Washington Report on Middle East Affairs — November/December 2014

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AMERICANS SAY U.S. GIVES “TOO MUCH” AID TO ISRAEL

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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXXIII, No. 8

November/December 2014

Telling the Truth for More Than 30 Years…

Interpreting the Middle East for North Americans

■

Interpreting North America for the Middle East

THE U.S. ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE 8 ISIS: A New Adversary in an Endless War —Rachelle Marshall 11 American Muslims Condemn the “Anti-Islamic State”—Over and Over—Delinda C. Hanley 12 U.N. Secretary-General, British Member of Parliament Don’t Mince Their Words

—Ian Williams 14 How Should the U.S. and Europe Respond to Israeli Intransigence?—Two Views

—George S. Hishmeh, John V. Whitbeck 16 Israel Probes Five Gaza Crimes in Attempt to Deflect International Investigations

21 The Life and Death of Ahmad Asfour of Gaza —Pam Bailey 23 Global Solidarity With Palestinians: From Psychological Support to Political Change

—Samah Jabr 25 In the Face of Constant Adversity, West Bank Residents Hold Their Heads Up High

—Dale Sprusansky 27 Lebanon’s Refugee Crisis Is a Time Bomb —Delinda C. Hanley 32 Six in Ten Americans Say U.S. Gives “Too Much” Aid to Israel—Grant F. Smith

—Jonathan Cook

34 Congress Puts Off Debating and Voting on Use of U.S. Military Force Against ISIS—Shirl McArthur

19 “We Are Still Waiting for Construction Materials,” Gazans Lament—Mohammed Omer

46 As America Battles ISIS, Lawyers Debate Presidential War Powers—Dale Sprusansky

SPECIAL REPORTS 36 Spectacular Sunsets, Vistas, Other Simple Pleasures Abound in Istanbul

38 Sore Losers Seek to Weaken Indonesian Democracy—John Gee 71 ’Tis the Season for Charitable Giving —Compiled by Jhostyn Duval and Kevin Davis 73 Middle East Books Fall 2014 Booklist

STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

—Elaine and Phil Pasquini

Young Syrian refugees stand near a tent in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley village of Deir al-Ahmar, Sept. 16, 2014. There are 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which has a population of just 4 million people. See story p. 27.

ON THE COVER: Following Israel’s denial of access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound to Muslim men under 50, a Palestinian man performs traditional Friday prayers in front of Israeli security forces outside East Jerusalem’s Old City, Oct. 17, 2014.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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

Other Voices

Compiled by Janet McMahon

Thank you, Sweden, for the Rule of Law Reminder, Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global

OV-1

Two Speeches, Uri Avnery, www.gush-shalom.org

OV-2

Islamic State vs. Jewish State, Jamal Kanj, Gulf Daily News

OV-4

The Real U.S. Power Struggle Behind the “Jerusalem, Israel” Passport Case, Seth Lipsky, Haaretz

OV-4

Israeli Binationalism Is Old News, Gideon Levy, Haaretz

OV-5

Christian Evangelicals Push Aliyah— And Jews Are Concerned, Nathan Guttman, The Forward NYT Can’t Keep Its Story Straight on Anti-Semitism in Germany, James North & Philip Weiss, http://mondoweiss.net

Monuments Matter, Emma Pearson and Katie Welsford, Le Monde diplomatique

OV-8

Afghanistan—Unending Outside Interventions, Immanuel Wallerstein, Agence Global OV-9 History of Key Document in IAEA Probe Suggests Israeli Forgery, Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service

OV-10

Failure Is Success: How American Intelligence Works in the Twenty-First Century, Tom Engelhardt, Agence Global OV-12 Report on Disclosures to the Media Is Classified, Steven Aftergood, FAS.org

OV-14

OV-6

U. of I. Destroyed My Career, Prof. Steven Salaita, Chicago Tribune

OV-14

OV-8

Is the Center for Jewish Life Stifling Free Speech on Campus?, Max Weiss, The Daily Princetonian

OV-15

DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

29 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

31 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS 40 NEW YORK CITY AND TRI-STATE NEWS: Columbia University Panel Addresses Israel’s Most Recent Assault on

47 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: Is There a Growing “Israel Exception” to Free Speech and Academic Freedom?

CHRONICLE: UCLA Panel

50 ARAB AMERICAN ACTIVISM: New PIVOT App Brings Palestinian History to Life 50 MUSLIM AMERICAN ACTIVISM: CAIR Holds Banquet Celebrating Its 20th Anniversary 51 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS: Arab League Honors Ambassador Clovis Maksoud

53 HUMAN RIGHTS: Syria’s Zone

CHRONICLE: Muslims Should “Stand Up for Justice,” Ambassador Rasool Tells CAIR Audience—Elaine Pasquini

The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the New Sunni Uprising

—Reviewed by Dale Sprusansky 67 MIDDLE EAST BOOKS AND MORE 68 BULLETIN BOARD 69 2014 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS 13 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Heroes Bring Humanity to War 44 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Would Impact Regional Politics

66 BOOK REVIEW:

Explores Parallels Between Gaza, Ferguson—Pat and Samir Twair

How an Iranian Nuclear Deal

—Allan C. Brownfeld

Gaza—Jane Adas 42 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

57 WAGING PEACE:

55 MUSIC & ARTS: “To Catch a Muslim” Play Lampoons FBI Sting

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Publisher: Managing Editor: News Editor: Assistant Editor: Middle East Books and More Director: Finance & Admin.

Director: Art Director: Executive Editor:

ANDREW I. KILLGORE JANET McMAHON DELINDA C. HANLEY DALE SPRUSANSKY KEVIN A. DAVIS CHARLES R. CARTER RALPH U. SCHERER RICHARD H. CURTISS (1927-2013)

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April and June/July combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. 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.

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Phone: (888) 881-5861 • Fax: (714) 226-9733 Printed in the USA

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

LetterstotheEditor End Ebola or Enable Israel?

I was reading again about the estimated cost of putting a stop to the Ebola outbreak. One estimate was that $1 billion needed to be committed (by donors collectively, of course), but it has been difficult to get the money pledged and actually provided, even though there have been estimates of the number of people infected numbering 1.4 million by January, of whom 1 million will die, and many statements that this is a threat to the whole world. That can be compared with the annual aid given by the U.S. government to Israel of at least $3.5 billion, up front and with no real conditions attached. It’s really quite astounding where some people’s priorities lie! I’m sure that if the American public had a vote on it, they’d agree readily to transfer $1 billion of the Israeli aid money to counter an epidemic that is taking many lives and threatening them.

John Gee, Singapore Indeed, and the remaining $2.5 billion could be put to very good use here at home! But $1 billion is at least a start...

Words and Their Implications On the front cover of your September 2014 issue you write: “Israel again wreaks vengeance on Gaza.” The word “vengeance” is inappropriate, it suggests that the Palestinians did something eliciting an Israeli “response.” It suggests that the Palestinians were responsible for the destruction and the massacre. When we listen to some of the Israeli Dr. Strangeloves, we know that the Israeli aim is to drive the native population off the land, and this is done by killing, bulldozing, etc. The massacres Israel can get away with in the international arena are referred to as “mowing the lawn.” These actions have nothing to do with “vengeance”—they are premeditated means to ethnically cleanse the area. A front cover title that would reflect this reality would be more apropos.

There are frequent references to “collective punishment” in your publication.

Again, the same issue applies, i.e., what are Palestinians “punished” for? The word “punished” has the implication of Palestinian responsibility for Israeli violence, and it justifies it. And of course, Israelis always claim to “respond.”

I urge you to avoid this type of descriptors that are compliant with a warped narrative.

Keep up the good work.

Paul de Rooij, London We take your point about the often insidiTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ous implications of certain words and phrases. Ironically, perhaps, the phrase “collective punishment” calls to our mind Nazi retribution against an innocent population for justified acts of resistance against occupation! We would be most interested in your suggestions of alternative phrasings. The world “malevolence” occurred to us—and when we looked it up we found “vengefulness” listed as a synonym!

Yiddish, Hebrew and AntiSemitism I always read with interest articles such as

“Are Evangelicals Abandoning Israel?” in your October issue, in which it is stated that individuals are labeled “anti-Semitic” merely for raising questions.

I became interested in Arabic civilization in Spain during my college days in the 1950s and subsequently studied Arabic history in the East. Naturally, I could not ignore the Israel-Palestine conflict and decided to study the origins of modern Zionism. I became interested in how strong antiZionism was among Jews in both Europe and America during the early decades of the 20th century. For example Morris Jastrow, professor of Semitic languages at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote a book, Zionism and the Future of Palestine, in which he describes the “fallacies of modern politicized Zionism.” One fallacy cited is that modern Yiddish-speaking Jews are genetic descendants of the ancient Hebrews.

Jastrow wrote President Woodrow Wilson a letter in 1919 requesting that he not support Jewish Zionism. His letter was cosigned by 300 prominent American Jews.

As part of my studies, I delved into modern Yiddish literature, mostly in English translation, but later some in Yiddish, which I studied for a while after I retired in 1990.

Incidentally, I had become a member of the National Yiddish Book Center shortly after my initial study of Jewish anti-Zionism.

After the early decades of the 20th century, the next generation of Jews were 5

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taught by the Zionists that the use I am enclosing my donation of Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming! of Yiddish, a Germanic language $500. The Washington Report Send your letters to the editor to the Washington with sub-stratum Semitic influseems to be the only publication Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009 ence, was a passing phase in the that tells the truth about AIPAC’s or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>. history of Judaism. Modern Heinfluence on our foreign policy. brew was promoted, while Yiddish was I am outraged at the world’s (and suppressed. I encountered statements Dangers of Political Zionism in 1919. As our especially the U.S.) lack of compassion and within Jewish writings as, “In Israel, they “Israel and Judaism” columnist Allan aid for the Palestinians. hate Yiddish,” “Yiddish is a jargon,” etc. The Brownfeld frequently points out, many Jews The siege of Gaza and the occupation of suppression of Yiddish during past decades here and in Europe opposed Zionism in the the Palestinians by the Israelis must end. is mentioned in a display case at the en- early decades of its existence. And Zionists There will never be peace and security for trance of the National Yiddish Book Center. put their ideology ahead of the lives of their the Israelis without peace and security for Yiddish is taught in both Israel and the fellow Jews not just culturally, but in more the Palestinian people.

U.S. today, but the language, still spoken by lethal ways as well. Jews living in British Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA millions even after WWII, is now nearly Mandate Palestine who did not support the We are very grateful for your membership moribund as an actively spoken language. Zionist project were murdered, for example, in the AET Choir of Angels over the years.

When the Israeli-Arab war broke out in and, as author and historian Lenni Brenner Without the support of you and your fellow 1967, I listened to my fellow physicians dis- has documented, various Zionist factions Angels we would not be here today! cuss the conflict. Many historical inaccura- sought to collaborate with Germany’s Nazi cies were stated. I attempted to correct my government in support of a Jewish state (see A Breath of Fresh Air colleagues. I promptly was labeled “anti-Se- September 2004 Washington Report, p. 86). I am writing this letter after having the privilege of reading three back issues, mitic.” I recall I once quoted I.L. Peretz, the which I found to be quite informative and father of modern Yiddish literature who died Equal or Chosen? in 1915, without saying whom I quoted—a I looked in the September issue of your educational. I happen to be an Africanphysician jumped to his feet and shouted, magazine for articles seeking to bring peace American Muslim revert, as my forefathers to the Middle East and found “Resolving were made slaves and brought to this “You really hate Jews!”

Another time, I made a statement while Gaza Starts From 1947-48” by Rami Khouri country and stripped of an Islamic heritage giving a solid reference for my statement. of the American University of Beirut. While that I have been striving to regain.

To regain my heritage, I have been, for I was told that I could really foster up lies, I found his writing very sophisticated, it and the physician informed me that he did only involved the post-1947 period. In my the most part, self-educating and I am now not need to consult any reference because opinion, he argues that everyone should try much keener on African and Middle Easthe knew that what I had said was not true. harder to improve what they are doing, in ern affairs. For the most part it’s very hard I retired still labeled a “Jew-hater” and the hope that a relatively nonviolent peace to obtain unbiased reporting from Amerian “anti-Semite,” but I walked away from will develop and foster a mutual under- can media giants whose materials are typimedicine as a great admirer of Yiddish liter- standing between the different national so- cally abundantly available even in these ature and culture and as a proud donator cieties. I believe that this has been the posi- confines. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs was a breath of fresh air to me, to the National Yiddish Book Center. I also tion of the non-Zionists since 1947.

I have been convinced since my early so I decided to write you and let you know carried the notion that Zionist Jews at one years that in resolving a question of fact, that. Also, if it is possible, I would like you time hated their own Yiddish culture.

William H. Strange, MD, Fort Garland, one should go back in time to the period to consider providing me, an indigent priswhen the question did not exist, and then oner, a subscription that I will surely share CO We were fascinated to learn of Morris Jas- come forward in time, step by step, answer- with other interested prisoners.

I am a voracious reader, and I can never trow (1861-1921), who wrote Zionism and ing, as necessary, the question in the conthe Future of Palestine: The Fallacies and text of the new time until one reaches the get enough reading material. Unlike many present. This is essentially other prisoners I don’t have a television, so what Sigmund Freud did in I have to always be on the hunt for news Other Voices is an Moses and Monotheism. The and information. I am hopeful, inshaoptional 16-page question Freud examined Allah, that perhaps I could be considered supplement available was whether everyone is for a sponsored subscription. only to subscribers of the born equal in dignity and Thank you for your considerations in Washington Report on rights or whether some peo- this regard. I am hopeful, but recognize the Middle East Affairs. For ple are God’s Chosen peo- fact that it costs to produce the Washingple. ton Report on Middle East Affairs, and you an additional $15 per Bruce Flann, Ottawa, could not do that if you gave away your year (see postcard insert Canada publication to everyone who asks, so I will for Washington Re port We’ve observed that, aside naturally understand if you cannot bestow subscription rates), from any psychological implia subscription. Either way I still extend my subscribers will receive cations, it often depends on thanks and appreciation to you. May God Other Voices inside each issue of their Washington where one lives: Jewish Zion- bless you and find favor with all you do.

Report on Middle East Affairs. ists demand equality in the Brian Keith Barnett, Calipatria, CA Back issues of both publications are available. To U.S. while insisting on superiNot only does our AET Choir of Angels subscribe telephone 1 (888) 881-5861, fax (714) 226ority and exclusivity in Israel. make our continued existence possible, but it 9733, e-mail <circulation@wrmea.org>, or write to enables us to respond to readers such as Peace and Security P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. yourself. It is our pleasure to provide you for All with a gift subscription. ❑ 6

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

publishers_7_November/December 2014 Publishers page 10/23/14 9:41 PM Page 7

American Educational Trust

Publishers’ Page

The 2014 Mid-term Elections…

let’s start working now to make sure we have candidates running who will truly represent us—not just a Tweedledum and Tweedledee who both owe their allegiance to the Israel lobby. Americans are increasingly unhappy about the high cost of their country’s obeisance to Israel.

Let’s turn that dissatisfaction into action, and insist that the U.S.…

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL WWW.CARTOONWEB.COM

Finally are behind us (or will be by the time this issue reaches your mailbox). The costliest congressional races in U.S. history, campaign spending totalled nearly $4 billion, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Pro-Israel PACs, super PACs, independent political groups, and nonprofits all dumped a record amount of money into our democratic process, thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v.

Federal Election Commission decision de-regulating campaign spending by organizations. You’d think that with congressional approval ratings at an all-time low, campaign contributions would be, too, but apparently influence-buying is an ever-popular pursuit.

Now Can We Get Some Work Done?

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry don’t have much time left to do the right thing and make peace between Israel and the Arab world. As the cartoon on this page so brilliantly illustrates, non-Americans are skeptical of U.S. motives in the Middle East after we turned a blind eye as Israel “mowed the lawn” in Gaza this summer. No half-hearted or even wholehearted support for Syrian rebels, Iraqis, Syrians, Libyans or Yemenis thirsting for democracy and human rights will mean anything as long as the United States is perceived as siding with the occupier—the oppressor— in Palestine. Withholding U.S. military aid to Israel until settlers withdraw from the West Bank and borders are opened with Gaza is a start. Not vetoing every U.N. Security Council Resolution critical of Israel would also be appreciated. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be impossible, and Congress will be craven…

So What Else Is New? U.S. elected officials in the White House and Congress should respect the wishes of the Americans they supposedly represent, who overwhelmingly do not want their country to engage in an endless war—especially one fought for the benefit of a foreign nation. A nuclear agreement with Iran—which, unlike Israel, does not possess nuclear weapons and is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty—would be a first step toward acting in America’s interest and forming alliances that might help unravel the tangled mess Washington and Tel Aviv have woven in the region—the consequences of which are…

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Cut All Aid to Israel.

Unintended but not Unanticipated.

On Oct. 22, the Pentagon blamed the wind for blowing off course airdropped U.S. weapons and supplies intended for Kurds trying to hold on to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani. Instead they landed in the hands of ISIS militants, thereby adding to the vast arsenal of U.S. weaponry that ISIS seized in Iraq in June (see book review p. 66). So not only are U.S. airstrikes admittedly not deterring ISIS fighters, but…

We Are Resupplying Them as Well!

As then-Secretary of State Colin Powell warned President George W. Bush in the summer of 2002, prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq the following spring: “...once you break it, you are going to own it.”

Iraqis and Afghans are still hoping we’ll fix what we broke in their nations. And, of course, this past summer Israel used American money and weapons to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure and kill more than 2,000 Palestinians, 70 percent of them civilians.

As winter approaches…

Please Give Generously.

You’ll find a list of some humanitarian aid organizations trying their best to help on pp. 71 and 72. Gazans need far more than $5.4 billion to help them repair their homes, schools, hospitals and businesses destroyed in Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge.” They need their borders opened and the free flow of building materials, food and medicines. They need security, and assurance that once repairs are made, Israel won’t return to…

Bomb Them Into Rubble Again.

Two Years From Now… We’ll be asked to elect a new president and Congress. Let’s use these years to make our demands known to our elected representatives as well as to potential candidates. And THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Our Humble Request.

With refugees, victims of so many wars— and now Ebola—and needy fellow citizens as well asking for your urgent help, we hate to mention our own problems...But this year, Washington Report’s tiny staff has been working overtime, covering an ever-increasing number of critical events from coast-to-coast and across the world. Our webmaster continues to spend countless hours fighting off denial-of-service (DoS) cyberattacks. (We must be doing something right to make people want to shut us down!) Our bookstore director is purchasing the latest books, DVDs, olive oil products and solidarity items, and transporting his traveling bookstore to premier conferences.

Visit <www.middleeastbooks.com> to see why we’re so popular.

To Cut to the Chase...

We’re in urgent need of more talented staff and funds to pay the ones we have—not to mention our printing and utility bills. We need your subscriptions and donations to make it possible to keep the lights on and pay our writers and five staff members. We keep hearing from readers who thank us for keeping them connected with “our community.” Your personal contributions and subscriptions affect every aspect of the Washington Report. Your purchases from Middle East Books and More—especially, we hope, during the coming gift-giving season—support filmmakers, authors, publishers, Palestinian craftspeople, and olive tree farmers and co-ops. If you open up your address books and give us some outreach ideas, we won’t say no! Instead we’ll happily send a sample issue to everyone on your list in hopes of bringing a new subscriber into the fold. Our bi-annual fundraising letter will be coming your way soon. But you don’t have to wait to...

Make a Difference Today!

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ISIS: A New Adversary in an Endless War SpecialReport

BULENT KILIC/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Rachelle Marshall

From the Turkish-Syrian border village of Mursitpinar, Syrian Kurd Ivis Alty (c) and her family try to spot their relative Zamani Suruc, who is fighting Islamic State jihadists in the Syrian border town of Kobane, Oct. 20, 2014. resident Barack Obama’s announce-

Pment to the nation on Sept. 10 of a

strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State, or ISIS, opened a new front in the long-running U.S. war in the Middle East. That war began in 1991 with the massive bombing of Iraq, and has continued without interruption ever since, meanwhile spreading to Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Pakistan.

Once more Washington is choosing military intervention over diplomacy and the search for a political solution, and with little chance of success.

The president told the nation that this would not be another ground war but “a counterterror campaign,” in which the U.S. along with several of its allies will carry out bombing attacks against ISIS forces, while the Iraqi army and Syrian rebels take on the estimated 35,000 ISIS ground troops. “The American forces deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission,” Obama told soldiers at MacDill Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East.

8

Air Force Base, a pledge that has been met with skepticism by military experts.

For once the word “terrorist” does accurately describe the enemy. ISIS for all its sophistication is an organization that carries out beheadings, mass executions, the abduction of women and children, and even crucifixions. It is also a potent military force that has captured, and is able to administer, a large area of Iraq and Syria.

The danger it poses to the region clearly demands a response, but a response orchestrated by the U.S. that relies on more killing is likely to fail.

Instead of defeating ISIS, a U.S. bombing campaign is likely to prolong the conflict indefinitely, since U.S. military interventions in the Middle East invariably create additional enemies in a region where America already faces hostility because of its alliance with Israel and support for authoritarian Arab leaders. According to Peter Neumann, director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King’s College London, the West’s military intervention already has increased the influx of Muslim recruits both from abroad and within the region eager to join ISIS in fighting a common enemy.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Until policymakers examine the causes of ISIS’ appeal, and begin dealing with them, destroying ISIS will only give rise to an equally extreme group in its place. Military power alone seldom succeeds in defeating an adversary that is willing to die to achieve its goal. The U.S. dropped 7 million tons of bombs on Indochina between 1965 and 1975, in addition to deploying 200,000 combat troops, yet it failed to defeat a Vietnamese guerrilla army fighting for national independence.

Iraq was torn by sectarian violence well before the rise of ISIS. The mismanaged occupation that followed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq deepened and formalized sectarian divisions among Sunnis, Kurds and Shi’i, and ISIS is capitalizing on those divisions. The U.N. reported on Oct. 3 that so far this year at least 26,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed or wounded in ethnic fighting—by no means all of them by ISIS. Iraqi government forces and Shi’i militias have also committed “gross violations,” the U.N. said, including abducting civilians, executing captives, hanging the dead on lamp posts, and carrying out indiscriminate bombing attacks that kill and injure civilians. An Iraqi air strike on a school in mid-September killed 31 people, 24 of them children.

Under Iraq’s former prime minister, the U.S.-backed Nouri al-Maliki, Sunnis were denied government benefits, and thousands were arrested and held without charges. Iraq’s new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has yet to release all of those prisoners. Because of the government’s mistreatment, many Sunnis are joining ISIS even though they reject its long-term goals. They see it as their only defense against the Shi’i militias and the army.

Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies argues that Obama’s first priority should be to join with Iran in pressuring Iraqis to create a more inclusive government, with an equitable distribution of cabinet positions to Sunnis and Kurds.

Tehran’s close ties to Iraqi leaders makes partnership with Iran crucial to such an effort, according to Bennis. In addition, she says, a U.S. aid program aimed at developing job opportunities would be cheaper and more effective in stemming ISIS’ rise than the millions of dollars a day the U.S. spends on bombing.

In any case, several weeks of bombing have not been enough to budge ISIS from NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

its positions in Iraq or stop it from overrunning Iraqi and Syrian towns. Despite Obama’s vow that American soldiers will not have a combat mission, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that if the bombing doesn’t stop ISIS, he will recommend deploying U.S. troops to fight them, especially in urban areas where bombing would kill too many civilians. The use since early October of low-flying U.S. helicopter gunships in Iraq, with U.S. soldiers directing the fire, means some Americans already are directly involved on the ground. It is increasingly evident that many more will be needed.

Saudi Arabia is training what it calls “moderate Syrian rebels,” but it will take months before they are ready to take on hardened ISIS fighters. Retired Gen. John R. Allen, coordinator of the international coalition fighting ISIS, said it would be a year before the Iraqi military would be ready to retake Mosul, a major city now controlled by ISIS. The U.S.-trained Iraqi army, plagued by desertions and rampant corruption, has until now melted away before ISIS forces, leaving their weapons and even their uniforms behind. Turkish troops are far more efficient fighters, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is refusing to send them to fight ISIS for fear of strengthening Syrian Kurds who are seeking autonomy.

The fact that the forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad include dozens of different rebel groups also creates problems. When American bombs hit two bases belonging to the al-Nusra Front, a group the U.S. considers terrorist, other rebels opposed to the Assad government complained that al-Nusra was their most effective fighting force. Rebels face danger from both sides, one fighter said. “During the day they run from regime strikes, and at night they run from the coalition strikes.”

ISIS’ essential weakness lies in the fact that the vast majority of Muslims fiercely oppose it, repelled by its extreme cruelty.

They reject its goal of establishing a caliphate that would encompass most of the Muslim world and forcing its inhabitants to observe a puritanical form of Islam named for its 18th century founder, Muhammed Ibn al-Wahhab.

Wahhabism became the established religion in the new state of Saudi Arabia when it was founded in 1932, but like other religious movements that adopt distorted versions of the original, ISIS seeks to impose a violent form of Wahhabism that contradicts the basic principles of Islam and is rejected by the Saudis and other Gulf states.

The Saudi grand mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, made this clear when he declared that “the ideas of extremism, radicalism and terrorism do not belong to NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

SAID KHATIB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

marshall_8-10_Special Report 10/23/14 8:35 PM Page 9

Six-year-old Lian al-Farra, who lost family members during Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza, cries as she refuses to stay at an UNRWA school in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the first day of the new school year, Sept. 14, 2014—three weeks late.

Islam in any way, but are the first enemy of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims, as seen in the crimes of the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda.”

Given that most Muslims condemn ISIS, it likely will not be able to retain power indefinitely by terror and brute force. As with almost all tyrannical regimes, either the regime will gradually change or the people it rules over will eventually rise up to oust them. But that process is hampered as long as many of those who join ISIS are motivated by hatred of the West. They see the U.S. as an imperial power that since 1991 has bombed and killed Muslims in the name of combatting terrorism, while at the same time financing and defending Israeli terrorism against the Palestinians.

Obama’s condemnation of ISIS for its brutality was in stark contrast to his statements citing “Israel’s right to defend itself” as justification for Israel’s most recent indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas exposed the hypocrisy of that phrase when he addressed the annual session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26 and referred to the “horror and magnitude” of Israel’s assault on Gaza. He described it as “a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world.”

Israel’s Deliberate Provocation Far from being a defensive action, the war on Gaza was deliberately provoked by Israel, according to Israeli documents described by The New York Times on Sept. 5.

When three young Israeli settlers were abTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ducted and shot to death in June, Israel immediately blamed Hamas for their deaths. But according to the Times, the documents revealed the killing to have been a local initiative carried out by a small group of Hebron residents with only a tenuous connection to Hamas.

Israel nevertheless seized on the crime as an excuse to search and ransack hundreds of West Bank homes and offices, and arrest hundreds of suspected Hamas members. In response, angry militants in Gaza fired homemade rockets into Israeli border towns, Israel responded in turn with air strikes targeting Hamas members, and Hamas retaliated with its own rockets.

That was all the rationale Israel needed to launch an offensive that in 51 days killed 2,168 Palestinians, including 500 children, displaced 110,000 Gazans from their homes, and destroyed or damaged more than 100 U.N. hospitals and schools.

At a conference in Cairo on Oct. 12, diplomats from Europe, the Arab states and the U.S. pledged a total of $5.4 billion to help Gaza recover from the devastation caused by Israel, with Qatar pledging $1 billion and the U.S. $200 million. Half the money will go to rebuilding and half to support the budget of the Palestinian Authority. Even with that amount of aid, Palestinian officials say, reconstruction could take 15 years if Israel’s blockade is not lifted. There is also a question of how many times international donors will be willing to pay for repairing the damage done by Israel only to have Israel destroy Gaza again. Some Israelis call the periodic 9

marshall_8-10_Special Report 10/23/14 8:35 PM Page 10

Israeli Spies Protest One of Edward J. Snowden’s most shocking revelations is the fact that the National Security Agency (NSA), which deals with ultra-secret intelligence, routinely passes along private communications of Americans, especially Arab- and PalestinianAmericans, to Israel’s elite intelligence organization known as Unit 8200. James Bamford, in a Sept. 17 op-ed column for The New York Times, quoted Snowden as telling him, “It’s one of the biggest abuses we’ve seen.”

The abuses Snowden referred to were aimed less at uncovering plots against Israeli security as they were in providing fodder for blackmail, such as sexual orientation against the targeted individuals. In a letter sent in mid-September to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and several Israeli military commanders, 43 members of Unit 8200 declared they no longer would take part in actions against Palestinians. “Some of the things we did are immoral and are against the things we believe in,” the signers said, “and we’re not willing to do them anymore.” military assaults “mowing the lawn.”

Israel is already paying a price for that damage in European public opinion.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven recently pledged to give diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine, and on Oct. 13 the British Parliament voted 274 to 12 to do the same. The vote was nonbinding, but reflected the growing anger in Europe at Israel’s scuttling of peace negotiations, continued settlement construction, and indiscriminate attacks on Gaza. Richard Ottaway, a leading parliamentary Conservative who normally supports Israel, said, “Such is my anger over Israel’s behavior in recent months that I will not oppose the motion. I have to say to the government of Israel that if they are losing people like me, they will be losing a lot of people.”

Turning to Israel’s continued colonization of the West Bank, Abbas in his U.N. speech announced he would ask the Security Council to adopt a resolution setting a specific time for the creation of a Palestinian state in the entire territory captured by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem. If the U.S. vetoes the resolution, he said, the Palestinians will join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and charge Israel with war crimes.

Doing so has its dangers, however, according to Palestinian attorney Salma Karmi-Ayyoub. She points out in the Sept.

11 issue of the London Review of Books that Israel has threatened serious reprisals if the Palestinians join the ICC, and that both the U.S. and the EU say they would cut off aid.

There are other difficulties as well, she writes. The prosecutor might for political reasons decline to prosecute Israel, or might also prosecute the Palestinians for firing rockets at Israel.

The real value of an ICC case, KarmiAyyoub concludes, would be the damage 10

The Unit 8200 members claimed Israel made no distinction between Palestinians who are and are not engaged in violence, and that the information the unit gathers “harms innocent people” since “it is used for political persecution which does not allow people to lead normal lives and fuels more violence.”

One of the organizers described the occupation as “an oppressive regime that controls the lives of millions of people.”

It was the largest collective protest by Israeli soldiers since 2003, when an air strike on Gaza aimed at a Palestinian commander killed 14 civilian bystanders, and 23 pilots said they would carry out no more targeted assassinations. Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz, an army spokesman, accused the Unit 8200 protesters of using their army service for political ends and said the punishment would be “sharp and clear.” Meanwhile, their action was heartening evidence that moral conscience is still alive in Israel, if not at the NSA. —R.M.

done to Israel’s legitimacy by exposing its violations of international and human rights law. Taking legal action against Israel would also say to the Palestinians, “your rights are more important than continued acquiescence to Israeli-American demands.”

When it was Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s turn to address the U.N., he accused Abbas of “brazen lies.”

Speaking to a gallery filled with Israel supporters, he equated Hamas with the murderous Boko Haram in Nigeria, and with al-Qaeda and ISIS, saying, “ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree.” Relying on a supportive audience, Netanyahu even accused Hamas, a nationalist organization with limited aims, of having the same “global ambitions” as the Nazis.

As usual, Netanyahu also stressed the danger of Iran, which he claimed is identical to ISIS. Unlike Israel, Iran has not invaded a neighboring country since the days of the Persian empire. The Iranians regard ISIS as a deadly enemy and have offered to join the U.S. in fighting it. Netanyahu nevertheless declared Iran to be the one country where “militant Islam will have the power to realize its unbridled ambitions.” In a stunning non sequitur he asked, “Would you let ISIS enrich uranium?”

