s terms. The Zionist raised to believe—or I would say brainwashed to believe—that ideology and the Israeli state are addicted to anti-Semitism, Zionism and the Israeli state are integral to who they are, part of whether real or invented through fraudulent definitions. And the DNA? Not an option. This is no sweat for criminals. But for what kind of anti-Semitism does Israel focus on? It rails on regular people, it’s a nightmare. Complete cognitive dissoabout its invented anti-Semitism of the progressive left because nance. They must somehow square on one hand wanting to the true progressive left is anti-racist and thus against Israel’s believe that they’re fair minded people while at the same time racism. Actual anti-Jewish racism is not Israel’s focus because believing that their non-negotiable self-identity requires that it is pro-Israel. And the JDA is informed by Israel’s upside down they support massacres, apartheid and ongoing ethnic cleansanti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism as a permanent state of humanity ing. And if you read accounts of people freeing themselves of is what gives Zionism and Israel meaning. And the never endZionism, it is truly the ordeal of leaving a cult. ing fear it generates helps keep the cult obedient.

I see the JDA as in part an attempt to make sense of the conRelated to this, there is one final and I think very important— tradictions of Zionist self-identity versus a personal morality, if I yet to my knowledge overlooked—reason for all the to-do over am correct. It is important to understand that this is a powerful, the definition of anti-Semitism. I see these deliberations and the invisible component of why the definition of anti-Semitism gets JDA as in part an attempt, even an unconscious attempt, to garbled with Israel and Zionism. come to grips with the psychosis that I believe Zionism created In short, intertwining the two numbs the pain of the dissoand Israel nurtures. nance with convoluted complications that seem to externalize As we’ve seen, Israel, in order to cast criticism of it as antithe moral reality. I thought it was revealing that in the video on Semitic and in order to cast anti-Zionist Jews as heretics and the JDA website, the moderator states that, “We can’t forget traitors, presents itself as identical with Jews as Jews. This rehow complex anti-Semitism is. It’s a shapeshifter. It keeps mains Israel’s primary military weapon. But Zionism’s great changing.” Now, how to explain this?

Achilles’ heel, which I personally believe will be its ultimate Systematic discrimination against Jews is happily long gone downfall, is that inescapably according to in the U.S. and many other parts of the (Advertisement) this equation, Jews, by sheer virtue world. Jews are not at risk of gardenof being Jews and as an ethnicity, variety discrimination here in the U.S. are the doers of Israel’s crimes. Yet or in Britain. But they are at risk of the pressure to remain in the cult is deadly violence, and by the same Coffee from Yem men enormous. forces that Arabs and other people We often hear the libel of a selfperceived as “others,” and ultimately Enjoy Al Mokha’s Yemeni Yemeni ccoff ffee, hating Jew intended to prevent disall of us are at risk from—white suavailable online and in-sto ore sent. But this began right with Herzl premacists, the radical right and neowhose condemnation of traditional fascism. And it is a constant phewww.MiddleEastBooks.ccom 1902 18th Street NW W,, DC 20009 20009 non-Zionist Jews sounds straight out nomenon, not a shapeshifter. of the worst Nazi propaganda. I am So how to explain the fog over not exaggerating. Now, regular dewhat constitutes hatred of Jews? cent people who like to think of themMaking it intangible, elusive and alselves as fair minded and certainly ways intertwined with limits of what moral would not want to think that may be said about a non sequitur— they are party to ongoing crimes the Israeli state—except to keep foragainst humanity. ever at a distance the reckoning of As an aside, when the U.S. invaadmitting to one’s self the moral sion against Vietnam was ongoing, I, quandary of Zionism. along with millions of other U.S. citiTo finish up, in my opinion, alzens, felt no organic connection to though the JDA is obviously far better our country’s crimes. We instead felt than IHRA, its vague, contradictory a responsibility to do what we could and convoluted preface and guideto stop it. Now, the government may lines prevent it from being a vehicle have called us traitors, but traitors to to free us from the cynical abuse of what? To something diametrically opanti-Semitism by Israel, its supportposed to our self-identity. It was a ers and the various anti-progressive compliment. Our self-identity had no forces that couldn’t care less about connection with what any particular Israel, but for whom the anti-Semination-state did. tism smear is an effective, handy But what about people who are weapon. ■ 46

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_47-51.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 3:47 PM Page 47

Ian Williams: How the U.S. Shielding of Israel at the U.N. Erodes International Law

How the U.S. Shielding of Israel at the U.N. Erodes International Law

By Ian Williams

WASHINGTON REPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL

THERE’S A LOT of stuff that feeds into what we have to say about the U.N. and the influence of the lobby. It’s not just in the Middle East, it’s the entirety of U.S. foreign policy that’s been put in question by this slavish support for Israel.

You just can’t give slavish support to Israel, and support the United Nations Charter. So, in effect, such support for Israel involves repudiating the 1945 U.N. Charter that FDR [President Franklin Delano Roosevelt] and the U.S. fought so hard for. It means challenging the whole role of international law, of humanitarian order.

There’s no way that the U.S. can go to the Serbs and say, “you can’t treat Kosovars like that”—well, you can do it. But the U.S. can’t do it with a straight face when they’re countenancing what’s happening in the occupied Palestinian territories. You can’t go to Syria and say, “you can’t blow up people like that, it’s against humanitarian law.” But it’s OK for our Israeli ally to use white phosphorus? You can’t say “it’s OK for Saudi Arabia to put journalists through meat grinders” and then turn around and say, “look at what those Iranians are doing.” It detracts from the whole point of a principled foreign policy.

This comes up a lot. Is the U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey based on whether Erdogan is a good guy or a bad guy at any given moment? No. It’s based upon whether Erdogan and the Turks are sympathetic to Israel or not. Right down the line this

U.N. correspondent Ian Williams is the author of UNtold: the Real Story of the United Nations in Peace and War (available from Middle East Books and More). He writes the “United Nations Report” column in the Washington Report.

comes up. And we’ve had several egregious examples recently. In particular, over Kosovo.

I supported independence for Kosovo. In my columns in the Washington Report, I pointed out that the apartheid declaration applied to how the Serbs treated the Kosovars. It was quite explicit.

So we support them, but then we get this [Sept.

2020 economic normalization] deal between Serbia and Kosovo in return for them both accepting Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It’s not due to the inherent merits of whether Kosovo deserves to be independent or not, or whether Serbia should be forced to make peace with some American pressure, it’s about what Israel wants.

Western Sahara is another issue which I’ve dealt with for many years in my columns in the Washington Report. I think that Trump’s declaration—his so-called recognition of Morocco as the titular owner of Western Sahara—has no validity in international law. I don’t think the State Department echoed it. I don’t think they’ve declared on it. One of the tests for Biden’s independence will be whether he says, “no, that’s not true, that’s an occupied territory by U.N. declarations and resolutions that we, the U.S., have supported.” Western Sahara is occupied, but because Morocco has toadied up to Israel Trump supported Morocco’s claim to the territory.

We come back to the key point in U.S. international politics.

It is that the road to Washington goes through Israel for almost every country. How nations vote at the U.N. about Israel means that they think that they will get a sympathetic hearing and the Israel lobby behind them. It has completely deleterious effects.

August/September 2021

47

transcripts_47-51.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:36 PM Page 48

annual confeRence: enD u.s. suPPoRt foR isRaeli aPaRtheiD?

Photo by © hulton-Deutsch collection/coRbis/coRbis via Getty imaGes

Morocco has opResolution 181 of posed Israeli polithe U.N. in 1947, cies on paper but which marked the supported them in foundation of the fact for many State of Israel, basidecades now—it’s cally it’s the legitdone so because imization—not that’s the way it gets Moses’ tablets comsupport in Washinging down from Mt. ton. Turkey for many Sinai—but Resoluyears supported Istion 181 is the title rael because that’s deed of the Zionists the way it got supto Israel. There are port in Washington. no other documents.

Now Turkey doesn’t With the Balfour feel it needs support Declaration, one ecfrom Washington centric civil servant because it can get writing a memo to weapons from Rustry and get support sia. And Turkey is for Britain during giving the finger to World War I does everybody connot constitute a lecerned on this. But gitimate internait’s not a good way tional transfer. I think to think about forit was Monty Python eign policy. who said, “strange We come back to women lying in South Africa. I have ponds distributing to confess, I started swords is no basis writing a book on for a system of govthe Israel lobby ernment.” So neither An anti-apartheid protester pickets the South Africa House in London, on Jan. 2, 1960, many years ago with a sign that reads “Don’t buy the fruits of oppression—Don’t buy South African goods.” is the Balfour Declawhich I wish I had Israel kept buying South African goods and selling the apartheid government weapons. ration a legitimate completed. But I did transfer. a lot of research for it. One of the things that intrigued me was By the way, we tend to forget Stalin and the Soviet Union how the Congressional Black Caucus allowed Israel to be the were eager proponents of the foundation of Israel. But even major conduit for weapons into South Africa and for diamonds then, I know from my research at the U.N., the Jewish Teleout of South Africa. So while we’re calling for a boycott of South graphic Agency, which was acting as a de facto pre-Israel emAfrica, we’re keeping the tap open in Israel. bassy, intensely lobbied to support Resolution 181. Huge presI asked Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg at New York University, “How sure. We know they put pressure on [President Harry] Truman did you manage to keep the Congressional Black Caucus in as well. But that war of attrition has carried on since then and hand? Why weren’t they calling for a boycott of Israel as part of sort of raced forward. the boycott of South Africa?” He said, “You know, you’re very One famous resolution, which was spoken of with such horclever. I negotiated the treaty with the Congressional Black ror and disdain, was the resolution in 1975 which declared Caucus. The deal was that we would support them on all their Zionism a form of racism and racial discrimination. It was finally domestic issues as long as they didn’t raise the question of Isrepealed on December 16, 1991. I was in the General Assemraeli ties to apartheid.” And that deal held. That deal held, far bly when it happened. Let’s remember the circumstances. tighter than the NATO treaty. It’s held until very recently. So all We’re talking expediency here because it was quite clear to all ethics fly out the window—because it’s expedient for one counthe delegates that Zionism was indeed a form of racism and try [Israel]. It comes up over and over again in the case of the racial discrimination. But not many delegates were going to United Nations. stand up to a U.S. that just pulverized Iraq and say so.

Let’s look closely at the United Nations. The U.S. set up the George H.W. Bush wanted this resolution. Why? It was apUnited Nations. It was FDR’s creation. The Universal Declarapeasement for the fact that he and [Senator] Bob Dole had the tion of Human Rights was written by his wife pretty much. But temerity to stand up against Israel on the question of the loan 48

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_47-51.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 3:47 PM Page 49

Ian Williams: How the U.S. Shielding of Israel at the U.N. Erodes International Law

PHOTO BY EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

guarantees. He’d have a hero like held them down on Samson who pulled that one. He faced the temple down on them off. But then top of everybody rehe met such a storm gardless of who and of assaults from the where they were. So lobby, he thought I suppose it’s the he’d buy them off same thing with with this. It didn’t them. But the temwork. They still ple is still there and hated him. They they’re still negotiattook it and ran, and ing there. Now the Zionism is they’re actually very Racism resolution active in the U.N. was repealed.

They’ve always I remember the been active. circumstances. The We’ve talked president of the about the lobby, General Assembly The Republic of Kosovo’s Ambassador Ines Demiri poses for a photo during the official cer- Walter Hixson and was the Saudi am- emony for the opening of the Kosovar Embassy in Jerusalem on March 15, 2021. Kosovo others were disbassador—and he became the first Muslim-majority territory to move its embassy. cussing it [see took a walk. It’s June/July Washingwhat they call the toilet vote in the U.N., the restroom vote. He ton Report, pp. 44-47]. The lobby is not a coherent in lockstep went out and made sure that somebody else stood in his place body, it’s an ecological subsystem of lobbies. Think of the NRA because he wasn’t going to be presiding over this vote.

[National Rifle Association]. The NRA has two purposes in life.

Israel afterwards got itself invited to join the Western EuroOne is to provide its staff and its director with a very affluent pean and Others Group, under heavy U.S. pressure. This lifestyle. The second is to get what it wants on the Second meant it was in a regional group. It’s in rotation for the Security Amendment.

Council. Unfortunately for Israel, the Western European and A lot of these [pro-Israel] lobbies are the same. They are Others Group actually has real elections. It has people standing competing. So they’re competing for the votes of people who against each other instead of going on a rotated system. So I hate the United Nations. They’re competing for votes of the have to say that, whatever they do, Israel is very, very unlikely ones who support Israel tooth and nail. They’re there all the to get elected because it goes to the general body of the U.N. if time. They take the donors to the United Nations. They introit’s a contested election. You know, these are the various items duce them to the secretary-general. They introduce them to the that come in. ambassadors of major powers because that’s what the donors So what’s the disposition with the U.N. now? Israel spent want. The donors don’t just do it because they’re nice people. several years in the 1990s being even more stupid than now.

They do it because they get pride in their community. They get Basically it joined everybody in dissing the United Nations. You medals. They get awards. They get banquets. They get told the have to remember that anti-U.N. stuff with the “black heliAmerican Jewish Committee will give them a dinner. The Concopters,” it was something. It’s automatic that American isolaference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations tionists oppose the U.N. but it was the Israel lobby that decided will give them an award. They get taken to the high places of to start cutting back on dues to the United Nations. Cutting back the world and shown around by the lobbyists. It’s a very sucon their international treaty obligations to punish others for supcessful operation. porting Palestinian rights.