Netanyahu and Obama met at the White House on Oct. 1, just hours after Israel announced plans to build 2,610 new housing units in Arab East Jerusalem, and Jewish settlers moved into 26 apartments in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan. The meeting was distinctly cool, since the Obama administration has criticized Israel’s settlement expansion for impeding peace talks and poisoning relations with neighboring Arab countries. Netanyahu can safely igTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

nore such criticism, however, since Congress will make sure the U.S. continues to serve as Israel’s financial supporter, arms supplier and spokesman at the U.N. As a result, the system of naked theft that defines Israel’s occupation is operating in high gear. The pro-settler Yesha Council boasted in early September that the settler population in the West Bank had grown to 382,031 in the first 6 months of this year, and continues to increase by 4 percent a year. The announcement came as the Israeli military was putting up “No Trespassing signs” on 1,000 acres of agricultural land at the edge of Wadi Fukin, a village near Bethlehem. Peace Now called it the biggest land grab in the West Bank in 30 years.

Stifling Palestinian economic growth is also part of Israel’s ethnic cleansing policy.

On Sept. 1 Israeli soldiers demolished the Al Rayyan Dairy Factory in Hebron, which was built by the Islamic Charitable Society with help from the Kuwaiti government as a source of income and food for orphanages and schools in the area. An Israeli spokesman said, “The activity of this dairy production plant is related to terror organizations,” but the Islamic Society never had a chance to reply. The dairy was demolished six days before the Society’s scheduled court hearing.

Israel’s destruction of the Palestinianowned dairy was not an unusual event in the context of the occupation, but such incidents repeated time after time explain why the normally soft-spoken Abbas referred to the occupation as “an abhorrent form of terrorism and a breeding ground for incitement, tension, and hatred.” Until American policymakers take those words seriously and act on them, efforts by the U.S. to eliminate ISIS and similar groups in the region will be a futile exercise. ❑ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

hanley_11_Special Report 10/23/14 6:44 PM Page 11

American Muslims Condemn the “Anti-Islamic State”—Over and Over SpecialReport

By Delinda C. Hanley uslim-American community

Mleaders, clerics and ordinary

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

citizens have repeatedly denounced the atrocities committed by the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS. Just as they did after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims held news conferences and took to social media—Twitter, Facebook and YouTube—to condemn repulsive actions taken by militant groups, including the beheading of American journalists James Foley, Steven Sotloff and other victims.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has frequently condemned the Islamic State as “un-Islamic and morally repugnant.” Months ago, on July 7 and Aug. 11, CAIR noted that the Islamic State’s “human rights abuses on the ground are welldocumented.” On Aug. 21, CAIR Muslim-American leaders, clerics and even scouts condemn terrorism and extremism on Sept. 10 at called the killing of American the National Press Club. journalist James Foley “gruesome and barbaric” and “a violation of Islamic do not listen to this ideology...If someone Islamic Society of America mosque in Silbeliefs and of universally accepted inter- asks you to join this cult or this group, re- ver Spring, MD, “ISIS and al-Qaeda reprenational norms mandating the protection sist the slogans that promise justice but sent a warped religious ideology. Either we of prisoners and journalists during con- carry out injustice.” This group kills Mus- reject this violence in the clearest possible lims and demolishes mosques, Imam terms, or we allow them to become the face flicts.”

Muslim American imams, national and Magid stated. Islam teaches Muslims to of Islam and the world’s perception of us local community leaders, Department of build, not demolish, the imam argued. for years to come.”

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach diHomeland Security officials and Cardinal Islam saves lives, it doesn’t take lives.

McCarrick added that all religions seek rector of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center Theodore McCarrick addressed the escalation of violent extremism at a Sept. 10 press to build up the world, not tear it down, in Falls Church, VA, said he’d like to send a and to help each other, not kill each other. clear, unequivocal message that “Muslims conference at the National Press Club.

Imam Talib M. Shareef, from DC’s condemn violent extremism, like we did “Groups like ISIS prey on the vulnerable in our community,” acknowledged Haris Masjid Muhammad, asked media to refer after 9/11.” How is it that Americans never Tarin, DC office director for the Muslim to the group as “anti-Islamic state.” He ex- call the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) a Christian orPublic Affairs Council (MPAC). “Violent plained, “When I hear ISIS I hear hard ganization, he asked, but they continue to extremism is not a pervasive problem in cruel ice. They’ve lost their human iden- associate ISIS with Muslims? Then he adthe American Muslim community but its tity. That stuff is not Islam. It’s anti-Islam. dressed young men from his community It’s against everything Islam stands for.” He who may be contemplating joining the impact is huge...It skews our faith.”

Humera Khan, executive director of extended his condolences to the families of fight in Syria or Iraq : “There is nothing Muflehun, a think tank working to fight American journalists Foley and Sotloff, cool about being a jihadi,” Imam Johari said. “You’re a loser.” Muslims must be on online radicalization, warned that youths and to others affected by atrocities.

Asma Hanif, executive director of the the frontlines of social change and in the are being manipulated with false ideology.

Imam Mohamed Magid, director of the Baltimore, MD-based women’s shelter fight against terror, the imam concluded.

All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Muslimat Al-Nisaa, said ISIS has hijacked “Muslims are America’s greatest prospects, in Virginia, urged, “Young people, please her faith. “Just because someone uses Is- not America’s biggest suspects.”

CAIR and the Fiqh Council of North lamic terminology does not make one a America, an association of legal scholars Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Muslim,” she emphasized.

In the words of Faizal Khan, imam of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

Continued on page 28 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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U.N. Secretary-General, British Member Of Parliament Don’t Mince Their Words

United Nations Report

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Ian Williams

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon greets a Palestinian in a wheelchair during his visit to the Abu Hussein United Nations school in Gaza’s Jabalya refugee camp, Oct. 14, 2014. t is bitterly ironic that American sup-

Iporters of the Netanyahu government so

often complain about United Nations “disproportionate” or “one-sided” resolutions on Israel, when the U.S. Congress seems to be incessantly passing inconsequential but significant resolutions and acts “standing by” the self-proclaimed Jewish state, or offering unctuous and unconditional support for actions that the White House is trying to restrain.

Once again, this came to a head over Gaza. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is a person of principle, whose view of the region was totally changed when he saw for himself what the IDF did in Gaza and to Gazans this past summer. It is a shame that more congressmen did not make the trip for themselves, instead of going along for the ride on the almost obligatory hasbara (propaganda) trips arranged for them.

On his last visit to the devastated strip, Ban’s statements were an oblique rebuke to Washington. When he saw the lunar, inIan Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www. deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>.

12

deed Warsavian, cityscape, the plateaux of churned-over rubble left by “pinpoint” strikes by “the most ethical army in the world,” he said, “The enormous destruction in Gaza is a source of pain to me personally and it’s a shame to the international community.”

Talking to the survivors he said with quiet candor, “No amount of Security Council sessions, reports or briefings could have prepared me for what I witnessed today.”

While American legislators cheer on the Israeli onslaught, the Europeans have a slightly less hypocritical outlook. They condemn the results, the devastation, the deaths, the maiming—and, of course, the repeated destruction of infrastructure European taxpayers have paid for. But somehow, they never condemn the perpetrators, as if it were an act of nature, an earthquake or a hurricane that had visited this suffering. The difference is, of course, that it would be difficult to prosecute the epicenter of an earthquake, or the eye of the hurricane, but the leaders of Israel are welcomed or feted across the world.

As we have discussed previously, a U.N. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

secretary-general is in an anomalous position. He has to speak to the bad guys—it’s part of his job description. However, Ban has never stinted on being outspoken, and he is helped, of course, by some simple truths. What he is saying is being said by almost every world leader outside North America and Europe—and even by many in the latter. In addition, as their hysterical reaction to the worldwide BDS movement shows, Israeli leaders, for all their scorn, are desperate for normal relations with other countries, and above all the U.N. Not desperate enough, of course, to withdraw from the occupied territories—so far—but it gives some indication of the possible effect European and North American leaders might have if they were to act on their convictions and stop sitting on the fence.

Compare their silence with Ban on the shelling of the U.N. school: “Perhaps nothing so powerfully symbolizes this summer of suffering than the Jabalya school. Thousands of women, children, families were forced to flee the intense hostilities. They sought sanctuary under the U.N. flag.

“All of the details related to the location of this facility were shared with Israeli military authorities again and again. Yet the shells fell. Other U.N. facilities—sheltering other innocent civilians—shared a similar fate. The shelling of United Nations schools is absolutely unacceptable. These actions must be fully and independently investigated. I repeat my call for accountability.”

Ban blamed the current conflict on “a restrictive occupation that has lasted almost half a century, the continued denial of Palestinian rights and the lack of tangible progress in peace negotiations.” So naturally ADL national director Abe Foxman attacked him for “failing in his role as an unbiased observer,” adding “The secretary-general showed a stunning lack of objectivity on the issues surrounding the reasons for the recent violence in Gaza and inexplicable silence when it came to the Palestinian policies and actions which brought us to this point in the first place.”

Ban meets these people often—just as in Tel Aviv he met Binyamin Netanyahu, who hectored him, equally unavailingly, for not stopping the Palestinians’ “unilateral moves” at the U.N. It is interesting to see NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

williams_12-13_United Nations Report 10/23/14 8:33 PM Page 13

“unilateral” defined as “backed by everyone but the U.S. and a handful of client states in the Pacific.”

The most obvious form of accountability that has Netanyahu and his allies rattled is, of course, the International Criminal Court.

When Palestinian statehood was on the agenda of the U.N. General Assembly, most of the European countries abstained for the simple reason that they knew statehood would allow Palestine to join the ICC. They know crimes are being committed, but worry at the consequences for themselves.

They will have to seek the arrest and committal to The Hague of many Israeli politicians and military officers.

So not only did they pusillanimously abstain on a resolution to which they had no principled objections, nor even any popular opposition against, but they have been lending leverage to Israel by threatening President Mahmoud Abbas with consequences if he signs the convention adhering to the ICC. In the court of public opinion, this should count as an implicit plea of “guilty as hell” by Israel. The innocent would have nothing to fear.

In contrast however, those wonderful people who started the whole imbroglio by concocting the Balfour Declaration and later by dumping the Palestine problem on the U.N. in 1947, have shown some signs of life. While the British government prevaricated in solidarity with the rest of Europe—and in anxiety over the tiny but vociferous pro-Israel clique—in Britain, a few brave backbench MPs forced a rare vote on such an issue in the House of Commons.

The tumult of Prime Minister’s Question Time notwithstanding, the Commons is a closely regulated place, so having a rare resolution without government support is a difficult feat. But the MPs involved forced a vote recommending the government to extend full recognition to the State of Palestinian in accordance with the U.N. General Assembly vote.

It carried overwhelmingly, with 274 MPs voting for, and a mere 12 against. The rest absented themselves, assuming there would be consequences for doing the right thing.

Ban Ki-moon does not hedge, and neither does the British government. They say that Israeli settlements are illegal—a strictly factual description bullied out of most U.S. commentary. So, just as a contrast, the week of the parliamentary vote

by Sir Alan Duncan, a Conservative member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, and minister of state for international development from 2010 to 2014, made an imNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

peccably factual and logical statement that would be almost unthinkable in Washington—and, sadly, was bold even by British standards for a government minister.

A British MP on Settlements Sir Alan told the Royal United Services Institute in London: “In the past, the world has taken a clear stand on illegal territorial expansion, even when the aggressor might describe the area as disputed. We sent the Navy to repel General Galtieri’s claim to the Falkland Islands. We sent an army to repel Saddam Hussain’s claim to Kuwait. We are imposing sanctions on Russia for their annexation of Crimea, and their subterfuge in Eastern Ukraine.

“But there is no punitive action taken against Israel for their persistent annexation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

It is a cruel irony that Russia’s embrace of Crimea might be said to enjoy a modicum of popular consent: whereas the unpunished Israeli land grab in Palestine most certainly does not.

“It is a poor reflection on the international community, and on the United States in particular, that Israel persists with the building of settlements largely because it believes that it can get away with doing so.

The vision of Greater Israel, a country stretching by divine right from the Mediterranean Sea to the River Jordan, is unfortunately seen by some as a respectable political objective.

“Settlements are wrong. Settlements are illegal. Settlements are immoral. This illegality, and all the impropriety that goes with it, is the fulcrum of morality in global affairs. No amount of political funding and no degree of lobbying can ever convert wrong into right.”

He concluded with feeling born, no doubt, of experience.

“For far too long, those who have made a moral stand against Israeli misconduct and in favor of justice for Palestinians have been trashed, traduced and bullied. This, and the character assassination of critics, cannot be allowed to continue.

“The time has come for us to make an international stand on the principle of illegal Israeli settlements. All who converse, all who interview, and all who debate are entitled to ask their interlocutor for a simple answer to a simple question. ‘Do you agree that Israeli settlements outside the 1967 borders are illegal—yes or no?’

“If they give no answer at all, or equivocate, or actually say ‘no’, then we are entitled to brand such a person morally comTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

plicit in illegality, and therefore an extremist.

“Anyone who supports illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian land is an extremist who puts themself outside the boundaries of democratic standards. They are not fit to stand for election or sit in a democratic parliament, and they should be condemned outright by the international community and treated accordingly.

“Truth, principle, justice, morality, legality: they are all enduring values and they cannot and must not be bought or bullied into submission. For too long we have been too submissive on the principle of illegal settlements, and it is high time we stopped being so, and reasserted clearly and without fear, exactly what is legally and morally right and what is legally and morally wrong.”

Yet in Washington there are people who condemn (correctly) the Russian veto to protect mass murder in Syria, or Sudan, but who would bring the house down if an American president simply stopped using the U.S. veto to prevent any condemnation of the scofflaw state in the Eastern Mediterranean. They call for war on Iran, and before on Iraq, for defiance of U.N. resolutions, without a blush in sight.

The sooner President Abbas signs the ICC treaty, the better for ending impunity as an international concept. ❑

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Two Views How Should the U.S. and Europe Respond To Israeli Intransigence?

MAHMUD HAMSI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Netanyahu at the U.N. General Assembly and in other media interviews has diminished his public standing in the U.S. T h e N e w Yo r k Times, always seen as a paper that is supportive of Israel, took the Israeli prime minister to task for “a depressively familiar routine,” when Israel has “given final approval for construction of 2,610 housing units in geographiGazans walk among destroyed buildings in al-Tufah, east of Gaza City, on Oct. 11, the day before an international con- cally sensitive parts of ference in Cairo to raise reconstruction funds. Of an estimated $4 billion needed, $2.7 billion was pledged for reconstruc- [Arab] East Jerusalem t h a t w i l l m a ke i t tion, and an equal amount for humanitarian aid. harder, maybe imposment on the region. Khalil Jahshan, executive sible, to reach a two-state solution with the Obama Ought to Follow director of the newly established Arab Center Palestinians.”

Eisenhower’s Example in Washington, DC, a think-tank focused on But the Times had no suggestions for

By George S. Hishmeh U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, is not what Obama could do next since he, as he silence of President Barack Obama very convinced that Obama is willing to take always, left his ineffective “rebukes” of over Israel’s outrageous actions this any positive step in this direction.

Netanyahu to his junior staff. But shortly summer starting with its merciless attacks “Obama is not taking any serious action thereafter, Sweden took a bold step, slapagainst the besieged Gaza Strip, where to pressure Israel to end its occupation of ping most Western leaders in the face more than 2,100 people were killed, in- Palestine and make peace with the Pales- with the announcement by the leader of cluding more than 500 children, remains tinians for several reasons,” he argues. Sweden’s new center-left government, infuriating. Of course, it is common knowl- “First and foremost, he feels that he has Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, that his edge that on the eve of a congressional tried and failed to sway Israel. He doesn’t government, the first major state of the election, where this year the race is tight feel he can sustain more political failure at European Union, will recognize the State between the president’s Democratic Party this late stage in his presidency, knowing of Palestine. More than 130 U.N. members and the Republicans, no sensible American that [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Ne- now recognize the Palestinian state, leader would want to rock the boat. tanyahu is not willing to compromise on which at present has the status of a “nonBut in this case, foreign policy is not a crucial permanent status issues.” member observer state” at the United Nakey issue and the tight races are in a few Jahshan, a former professor at Pepper- tions. states where the issues are mostly domes- dine University, added that “the deterioNevertheless, there is no need for Prestic. Moreover, no one is expecting the pres- rating situation in the Middle East has di- ident Obama to remain handcuffed. After ident to upturn the situation locally, espe- verted his attention, as well as that of his all, he promised in September 2010 at the cially since his foreign intervention (via air key Arab allies, to larger issues that consti- U.N. General Assembly that “the world raids by the U.S. Air Force) against the Is- tute a more immediate threat to U.S. na- can have an agreement that will lead to lamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has tional security interests than the festering the creation of a Palestinian state next both national and international support, Palestine issue.” year.” particularly in key Arab Gulf states.

Moreover, he went on, “Obama clearly More to the point, Obama ought now to What the Obama administration seems to lacks the political skill and will to outma- consider following the steps President be failing to see are the chances of a positive neuver Israel’s supporters in the U.S., par- Dwight Eisenhower took against Israel— impact of a Palestinian-Israeli peace settle- ticularly in Congress, where he cannot threatening to approve trade sanctions and even muster the votes of his own fellow cut off private assistance—Britain and George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based Democrats should he decide to challenge France in 1956 to end the Suez Canal War columnist. He is the former editor-in-chief of Netanyahu publicly.” and stop once and for all Netanyahu’s reThe Daily Star of Lebanon.

But the recent mediocre performance of pulsive obduracy.

T

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

views_14-15_Two Views - November/December 2014 10/23/14 6:23 PM Page 15

Diplomatic Recognitionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;The Road to Peace

By John V. Whitbeck

n Oct. 12, at a donorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conference in

OCairo, participants pledged $5.4 bil-

lion toward the reconstruction of Gaza.

However, numerous participants noted that repeatedly paying to reconstruct what had been destroyedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and was likely to be destroyed againâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;was an insufficient response and that the core problem must be addressed. Yet no original ideas for addressing it were offered.

The core problem is the occupation, now in its 48th year. It was addressed the following night when the British House of Commons voted overwhelmingly (274-12) in favor of the United Kingdomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extending diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine â&#x20AC;&#x153;as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution,â&#x20AC;? implicitly while its entire territory remains under belligerent occupation and without Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prior permission. On Oct. 3, the new Swedish prime minister had announced his governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intention to recognize the State of Palestine, thereby joining the 134 other U.N. member states, encompassing the vast majority of mankind, which have already done so.

Europe should not stop there. Imagine that all of the 20 European Union states which have not yet recognized the State of Palestine were to do so and that the EU were then to announce that, if Israel did not comply with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions by withdrawing fully from the occupied State of Palestine by a specified date, it would impose economic sanctions on Israel and intensify them until Israel did so.

Europe is not simply Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principal trading partner. It is Israelisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cultural homeland, with many Israelis viewing their country as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;European villa in the jungle.â&#x20AC;?

It is even Israelisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sports homeland, with Israeli teams competing in European football and basketball competitions. If Europe were to adopt and pursue a firm and unified position of constructive disapproval along these lines, the writing would be indelibly on the wall and the end of the occupation and the transformation of the current two-state legality under international law into a decent two-state reality on the ground would become unavoidable, a mere question of when rather than of whether.

Then, and only then, meaningful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the pracJohn V. Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

tical modalities of ending the occupation and structuring future peaceful and cooperative coexistence could begin.

One may well respond that, of course, Europeans would never dream of taking such an initiative. It is true that Europe has traditionally preferred smooth and non-contentious relations with the United States and Israel, even when such subservience runs counter to its proclaimed values and interests and further fuels the multi-decade war of civilizations between the Muslim world and the West now taking shape, to applying nonviolent pressure consistent with international law to achieve peace with some measure of justice in Israel and Palestine.

However, this does not mean that Europe is incapable of breaking free from the American-imposed orthodoxy that a Palestinian state can and should never exist, even on a purely legal level, without Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prior consent, or incapable of acting wisely and in accordance with European values and interests.

Oddly, since Israel has never defined its own borders, an act which would necessarily place limits on it, a principal argument of the Israeli government and its supporters against diplomatic recognitions of the State of Palestine is that Palestine does not have defined borders. In fact, Palestine does have clearly defined borders, and they were confirmed in the overwhelming (138-9) Nov. 29, 2012 U.N. General Assembly vote confirming Palestineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;state statusâ&#x20AC;? as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.â&#x20AC;?

Both Israel and Palestine now have â&#x20AC;&#x153;internationally recognized borders.â&#x20AC;? For Israel, they encompass all of Mandate Palestine conquered prior to 1967â&#x20AC;&#x201D;nothing more and nothing less. For Palestine, they encompass all of the remaining part of Mandate Palestine, conquered in 1967â&#x20AC;&#x201D;nothing more and nothing less. No

country, not even the United States, recognizes any other borders for either state.

Of course, states are always free to redraw their borders with other states by mutual agreements freely entered into, and, if Israel is ever to agree to end its occupation, some land swaps or, in the case of Jerusalem or emotionally charged parts thereof, some sharing of undivided sovereignty over territory are likely to be agreed to.

Most of those who proclaim themselves â&#x20AC;&#x153;pro-Israelâ&#x20AC;? or who genuinely care about the welfare of Israelis and non-Israeli Jews (not necessarily the same people) profess to support a â&#x20AC;&#x153;two-state solutionâ&#x20AC;? and realize that the perpetuation of the current onestate reality would nullify the Zionist project if transformed into a fully democratic state and make Israel a despised pariah state if perpetuated as todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effective apartheid state.

Such people should ask and answer a simple but essential question: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Is the Israeli government more likely to negotiate seriously with a genuine desire and intention to reach a definitive peace agreement ending the occupation if most Israelis feel that such an agreement would best serve their interests and enhance the quality of life for them and their children, or if most Israelis feel (as has been the case for at least 20 years) that maintaining the status quo of occupation and continuing settlement expansion is preferable to any realistically realizable agreement?â&#x20AC;?

There being only one coherent answer to this question, â&#x20AC;&#x153;friends of Israel,â&#x20AC;? whether opportunistic or genuine, should shout that answer out to all who would accuse them of being insufficiently â&#x20AC;&#x153;pro-Israel.â&#x20AC;?

One and only one road to peace with some measure of justice in Israel and Palestine exists. It is open. It remains to be seen whether European leaders have the political will, wisdom and courage to start down that road. â?&#x2018;

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cook_16-18_The Nakba Continues 10/23/14 6:39 PM Page 16

Israel Probes Five Gaza Crimes in Attempt To Deflect International Investigations TheNakbaContinues

MAHMUD HAMSAFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Jonathan Cook

In the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaya, statues by Palestinian artist Eyad Sabbah, 40, stand amid the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israel’s 51-day assault on Gaza, Oct. 21, 2014. Made of fiberglass and covered with clay, the statues depict residents fleeing their homes to escape Israeli shelling. or five days during Israel’s recent as-

Fsault on Gaza, 16-year-old Ahmad Abu

Raida says he was held by Israeli soldiers as a human shield. Repeatedly beaten by the unit that seized him, the youngster describes being forced at gunpoint to enter deserted homes, which could have been booby-trapped, to search for Hamas tunnels.

Ahmad, who was separated from his family by Israeli soldiers after they invaded the town of Khuzaa in the southern Gaza Strip on July 23, has testified that soldiers “were walking behind me, with their rifles pointed at me. ‘Get in and see if there are tunnels or not,’ [the captain] ordered me.…Whenever I told them there were no tunnels, they would take me out and Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in Nazareth and a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His most recent book is Disappearing Palestine (available from Middle East Books and More).

16

search the room themselves.”

Ahmad’s testimony, taken by Defense for Children International, is one of five allegations of criminal conduct that the Israeli army announced in September it would be investigating. More than 99 incidents have so far been highlighted by Israel’s military attorney general.

Taking Ahmad as a hostage and using him as a human shield would constitute a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions, the rules of war intended to protect noncombatants.

It would also violate a 2005 decision by Israel’s highest court outlawing what had until then appeared to be a routine practice by the Israeli army, known as the “neighbor procedure.”

Ahmad’s experiences and several other suspected war crimes being investigated by the Israeli military made headlines in the international media during and immediately after the seven weeks of fighting in Gaza this summer. That has added to the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

pressure on Israel to be seen as taking the allegations seriously.

The other cases under investigation are: • An Israeli air force missile strike on a beach on July 18 that killed four children playing soccer, an incident widely reported because it occurred in full view of journalists staying in a nearby hotel.

• An Israeli strike on a United Nationsrun school in Beit Hanoun on July 24 that killed 15 Palestinian civilians sheltering there and wounded scores more.

• The shooting of a woman as she left her home after her exit from a conflict zone had been coordinated with the Israeli army.

• The theft of money by a soldier from a home, reported by his commander.

The incidents cover only a fraction of the more than 2,100 Palestinians killed during 51 days of Israel’s operation in Gaza dubbed Protective Edge. Some three-quarters of the dead are reported to be civilians, including more than 500 children.

Another 11,000 were wounded, and more than 100,000 are estimated to be homeless.

The speed with which the army’s investigations have been launched reflects the new political and legal environment in which Israel finds itself.

Unlike the situation following Israel’s earlier operation, Cast Lead, in winter 2008-09—when more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, again a majority of them civilians—the Palestinians now have a status similar to statehood at the United Nations.

That entitles the Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas to sign the Rome Statute, allowing it to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for war crimes investigations.

So far, the indications are that Abbas is actively avoiding such a step, apparently worried that it would lead to severe retaliation from Tel Aviv and Washington. Instead he has sought to use the threat of an ICC application to leverage further peace talks from Israel.

However, Abbas is facing strong pressure from within his own Fatah party’s ranks, and has been isolated by Hamas’ announcement that it supports joining the ICC, even if it, too, risks coming under NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

cook_16-18_The Nakba Continues 10/23/14 6:39 PM Page 17

scrutiny from the Hague body.

Based on previous experience, critics warn, Israel’s own investigations are unlikely to be conducted in good faith.

Ziv Stahl, a researcher with the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, observed that Israel’s own system of investigations was being used to fend off efforts by outside bodies, especially the Hague court, to probe events in Gaza. They “serve as Israel’s insurance policy,” he explained. “But Israel does not genuinely want such a system.”

The ICC would be ineligible to examine war crimes allegations unless it could be shown that Israel had failed to carry out credible investigations itself.

Israel is facing rival inquiries on several fronts, all of which are likely to reach highly critical conclusions.

The most noted and high-profile is a commission of inquiry established by the United Human Rights Council, and led by Canadian jurist William Schabas. Its findings are not likely to be made public for many months.

The U.N. secretary-general, Ban Kimoon, may approve a separate inquiry into Israel’s attacks on three of its schools in Gaza, in which at least 45 people were killed. However, most likely it would begin its work only after the Schabas committee reports.

In parallel, the two largest international human rights groups, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, also are investigating.

A day after the army announced its own inquiries, HRW published the findings of a probe into the strikes on the three U.N.run schools, accusing the Israeli army of war crimes.

The report observed that the schools were well marked, the coordinates of their location had been passed to Israel, and the army knew that hundreds of civilians were taking shelter in each.

Notably, Israel has tried to stifle the work of HRW and Amnesty by blocking their staff from entering Gaza to conduct research. Israel has also indicated it will not cooperate with the Schabas committee.

“The question has to be asked: why is Israel refusing to cooperate with independent investigations?” said Hala KhouryBisharat, an international law professor at Carmel Academic College near Haifa. “It seems Israel is not willing to risk its soldiers being indicted for war crimes.”

In addition, Israel must contend with Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups, which are currently conducting fact-finding research. On this occasion, however, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

they are split over how to respond to the Israeli military’s investigations.

All are agreed that the army is incapable of investigating itself fairly, and that, based on past inquiries, Israel will at best convict a few individuals for relatively minor offences.

After much delay following Israel’s 2009 attack on Gaza, Israel punished only three soldiers. The harshest sentence was seven months for stealing a credit card.

This was despite a U.N. fact-finding commission led by a respected South African jurist, Richard Goldstone, concluding that there were strong suspicions the Israeli military and Hamas had committed war crimes.

In a statement, B’Tselem and Yesh Din, two of Israel’s best-known human rights organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, said that for the first time they were refusing to provide information and testimonies to the military authorities.

Another “Whitewash” in the Works?

Accusing the army of preparing a “whitewash,” B’Tselem called for “the establishment of an effective, transparent and impartial mechanism” to investigate Israel’s conduct.

B’Tselem and Yesh Din pointed out that the Israeli authorities had not even implemented the limited reforms to Israel’s investigation process recommended last year by a former Israeli supreme court judge, Jacob Turkel.

Israel’s human rights community is still bruised from its experiences after 2009’s Cast Lead, when groups close to the government launched a campaign vilifying not only Goldstone but human rights organizations like B’Tselem for assisting him.

In recent years the government of Binyamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly pondered legislative initiatives to limit the funding of Israeli human rights groups, effectively bankrupting them.

Nevertheless, the Adalah legal center for the Arab minority in Israel said it would continue referring allegations of war crimes to the Israeli military, if only to demonstrate that the investigations lacked credibility, transparency and effectiveness.

“These investigations are not independent and therefore not credible,” said Sawsan Zaher, an Adalah lawyer. “But still, we have to show that we have exhausted every legal remedy available to us locally so that the victims have the chance in the future to pursue actions in international forums.”

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Adalah has sent letters of complaint concerning more than 20 major incidents in Gaza, including two that have already been dismissed by Israeli investigators.

These concern an air strike on the alKaware home in Khan Younis on July 8, the opening day of Israel’s attack, that killed eight members of the family, and a strike the next day on a vehicle that killed several Palestinian journalists.

“In the case of the Kaware family, the Israeli investigators argued that the missile could not be diverted in time, an explanation that is irrelevant to whether this attack constituted a war crime,” Zaher said.

A deeper problem with Israel’s approach, say critics in the human rights community, is that its investigations completely ignore the legality of the military operation’s aims and the army’s strategies, instead concentrating on the behavior of a few soldiers.

B’Tselem executive director Hagai El-Ad accused Israel of refusing “to investigate senior officials and examine honestly wide-ranging policy issues pertaining to Israel’s use of military force.”

Arik Ascherman, the head of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel, agreed in a commentary for the Haaretz daily: “Investigations of specific incidents mostly target soldiers on the ground, but don’t examine policy and other larger questions.”

Reinterpreting the Rules of War Israel’s hostility to subjecting its wider military strategy to scrutiny should be understood in the context of its efforts over the past six years to win recognition from the U.S. and Europe for its reinterpretations of the rules of war.

According to a Haaretz investigation in early 2009, military lawyers had approved even before the launch of Operation Cast Lead a redefinition of the key principles in international humanitarian law of “proportionality” and “distinction.”

“Proportionality” demands that the military benefit of any attack outweigh the threat posed to civilian life, while “distinction” requires that the parties to a conflict distinguish between “civilians” and “combatants.”

Israel’s opening attack in Cast Lead on a police graduation ceremony, which killed 89 recruits, was in flagrant breach of both principles, said Khoury-Bisharat.

Haaretz found Israeli lawyers had intensively debated how they could reclassify as combatants those who, like the policemen, were either not actively engaged in combat or not military targets at the 17

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Khoury-Bisharat said that, according to international humanitarian law, it was impossible to justify so many civilian deaths simply to prevent a soldier being taken prisoner.

However, Israel is facing a new and possibly unexpected problem in its investigations of Operation Protective Edge—one created by the effectiveness of its U.S.funded Iron Dome missile defense system.

The system is reported to have shot down most rockets fired from Gaza that threatened Israeli population centers, limiting the civilian death toll to five Israelis and one Thai worker.

According to a leading Israeli thinktank, the Democracy Institute, that could dramatically alter Israel’s legal justifications for using armed force if civilians are likely to be hurt or killed.