And they go to all the different countries. They go bang on Once that gap in the dike was open, the flood came through, the doors of all the developing nations and say, “look, we’re reand we got to the position where the U.N. was on the verge of ally supporting you.” And these countries, often weak and fragbeing defunded by the United States. UNRWA [the United Naile, will look and say, “wow, major support from the U.S., these tions Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the people control Congress. Of course we’ve got to.” It’s almost as Near East] was defunded. UNESCO was defunded. These though they’ve operationalized the protocols of Zion. They perwere all the consequences of the Israel lobby’s interference to suaded these people that the protocols of Zion apply, and that get its own way on particular issues. You’d think it’s a bit much, the Israel lobby completely controls the U.S. Congress and the pulling down the whole apparatus of international law because world. And that if they want to get ahead, they have to do it.

UNESCO, like the majority of U.N. members, has accepted the Fortunately they don’t but the pitch works, over and over.

State of Palestine. But then we’re talking about people who You look at Kosovo. Kosovo got a lot of support from Muslim August/September 2021

49

transcripts_47-51.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 2:36 PM Page 50

ANNUAL CONFERENCE: END U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAELI APARTHEID?

countries at one point in its independence, and from others.

They got support from Malaysia, for example, in a big way.

They and the Bosnians. And it all disappeared. You want to be in with the Americans, you have to go and recognize Israel and go change your embassy. This is the pattern.

More recently, cleverer Israeli ambassadors have come along. Why did they come to the U.S.? Well, for a start, they’re often political rivals. The previous ambassador was someone who was a rival to [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu. By being in New York, you get access to this lobby.

You get access to lots and lots of contributions for your own political career back in Israel. Which is what they did. You do this by taking [donors] to see the secretary-general.

You take them to see the British ambassador. You take them to see the French ambassador. You take them all along to all these places. And you get a double vote, a plus, because the donors push other countries. You’re assuring the British and the French that, if you make trouble with us, you’re in trouble because we’ve got this huge influential sector of American society who is going to weigh in against you. They all want to be on the side of the winners in Washington.

They’re all being nice.

We mentioned Boris Johnson before. Boris Johnson has disappeared up his own fundament, ripping up years of international law as expressed by Britain. Incidentally, Tony Blair began the process. Indeed we often forget that Margaret Thatcher stood for international law. In most cases, she actually voted along with the others on all the Palestinian resolutions against the United States, against dear Ronald [Reagan]. She voted against Israeli actions because that was international law.

It took Tony Blair under the influence of Washington to go differently, which is where it’s going now.

So all these things have consequences. One of the things that we need to do is to look at how they do it. It’s a war of attrition on a thousand fronts all the way along. You really have to look for it.

I recently raised the issue—some of you saw in the newspapers that the oldest basket in the world was found in Israel. It wasn’t. It was found in the occupied territories. Why should I raise that? Where’s the Palestinian lobby? What is the Palestinian mission doing? Why don’t they say, “hey, that’s looting!” It’s only a basket, but it’s our basket. It’s a Palestinian basket. You can’t claim it is Israeli. It’s a war crime to steal cultural artifacts like this. There are not enough people watching this. The Israelis on the other hand, the first dereliction and you will get a host of letters. Your editors will get a host of letters.

In 1983 I did a tour of the West Bank and the occupied territories and wrote an article about it for The Guardian. It was a bit far out at the time and the editor was a bit dubious about taking it. Then the letters started coming in. It just so happened I knew

the guy who did this. He was a Jewish friend of mine, a personal friend, not a political friend by any means. And he coordinated the response. All his lists got a postcard saying, “complain to The Guardian about the anti-Semitism in this article.”

So they all duly put in the letters complaining about anti-Semitism, but they didn’t know what they were complaining about.

Because I said there were mosquitoes in Jerusalem one of them said I was clearly anti-Semitic. I mean this was what they were reduced to. But they were doing it. And editors don’t like getting complaints. They get emails now of course, none of this postcard and licking a stamp and putting it on. They’re continually on the lookout. And that is what the Palestinians are lacking.

We think that’s silly. Why would you complain about a basket in the West Bank? Well, you complain because every time that goes in, it’s this incremental war of attrition depriving the Palestinian claim of legitimacy. It’s at that level that it goes on at the U.N. as well.

It’s underfunded, understaffed, and it’s constrained because [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas wants everyone to make nice to the Americans and not to upset the Israelis too much.

You really need an aggressive campaign. It’s far worse because of Palestine’s supporters for many years—I think Walter Hixson and others referred to this—the worst enemies of the Palestinians were their best friends. You really do not want—or didn’t want at the time—Syria and Iraq, and Venezuela under [President Nicolas] Maduro—some of the worst regimes in the world standing up and shouting about Palestinian rights because as we know they weren’t concerned about anybody’s rights. I mean what they know about human rights could be written on a thin edge of a postage stamp. And everybody else knew that, so it delegitimized it.

What we have to do at the United Nations is to work and get the Europeans and the Scandinavians. South Africa we brought on the side, and other countries with some credibility on these issues. But unfortunately they’ve gone by the wayside and the Israelis have been working on them as well. Israel has been toadying up to India, it’s been selling weapons to China. It’s using its state influence all the way.

Then it comes to the question, why is the U.N. important?

I noticed a question: What’s the effect of the International Criminal Court [ICC]? Well, the Israelis are very concerned about it. As it is, at the moment they know that every time one of their officials gets on the plane, they stand the risk of arrest when they get off at the other side, under universal jurisdiction.

If an arrest warrant goes out into the ICC, they’ll go... It’s already happened. Israeli officials have landed in London, the British police came and tipped them off, warning if they get off the plane, there’s an arrest warrant for them.

So it’s a small incremental thing, but I do think it’s one of the unsung triumphs of the United Nations, that Israeli bureaucrats

It’s a Palestinian

basket...It’s a war crime to steal cultural artifacts like this.

50

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

transcripts_47-51.qxp_August/September 2021 Israel Conference issue 7/15/21 3:47 PM Page 51

Ian Williams: How the U.S. Shielding of Israel at the U.N. Erodes International Law

and military officers have to consult their lawyers as well their travel agents before they go anywhere. This is a good thing. It’s the type of harassment and delegitimization that the U.N. is doing. That has an effect, the same way it did with South Africa.

We did campaign about South Africa. I was expelled from a university over apartheid in South Africa, and there were quite a lot of us who paid a price for supporting South Africa. Some of us came into the support for the Palestinians when we saw the Israeli support for South Africa as well, which delegitimized our original sort of social democrat pro-Zionist inclinations. So it was there, we fought against it.

They’re still fighting it, but then you look at the examples. I think that Jeremy Corbyn’s big fault was not that he was antiSemitic. But once he’d accepted the legitimacy of these accusations against some of his colleagues, he opened the dike.

The torrent came rushing through. Corbyn’s a longstanding acquaintance of mine. He hasn’t got an anti-Semitic bone in his body, but that’s the weapon they used. The accusation is terrifying. It’s an internal accusation. It was like in 1984 where not believing in Big Brother sufficiently made you feel guilty because you were not going along with everybody else.

This is the real weapon of anti-Semitism at the United Nations and on an individual level. Well-thinking and well-meaning people are horrified at being thought anti-Semitic. After the Holocaust, we have every right to be horrified at the thought of such an accusation. But on the other hand, we have every right to turn around and rebut and refute those accusations when they clearly are nonsense.

When Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London, was accused of anti-Semitism, Corbyn and his friends threw him under the bus. That meant that they were next, that the bus was coming back for them immediately afterwards, and it came back for them.

So part of it is the idea of standing up, like our colleagues mentioned earlier today. Having the courage to stand up and hold to your principles and getting enough people to do it.

There is safety in numbers. If you can get more people to do it, if more editors actually defied the lobby. If they could actually get into their clubs and say, “look at this report, we should put it out. Netanyahu is a thug, we should say so and get everybody else to say so as well,” or “if I say it, will you say it?”

But those networks have to be built. It’s difficult. Part of this conference is an attempt to point out the ways and how to work together on an international level. We should be lobbying delegations at the U.N. We should be lobbying the Germans, the Dutch, the Scandinavians—all the ones who are wobbly. We should certainly be lobbying Canada. We should certainly be lobbying Australia because they got a free pass. They have both regressed in a shocking way under U.S. influence.

Canada has lost its Security Council seat. Most Canadians don’t know that Canada lost its Security Council seat because it had stopped supporting Palestine and was supporting the Israeli resolutions. The delegates out there were marking their cards. This is a secret ballot. They couldn’t hit back at the U.S.,

they couldn’t hit back at Israel, but they could hit back at Canada. And they did.

Australia has been getting the same treatment over the years. The UK is getting the same treatment for this, and for the Iraq war, of course. It lost several important positions that it used to take for granted on the International Criminal Court and others. But we have to encourage those delegates. You have to pull that apparatus. You have to get out there. Individuals have to take action, not just on ancient baskets in the West Bank, but on basket cases in various capitals around the world. We should go forth and remind them. There are embassies here and they do listen to what people say.

If we go lobbying to the British Embassy and say, “hey, we’ve seen you”; if you protest outside the British Embassy, it has an effect. If you picket outside the German Embassy and say, “you are an accomplice in war crimes by covering for Israel,” that hits home. The German press might even cover it, even though they’ve got their own problems. But we can’t let them get away with all of this.

USE ThE UniTEd naTionS

The United Nations is a flawed instrument, but it is the only instrument we’ve got. As I often say, and I think I’ve said it in my UNtold book, it’s like democracy, it’s the worst possible and most inefficient thing in the world, but it’s better than the alternatives and the only one we’ve got so we have to work with it.

The U.N. is something that the Palestinians have been using in a very serious way. It was actually Yasser Arafat’s nephew, Nasser al-Qudwa, who started the long litigation road against Israel, which terrifies Tel Aviv. Their reaction to BDS is part of that. He pioneered resolution after resolution which stitched up Israel legally. Our previous speakers described a whole series of resolutions which were framed to say what Israel is doing, how it contravenes international law and international conventions, and why support of Israel is a contravention and a form of accomplice and conspiracy with Israel to defy international law. Al-Qudwa has done that but it’s up to the rest of us now to implement it. Because if you have a law that’s not implemented, you may as well not have it. In fact, it brings the law into dispute as well.

Unconditional U.S. support for Israel has continually degraded the stature of the United Nations and international law. Now Biden has shown several signs that he’s walked back, including restoring some funding for UNRWA. Some of the other more outrageous executive decisions have been walked back. What does he need to do? He needs to say very firmly that by international law the settlements are illegal and Israeli activities there are illegal and in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Let’s hear him say it. Then I’m convinced there might be a new era.

Up until then, it’s like a sumo wrestling match. The Israel lobby is bigger than us and is heaving us out the dohyō. So up until then I don’t think Joe Biden is really cut out to be a sumo wrestler, but who knows? He surprised me with several of his decisions so far. We’ve got some hope. ■ August/September 2021

51

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 52

HUMAN RIGHTS On June 1, the Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted a Zoom webinar moderated by Mirette F. Mabrouk, director of the institute’s Egypt program. Speakers included Mozn Hassan, the founder and executive director of Nazra for Feminist Studies, and Hoda Elsadda, a professor at Cairo University. The discussion revolved around the challenges women face in the Egyptian public sphere. In particular, it focused on the #GuardianshipIsMyRight campaign that has recently trended in Egyptian cyberspace, which demands that Egyptian women be granted the right to guardianship of themselves and their children.

Guardianship in Egypt is a nebulous and opaque region of personal law, especially for women. In general, mothers have no guardianship over their children in matters related to education, travel and everyday bureaucracy. Women cannot, for instance, transfer their child from one school to another, or open a bank account for their children without the consent of their husband.

It also extends to personal medical decisions; Egyptian women do not have the right to hysterectomies without their husband’s approval.

“This state of affairs is due to the governing logic of the current personal status law," said Elsadda, “which assumes that women, regardless of their age and their experience— I underline these two points—are always under some sort of wilaya, or guardianship, or tutelage of a male member of the family.”

“Personal status laws were issued in the 1920s on the basis of sharia [Islamic law],” continued Elsadda, “and resulted in the codification of principles and rules that institutionalized the control of men over women in the domain of the family.”

Hassan agreed. “The problem about this is patriarchy, which sometimes has a securitized perspective,” she said. "[Men] want to put us [behind] this shield, that you have to act like this to be a good woman.”

Hassan also pointed out that Egyptian feminists have always been dismissed as 52

A woman visits an exhibition entitled "Mu’anath" (Arabic for “feminine”) in Cairo, Egypt, on March 6, 2021. The exhibition, held ahead of International Women's Day, was organized by Art D’Egypte, a renowned Egyptian platform of art and heritage, and featured the unique works of 20 painters, photographers and sculptors. discussing niche issues that do not concern most women. However, the #GuardianIsMyRight campaign, which was founded by an Egyptian feminist organization, has highlighted several issues facing all Egyptian women in their daily interactions.

This campaign is linked to the rise of women’s activism following the January 25 Revolution of 2011, which allowed for discussion of issues that are considered taboo, such as women’s bodies, sexual harassment and sexual violence. This movement led to the inclusion of an article in the 2014 constitution that, for the first time ever, committed the state to combatting violence against women.

Hassan argued that the main problem for women is that most Egyptian institutions are driven by what she calls “fragile masculinity.” These organizations refuse to automatically grant women their rights without continual pressure. They also fear women obtaining their full rights, lest they take the place of men in leadership positions.

“It is this fragile masculinity all the time," Hassan lamented. “They are afraid that if we gain something, this means we will lead more than them.”

The MEI webinar represented an expression of the real challenges facing Egyptian women, whose importance is oftentimes disregarded or minimized amid the many economic, political and security challenges facing Egypt. As a result, feminism is con-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

sidered a luxury rather than a necessity; an issue to be debated among the elite, since it is perceived as irrelevant to middle class and poor women. However, the event revealed how social media in the Arab world has transformed into a consistent platform for marginalized groups such as women to express themselves.