Amichai Cohen, a research fellow at the Institute, has written: “Given the real, yet much smaller By remembering the Washington Report in threat that rockets pose to Israeli civilian lives after your will, you can: the invention of Iron Dome, • Make a significant gift without affecting your current cash flow; there is a real question of • Direct your bequest to a vital purpose—educating readers about U.S. foreign whether the IDF’s freedom policy in the Middle East; of action has been curtailed.”

• Receive a charitable estate tax deduction & Leave a legacy for future generations.

Khoury-Bisharat concurred. “If Iron Dome is protecting Israeli civilians,” she pointed out, “then the army can no longer claim a justification for endangering Palestinian civilians by striking instantly at military targets in Gaza. It is obligated to be much more careful than in the past because its own population is safer.”

That would kick one leg from under Israel’s claim that the high death toll of Palestinian civilians reflected a Hamas policy of hiding among the civilian population.

Khoury-Bisharat said she found that argument probBequests of any size are honored with membership in the American Edulematic: “Israel controls the cational Trust’s “Choirmasters,” named for angels whose foresight and air, sea and land in Gaza. It dedication ensured the future of the Washington Report and Middle East determines the location of Books and More. the battlefield and the freedom of civilians to leave the For more information visit www.wrmea.org/donate/bequests.pdf, contact area through its blockade us at circulation@wrmea.org, write: American Educational Trust, PO Box policy. The reality is that 91056 • Long Beach, CA 90809-1056, or telephone our new toll-free circuPalestinians had nowhere to lation number 888-881-5861 • Fax: 714-226-9733 escape to.” ❑

time of the attack.

The twisting of international law in this case appears still to be creating waves in the military. When 43 reserve soldiers in Israel’s military intelligence unit 8200 announced in September their refusal to serve in the occupied territories, many noted that intelligence gathering was being used against “innocent Palestinians.”

One cited in his testimony the air strike on the policemen, calling it “wrong” and observing that it took priority over attacks on suspected rocket and weapons caches.

Instead, Israel has developed a conceptual discourse that implicitly distinguishes between a “civilian” and a new, broadly defined category of “militant” or “terrorist.” Israel has thereby been able to classify all members of Hamas as potential military targets, including the political leadership.

This new distinction has also sought to legitimize strikes on the homes of Hamas leaders. On Aug. 20 Israel hit the home of Mohammed Deif, apparently when he was not there, killing his wife and sevenmonth-old son (see October 2014 Washington Report, p. 11).

Critics point out that, if accepted, Israel’s interpretation would entitle groups like Hamas or Hezbollah in Lebanon to target the homes of Israeli reserve soldiers or soldiers off duty with their family.

Similarly, Israel used “massive fire” over a large area of Rafah on Aug. 1, reportedly killing more than 150 Palestinians, to try to foil Hamas capturing alive an Israeli soldier through one of its tunnels. The shelling was conducted under the “Hannibal procedure,” designed to prevent a soldier becoming a bargaining chip.

Help make sure that the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs will be here for the next generation.

18

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

omer_19-20_Gaza on the Ground 10/23/14 8:28 PM Page 19

“We Are Still Waiting for Construction Materials,” Gazans Lament Gazaon the Ground

By Mohammed Omer

screamed for an ambulance, but most of their screams were answered only by drones and warplanes and the echo of their screams.

The missiles hit hard, killing some and injuring others. The survivors live with a pain they will remember for the rest of their lives. One family hangs a banner bearing the name of their dead husband and father, as well as a contact number for humanitarian groups to call. Indeed, in some ways the land has become like a museum: one sees banners on destroyed homes the entire length of the Gaza Strip, as if inviting viewers to an exhibition.

The devastation caused by Israel’s Operation Protective Edge is not behind the people of Gaza, however. While no longer caused by bombs and missiles, it nevertheless is man-made—the result of, if not indifference, then certainly a lack of urgency.

Whenever a stranger comes to Shejayeh, 6-year-old Raghd Habeeb peers hopefully through a massive hole in the wall of her home—a hole that used to be a window.

She desperately wants someone to bring good news. But each time she is disappointed. The visitors are either foreign delegations coming to inspect the destruction, or war tourists taking selfies against the background of a ruined landscape. There has been nothing more, weeks after Israel’s 51-day war on Gaza.

This most recent war brought fresh agony to the Habeeb family. Their 42-year-old father, Jaber, was killed by an Israeli missile in 2008, as he was trying to help evacuate his neighbors. Raghd never knew her father. He was killed before she was born.

This summer their home came under heavy Israeli bombardment. Now, as night falls, Raghd eats, studies and sleeps beside what once was a window. Her family has hung cloths and bedsheets to cover the huge gaps in the bombed-out walls of their home, but the nights are growing relentAward-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports from the Gaza Strip, where he maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>.

He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo. com>. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

PHOTO M. OMER

few months ago on this Gaza street, bodies of human beings lay shredded A in pieces. Children and their mothers

Six-year-old Raghd Habeeb sits in a room of her demolished family home. lessly colder. There is nothing to do but huddle together for warmth.

Raghd sits beside her mother, Rawdah.

Like all children, she asks too many questions, all of which are difficult or complicated for the adults to answer. In her six short years, she already had lived through the 2012 and 2014 assaults, but she is too young to understand the underlying reasons.

“I’m cold, mommy,” she says. Rawdah feels the cold as well, and hugs her daughter tight for warmth and comfort.

During the summer, the Habeebs’ neighborhood was the center of media attention.

Residents buried their loved ones and fled to UNRWA schools in search of refuge—but found little safety there. Now that the bombs have stopped falling and winter nears, they feel totally forgotten by the outside world.

“Nobody cares about us,” says Raghd’s older brother, Hussein, 23, himself the father of four children.

Having lived through a nightmare, Gazans are still waiting for a miracle to happen. A few bags of cement could help repair the Habeeb family home, but Israel refuses to allow them to reach Gaza, claiming Palestinian resistance groups will use them to build military sites. When the U.N. secretary-general visited Gaza, Israel allowed some trucks carrying cement to enter, but given that tens THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

of thousands of Gazans are desperate to buy bags of cement, Hussein was not optimistic about his family’s chances.

During the war, Hussein lost his grandmother, Gronfila Alabed Habeeb. It was impossible to dig a grave for her on the day she died, since not many others died that day. Had it been a day with many deaths, she could at least have been buried in a shared mass grave, made necessary by the cement shortage. Hussein finally was able to procure a bag of cement for his grandmother’s grave. “I had to buy a cement bag for 300 NIS [about $80],” he says. “In normal situations it costs 20 NIS [about $5].”

“We are still waiting for construction materials to arrive,” says Rawdah Habeeb.

The family is not feeling optimistic, despite the visit of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and ministers in his consensus government. For the first time, a cabinet meeting was convened in Gaza, to assure the international community that the PA is there on the ground and, after a seven-year absence, ready to take charge of rebuilding Gaza.

The Habeeb family’s destroyed home is one of 60,000 homes in Gaza still needing to be rebuilt, along with 5,000 destroyed businesses, according to an assessment made by the Palestinian Authority and the 19

omer_19-20_Gaza on the Ground 10/23/14 6:01 PM Page 20

United Nations. As the nights grow colder, Hussein feels that the rebuilding of Gaza is still far away. An international group has estimated that rebuilding Gaza could take up to 20 years.

Prior to the war, Hussein and his brother ran the family chicken farm, exporting eggs and selling live chickens to the local market. But not anymore.

Trying to survive under bombardment, the family could not get food and water to their flock. Israeli bulldozers then crushed the birds to death.

“We lost $30,000 in our farm business, and now we are left with only debts to pay,” Hussein told the Washington Report. Since the family now has no income and relies entirely on aid, these debts cannot be repaid.

Their meager aid allowance—$1,000 from Qatar and a few sacks of food rations for homeless families—provides only temporary comfort and is inadequate for rebuilding a self-sufficient life.

Hamas gave $1,500 to each family who had lost its home. The only other assistance has been a few sacks of food from international NGOs. Elsewhere in Gaza, people complain that the aid has not been distributed equally,

but instead is often based on favoritism and party affiliation.

“I sustained huge damage to my home,” says Mohammed Al-Jamal of Rafah, “but no one came to me with even a simple bottle of water.”

He blames the aid groups for being disorganized and lazy, expecting people in need to run behind the trucks, begging. “But our human dignity does not allow these, our people, to chase aid trucks,” he states.

Hussein Habeeb also refuses to chase aid trucks, and now lives with 16 family members in what is left of their home. The high rent charged for a new apartment, the result of the surge in the number of people seeking shelter, is out of the question.

The amount of aid the Habeeb family received does not come close to compensating them for their losses. “What is this going to cover—the cost of my air conditioning system, bed, fridge or washing machine?” he asks.

“Now we are asked to pay $300 a month for a simple unfurnished apartment, with a year’s payment in advance!” he exclaims.

His mother, Rawdah, finds it difficult to contemplate leaving the four-storey house where she built a life with her husband

and children. So, in a simple room riddled with missile holes, she has placed tiny mattresses on the floor for herself and her youngest children, Abdullah, Omar, Mohammed and Raghd.

She knows that the current cold weather represents only the beginning of winter, and that colder days lie ahead. Already cold winter rains have begun. Not only does the rain pour into their home through the holes in the walls, but their neighborhood has flooded as well. But she has nowhere else to go. She tries to explain to Raghd why her father was killed and why the family home was destroyed.

“Is it because of Israel, because they are occupying us?” Raghd asks, repeating words she has heard adults use so frequently. But even though the six-year-old girl cannot fully comprehend their meaning, she knows only too well that the tanks across the border and warplanes above her head are not child-friendly. She continues to have nightmares of the massacre that happened on her doorstep, not long ago.

Meanwhile, the holes made by the tank shells continue to let in the cold night air and freezing rain. ❑

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

bailey_21-22_Special Report 10/23/14 5:58 PM Page 21

The Life and Death of Ahmad Asfour of Gaza SpecialReport

COURTESY P. BAILEY

By Pam Bailey

A billboard warns of the dangers of trusting smugglers. he story of the life and death of Ahmad

TAsfour is a metaphor for the trauma of

growing up today in the Gaza Strip.

Nearly 64 percent of Palestinians in Gaza are age 25 or younger. These young people have lived through three deadly assaults on their homes. According to professionals at the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, “acute stress” is the norm, and specialized attention is usually needed—but not widely available. Most youths have never been able to leave the tiny, densely crowded Strip, and unemployment is estimated to be as high as 70 percent.

The experiences that shape these youths and their families will decide the future of Gaza, and the broader region.

I first became acquainted with Ahmad (then 19) and his family in 2010, when I met his father, Samir, at a solidarity demonstration for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails held outside the Gaza office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ordeal that brought Samir there began the year before, during the “First Great War on Gaza,” Operation Cast Lead.

Pam Bailey is a Washington, DC-based freelance journalist and co-founder of New Generations for Palestinian Children and Youth.

She travels frequently to Gaza.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

I never had the chance to meet Ahmad when he was just a “normal boy.” But Samir tells me that, before 2009, he loved to hang out with people, both friends and new acquaintances; was an avid photographer; and had just completed his first semester at university studying broadcast journalism.

That all came to an end with the launch of Israel’s 23-day assault. While sitting on the front porch of their home east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Ahmad and four teenage cousins were hit by fragments from a missile fired by an Israeli drone. The fragments lodged in Ahmad’s left eye, broke his jaw, shattered his teeth, severely lacerated both hands and right thigh, destroyed his genitals, and damaged his pancreas and intestines.

When he was eventually referred to a hospital in Jerusalem for advanced treatment, Ahmad was subjected to lengthy and brutal interrogation at the Erez crossing into Israel. In his weakened state, he “confessed” to charges of supporting terrorism and was imprisoned. It was a full three years before he finally was allowed to go home, thanks to the intervention of lawyers and several human rights groups.

He was never the same after that.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

“When Ahmad was finally released to us, his health was so bad, because he didn’t get proper treatment in jail,” recalls Samir through an interpreter. “He never felt good about life after that, and he didn’t fit back in with society well.”

Ahmad is not alone. According to Konstantina Bougonikolou, psychologist and medical coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, continuous exposure to violence and conflict can have a long-term, damaging effect on children and youths, even if it does not show immediately. “Their life takes a wrong turn, and it’s very hard to take them back…They often adopt reckless or compulsive behavior and don’t hesitate to throw themselves in dangerous situations. They won’t be afraid to be engaged in situations that might lead to their death.”

That was certainly true for Ahmad. On Sept. 6, he and three of his cousins (the same ones who were wounded with him in 2009) were among more than 400 refugees who believed the promises of unscrupulous smugglers and boarded a boat they hoped would sail them to asylum in Italy.

According to Samir Asfour, his son and nephews traveled to Egypt after receiving permission to enter for further medical 21

bailey_21-22_Special Report 10/23/14 5:58 PM Page 22

treatment. Ahmad’s cousins were the first to hear about the boat to Italy, and Ahmad could not resist; he longed to live someplace where he could live without fear and receive the expensive medical treatment he so desperately needed to control his injury-induced diabetes. The cost for a spot on the boat: $2,200. Ahmad had brought with him $1,500 for his treatments, and borrowed the rest from relatives in Egypt.

“He told me he wanted to go to Italy by this boat, and I said, ‘No! It’s too dangerous,’” Samir told me. “I talked to him many times to try to convince him, but he told me he was dying now. He had no hope. He had to try.”

On Sept. 10 the boat sank, apparently after being rammed by the smugglers who had arranged the trip or by a competing group. More than half of the 450 to 500 passengers were Palestinians from Gaza; only eight of them survived. Ahmad and his cousins were not among them.

“The international community bears significant responsibility for this catastrophe, and for the risk to others still trying to follow,” says Ramy Abdu, president of EuroMid Observer for Human Rights, the watchdog group that conducted the first full investigation into the incident that

residency. They now are stuck in a kind of purgatory, unable to work or study—and afraid to leave the country for fear of not being able to return, and having nowhere to go but war-ravaged Gaza.

The smuggler boats, however, are the most dangerous option. It is estimated that between 2,500 and 3,000 Palestinians from Gaza have attempted the illegal passage to Italy (which reportedly gives refugees a window of 48 hours in which to move on to their desired destination without penalty). Of those, says Abdu, about 2,000 have been successful; the remaining 1,0001,500 have drowned or met other unfortunate ends. To warn residents of the dangers of trusting smugglers, Euro-Mid and my organization, New Generations for Palestinian Children and Youth, have posted billboards across the Strip.

“We designed these posters so that they will stop people and get them to pay attention. We believe they will help stem the flow,” says Abdu. “But the desire to escape, which is draining Gaza of its best and brightest, will still drive young people and even families to take ill-advised risks until we can offer them safety and opportunity here. And for that, the blockade must end, completely and without conditions.” ❑

took the lives of Ahmad and his cousins.

“The destruction of the local economy caused by the most recent Israeli assault, and the total lack of freedom of movement imposed by both Israel and Egypt, are fueling the desperation driving illegal immigration. A more humane approach must be developed to address the growing number of refugees, particularly from the Palestinian territories and Syria.”

Gaza’s Youth Advocacy League reports that the percentage of young people yearning to leave has increased from 35 percent last year to as high as 85 percent following Israel’s 51-day assault. A few youths are fortunate enough to earn the scholarships they need to pay their way while studying at foreign universities; however, the average Gazan does not have sufficient personal resources or command of a second language (typically English) to make education abroad a feasible alternative. Thus, other, riskier alternatives are sought—such as a “marriage of convenience” to a foreigner or overstaying a temporary visa. I know of several Palestinians from Gaza who traveled to Jordan, Sweden (which has the reputation for being the most welcoming of the countries) or the Netherlands, for instance, and have been unable to earn permanent (Advertisement)

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

jabr_23-24_Jerusalem Journal 10/23/14 6:04 PM Page 23

Global Solidarity With Palestinians: From Psychological Support to Political Change JerusalemJournal

By Samah Jabr

the massacres in Gaza retreat into inertia, hypnotized by news about the cease-fire and the Gaza reconstruction conference, a more insidious process of Israeli land confiscations, settlement expansion and control over Jerusalem’s holy places continues to erode Palestinian life. Lynch mobs of young Jewish Israelis continue to organize themselves in preparation for another attack on Palestinians, and the Israeli military enjoys impunity for its war crimes in Gaza. To Palestinians, the cease-fire means a return to being the blind spot of the world’s conscience—a less dramatic assault on life’s freedoms, with its daily humiliations and oppression.

The parroting by world leaders of “Israel’s right to self-defense” causes further injury to Palestinians, given all the hostility and violence inflicted on us. It’s no wonder that Palestinians experience the outside world as biased, selfish and complicit in harming us. Indeed, just as a rape victim feels doubly traumatized by the indifference of the bystander, Palestinians feel betrayed by the world’s silence. Like the rape victim, Palestinians need and deserve not only the sympathy of the individual but the delivery of justice.

But thanks to all those who demonstrate on our behalf, recognizing us and validating our experience, letting us know that we are seen and heard, our belief in the fairness and goodness of others is not completely destroyed.

International solidarity with the Palestinians helps assuage the psychological pain and alienation caused by Israel’s relentless dehumanization and the world’s apathy, denial and denunciation. Local and international initiatives that help Palestinians survive, recover, attain their freedom and sustain their struggle facilitate engagement and restore a sense of health to Palestinian society and protect against despair and extremism. Palestinians are, in fact, fond of internationals; it is never in Palestine that internationals are kidnapped and beheaded!

Samah Jabr is a Jerusalemite psychiatrist and psychotherapist who cares about the wellbeing of her community—beyond issues of mental health.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

While demonstrations provide Palestinians important psychological support, and an opportunity for demonstrators to vent their objections and frustrations, they so far have failed to change our political reality or prevent a future massacre against us. Israel does not respond to moral condemnation, and Washington’s support for Israel goes beyond political statements to financing Israeli military aggression with Americans’ tax dollars.

In the face of our political leaders’ deafness, solidarity acti vists must work to gain momentum and adopt innovative strategies and tools. This will require a global as well as regional grass roots commitment to the well-being of the Palestinian people, involving active and longterm mobilization of After placing shoes in front of a temporary altar at Tokyo’s Jozoji ideological, judicial, temple, more than 100 people pray for Palestinian victims, espepolitical and economic cially children, of Israeli strikes on Gaza, Aug. 23, 2014. solidarity.

Global solidarity requires a horizontal It is imperative to build on the instinctive, immediate, reflexive feelings of empa- (preaching to the non-converted) as well as thy and solidarity to achieve a more long vertical (creating access to power) network term, sober and strategic globalized soli- of associations. While the former aims to darity movement that can act as a unified achieve an improved level of literacy reentity governed by mutual cooperation. garding Palestine in the face of an internaSuch an entity can create alliances and tional public intoxicated by Israeli propacoalitions among different groups, and or- ganda, the latter requires formal training on chestrate, multiply and augment the impact advocacy strategies (e.g., media campaigns, of the solidarity movement. Not only can it public speaking, lobbying and social serve as an umbrella to many individual media) of a smaller group focused on legissympathizers—Arabs, Israelis, Germans— lation and other institutional decisions.

Solidarity with Palestinians means unitwho, intimidated in their own societies, are unable to establish solidarity organizations ing and binding together, based not on there, but it can protect them and facilitate family, religion, ethnicity or class, but on communication between them and their shared values and a common goal of liberating Palestine from occupation, restoring own governments.

TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

s the hundreds of thousands of peo-

Aple around the world who protested

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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justice and human rights to Palestinians, and holding Israel accountable to international law. Solidarity requires learning to work in spite of and through our divisions, as well as the commitment of people who don’t share our pain or life conditions but refuse to be either passive or active collaborators in our oppression—people who view the liberation of Palestine as integral to their own self-liberation.

I have met many of these passionate, sincere people, and am convinced that learning how to effect political change will protect many of them from burnout. There is no single recipe for solidarity— as the French say, “Chacun fait sa cuisine interne,” or everyone creates his own worldview— so just as I ask people in solidarity to let Palestinians choose their means of resistance, it is important to respect the choices of the means of solidarity of the citizens of each county: they know best what works for them. It is important, nevertheless, to be flexible and open to consultation and collaboration with others.

Basic to the establishment of a global solidarity movement is encouraging partnership and teamwork with Palestinian professionals, academics, activists and educators, so that solidarity actions are sensitive to the needs and culture of Palestinian civil society, and helping Palestinians to disseminate their narrative, aspirations and point of view to a wider world.

and popular feeling of national unity, which the Palestinian leadership had no option but to join. This, therefore, is an opportunity for Palestinians to build on their rejection of polarization, incitement and intimidation, and to invest in the vigor and vitality and mobilization of energies and achievements in various spheres of life. The steadfastness of our compatriots in Gaza elevated the morale of the people and improved levels of social cohesion and trust. Trust in turn generates teamwork and mutual cooperation, and increases the level of national identity and the desire to participate in public life.

During Israel’s assault on Gaza Palestinians did not identify with the positions of our (long-ago) elected leaders, but with the resistance. As a result, the majority of Palestinians now challenge the Palestinian Authority, reject its coordination of security with Israel, and demand it take our case to the International Court of Justice. For this energetic response to continue, to be more than just a temporary reaction. It is crucial to support the growth of fully responsible democratic institutions within Palestine that will coordinate governing and self-sustaining economic structures in a wise, efficient and responsive manner. Adherence to the principles of meritocracy, transparency and accountability is a prerequisite for establishing institutional reform and participatory citizenship; developing a Palestinian national charter, with the participation of all political parties, to be placed before voters in a referendum, is also a mandatory step toward consolidating national unity.

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Crisis as Opportunity Palestinian national cohesion is the prerequisite for global solidarity. The partition of

Palestine’s political parties that occurred in the wake of our 2006 elections, and which has been exacerbated by external political and financial aid provided to some Palestinians and not others, caused significant damage to Palestinian morale and values, and has likewise fragmented solidarity efforts with Palestinians.

But the brutality of Israel’s latest attack on Gaza created a spontaneous, passionate

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Helping Palestinians and Israelis Alike In addition to promoting healing and creating political change, including preventing future attacks and furthering Palestinian liberation, solidarity with the Palestinians also will serve to diminish the thirst for revenge and pave the way for future reconciliation. Because it facilitates both personal revival and social reform, it eventually will help Palestinians and Israelis alike in a post-war era that we hope will come soon. The safety in which it envelops us promotes trust and allows for mutual acknowledgement and compassion, thereby paving the way for forgiveness and justice—the foundation of peace. ❑ 24

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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In the Face of Constant Adversity, West Bank Residents Hold Their Heads Up High Story and Photos by Dale Sprusansky

SpecialReport

ple—Christians, Muslims, Jews, Israelis, Palestinians and internationals alike—as a place of charity, peace promotion and community building. The Tent of Nations receives visitors from around the globe who come to help the Nassars harvest their crops. On a local level, the farm provides programs that teach children peace and fter traveling around the West promote women’s empowerment.

Bank for several weeks, it’s easy “We are trying to send people a to leave feeling hopeless. One departs message of hope. There is hope for the having caught a painful glimpse of future,” Nassar said. “We want to inwhat it is like to live under a suffocatspire people, we want you to go back ing and relentless military occupation. home with a message of hope.”

Seeing the separation wall, the dehuThe Nassars are a feel-good story, a manizing checkpoints and hearing fairly well known poster child for stories of vicious settler attacks against steadfastness and nonviolent resisPalestinians and their land can cause tance. Skeptics would argue that the one to lose faith in humanity, let alone Nassars are an anomaly, a deflection Middle East peace. from the “real Palestine,” the Palestine After raising their hands to be thorof Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ oughly inspected by security agents at Brigades.

Ben-Gurion airport, should peace acBut there are far more families like tivists departing the Holy Land leave the Nassars in Palestine than many in their hands raised in resignation? Is Israel and the United States would there any legitimate basis for hope? care to believe.

Indeed, there is—and that source of Far away from any large city (at hope is the Palestinian people them- Children walk down a street in the Aida refugee camp least in Palestinian terms), the Mousa selves. near Bethlehem hours after Israeli troops sprayed the family owns a stunningly beautiful Beyond the inescapable indications camp with noxious “stinky water.” piece of farmland in the Jordan Valley. and accounts of suffering, the West Bank is filled with signs of hope and per- orders have been issued against its tents— Like the Nassars, the Mousas have an Otseverance. Palestinians’ often-cited sumud, yes, tents. This past May, the Israeli army toman-era deed to their land. They, too, bulldozed hundreds of the farm’s grape, face frequent threats from nearby settlers. or steadfastness, is alive and well.

As we joined the family for a lunch that Take, for instance, the Tent of Nations apricot and apple trees a week before they was delicious beyond words, 20-year-old farm, located in the hills southwest of were ready to be harvested.

That’s more than enough pain and suffer- Jalal (or Jimmy) described the frequent haBethlehem in Israeli-controlled Area C. The Nassar family has owned this im- ing for one humble farming family to endure rassment his family endures. Almost pressive piece of farmland since 1916. Over over the course of a century. Surely the Nas- weekly, settlers come to intimidate the famthe past 98 years, four Jewish settlements sars must be overwhelmed with resignation. ily and attack their land, he said. When he have been built around the property. Be- They are not. “We refuse to sit down and tries to defend his property, the settlers actween 1991 and 2002, settlers attempted to cry and be a victim,” family member Daoud cuse Jimmy of violence. He reports having cut down the farm’s trees, damage its water Nassar told our group. This must mean they been beaten by Israeli soldiers.

Hearing Jimmy recount what he has tanks, threatened the family with guns and are using every tool available, including attempted to build a road through the weapons, to defend their lives and their been through, one is baffled. This young property. In 1991 the Israeli government, land. “What can we achieve with violence man, who captured the hearts of many despite the existence of a land deed dating except more violence?” Nassar asks. At the ladies on the trip, is so happy, humble, full back to Ottoman times, declared the prop- very least they must resent those causing of humor and always smiling. Why would erty state land. The farm has been denied them so much pain and grief. Wrong again. anyone want to harm him and his equally kind family? How is he still so amicable electricity, running water and building Said Nassar: “We refuse to hate.”

Aside from fighting a seemingly endless after all he has been through? permits by Israeli authorities. Demolition Perhaps the next time chef and TV host battle for their land in Israeli courts, the Dale Sprusansky is assistant editor of the Nassars are responding to Israeli mali- Anthony Bourdain visits Palestine, he Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. ciousness by opening their farm to all peo- should invite the settlers over to the In June, this reporter traveled to Israel and Palestine with a Sabeel delegation of individuals from the United States and Canada to explore the religious and political climate of the Holy Land. This article is the second in a series that will examine our findings and reflections.

A

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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an image of pre-1948 Palestine and listed their home villages.

Above the image, the words “We Will Return” are prominently painted.

The camp’s main gate offers another indication of hope: the giant “key of return” that symbolizes the residents’ unyielding belief that they will indeed return home one day.

Indoors, Abed Abusrour, founder of the camp’s Al Students enjoy a beautiful day in the courtyard at Beth- Rowwad Children’s Theatre, lehem University. gave our group a tour of a recently opened multi-media center that provides computers and books to the camp’s children, who make up 66 percent of Aida’s population.

Abusrour himself is a source of hope and inspiration. Born in the refugee camp, he created the children’s theatre in order to give young people a forum where they can nonviolently express the feelings of anger and hopelessness that naturally overwhelm their minds.

Jimmy Mousa (r) and his father.

Clearly, he believes in Palestine’s future.

Slightly older than the children of Aida refugee camp, the students of Bethlehem University offer further proof that young Palestinians refuse to be consumed with hatred.

“Israel wants us to be separated between Muslims and Christians,” one student commented. “We refuse to do this.”

While the school is a Catholic institution, she said, it proYoung Palestinians perform the traditional dabke dance. motes diversity and always respects Muslims, who comprise Mousas’ for lunch. Unless their taste buds 70 percent of the student body.

Another student noted that he and his are completely non-functional, there’s no way they would lay a hand on the Mousas’ peers are faced with the difficult question property again. That is, unless they are ea- of whether or not they see a future for gerly helping the family prepare their next themselves in Palestine. “There is your country, but there is also logic,” he noted. scrumptious meal.

Peaceful resistance and hope are not Nonetheless, he said he firmly intends to phenomena to be witnessed solely in rural stay in Palestine.

Later that night, many Bethlehem UniPalestine, however.

Several hours after Israeli forces entered versity students were enjoying the city’s the Aida refugee camp and sprayed its large outdoor music festival, where the austreets with noxious “stinky water,” resi- dience warmly applauded traditional and dents of the camp, located just north of non-traditional forms of music and enterBethlehem, were milling around with tainment alike. On the main stage, event smiles on their faces. Old and young alike organizers encouraged those in attendance to share pictures of the event on social embraced their American visitors.

On one camp wall, refugees have painted media as a way to show the outside world 26

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

that Palestine refuses to sulk under the clutch of occupation.

Finding Hope as an Outsider In Jerusalem, Ruth Edmonds of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) outlined for our group Israel’s many violations of international law and human decency. Her tone was relentlessly pessimistic and hopeless, and she admitted that, as an anti-Zionist Jew, she is tortured by what Israel is doing in her name. “It makes me angry no matter how many times I talk about it,” she said.

ICAHD and Edmonds do excellent and vital work. But after her talk, this writer was left with one question: If she has no hope, why is she working so feverishly on this issue? By her own account, it will bear no fruit in the long run.

Edmonds and many in the Western proPalestine community can learn a thing or two from the very people on whose behalf they are advocating. If Palestinians—the people who actually have to endure occupation and besiegement—can manage to find joy in everyday life and hold on to hope for the future, we ought to strive to do the same.

This, of course, is not to say that Palestinians are delusionally hopeful and uniformly peaceful. (One needs only see, for instance, the countless pictures of martyrs that line the streets of Nablus with messages such as “Never Forgive, Never Forget” to realize all is not harmonious in Palestine.)

It does say something powerful, however, that, having confronted so much, Palestinians are able to retain their dignity.

The real question is not “Why don’t Palestinians denounce violence?” Rather, it’s “How in God’s name have they remained so patient, hopeful and relatively peaceful after facing so many years of brutality?”

Confronted with disheartening headline after disheartening headline about Palestine, it’s easy to lose hope. It’s natural to experience bitterness, resentfulness and even hatred.

And yet, Palestinians like the Nassars and Mousas spend much of their time building foundations of hope, not lamenting their hardships. Certainly, in some sense, their hope is a coping mechanism.

But many Palestinians also make the conscious decision to refuse to succumb to despair. Their challenges have taught them to cherish even more the simple joys of life: friends, family and food. They go on day by day, knowing that simply by living on their land they are participating in the most successful forum of resistance.

We can learn a lesson or two in hope and humanity from the Palestinians. ❑ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Lebanon’s Refugee Crisis Is a Time Bomb SpecialReport

By Delinda C. Hanley

amar El Yassir, Lebanon’s country di-

Aid spoke to the Washington Report on Oct. 20, a few days after ANERA’s annual fund-raising dinner and just prior to her return to Lebanon. El Yassir described the dire situation for both Palestinian and Syrian refugees back home. In fact, two days earlier, Lebanon’s social affairs minister, Rashid Derbas, had announced that his country no longer is officially receiving Syrian refugees, except for those with pressing humanitarian needs. The Lebanese cannot cope with the refugees already there, he explained, and asked for funds to help look after them. More than 3 million Syrians have fled their country since March 2011, with most taking shelter in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

Lebanese officials estimate that their country now houses more than 2 million Syrian refugees, although only 1.1 million have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria, like those already in Lebanon, are supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which has even fewer resources than UNHCR. “To put it simply, the influx of 1.5 million refugees from Syria—both Syrians and Palestinians—to a country of 4 million is a time bomb,” El Yassir warned. “Can you imagine already overflowing Palestinian refugee camps are now hosting additional refugees?”

At first the Lebanese people and UNHCR believed this was a short-term emergency situation. “Now we fear refugees who fled Syria will be here for a very long time,” El Yassir said, worrying, “Will they be forgotten like the Palestinians?” The international community has repeatedly promised to support the Lebanese government but has failed to pay up, and experts fear Lebanon is now on the verge of a socioeconomic and security explosion.

“Refugees have become a big burden,” El Yassir acknowledged. “There is growing tension in refugees’ host communities because they’re competing for jobs [unemDelinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

PHOTO COURTESY ANERA

Srector for American Near East Refugee

A preschool in Beit Atfal Assamoud Community Center in Lebanon’s Burj El Burajneh camp. ployment is above 20 percent], schools, health care and other services.”

Inflation is high and economic growth is zero, El Yassir added. Small businesses, not to mention five-star hotels, are closing down due to a loss of revenue from tourists and business people. “Let’s face it, Lebanon’s neighbors are war-torn Syria and Israel,” El Yassir said. Roads through Syria to Iraq, Turkey, the Gulf and other long-time trading partners are unsafe.

When asked what she would like to tell Washington Report readers, El Yassir, took a deep breath. “We have an immediate need,” she said. “Please don’t forget this humanitarian crisis—even if it seems to go on and on. Please add to your support, because these problems are increasing. We need to respond to the basic needs of refugees and to preserve their dignity. Any help you can give in cash or in-kind donations will help. Winter is coming and people will need coats, blankets and warm places to live.

“It’s the children who touch my heart,” El Yassir lamented, but also “the vulnerable, the elderly and women living alone. I recently took a field visit to Ein al-Hilweh, southeast of Sidon.” It’s the largest PalesTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

tinian refugee camp in Lebanon, with more than 70,000 Palestinian refugees, swollen to nearly 120,000 with the influx of Syrians. “I talked with a group of women living in a small tent with their children. One barefoot little boy told me all he wanted was a pair of shoes. ‘Yes, get him shoes and something for us to use for heat,’ his mother suggested. They appreciate the smallest gifts.”

El Yassir also recalled talking to a sad child at Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, near Tripoli. “What’s the matter?” she asked the little girl. “My birthday was yesterday,” the child whispered.

“My father always gave me a present and cake to celebrate—but he’s back in Syria.”

(Her teachers quickly prepared a small gift and cake.) “Refugee children need something they can count on,” El Yassir emphasized. “Their lives, everything they know, has changed overnight. They need hope to continue, to persevere.”

They also need clothing, bedding, blankets, hygiene kits and medicine. Syrian kids need remedial classes to catch up on months, even years, of school they’ve missed. One new program ANERA has launched with help from USAID is “Sports 27

hanley_27-28_Special Report 10/23/14 6:46 PM Page 28

“Anti-Islamic State”…

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

Continued from page 11

Samar El Yassir, ANERA’s Lebanon country director.

For Peace,” which brings youths together to play football, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, chess and other games.

Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian young people can break the ice, get to know each other and end negative stereotypes of each other, El Yassir explained.

Another innovative project is ANERA’s pilot community service program, which encourages refugees to give back to their host community. Refugees and their neighbors choose what they want to do.

They’ve built benches with shelters at bus stops, painted walls around a village sports field, planted shrubs and trees, collected garbage and undertaken other projects. Vocational school students have practiced their skills, like fixing plumbing in poor homes in the community. Their work benefits the needy and makes the volunteer feel useful and connected with their neighbors. It’s hoped that these initiatives will also change attitudes in their host country, and show that refugees are not just a financial burden but can make positive contributions as well.

Finally, El Yassir asked Washington Report readers to “please differentiate between refugees and the terrorists you are reading about. Refugees are the victims, not supporters, of terrorism. The majority of refugees are moderates, like every one of us. They want to live in dignity, work and go to school. Parents want to make sure that their children are fed, warm and safe.

They only want to have a normal life.”

See pp. 71 and 72 for a list of humanitarian organizations that urgently need your help this coming winter. ❑ 28

that interprets Islamic religious law, joined with other national organizations to release an open letter signed by more than 120 Muslim leaders and international scholars of Islam refuting the ideology of ISIS and urging its supporters to repent and “return to the religion of mercy.” The 28-page open letter, released Sept. 24 at the National Press Club, uses classical religious references to deconstruct any claimed religious justification for ISIS’s brutal actions.

Muslims around the world are condemning the so-called Islamic State. Key clerics issued two fatwas, or religious edicts, against extremist groups who claim terrorist acts in the name of Islam. Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, on Aug. 19 declared: “The ideas of extremism, radicalism and terrorism do not belong to Islam in any way, but are the first enemy of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims...Terrorism is anti-Islamic, and groups like the Islamic State which practice violence are the ‘number one enemy of Islam.’”

Another fatwa, issued Sept. 14 by Mauritania-born Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, a lecturer at the Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, states that the killing of innocents and violence are wrong and questions just about everything for which ISIS says it stands. Bin Bayyah’s religious ruling also says establishing a caliphate by force misreads Islamic doctrine.

In September a British organization, Active Change Foundation (ACF), launched a social media campaign called “#NotInMy Name: ISIS Does Not Represent British Muslims.” Its aim was not only to oppose the so-called Islamic State, but to dispel frequent, unfounded criticisms that Muslims remain silent in the face of Islamist terror. In the videos, British Muslims explain their denunciation of extremism, saying, for example, “ISIS, al-Qaeda or Taliban do not represent me or my religion! Islam is a religion of peace,” or “Because my religion promotes tolerance for women and you have no respect for women.”

These are not messages Americans are hearing—in fact, mainstream media are not even reporting these Muslim statements. Instead they are reporting words like those of Binyamin Netanyahu in his Sept. 29 speech to the U.N. General Assembly. Israel’s prime minister gleefully lumped together all “fanatical Islamists”— ISIS with Boko Haram in Nigeria; alTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Shabab in Somalia; Hezbollah in Lebanon; al-Nusra in Syria; the Mahdi Army in Iraq; and the al-Qaeda branches in Yemen, Libya, the Philippines, India and elsewhere, saying they all “share a fanatical creed.”

Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims (available from Middle East Books and More) writes about imprecise language that perpetuates “unhelpful stereotypes and associations” in a New Republic article published Oct. 19. As the Georgetown professor observes, “there is no such thing as ‘Islamic extremism’ or ‘Islamic terrorism’; there’s just extremism and terrorism, which some Muslims around the world have embraced...” He reminds readers that Indian Chera rulers used suicide bombers in the 11th century to fight the ruling Chola dynasty. Europeans beheaded people centuries ago, and the first recorded airline hijacking took place in Peru in 1931.

Americans must not buy into propaganda promulgated by either ISIS or Israel.

It behooves us all to listen as Muslims say, over and over again, that the actions of the so-called Islamic State are anything but Islamic. ❑ (Advertisement)

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

opm_29-30_Other People's Mail 10/23/14 2:26 PM Page 29

Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky Airstrikes Won’t Defeat ISIS To the [Arlington Heights, IL] Daily Herald, Oct. 9, 2014 I am dismayed over President Obama’s plans to expand airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While violence acted out by ISIS militants in recent weeks on American journalists and the plight of Iraqi civilians demand action, there are effective, nonmilitary responses that can address the conflict.

We’ve seen 10 years of U.S. war in Iraq— and at what cost? Renewed airstrikes only continue this bloodshed and enable violent militant groups like the Islamic State to recruit supporters. As Lebanon Daily Star columnist Rami Khouri notes, the “global war on terror [has] sparked the greatest expansion of Islamist militancy and terrorism in modern history.”

What’s the alternative? The U.S. should invest in humanitarian assistance by providing food and needed supplies in coordination with the United Nations. Also, hit ISIS where it hurts: the wallet. Cracking down on Turkish, Iraqi and other oil dealers who are purchasing ISIS’ oil on the black market would cut ISIS off from its most important revenue stream. Prevent weapons from flowing into Iraq and Syria by pushing countries like Turkey to intercept the flow of fighters and weapons across its border with Syria. If the international community worked with key regional players, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Russia, to take independent initiatives and meaningful steps toward an arms embargo, it would help bring an end to the conflict.

Ultimately, ISIS will flourish as long as its militants maintain popular support. Ending the Syrian civil war and bringing Sunnis back into the Iraqi political process are essential to driving a wedge between ISIS and the local population. ISIS thrives because of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, which are fueled by foreign interests. Resolving these conflicts demands American diplomacy, not American bombs.

Br. Michael Gosch, CSV, Arlington Heights, IL

Vet Warns Against War To the Los Angeles Times, Oct. 8, 2014 As a Vietnam veteran and retired Marine, I’m truly perplexed by the call from noncombatants to send in ground troops.

I’m also surprised that no one has pointed NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

out the fact that Islamic State is not a standing army—it is more like a very dangerous street gang gone wild. Even if it numbers 30,000 or more fighters, would it be able to stand against the 2nd Marine Division?

Against a U.S. Army tank battalion with the awesome Abrams tank?

Not at all. Islamic State fighters would just melt in with the local populace, and we would be mired in a senseless and neverending police action—again.

Why is the brain trust so eager to send our men and women off to right a wrong that we cannot right? This is a fight we cannot win, so let the locals fight it out or succumb to their fate. Let the Kurds, the Iraqis, the Syrians fight for their country, their families, their freedom.

When did we become a nation of such panic?

Stephen Baldwin, Irvine, CA

Troubling Iraq War Revelations To The New York Times, Oct. 16, 2014 Re “Abandoned Chemical Weapons and Secret Casualties in Iraq” (front page, Oct. 15): The revelation that our government and military hierarchy withheld and actively suppressed information about the chemical weapons in Iraq is but another shoe to fall in this never-ending cover-up surrounding the invasion. Disclosing the existence of decades-old, long-abandoned weapons of mass destruction did not fit neatly into the Bush-Cheney narrative. Besides, some of these weapons have our name on them.

It became so much easier for President George W. Bush to allow our troops to be exposed to lethal chemicals than to admit they existed. I suggest that Congress put the coming Benghazi hearings on a back burner and go after this. Sadly, I won’t hold my breath.

Norman Franz, San Clemente, CA

Deal with Iran Badly Needed To the Buffalo [WY] Bulletin, Oct. 1, 2014 It’s disappointing that after more than a decade of war and failed, hyper-militarized U.S. policies in the Middle East, President Obama is planning to expand airstrikes in Iraq and send more weapons to Syrian rebels. Given the stark rise in violent conflict across the Middle East this summer, it is imperative that the U.S. take advantage of opportunities to prevent violent conflicts.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

For the first time in more than a decade, the U.S. is in reach of a negotiated deal with Iran over the country’s nuclear capacity. As Iran, the U.S. and their negotiating partners resume negotiations, Washington must continue to look for pragmatic strategies to support, not scuttle, this historic opportunity to guard against a nuclear weapon and prevent another devastating war in the Middle East. [Congress] should publicly support the negotiations to guard against a nucleararmed Iran. These national decisions directly affect our young people and families.

Joanna Taylor, Buffalo, WY

Egypt’s Imprisoned Activists To The Washington Post, Oct. 17, 2014 Three cheers for the Post for keeping alive the issue of democracy and political prisoners in Egypt, specifically noting in the Oct. 14 editorial “Guilty silence” that the secular liberals instrumental in leading Egypt’s revolution are now prisoners of a regime that, since it came to power via a coup, the United States should not recognize.

Secular, forward-looking Arabs in Syria and Iraq whose support we are now seeking to enlist in combating the Islamic State follow the Egyptian experience closely.

They are more likely to join us if they believe the United States will insist that the post-revolution regime in Cairo be firmly based on principles of individual freedom and democracy.

James Horgen, Bethany Beach, DE

Netanyahu Needs to Go To U-T San Diego, Oct. 2, 2014 Binyamin Netanyahu is the wrong guy (“Netanyahu warns against extremism,” Sept. 30) at the right time for peace.

His belligerent and bellicose language and actions have presented a serious roadblock to those leaders offering to help with possible solutions for that region.

I’m amazed to read his blistering remarks to the U.N., lumping together Hamas and [ISIS] simply as “branches of the same poisonous tree.” And what’s more, he goes on to include al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, al-Shabab and Hezbollah as all sharing the same goal, world domination.

Could it be that this is a man who is too angry, and too hateful, to rationally process and deal wisely with the complex world around him?

John Barth, Carmel Mountain Ranch, CA 29

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U.S. Assisting Gaza and Israel?

To the San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 15, 2014 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Cairo that Gazans desperately need our help—not tomorrow; not next week; they need it now—and pledged $212 million in aid (“$5.4 billion pledged to Gaza after Israel-Hamas war,” Oct. 13). If Kerry wants to really help the Gazans, he should recommend a significant cut in the $3 billion we give annually to Israel.

He should follow the lead of Rep. Barbara Lee, and call for an end to the blockade of Gaza. He should tell the Israelis to end settlement construction and the occupation of the West Bank, and stop providing the money for them to do it. Financing a post-bombing recovery is fine, but how about the U.S. doing more to curtail Israeli aggression in the first place?

Larry Hendel, Berkeley, CA

Unhelpful “Ally” To the Asbury Park [NJ] Press, Oct. 6, 2014 Israel’s government wants all of Palestine.

This was confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s latest announcement to take more West Bank land. Add to this 47 years of occupation, Palestinian oppression and settlement building. This may explain Israel’s lack of friends in the region.

America is waging war throughout the Middle East at Israel’s prodding. As an ally, Israel is questionable. Its false flag operations and espionage have wreaked havoc on this country.

On June 8, 1967, Israel attacked the USS Liberty, killing 34 naval seamen, and injuring 171. Readers can view “USS Liberty: Dead in the water” online, and determine for themselves if this was deliberate. Liberty survivors give first-hand accounts with newly released information. This remains one of the biggest cover-ups in U.S. military history. The goal was to bring America into Israel’s war with Egypt.

In 1954, there was “The Lavon Affair,” in which Israel attempted to dismantle talks between President Dwight Eisenhower and Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, and elevate American anti-Arab sentiment.

Israel’s only goal is land expansion, not peaceful relations. Middle East countries are leery of a nation that makes occupation and oppression a way of life.

Cheryl Quigley, Toms River, NJ

Jews Criticizing Israel To The New York Times, Sept. 29, 2014 Re “How Israel Silences Dissent,” by Mairav Zonszein (Op-Ed, Sept. 27): 30

Thank you for airing this much-needed perspective. As a progressive American Jew with family in Israel and Palestinian extended family in Brooklyn, I am terribly upset by the message from so many American Jews that dissent against Israel’s policies toward Palestinians is unacceptable and equals disloyalty to Judaism.

I was raised in this country with a Jewish tradition of supporting the civil rights of the disempowered, and holding sacred our First Amendment rights to publicly disagree with the powers ruling our country. This tradition never included a caveat: “This does not apply to disagreeing with Israel.”

I’ve been horrified by the vitriol against fellow Jews expressed this summer by American Jews who believe that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians are immune to criticism or censure.

It’s time someone called on the carpet the hypocrisy of those Jews who support dissent toward the American government, but never toward Israel, and who support civil rights of the disenfranchised in every country except within Israel.

Leonore Gordon, Brooklyn, NY

American Jews Not Monolithic To the Jewish Journal, Sept. 29, 2014 I recently read Rob Eshman’s article about the younger generation and their views of Israel in light of the summer’s violent events (“Young Americans and

WRITE, TELEPHONE OR E-MAIL LEADERS President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20500 Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 Visit: <www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submitquestions-and-comments> Vice President Joe Biden (same as above) Secretary of State John Kerry U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 (202) 647-6575 #8 or (202) 647-5291 #1 Visit <www.state.gov> to e-mail comments Any Senator U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3121 Any Representative U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-3121 E-mail Congress: visit <www.congress.org>

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Israel,” Sept. 5). I applaud the Journal’s courage in presenting the fact that there is a range of views within the AmericanJewish community—not all Jewish print media have the chutzpah to acknowledge this.

What is drawing so many people to Jewish Voice for Peace is the realization that we have become the oppressor, and we do not want and cannot support a Jewish state that commits atrocities so resonant with events in our own lifetime’s experience.

I am the child of two Holocaust survivors, and my parents taught me with deep conviction that all people are equal and deserve to live with dignity and in peace.

Deborah Mia Shelton, via e-mail

Palestinian Advocacy Slandered To USA Today, Oct. 15, 2014 Commentary writer Gary Bauer wrongly conflates student advocacy for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation with antiJewish sentiments. Bauer claims that today, “groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association, along with vehemently anti-Israel professors, contribute to a culture that can make Jewish students and supporters of Israel feel unwelcome” (“Bauer: Rid U.S. campuses of anti-Semitism”).

Bauer’s analysis lacks a fundamental understanding of the roots of our protest; the rise in campus activism directly correlates with Israel’s brutal policies toward the Palestinian people. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) does not attack Jewish students but discriminatory Israeli policies, including human rights abuses that deny Palestinians self-determination.

SJP is a student movement dedicated to raising awareness of the Palestinian people by actively building bridges with other student groups and movements promoting social justice.

Bauer’s mischaracterizations come as no surprise as he has a history of holding religiously based anti-Palestinian bias: “God granted the land of Israel to the Jewish people, and there is an absolute ban on giving it away to another people,” Bauer told an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference several years ago. Bauer’s commentary exposes his ignorance of how SJP organizes and further contributes to the silencing and repression of students within SJP. Andrew Dalack, New York, NY and Bayan Founas, Bloomfield Hills, MI, National Students for Justice in Palestine q NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

cartoons_31_November/December 2014 Cartoons 10/23/14 5:37 PM Page 31

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THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

The Global Mail, Toronto

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The Muslim Observer, Farmington, MI

The New York Times Syndicate, New York

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Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, KY

Diario De Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

De Volkskrant, Amsterdam

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Six in Ten Americans Say U.S. Gives “Too Much” Aid to Israel SpecialReport

COURTESY IRMEP

By Grant F. Smith

Fig. 1: Percent Opposition/Support for Aid to Israel by Age - IRmep survey

and its insights are eagerly awaited by journalists and the public alike. On Sept.

14 the Council released its latest results, based on responses from 2,108 American adults. In one key finding, the Council reported, “a majority of Americans is prepared to use U.S. troops to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon (69 percent).” However, the Council survey did nothing to examine why Americans fear Iran or whether fears about its nuclear program were well-founded, although it did speculate about lingering fallout from the 1979 hostage crisis. The Council also concluded that “Americans tend to support maintaining or increasing military aid to Israel, Taiwan and Mexico. In a pattern similar to preferences for economic aid, the public tends to favor decreasing or stopping military aid to Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.”

However, even though the Council acknowledged that most Americans vastly overestimate U.S. foreign aid levels, it failed to ask warranted “control” questions or Grant F. Smith is director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc. (IRmep) in Washington, DC. The IRmep survey report, “American Public Opinion on U.S. Aid to Israel,” with detailed results and methodology may be downloaded at <www.IRmep.org/09302014_USFATI.pdf>.

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provide any relevant data to respondents.

Research into the science of polling reveals that respondents usually will not admit to ignorance. They will offer an opinion if the questions asked seem important—and they will respond if they feel they should know the answer. Such “baseless opinions” render a great deal of expensive data-gathering useless, and enable fraudulent polling. Are conclusions about American fears of Iran and support for unknown allocations of foreign aid trumpeted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs

COURTESY IRMEP

he Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Tconducts a survey every two years,

the result of “baseless opinions?”

To find out, IRmep conducted its own public opinion poll using Google Consumer Surveys, canvassing just over 2,100 adults shortly after the Chicago Council report was issued. Google is able to draw a representative sample by using known Internet user demographic data to select visitors to such partner websites as YouTube, Pandora, the New York Daily News, The Christian Science Monitor, Reader’s Digest, The Lima [Ohio] News and The Texas Tribune (among many others) for short surveys. The estimated sampling error for IRmep’s survey was only 2.2 percent.

The first IRmep question was phrased: “The U.S. gives Israel over $3 billion annually (9 percent of the foreign aid budget and more than any other country). The amount is:” Respondents could then select from five options: “much too much,” “too much,” “about right,” “too little,” and “much too little.” To reduce selection bias, the order of response choices was randomly reversed. According to 60.7 percent of Americans polled, the U.S. was giving Israel excessive foreign aid. More than a third, 33.9 percent (the majority response), said Israel received “much too much” U.S. foreign aid, while 26.8 percent felt it was “too much.” This result directly contradicts the Chicago Council on Global Affairs findings based on questions that provided no dollar amounts or shares of U.S. foreign aid.

Fig. 2: Percent Opposition/Support for Aid to Israel by Income - IRmep survey THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

smith-poll_32-33_Special Report 10/23/14 6:24 PM Page 33

COURTESY IRMEP

the same groups that lobbied According to the IRmep for war on Iraq have now resurvey, those under the age of focused their efforts on tar35 tended to be more in favor geting Iran. of reducing aid to Israel.

The Chicago Council on However an overall majority Global Affairs found that 64 across age categories scored percent of Americans precurrent aid as “too much.” ferred not to take sides in the When cross-tabulated by Israel-Palestine conflict and income, only those Americans earning $150,000 or Fig. 3: “Do you believe Iran has nuclear weapons?” - IRmep survey that 55 percent would oppose sending U.S. troops to protect Israel if it atmore per year stated such aid was “about sessed the ultimate deterrent.

Why do Americans fear Iran almost two tacked Iran. The Council’s simpler, more right” (47.6 percent), although within that income category, 42.9 percent thought aid generations after the hostage crisis? Do straightforward questions on those subjects was “too much,” while only 9.5 percent they hold unfounded fears, buttressed by appear to have yielded bona fide responses. sustained propaganda campaigns? Accord- But asking Americans about their support scored it as “too little.”

Since aid to Israel is premised on de- ing to Gallup, 93 percent of Americans be- for U.S. yearly aid to Mexico ($206 million) fense—allegedly keeping Israel from being lieved Iraq had facilities to create weapons and Israel ($3.1 billion, plus many congres“pushed into the sea” by surrounding hos- of mass destruction before the 2003 U.S. in- sional add-ons and secret intelligence suptile states—how can the majority of Amer- vasion. This figure declined to only 86 per- port) as if it were at all comparable is not icans believe the U.S. provides too much cent after the invasion, when such claims useful. Similarly, rather than ignore the reaid? American presidents and politicians finally were debunked. At the same time, 7 cent lessons about how disinformation proare heavily invested in Israel’s “ambiguity” in 10 Americans also believed Saddam Hus- duced unwarranted support for the U.S. inpolicy of never discussing its arsenal of nu- sain had a personal role in the 9/11 attacks. vasion of Iraq, the Council should have clear weapons. However, most Americans None of it was true, of course—although probed for any unfounded basis at the root (63.9 percent, according to the IRmep sur- government officials, Israel lobby groups of American fears about Iran. It is more imvey) openly state they believe Israel pos- and media pundits endlessly insinuated the portant than ever to uncover the public’s sesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It is opposite. Today, according to the IRmep true feelings, particularly when polls are plausible that Americans believe the huge poll, most Americans (58.5 percent) believe used to justify expending massive quantities flows of aid purportedly maintaining Is- Iran already possesses nuclear weapons. of blood and treasure, or used by politicians rael’s “qualitative military edge” are un- This belief—although entirely erroneous— falsely claiming that all Americans have an necessary since it has already long pos- is nevertheless understandable, given that “unbreakable” commitment to Israel. ❑ (Advertisement)

THOUSANDS OF C-SPAN VIEWERS and attendees watched the groundbreaking National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel “Special Relationship,” held March 7, 2014, and co-sponsored by the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Council for the National Interest, Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, and If Americans Knew. This DVD contains the presentations of all 24 speakers at the historic event. Distinguished speakers including Stephen Walt, Mark Perry, Geoffrey Wawro, Paul Pillar and Ernie Gallo examined the damage this special relationship causes to American security and prestige.

MONTHS BEFORE ISRAEL’S LATEST ASSAULT on Gaza participants sounded the alarm on the impact of U.S. financial, military and diplomatic support for Israel.

ORDER THE NATIONAL SUMMIT’S 420-min. DVD for $19.95; institutional rate: $99.95. Visit <middleeastbooks.com> or call Middle East Books and More: 202-939-6050 ext 2.

FILMED ON MARCH 7, 2014 in Washington, DC, this DVD presents the summit’s entire proceedings. Military, diplomatic, intelligence, academic and other experts examine the impact of the U.S. - Israel relationship on Americans. Send a copy to a politician, librarian or journalist (visit <natsummit.org> for more information).

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Congress Puts Off Debating and Voting on Use of U.S. Military Force Against ISIS CongressWatch

By Shirl McArthur fter President Barack Obama in August ordered air strikes against ISIS A targets in Iraq, and later in Syria, there was some congressional interest in debating and voting on authorizing such actions. However, considering the all-important and overriding matter of getting themselves re-elected, congressional leaders decided to put off that debate until after Congress returns for a “lame duck” session on Nov. 12. Congress did, however, on Sept. 18 approve an amendment to the “Continuing Resolution” funding the government until Dec. 11 (see below) that authorizes the secretary of defense “to provide assistance, including training, equipment, supplies, and sustainment, to appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition.”

(The brutal, extremist Sunni group taking over much of Syria and Iraq goes by several names. They like to call themselves the “Islamic State,” but, as explained on p.

19 of the Washington Report’s October issue, they also are known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and some in Congress and the media use ISIL, for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Washington Report uses ISIS, since it reflects the Arabic name for the group.)

But prior to Congress’ Sept. 19 recess, several measures were introduced authorizing the use of military force, with varying amounts of detail. Measures simply authorizing military force were S.J.Res. 43, introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) on Sept. 8; H.J.Res. 123, introduced the same day by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and 15 cosponsors; and H.J.Res. 127, introduced by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and six cosponsors on Sept. 18. Measures that specifically would not authorize the use of U.S. ground forces in a combat role were S.J.Res. 42, introduced on Sept. 8 by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL); H.J.Res. 125, introduced on Sept. 16 by Rep. Adam Schiff (DCA) and three co-sponsors; and S.J.Res. 44, introduced on Sept. 17 by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) with one co-sponsor.

More nuanced was H.J.Res. 128, introduced by Rep. John Larson (D-CT) on Sept.

Shirl McArthur is a retired U.S. foreign service officer based in the Washington, DC area.

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19, which would authorize force to “defend U.S. national security” and to enforce a U.N. Security Council resolution—but, absent such a resolution, would require approval of a congressional joint resolution. H.Con.Res. 114 was introduced Sept. 11 by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and 16 co-sponsors, simply “urging Congress to debate and vote on a statutory authorization for any sustained U.S. combat role in Iraq or Syria.”

he measures will likely T die with the adjournment of the 113th Congress.

Intending to financially isolate ISIS, H.R. 5431, introduced on Sept. 10 by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) with seven cosponsors, would impose sanctions on a foreign financial institution that facilitates financial transactions supporting or aiding ISIS. More broadly, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who is retiring at the end of the 113th Congress, with seven co-sponsors introduced on Sept. 8 H.R. 5415, the “Authorization for the Use of Military Force against International Terrorism” bill. It would authorize military force against “those countries, organizations, or persons associated with or supporting terrorist groups (including al-Qaeda and its regional affiliates, ISIS, alShabab, Boko Haram, and any other related terrorist groups).”

However, it is likely that none of the measures described above will even be reported out of committee, much less taken up by the full House or Senate, during the “lame duck” session, and they will die with the adjournment of the 113th Congress. There is even a growing sentiment, especially among Republicans, that voting on a resolution authorizing force should be put off until the 114th Congress, which would be consistent with this Congress’ penchant for doing as little as possible.

Bills Would Repeal 2002 Authorization of Force, War Powers Resolution Several of the measures described above include clauses that would also repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. However, the two previously described bills to repeal the resTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

olution have gained no co-sponsors. H.R. 3852, introduced in January by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), still has 35 co-sponsors, including Lee. S. 2395, introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) in May still has eight co-sponsors, including Menendez.

Also, on Sept. 8 Wolf introduced H.R. 5416, the “War Powers Consultation” bill, the House companion to S. 1939, introduced in January by Kaine and described in the August issue. Both bills would repeal the War Powers Resolution of 1973, as amended, replacing it with a consultation process between the legislative and executive branches of government. S. 1939 still has only three co-sponsors, including Kaine.

Separately, H.R. 4608, introduced in May by Lee, “to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force” act passed by Congress on Sept. 14, 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC, has gained another cosponsor, and now has 21, including Lee.

Congress Passes Short-term “Continuing Resolution” As mentioned above, prior to skipping town to work for re-election, Congress managed to pass H.J.Res. 124, which “provides continuing FY 2015 appropriations to federal agencies at the current annual rate until Dec. 11, 2014,” or until Congress passes new appropriations legislation. The measure was signed by the president on Sept. 19 as P.L.113-164. Thus aid to Middle East countries will continue at the same rate as described on p. 26 of the May Washington Report. Congressional leaders claim they intend to pass full FY ’15 appropriations legislation before Dec. 11, but, considering the record of this Congress, it would not be surprising to see them put it off to the 114th Congress by passing another short-term resolution.

Hamas-Israel Cease-fire Temporarily Quiets Israel’s Members of Congress With the cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel apparently holding, there has been little congressional pro-Israel activity. For example, there has been no further movement on any of the measures described in the previous issue supporting Israel’s “right” to slaughter a couple thousand Palestinians and level much of Gaza’s NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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infrastructure in the name of “self defense” or condemning Hamas for its alleged use of “human shields.”

Under intense AIPAC pressure, and with elections looming, 88 senators, led by Sens.

Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Bob Casey (D-PA), signed a Sept. 23 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry presumptuously advising him on what U.S. policy toward the Palestinians and Gaza should be. They “urge” him to “focus on three key objectives: (1) preventing Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities; (2) enabling the Palestinian Authority to move toward becoming the Palestinian governing authority in Gaza; and (3) preventing negative developments at the U.N. General Assembly, U.N. Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court that could derail any prospects for the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.” Naturally, the letter doesn’t mention “negative developments” from Israel, such as expanding its colonies in the West Bank.

Also, on Aug. 5 Sens. Ben Cardin (DMD), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote to Kerry complaining about reports of “weapons found at U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools as well as one-sided statements from UNRWA leadership that unjustly condemn Israel.”

They “urge the State Department to launch an independent investigation into these incidents.”

Following reports of several, sometimes violent demonstrations in Europe and elsewhere against Israel’s actions in Gaza, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) on July 31 introduced H.Res. 707 “condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and rejecting attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere.” The resolution carefully doesn’t specifically equate anti-Israel statements and actions with anti-Semitism, but it clearly can be read that way. The full House passed it on Sept.

18 with 173 co-sponsors, including Nadler.

Despite Senate Letter, More Bills Introduced to Stop Aid to The PA Two new bills were introduced targeting aid to the PA. On Sept. 10 Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Steve Stockman (R-TX) introduced H.R. 5433 “to prohibit certain assistance to the Palestinian Authority.” And on Sept. 18 Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) with 10 Republican co-sponsors introduced H.R. 5668 “to suspend the provision of U.S. foreign assistance to the Palestinian Authority.” But the previously described H.Res. 542, introNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

duced in April by Yoho, has gained no cosponsors and still has 11, including Yoho.

S. 2329, introduced in May by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the Senate’s companion bill to H.R. 4411, which the House passed in July, has gained two co-sponsors, and now has 57, including Shaheen. Both bills, intended to shut down Hezbollah’s global logistics and financial network, would “prevent Hezbollah and associated entities from gaining access to international financial and other institutions.”

The previously described H.R. 5194, the “Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation” bill, introduced in July by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), has gained four co-sponsors and now has 20, including Bachmann. While the Muslim Brotherhood is not a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, this bill would legislatively treat it as one.

New Bills Would Target UNRWA, UNHRC More than 200 bills and resolutions were introduced in the Senate and House during the week before Congress’ Sept. 19 recess (readers will notice that many of the new measures were introduced on Sept.

18). Their sponsors are fully aware that most, if not all, will die when the 113th Congress adjourns. However, they can tell their constituents that they made an effort.