—Mona Ali

Women’s Rights Amid Unrest in Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon

The American University of Beirut’s Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship hosted a seminar on June 21 about how women’s rights activism in the Middle East has been impacted by political unrest and the pandemic.

Aliaa Awada, founder of the Beirut-based feminist organization Fe-male, believes the central challenge facing women in Lebanon is that they “are not seen as citizens, but rather as an accessory to the family and men.” This view is reflected in many of the country’s laws, she said.

Awada noted that the pandemic, coupled with Lebanon’s economic and political crises, have placed a tremendous strain on women. When instability struck, women became society’s first victims, prompting non-profit organizations to innovate the ways in which they provide services. For example, Fe-male distributed menstrual pads to women who could not obtain them, especially since this basic feminine comAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 JUNE/JULY 2020

XINHUA/AHMED GOMAA VIA GETTY IMAGES

Equality for Some: Challenges to Women’s Rights in Egypt

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 53

WAGING PEACE

XINHUA/XINHUA VIA GETTY IMAGES

What Does Raisi’s Election Mean for Iran?

Demonstrators in Algeria’s capital of Algiers call for protecting women rights on the occasion of International Women's Day, on March 8, 2021.

modity is often overlooked as a luxury.

While women are often marginalized, they are still called upon to provide solutions to crises created primarily by men, Awada said. For example, there is a severe lack of baby formula in Lebanon, and therefore women must rely on breastfeeding, even if they are not able to do so for health reasons. As another example, if food is not available in the markets, women are expected to be creative in preparing meals from scratch for their families.

In Algeria, activist Frida Wahrania noted that women participated in demonstrations against then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and used the historic moment as an opportunity to shed light on the challenges they face.

However, the feminist movement was exposed to some unprecedented attacks and accused of dividing the revolutionary movement. Critics also stated that their demands for equal rights were inappropriately timed. As a result of threats, some members of the movement became hesitant and afraid of joining the struggle in the streets.

The situation has only grown worse for activists—and especially feminist leaders— with the spread of coronavirus, Wahrania noted. It has been “not only a medical quarantine, but also a political quarantine,” she said. As such, activists resorted to social media platforms to organize meetings.

Among the many challenges facing women’s activism in Algeria is the failure of government services that are supposed to help women, Wahrania said. One such service is the “Green Line,” which was deAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

signed to respond to women’s complaints of domestic violence and other abuses.

To fill the void, many Algerian feminists have started podcasts in the colloquial Algerian dialect dealing with the issues and crises women face. Wahrania has personally launched a page on social media platforms, Algerian Feminism Times, which covers women’s struggles and political issues in a satirical way.

Nadia Mahmood, co-founder of the Aman Organization for Women in Iraq, a non-profit aimed at achieving economic and physical security for women, said the pandemic created a dire economic situation for women. Many lost their jobs, and feminist movements demanded that the state provide job opportunities for women. “Without income, women cannot feed themselves nor escape from the atmosphere of violence within the family,” she said. “Women suffer violence, including murder, because they cannot provide for themselves.”

Mahmood noted her group organized virtual summer and winter schools that brought women and men together to raise awareness of feminist issues. She added that there was increased awareness among men of these feminist issues, with a number of young men launching a campaign called “Foregoing My Privileges.” The campaign aimed to encourage men to relinquish the unjust legal and tribal privileges granted to them.

All panelists stressed the importance of social media in promoting feminist work. Despite their many challenges, social media has fostered solidarity between women across the Arab world.

—Mona Ali

Ebrahim Raisi is set to become the next president of Iran on Aug. 8, following his victory in the country’s June 18 election. A long-serving conservative jurist, Raisi has been targeted by U.S. sanctions and human rights activists, notably for his role in the execution of thousands of prisoners in the 1980s.

The June election was marred by historically low turnout, with just 48.8 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot. Many Iranians called for a boycott, after the country’s Guardian Council disqualified all of Raisi’s serious competitors from running.

Speaking to the Atlantic Council on June 21, Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor at the University of Tehran and a boycott supporter, said the low turnout likely rattled the country’s leadership. “Even they could not believe there would be such a huge boycott of the election,” he said. Zibakalam described the boycott as one of the few mechanisms Iranians have to send a message to their government.

Many have speculated that Raisi’s election is a stepping stone to him replacing the aging Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader. Azadeh Zamirirad, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs told the Atlantic Council that the presidency could actually serve as a stumbling stone to higher office. “The presidency in Iran has never really been a position that was particularly beneficial for your political career,” she noted. “Since 1989, not a single president has actually come out of the presidency unharmed. They have usually been marginalized or ostracized.”

Long-time Iran watcher Robin Wright agrees. “This is not a lock for Raisi,” she said at a June 22 event co-sponsored by the Wilson Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Raisi is not an experienced politician, she noted, and “he faces an incredible number of hurdles,” such as restoring the economy in the midst of a pandemic and U.S. sanctions.

“Raisi is going to have a hell of a hard time, I think, delivering,” Wright continued.

“He’s not an imaginative politician, he has

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

53

offered very few ideas, he talks but he doesn’t actually say very much.”

Wright noted that with Raisi’s election, conservatives now dominate Iranian leadership.

“The hardliners have now consolidated political control in Iran,” holding the presidency, parliament, judiciary, intelligence community and military, she pointed out. “Iran increasingly looks like a one-party state.” However, she noted that deep divisions remain among the hardliners, making it unlikely that leaders in Tehran will be able to easily reach a consensus on pressing issues.

With nuclear negotiations unlikely to produce a resolution before Raisi takes office, many are wondering if the new administration will share President Hassan Rouhani’s commitment to reviving the nuclear agreement. Wright noted that on the campaign trail, Raisi said he supports reaching an agreement with the United States. However, she doubts the Raisi administration will be interested in discussing other issues with Washington, such as its missile program and its role in the region, though she believes Raisi will be open to discussing a resolution to the Yemen conflict.

—Dale Sprusansky

Afghanistan’s Future After U.S. Withdrawal

The U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer has raised ques54

tions about the future roles of China, Russia and Iran in the region.

The worst-case scenario for all three countries is the departure of U.S. troops being followed by the ascent of the Taliban and other insurgent groups, resulting in an expanded civil war, said Middle East Institute senior fellow Fatemeh Aman on a June 25 webinar hosted by her organization.

“No one wants the Afghan government to fall or the Taliban to come to power violently,” she explained. “This is the only thing that gives me hope. It’s crucial right now for the United States, China, Russia and Iran that their differences don’t play into Afghanistan.”

Iran’s main concern in Afghanistan is security and fears that a civil war could spill

over across its border, Aman said. Also troubling is the possibility that Afghanistan could become a haven for international terrorist groups from the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia.

Being the main route to Europe and beyond for narcotics produced in Afghanistan, Iran—with an estimated four million drug addicts—is also concerned about the narcotics trade. “Addiction has become the number one social issue in Iran,” Aman said. There is also concern about the flow of refugees into Iran should an all-out Afghan civil war break out.

China is growing increasingly concerned about a security vacuum emerging in Afghanistan, said Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Reid Standish, and “that situation looks increasingly dire with the Taliban making major advances.”

Until this point, “China has broadly pursued its interests in Afghanistan while relying on the U.S. presence to quell some of the more substantial security threats,” he noted. China has no interest in replacing the United States in Afghanistan in any form, Standish added, but there are deep concerns about the government collapsing.

China has offered limited support to the Afghan, Tajik and Pakistani border services and has a military outpost in Tajikistan along the Afghan border, Standish noted. “But these efforts are single-mindedly focused on Chinese border concerns.” China shares a 47-mile border with Afghanistan.

As to Russia, “while Moscow and Beijing are close in a lot of respects…Russia is still

An Afghan National Army soldier takes a selfie inside the Bagram air base after all U.S. and NATO troops departed from the facility, on July 5, 2021.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi delivers a speech at the Imam Reza shrine in the city of Mashhad, on June 22, 2021.

MOHSEN ESMAEILZADEH/ISNA NEWS AGENCY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 54

seen as the leader with regard to security in Central Asia…and I don’t think Beijing has the ambition to take that away from Russia,” he stated.

Nikita Mendkovich of the Center for Modern Afghanistan Studies and the Russian International Affairs Council pointed out that despite receiving two decades of training and supplies from the West, Afghan forces are rapidly collapsing in the face of a Taliban insurgency. This, he argued, shows that the U.S. cannot transform the country. “The war is lost,” he said. “Twenty years of NATO troops in Afghanistan show that NATO cannot solve the problem.”

The challenges in Afghanistan and Central Asia will have to be solved “by themselves,” he argued. “NATO and the United States cannot do anything in the future.”

Mendkovich scoffed at a recent White House statement saying that Washington will continue to support Afghanistan’s women, minorities and other vulnerable communities. “I’m afraid that this document is not worth the paper it is printed on,” he said. “The Taliban is winning as we are sitting here. The West doesn’t want the Taliban to win, but no one is going to do anything to make it lose.”

Mustafa Sarwar, senior editor at Radio Azadi, offered a reminder that the citizens of Afghanistan have suffered decades of violence that appears to be without end. “Ordinary Afghans—men and women—on a daily basis are concerned about the situation,” he said. “They have borne the brunt of the long Afghan conflict. They only want one thing: a permanent cease-fire to be able to live in relative peace and security.”

—Elaine Pasquini

Rehabilitating Jimmy Carter’s Middle East Policy

As a result of his determined efforts at the Camp David summit in 1978, President Jimmy Carter successfully negotiated “a rational path forward to Palestinian autonomy and a two-state solution,” but he was betrayed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who reneged on the deal.

Distinguished historian Kai Bird, the author of a new biography of Carter, offered the above assessment in a June 17 BrookAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

CHUCK FISHMAN/GETTY IMAGES

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 55

President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin addressing the press at the White House, in March 1978. ings Institution webinar conducted by Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the think tank.

Contrary to the argument that Carter settled for a separate Israeli peace with Egypt, thereby abandoning the Palestinian cause, Bird’s research reveals that Begin agreed to “some kind of self-rule” for Palestinians as well as a freeze on construction of new Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, the Likud leader “reneged and walked back from what he had agreed to within days.”

Bird, the author of myriad historical studies, argues Carter was ahead of his time in his support for Palestinians, a cause that today is widely embraced in the United States but was—and remains—opposed

by Israel and its lobby (which unfortunately went unmentioned by Bird) at the time of Camp David.

Carter’s effort to pressure Israel to negotiate, which stemmed partly from his religious roots and the attendant desire to bring peace to the “holy land,” contributed to his electoral defeat in 1980. In that election Carter won only 45 percent of the typically pro-Democratic Jewish vote, a sharp decline from the 71 percent he achieved in 1976.

Nearly three decades after his presidency, Carter once again called on Israel to negotiate a two-state solution in his 2006 book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.

Today, Israel is widely and accurately rec-

ognized as an apartheid state, but Carter’s use of the term in 2006 proved “highly controversial,” including, Bird pointed out, the former president being saddled with the “grossly unfair charge” of anti-Semitism.

Bird recounted that Carter’s principal adviser on the Middle East and several trustees of the Carter Center resigned over his bold insistence on including the term “apartheid” in the book’s title.

Carter became “a victim of historical circumstances” in 1980 amid the 444-day Iran hostage crisis, which was deeply rooted in historical forces that, as it happened, erupted on Carter’s watch. Bird argued that Carter initially opposed providing sanctuary to the Shah of Iran on the fallacious grounds that he could only receive cancer treatments in the U.S. David Rockefeller, who had millions of dollars in loans to the Shah at stake, along with Henry Kissinger and others, badgered Carter, who “finally agreed” to admit Shah Reza Pahlavi. The shah arrived in the United States in Nov. 1979, thereby fueling the Shi’i fundamentalist forces who ultimately came to power in the Iranian Revolution.

Bird declared that Carter also initially opposed the aborted and disastrous Iran hostage rescue mission of April 1980. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski “nagged Carter into the helicopter rescue mission,” Bird averred, even though the

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

55

“hopeless” Operation Eagle Claw had almost no chance of success and would have produced a “bloodbath” had the military strike force made it to Tehran instead of the mission being aborted.

This series of events, along with economic issues and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in Dec. 1979, severely compromised Carter’s political standing. However, as Bird pointed out, to ensure the election of Ronald Reagan, his campaign manager and later CIA Director William Casey secretly flew to Madrid, Spain, to meet with representatives of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to preclude an “October surprise,” a scenario in which Carter would successfully negotiate the release of the 52 American hostages and at the same time boost his political standing prior to the election. Promising military support to Iran in the conflict that had erupted with Iraq, Casey gave “a green light to the Iranians not to make a deal” on the release of the hostages in what Bird judged an “outrageous example of independent diplomacy undermining U.S. foreign policy.”

The hostages were eventually released on the day Reagan took office, Jan. 20, 1981. Bird added that Casey’s partisan secret mission “planted the seeds” for the Iran-Contra scandal, which surfaced in 1986.

Bird’s insights into the Carter presidency extend beyond Middle East policy and likely will make his book—The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter—an essential read. Bird clearly admires his subject and predicts that over time as more evidence emerges from the sources he has mined, especially Carter’s copious diary entries and memoranda, that the 39th president will ascend from his relatively low standing to a higher ranking of overall presidential efficacy. In any case, Bird argued that Carter was “probably the most intelligent, well-read president in the twentieth century, and of course he was the most decent.”

—Walter L. Hixson

Should the U.S. Engage Hamas?

As the cycle of war and reconstruction continues in besieged Gaza, could direct talks between the United States and Hamas be a way to foster a new para56

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar speaking in Gaza City, Gaza on June 5, 2021. digm? The National Interest Foundation posed this question to a group of experts on a June 10 webinar.