Two of those bills, introduced Sept. 18 by leading Israel-firster Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen (R-FL) with the same three Republican co-sponsors, Perry, Yoho and Ron DeSantis (R-FL), would target U.N. agencies that have been a thorn in Israel’s side. H.R. 5647 would “promote transparency, accountability, and reform within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.”

H.R. 5649 would “promote transparency, accountability, and reform within the United Nations Human Rights Council.”

However the anti-U.N. and anti-Palestinian S. 2766, introduced July 31 by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rubio “to combat terrorism and promote reform in the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations,” has gained no support. It would designate the PA as “Hamas controlled,” would enact far-reaching certification requirements to cut off U.S. funding to UNRWA and the UNHRC, and redirect to Israel any planned U.S. funding for the PA, UNRWA and UNHRC.

Senate Finally Passes U.S.-Israel Partnership Bill, With Amendment As previously reported in this space, in July Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

S. 2673, an updated version of S. 462, introduced by Boxer in March 2013 as the Senate’s companion bill to the Housepassed H.R. 938, the “U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership” bill. Both Senate bills previously had met resistance because of their problematic provision that would have given Israel an easier path to inclusion in the visa waiver program. Boxer finally bowed to objections to the visa waiver provision and amended it to simply read, “it shall be the policy of the U.S. to include Israel in the list of countries that participate in the visa waiver program…when Israel satisfies, and as long as Israel continues to satisfy, the requirements for inclusion in such program.” With that amendment, the Senate finally passed S. 2673 on Sept. 18 with 81 co-sponsors, including Boxer.

House and Senate passage of their versions of the “U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership” bill has been met with much fanfare, especially from AIPAC. The bills are not identical, however, so unless a combined version can be passed by both houses of Congress during the lame duck session (possible, but unlikely), or one house takes up and passes the other house’s version (clearly possible), the bills will die with the adjournment of the 113th Congress.

One new pro-Israel bill was introduced.

On Sept. 18 Texas Republican Reps. Lamar Smith and Randy Weber introduced H.R. 5666,”to strengthen U.S.-Israel science and technology cooperation.” ❑ (Advertisement)

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Spectacular Sunsets, Vistas, Other Simple Pleasures Abound in Istanbul

By Elaine Pasquini; Photos by Phil Pasquini

SpecialReport

eyond the iconic Blue Mosque, Hagia

BSophia and Grand Bazaar, Istanbul is a

tourist destination offering spectacular sights and unusual experiences to entertain and amaze a visitor for weeks, months or years on end. Divided between Europe and Asia by the Bosphorus and separated on the European side by the Golden Horn, Istanbul is a city of visual wonders whether observed from its narrow, steep and winding cobbled streets, from the water or from the top of the Sapphire Tower. Getting around is easy, as the city offers a variety of transportation options, such as buses, ferries, metro, funiculars, tramways—including the Nostalgic Tram—and the historic Tünel. Following is a small sampling of the many delights of this exciting and vibrant metropolis. ❑

Sometimes described as the world’s greatest natural harbor, the Golden Horn, Istanbul’s important waterway on the European side, cuts inland at the point where the Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus meet, dividing the new city from the old city.

Whether viewed from a ferryboat or the middle of the Galata Bridge, the panorama of mosques rising beyond the floating fish kitchens on the shore of the Golden Horn form a perfect picture.

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist and Phil Pasquini a free-lance photographer (whose book Domes, Arches and Minarets is available from Middle East Books and More).

They are based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The city is always lively, but becomes even more so around sunset. Viewed from the Galata Bridge, the sun setting behind the newly-opened Metro Bridge is a gorgeous sight—a dramatic backdrop to the water traffic on the Golden Horn.

Watching the seemingly non-stop comings and goings of water traffic on the Bosphorus from a waterside café is one of the most idyllic experiences in Istanbul. Tankers, ships and passenger craft from the Mediterranean travel north through the Aegean, the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara before passing through the 18-mile strait to the Black Sea. The shoreline on both sides of the Bosphorus, which separates Europe from Asia, is lined with villas and magnificent old Turkish houses called yalis.

36

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Jewelry made by student artists was on display this summer at Istanbul’s Design Center, located between the Kadirga and Sultanahmet districts in front of the beautiful Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque. The center offers courses in architecture, urban planning, graphic design, fashion and jewelry design, photography, film, television and traditional Turkish visual arts. Occasional seminars and workshops are open to the public.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

pasquini-istanbul_36-37_Special Report 10/23/14 2:49 PM Page 37

The Nostalgic Tram is one of Istanbul’s celebrated symbols and a popular tourist attraction. Running daily along Istiklal Avenue, the main boulevard from Taksim to Tünel, locals and tourists alike enjoy the 1.16mile 15-minute journey in the 100-year-old vehicles. Using electricity from aerial wires and operating on a single track, the trams begin their journey at the same time from the Taksim and Tünel terminals and meet and pass each other on a double track at the midway point.

Built by French engineers in 1875, Istanbul’s Tünel underground train originally provided convenient transport for diplomats and businessmen traveling between their waterside offices in Karaköy on the northern shore of the Golden Horn to the neighborhood of Pera, located up a steep hill. The Tünel is the world’s second oldest subterranean urban rail line. Only the 151-year-old London Underground is older. Along with the buses, ferries, metro, funiculars and trams— all part of the municipal transport network—the fare for the short ride may be paid with the Istanbulkart smartcard transit pass.

Reminiscent of the villages around Istanbul in the 1800s, Arnavutkôy is arguably one of the most picturesque of the city’s neighborhoods located along the Bosphorus. Facing the water with views of the Asian side of Istanbul, these lovely wooden mansions adorn the waterside.

Istanbul’s Archeology Museum is a treasure trove of ancient regional art and artifacts, including items discovered during recent excavations to update the city’s infrastructure. Not all of the masterpieces are located inside the three museum structures, however. Visitors may leisurely stroll in the garden courtyard, viewing ancient statues, or enjoy a cup of Turkish tea or coffee in the outdoor café.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Located in the central business district of Levent, the Sapphire Tower soars skyward 856 feet. The observation deck offers a 360-degree panoramic view of Istanbul, a cosmopolitan megacity of 15 million. The 54story skyscraper—part shopping mall and part luxury residences—is the tallest structure in Turkey. The most ecological building in the country, the Sapphire project was a finalist at the Dubai Cityscape International Real Estate Investment and Development Fair.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

37

gee_38-39_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 10/23/14 6:02 PM Page 38

Sore Losers Seek to Weaken Indonesian Democracy

Islam and the Near East in theFar East

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By John Gee

Indonesia’s new president, Joko Widodo (c), and vice president, Jusuf Kalla (r), greet admirers from a horse-drawn carriage as their motorcade makes its way through Jakarta’s crowdfilled streets toward the presidential palace during Widodo’s Oct. 20 inauguration ceremony. s previously reported (see September

A2014 Washington Report, p. 44), Joko

Widodo won the Indonesian presidential election with a 6 percent margin of victory.

Claims by the defeated candidate, Prabowo Subianto, of massive elections fraud by his rival’s camp were rejected by the Constitutional Court when Prabowo sought to have the election annulled and a new election held. Although his supporters claimed that irregularities had raised questions over 23 million votes, they were able to produce virtually no definite evidence when called upon to do so. The Election Commission stood its ground, saying that the Prabowo camp’s allegations were vague and baseless.

Prabowo was viewed as the candidate of the establishment: a figure out of the era of Indonesian autocrat Suharto, whose campaign was funded largely by big business interests that generally don’t want to see radical reforms to a system pervaded with corruption and indulgent to the wishes of the wealthy and powerful. By contrast, Joko Widodo (commonly known as John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel.

38

Jokowi) was seen as a man who relied chiefly on the support of members of the public and who rose to the top despite the system—although he also had business supporters, and the parties supporting him are not radical by any means.

Jokowi was able to do that, in large part, because among the post-Suharto reforms introduced in Indonesia was a law providing for provincial governors and mayors of cities to be elected by popular vote. This law was regarded internationally as a fundamental component of Indonesia’s transition to democracy. Under this system Jokowi was elected mayor of the city of Solo and, later, of Jakarta. Once the outcome of the presidential election was finalized with the Constitutional Court’s decision, the Prabowo-led five-party Red-White coalition (named for the colors of the Indonesian flag) set out to demolish the system that had allowed a “man of the people” to win the presidency.

Hypocritically, they claimed that having local government leaders elected by the victorious parties in provincial and city elections would save money and counter “money politics” and corruption, preventing them from being used by ambitious individuals to gain office. In fact, their THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

scheme would allow leaders to be chosen behind closed doors through horse trading by political insiders.

Everyone knows this, which may be one reason why, in public opinion polls, an impressive 80 percent of Indonesians favored the retention of the direct election system.

Nevertheless, Probowo’s coalition pushed the new law through the old parliament before it stepped down, helped by the ineptitude of its opponents. Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party had said that it would join the proJokowi coalition in voting against the law, which should have ensured its defeat, but its members staged a walkout, claiming that changes they wanted to make to the existing electoral system had not been agreed upon. Jokowi’s PDI-P party could have halted the vote by walking out and leaving parliament without a quorum, but no one seems to have thought of that, and the law to end direct local elections was passed by 226 votes to 135 in the 560-seat body.

Widespread public protest followed.

Thirty NGOs called a demonstration on Sept. 28. Politicawave, a group that monitors online posts, said that less than 1 percent of those commenting on parliament’s decision supported it. Reacting to strong criticism of the move and of his personal failure to ensure that his party helped vote it down, President Yudhoyono called for legal advice and said that he would annul it during his remaining days in office— Jokowi was not inaugurated until Oct. 20.

Meanwhile, the Prabowo camp continued its vendetta against the presidentelect. In the new parliament that convened Oct. 1, they command 292 seats, compared to 207 for Jokowi’s supporters. The Democratic Party holds 61 seats, and says it will vote according to its views on each specific issue and not give exclusive backing to either camp. Prabowo’s Red-White coalition parties elected their own candidates to the post of speaker, as well as to all the deputy speaker posts. Setya Novanto, a member of Golkar, formerly the ruling party under the Suharto regime, was elected speaker.

He has been accused of corruption on several occasions, but never charged.

Jokowi kept his cool. He sent Setya a congratulatory message, but told reporters, “In the past, the speaker came from the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

gee_38-39_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 10/23/14 6:02 PM Page 39

party that won the election: we now have a new tradition.â&#x20AC;? His own PDI-P won more seats than any other party, and Golkar came in second.

After his election, Jokowiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best hope of preventing a destructive struggle with the new parliament looked to be through wooing one or two of the member parties of the Red-White coalition, but he spurned the kind of bargaining that might have allowed that, since it could mean awarding government posts to individuals who want to prevent or water down measures aimed at fighting corruption and benefitting poorer citizens. It seems that he still hopes to find some way to win over members of the Red-White coalition once he takes office, without fundamentally compromising his declared goals.

Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attacks on Gaza Shake Support in Singapore In the recent past, whenever Israel has waged war on the Palestinians or its neighbors, the general public in Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;save for the Muslim minorityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;has, for the most part, shown little interest and, to the extent that it has sympathized with one side or the other, the non-Muslim public has generally favored Israel. When the second intifada broke out, and during Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attacks on

Lebanon in 2006 and on the Gaza Strip in 2008-9, media coverage leaned toward Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version of events, and the public seemed largely unmoved by what was happening. This year, however, it was different.

The public has access, via the Internet, to a wider range of news sources and information than ever before, and many also subscribe to multiple satellite channels, which give alternative accounts and perspectives.

Even when commentaries adopted the typical language of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palestinians attackingâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israel responding,â&#x20AC;? people could see for themselves the disparity between the two sides and between the damage inflicted by Palestinian rockets and by Israeli shelling, bombing and tank fire. In blogs, pro-Palestinian views predominated and some of the deeper arguments started to come over.

On July 26 a sit-in was held by more than 300 people at Hong Lim Park, the only place in Singapore where public protest rallies can be held. It was organized by From Singapore to Palestine (FS2P), a group launched in 2012 to raise public awareness of the situation in Palestine. It began with a minuteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s silence, followed by speeches.

The display of other nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flags by locals is banned, but protesters carried bunches of balloons in black, white, green and

redâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the colors of the Palestinian flag.

A talk on Palestine (with this writer as the guest speaker) was organized for Aug. 18 at an easily accessible central venue, but shortly before the meeting, its management cancelled the booking, saying that it did not accept bookings for events that dealt with religion, race or politics. Skeptical observers noted that the same venue had hosted a two-day conference on Iraq the previous year, which had definitely touched on those banned issues, and there was never any suggestion of that booking being cancelled.

In the end, the meeting was held at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. Some of those who had registered for the event at the original venue could not make it to the new, more isolated one, but there was still a respectable turnout of 50 people.

During previous conflicts, ardently proZionist individuals, many of whom are linked to Evangelical Christian churches that regularly organize tours to the holy sites in Palestine with Israeli guides, have written to the press and blogged in support of Israeli actions, but there was hardly any of that this time: perhaps they realized that they would only be seen as defending the indefensible. â?&#x2018;

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39

adas_40-41_New York City and Tri-State News 10/23/14 2:52 PM Page 40

Columbia University Panel Addresses Israel’s Most Recent Assault on Gaza

New York City and Tri-StateNews

STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS

By Jane Adas

(L-r) Profs. Rashid Khalidi, Nadia Abu El-Haj and Noura Erakat. oderating a Sept. 19 discussion at

MColumbia University about “The War on Gaza,” Barnard College professor Nadia Abu El-Haj noted that, although the U.S. media persist in referring to the war between Israel and Hamas, it would be more accurate to call it the Israel Defense Forces war against Gaza. No matter the casualty figures, the media accept Israel’s claim that Hamas targets civilians and Israel does not. Given Israel’s gendered, racial logic, El-Haj wondered if any Palestinian male between the ages of 8 and 50 could be considered a civilian non-combatant.

Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, began by noting that this summer marked the 12th Israeli war on Gaza since 1948. In the latest one, Israel used battlefield weapons on densely populated neighborhoods, inevitably killing large numbers of people who had nowhere to flee even if given prior notice, and leaving 16,000 buildings uninhabitable.

This is not random collateral damage, Khalidi charged, but rather “the fully intentional, sinister strategy” of the Israeli military’s Dahiyeh doctrine, named after a neighborhood in Beirut that Israel flattened in its 2006 war on Lebanon. The authorized doctrine, articulated by Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, states that any village that resists will be considered a miliJane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area.

40

tary target and will be met with disproportionate power to cause immense destruction. This is the third time this “outline for collective punishment” has been used on Gaza since 2009, Khalidi observed, yet the U.S. media and government never mention Dahiyeh.

Instead the media focused on rockets fired from Gaza. Khalidi acknowledged that the approximately 4,000 rockets are not precision-guided and are therefore indiscriminate, but none of the rockets has a warhead of even the smallest Israeli capacity. All the rockets combined that reached Israel, he continued, have less explosive power than 20 200-pound bombs—and Israel fired hundreds on Gaza. The media’s emphasis on Gaza’s primitive homemade rockets makes Israel seem the victim and obscures the context, which Khalidi summed up as 47 years of occupation and 7 years of near-total blockade. Khalidi remarked on the absurdity of the Obama administration repeatedly affirming Israel’s right to defend itself, but added that this is for legal reasons: the 1976 Arms-Export Control Act allows for weapons transfers only for legitimate self-defense.

Noura Erakat, a human rights attorney and professor at George Mason University, elaborated on the destruction: Gaza’s only power plant bombed, as was its largest sewage treatment plant, causing the leakage of 15,000 tons of solid waste; 28 percent of the population internally displaced, 108,000 homeless, 1,500 orphans. Israel destroyed 22 UNRWA THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

schools and damaged a further 118. As a result, school opened three weeks late and the students spent the first week mourning. This was not the first time of a killing campaign without shelter; worse, Erakat predicted it will not be the last.

She observed that in 1993—before Oslo was signed, before the first suicide bomber in 1994, and before the first rockets were fired in 2001—Israel first sealed off and besieged the Gaza Strip. With the 2005 removal of Israeli settlers and soldiers, Israel has turned the occupation into a permanent military campaign.

The first questioner asked, “Where is the Palestinian outrage at their government for firing from hospitals and transporting ammunition in ambulances?” Erakat noted that she has heard this identical question many times. Her response was that there is no evidence of Hamas firing from populated areas other than an Israeli cartoon; Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch could investigate, she pointed out, but Israel denies them entry. Abu El-Haj added that Israel defines Gazans as enemy combatants who can therefore be killed— but if they kill, they are terrorists. Khalidi explained that it is the U.S. Congress that defines Hamas as a terrorist organization, but that Congress ignores its own laws.

Therefore Dahiyeh is not a war crime, but Hamas killing six civilians is.

Asked about the cease-fire agreement, Erakat said it was no different from the 2012 cease-fire, with no enforcement mechanisms and no means of altering the status quo. Khalidi agreed, saying it was restricted to agreements Israel already signed, instead of demanding that Israel “end the occupation, stop settlements, stop pushing Palestinians out of Jerusalem, and equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

Abbas Speaks at Cooper Union Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke Sept. 23 in the Great Hall of Cooper Union, where a century and a half ago then-presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln spoke out against slavery. Reports circulated that certain organizations planned to reserve seats and then not show up, but the Great Hall was NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

filled to capacity. There were no visible demonstrations and no walkouts; rather, the president of Palestine received standing ovations before and after his address, which was sponsored by Churches for Middle East Peace.

Abbas recalled his prayer meeting last June with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres and Pope Francis in the Vatican. He prayed for a different worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one where â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israel, after a long wait, will live next to Palestine as a good neighbor,â&#x20AC;? and America will â&#x20AC;&#x153;be a real friend to Israel.â&#x20AC;? A real friend, he continued, would not allow a friend to bomb schools, kill women and children, build 15,000 housing units while engaging in peace talks, or abuse children and arrest them without reason. He asked the students of Cooper Union and the whole world, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Will you join this old man in his prayers to build a peaceful world?â&#x20AC;?

Abbas asserted that it is not acceptable that his people in Gaza live under siege and fear of random bombing; nor that Israel controls all aspects of their lives, even the population registration, including death certificates for those its army has killed. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, he said, with segregated highways, huge walls, checkpoints, and military courts, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palestinians have fewer rights than black Americans in the 1950s.â&#x20AC;?

This, Abbas insisted, is unacceptable.

Nor is it acceptable that â&#x20AC;&#x153;we Palestinians are the only people on earth still living under occupation.â&#x20AC;? Abbas appealed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to quit using talk about the resumption of talks as a smokescreen for more aggression and expansion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can Israel fail to understand that bombing Gaza sows more hatred, not security?â&#x20AC;? Abbas asked.

He maintained that the international community has an obligation to defend Palestinians from Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s army and settlers and to hold Israel accountable to international and human rights law.

The aim of peace talks should be to end the occupation, he continued, and should not be based on â&#x20AC;&#x153;whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mine is mine and whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yours is negotiable.â&#x20AC;? The Arab League peace plan of 2002, which still stands, calls for two states with the 1967 borders and an agreed-to resolution for refugees based on U.N. Resolution 194. Abbas supports this, he explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so that our Nakbaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which they denyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; can come to an end.â&#x20AC;?

Gilad Atzmon Performance and Lecture Jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, author of The Wandering Who? (available from NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

STAFF PHOTOS J. ADAS

adas_40-41_New York City and Tri-State News 10/23/14 9:28 PM Page 41

TOP: President Mahmoud Abbas. ABOVE: Jazz musician and author Gilad Atzmon.

Middle East Books and More), gave a small concert and a large lecture on â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Cognitive Elite Meritocracy within the Jewish Ghetto, Gaza, and American Societyâ&#x20AC;? in New York on Sept. 29. He used the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;cognitive eliteâ&#x20AC;? as a tool to understand the environment.

For centuries in European Jewish ghettos, Atzmon explained, it was usual for the daughter of the richest merchant to have an arranged marriage with the cleverest Torah student. This created a unique elite, talented in money and scholarship. Moreover, there was a clear geographic divide: the best yeshivas were in Western Europe, while Eastern European Jews were considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;hewers of wood and drawers of water.â&#x20AC;? Zionism THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

came about when emancipated Western European Jews like Theodor Herzl and Max Nordau, both Austrian, decided to redeem Orthodox Eastern European Jews.

Palestine experienced more than 70 different conquerors over more than 2,000 years. The role of elites in conquered areas is to acquiesce, Atzmon pointed out, to keep their own people in line, to be a servant aristocracy. He explained that Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s method of control has been to assassinate those elites who resist, which explains why nothing happens in Palestine. However, Israel has turned Gaza into a prison, and the law of the prison has led to the development of a new elite. This is why, according to Atzmon, homemade rockets and tunnel systems were able to defeat the superior Israeli military this past summer.

A century ago America had a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) elite and a large, diverse working class with which the Left allied. The U.S. gave up on production and became a service and consumer economy, leaving the working class workless. Then, according to Atzmon, the New Left, which disdains the working class, developed identity politics, creating divisive identitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;gays, blacks, women, Jewsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;each with their own oppressors. The New Left, he explained, forgot the most important issuesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;jobs, health and educationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and focused on marginal issues like gay marriage and anti-Semitism. He added that Orthodox Jews center their identity in the Torah, but secular Jews need antiSemites for their self-identity. Identity politics led to political correctness, which is politics that does not allow political criticism. This is also the definition of dictatorship, Atzmon noted, but is worse because it is self-suppression, leaving a bunch of intellectual impotents. â?&#x2018; (Advertisement)

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twair_42-43_Southern California Chronicle 10/23/14 3:00 PM Page 42

UCLA Panel Explores Parallels Between Gaza, Ferguson

Southern California Chronicle

(L-r) Moderator Asli Bali with UCLA panelists Cheryl Harris, Hedy Epstein, Donna Murch and Sherene Seikaly. rom Gaza to Ferguson” was the title of a timely and insightful Sept. 18 panel discussion at UCLA’s School of Law that examined race, the rise in militarized U.S. policing and its response to dissent, and their global implications. Law school Prof. Asli Bali was the moderator for participants Hedy Epstein and Profs. Cheryl Harris, Donna Murch, Sherene Seikaly and Robin D.G. Kelley.

Moderator Bali prefaced the discussion by explaining that the similarities between Gazans protesting Israel’s brutal reaction to resistance and American law enforcement tactics following the Aug. 9 fatal police shooting in a St. Louis suburb of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, were too blatant to ignore. These included the use of heavy weaponry and tear gas to disperse crowds and the ubiquitous shout of the targeted civilians: “Hands up, don’t shoot.”

Ninety-year-old Epstein was invited by UCLA from her home in St. Louis after she was arrested Aug. 18 for attempting to appeal to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon to halt the severe police crackdown on the public’s right to demand justice. A Holocaust survivor, Epstein is a vociferous activist against the mistreatment of Palestinians by the self-proclaimed Jewish state.

“F

Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.

42

Epstein reiterated her objections to Missouri law enforcement—whose leadership has been trained in Israel—for using combat equipment and behavior to control civil dissent. Despite her advanced age, she sailed on one of the Freedom Flotillas to symbolically break the Israeli siege of Gaza. African Americans are treated in the U.S. like Palestinians are by the Israelis, she averred.

Harris, a UCLA civil rights and civil liberties professor, observed that an African American is shot by the police every 28 hours in the U.S. and that there is an urgent need for law enforcement to be trained in race relations.

Murch, a visiting Rutgers University professor of modern African-American history, said that since August, St. Louis has become ground zero in black mobilization. She recalled that she had considered using St. Louis’ black community as the focus of her doctoral dissertation, but opted instead for Oakland, CA. “Mike [Brown] had to give up his life,” she commented, for Ferguson to become the heart of a war zone (and for the murdered Brown to gain personhood).

Ferguson police intentionally left Brown’s body lying on the street where he died for four or five hours to intimidate the black community, she continued. In the aftermath, she added, the predominantly white police force harasses and fines black motorists for minor traffic infringements.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Seikaly, a UC Santa Barbara professor of modern Middle East history, gave a spirited talk on Gaza, which, she claimed, refuses to submit to Israel’s punishment. She described the two-and-a-half tons of rubble left from Israel’s latest 51-day bombardment of the besieged enclave (see story p. 19).

“Gaza’s condition,” she concluded, “is a perpetual hunt for refuge.”

Kelley, who teaches history at UCLA, observed that the Israeli military is shielded from its abuse of the Palestinians because whenever there is an international controversy, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) investigates itself. Just as the IDF is a law unto itself, the Ferguson police force metes out unwarranted traffic tickets to tax-paying black motorists.

Ruebner Discusses Israel

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

By Pat and Samir Twair

Author/activist Josh Ruebner.

Washington’s kneejerk support of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people was put under a magnifying glass Sept. 22 at the Levantine Cultural Center by Josh Ruebner, advocacy director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. The author of Shattered Hopes (available from Middle East Books and More) also signed the 2014 edition of his book, which has a new chapter on the 2012 U.S. elections, President Barack Obama’s second term and Chuck Hagel’s appointment as secretary of defense.

Turning to Israel’s latest assault on defenseless Gaza that left more than 2,100 dead NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

twair_42-43_Southern California Chronicle 10/23/14 3:00 PM Page 43

Another $60,000 was used to prepare 4,000 hygiene kits for displaced Gazans.

The kits contained soap, shampoo, towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste, wipes and sanitary napkins. In conjunction with ANERA, KinderUSA spent $50,000 on antibiotics for al-Shifa hospital and for clean water bottles and medicines needed by vulnerable displaced families. Assistance also went to the Public Aid Hospital, which admitted 1,080 emergency patients for surgeries and childbirths.

Shoes and socks and school uniforms were provided for 2,000 children from the most marginalized families. Hot meal programs have been started in kindergartens of the hardest hit areas. This year-round project utilizes women’s cooperatives to provide food for children who don’t eat more than once a day.

The conflict also came home to KinderUSA personally in August, when chairperson Dr. Laila alMarayati received word that nine members of her extended El-Farah family had been killed in one day by an Israeli strike in Gaza.

and 11,000 Gazans injured, Ruebner stated that more children were killed in the 51-day attack than the total number of Israelis killed

by Palestinian violence in the past decade.

“Israel destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure, its last electric plant, left 6 percent of the population homeless and at no time did President Obama tell Israel to stop,” he continued. “In fact, the U.S. said Israel was acting in self-defense.”

Israel’s description of itself as a Jewish state automatically precludes its claim to be a democracy, he went on to say. The so-called peace process is dead, he averred, because there’s nothing left to negotiate: “The Palestinians are cut off from the outside world.”

Ruebner foresees two scenarios. The first is for Israel to finish off the 1948 “solution” by removing all the Palestinians, as some right-wingers have called for. The second is to continue isolating Palestinians. A glimmer of hope comes from the prospect that countries will no longer buy Israel’s exports or will cut it off from cultural and academic exchanges.

During the question-and-answer period, Ruebner disclosed that he is Jewish and hopes to undo the terrible injustice the state of Israel has done to the Palestinians.

Syrian Stories Exhibit

STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR

It looked more like a reunion of former students of Damascus University’s School of Fine Arts than an Oct. 5 opening reception for a Israeli Zim Cargo Ship Foiled two-woman exhibition in the elegant New Sahara Gallery in NorthIt was a costly 58 hours for Zim, ridge. “Stories from Syria” was the Israel’s largest cargo ship comtitle of the display of mixed media pany, when longshoremen at the Port of Long Beach observed the TOP: KinderUSA board chair Dr. Laila al-Marayati. ABOVE: works by Fadia Afashe (see picket line of more than 150 Stop Syrian artists Fadia Afashe (l) and Etab Hreib stand in front of Jan./Feb. 2013 Washington Report, the Boat protesters who assem- some of Hreib’s cityscape paintings at the opening of their exhi- p. 40) and Etab Hreib.

Both artists are in the U.S. after bled before 6 a.m. Oct. 18 and bition at the New Sahara Gallery. being granted political asylum, prevented the unloading of the Zim Savannah’s cargo. While the ship was rupted these much-anticipated traditions. and used memories from their war-torn delayed offshore for 24 hours and sent con- Ultimately, 1,500 families in Gaza and 500 homeland as the theme of their exhibition. flicting messages at its departure, activists families on the West Bank were served suf- While Afashe came here in 2011 and has had remained steadfast and refused to leave. ficient fresh food during the holy month of exhibitions and lectured frequently, Hreib arrived in the U.S. only last year. This is her The following day the Savannah again daytime fasting. was unable to unload, costing Zim thouBecause fishermen and their families first American show; she lives in Chicago sands of dollars for each 12-hour shift long- were the hardest hit before and during the and is a guest of Afashe in Los Angeles.

A touching moment came when the shoremen remained idle. The same thing Israeli military strikes, KinderUSA allocated occurred Oct. 20, when the early morning $85,000 for distribution of food parcels and crowd parted and Hreib was amazed to see shift started. By 5 p.m. that day, police had medical supplies to 1,382 of these families. her art school colleague, Abed Sharaf of escorted workers through the picket lines As soon as Israeli bombs began dropping Dana Point, for the first time in 40 years. and unloading was to begin, but activists onto defenseless citizens of Gaza, Hreib, a 1978 graduate of Damascus Unipromised to remain with their signs.

KinderUSA went into emergency mode and versity’s Fine Arts School, is heartsick over invested $200,000 in food from farmers and news that her son was kidnapped by ISIS in KinderUSA Responds to Gaza Crisis vendors, who ordinarily would have sold her hometown of Mayadin/Deir Ezzor.

Many paintings were bought by Syrian A major focus of KinderUSA is to provide their goods to Ramadan shoppers, to disbaskets of nutritious food for needy families tribute to 2,800 families in makeshift shel- admirers who enjoyed seeing one another for in the West Bank, Gaza and refugee camps ters or doubled up with relatives. Food that the first time in years. The exhibition continin Lebanon during Ramadan, but Israel’s would have spoiled or gone unsold was in- ues until late November and can be viewed by appointment, by calling (818) 772-5700. ❑ 51-day bombardment of Gaza violently dis- cluded in parcels with dried edibles.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

43

pasquini_44-45_Northern California Chronicle 10/23/14 3:05 PM Page 44

Muslims Should “Stand Up for Justice,” Ambassador Rasool Tells CAIR Audience

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

By Elaine Pasquini

South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool. he Council on American-Islamic RelaSacramento Valley chapter (CAIR-SV), drew a crowd of some 1,000 to its 12th annual fund-raising banquet held Sept. 6 at the Sacramento State University campus.

The Honorable Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, delivered a passionate keynote address stressing the oneness of humanity and lessons learned from the anti-apartheid struggle in his native homeland.

Initially becoming involved in antiapartheid activities during his high school years, Rasool eventually became leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the African National Congress (ANC).

Ttions,

to find ways to close every loophole of injustice, discrimination, oppression, profiling, stereotyping and every other way in which hate crimes are allowed to happen.

A bypass of human rights, democracy and freedom is what allows extremists to flourish in the Middle East and other parts of the world. The discontent of the people in the Middle East will become the jungles for extremists in which to hide. It is only when we love for the Middle East what we love for ourselves that we will be able to convey the basis for a world without extremism.”

Other speakers included Linda Sarsour, executive director of the National Network for Arab American Communities; playwright and performance artist Rohina Malik; and CAIR-SV officials, including executive director Basim Elkarra and president Sami Siddiqui.

Altaf Husain, assistant professor at the Howard University School of Social Work in Washington, DC, led a successful fundraising session which raised more than $200,000 for CAIR.

Shifa Clinic Receives Distinguished Service Award Shifa Clinic, a non-profit, student-run medical facility dedicated to serving the diverse population of the Greater Sacramento area, received the Distinguished Service Award from CAIR-SV. Every Sunday the clinic provides basic, as well as specialized, medical services free

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The ambassador spoke fervently on the need to “put the lens of our values on first so we view our interests through our values and not the other way around,” he said. “Too often today many of us, and especially governments, think about our interests and not our values.”

Rasool went on to discuss race relations, as well as discrimination based on religion and sexual orientation, in South Africa.