Peter Beinart, a popular columnist and professor at the City University of New York, noted that Washington recently began negotiating with the Taliban, a group with vastly more baggage vis-à-vis the U.S. than Hamas. “It seems to be hard to make a conceptual argument that suggests there’s a reason to talk to the Taliban but not to Hamas,” Beinart said.

He also pointed out that the U.S. already communicates indirectly with Hamas through intermediary countries, such as Egypt and Qatar. Beinart reasoned it would be more fruitful if Washington were to just directly hold such talks.

Beinart dismissed the notion that talks would legitimatize Hamas, which is classified by Washington as a terrorist organization. The decades-long “peace process” led by the U.S. and endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) is what actually gives Hamas credibility, he argued. Palestinians, he noted, have progressively lost more freedoms and more land during the postOslo Accords era, and yet they see the PA maintain the status quo with Israel. “Hamas’ main source of legitimacy is really the sense that it might be able to get things for the Palestinian people that the Palestinian Authority cannot get,” Beinart said.

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and former adviser to the Palestine

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Liberation Organization, echoed this sentiment. She said that everyone in Palestine besides the PA “realizes that the United States is not going to do anything for us, that liberation is not going to come through the Congress, it’s not going to come through the hands of the Americans, and in fact, if anything, it’s going to be the primary obstacle to it.”

Buttu also posited that the U.S. position toward Hamas is largely a reflection of Israel’s desires. “If you look at why it is that the United States is not engaging with Hamas, it’s not for U.S. reasons, it’s entirely for Israeli reasons,” she said. Buttu noted that the present reality ensures a fissure between the West Bank and Gaza and keeps a deep divide between Fatah and Hamas— all to the benefit of Israel.

Beinart noted that there’s an irony behind Washington criticizing Hamas for blunting the chances of peace. Israel has disregarded key provisions of Oslo and “pretty explicitly not accepted the two-state solution,” he pointed out. “You’re asking Hamas to recognize Israel, but what is Hamas going to reasonably expect to get in return, given that it’s very very unlikely that Israel would respond by recognizing a legitimate, viable Palestinian state?” he asked.

Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon, conceded there’s no reason to believe the U.S. will reach out to Hamas in the near-term. Activists and scholars need to instead focus AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

ASHRAF AMRA/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 56

their energy on convincing the Biden administration to emphasize Palestinian human rights and call out Israel for its myriad abuses of basic rights, he said.

Former congressman Jim Moran said the U.S. must recognize the deepening inequality between Palestinians and Jews living under Israeli authority. The U.S. needs to construct a long-term policy that is “consistent with the universal values which we purport to ascribe to,” he said.

—Dale Sprusansky

Experts Debunk Four Myths on Israel-Palestine

All nations have myths. Indeed, the French historian Ernest Renan wrote in 1882 that “forgetfulness” and “historical error are essential in the creation of a nation.” The State of Israel is no exception.

On June 16, George Washington University and the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) convened a virtual panel to dispel and debunk selected myths regarding Israel and Palestine.

Shira Robinson, a historian at George Washington, began the panel from a historical perspective.

Israel has certainly experienced a resurgence of right-wing populism since the early 2000s, as seen in the passage of the 2018 Jewish nation-state law, she noted. However, “it would be a mistake to accept the common refrain that the rise of the settler right represents a tragic perversion of the original national dream or an abandonment of the state’s foundational commitments to equality and pluralism,” Robinson said.

“Israel has never been a republican democracy in the sense of the state belonging to all of its citizens.”

Israel’s roots are in Jewish settler colonialism, Robinson explained. “Israel views Palestinians as a problem by virtue of their presence on the land as non-Jews...regardless of whether they live in 1948 Israel, East Jerusalem, in the West Bank, or in the Gaza Strip.”

Jadaliyya co-editor Mouin Rabbani spoke on one of the more explosive myths of the Israel-Palestine conflict: “Anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.” According to Rabbani, much of the modern public disAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 57

Israeli settlers march in a newly-built settler outpost near the Palestinian village of Beita, in the occupied West Bank, on June 21, 2021. Throughout the day, settlers held 14 marches to intimidate Palestinians living in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel retains full control over planning and construction. course surrounding anti-Zionism and its relationship with anti-Semitism began in 1975 with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379. The resolution, which included a clause stating that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination,” was vociferously criticized by the United States and Israel preceding its adoption by the General Assembly.

“The U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, windbag extraordinaire Daniel Patrick Moynihan, declared that ‘the United Nations is about to make anti-Semitism international law,’” Rabbani said. “The statement echoed a declaration two years earlier by Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban that ‘one of the chief tasks of any dialogue with the Gentile world is to prove that the distinction between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not a distinction at all.’”

Contrarily, Rabbani continued, for much of its early history, Zionism’s most outspoken critics were Jewish. Both Orthodox Jews and secular left-wing Jews regarded the ideology as “either an act of religious blasphemy or a secular heresy that undermined the struggle for Jewish emancipation in Europe.”

“Until at least 1945, and probably through 1967, the majority of diaspora Jews were in fact either non- or anti-Zionist,” noted Rabbani, “a pattern that appears to be repeating itself in the 21st century.”

Next, Rabbani attacked the idea that the expulsion of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah “is a property dispute exploited by Palestinian agitators for political objectives.”

Although Jewish families certainly lived in Sheikh Jarrah prior to Jordan’s occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem, the facts on the ground make it difficult to believe that Israel is seeking restitution for those Jews expelled from the neighborhood.

“It is an established fact that none of the Israeli plaintiffs claiming ownership of Sheikh Jarrah property have any connection to those Jews who resided in Sheikh Jarrah prior to 1948,” Rabbani pointed out. “Israel and its settlers are, in fact, making their claims on an exclusively sectarian basis.”

“The absurdity that lies at the heart of this issue needs to be properly recognized,” Rabbani continued. He noted that retired Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair was born in Sheikh Jarrah in 1942, fled the area with his family in 1948, and was compensated for the loss of his property. Yet, “unbeknownst to Ben-Yair,” years later a settler organization appointed themselves as the Ben-Yair family’s trustees and currently collect rent from Palestinians living in BenYair’s former home in Sheikh Jarrah.

“Ben-Yair is currently fighting a losing battle to claim ownership of the building to

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

57

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 58

goes beyond physical violence against journalists. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have access to subpar Internet speeds, imperiling their ability to engage the outside world and share their stories, she noted. On the social media front, Israel has worked with companies such as Facebook to target and remove speech critical of the country, Shtaya pointed out. Meanwhile, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have all targeted Palestinians for their social media posts.

Despite these disturbing trends, Shtaya is hopeful the social media age is helping Palestinians circumvent traditional gatekeepers in the media and share their experiences widely. “Social media opened the door for Palestinians to tell our story and our narrative in our own way,” she said. “We are not telling the story to a journalist who is going to communicate on behalf of us; we are telling our stories by ourselves.”

Writer and researcher Mariam Barghouti said the world’s ability to see what is happening in Palestine through an unfiltered lens has led to an exponential growth in solidarity with Palestinians. Palestinians haven’t changed their narrative, she emphasized. Rather, many are now witnessing what Palestinians have been attesting to for decades. “I don’t think it is Palestinians be-

which he has a higher claim than the settler organization,” Rabbani said, “and has stated that he does not want to see the current Palestinian residents expelled from it.”

University of Cambridge historian Mezna Qato next debunked the idea that the crisis in Gaza is solely “a conflict between Israel and Hamas.” Qato noted this myth presumes that Hamas, an Islamist political group operating in a besieged territory, and Israel, an internationally recognized state overseeing the blockade of Gaza, are equivalent actors.

“Hamas is a political party. It’s currently in power in Gaza. But it’s not a state. Nor is Gaza a state,” Qato said. “Moreover, Hamas, in fact, is only part of a broader military coalition in Gaza. The rockets are not, in that sense, only those of Hamas. They could be from Islamic Jihad, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a myriad of other military factions though [Hamas] is, of course, the largest.”

Portraying the fight between Israel and Hamas as equal “is a kind of both-sidesism,” Qato stated. This myth and others, the panelists agreed, could not be farther from the truth.

—Max Saltman

Since May, journalists covering events from Gaza to Jerusalem have been systematically targeted by the Israeli state.

Among the incidents: The bombing of a building housing media outlets in Gaza; the arrest and assault of journalists covering the forced displacement of families in East Jerusalem and provocations at the al-Aqsa Mosque; and the battery and arrest of citizen journalists documenting settler and state violence in East Jerusalem.

The targeting of journalists by Israel is not a new development, but has occurred with increased frequency amid the recent flareup in tensions. On June 14, Palestine Deep Dive held an event with two Palestinian journalists to discuss “Israel’s War on the Media.”

Mona Shtaya, local advocacy manager at 7amleh, a non-profit that helps Palestinian civil society effectively use digital platforms, noted that the issue of free speech 58

FAIZ ABU RMELEH/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Israel’s Attack on Journalists and Free Speech

coming more adept as much as it is the international community ready to hear what we have to say,” she said.

While Palestinians are succeeding in telling their story, bias in the traditional media remains an issue. A week after Israel bombed the Associated Press’ office in Gaza, the company fired a young reporter, Emily Wilder, after right-wing groups began circulating pro-Palestinian social media posts she made in college.

While pro-Israel groups routinely target journalists who show any sympathy for Palestinians, affinity for Israel within the media goes uncriticized. As just one example, Barghouti noted that Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan recently hired former Washington Post Jerusalem correspondent Ruth Eglash as his chief of communications. “These are people that covered our stories for these big mainstream media platforms, and I think this is something we need to talk about in terms of journalistic integrity,” Barghouti said.

Even journalists who wish to report objectively on Israel and Palestine feel pressure to emphasize the Israeli narrative, Barghouti noted. “I know journalists who come here and cannot cover the story because they are facing pressures from editors and the Israeli government,” she said.

Israeli police arrest Al Jazeera journalist Givara Budeiri while she reports on a protest against the planned dispossession of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, on June 5, 2021.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 59

Barghouti hopes this dynamic is beginning to change. “Journalists are speaking out,” she observed. “They are saying, ‘We want to cover this, and we want to cover it right.’”

—Dale Sprusansky

International attention toward Palestine has receded following the May cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but the situation on the ground remains active. On June 3, the Arab Center Washington DC hosted a panel of experts via Zoom to dissect “the newly energized and unified activism by Palestinian youth.”

Amjad Iraqi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and editor at +972, noted the incendiary nature of recent Israeli actions. Israeli police made the mistake of “touching Jerusalem” by firing on worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque during the holiest night of Ramadan. Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah also centered the city in the current wave of demonstrations and activism. Jerusalem, Iraqi said, was “the beating heart” of the movement in May, even though mainstream news coverage focused on Gaza.

Iraqi further stated that the Palestinian general strike on May 18 was a unique show of unity. While strikes have taken place before, nearly every segment of Palestinian society took part in the one on May 18, including Palestinians living within Israel’s 1948 borders.

The strike was primarily led by younger activists who grew up amid the broken promises of the post-Oslo Accords era, Iraqi noted. Equality and coexistence, he said, were ideas “sold” to Palestinian youth but never delivered upon. “As time went by, that idea we were sold was totally erased,” Iraqi said.

As just one example, Iraqi pointed to openly discriminatory legislation passed by the Knesset in recent years, such as the nation-state law of 2018, which removed Arabic from its traditional place as the second national language of Israel, and defined the “right to national self-determination” as “unique to the Jewish people.”

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A New Generation of Palestinian Activists Have Arrived

Palestinian activists Muna el-Kurd (c) and Mohammed el-Kurd (r) after being released from an Israeli jail, on June 6, 2021. Israeli military forces arrested the twins due to their activism to prevent their family’s home in East Jerusalem from being forcibly seized by Jewish settlers.

Mariam Barghouti, a Palestinian writer living in Ramallah, noted that the absence of foreign reporters due to the pandemic and the open nature of TikTok have allowed Palestinians to center themselves within the media narrative. “We all became civilian journalists,” Barghouti said. “[The pandemic] required us to reclaim our voice.”

Palestinian-Canadian attorney and activist Diana Buttu put the current moment in perspective. “I think there always has been youth engagement and mobilization throughout history in Palestine,” she said.

Buttu compared the May protests to another moment of widespread activism in Palestine: demonstrations surrounding the U.S. Embassy’s move to Jerusalem in 2018. “I happened to be in the protest in Jerusalem on the day that the embassy move took place,” recalled Buttu, “and then the following evening and the next day in Haifa. And those protests were massive, and…organized not by traditional political parties, but by the youth movements.”

When asked whether the movement could live up to this potential, all were careful to not make bold predictions.

“It’s very early to tell,” said Iraqi. “This energization of the movement is only a few weeks old.” He was encouraged, however, by the lengths to which Palestinians both within and outside the Green Line took to

avoid buying Israeli products. This, Iraqi said, gave him hope for the possibilities of self-reliance in Palestine.

Likewise, Barghouti struck a hopeful note when speaking of the opening for a new generation of Palestinian activists. “Youth are daring to move toward concrete realities because these past 73 years were not just [defined by] the colonization we’ve been experiencing,” Barghouti said, “We’ve spent them imagining together. And right now, what we’re trying to do is bring that imagination to the forefront.” —Max Saltman

Biden’s Status Quo Approach to The Yemen War

Despite President Joe Biden’s Feb. 4 announcement that he would end support for Saudi Arabia’s offensive military actions in Yemen, U.S. policy has not changed perceptibly over the past five months, according to experts hosted by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft on June 23.

Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted that while there has been a shift in public posture, in practice not much has changed since the Trump administration. “I do not see evidence that [U.S.] military assistance to the Saudi war effort has changed in any way,” he said.

“Saudi forces continue to bomb targets in Yemen and to impose a ruinous naval and

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

59

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 60

Yemenis flock to receive free lunch meals provided by a charitable kitchen in Sana'a, on June 29, 2021. The country's humanitarian crisis remains the worst in the world, with 71 percent of the population in need of assistance.

air blockade on the country, which is the primary cause of the terrible problem of malnutrition the Yemeni people are facing.”

Riedel explained that about three-quarters of Saudi Arabia’s military aircraft are U.S.-made. Without American spare parts, expertise, technical upgrades, munitions and tires, those planes cannot operate, he noted. “If you cut off the flow today, you would literally ground most Saudi aircraft tomorrow,” he said.

“It is time to de-link our Yemen policy from Saudi Arabia,” Riedel averred. “Saudi Arabia has been our partner for 75 years....It’s time to tell our Saudi friends to pull over, change drivers and get out of a war that is costing them a fortune.”

Radhya Al-Mutawakel, co-founder of Mwatana, a Yemeni human rights organization, said that since February airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition have decreased, “but we don’t know if this will last or not.”

What is really needed, she explained, is an international plan to bring the violence to a definitive halt.

“We have not seen anything clear from the U.S. pushing for accountability, like trying to refer the Yemeni situation to the International Criminal Court,” Al-Mutawakel said. “I hope the U.S. administration will end the war and not just manage it,” she continued. “Peace means a sustainable peace 60

MOHAMMED HAMOUD/GETTY IMAGES

Biden administration needs to take fresh action, such as encouraging the United Nations Security Council to adopt a new resolution that holds all parties to the violence accountable. “The crisis in Yemen continues, nothing has improved there and it is simply unacceptable for the Biden administration to pretend that they have shifted their stance on this when they have not,” she said.

—Elaine Pasquini

MUSIC & ARTS Yemen Through the Lens of Contemporary Artists

For centuries, Yemenis have been migrating to many parts of the world—as traders, merchants or labor migrants—and at other times fleeing war and persecution.

On June 10, the Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Center and the Focus on the Story International Photo Festival cohosted a panel featuring Yemeni artists to discuss “Migration in Perpetuity: Yemeni Voices from the Diaspora.”

Thana Faroq, presently based in the Netherlands, was born and raised in Yemen, where she developed her passion for photography. “Holding the camera was

where Yemenis can get their state again, [one] that is based on the rule of law and democracy.”

Holding all parties to the conflict—the Saudis and Houthis alike—accountable is the only way to stop them from targeting civilians, Al-Mutawakel stated. She pointed out that it is not just the Saudi-led coalition, but also the Houthis supported by Iran, that have caused Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. “When we talk about starvation as a weapon of war and we say that…Yemenis are being starved, we cannot talk about only one party to the conflict,” she said.

Since the Houthis presently control over 70 percent of Yemen, they have “zero incentive to come to the negotiating table,” Annelle Sheline, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute, opined.

“From their perspective they will get much further continuing to pursue violence.”

Amid the myriad viola- “Averting is easy” by Yasmine Nasser Diaz, 2018. Mixed tions committed by all media collage and glitter on watercolor paper, 30 x 22 in. sides, Sheline said the Reprinted with permission.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

activisms_52-61ds.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Activisms 7/14/21 5:30 PM Page 61

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

and family stories, she pieced together her family’s journey.

“I really wanted to take back control of our narrative,” she explained. “In the media the story [of Yemenis] is told by non-Yemenis.

I never saw people like me on TV or in books. I wanted to connect with my ancestors…and to correct and explore the narrative about why we left Yemen in the first instance.”

—Elaine Pasquini

Fragrance Takes Center Stage in Perfumery Museum

Scent, being an instinctive manifestation of memory and imagination, can transport a person across continents and through centuries.

At the Qatar America Institute for Culture’s newly opened Perfumery Museum in Washington, DC, visitors can learn the history, science and impact of fragrance on societies in the ancient world and in modern times.

A large world map located at the exhibition entrance traces the Incense Route from the Middle East to the Mediterranean. Today, cities along this path are designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites to recognize the trading network’s global impact.

The museum also offers interactive displays for guests to test their olfactory skills.

Situated in the center of the gallery, a

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

an act of empowerment,” she said. “I concentrated on documenting the displacement in Yemen through the point of view of women, children and girls. I wanted to photograph what happened inside the households, not outside on the front line.”

In her photo book, I Don’t Recognize Me in the Shadows, Faroq documents her journey from Yemen to the Netherlands, from one refugee camp to another. “I wanted to figure out the war, the escape, the transition, the unfamiliar—everything,” she said.

“So photography was a way to process it all...to create a memory archive of all of my emotions, the nostalgia, sadness, anger.”

Faroq places a particular emphasis on visualizing her trauma through photography. “Creating this work enabled me to tackle the trauma and confront it on my own terms,” she explained. Her new project, “There is a Blue Sky Today and No Rain,” is a multimedia venture to create an emotional history. “I am exploring the complex emotional interior landscape of women in exile in a visual way,” she explained.

Born and raised in Chicago and now based in Los Angeles, Yasmine Nasser Diaz utilizes mixed media collages, immersive media installation, fiber etchings and videos in her works. “Collage inherently is an apt medium for a child of immigrants or someone who encompasses third world identity,” she noted.

Diaz relates to “taking images and materials that come from different places, produced by different people from different backgrounds and forcing them to live together on this piece of paper,” she said.

“Many of us feel made up of odd parts in this new home where we don’t necessarily feel at home.”

Shaima Al-Tamimi, a Yemeni-East African visual storyteller, presently splits her time between Qatar and the UAE, where she grew up. Prior to the war, which began in 2014, migration was commonplace for Yemenis. It “is embedded into our lives,” she explained.

Al-Tamimi created a project with the Arab Documentary Photography Program that she eventually turned into the film “Voices from the Urbanscape,” which reflects her family’s efforts to move back to their homeland. Using old photos, letters, memorabilia

scent station featuring eight numbered glass apothecary jars with test strips allows fragrance enthusiasts to identify scents, such as myrrh, saffron, jasmine, sandalwood, ambergris and oud, one of the most prominent fragrances in the Middle East. A colorful large scent wheel, designed by renowned fragrance expert Michael Edwards for classifying the 14 scent families used in perfumes, assists visitors with their scent identifications.

Museum guests also learn about traditional objects still used today in perfume production, such as the oud-infused incense bukhoor that is burned inside a diffuser called a mabkhara. While many perfume makers still employ the labor-intensive methods of extracting natural oils, they now have the ability to manufacture synthetic scents.

A display of exquisitely designed vintage scent bottles on loan from Qatar-based antiquities collector Reem Abu Issa reflect the importance that the iconic Paris perfume producers Guerlain and Lanvin placed on fragrance as an essential accessory in the early 20th century.

In the Middle East and Gulf countries, the popularity of fragrance for personal use has increased. Several countries in the region, including Qatar, are the largest per capita consumers of luxury perfume in the world.

—Elaine Pasquini

Perfume vials and decanters on display at the Qatar America Institute’s Perfumery Museum.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

61

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 62

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

Partitions: A Transnational History of Twentieth-Century Territorial Separatism Edited by Arie M. Dubnov and Laura Robson, Stanford University Press, 2019, paperback, 377 pp. MEB $30

Reviewed by Max Saltman

In a well-known exchange at a lecture delivered shortly before his death, leftist activist and broadcaster Michael Brooks outlined his opposition to ethnonationalism as a matter of history as much as ideology. “Of course there’s justification, because of Jewish history, for Israel,” Brooks said.

“There’s justification for Kurdistan because of Kurdish realities. There’s justification for Pakistan. It’s notable that Israel and Pakistan are both disasters.”

Brooks missed only one key term: partition. Countries like India, Ireland and Palestine all emerged from British rule smaller than they began, with chunks of territory violently excised from the main and convoluted frontiers drawn to keep ethno-religious groups separated. The results of territorial separatism are notoriously bloody, with thousands of civilians killed in the wars following partitions in each country.

Aiming to document what may be the most flawed method of conflict resolution in modern history, scholars Laura Robson and Arie Dubnov have produced Partitions: A Transnational History of Twentieth-Century Territorial Separatism. The anthology brings together the work of ten historians of India, Palestine and Ireland, featuring essays on

Max Saltman is an editorial intern at the Washington Report.

62

the origins of partition, its implementation and the ongoing resistance to its destructive results.

With the increasingly slim likelihood of a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, Partitions provides an essential commentary on the future of territorial nationalism in the Middle East. The collection offers a counterpoint to the argument that ethnic separatism is a tool of national liberation or a fair resolution to intercommunal strife. Rather, partition has always been a mid-point, a compromise between colonized peoples who desire independence and colonial governments working to maintain their power in a post-colonial world.

And yet, as Robson and Dubnov declare in their introduction, “partition is having a moment.” Today, the idea of walling off different ethnicities in their own homogenous nation-states is seen as the sole viable way to prevent bloodshed in cases of “intractable” conflict. Just last month, the president of the unrecognized Turkish settler state in northern Cyprus renewed his opposition to any kind of confederation with the Greek majority of the island’s south,

pointing to a March statement by former British foreign secretary Jack Straw that a “two-state solution” is the “only solution” for Cyprus.

The notion that some groups of people are so intractably disagreeable that peace requires the creation of ethnostates is a new development in world history, the editors note. Overall, partition resulted from protracted European bargaining over former Ottoman territory after World War I. Through postwar treaties and the creation of the League of Nations mandate system (used to disastrous effect in the Middle East), partition emerged as a method of ensuring the illusion of self-determination while extending colonial ambitions in conquered territory. What followed modeled the way for divided nations in Germany, Yemen and Vietnam, along with concrete walls in Palestine, “peace fences” in Northern Ireland and the threat of nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

“New,” then, isn’t always better. Though Whig historiography holds that history represents humanity’s ascent from a dim past to a bright future, the victims of ethnic partition might say otherwise. The authors of Partitions provide a critical examination of humankind’s new favorite fiction: the ethnostate. With its expansive subject matter, lucid argumentation and increasing relevancy, Partitions is an admirable work of collaborative scholarship.

Away from Chaos: The Middle East and the Challenge to the West

By Gilles Kepel, Columbia University Press, 2020, paperback, 386 pp. MEB $35

Reviewed by Walter L. Hixson

In this richly researched study, French political scientist Gilles Kepel analyzes the “era of chaos” that convulsed the modern Middle East from the 1973 Arab-Israel War to the collapse of the ISIS caliphate.

Anyone seeking a detailed analysis of the region’s violent recent past—and especially of the sectarian divide between Sunni and Shi’a Islam that propelled the AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 63

disorder—will emerge from this study well informed.

Kepel argues that the 1973 war ignited the devolution of the Levant, as the conflict spawned an unprecedented assertion of power on the part of the Arab oil monarchies. By wielding oil as a weapon against the West, which had come to the aid of Israel in the war, the oil-rich kingdoms were able to “consolidate their dominance.” They proceeded to “finance the

spreading throughout the Sunni world of hardline conservative ideology based on Saudi Wahhabism.”

The Arab autocrats at the same time “tarnished secularism in the service of dictatorship,” thus opening the door to the rise of religious upheaval throughout the Middle East. Saudi Arabia won backing from the oil-hungry and anti-communist United States and the West, as it financed jihad as an effective weapon to undermine the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. The anti-Soviet Afghan conflict was the “first of the Islamic wars of the modern era.” The Soviet invasion coincided with the Iranian Revolution and the

Contributing editor Walter L. Hixson is the author of Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy (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.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

seizure of the Great Mosque in Mecca in 1979. This series of events spurred the spiral of violent religious tumult in the region. “Once out of the bottle,” Kepel notes, “the genie of jihad was difficult to stuff back in.”

Shi’a clergy and especially Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini proved highly skilled at using slogans to mobilize masses of people, and that posed a major challenge to the Saudis. As he propelled jihad against the Great Satan (the United States), Khomeini condemned the Saudis and the other Gulf despotisms as Western lackeys. By underwriting the jihad in Afghanistan, the Saudis sought to reclaim leadership of the Islamic world under direct threat from the Shi’a resurgence in Iran.

Sectarian violence spread from Afghanistan to Lebanon and raged throughout the 1980s in the Iran-Iraq War. “Recasting the repertoire of political mobilizations into religious categories” precluded reform in the region. The Arab Spring movement, closely analyzed by Kepel, inspired hopes before it succumbed to the sectarian spiral. The low point came with the attempt from 2014 to 2017 to establish the ISIS caliphate, producing horrific violence culminating in the nightmare of modern Syria.

Following a concise introduction, Kepel divides the book into three parts: “The Barrel and the Koran”; “From Arab Spring to Jihadist Caliphate”; and “After ISIS: Disintegration and Regrouping.” Much to the credit of Kepel and Columbia University Press, the book contains eight slick pages of beautifully illustrated, highly detailed maps that illuminate the history of war, trade routes, economic forces, ethnic and religious enclaves and centers of conflict.

Kepel, the author of previous studies on the Arab world as well as Islamic terror in France, roots his analysis in scholarly research as well as considerable on-theground travel and observation throughout the region. At one point his inquiries elicited a death sentence from the ISIS fanatics.

The era of chaos devastated the Levant but also impacted the West, particularly

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

as millions of refugees sought to relocate in Europe. The immigrants spawned a populist reaction that undermined the political stability in the European Union, which was already reeling from Brexit.

Israel benefited from the Sunni-Shiite battle, as the geopolitical issue of the ongoing violent repression and illegal settlement of Palestinian territory became subordinate to the sectarian violence that raged across the Levant.

As the Trump administration announced a U.S. withdrawal from Syria in 2019, Russia emerged as the big winner in the region. Accordingly, Kepel argues that hopes for “a post-ISIS renaissance” will depend on Russia and the West coming to terms on a workable peace followed by reintegration of the Middle East into the wider world. In the absence of such a framework, the author concludes, “the Levant’s renaissance will remain an empty promise.”