“Whenever you open the door of discrimination in any particular way, you open it to yourself,” he explained. “And that is the simplicity of Nelson Mandela’s belief that you must view each other through a human lens before you view something through an ideological lens. You must have your belief, but you must believe that someone else might also be right. When you walk without doubt and you walk with too much certainty, it is that which creates the ideologies that are so destructive and that destruction is done in our name,” the ambassador told his audience.

“This world we live in is a wonderful place of difference. And yet at the core of it all is something so similar.”

Rasool, a Muslim, noted the similarities in scriptures found in the Old Testament, New Testament and Qur’an. “And if all of our faiths believe that we are all invested with the spirit of God, then why do we not see the Divine in each other before we see the heretic, the skin color, or the rituals of prayer?” he pondered. “We must never give away the right to say the right thing.

“The Qur’an tells us to stand up for justice which is part of our declaration of faith,” he reminded his listeners. “We need

Northern California Chronicle

(L-r) CAIR-SV officials Basim Elkarra, Najme Minhaj and Sami Siddiqui with the staff of Shifa Clinic, recipient of CAIR-SV’s Distinguished Service Award.

44

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

STAFF PHOTOS PHIL PASQUINI

pasquini_44-45_Northern California Chronicle 10/23/14 3:05 PM Page 45

LEFT: A young boy prepares to fly his kite on Ocean Beach amid small Palestinian flags in the sand. RIGHT: Activists demonstrate outside Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s San Francisco office against U.S. aid to Israel. of charge to medically uninsured patients of many ethnicities and backgrounds. In addition, the clinic is a teaching center for medical students and undergraduate volunteers. It is a collaborative effort among undergraduates performing administrative duties, medical students interviewing patients and performing physical exams, and volunteer physicians providing appropriate treatment and training students in basic clinical skills.

The concept of a volunteer-based free clinic for the uninsured originated in 1994, when two dedicated physicians organized a small clinic in an apartment building donated by Sacramento’s Muslim Mosque Association. In 2000, as demand for services increased, the current medical director, Shagufta Yasmeen, M.D.; two University of California at Davis medical students, Nasser Abdo and Mamoud Traina; and community members Bashir Choudary and Dr. Najme Minhaj launched major changes in order to provide regular health services.

The clinic was officially affiliated with UC Davis School of Medicine on June 15, 2005.

In addition to those killed, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than 3,000 children have been injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since July 7, and some 370,000 Palestinian kids require immediate psychosocial treatment.

On tables set up in the sand, children wrote messages to their counterparts in Gaza and made handprints on cloth to be made into quilts. Young athletes engaged in a rousing game of soccer in memory of Mohammed, 11, Ahed, 10, Zakaria, 10 and Ismail, 9 the four young Bakr cousins killed by the Israeli air force July 16 while playing soccer on a Gaza beach.

Toward the end of the afternoon, beneath kites in the colors of the Palestinian flag flying in the ocean breeze, everyone pitched in and placed red carnations in the sand to spell out the word “Gaza.”

Activists Protest Financial Aid to Israel Standing in front of a large PEACE banner at the corner of Montgomery and Market Streets in San Francisco’s financial district on Aug. 27, members of CODEPINK and Women in Black held signs reading “Stop Aid to Israel” and “Boycott Israel.” For many years, the two groups have held a peace vigil every Wednesday on the steps outside Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office to call for the end of aid to Israel, the end of drone strikes and of the war in Afghanistan. The activists deplore the annual $3 billion in military aid the United States provides to Israel every year and the additional emergency funding of $225 million for the country’s Iron Dome system which Congress approved in August, and which Feinstein, the senior Democratic senator from California, supported. ❑

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Kids + Kites for Palestine San Francisco’s Ocean Beach was the spectacular setting of an Aug. 31 show of support for Palestinians suffering under Israel’s latest assault and remembrance of the more than 2,000 killed in the besieged enclave, including 500 innocent young children.

“We’re here to show support for the children of Gaza and tell the world we will not forget,” Maha Boulos, one of eight Bay Area mothers who organized the event, told the crowd gathered on the beach.

“The people of Palestine will continue to live, learn, play and resist.” Other organizers included Salam Hasan, Paula Rafeedie Kassouf, Cindy Hasan, Renda Dabit, Jinnan Mansour, Emily Katz Kishawi and Manal Elkarra.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

A PProject roject of Middle East Children’s Children’s Alliance

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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sprusansky_46_Special Report 10/23/14 8:34 PM Page 46

As America Battles ISIS, Lawyers Debate Presidential War Powers SpecialReport

STAFF PHOTOS D. SPRUSANSKY

By Dale Sprusansky

Bruce Fein (l) and John Yoo disagree on presidential war powers. he Committee for the Republic spon-

Tsored a Sept. 16 debate at the National

Press Club in Washington, DC between two lawyers with vastly different interpretations of constitutional articles pertaining to the power to declare war. The debate pitted prominent libertarian attorney Bruce Fein against former George W. Bush administration lawyer John Yoo. Fein, who has advised Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and worked at several conservative think tanks, used his opening remarks to argue that the executive office has abused the Constitution to gain unilateral power over matters of national security. Under the Obama administration alone, he noted, four American citizens have been extrajudicially assassinated by drones, the surveillance state has grown, and prisoners continue to be held indefinitely without trial at Guantanamo Bay. These constitutional violations, Fein argued, show that just as President James Madison, the “father of the Constitution,” warned, the executive is reluctant to relinquish “special powers” it gains during times of war. Because the government adDale Sprusansky is assistant editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

46

vances the notion that “safety is always viewed as supreme,” American citizens are losing their rights to privacy and due process, he lamented. The American way is to value liberty over security, he insisted, explaining, “The Fourth Amendment was based upon the idea that we take risks that other people don’t take.”

Yoo, known for his controversial legal opinions legitimizing the War on Terror and the use of torture, countered by arguing that Fein has a “mistaken view of presidential power.” According to Yoo, the Constitution “gives the president the power to respond quickly and energetically in the face of crisis, in the face of war.”

Legendary presidents such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, Yoo argued, understood that the nation’s founders considered the executive responsible for making urgent decisions of war and peace in times of crisis. The legislature simply does not have the means to react swiftly to events that jeopardize national security, Yoo said. Congress does have the ability to hold the president accountable by refusing to fund any wars he or she initiates, he noted.

Describing Yoo’s argument as flawed, Fein pointed out that it is difficult—both THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

politically and strategically—to defund a war and remove troops once hostilities have been initiated. It is for this reason, he argued, that the country’s founders gave Congress the important power to declare war. The only exception is when the country is facing a sudden invasion, he said.

Yoo rebutted by questioning Fein’s belief that Congress is less inclined toward war than the executive. Congress has declared five wars, Yoo noted, and was more hawkish than the president in the cases of the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War. Turning to the current war effort against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Fein argued that the president is carrying out an unconstitutional war. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed following the Sept. 11 attacks, is “not an authorization to go after every terrorist in the world,” he said, “it’s an authorization to target those who are complicit in the 9/11 abominations.” ISIS, which did not even exist in 2001 and is a rival to al-Qaeda, the group that coordinated the attacks, could not possibly be a legal target under this law, he stressed.

Yoo agreed that the 2001 AUMF likely does not legitimize a war effort against ISIS. However, he said, the ongoing bombings in Iraq may be legal under the 2002 AUMF against that country. “If you look carefully at how that law’s written,” he said, “it doesn’t talk about using force against Saddam Hussain, it doesn’t talk about the regime, it talks about threats to U.S. national security from Iraq.” If ISIS does indeed pose a threat to the U.S., this AUMF likely suffices, he argued. Nonetheless, added Yoo, it’s incumbent upon President Barack Obama to explain how and if the 2002 law applies to ISIS. Returning to a focal point of his argument, Fein accused the government of inflating the threat posed by ISIS. He views such exaggeration as a product of the military-industrial complex. “We now have an institutionalized bias to find, to multiply, the actual danger of any foreign force,” he said, noting that many former government officials go on to work for private defense contractors. While not a direct quid Continued on page 49 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

brownfeld_47-49_Israel and Judaism 10/23/14 8:50 PM Page 47

Is There a Growing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israel Exceptionâ&#x20AC;? to Free Speech and Academic Freedom?

Israel andJudaism

By Allan C. Brownfeld reedom of speech and academic free-

Fdom are long established and respected

pillars of our free society. However, we seem to be in the process of creating an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Israel exceptionâ&#x20AC;? to these principles. If one criticizes the Israeli government and its policies, or is sympathetic to Palestinians and their efforts to achieve a state of their own, oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s views seem to fall outside the zone of protected free speech. Such views, it seems, are not wanted at our universities, and are certainly unwelcome within the Jewish community, where dissenting voices have been banned from Hillel Foundation chapters and other Jewish venues.

Consider some recent examples of the assault upon free speech and academic freedom when it comes to the question of Israel and the Palestinians.

In response to an op-ed about anti-Semitism in Europe, The Rev. Bruce M. Shipman, Episcopal chaplain at Yale University, wrote a letter to The New York Times. The letter, as published on Aug. 26, states: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deborah E. Lipstadt makes far too little of the relationship between Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies in the West Bank and Gaza and growing antiSemitism in Europe and beyond. The trend to which she alludes parallels the carnage in Gaza over the last five years, not to mention the perpetually stalled peace talks and the continuing occupation of the West Bank.â&#x20AC;?

The concluding paragraph declares: â&#x20AC;&#x153;As hope for a two-state solution fades and Palestinian casualties continue to mount, the best antidote to anti-Semitism would be for Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patrons abroad to press the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for final-status resolution to the Palestinian question.â&#x20AC;?

For this three-paragraph letter saying that Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;carnageâ&#x20AC;? in Gaza is a factor in growing anti-Semitism in Europe, Rev. Shipman lost his job. He says he experienced â&#x20AC;&#x153;an avalancheâ&#x20AC;? of criticism and hate mail almost instantaneously, and that calls for his termination went to the Yale presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office from angry alumniâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;calls that were promptly conveyed to him by the university, although Shipman was emAllan 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.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

ployed by the Episcopal Church, not Yale.

Elizabeth Dias of Time magazine spoke to Shipman, and wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;For Shipman, the controversy raises a number of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;troubling questionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; about free speech on campus. In addition to the hate mail, Shipman says he has also received letters of support from people thanking him for taking a courageous stand for Palestinian rights. University chaplains, he adds, have a long history of advocating unpopular cultural positions. William Sloane Coffin, Jr., a chaplain at Yale during the 1960s, gained fame for practicing civil disobedience in protest of the U.S. war in Vietnam. Clergy today, he continues, need to know what protections they do and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have when it comes to taking unpopular positions.â&#x20AC;?

issenting voices have D been banned from Hillel Foundations and other Jewish venues.

He says that, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think of abolitionism and the role the church played in that. I think of the civil rights movement. I think of the anti-war movement and the role the chaplains played in that, often incurring the wrath of big givers and donors to the university, but they were protected and they were respected. That seems not to be the case now. I think the truth must be brought out and it must be discussed on campus by

people of good will without labeling antiSemitic anyone who raises these questions.

Surely this debate should take place on the campus of the leading universities across the country. If not there, where?â&#x20AC;?

According to Shipman, the executive committee of the Board of Governors of the Episcopal Church of Yale called a special meeting on Sept. 2 to discuss his letter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The executive committee made it clear that I should resign or be fired,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Members said his actions damaged the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relations with the university and generated bad publicity, he added.

In another widely publicized case, Prof.

Steven Salaita, a Palestinian American, was offered an appointment as associate professor at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign (UIUC). He left his tenured position at Virginia Tech to assume his new job, which would have given him lifetime tenure. Instead, during the summer he tweeted his strong feelings about Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assault on Gaza and, as a result, the job offer was rescinded by UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise. Now, Professor Salaita has no job, no health insurance and no home.

As it turns out, a number of wealthy donors pressured the UIUC board of trustees and chancellor to rescind Salaitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offer of employment, citing his tweets about Gaza. In early August, two weeks before Salaita was scheduled to start teaching classes, Chancellor Wise sent Salaita a letter informing him that his offer of employment had been terminated. More than

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5,000 scholars announced a boycott of UIUC until he is reinstated.

Salaita says he was simply speaking his mind about events in Gaza. At a press conference, he said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The way that I have always tweeted sort of has to do with the way things are happening in the moment, politically and discursively. The university administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions threaten the principles of free speech, academic freedom and critical thought that should be the foundation of any university.â&#x20AC;?

Among his tweets: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Only #Israel can murder around 300 children in the span of a few weeks and insist that it is the victim,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simple, either condemn #Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions or remember your identity as someone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay with the wholesale slaughter of children.â&#x20AC;? On the same day, he wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quite simple: donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support any ideology whose practice results in dead children.â&#x20AC;?

In a Sept. 13 Los Angeles Times article, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Salaita Case and the Big Money Takeover of State Universities,â&#x20AC;? Michael Hiltzik wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted 8-1 to uphold the firing of Steven Salaita.â&#x20AC;ŚEven before the (Advertisement)

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trusteesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vote...e-mails became public showing that UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise and her fellow administrators were immediately responsive to donors unhappy with what they saw as Salaitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-Israel tweets. One donor told Wise that two fellow donors â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;both have less loyalty for Illinois because of their perception of anti-Semitismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and pushed against Salaita himself: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;He gave me a two-pager filled with information on Steven Salaita and said how we handle this situation will be very telling,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; she told members of her staff....For any university, but especially a public institution such as Illinois, the encroachment of donor pressure on the administration is a harbinger of the destruction of academic freedom.â&#x20AC;?

Maria LaHood, senior attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The university has violated the Constitution by terminating Professor Steven Salaitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment based on the content of his speech. It has also sent a chilling message to faculty and students everywhere that the First Amendment and basic principles of academic freedom will be ignored when it comes to speech that is controversial or critical of the Israeli government.â&#x20AC;?

In another much-discussed case, the student body president of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, Megan Marzec, was challenged by the university president to take â&#x20AC;&#x153;the ice bucket challengeâ&#x20AC;? to raise awareness of ALS. What Marzec did was make a video in which she pours a bucket of fake blood over her head to protest Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abuse of Palestinians. In the 50-second video that she posted on Facebook, she says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m urging you and Ohio University to divest and cut all ties with academic and other Israeli institutions and businesses.

This bucket of blood symbolizes the thousands of displaced and murdered Palestinians, atrocities that Ohio University is directly complicit in through cultural and economic support of the Israeli state.â&#x20AC;?

Marzec was swiftly denounced. The campus group Bobcats for Israel and Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity, called for her immediate resignation. One student critic told the Cleveland Jewish News, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In part of the video, she promotes the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, which is anti-Semitic.â&#x20AC;?

Rabbi Danielle Leshaw. head of Hillel at Ohio University, called for Marzecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resignation, and, in effect, threatened economic harm to the university if Marzec continued in her elected position. In an open letter Leshaw wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dear Megan, How could you possibly do such a thing if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got university partners that care about you? It makes alumni want to pull their funding.â&#x20AC;?

Bobcats for Israel staged a protest at a Sept. 10 meeting of the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s StuTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

dent Senate. They were shouted down by the majority of students present, with chants of â&#x20AC;&#x153;we will not be bulliedâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;free exchange of ideas.â&#x20AC;? Ultimately, the police were called in and the protesters arrested, as the onlookers called them â&#x20AC;&#x153;fascists.â&#x20AC;? They were charged with disruption of a lawful meeting.

Marzec said she has received death threats and other forms of abuse. More than 600 people signed an online petition in â&#x20AC;&#x153;solidarity with Megan Marzecâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right of free speech to publicly state her political opinions on the liberation of Palestine.â&#x20AC;?

It condemns â&#x20AC;&#x153;any attempt to employ threats and/or acts of interpersonal violence to intimidate Ohio University students into silence.â&#x20AC;?

Within the organized American Jewish community, free speech and open debate have virtually come to a halt. Voices critical of Israel in any way are unwelcome at college Hillel Foundation events. Hillel CEO Eric Fingerhut, apparently unaware of the long history of Jewish opposition to Zionism, declared that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anti-Zionists will not be permitted to speak using the Hillel name or under the Hillel roof, under any circumstances.â&#x20AC;?

Even Israeli speakers who are critical of their governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies have been barred from Hillel. At Harvard last November, (Advertisement)

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Avraham Burg, former speaker of Israel’s Knesset and now a sharp critic of its occupation policies, spoke in an undergraduate dormitory after being barred from speaking at Harvard’s Hillel. “It’s such a shame that Harvard Hillel would not allow an open discussion about Israel to take place within its walls,” said Sandra Korn, who helped organize the talk. “Hillel should be a space for students to engage with Jewish issues regardless of religious or political beliefs.”

Open Hillel Across the country an Open Hillel movement has emerged. Jewish students at Wesleyan University, for example, declared that, “At Wesleyan, values of inclusion are central to our identity both as Jews and as participants in the larger Wesleyan community. In Hillel’s guidelines, Jewish plurality gives way to Zionist unanimity, and we are acutely aware that many individuals have formed robust, meaningful Jewish identities that do not comport with traditional Zionist ideas.”

Rabbis, too, have effectively been silenced if their support for Israel and its policies is not total. A 2013 Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) study found that about one-third of rabbis said they repressed their true views about Israel for fear of clashing with leaders in their congregations. In his article “Muzzled by the Minority,” published in the Fall 2014 issue of Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former president of the Union for Reform Judaism, writes: “In 2012, I met with a dozen Reform and Conservative rabbis. Two of the rabbis, who served different synagogues, mentioned having each recently made the mistake of giving sermons that were somewhat critical of Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians. Congregants with hawkish views responded with such outrage, contempt and ferocity that the rabbis vowed that, going forward, they would simply remain silent on the subject in public, rather than subject themselves to arbitrary litmus tests of loyalty to Israel. The fact that not a single rabbi in the room suggested the two rabbis reconsider their decision didn’t strike me as strange. Truth is...American Jews no longer know how to have a civil conversation about Israel.”

In September, Rabbi Brant Rosen announced that he would step down from leadership at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Illinois after 17 years because his role in Jewish Voice for Peace and his advocacy of Palestinian rights “has become a lightning rod and divisive.” As he explained in The New York Times on Sept. 23: “For many Jews, Israel is their Judaism, or at least a big part of it.

So when someone challenges the centrality NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

of Israel in a public way, it’s very painful and very difficult, especially when that person is their rabbi.”

The organized American Jewish community used to be in the forefront of challenging every obstacle to free and open debate and discussion. Now, sadly, it is attempting to establish an “Israel exception” to free speech, both within the Jewish community, at our colleges and universities, and in every other public sphere. This is clearly a sign of desperation, as it becomes evident that American Jewish opinion is hardly “united” behind Israel’s policies, and that in the larger American society there is growing dismay with Israeli policies and American financial support for them.

In the end, however, free speech will survive the current assaults upon it—to the benefit of us all. ❑

Lawyers Debate…

Continued from page 46

pro quo, he said, military officials are well aware of the lucrative jobs that await them once they leave government.

Yoo balked at Fein’s portrayal of a corrupt government. The vast majority of people in government are dedicated public servants, he said, and would never initiate war to improve their future employment prospects.

It is cuts to the defense budget, not the military-industrial complex, that is threatening American security, he maintained.

At this point, debate moderator Harvey Rishikof, who recently served as a senior policy adviser to the Director of National Counterintelligence, provided an interesting historical footnote. In the initial draft his farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned the American people to keep a close eye on the “congressionalmilitary-industrial complex,” Rishikof noted. Eisenhower removed the word “congressional” only because he feared it would offend Sens. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who were poised to move into the Oval Office.

During the question-and-answer period, an audience member challenged Yoo on the potentially destructive role of lawyers in the executive office. He responded by arguing that the legislature is free to deploy its own lawyers to challenge the president’s legal staff. But this simply did not happen in the aftermath of 9/11, he said. “This was not a case where the president was saying, I’m going to war, damn the Congress,” Yoo pointed out. Fein countered by saying that the existence of a dysfunctional or negligent Congress nevertheless does not permit the president to abuse his powers.

In his closing remarks, Fein called on the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

American people to hold their leaders accountable for constitutional violations. “If the spirit of liberty doesn’t beat in our hearts and our minds everyday, it will die,” he warned, “and no court, no Congress, no president can save it.”

Yoo concluded by charging that Fein’s beliefs make the U.S. more susceptible to a foreign attack. The Obama administration has largely followed Fein’s advice, Yoo said, and as a result allowed ISIS to emerge as a threat. (Fein had earlier dismissed Yoo’s attempt to tie him to Obama’s foreign policy, arguing that Obama’s policies line up closer to those of President Bush than those advanced by libertarians such as himself.) ❑ United States Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (required by 39 USC 6985 (1) Publication Title: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; (2) Publication No: 015505; (3) Filing Date: 10/24/14; (4) Issue Frequency: Every six weeks in Jan/Feb, Jun/July, Aug., Oct, .Nov/Dec; seven weeks March/April; May, Sept. 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No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date,785; (4) Other classes mailed through the USPS: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 210 No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 185; (c) Total paid and/or requested circulation [sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)]: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 6,694, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 6,362; (d) Free distribution by mail (samples, complimentary and other free): (1) Outside-County as stated on Form 3541: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 2,100, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 1,800; (2) In-County as stated on Form 3541, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 12 No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 15; (3) Other classes mailed through the USPS, Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 200, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 185; (e) Free distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 300, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 250 (f) Total free distribution (sum of 15d and e): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 2,612 No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date 2,250 (g) Total distribution (sum of 15c and f): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 9,306, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 8,612; (h) Copies not distributed: Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 569; No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 888; (i) Total (sum of 15g and h): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 9,875 No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 19,500; (j) percent paid and/or requested circulation (15c/15gX100): Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 71%, No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 73%; (16) This statement of ownership will be printed in the Nov./Dec. 2014 issue of this publication; (17) Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: Delinda Hanley, Executive Director, 10/1/12, I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). Failure to file or publish a statement of ownership may lead to suspension of secondclass authorization. PS Form 3526 August 2012 (Facsimile).

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New PIVOT App Brings Palestinian History to Life

Asma Jaber explains the concept behind PIVOT, which will allow users to view pictures of specific locations in Palestine through time.

When Asma Jaber was a child in South Carolina, she would sit in the back of her father’s taxi and listen to him tell vivid stories about pre-1948 Palestine. She cherished his anecdotes, as they were her most intimate way of connecting with her Palestinian heritage.

When her father died two years ago, Jaber was devastated. Her link to the past was gone. The reality of his departure became particularly real while she was driving from Jerusalem to Nazareth and could not turn to him with questions about the depopulated Palestinian villages she was passing. Without her father, she no longer knew what was below her feet.

Jaber did not let this feeling of despair prevail. Rather, she transformed her longing for the old into an opportunity to create something new. Her father’s stories and other sources of Palestinian history had to be preserved in a way more accessible and timeless than the spoken word, she realized. The answer, she decided, was to turn to technology.

On Oct. 7, Jaber appeared at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC to discuss her new technological innovation: an app called PIVOT, which will allow Palestinians and others around the world to look at a specific place through a tunnel of time in order to explore its history.

For instance, a person traveling in Palestine with the app downloaded on a smartphone will be alerted when arriving at a “PIVOT” point, such as a destroyed village or an historical site. The user will then have access to the name of the site and be 50

Currently in the testing and developable to flip through images of that location ment stage, PIVOT is not yet available to over time.

Jaber views her app as a form of cultural the public. However, Jaber invited interresistance. “The old will die as my father ested individuals to visit <www.pivotthe did,” she acknowledged, but—despite Is- world.com> to help test the app and prorael’s wishes—“the young will not forget.” vide feedback.

Once the app launches, Jaber hopes to PIVOT will initially target the tourism industry, Jaber explained. In addition to expand it beyond Palestine to other counhelping independent travelers better un- tries where cultures and histories are —Dale Sprusansky derstand their surroundings, she hopes the threatened. app will help tour guides enhance the experience for their clients. For instance, A Night For Syria Jaber said, tour guides would be allowed More than 200 guests of the Syrian Amerito design specialized tours for different can Ladies Aiding Mothers (SALAM) gathgroups of travelers. ered Sept. 7 at Brookside Country Club in While some have raised concerns that Pasadena, CA for a fund-raising program for the app will hurt tour operators by mak- Syria. The co-sponsor was the Syrian Amering their expertise dispensable, Jaber ican Medical Society (SAMS). The keynote noted, she insisted that the app will allow speakers were Dr. Souheil Habbal of SAMS them to supplement their income. For ex- and Hussam Ayloush of the Syrian Ameriample, a West Bank tour guide could de- can Council (SAC). The audience was entersign and sell a tour experience in Israel tained by Syrian poet Rami Homsi and even if he or she is not permitted to enter singer Bassem Rashidi.

—Samir Twair Israel, she explained.

Jaber believes PIVOT will help expand Palestine’s small but economically important tourism industry. While only 3 percent of Israel/Palestine tourism revenue lands in Palestinian hands, the industry employs a significant number of Palestinians, she pointed out, and is particularly important to many living in Bethlehem.

The PIVOT team is working with institu- SALAM fund-raiser committee (l-r): Lina Alsabbagh, Raeda tions such as UNRWA, Alzaeim, Maha Albachir, Rim Bakdach, Samar Dalati, the Smithsonian Institu- Maysoon Halawani and Henda Kinat. tion, the Library of Congress and the Institute for Palestine Studies to obtain photos and data of imMuslim American Activism portant sites in Palestine. PIVOT will also eventually crowdsource photos from the public once it has a mechanism to deter- CAIR Holds Banquet Celebrating Its mine the authenticity of documents, Jaber 20th Anniversary said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Recalling the early days of her idea, (CAIR) held a banquet at the Crystal City Jaber said she had doubts whether Ameri- Marriott in Arlington, VA on Sept. 27 to can investors would support her pro-Pales- celebrate its 20th anniversary. Almost tine initiative. To her delight, however, she 1,000 individuals attended the celebratory misjudged. PIVOT won the 2014 Harvard occasion. innovation-Lab’s Dean’s Cultural EntrepreCAIR national board chair Roula Alneurship Challenge and was able to attract louch began by acknowledging members private investors. “Times are changing be- of the organization’s national board and cause we are now slowly entering an era thanking them for their service. She then when we can and should speak up about expressed her deepest thanks to two memhuman rights abuses,” she said. bers of the national office who have been STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

Arab American Activism

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Reps. Keith Ellison (l) and Jim Moran received awards at CAIR’s 20th anniversary banquet. and we would like to change that for our children.”

As attendees enjoyed their dinner, event emcee and New York Muslim activist Linda Sarsour presented a series of awards.

The Greater Los Angeles Area office (CAIR-LA) won 2014 Chapter of the Year.

Oussama Jammal, secretary-general of the newly formed U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), was presented with the Community Builder Award.

As he took the stage to accept the Courage Award, 15-year-old PalestinianAmerican Tariq Abu Khdeir received a standing ovation from the audience. In July, the Florida teenager was assaulted and beaten unconscious by Israeli police while visiting family in East Jerusalem (see October 2014 Washington Report, p. 55).

CODEPINK, the peace movement known for disrupting events held by think tanks, universities, neocons and other organizations, experienced a bit of a role reversal when it was welcomed on stage to receive the 2014 Community Organization of the Year Award.

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who will be retiring at the end of this term, accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award. The long-time friend of the AmericanMuslim community thanked CAIR for its important work and vowed to continue to fight for equalPalestinian-American Samira Hussein (standing with her ity in his post-congressional husband, Mohammad) receives the Maryland Governor’s life. The representative also Award for Lifetime Achievement for Community Service called on those in attenon Oct. 9, at the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapodance to never relent in lis. She has delivered more than 150 presentations about their fight for justice. “We bullying to at least 5,000 people, expanded multiculturalhave to be agents of ism in Montgomery County’s school curriculum, and founded Arab American Heritage Month. change,” he said. Be it vio-

PHOTO COURTESY HUSSEIN FAMILY

with CAIR since its founding in 1994: national communications director Ibrahim Hooper and national executive director Nihad Awad.

“Twenty years ago when we decided to found this organization, American Muslims had no institution, no media presence, no political influence,” Awad recalled.

While CAIR has helped advance numerous Muslim-American causes, he cautioned there are many battles still to be fought.

“Islamophobia is getting out of hand, out of control,” he warned, stressing that more work needs to be done to research and combat this phenomenon.

Awad also said that more needs to be done to push back against discriminatory terrorist watch lists that target Muslims and to combat the bullying of Muslim students. Many young American Muslims, he noted, “suffer in silence, suffer in isolation,

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lent extremism in the Middle East or injustice at home, “we can’t sit and accept things the way they are.”

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was the recipient of the American Muslim of the Year Award. The congressman commended CAIR for never backing down from a fight, even in the face of intimidation. “We are very, very blessed to have an organization that never backed down, never gave up and always came back strong, even when they were spied upon,” he said.

CAIR’s courage was particularly evident this summer when it spoke out in defense of Khdeir and the people of Gaza, Ellison said. While it’s easy for an organization to react emotionally in such devastating times, he applauded CAIR for its consistently measured responses to crises. “CAIR speaks calmly through its tears, which is so vitally important when people are facing harsh circumstances,” he said.

Banquet remarks concluded with a brief video message from Rev. Al Sharpton, who was unable to deliver his keynote address due to a scheduling conflict. The singing group Native Deen concluded the evening with a musical performance.

—Dale Sprusansky

Diplomatic Doings Arab League Honors Ambassador Clovis Maksoud The League of Arab States held a Sept. 30 reception and dinner in honor of Ambassador Clovis Maksoud at the University Club in Washington, DC. During his distinguished diplomatic career, Maksoud served as the Arab League’s permanent observer to the U.N., its ambassador to India and Southeast Asia, and its chief representative in the U.S. Current Arab League Ambassador to the U.S. Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif opened the dinner by noting that he has followed Maksoud’s career with great admiration. “Ambassador Maksoud was an inspiration to me and I’m sure to many other diplomats,” he said. Alsharif also commended Maksoud for his service to the Arab people, saying that he “defends the Arab cause wherever he goes.”

Maksoud began his remarks by recognizing the current state of peril in the Arab world. Despite the constant stream of discouraging news, he said, it is important to remain upbeat. “I refuse to resign from hope. We will resume the path of Arab renaissance and Arab unity,” he said. “However,” he added, “we cannot overlook what 51

Ambassador Clovis Maksoud describes his vision for Arab nationalism. is happening today…[we] have to seek into the ocean of anarchy to try to bring out the reasons we have collapsed into such fragmentation.”

Though many view Arab nationalism as old-fashioned and outdated, Maksoud said he remains a fervent believer. In fact, he identified it as the solution to the current unrest. “Arab nationalism is the mother of Islamic enlightenment and one day we will recover our enlightened Islam,” he said.

“One day we will recover our Arab nationalist framework. This is our destiny. It has been our destiny for a long time.”

Turning to the Palestinian issue, Maksoud said what is happening to the country under Israeli control must not be sugarcoated. “It is wrong in semantics to claim that Israel occupies Palestine. It does not occupy it. Israel is not an occupier of Palestine, it is the conqueror of Palestine,” he said. Settlements have gotten so out of control, he added, that West Bank Palestinians, not Jewish settlers, are beginning to look like settlers.

“Palestine is a test for all of us,” Maksoud concluded. If and when Palestinian freedom is achieved, he believes it will open the door for broader Arab unity.

—Dale Sprusansky

U.N. Diplomat Discusses Mission to Remove Syria’s Chemical Weapons Last October, Dutch diplomat Sigrid Kaag was selected by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to chair the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)—the United Nations joint mission to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program. Kaag’s team was given a challenging mandate: enter war-torn Syria and work with President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to safely remove chemical weapons from the country by June 30, 2014.

Speaking at Georgetown University in 52

Washington, DC on Sept. 30, Kaag acknowledged that she initially had doubts about the feasibility of her mission. Many of her team members viewed June 30 as “a nearly impossible deadline,” she said. Ultimately, OPCW was able to meet its deadline, but Kaag described the final months of the mission as “a mad rush.”