The Adventures of Laila and Ahmed in Syria

By Nushin Alloo, Illustrated by Shadia Kassem, Beauty Beneath the Rubble, 2018, hardcover, 60 pp. MEB $30

Reviewed by Samir Twair

This delightful children’s book takes the reader back through the long, rich history of Syria. The Adventures of Laila and Ahmed begin with the discovery of a book in a wooden chest in their parents’ bedroom. Laila explains to her little brother Ahmed that the book is not just any old book. “It's Rihla [voyage], Grandpa’s travel journal, where he wrote about all his adventures from Morocco to China, and...it’s magical.” Grandpa is none other than Ibn Battuta, the famous 14th-century Moroccan traveler! His travelogue is full of stories, maps and drawings of the places he visited.

Tucked inside the book, Grandpa placed a note for his grandchildren to follow his clues that will lead them to a “gift in a far-

Samir Twair is past president of the Arab American Press Guild and a correspondent for the Washington Report.

63

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 64

away land.” Those clues provide fun facts about Syria’s history and culture that are overlooked by present-day readers who are only familiar with war-torn Syria.

The first of Shadia Kassem’s rich oilpainted illustrations is a map of Syria with all the modern/old cities and their landmarks, painted in desert-gold colors. Blending delightful images and the magic of Nushin Alloo’s storytelling, the reader follows the children as they venture to each ancient city of Syria. The two children look for old papers or ask friendly people, as well as a very smart camel to give them the clues they need to find castles and cities.

Laila and Ahmed ride camels in the desert to find Krak des Chevaliers, a castle built by Crusaders that could fit as many as 2,000 soldiers inside its walls. Then, they find a one-of-a-kind market in Aleppo that was once part of the ancient Silk Road.

They visit Hama of the famous hundreds-

of-years-old waterwheels and then journey to the city of Palmyra, the oasis in the desert. On their way to the city of Damascus, they stop by the little town of Maaloula, where the people speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ.

The children travel through the hills to Damascus until they reach Mount Qasioun where they recite a rhyme from Grandpa’s stories: “Approaching the city, I climbed Mount Qasioun gazing across in the light of the moon. They say great prophets once stood in this place, admiring the city across time and space.”

The adventurers see Souq AlHamidiyah, the Great Umayyad Mosque and Bab Touma with its churches in the Old City of Damascus. In the old city, they enjoy a feast. Nearing the end of the book, Ahmed remarks, “No treasure? I thought all adventures had treasure.”

64

Ibn Battuta’s final note in his travel book is, “My gift to you both is a love for this Earth and thankfulness for all that it’s worth.

Your travels have served to open your minds to people and places of all different kinds.”

Laila remarks, “Oh, I see. The adventure is the treasure! The gift from Grandpa was our adventure.”

Laila and Ahmed return home in no time.

Plop—they land back where their journey began and tell their mama all about their adventures in Syria. After mama puts them to bed she asks herself, “Could it be true?

Did the children really travel to Syria through a book?”

Pick up this book for an adventurous child so you can travel together to pre-war Syria. On the way you may revive your own hopes for a post-war nation with a glorious heritage.

Beyond the Two-State Solution

By Jonathan Kuttab, Nonviolence International, 2021, paperback, 104 pp. MEB: $12

Reviewed by Mary Neznek

Award-winning Palestinian human rights attorney Jonathan Kuttab has written a concise, easy-to-use guide book that opens a “gate to the future” for Israel/Pales-

Mary Neznek, an educator, is a member of the USA Palestine Mental Health Network and works with rights advocates and mental health professionals in the occupied territory.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

tine. It is written with neither a Palestinian nor Israeli narrative but from a new viewpoint that offers a generative path to the future for two peoples locked in 73 years of costly blood letting.

Beyond the Two-State Solution is divided into practical study segments, each of which offers steps informed by healing and hope. The first part of the book outlines the history of the Israel/Palestine/U.S. relationship as well as past “solutions” to the conflict put forward by respective patrons, including the U.S., the U.N., the international community, the Arab League and Iran.

Unchecked colonization by Israeli settlements has created what Kuttab describes as the “fly in the ointment,” making a twostate solution obsolete. Using detailed maps and examples, Kuttab chronicles half-hearted attempts to remove settlements, which simply resulted in the subsidized movement of thousands of ultra-Orthodox settlers to other parts of Israel or the West Bank.

That is what happened when illegal Israeli settlements built in the midst of densely populated Gaza were forcibly dismantled. Kuttab points out that these settlements were very costly for Israel’s military to protect. After the removal of the settlers, it was easy to continue Israel’s illegal occupation through a land, sea and air blockade that to this day chokes off entry to or exit from Gaza. The blockade also completely divides the West Bank from Gaza.

The Gaza settlements were a nightmare for the Israeli army but segregated, gated enclaves throughout the West Bank have been far more manageable. The army can easily maintain a military occupation using check points, night raids on Palestinian homes and Israeli-only roads.

Israel’s deliberate attempts to grab more Palestinian land for Jewish-only settlements have ended any illusion of the possibility of two viable states. Israelis are not interested in swapping land in exchange for peace or inconveniencing Israeli citizens who enjoy unfettered travel on segregated roads as well as subsidies that make home ownership attractive in colonized enclaves.

One of the strengths of this concise and AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 65

well-written monograph is the thoughtful detail Kuttab offers in practical and manageable steps that each side could take to guarantee the well-being and security of both peoples.

Kuttab provides examples of multi-ethnic, multi-lingual configurations that have worked to create modern state structures. Canada uses both French and English as national languages. A multicultural model of confederation has worked in Switzerland. Finland has a predominant Finnish identity with Swedish language and institutions. Finland has become a world model for educational innovation, literacy and technological innovation since it ceased using its resources to fund its military.

The same could hold true for a truly democratic Israel/Palestine. Using these models could unleash the vast potential of an Israel/Palestine confederation and end Israel’s current descent into a grotesquely lopsided apartheid state that delivers security to neither Israelis nor Palestinians.

As Kuttab points out, an authentic democracy would provide protections and guarantees to individuals and minorities. “Where different groups coexist in one country, genuine democracy provides for a multi-ethnic and pluralistic society. In such a society, individuals and substantial minorities can fully belong to the country while maintaining a feeling of belonging and identification with their own group.”

The executive summary and final section, “How to Get There,” provide a practical collection of requirements that would support a genuine democracy, in which maximalist wishes of Palestinian nationalism and Jewish religious nationalism could evolve into a shared form of governance.

There is a great need for Beyond the Two-State Solution to reach a wide audience in the U.S.—especially for its distribution to members of Congress—as well as its translation into Hebrew, Arabic and other languages. Jonathan Kuttab’s book could help create a vital change in political and civic discourse on Israel/Palestine.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

N E W A R R I VA L S The Paranoid Style in American Diplomacy: Oil and Arab Nationalism in Iraq by Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt, Stanford University Press, 2021, paperback, 332 pp.

MEB $28. Iraq has been the site of some of the United States’ longest and most sustained military campaigns since the Vietnam War. With this book, Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt exposes the origins and history of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Drawing on new evidence, he covers the arc of the twentieth century, from the decline of British Empire to the beginnings of covert U.S. action in the region, and ultimately the nationalization of the Iraqi oil industry and perils of postcolonial politics. Wolfe-Hunnicutt examines how American policy makers of the Cold War era inherited the imperial anxieties of their British forebears and inflated concerns about access to and potential scarcity of oil, giving rise to a “paranoid style” in U.S. foreign policy.

Palestine Is Throwing a Party and the Whole World Is Invited: Capital and State Building in the West Bank

by Kareem Rabie, Duke University Press, 2021, paperback, 272 pp. MEB $28. In 2008, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad invited international investors to the first-ever Palestine Investment Conference, which was designed to jump-start the process of integrating Palestine into the global economy. At the conference, Fayyad said, Palestine is “throwing a party, and the whole world is invited.” In this book, Kareem Rabie examines how the conference and Fayyad’s rhetoric represented a wider shift in economic and political practice. Rabie demonstrates that private firms, international aid organizations and the Palestinian government in the West Bank focused on largescale private housing development in an effort toward state-scale economic stability.

This approach reflected the belief that a thriving private economy would lead to a free and functioning Palestinian state. Yet, these investment-based policies have maintained the status quo of occupation and Palestine’s subordinate and suspended political and economic relationship with Israel.

Methodists and Muslims: My Life as an Orientalist by Richard W. Bulliet, Ilex Foundation, 2020, paperback, 186 pp. MEB $25. Richard W. Bulliet is an innovative historian of the Islamic world who has changed the way scholars think about the history of medieval city life, Islamic institutions and relations between Islam and Christianity. His fifty-year academic career coincided with the rise of Middle East Studies and the study of Orientalism. In Methodists and Muslims, Bulliet fashions a critique of both Orientalism and Middle East Studies. His memoir also recounts how a young Methodist from Illinois made his way into the thenarcane field of Islamic Studies, became involved in shaping Middle East Studies, and developed relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, culminating in the controversial visit to New York City by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

65

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 66

101 Arabian Tales: How We All Persevered in Peace Corps Libya

By Randolph W. Hobler, Lulu Publishing Services, 2020, paperback, 420 pp. MEB $25

Reviewed by Delinda C. Hanley

23 years or 11 percent of that time, was there an oasis of peace.” That was lucky for three contingents of Libya volunteers who were part of that era. Their photos, sketches, entertaining escapades and stories of bonding with their Libyan hosts make the subsequent U.S. military and diplomatic failures doubly wrenching.

Hobler spills the big secret of the Peace Corps experience as he dedicates his book to the villagers he got to know, whom he thanks for their “heartfelt generosity, unstinting hospitality and deep human goodness.”

The truth is that volunteers get even more than they give during their Peace Corps service.

B O O K TA L K S

As a former Peace Corps volunteer I was particularly eager to read Randolph Hobler’s memoir of his experience in Libya, a country that intrigued our editorial team on a visit back in 2001. Hobler takes us on a “kaleidoscopic journey through the eyes of 101 American Peace Corps volunteers,” who served in Libya before and after his 15-month stint in 1968-1969.

Hobler had me hooked by the first page, as he describes trying to make his English lessons lively and fun for the boys in his adobe classroom with no electricity. His village was Al Gala (castle in Berber) in the Nafusa mountains, 85 miles south of Tripoli. Hobler and his friends were part of President John F. Kennedy’s inspirational peace initiative that sought to build peopleto-people, non-military relationships with Libyans and others around the world.

Hobler manages to weave together entertaining and profound observations from young, idealistic volunteers with an engaging chronicle of Libyan history, politics and culture. He notes that “in the 219-year relationship between the U.S. and Libya, only

Delinda C. Hanley is executive editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

66

Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination

By Jordan Denari Duffner, Orbis Books, 2021, paperback, 224 pp. MEB $22

Report by Dale Sprusansky

“Not all Muslims are bad, but generally Muslim countries have given the world terrorists like Osama bin Laden.” I heard a Catholic priest utter these words during his homily just one hour before I was set to listen to Jordan Denari Duffner discuss her new book, Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination. Needless to say, the remark highlighted the importance of addressing

WAsHINgtON REpORt ON MIddlE EAst AffAIRs

anti-Muslim sentiment within Christian circles.

“People can contribute to Islamophobia even if they’re not intending to be bigoted,” Duffner, an associate at Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative, told the Rumi Forum on June 3. Indeed, this describes the priest’s well-meaning but misguided attempt to offer commentary on the sons of Abraham—Isaac and Ishmael—who are widely viewed as the patriarchs of Judaism and Islam, respectively.

Duffner does not take Islamophobia lightly, but she acknowledges that many who express anti-Muslim sentiments do so because they have been exposed to an abundance of illegitimate and bigoted commentary about Islam. It’s not uncommon to find leaders of the Islamophobia industry writing for Christian news outlets, appearing on Christian television programs and selling their books in Christian stores, she noted.

All too often, this pernicious content reaches the highest levels of Christian communities, such as the priesthood. “One of the things that really troubles me are the ways that priests in my community have absorbed misinformation from the Islamophobia network and normalized that understanding of Islam in our Catholic community,” Duffner said. A key way to counteract the Islamophobia industry’s targeting of Christians, she emphasized, is to make sure seminarians and faith leaders are exposed to accurate information about Islam and—critically—are encouraged to forge real human connections with Muslims.

On both a theological and practical front, Christianity and Islamophobia are incompatible, Duffner argued.

Christians, members of a religion targeted since its origins in the Roman-occupied world, should instinctively side with Muslims facing persecution and defamation, Duffner said. In the American context, this is especially true of Catholics, who faced rampant discrimination just a century ago. “Contemporary Islamophobia resem-

Dale Sprusansky is managing editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

August/sEptEMbER 2021

books-v4_62-67.qxp_Books and More Special Section 7/13/21 1:35 PM Page 67

bles the anti-Catholic bigotry that my ancestors would have faced a few generations ago,” she pointed out. “Sometimes people in my own community forget the ways that we were once scapegoated.

Were we to recognize that, it would be easier for us to recognize the scapegoating of Muslims that’s going on today.”

Shared histories of persecution aside, Christians ought to defend Muslims simply because “standing on the side of the mistreated whenever we can” and defending human dignity are “foundational” elements of the Christian faith, Duffner added.

For readers ready to address Islamophobia in their religious communities, Duffner offers pragmatic advice. One tactic she suggests is politely pulling aside those who make offensive or inaccurate remarks and asking them to explain the rationale behind their thinking. “Usually in the course of that, they realize that it’s a stereotype, that they are not being fair in the broad assumption they’ve made about Muslims,” she said.

At the same time, Duffner cautioned those initiating such interventions to be “realistic about what they can expect from these conversations,” as many people remain obstinate when challenged. However, just because an interaction ends without someone changing their mind does not necessarily mean the discussion was fruitless, she said. Given the human inclination to be defensive when questioned, many people instinctively stand by their initial position, only to later privately assess the validity of their views, she noted.

The bottom line, Duffner said, is that Christians can no longer look past antiMuslim remarks. “One of the most important things we can do is not to let Islamophobic comments slide by,” she said. At the same time, she acknowledges confronting individuals about their views can be intimidating. “These conversations are really hard, and I talk in the book about my own failures in this regard and times when I should have stood up and said something, but I didn’t,” she said.

Maybe next time I hear an Islamophobic remark, I’ll approach the individual rather than quietly pocketing their comment as a convenient lede for an article.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

N E W A R R I VA L S Al-Haq: A Global History of the First Palestinian Human Rights Organization by Lynn Welchman, University of California Press, 2021, paperback, 330 pp.

MEB $35. Established in Ramallah in 1979, al-Haq was the first Palestinian human rights organization and one of the first such organizations in the Arab world. This inside history explores how al-Haq initiated methods that were ahead of its time and proved foundational for many strands of today’s human rights work in Palestine. Welchman looks at both al-Haq’s history and legacy to explore such questions as: How would one go about promoting the rule of law in a Palestinian society deleteriously served by the law and with every reason to distrust those charged with implementing its protections? How would one work to educate overseas allies and activate international law in defense of Palestinian rights? This revelatory story speaks to the practice of human rights organizations and their impact on international groups.

The Arab and Jewish Questions: Geographies of Engagement in Palestine and Beyond edited by Bashir Bashir and Leila Farsakh, Columbia University Press, 2020, paperback, 320 pp. MEB $35. Together, the essays in this volume show that the Arab and Jewish “questions,” and the Israeli-Palestinian “conflict” in which they have become subsumed, belong to the same thorny history. Despite their major differences, the historical Jewish and Arab questions are about the political rights of oppressed groups and their inclusion within exclusionary political communities. Shedding new light on the intricate relationships between Orientalism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, colonialism, and the impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book reveals the inseparability of ongoing Arab and Jewish struggles for self-determination and equality under the law.

The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan, Mariner Books, 2021, paperback, 464 pp. MEB $26. This novel tells a family story by offering a look at the legacy of war in the Middle East. The Nasr family is spread across the globe— Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. A Syrian mother, a Lebanese father and three American children— all have lived a life of migration. Still, they’ve always had their ancestral home in Beirut—a constant touchstone— and the complicated, messy family love that binds them.

But following his father's recent death, Idris, the family’s new patriarch, has decided to sell the family’s house. The decision brings the family to Beirut, where everyone unites against Idris in a fight to save the home. They all have secrets—lost loves, bitter jealousies, deep-set shame— that distance has helped smother. But in a city smoldering with the legacy of war, an ongoing flow of refugees, religious tension and political protest, those secrets ignite, imperiling the fragile ties that hold this family together. Alyan’s novel an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

67

cartoons_68r.qxp_August/Sept 2021 Cartoons 7/14/21 8:33 AM Page 68

www.Otherwords.org

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

www.Otherwords.org

The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

Cartoon Movement, Leiden, Netherlands

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon

De Volkskrant, Amsterdam, Netherlands

68

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

The Khaleej Times, Dubai, UAE AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

mondoweiss_ad_69.qxp_Mondoweiss Full Page Ad 7/13/21 2:18 PM Page 69

At Mondoweiss, we cover the movements, activists and policymakers who affect the struggle ffo or freedom in Palestine.

We cover Palestinians’ stories of occupation, resistance and hope – stories that show us all how the world’s struggles interconnect.

Now in our 16th year of publication, Mondoweiss’s fearless, independent journalism is more important than ever.

Listen & subscribe to our new podcast at mondoweiss.net/ t//p podcast

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

69

opm_70-71.qxp_Other Peoples Mail 7/14/21 11:49 AM Page 70

Other People’s Mail

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 ANY MEMBER: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-3121

Compiled by Dale Sprusansky ATTEMPTS TO DEFINE ACCEPTABLE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

To The Palm Beach Post, June 12, 2021 In a commentary published Sunday, Professor Norman Goda joins those who contend that anti-Israel sentiment is inherently anti-Semitic. Goda concedes that some “nuts and bolts” objections to Israel policy are tolerable; beyond that, however, he seems ready to impose what amounts to an iron yoke of censorship on criticism of Israel, leaving it up to people like him to decide what is allowable.

Obvious questions arise: When some very orthodox Jews rail against Zionism, must we deem them anti-Semites? When a great many people decry the ceaseless takeover of Palestinian lands and the expansion of settlements, does that make them anti-Semites?

When visitors to the West Bank are dismayed by what they see as brutal and harshly discriminatory policies akin to apartheid, are they anti-Semites because they voice that sentiment? When the world sees photos of extremist settlers waving photos that say, “Kill the Arabs,” is it antiSemitism that induces many people to deplore this dark side of Israel?

On a more personal note: When the Jewish writer of this letter yearns to see an Israel in which every person, Arab or Jew, is treated as an equal, does that make him an anti-Semite because it challenges Zionist thinking? Apparently, Professor Goda thinks so.

The professor and I agree that the battle against anti-Semitism is an endless one which we must fight without respite; But as I see it, his approach is worse than counterproductive. Equating anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment has become a major weapon wielded by those out to impose censorship of an inherently anti-democratic character.

The more Israel submits to right-wing extremism, the more ready it is to embrace an authoritarian doctrine that bans all but ap70

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

proved criticism.

Irwin Shishko, Delray Beach, FL

PRO-ISRAEL GROUPS DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

To the Toronto Star, June 14, 2021 As a Jew who once lived in Israel, I am appalled by the letter from the “Canadian Jewish Community.”

Over and over again, studies have shown the majority of Canada’s Jewish community does not support the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The ad in the Star that purports to represent the Jewish community has several serious errors, the most egregious being that Israel has presented three serious peace offers since 2000.

Those offers, which were primarily based on Israel retaining the settlements in occupied territory or claiming more territory, were never serious offers, with no resolution of the status of Jerusalem as a shared capital.

The loss of life is much higher in Gaza than in Israel.

The letter talks about lies and misinformation, but offers no concrete examples.

When will the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and its allies bemoan the illegal occupation of Palestine and name it apartheid?

Brian Decker, Oakville, ON

NO, THE PALESTINIANS DO NOT KEEP REJECTING PEACE

To The Register-Guard, June 24, 2021 Craig Weinerman bemoans critics of Israel, claiming they “conveniently overlook history” (Guest View, June 19). He then trashes accurate history and writes the following fiction: “The Palestinians have rejected at least five comprehensive offers of statehood since 1947. They are unwilling to accept any compromise that would result in parti-

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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

tion of the land into Jewish and Palestinian states because it rejects the legitimacy of a Jewish state.”

This quoted statement is simply false.

For example, at the July 2000 Camp David talks, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered nothing that was “comprehensive” to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians. In fact, Barak, whose Israeli military controlled the West Bank, refused to present any kind of geographic map of his idea of an independent Palestinian “state.”

Previously, in May 2000, Barak had published a map with the potential Palestinian “state” broken into three non-contiguous regions divided and surrounded by Israeli military roads and checkpoints.

At Camp David, the Palestinians were certainly willing to accept the legitimacy of the State of Israel. If Weinerman’s emphasis is on a “Jewish” state, then, if he is honest, he will add the adjective “apartheid”— apartheid Jewish state.

Leo W. Quirk, Corvallis, OR

CALLING FOR AN IMPARTIAL U.S. APPROACH TOWARD ISRAEL

To The Columbian, June 21, 2021 Julian Levi, in his letter “Israel conflict has long history” (Our Readers’ Views, June 12), is a bit cavalier with Israel’s history. He conflates the partitioning of Palestine on Nov. 29, 1947, and the Arab-Israeli War starting on May 15, 1948. While these events were only six months apart, it was six months of the Jewish militias driving the Palestinians from their homes and from their lands.

While he is correct in saying that the U.S. did not support Israel in that war, the U.S. has done so at other times. For example, airlifting tanks to Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and providing the Air Defense System (Iron Dome) that brought down 90 percent of the Hamas-fired missiles in the recent war. The Israelis were flying U.S.AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

opm_70-71.qxp_Other Peoples Mail 7/14/21 11:49 AM Page 71

provided aircraft to pulverize Gaza. The U.S. has also used its veto power to block most U.N. resolutions that are critical of Israel. And we wonder if our Middle East problems will ever cease.

It is time for the U.S. to get its thumb off the scale. Work with the U.N. to declare Palestine a sovereign nation and a U.S. ally, and provide them with the means to get their country up and running.

Michael Dailey, Vancouver, WA

PAY ATTENTION TO FREE PRESS CHALLENGE IN ISRAEL

To The Seattle Times, June 11, 2021 As The Seattle Times’ Free Press initiative continues to expose the serious nature of closing newspapers across the United States, please lift up the crisis in Israel, as it continues to attack reporters who seek to expose war crimes and colonial violence.

While a cease fire has been declared against the carpet-bombing of Gaza, Israel continues to step up violence against the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem by blockading the neighborhood and arresting and abusing reporters, like Givra Budeiri of Al Jazeera, who seek to expose the truth about the behavior of the police and army.

Palestinians are being forced out of their homes, by the police, army and courts, so the homes can be given to new Jewish settlers—including many from the U.S. Existing neighborhoods, such as East Jerusalem’s Silwan, are being demolished for newly conceived parks and viewpoints.

Protesters are being arrested, Palestinians prevented from visiting their neighbors, while Jewish settlers are allowed to walk freely in the neighborhood, many armed with guns.

Please expose this ongoing colonial violence with clear reporting. Violence under any name harms people and governments, even ones that call themselves democratic.

Rev. Richard K. Gibson, Lynnwood, WA. The writer is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA’s Israel-Palestine Committee.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER TARGETED FOR ISRAEL COMMENTS

To InsideNoVa, June 16, 2021 Last month, a Fairfax County, VA school board member tweeted criticism of the policies of a foreign government, echoing language which has been used by Human Rights Watch, two of the foreign country’s most prominent human-rights organizaAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

tions and at least 10 former officials of that foreign government.

Unfortunately, however, the school board member has since become the target of a slew of baseless accusations and calls for her resignation or removal.

It is hard to overlook the fact that there has been such a backlash for oft-stated human rights-based comments—particularly because the school board member at issue, Abrar Omeish, is Arab American, and the foreign entity in question is the Israeli government.

Targeting Arab Americans with accusations of bigotry or anti-Semitism simply because of political criticisms of the Israeli government is a form of Arab baiting—a decades-old tactic used to exclude Arab American voices from civic spaces and to silence advocacy for Palestinian human rights.

Much of the criticism of Ms. Omeish’s comments focus on the words she chose— such as “colonization” and “apartheid”—to describe the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. But both the first and second Bush administrations and the Reagan administration used the term “occupation,” which differs from colonization in only the length of time of the activity.

The word “apartheid” as been used for decades to describe Israeli policies by politicians, from South Africa’s Desmond Tutu, to Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Olmert, to President Jimmy Carter. (And note that Ms. Omeish’s critics most often use loaded buzzwords without actually addressing the accuracy of her statement.)

Indeed, the bad-faith outrage toward Ms. Omeish is not because what she said is factually incorrect, but because of who she is.

The day before Ms. Omeish’s tweet, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) also rightly criticized Israeli policies, using the word “occupation” in a letter condemning the same illegal land grab in Sheikh Jarrah that Ms. Omeish decried. Since then, the Fairfax GOP has tweeted about Omeish three dozen times. They have not yet mentioned Rep. Connolly at all.

Perhaps the worst result of these attacks on Abrar Omeish is not her victimization, but what it represents and the shifted focus away from the grueling reality of Palestinians, and Palestinian children in particular.

Since 2006, the Israeli government displaced an average of 370 Palestinian children each year as a result of ongoing home demolitions. The Israeli military also

detains between 500 and 700 Palestinian children each year.

As a Fairfax County parent, I applaud any school board member who will join the chorus against such injustice wherever it is found. Palestinian children are just as deserving of a future as our children, and any policy based on justice must not ignore their plight.

Ryan Suto, Burke, VA. The writer is policy counsel for the Arab American Institute.

SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS

To The Daily Gazette, June 6, 2021 Regarding the dispute in Schenectady schools over what terminology to use to describe Israel’s dealings with Palestinians reported in the May 30 Gazette (“Mideast Conflict Hits Home”), and specifically whether “ethnic cleansing” applies, let’s remember that Israel’s founding in 1948 as a specifically “Jewish state” entailed the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinian Arab residents.

Also that a fair number of those expelled, who took refuge in the Jordan-controlled West Bank and the Egypt-controlled Gaza Strip, were conquered yet again in 1967, when Israel overran those areas and forcibly expelled some 400,000 of them.

David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father, posited that Israel could abide a maximum Arab population, a limit that has been maintained to this day, when remaining Arabs are widely described as a “demographic threat.”

The event that sparked the most recent violence—the expulsion of half a dozen Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for a band of Jewish zealots from New York—was just another tiny step in a long trail of such expulsions.

A United Nations commission has defined ethnic cleansing as “rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area.”

If Israel’s actions over the years do not meet that definition, they come awfully close.

The fact that Jews themselves in recent times were the victims of ethnic cleansing, and even of genocide, does not bar them from perpetrating such crimes against others but only adds a layer of irony.

Carl Strock, Saratoga Springs, NY ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

71

obituaries_72-73v4.qxp_Obituaries 7/15/21 3:55 PM Page 72

O• B • I • T • U • A • R • I • E • S Siham AbuGhazaleh, 80, died June 26, in Kuwait from cancer. The Jaffaborn Palestinian worked as assistant director of the Cultural Department at Kuwait University from 1972-80. For nearly 50 years she tirelessly promoted Palestinian embroidery, a symbol of Palestinian national identity.