OPCW began its work in Syria once the U.S. and Russia brokered an agreement in which Damascus acknowledged its chemical weapons program and acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Kaag said her team’s first task was to identify every chemical weapon site and “render inoperable all of the aspects of Syria’s chemical weapons program.”

What followed was the more challenging task of physically removing all chemical material from the country. This needed to be done urgently, Kaag explained, given the instability in Syria and the possibility that the weapons could land in the hands of extremist groups. The decision to destroy the chemical material at sea, Kaag noted, was the first time OPCW had engaged in a maritime mission.

Kaag expressed gratitude to the navies of the U.S., China, UK, Denmark, Norway, Syria and Russia for working collaboratively and efficiently to ship chemical material out of Syria. Indeed, Kaag credits the mission’s success in large part to global cooperation. “All countries really did their part and more,” she said.

While other global crises, such as the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine, could have derailed the Syrian operation, Kaag is thankful that members of the Security Council remained united on the chemical weapons issue. This unity, she said, “was something we had to nurture.”

Deft regional diplomacy was also a factor in OPCW’s success, Kaag said. The organization reached out to Turkey, Iran and

several Arab Gulf nations to smooth over doubts or concerns they had about the mission in Syria. OPCW also urged these countries to persuade their partners in Syria not to interfere with the operation to remove the chemical weapons, she noted.

Kaag also believes OPCW’s decision to keep a low media profile was wise. “We did not want to be part of a debate, we wanted the work to speak for itself,” she explained. Authorities in Damascus particularly appreciated this approach, she said, which helped ensure their collaboration.

While Kaag was constantly concerned about the safety of her staff, she said Syrian authorities always worked to ensure the crew was protected. Although there were some minor injuries, Kaag expressed relief that no OPCW staff were seriously harmed during the operation.

Aware that Syria remains a dangerous place despite her team’s efforts, Kaag nonetheless believes the OPCW mission “rendered Syria a little bit safer.”

In October, Kaag informed U.N. diplomats that Syria declared four chemical weapons facilitates it had not previously disclosed. The facilities reportedly are for research development and production and contain no new chemical agents. OPCW was scheduled to begin dismantling Syria’s 12 known chemical weapons facilities in October.

—Dale Sprusansky

Salam Fayyad: Palestinian Disunity, Israeli Impunity Must End

Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC on Sept. 15, former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad argued that two adjustments must be made before Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume.

First, Fayyad said, the Palestinian house must achieve some level of reconciliation.

The PA has been discredited by the failure of the peace process, he noted, while Palestinians have responded to Hamas’ more aggressive form of resistance with broad sympathy, if not approval.

While complete unity should be the ultimate goal, Fayyad said, more realistic steps toward reconciliation ought to be pursued in the near term. For instance, he elaborated, even though Hamas is unlikely to accept certain commitments the PLO Sigrid Kaag provides insight into the international mis- has made to Israel, such as resion to remove chemical weapons from Syria. nouncing violence, Fayyad beSTAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

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Challenges in the Maghreb and Sahel” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC on Sept. 19. Dr. Jon B. Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, cited Lamamra’s many diplomatic posts, including serving as Algeria’s ambassador to the U.S. from 1996 to 1999 and the African Union’s commissioner for peace and security from 2008 to 2013.

Lamamra began his remarks Salam Fayyad explains his proposal for peace to an auby pointing out that Algeria dience member. and the U.S. share a rich history. lieves the PLO should nonetheless provide In 1957 then-Sen. John F. Kennedy spoke Hamas a forum through which it can ex- out openly in support of Algerian independence, risking the ire of Washington’s ally, press its opinions.

Secondly, Fayyad stressed that Israel France. Algeria helped secure the freedom must set a firm date for the end of its occu- of 52 Americans during the Iran hostage cripation of Palestinian territories. The Oslo sis in 1979-81. Since 9/11, Algeria has accords, now decades old, have become— played a key role as a “security-providing” oxymoronically—“an open-ended interim country in the Maghreb, Lamamra added, arrangement,” he lamented. This status because his country has a “strategic interest quo allows Israel to continue its occupation in counter-terrorism operations.”

Lamamra described the geographic, hisand provides Palestinians with little levertoric and cultural factors that make his age, he noted.

Given the doubtable Israeli commitment country a useful friend. Arabs and Berbers to end the occupation, Fayyad questioned in Algeria have paid a “high ransom” for whether or not the PA should continue its their independence, he pointed out, and are security cooperation with Israel in the West not eager for more troubles. They practice Bank. This arrangement, he argued, “makes moderate Sunni Islam and have a “good sense only in the context of a process that neighbor” foreign policy, which includes promises the occupied freedom with dig- “non-interference with the internal affairs” nity and a country of their own.” Otherwise of their neighbors, according to Lamamra.

Palestinians are helping facilitate their own Algeria has tried to mediate highly sensitive issues, including Mali’s separatist rebellions oppression, he pointed out.

Responding to Fayyad’s remarks, Am- as well as the disputed Western Sahara. bassador Jeffrey Feltman, U.N. Under-Sec- “We’ve been supporting the right to self-deretary-General for Political Affairs, said the termination for people since Spanish rule [in U.N. “would like to see the government of the 1400s],” Lamamra emphasized. And Alnational consensus work….You cannot ad- geria consistently offers “brotherly solidardress effectively the challenges in the Gaza ity” to its neighbors in Tunisia, Libya and Strip…if you don’t have a legitimate and Mauritania, the ambassador said, as they’ve accountable Palestinian government in place.”

Feltman noted that the PLO has informed the U.N. it wants either the Security Council or the General Assembly to set an end date for the Israeli occupation.

Once this date is in place, he said, the Palestinians are willing to work out details with the Israelis. If a date cannot be agreed upon, Feltman believes the Palestinians will sign more international conventions.

—Dale Sprusansky

Algerian Foreign Minister on Regional Challenges Algeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Ramtane Lamamra, discussed “Algeria-U.S. Relations: NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Algeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Ramtane Lamamra.

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endured political turmoil.

Algeria has a vested interest in making sure that Libya takes part in a national dialogue and agrees to a national reconcilation, Lamamra continued. Libya cannot become a failed country, he warned, but emphasized that Algerians have voiced strong opposition to intervention there. Friends can suggest peacemaking initiatives, but Algerians understand that Libya’s problems are complicated by internal factors and rivalries, Lamamra said.

“There is no problem that can’t be solved provided there is a political will guided by international law,” he added. There may be tense borders, but trade is continuing, people in different countries are getting engaged and married. Life goes on.

When asked if Algerian fighters are engaged in battles in Syria and Iraq, Lamamra reminded his listeners that “all of us in the Maghreb are involved in the Middle East.

We share full solidarity with Palestinian brothers.” Deep frustration over the Palestinian issue feeds extremist groups, Lamamra explained, and a lasting peace would help end the allure of jihadi fighters.

Non-Arabs, Europeans and Americans also are attracted to the extremists’ fights in the region, Lamamra pointed out: “Terrorism is not inherent to any particular religion or country. Terrorism is the result of marginalization, the lack of education and opportunities.” To end these wars, Lamamra urged Americans to listen to minorities and encourage democratic pluralism. The fight against terrorism is one of our biggest priorities, he concluded. —Delinda C. Hanley

Human Rights Syria’s Heroes Bring Humanity to War Zone As government forces and rebel groups continue their bloody fight for the future of Syria, the unimaginable suffering of the country’s citizens worsens. In the midst of this war that has dehumanized so many, one group of brave Syrians is working to stand up for the dignity of all people, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.

Known as the “White Helmets,” the 600member Syrian Civil Defense organization assists civilians who have been injured by bombings and other acts of war. In the last six months alone, the group of volunteers has saved more than 2,500 lives. On Sept.

30, two members of this group appeared at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC to share their story.

Khaled Harah, who works in Aleppo City, 53

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(L-r) Dr. Samer Attar, Raed Salah, a translator and Khaled Harah discuss their rescue work. began by recalling one of his team’s more moving incidents. After a residential building was bombed from the air, the group worked 16 hours to save a days-old baby.

Lacking powerful equipment, the team relied mostly on their hands to dig through the rubble and had to temporarily halt their search because the Syrian Air Force resumed airstrikes in the area.

As USIP staff played video of the heroic rescue, many in the typically stiff thinktank crowd became emotional. The narrator of the short clip concluded by summing up the group’s philosophy: “unarmed and impartial, they’re on the side of life.”

Raed Salah, head of Syrian Civil Defense in the Idlib governorate, stressed that the group is partial to life, not politics. “Anyone who kills innocent civilians is our enemy,” he said. Given their apolitical humanitarian nature, Salah said, most groups in Syria do not object to their presence.

Asked how he and his peers mentally cope with the traumatic nature of their work, Salah said they try to remain hopeful.

“When we rescue a person, we give them new life and this gives us hope to continue,” he explained. “We believe we can do something and we have to contribute.” Nonetheless, he conceded that it’s easy to despair, especially on days when most of the bodies they find under the rubble are lifeless.

During their time in Washington, Salah said, his group asked the U.S. government for more resources. The U.S. previously gave the organization $6 million for uniforms, vehicles and other equipment and has promised an additional $4.5 million for more equipment, he said. Harah added that a lack of proper equipment has prevented the group from saving more lives.

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Dr. Samer Attar of the Syrian American Medical Society, who has participated in two medical missions to Syria, provided additional information on the humanitarian situation in Syria. “I saw horrible things, brutal things,” he recalled, noting that many of his patients (many of them children) were wounded in sniper attacks.

While doctors on the ground have limited supplies, Attar said he was impressed by their ability to make do. “It’s amazing what you can do with very little,” he noted.

However, Attar stressed, the situation is dire. He pointed out that many hospitals have been incapacitated and that due to a lack of space many patients have to share beds or be operated on in the hallway.

Attar concluded his remarks by praising the doctors and first responders who work in Syria. He noted that many have the means to flee the country but choose to stay and assist those in need. It’s important, he stressed, to remember that good people remain in Syria. For more information visit www.whitehelmets.org —Dale Sprusansky

Humanitarian Consequences of the Syrian Civil War On Sept. 16, the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC held a panel discussion on the humanitarian consequences of the Syrian civil war. Titled “Syrian Displacement: Views from the Region,” panelists explored the financial, political and logistical challenges confronting the millions of Syrian refugees.

Kicking off the event, Brian Hansford, senior communications officer for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), put into context the scale of the humanitarian crisis as it spills over into Lebanon.

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UNHCR has registered over 3 million Syrian refugees, he noted, 1.2 million of whom are currently in Lebanon. Moreover, these refugees are not living in what Hansford called “classic refugee camps,” where housing and food are organized by a domestic or international aid organization.

Instead, they are scattered in more than 1,700 locations around the country.

“Eighty percent of the refugees live amongst the poorest Lebanese, and often make their homes in unused plots of land,” Hansford said.

Having spent several years in Lebanon as an on-the-ground official for UNHCR, he listed three things that have struck him most about these refugees: more than half the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are children; the refugees all share an overwhelming desire to return to Syria; and these refugees had been displaced several times within Syria before finally making their way out of the country. However, even given the terrific stress that the waves of refugees put on the Lebanese infrastructure, Hansford marveled at the amazing generosity of the government in Beirut for its decision to—until October—keep its borders open to anyone fleeing Syria.

Carol Batchelor, the UNHCR’s Turkey representative, offered an on-the-ground perspective on the Turkish reactions from her years as UNHCR liaison there. Turkey has the largest UNHCR refugee aid camp in the world, she said, and currently houses the most refugees from Syria. “When the Syrian emergency erupted, the Turkish state took a very strong position and said, ‘our borders are open, these are our brothers and sisters; they can come and will not be forced to return and we will protect and assist them.’ And [Turkey] went to great lengths to try and do this,” Batchelor explained.

However, as the situation in Syria further deteriorated, Turkey was not able to keep pace with the masses streaming into the country and like Lebanon has been forced to evolve its policy, Batchelor noted.

The sheer number of refugees has been too much for the Turkish and U.N. humanitarian infrastructure to handle, she said, and thousands have slipped into the country without being registered as refugees. This failure to register with the Turkish government limits the benefits that refugees can receive from the state, and Ankara is tackling this problem by introducing legislation to help any displaced Syrians currently living anywhere in Turkey, so that no refugees slip through the net.

Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the AIPAC-spinoff Washington Institute for NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

During the last four and a half years, Mobley’s whereabouts within the prison system have often been unknown to his family and his attorneys.

His wife, Nzinga Islam, told the Washington Report she used to talk to him regularly on the telephone, but from February to June this year she had no communication Carol Batchelor (l) and Brian Hansford provide an update on Syri- from him. Suddenly, in September, her ans seeking refuge in Lebanon and Turkey. husband was alNear East Policy, provided a broader view lowed to telephone her. In the conversaof Syria’s future political landscape and tion he told her he had been tortured. For made a surprising prediction on what a reasons unknown, Mobley has not been post-conflict Syria might look like. Refer- allowed to appear at many of his court apring to the post-World War I territorial al- pearances.

Neither his wife nor Mobley’s attorneys locations by victorious Allied governments (see October 2014 Washington Report, p. have ever received much assistance from 24), Tabler said, “I’m going to break a taboo the U.S. State Department or the American and say that the [Sykes-Picot] borders no Embassy. Nzinga Islam, along with Mauri longer dictate how analysts or the interna- Saalakhan, director of the Peace Thru Justional community deal with Syria.” He tice Foundation, met with an official at the cited a U.N. Security Council resolution ear- Embassy of Yemen about the situation. The lier this year that allowed the delivery of official, however, denied any knowledge of aid across borders into the Syrian Arab Re- Mobley’s case. Saalakhan told the small public—the difference this time being that group of Mobley’s supporters gathered the U.N. did so without the agreement of outside the embassy that regular vigils the host government. “This was, of course, would continue until the young man was a decision taken against the will of [Presi- released and reunited with his wife and —Elaine Pasquini dent Bashar al-Assad’s] regime,” said Tabler. children.

“However,” he added, “I don’t see this in the cards any time soon. This conflict will go on for a long time, partly because…of the hardening position of the Assad regime over the last six to nine months.”

—Jhostyn Duval

Music & Arts “To Catch a Muslim” Play Lampoons FBI Sting How to mark the 10th anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2004 arrests of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain in Albany, New York?

Every year since 2006, when they were convicted of “terrorism” through a phony FBI sting (see Sept./Oct. 2007 Washington Report, p. 19), the Muslim Solidarity Committee has organized a public commemoration on Aug. 4, but this year we wanted to do something special. Ten years is a long time.

So we decided to make some comedy out of this tragedy.

One of our members, attorney Steve Downs––former executive director of the Washington, DC-based National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) and co-author of “Inventing Terrorists,” a 2014 study of pre-emptive prosecution––decided to try his hand at playwriting, and “To Catch a Muslim” was born. The one-act, four-scene play takes a darkly humorous look at the sting that convicted Aref and Hossain, through their own words and the created words of the government agents who pursued them, the judge who later denied their appeals, and the snitch who helped seal their fate. Characters include a bearded Yassin (played by journalist Carl Strock) and Mohammed (played by Downs); the villainous informant, Malik (Mari Kush Matsuo); two government agents wearing earphones (attorneys Kathy Manley and Marwa Elbially, cast against type); the trial/appeal judge (Hadiya Wilborn, playing a dual role);

Rally for American Sharif Mobley, Detained in Yemen Friends of Sharif Mobley, a 30-year-old American citizen imprisoned in Yemen since Jan. 26, 2010, held a rally outside the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, DC on Sept.

25 calling for his immediate release. The young Muslim from Philadelphia was living in Yemen with his wife and children when he was shot and abducted by Yemeni police.

Initially charged with terrorism, charges were later dropped for lack of evidence.

Mobley was not released, however, and subsequently was charged with murder when a guard was killed during an alleged escape attempt two months later.

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PHOTO COURTESY J. FINLEY

humor can be a path artistic and cultural tradition with more to justice when the than 300 stunning photographs showing inlegal system is cor- dividual pieces of handmade jewelry, fascirupted. It may not get nating images of women wearing their Yassin or Mohammed headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, rings and out of prison (their re- belts with traditional dress, and the various lease dates are 2018 regions in Yemen the retired U.S. diplomat and 2020 respec- explored as she researched her book. tively). We performed Marjorie Ransom and her late husband, “To Catch a Muslim” David, lived twice in Yemen, in 1966 and again on Sept. 13 for 1975 (not to mention postings in Jordan, an NCPCF fund-raiser Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the UAE, Syria, and at the Islamic Center of Egypt), during their 30-year career as the the Capital District fea- first Arabic-speaking tandem couple in the turing keynote Foreign Service. With a research grant from speaker Dr. Naeem the American Institute for Yemeni Studies, Doug Bullock plays the cop arresting Yassin Aref, performed by Baig, president of the Ransom continued her field research in Albany journalist Carl Strock.

Islamic Circle of North 2005.

Silver played a key role in the Yemeni the fictitious cop (Doug Bullock) who ar- America (ICNA). Afterwards, both Dr. Baig rests Yassin; the announcer (Lynne Jack- and audience members thanked us for help- marriage contract, Ransom explained. As a son); and the sign holder (Mary Finneran). ing them understand how thoroughly major part of the bride price, jewelry beAfter a rally and march on Aug. 4, the Yassin and Mohammed were framed, and came the property of the bride. Silver gave Muslim Solidarity Players turned the new for allowing them an unexpected response her power and beauty. Women sometimes used their jewelry to pay for the pilgrimage section of the Masjid As-Salam on Central to this tragedy: laughter.

“To Catch a Muslim” can be viewed on to Mecca. Amulets containing holy prayers Ave. in Albany, where Aref was imam and which was raided in the sting, into a the- YouTube, at <www.youtube.com/watch?v provided protection from toothaches or excessive bleeding. Many jewelers got their ater. The opening lines of “To Catch a Mus- =AMLZanfx-aU>.

—Jeanne Finley (Finley edited Yassin silver from Maria Theresa thalers paid by lim” set the stage: “We have condensed some events and taken some liberties with Aref’s memoir, Son of Mountains, and Europeans for Yemeni coffee, spices and inothers, especially the secret discussions the Rounded Up, Shamshad Ahmad’s book on digo.

As Ransom wove stories about individudefense was not allowed to know about. But the Aref-Hossain case). als she interviewed into her slide show, the play is based on actual facts and quotes Yemeni jewelers and women came alive to from the record, and we will hold up signs Silver Treasures from the Land of her audience. They soon peppered her with to call your attention to this when [these] Sheba occur.” The signs read “Actual Fact,” “Ac- Yemen often brings to mind clashes be- questions: Do brides want jewelry like this tual Quote,” and “Actual Mispronunciation” tween Shi’i Houthi separatists and Sunni nowadays? Is old Yemeni jewelry being (for example, Malik deliberately mispro- tribal fighters, drones strikes against al- melted down to make new jewelry? Is silver nounced “missile” as “meez-aisle” during Qaeda commanders based in Yemen, and jewelry-making a dying craft? Have the old the sting, so that Aref, whose English was other bad news. So it’s a double delight to craftsmen shared their secret techniques? poor, would not know what it meant, nor hear Marjorie Ransom, who spoke at the Were Jewish craftsmen and their families that anything illegal was going on).

Jerusalem Fund Gallery on Sept. 10, discuss integrated into Yemeni towns?

Find out these answers by ordering her The plot to entrap Aref unfolds through her spectacular new book, Silver Treasures the slick-talking, bling-heavy Malik, who from the Land of Sheba (which has been fly- book. And count the days until her second first approaches Mohammed Hossain with ing off the shelves at Middle East Books and volume is ready, focusing solely on silveran offer to loan him $50,000 to help his More). Ransom documents a disappearing smiths. Ransom lectures extensively in the U.S. about traditional jewelry of pizza business. the Middle East and exhibits her The government agents panic private collection of silver jewat Aref’s lack of participation and elry in various museums, includinterest in the scheme, but finally ing the Bead Museum in Washsucceeded in trapping him. As ington, DC. —Delinda C. Hanley the cop comes from offstage to haul him away, Bullock ad-libs a Educating Americans at line as he twists Aref’s arm beAdams Morgan Day hind his back: “OK, I’m arresting you for DWI.” (Pause) “That’s The Washington Report and Driving While Islamic!”

American Friends of UNRWA, The audience explodes with the United Nations Relief and delight. We wish that had been Works Agency for Palestine the only thing Yassin was arRefugees in the Near East, rested for... teamed up to share an educaThanks to the play, we have Marjorie Ransom, wearing a Yemeni dress, signs copies of Silver tional booth at the Adams Morlearned that, in its own way, Treasures from the Land of Sheba. gan Day festival in Washington, 56

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ton, DC gathered a group conflict. “I would say that [an agreement] of experts to offer pre- would facilitate a coordinated effort against dictions for future U.S. ISIS,” Pillar said, “and an effort for greater regional engagement stability in Iraq.”

Tehran is receptive to being approached with Iran if the current nuclear negotiations are by the United States, even if its hard-right successful. Diplomats elements sometimes publicly protest, Pillar have until Nov. 24 to continued. Political and military cooperation is certainly possible, and has taken reach a deal.

The panel featured for- place behind the scenes on Afghanistan, mer U.S. Ambassador to he noted. This cooperation has not been Egypt Frank Wisner, U.S. occurring at nearly the scale that it can, he intelligence community added, because both sides have been cauveteran Paul Pillar, and tious not to let regional crises disrupt the Barnett R. Rubin, direc- sensitive and critical nuclear talks.

Looking at Afghanistan, Rubin said it’s tor of New York University’s Center on Interna- essential for Tehran and Washington to cooperate post-U.S. withdrawal. “As we draw tional Cooperation.

Wisner began with an down our forces and assistance in assessment of what a suc- Afghanistan,” he explained, “the stability cessful nuclear agree- there will depend more than before on the ment could mean vis-à- ability of the U.S. and Iran to cooperate, or, vis Syria, arguing that at least, not to blunder into conflicts the war-torn country there.” Iran’s own security concerns recould be a point of col- garding Afghanistan, mostly having to do laboration between the with narcotics and terrorism, correspond U.S. and Iran. The emer- with America’s, he addded.

—Jhostyn Duval gence of ISIS has increased the likelihood of such cooperation, he What if Nuclear Talks Fail? added.

The National Iranian American Council While Iran has vital (NIAC) held a panel discussion on Sept. 29 national interests in at the Washington Marriott Georgetown to TOP: Julia Pereira (l) and John Sakakini provide information Syria, Wisner believes discuss a scenario everyone present hopes about UNRWA. ABOVE: New customers discovered the Wash- Tehran might be open to never comes to fruition: What happens if ington Report’s Middle East Books and More store on Adams abandoning President the P5+1 and Iran fail to reach a nuclear Bashar al-Assad’s govern- deal by the Nov. 24 deadline?

Morgan Day. ment if doing so will not Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia DC on Aug. 31—just days after Israel’s 50- jeopardize its ability to influence Syrian af- Chas Freeman began by arguing that both sides involved in the negotiations need a day war in Gaza ended. UNRWA USA’s out- fairs.

Even if Iran does not abandon Assad, deal. Iran would be harmed economically reach director John Sakakini and UNRWA intern Julia Pereira told Adams Morgan Wisner said, reaching a nuclear agreement and politically by renewed Western atcommunity members about UNRWA’s work with Tehran could potentially provide tempts to isolate the country, he said. On for Palestinian refugees and collected dona- Washington with more options on how to the other hand, Freeman warned, the tions for UNRWA’s emergency work in Gaza. approach the Syrian criThe Washington Report’s half of the sis.

Pillar envisions a nubooth offered free sample magazines and an “olive oil tasting” test to see which variety clear deal with Iran reof Palestinian olive oil was favored by sulting in increased copassersby. Then we sent customers on down operation on Iraq as 18th Street to visit Middle East Books and well, since Tehran is inMore (<www.middleeastbooks.com) to buy vested in not having a soaps, olive oil, solidarity items and the lat- hostile regime in Baghest books and DVDs. —Delinda C. Hanley dad. “The eight-year war started by Saddam Hussain in 1980 reWaging Peace sulted in enormous human and material How an Iranian Nuclear Deal Would cost to the Iranians,” Impact Regional Politics Pillar pointed out, and On Sept. 17, the Woodrow Wilson Inter- Tehran is committed to John Garver (l) and Chas Freeman discuss how a failed nuclear national Center for Scholars in Washing- preventing a renewed deal with Iran would impact regional politics.

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“rapid erosion of U.S. dollar hegemony” eggs in the Iranian basket because it be- tourists entering the museum. As volunwould make it difficult for the West to re- lieves the West and Iran eventually will teers handed out anti-drone flyers and instate and enforce a harsh sanctions reach a diplomatic agreement. Freeman in- stickers, McCracken pointed out that many regime against Tehran. “I don’t think we terjected, saying China is naive to think of the children entering the museum are have the leverage to make the sanctions that the U.S. has a well thought-out plan the same age as drone victims in Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere. work without the approval of the U.N. Se- for Iran and the Middle East.

University of Hawaii at Manoa professor At least one young man inside the mucurity Council,” he said.

Regionally, Freeman cautioned that Farideh Farhi concluded the discussion by seum was unfazed by the controversy, Saudi Arabia could respond to failed nego- noting that President Hassan Rouhani however. Looking up at the impressive untiations by initiating its own nuclear pro- would receive political heat at home if no manned aircraft, he turned to his dad and gram. However, he added, Riyadh and deal is reached. The Iranian leader, she said, “Drones are awesome.” UnsurprisTehran could reach some kind of accom- noted, went all-out on the prospects of a ingly, this is not the first time the exhibit modation whether or not a deal is reached. nuclear deal and sold it as a solution to has captured the fascination of a young Arab Gulf leaders are more concerned many of Iran’s economic problems. If talks child (see Jan./Feb. 2013 Washington Reabout what they perceive as “Iranian im- collapse, Farhi believes Rouhani will face a port, p. 36).

According to data compiled by the New perialism” than they are about the nuclear much more contested political environment. However, if talks do succeed, she America Foundation, the U.S. has slowed program, he explained.

Freeman believes Gulf nations and— noted, it would undermine the much-re- down its drone program in recent months. even more so—Israel will raise some de- peated Iranian mantra that diplomacy with In the first 9 months of 2014, 16 drone strikes were carried out in Yemen, and angree of alarm regardless of how the talks the United States is futile.

—Dale Sprusansky other 9 in Pakistan. Over the same period conclude. In his opinion, these countries last year, the U.S. conducted 22 drone would likely criticize a deal that permits strikes in each country.—Dale Sprusansky Iran to maintain any degree of nuclear pro- Protests Target Drone Exhibit at liferation. The irony, Freeman said, is that a National Air and Space Museum The Predator Drone: Past, failed nuclear deal would Present And Future mean no restraints on Iranian proliferation.

On Oct. 8, the Woodrow WilIf negotiations collapse, son International Center for Freeman continued, leaders in Scholars in Washington, DC Iran and Israel would have to hosted scholar Richard Whitmake fateful decisions: the fortle to present his new book, mer would have to decide bePredator: The Secret Origins of tween standing by its stated the Drone Revolution. Whittle moral opposition to nuclear was joined by Richard Clarke, weapons and pursuing a nuformer national coordinator clear program for its own sefor security, infrastructure curity interests, while leaders protection and counter-terrorin Tel Aviv would have to deism, to discuss the role of cide if they want to launch drones in U.S. foreign policy. their much-threatened attack Whittle began with a hison Iran’s nuclear facilities. tory of drone development According to Kenneth Poland deployment by the United lack of the Saban Center for Protesters warn tourists that the National Air and Space Museum’s States. “This is a story of inMiddle East Policy at the drone exhibit ignores civilian deaths. vention and politics, war and Brookings Institution, failed the Air Force, and the CIA— negotiations could end in either a whimper Several dozen individuals gathered in front how all those elements combined to create or a bang. Under the ideal scenario, the in- of the Smithsonian Institution’s National the first weapon in history whose operavolved parties will “whimper” about the Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC tors can stalk and kill a single individual failed process but not react with excessive on Oct. 4 to protest the museum’s large ex- on the other side of the planet,” the author anger or unilateral action, said the author hibit on drones. The protest, part of the said. Although drones have been around in of the 2002 book The Threatening Storm: “Global Action Day Against the Use of one form or another since the First World The Case for Invading Iraq. Pollack ex- Drones for Surveillance and Killing,” was War, they became more than a niche techpressed the hope that both sides would organized by CODEPINK. nology in 2001, when the Predator drone agree to continue diplomatic talks even if a The demonstrators’ ire was directed not was armed and rigged for global remote deal is not reached by the November dead- so much at the exhibit’s existence, but control. line.

The Predator’s inventor is a former Israther at the way it is presented. It makes In the opinion of international relations no mention of the drone program’s contro- raeli aeronautical engineer named Abrascholar John Garver, China stands to win versial nature, protesters lamented, and ig- ham Karem. After working on drone techif nuclear talks collapse. The Chinese have nores the thousands of civilians who have nology designed to fool Arab air defenses been able to take advantage of the West’s died as a result of drone strikes. in 1973, he immigrated to the U.S., where economic and political isolation of Iran, he “Omission is complicity,” CODEPINK’s he began working on the development of noted, but Beijing has not put all of its Alli McCracken warned the droves of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Al58

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icy-making perspectives of the drone revolution. “From my perspective,” he said, “this was not a decision about technology.

It was part of a policy decision about whether or not we should kill people.” Although that decision seems to have been made today, it was a major policy concern a decade ago, as a 1976 executive order signed by President Gerald Ford after the excesses of the Nixon years banned intelligence agencies from engaging in political assassinations. This acted as a barrier against using lethal force in non-war environments, Clarke explained, and frustrated the government in the late ‘90s.

Clarke sees a distinction between how the Bush and Obama administrations have deployed drones. In his opinion, President George W. Bush’s drone strategy was one of reluctant use, particularly in Pakistan. President Barack Obama and his then-counterterrorism adviser, current CIA director John Brennan, have greatly increased the frequency of Predator strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. Although the current administration has now cut back on the use of the Predator drone as an offensive weapon, there remains a question of overall effectiveness. “Did they rely too much [on the Predator] as a substitute for other things?”

Clarke asked. “Did they overdo it in the sense that the Predator itself became an issue, rather than an instrument of policy?”

Both Whittle and Clarke were positive about the future of the Predator drone as an arm of U.S. strategy. In looking at Syria, Whittle cited the U.S. military’s interest in a UAV’s ability to hover over a battlefield for extended periods of time. “The Predator and Reaper [drones] have flown 2.5 million hours, most of them in combat—but they have fired fewer than 4,000 weapons, which means that 99.24 percent of the mis-

though his first iterations of what ultimately became the Predator drone didn’t interest the Defense Department, Karem’s business partnership with two savvy investors produced a result that eventually interested the CIA. The war in Bosnia prompted the CIA to purchase two early models of Karem’s reconnaissance drone in 1993 in order to help American intelligence agencies identify Serb artillery pieces being used to bombard Sarajevo.

Once the U.S. government became invested in drones, Air Force Col. James G. Clark helped advance the technology in a way that could further benefit the U.S. military. Through his efforts, and the work of an Air Force group called “Big Safari,” the Predator drone’s capabilities were enhanced. “When the Predator made its debut in 1994, it was a platform for a video camera whose imagery was sent back to a control station,” Whittle said. By 2001, after “Big Safari” had been in charge of improving the Predator for two years, it was capable of, among other things, streaming live video to the Pentagon and being armed and controlled over Afghanistan by U.S.-based ground crews.

“We, as a society, are only beginning to debate the questions that this drone revolution raises,” Whittle concluded, “from the wisdom, efficacy, and legality of targeted killings, to whether we ourselves are safe from drone strikes that might be [made] by terrorists or other nations.”