Her book, Sew to Speak: A Woman's Journey to Preserving Palestinian Identity, published by Interlink, will be available this fall.

Publisher Michel Moushabeck lamented, “We are also heartbroken that she died only a few days before seeing a finished copy of her lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed book.” Abu-Ghazaleh described the Palestinian dress as the “language” that each Palestinian city or town uses to convey its identity, culture and history.” Her book also provides a history of the General Union of Palestinian Women, which later became the Palestinian Cultural Center.

The organization empowers Palestinian women and their families to become selfsufficient and raises funds for education and social welfare programs. It also provides needlework projects for needy women to help them support their families.

Its embroidery exhibitions raise funds for university scholarships for top Palestinian students.

Ramsey Clark, 93, former U.S. attorney general and renowned international human-rights attorney who stood against U.S. military aggression worldwide, died on April 9 in New York City. Clark was the last surviving member of Lyndon B. Johnson’s cabinet and spent decades in public service.

72

By Delinda C. Hanley and Nathaniel Bailey

Clark helped draft the two historic U.S. Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and was key enforcer of federal desegregation orders. Once out of government, Clark focused on U.S. foreign policy, traveling to more than 120 countries to meet the victims of war and sanctions to express solidarity with oppressed peoples, from Palestine to India to South Africa. Clark famously traveled through Iraq in the midst of intense bombing during the 1991 U.S. Gulf War to bring back the only uncensored film of the war. For 12 years, until the 2003 U.S. war and occupation, Ramsey led an international campaign against the U.S. blockade and sanctions which killed more than 1.5 million Iraqis.

Throughout his life, Clark filled his work and advocacy with an unwavering belief that human rights meant the right to peace, equality and social justice.

Dr. Michael Craig Hudson, 82, a respected expert on the Arab world, died on May 25 at his daughter’s home in Tucson, AZ, from cancer.

He received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. As an exchange student in Beirut, Lebanon, he witnessed the first ever U.S. combat operation in the Middle East, when Marines stormed the beaches of Beirut, surprising sunbathers during Lebanon’s 1958 civil war. His time in Lebanon sparked a lifelong interest in the Arab world, as well as U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. His Ph.D. dissertation on political modernization in Lebanon became a well-received book in 1968, The Precarious Republic: Political Modernization in Lebanon. He taught at Brooklyn College and then the School for Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins University.

In 1975, he joined the School of Foreign

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Service of Georgetown University as director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and accepted an endowed position as professor of international relations. The center challenged the Orientalist centers for Middle East studies in the U.S. and Europe.

It focused on the contemporary study of the Arab world, while most Middle East or Near East studies focused on the ancient world and the historical region. The university hired faculty from different disciplines to teach contemporary Arab politics and emphasized everyday Arabic instead old holy and literary texts.

After the loss of his beloved wife of 44 years in 2007, Palestinian-Lebanese biologist Vera Wahbe Hudson, he left DC to become founding director of the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore from 2010 to 2014.

“In a long career, Hudson challenged key Western misconceptions about the Arabs and their politics and pushed against Zionist influence in the academe,” his former student Prof. As`ad AbuKhalil wrote in an article published in Consortium News. “Hudson (who served as president of the Middle East Studies Association) was one of the most influential Western academics on the region, and he lectured on the Arab world worldwide.

His imprint on Middle East studies was big, and was felt when he retired from Georgetown in 2012.” When AbuKhalil admitted to his dissertation adviser that he had no plan after earning his Ph.D. from Georgetown, Hudson suggested he try teaching. “I said: I don’t think I would like it. He asked: have you ever tried it?...And on the very first day of class, I discovered my calling and my career. I remember walking home and saying: teaching, teaching. For that—and for much more—I feel indebted to Michael C. Hudson.”

Dr. Hudson’s grand legacy is the impact he made on generations of exceptional students.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

obituaries_72-73v4.qxp_Obituaries 7/15/21 3:55 PM Page 73

Suha Jarrar, 31, a legal researcher and advocacy officer at the Ramallahbased Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization, died of a heart attack at home in Ramallah on July 11. She studied in Canada and earned her Master’s in climate change science and policy in the United Kingdom.

Some of her most prominent work focused on the environmental effects of Israeli occupation. Her mother, Khalida Jarrar, a senior Palestinian politician and member of the Legislative Council, is at the end of her latest twoyear sentence as a political prisoner. She has spent most of the past six years behind bars, denied her civil rights, the right to freedom of association and now denied the right to say goodbye to her child. Israeli authorities denied requests for the mother to attend her daughter’s funeral. “Depriving a mom, long unjustly detained, from saying goodbye to her daughter reflects pure cruelty, which underlies the Israeli government’s apartheid,” Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director for Human Rights Watch, posted on Twitter.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, 96, Indian Islamic scholar and peace activist, died April 21 in New Delhi after contracting COVID19. Over the course of his life, Khan authored more than 200 books. Born in India in 1925, Khan gained recognition after a 15day Shanti Yatra (peace march) through the western Maharashtra state in the wake of the demolition of the 16th-century Babri Mosque by Hindu hardliners in the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1992. In 2001, he established the Centre for Peace and Spirituality to promote and reinforce a culture of peace in his country and around the world. In 2009, Georgetown University’s list of 500 Most Influential Muslims of 2009 named Khan “Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world.”

In January 2021, Khan was awarded the AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021

Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honor.

Martin F. McMahon, 75, died June 5, in Washington, DC, from kidney disease. A graduate of Fordham University Law School in New York, McMahon was an experienced litigator who tried cases all over the country. After working with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, where he oversaw significant litigation matters in New York, he entered private practice. In 1978 he established his own law firm in Washington, DC. McMahon stood with American Muslims, when others did not, leading the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)’s civil rights work in the organization’s early years.

He was dedicated to advancing the interest of the proverbial underdog—including Palestinians. He filed a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages from those who enabled the settlements and the settlers to commit war crimes, including genocide, ethnic cleansing and denationalization. Specifically, he sued Binyamin Netanyahu, Miriam Adelson, AIPAC (and assorted AIPAC operatives), David Friedman, Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Andrew Cuomo, Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell and quite a few others in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. (He described that lawsuit at the March 2019 annual Israel Lobby conference co-sponsored by the Washington Report and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy). McMahon gave generously of his time, talent and passion for justice without thought of personal gain.

Dr. Jehan Sadat, 87, widow of Egyp tian President Anwar Sadat, died July 9 in Egypt from cancer.

At 15 she met and married her 30year-old husband, already a local hero and

newly released from imprisonment for his political activities. They were married for 32 years and had four children. As first lady of Egypt from 1970-1981, she used her platform to advocate for women’s rights, medical care and rehabilitation for wounded Egyptian soldiers and visually impaired children, as well as homes for orphans, help for cancer patients, as well as many other causes. She encouraged her husband to visit Israel in 1977 and sign a controversial peace agreement in 1979. After her husband’s assassination put an end to nearly 11 years as first lady, in 1986 she earned a doctorate in comparative literature from Cairo University. She put her education and years of public service to good use, serving as a visiting professor at American University, University of South Carolina and Radford University. In 1997, she created an endowment to establish the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland in College Park, occupied by Professor Shibley Telhami.

Abdul Aziz Said, 90, a leading scholar in the field of peace studies, died Jan. 22 in Washington, DC from pneumonia.

Said was the director emeritus of the American University Center for Global Peace and the university’s longest-serving tenured professor. Said was born in Syria in 1930, where he experienced political violence from a young age. At the age of 9, his brother was struck and killed by a French military truck in Syria, an event which inspired his life’s work resolving political conflicts without violence. Said established the Center for Global Peace in 1995 as part of American University’s School of International Service, the department where he taught international relations for 59 years until his retirement in 2015. Said organized workshops and hosted international conferences at A.U., focusing on education, economic development, human rights and social justice.

With his vast experience, Said was a go-to expert for U.S. ambassadors and Foreign Service officers. ■

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

73

angels_74.qxp_August/September 2021 CHOIR OF ANGELS 7/14/21 11:40 AM Page 74

AET’s 2021 Choir of Angels

the following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2021 and June 29, 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)

Robin Abaya, Palm Springs, CA Mai Abdul Rahman, Hyattsville, MD Diane Adkin, Camas, WA Mohammad & Shaista Akbar, Orwigsburg, PA Hesham Alalusi, Hayward, CA Hani Ali, Beirut, Lebanon Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Mr. & Mrs. Sultan Aslam, Plainsboro, NJ Salim Bahloul, South Yarra, Australia Nabil Bahu, Paleo Psychico, Greece William L. Bigelow, Chicago, IL Dr. & Mrs. Sarkis Broussalian, Santa Monica, CA David K. Curtiss, New Orleans, LA* Warren & Amal David, Washington, DC Lewis Elbinger, Mount Shasta, CA Kassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TX Albert E. Fairchild, Bethesda, MD Andrew M. Findlay, Alexandria, VA Alfred R. Greve, Holmes, NY Dixiane Hallaj, Purcellville, VA Robert Keith, Salt Lake City, UT Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Eugene Khorey, Homestead, PA Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA Edwin Lindgren, Overland Park, KS Jonothan Logan, New York, NY Erna Lund, Seattle, WA Charles Lutz, Richfield, MN Nidal Mahayni, Richmond, VA Tahera Mamdani, Fridley, MN Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN Susan Kay Metcalfe, Beaverton, OR Cindy Percak, Cinnaminson, NJ Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA Paul Richards, Salem, OR James F. Robinson III, San Angelo, TX Fred Rogers & Jenny Hartley, Northfield, MN Ambassador William Rugh, Hingham, MA Ramzy Salem, Monterey Park, CA Richard Schreitz, Alexandria, VA Carolynne Schutt, Doylestown, PA William A. Shaheen III, Od Grosse Ile, MI Ellen Siegel, Washington, DC Mushtaq Syed, Santa Clara, CA Richard Wigton, Mechanicsburg, PA 74

Nabil Yakub, McLean, VA Mohammed Ziaullah, Montclair, CA

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more)

Jeff Abood, Silver Lake, OH Hani Ali, Athens, Greece Candice Bodnaruk, Winnipeg, Canada Larry Cooper, Plymouth, MI** Mary Neznek, Washington, DC Hertha Poje-Ammoumi, New York, NY Irmgard Scherer, Fairfax, VA Bernice Shaheen, Palm Desert, CA*** Mostafa Sherif, Happy Valley, OR Mashood Yunus, New Brighton, MN

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more)

Mohamed Ahamedkutty, Toronto, Canada Sylvia Anderson De Freitas, Duluth, MN Dr. & Mrs. Roger Bagshaw, Big Sur, CA Forrest & Sandi Cioppa, Moraga, CA Raymond Gordon, Venice, FL Dr. Wasif Hafeez, W. Bloomfield, MI Virgina K. Hilmy, Highland, CA Dr. Muhammad M. Kudaimi, Munster, IN Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Darrel Meyers, Burbank, CA Estate of Thomas Shaker, Poughkeepsie, NY**** David Williams, Golden, CO

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more)

Asha A. Anand, Bethesda, MD Joseph Daruty, Newport Beach, CA Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR *, # Ronald & Mary Forthofer, Boulder, CO Dorsey Gardner, Palm Beach, FL Judith Howard, Norwood, MA Ghazy M. Kader, Shoreline, WA Jack Love, Fort Myers, FL Mr. & Mrs. Hani Marar, Delmar, NY Estate of Jean Elizabeth Mayer, Bethesda, MD Mary Norton, Austin, TX Richard J. Shaker, Annapolis, MD**** Dr. Imad Tabry, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Washington RepoRt on Middle east affaiRs

Donn Trautman, Evanston, IL Young Again Foundation, Leland, NC

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)

Anonymous, Palo Alto, CA## John & Henrietta Goelet, Washington, DC Dr. Letitia Lane-Abdallah, Greensboro, NC William Lightfoot, Vienna, VA

*In Memory of Dick and Donna Curtiss **In Memory of Diane Cooper ***In Memory of Dr. Jack G. Shaheen ****In Memory of Thomas R. Shaker #In Memory of Andrew I. Killgore ## In Memory of Rachelle & Hugh Marshall

SUPPORT MIDDLE EAST BOOKSTORE/ COFFEE SHOP

Brick-and-mortar retailers are facing a challenge. Even before the pandemic, competition from Amazon forced a lot of independent bookstores to close. Thanks to your support, Middle East Books and More defied that trend!

Come in and browse, shop, and eventually gather again for book talks, club meetings and film screenings in the bookstore. Of course, we always sell books—and more— online (www.MiddleEastBooks.com).

We are also using this time to expand and add a coffee shop to the bookstore. Now that we’ve completed the architectural and engineering plans and selected the contractor, we’ve learned that renovations will cost more than $100,000. Please send a check to AET, 1902 18th St, NW, Washington, DC, with “bookstore” on the memo line to help make your favorite bookstore a special gathering place for our community. august/septeMbeR 2021

UPA_ad_c3.qxp_UPA Ad Cover 3 7/13/21 11:49 AM Page c3

Brinng hopee to Gazaa, onee boat at a time…

UPA brougght solar lighting andd safet e y to Gaza’s fishinng industry, one port at a time. Now, UPA is repairing fishing vessels in each coastal district.

Give Toda o y!

Sustainable developmeent, together with relief andd reconstruction.

Phone: 202-659-5007

act.uppaconnect.org/donate

cover4.qxp_AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 Back Cover 7/14/21 8:40 AM Page c4

American Educational Trust Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009

August/September 2021 Vol. XL, No. 5

Palestinian children play in a pool to cool off during a hot day at Sharm Park Resort in Gaza City, on July 4, 2021.

(Photo by Rizek AbdeljAwAd/XinhuA viA Getty imAGes)