Clarke followed with a look at the polNOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Vigil and Lament for the Children Of Gaza The Indiana Center for Middle East Peace (ICMEP) hosted a community “Vigil and Lament for Gaza” at Lakeside Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Sept. 4. The goal was simply to create a space for reflection, silent meditation and prayer, and solidarity with those killed in Gaza. During the vigil, the names of the children under 12 killed in the recent attack on Gaza, were read aloud, along with their ages, and the place and means by which they died. The original plan was to read the names of those 20 and under who had been killed, but there were just too many, so the plan was revised to read the names of children 16 and under.

That list was also so long that organizers decided to read the names of children aged 12 and under, which in itself was more than 300 names. The recitation lasted for almost an hour and a half.

This writer opened the gathering by pointing out that “more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, out of

PHOTO COURTESY L.M. SPATH

Richard Whittle’s new book explores the history of unmanned aircraft.

sions have been non-lethal,” he said. Whittle considers this the blueprint for future drone use in that conflict.

Clarke affirmed the efficacy of the drone’s loiter time. Looking back at the alternatives available to the armed forces in 2000 and 2001, the Predator’s ability to survey a target for a long period of time provides an opportunity for greatly minimizing collateral damage, he maintained.

“In fact, the Air Force and CIA, when they have a target, will very often be over it for days before they pull the trigger, so that they can establish a good pattern of life and really are highly confident that they’re not going to be hitting the wrong person.

No other weapon offers that,” Clarke argued.

—Jhostyn Duval

Vigilers spelled Gaza with flowers in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and mourned the deaths of children.

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After the Violence, Will Israel Be Held Accountable?

The New America Foundation invited +972 Magazine writer Samer Badawi and B’Tselem executive director Hagai El-Ad to its Washington, DC offices on Sept. 17 to discuss the aftermath of the Israeli military’s summer incursion into Gaza. The event, titled “Next Steps for the Israelis 60

die resisting the Israeli siege than die a slow death under the status quo.

El-Ad lamented that Israel and its leaders will not be held accountable by the international community for its actions during “Operation Protective Edge.” As was the case following 2009’s “Operation Cast Lead,” he noted, the Israeli military is currently conHagi El-Ad (l) and Samer Badawi discuss Israel’s recent mili- ducting an internal retary operation in Gaza. view into its actions this summer.

With no independent arbiter involved, and Palestinians,” was moderated by New El-Ad believes it’s highly unlikely the reAmerica senior fellow Leila Hilal.

Badawi opened the conversation by view will be anything more than a coversharing the story of a 17-year-old from Ja- up. “We’re seeing the same theater of the balya refugee camp, located in the north- absurd being performed in front of our eastern edge of the Gaza Strip. As the re- eyes once again,” he said. “This is not cent conflict worsened, the young man’s about establishing accountability, this is family—following IDF safety directives— about providing a legal Iron Dome to the fled their home near the Israeli border and Israeli army from international intervenmoved to the western part of the camp for tion.”

Israel frequently dismisses international safety reasons. Shortly after their relocation, the young man was out getting water inquiries as witch-hunts, he noted. Howwhen Israeli artillery shells began raining ever, he pointed out, any review of the war down on his family’s residence. All of his would also investigate crimes committed immediate family members were killed. by Hamas. If Israel is confident of its innoThis story is emblematic of the suffering cence, El-Ad said, it should have no hesimany Gazans have experienced, Badawi tations about submitting to an international inquiry. said.

El-Ad expressed his fear that in the Visiting Gaza City during the violence, Badawi said those he encountered refused wake of “Operation Protective Edge,” to be intimidated by Israel. “There was an everything will return to “normal.” This overwhelming sense of defiance on all summer must be a game changer, he emquarters, among all populations that I con- phasized. He is also concerned about Isversed with,” he noted. Badawi also re- rael’s response to the violence. Instead of ported that Gazans place blame for the vi- changing its policies, he fears the country olence squarely on the Israelis. “At no time will simply work to change its public rela—Dale Sprusansky did I hear anyone say Hamas is to blame,” tions strategy. he said. People were willing, however, to question Hamas’ tactics and strategic Protesters Greet Netanyahu at the White House thinking, he added.

While he personally disapproves of As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin NeHamas’ strategy of firing rockets toward Is- tanyahu and President Barack Obama met raeli cities, Badawi said it’s easy to under- for two hours at the White House on Oct. 1, stand why some residents of Gaza have re- several dozen activists from CODEPINK, sorted to such violence in the face of Is- Veterans for Peace and Neturei Karata Interrael’s dehumanizing siege and continuous national: Jews United Against Zionism gathassaults by the world’s fourth largest army. ered across the street in Lafayette Square to Badawi also pointed out that most peo- protest the close U.S.-Israel relationship. ple in Gaza are aware that Hamas’ rockets Calling Netanyahu a war criminal, the rarely cause damage in Israel. Nonetheless, demonstrators decried Israel’s summer ashe said, many see firing rockets as the only sault on Gaza and accused the prime minisway to gain the attention of the outside ter of deliberately scuttling the U.S.-led world, and many reason that it’s better to peace process. Those present also expressed STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

which the U.N. estimates 70 percent are civilians, including women, and children.

“Americans have been complicit in this suffering due to our decades-long U.S. military aid to Israel. So tonight I feel an increased tug at my heart and a need to give...Tonight if you are a person of good will...a human being—tonight, we are all Palestinian, we are all Gazans.”

I went on to tell the story of five-pound Shaymaa, a baby girl born at the end of July through a posthumous Caesarean section at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, after her parents (her mother was also named Shaymaa) and family were killed during an Israeli airstrike. Unfortunately, Shaymaa’s heroic delivery ended five days later, when she tragically died because the respirator to which she was connected stopped working because a bombing attack destroyed the hospital’s electricity.

The Vigil and Lament for Gaza was cosponsored with the Universal Education Foundation (UEF), a Fort Wayne Muslim school and mosque. After ICMEP and UEF board members read the names of the children under 12 who were killed, the participants spelled out “Gaza” on the park lawn with flowers they were asked to bring, thereby entering into solidarity with those who were named. Many children of various ages, religions, colors and ethnicities came with their parents and eagerly shared their flowers. But the counterpoint to the energy and voices of the children alive and present to the names and ages of the victims just read made this time especially poignant.

A mother who attended the event posted a description of the vigil on her Facebook page. She wrote about being touched by her 12-year-old son’s reaction. She found him in tears standing away from the group. When their family got home she touched base with him again, asking about his reaction to the vigil. He answered, holding back tears, “I was just thinking that these children were my age. They were going to school, like I do, and they were killed...And this is happening to children my age in the same world I am living in.”

—L. Michael Spath, executive director, Indiana Center for Middle East Peace

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lives?” at the annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture on Oct. 13 (Indigenous Peoples’ Day). Butler, professor of comparative literature and critical theory at the University of California at Berkeley, began by wondering why this terrible question needs to be asked. Surely the value of all human Protesters call Netanyahu a war criminal during his visit to the White lives are equal, observed Butler, a House. boardmember of their belief that the U.S. should cease giving Jewish Voice for Peace and the Freedom Israel more than $3 billion in American tax- Theatre in Jenin. “All lives are potentially grieveable,” she added, but some lives are payer dollars every year.

After about 90 minutes, Secret Service of- safeguarded from harm and destruction, ficers, saying that the area had to be cleared while the rights of others to protect themfor Netanyahu’s departure, brought the selves are waived.

Professor Butler listed the grim numbers protest to a halt. Though displeased that the police were shielding Netanyahu from from Israel’s recent 51-day war in Gaza: protests, the demonstrators nonetheless 2,131 Palestinians killed, including 1,473 obeyed orders and, albeit leisurely, vacated civilians—501 of them children; 11,000 wounded; 71 Israelis killed, including 66 the park.

A dozen or so pro-Israel teenagers coun- soldiers. At least 110,000 Palestinian pertered the anti-Netanyahu rally. The young sons homeless...Yet some who hear these men and women ceaselessly sang “peace numbers are not affected, Butler remarked.

“They bring it upon themselves,” pundits songs” in Hebrew and held signs expressing their support for Israel and its prime state. “They use civilians as human shields.” minister. They, however, never attempted to “They put their children in harm’s way.” Butcounter the numerous facts presented by ler characterized these as racist, reprehensible, preposterous arguments. Some Israelis rathe anti-Netanyahu camp.

—Dale Sprusansky tionalize that Gaza parents voted for Hamas, so they put their children’s lives in jeopardy.

What is the Value of Palestinian “Palestinians don’t value the lives of their Lives? children.” This relies on a barbaric sterotype, A full house packed the Palestine Center in an Orientalist conceit, Butler charged.

Israeli soldiers have provided evidence Washington, DC to hear Dr. Judith Butler speak on “What is the value of Palestinian that Israel deliberately targets women and children, she pointed out. Israelis are externalizing their own barbarism, Butler said.

They believe Israel is entitled to self-defense but that Palestinians cannot show resistance to colonial rule.

Butler urged Palestinians to submit a new case to the International Criminal Court, which she called an important venue which would give value to Palestinian lives. The ICC has the power to name names and say, “This is criminal,” Butler reckoned.

She also advised supporters to make historical connections to other humanitarian crimes and suffering. The late Edward Said Dr. Judith Butler says all human lives, in- and scholars like Hanan Ashrawi show their cluding Palestinians and Israelis, are equal. concern for the suffering of other exiled NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

people—Armenians, Jews, the Irish, Cypriots and American Indians. There are important lessons to be learned about other acts of oppression and understanding other violations can widen circles of solidarity, she pointed out.

“I belong to a global community where people are interconnected,” Dr. Butler concluded. “If we become numb to human losses we won’t have collective outrage.

Mourning is part of our outrage...we need to convert it into action.”

—Delinda C. Hanley

Gaza Glimpses Filmmaker and writing coach Elana Golden began mentoring Gaza teenagers with their creative writing via Skype from her Los Angeles home in spring 2010. She rapidly became involved with their projects as she recognized their talents and aspirations for a conflict-free future. Soon Golden was mentoring a growing circle of young Gazans eager to benefit from her expertise.

An invitation subsequently arrived from the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) for Golden to counsel and guide GCMHP staff and patients traumatized by Israeli attacks. Golden traveled to Gaza in June 2013 to visit her students and advise on their projects as well as to meet with patients. So successful was her trip, she was invited a second time this past March and April.

On Aug. 8, Golden showed the best of the more than 3,000 slides she took on her spring visit. Her presentation at the Levantine Cultural Center offered a rare opportunity to view how Gazans live when not under Israeli bombardment: university campuses, middle class living rooms and kitchens, children on school playgrounds, upscale neighborhoods, a Christian school, refugee camp alleys and agricultural lands in northern Gaza were just a few of the unexpected scenes Golden selected. In the future, she hopes to assemble the slides into a

STAFF PHOTO SAMIR TWAIR

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

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Elana Golden gives a talk on Gaza.

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from religious texts with their own interReligion’s Role in Peace-Building The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) pretations and explanations,” Bin Bayyah held a conference at its Washington, DC of- stated. This is an edifice that religious leadProtesters Decry Congressional Black fices on Sept. 26 to discuss the relationship ers must endeavor to challenge, he said, Caucus Support for Israel between religion and violent radicalism. with a narrative rooted in a proper underChanting slogans and holding signs reading The talk was titled “Is There a Role for Reli- standing of, in his case, Islam. The solution “Palestinian Lives Matter,” “Israeli gious Actors in Countering Radicalism and is to create spaces where the ideas of tolerApartheid Is Evil,” and “CBC Votes to Mili- Violent Extremism?” and featured Sheikh ance can be disseminated, Sheikh Bin tarize While Black People are Criminalized,” Abdallah Bin Bayyah, president of the Bayyah concluded. a group of some 40 locally and nationally Forum for Promoting known African-American activists, artists Peace in Muslim Sociand journalists gathered outside the Walter eties; Pastor Esther E. Washington Convention Center in Wash- Ibanga, founder of Jos ington, DC on Sept. 24 to protest the 44th Christian Missions InAnnual Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) ternational; and Vinya Legislative Conference. The rally was called Ariyaratne, general secto publicly shame and hold the CBC ac- retary of Sarvodaya.

Through his translacountable for its poor leadership on many critical issues, including its support for the tor, Sheikh Bin Bayyah July 11 House resolution to affirm Israel’s of Saudi Arabia began “right to self defense” in light of its most re- by asserting that hu- (L-r) Moderator Susan Hayward, Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, manity has long strug- Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne. cent brutal bombing of Gaza.

“We want to shame the CBC, which voted gled with a disposition Pastor Ibanga, who delivered her address to support Israel’s bombing of Gaza, which toward conflict. Violence has existed since killed 2,000 Palestinians, including more the beginning of human history, he pointed via a prerecorded message, provided insight than 500 children,” Netfa Freeman of the In- out: “We’ve had religious leaders and into her involvement as a religious leader in ternational Committee to Free the Cuban philosophers who have attempted to ad- Nigeria. In her experience, misinterpretaFive told the crowd outside the conference dress this problem at a deep level…but it’s a tion of religion allows no room for inclusivvenue. “The CBC does not represent us. problem that resides in the hearts of peo- ity or critical thought, and it is what leads They should be standing out here with us.” ple.” Given this context, he argued that re- to extremism. “The nature of such extreme “What the CBC has been doing for sev- ligious leaders have a responsibility to act as ideology is that its adherents always look for ways to express their dissatisfactions—ecoeral years is embarrassing to me as a woman physicians for a constantly ailing world.

Turning to the subject of religious radi- nomic, social, or otherwise,” she said. of African descent,” said Asantewaa The solution, Pastor Ibanga insisted, is to Nkrumah-Ture, a Washington, DC-based calism, Sheikh Bin Bayyah cited an African activist. “It’s time to hold our leaders ac- proverb: “There is a monkey that eats a fruit address these feelings of injustice that disfrom the bau bau tree, and the fruit makes it contented people cite to justify their excountable.”

Other speakers included Mauri Saalakhan sick. However, the treatment is to give it tremism. In her opinion, the best way to do of the Peace Thru Justice Foundation and more fruit.” The solution to violent religious this is to include local religious leaders in Felicia Eaves of the U.S. Campaign to End extremism, he argued, is more exposure to the policymaking process, thereby allowing the Israeli Occupation. The rally drew religion, so as to engender a better under- clerics to act as a peaceful bridge between mixed reactions from passersby and confer- standing of faith. “These extremists act out the state and discontented citizens.

Ariyaratne concluded the discussion by ence attendees. Some stopped to listen, of religious ignorance and a very shallow while CBC members rushed inside the con- understanding [of what little they do reflecting on the recent history of violence vention center.

—Elaine Pasquini know]. They use decontextualized verses in his country. Sri Lanka is now emerging from nearly 30 years of conflict, and is working to construct a political model that accommodates a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. In light of Sri Lanka’s violent past, Ariyaratne argued that extremism and radicalization cannot be primarily addressed through a security doctrine alone. “In our context, we see three important [requirements for peace]: social cohesion, economic fairness and inclusive governance,” he said.

Echoing the conclusions of the previous two speakers, Ariyaratne closed by saying that any action to prevent or combat violent extremism should be an integrated, holistic and multi-level approach.

There was no speaker to address possible Outside the Washington Convention Center, human rights activists protest the Congressional solutions to the problems posed by Jewish Black Caucus’ support for Israel. extremists.

—Jhostyn Duval STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

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PHOTO COURTESY USIP

program offering a unique glimpse into life in Gaza.

—Pat Twair

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Some 100 members of the American Ezidi [or Yazidi] Center (AEC) held a protest and diein outside the White House on Sept. 21 to bring attention to the persecution of Yazidis in Iraq and Syria. Demonstrators urged President Barack Obama to take military action against ISIS, accusing the Sunni extremist group of killing more than 300 Yazidis and forcing them to take refuge in the Dohuk province of Iraqi Kurdistan. The protesters observed a moment of reflection during which a prayer was read. Many held photos and signs, while others lay on the ground in death poses to add impact to their message.

On Aug. 8, President Obama, citing an impending genocide against the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar, announced that the U.S. would begin airstrikes against ISIS. When U.S. special forces arrived on the mountain, however, they discovered the situation was not as dire as originally stated.

The American Ezidi Center is a non-governmental organization based in the Washington, DC area. Its mission is to educate the American government, institutions, scholars and the public about the history, heritage and culture of the Yazidis, who mostly reside in the Nineveh province of northern Iraq, a region once part of ancient Assyria.

Currently, Yazidis comprise about 5 percent of the Kurdish population in that region.

The AEC also collects charitable donations to help the Yazidis who were displaced in Sinjar, Iraq.

—Elaine Pasquini

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

American Yazidis Protest Outside White House

Yazidis participate in a die-in at the White House.

reeling from the “divide-and-rule” policies of now-deposed leaders. Because most opposition groups engaged directly with authoritarian governments, they rarely engaged one another, he explained. Not surprisingly, these groups have had difficulty communicating with each other since 2011.

Finally, Brown said, scholars should have better predicted the rise of “paranoid sectarian politics.” In the absence of a centralized and powerful state, he said, it’s common for societal divides to emerge as various actors battle to define the country’s new direction.

Profs. Mark Tessler of the University of Michigan and Michael Robbins of Princeton University shared results of a recent survey that measured support for democracy and political Islam in the Arab world.

Tessler noted that support for democracy has decreased since 2010/2011, but Panel Explores Trends in Egyptian not by a significant margin. Tunisia, Iraq And Arab Society and Yemen saw decreases of about 10 percent, he said, while support for democracy George Washington University’s Project on has risen in Egypt.

Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) With the exception of Tunisia, Robbins held a half-day conference in Washington, stated, there has been an overall regional DC on Oct. 3 to celebrate the launch of a decrease in support for political Islam, esnew edited volume titled The Arab Uprispecially in Algeria and Palestine. Tessler ings Explained: New Contentious Politics in added that after Mohamed the Middle East. Three panels Morsi’s tenure as Egyptian presiaddressed the political, social dent, support for political Islam and economic repercussions of dramatically decreased in that the Arab Spring. country.

The panel titled “Publics and College of the Holy Cross proOthers” began with a presentafessor Vickie Langohr concluded tion by George Washington prothe panel by discussing the role fessor Nathan Brown, who of women in Egypt since 2011. warned that emotions can influWhile many argue that military ence the tone analysts and scholregimes are better for women ars use when discussing internathan Islamist governments, she tional affairs. Offering self-criticautioned against such simpliscism, Brown said this is particutic reasoning. larly true in the way he and While President Abdel Fattah many others have discussed po- Nathan Brown (l) and Mark Tessler discuss how Arab society has el-Sisi’s government has enacted evolved since the 2011 uprisings. litical developments in Egypt.

STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

When the 2011 protests toppled 29-year autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Brown said, his assessment of Egypt’s future, while analytically sound, was likely too optimistic.

Conversely, he added, after several years of continual unrest and political drama the current atmosphere surrounding discussions on Egypt is likely overly pessimistic.

Brown cited four specific factors he “should have paid more attention to” when discussing revolutions in Egypt and elsewhere.

First, he said, more consideration should have been given to the fact that Egypt, unlike Tunisia, never had a clear post-transition roadmap. While leaders in Tunis drew lessons from the country’s 1956 independence from France, Brown noted, officials in Cairo apparently adopted their transition plan from the Internet. “The rules were made-up as they went along,” he said.

Second, Brown described the challenges posed by poorly functioning institutions.

While most countries impacted by the Arab Spring had democratic processes in place, he pointed out that these processes had very little importance, and thus very little credibility.

Third, Brown said, Arab society is still

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Anti-War Activists Protest President Obama’s San Francisco Visit

Anti-war activists protested Oct. 10 outside San Francisco’s W Hotel, where President Barack Obama was attending a Democratic Party fund-raiser.

Chanting “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation,” the protesters called for an end to both American drone strikes and the U.S.-led anti-ISIS bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria.

“Every day we hear about another drone that killed families, people gathered for weddings and social events from Pakistan to Yemen,” CODEPINK’s Toby Blomé told the crowd gathered in an area across from the hotel. Other speakers from the ANSWER Coalition and World Can’t Wait reinforced the anti-war, anti-drone message, reiterating their belief that such killings and bombings are immoral and wrong.

Magnified by a bullhorn, their voices were projected throughout the downtown area.

In flyers handed out to passersby, the ANSWER Coalition stated: “ISIS wouldn’t exist today as a major force either in Syria or Iraq if it wasn’t for the U.S. military aggression that smashed the secular, nation64

Standing beneath a 1/5-scale replica of an MQ-9 Reaper drone, anti-war activists protest President Obama’s Oct. 10 visit to San Francisco. alist governments in Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011. The U.S. bombing of Syrian territory is taking place without the consent of the Syrian government. It is one more U.S. violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty.”

Many at the rally also carried signs urging the Obama administration and Congress to end the annual $3 billion military aid the United States provides to Israel and criticizing the additional emergency funding of $225 million for the country’s Iron Dome system. Protesters also condemned Israel’s brutal seven-week military assault on Gaza this past summer and the lack of any meaningful protest of these actions by President Obama, who hosted Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the White House Oct. 1. —Elaine Pasquini

From Blogs to the Street: Juan Cole Discusses Tunisia’s Youth Activists George Washington University’s Middle East Policy Forum hosted a discussion with author and University of Michigan professor Juan Cole on Oct. 8 at its Washington, DC campus. Cole, author of The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation Is Changing the Middle East (available from Middle East Books and More), addressed the role of young people in Tunisia’s revolution.

The professor began his remarks by cautioning his audience not to pre-emptively draw conclusions about the fate of the socalled Arab Spring. He advised optimists and pessimists alike to remember that the uprisings took place less than four years ago, and that the dust has yet to settle. The outcome of the American Revolution, he pointed out, was far from solidified four years in. “At this point in the American THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Revolution, the British had Staten Island,” he quipped.

Cole began his account of modern Tunisian history in 1998, when the World Wide Web first appeared in the North African country. At that time, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime was filled with what Cole described as “control freaks,” many of whom tied the reception of basic government services to regime loyalty. Once the Internet became popular, Cole continued, the Ben Ali regime, which censored and ultimately nationalized the country’s newspapers, naturally moved quickly to censor online dissident voices.

As the number of bloggers expanded, Ben Ali’s government developed a cyber police force that monitored online activity, blocked access to opposition websites, hacked into e-mails and sought to quash the free flow of ideas and information, Cole said. Unsurprisingly, as the Internet expanded, Tunisian authorities were no longer able to keep tabs on its citizens’ on-

STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

laws more accepting of women’s rights, she said, at the same time it has created an atmosphere that severely restricts political dissent and street activism—both of which are essential for advancing women’s issues.

This is in contrast to the Morsi regime, she noted, which passed laws largely unfavorable toward women, but permitted street protests and allowed women to challenge government policies.

Sexual harassment, which was a major problem before 2011, has worsened, Langohr noted. In addition to common acts of groping and verbal abuse, mob assaults on women—particularly those actively involved in politics—have become more common, she said. Sexual abuse is an issue that goes to the very top of the country, Langohr added, as it is widely believed that in 2011 Sisi, at the time a general, ordered arrested female protesters to undergo virginity tests.

On a positive note, Langohr pointed out that a new generation of young activists has risen to work on issues of sexual abuse and violence. She described this as an important development, as in the past older individuals in the political elite, such as former first lady Suzanne Mubarak, led women’s rights initiatives. Given their ties to the repressive regime, initiatives launched by these women were often discredited.

—Dale Sprusansky

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Juan Cole discusses the role of young people in Tunisia’s uprising.

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to purchase homes or marry. The line activity, and bloggers from a country is stable, Al Habtoor variety of political beliefs began pointed out, with a strong econto gain notoriety. omy, no unemployment and the Online activity boomed after best infrastructure in the world.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in “The streets of the richest cities 2011 and Tunisia began its politin the world are full of homeless ical transition. While the govpeople living under bridges, tunernment was no longer watching nels and train stations,” he noted. their every click, Cole noted, Safety and security also are high young activists were drawing priorities in the UAE. “This is the ire of a different group: the our right and our duty—and we country’s Salafi Muslims. will not apologize for it!” he emAlthough only 5,000 or so Salafis reside in Tunisia, accord- Dr. John Duke Anthony (l), president of the National Council on phasized.

“Do you really think we, in ing to Cole, the group managed to U.S.-Arab Relations, presents Khalaf Al Habtoor with a lifetime the UAE, are missing on democbegin a culture war by launching achievement award. racy?,” Al Habtoor continued. a series of attacks against activities they believed violated their fundamen- nesses, along with the U.S. State Depart- “Leaders in democratic countries are locked talist interpretation of Islam. Among other ment, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the away in their ivory towers, with thousands things, Salafis decried the publishing of U.S. Department of Commerce. Speakers of guards keeping them from the people magazines with racy covers and protested from those organizations, along with busi- they are supposed to listen to.” Al Habtoor the airing of a film in which God was de- ness leaders, policymakers, educators and described the UAE’s leaders as reachable picted. The then-ruling Ennahda party leaders of NGOs, banks and start-ups, em- and approachable, and interested in what often attempted to settle such disputes del- phasized that business relationships and citizens and the residents of their country icately, Cole noted, by issuing light pun- partnerships depend on developing mutual have to say. They care about all humanishments to individuals targeted by the trust, respect and cooperation, and ending ity...and don’t simply talk and make promises.

Salafis. prejudices and misinformation.

That was a good segue to an issue that is On the political front, Cole said, the In a hard-hitting keynote speech addressTunisian youth began to fervently remobi- ing some of the most hotly debated miscon- always on Al Habtoor’s mind: Palestine. He lize in the summer of 2013, after two leftist ceptions about Arabs, Khalaf Ahmad Al and former President Jimmy Carter and forpoliticians were assassinated. These Habtoor, chairman of UAE’s Al Habtoor mer Congressman Paul Findley (who was in killings shocked the Tunisian populace, he Group, explained why Western ideals don’t the audience) have drafted a proposal for a noted, which was unaccustomed to such always work in his region. “I did not hold seminar called “Pathways to Peace.” Stubrutal political violence. Many young sand in my hand and turn it into gold,” said dents and faculty from Illinois College will Tunisians took to the streets to protest the Al Habtoor, who was born into a poor fam- examine historical solutions for religious and killings and express their belief that En- ily. In fact, he joked about some of his early ethnic conflicts and travel to Jordan, Palesnahda was being too soft on terrorism. business failures, detailed in his new book, tine and Israel to meet with students and Ennahda “saw the writing on the wall,” Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor—The Autobiog- look for solutions to the Israel-Palestine conCole said, and cooled political tensions by raphy. His company’s motto is “Growing flict. It is their hope that the next generation agreeing to compromises on women’s with the UAE,” and he remarked that UAE may find new solutions to old problems.

Al-Habtoor concluded by asking the U.S. rights and the role of Islam in the state. It citizens feel like partners in their country’s and other Western countries “to look at us announced new parliamentary elections, stellar growth and success. which were held on Oct. 26.

Despite the UAE’s phenomenal story, at eye-level.” He explained: “It is time you Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi Dubai in particular has been the target of started looking at us as equals and listen to agreed to this outcome in order to prevent bad Western press for decades, Al Habtoor our advice and recognize our achievements. a dissent into chaos, Cole concluded, ex- noted. Media criticize the Emirates for its It is time the West realized we don’t need to plaining, “He didn’t want to throw Tunisia “firm laws and low tolerance of corruption, be picked on for not following Westerninto an Algeria-type [bloody] civil war.” and our handling of people who threaten style policies that quite frankly don’t seem —Dale Sprusansky our safety and national security,” Al to be working for the West that well eiHabtoor said. “Yes, we are firm with crimi- ther...We want to help, and we can help— C3 Summit Urges Focus on nals and we are proud of it,” he stated, and, given the chance, this world will be a “Commercial Diplomacy” adding that “people from all over the world much better place for every one of us.”

Attendees also learned about new techC3 U.S.-Arab Business Summit attendees have decided to make the UAE their home nologies, products and services, and the spent a full day, Oct. 6, choosing between because of what this nation has to offer.”

Although Western media find fault with evolving role of women in the Arab world. simultaneous panel discussions held on two separate floors of the Union League Club in his country’s human rights record, accord- The Middle East is building state-of-the art New York City. The day’s underlying theme ing to the Universal Declaration of Human infrastructure—ports, rails, hospitals, uniwas the importance of bridging the gap be- Rights those rights include such rights as versities and other mega projects. The retween Middle Eastern and Western cul- adequate housing, rights for children, edu- gion is investigating sources for alternative tures. C3 stands for Community, Collabora- cation, food, health and freedom of religion. energy and safe water. The sky is the limit tion and Commerce, and its yearly U.S. UAE citizens enjoy high standards of edu- for American-Arab business opportunities.

—Delinda C. Hanley event is co-sponsored by numerous busi- cation, free medical care, and financial help NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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Books

The Jihadis Return: ISIS and The New Sunni Uprising

By Patrick Cockburn, OR Books, 2014, paperback, 150 pp. List: $16.95; MEB: $14.

Reviewed by Dale Sprusansky Many Americans, including those relatively well informed about international affairs, were caught offguard when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) rose to prominence this past summer. Even President Barack Obama, who infamously referred to the group as a “JV team” in January, apparently underestimated ISIS’ ability to quickly gain territory and agitate an already troubled region.

For those looking to play catch-up and better understand the West’s newest enemy in the Middle East, Patrick Cockburn’s The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the New Sunni Uprising is a tremendous resource. Just 150 pages long, the book provides a quick but highly informative overview of the extrem-

ist group’s short yet impactful history.

Cockburn, a Middle East correspondent for The Independent of Britain, begins by describing the regional environment that helped feed ISIS’ ascent. He details the group’s origins as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and notes how, under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s leadership, it managed to expand its reach and influence.

Chapters devoted specifically to Iraq and Syria explain the dynamics that caused each country to become susceptible to ISIS infiltration.

The chapter on Iraq focuses on the country’s inept military and details the societal and political factors that divided the country. Similarly, Cockburn summarizes Syria’s recent history, outlining how what began as a peaceful Arab Spring movement in 2011 became a bloody civil war and, ultimately, a proxy war battleground.

Cockburn goes on to evaluate the regional and international reactions to ISIS and similar security threats. His assessment of governments from Riyadh to Washington is not flattering.

Not afraid to throw punches, Cockburn attributes ISIS’ growth to a number of international missteps. Among others, he cites the Turkish government for failing to control its borders, the government of former

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for its sectarian and corrupt governing style, and Gulf governments for failing to restrict the flow of resources to extremist groups.

Cockburn is particularly critical of the international response to the Syrian civil war.

America, and especially Gulf nations, pouring weapons into the hands of so-called moderate rebels has done little good, he maintains. Many of these weapons, sources tell Cockburn, end up in the hands of ISIS or the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra group.

The journalist also details why he believes Washington’s War on Terror has failed miserably. While the U.S. government has been willing to engage in war field battles, he argues that it has avoided fighting the more essential diplomatic wars that, if waged, would cut to the heart of the terrorism issue.

The Jihadis Return concludes with an assessment of the media’s role in Syria, Iraq and the broader War on Terror, and Cockburn’s predictions for the region’s future.

In Cockburn’s view, Western media have mismanaged public expectations since 9/11.

He notes, for example, that in 2001 many outlets reported the Taliban had been dealt a decisive blow in Afghanistan, thus leaving many shocked when the group experienced a revival in 2006. He further argues that misleading reporting also fueled Western misunderstanding of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya. Finally, he criticizes the media for relentlessly predicting in 2011 and 2012 that the collapse of Syrian President Bashar alAssad’s regime was imminent.

In 2013 the misleading reporting ended, Cockburn notes, because for monetary and security reasons numerous media outlets removed their reporters from Iraq and Syria.

This information void left the West unprepared for ISIS’ rise, he maintains.

Cockburn’s assessment of the future is bleak. He sees the region as entering a prolonged period of instability, and believes it will take years to restore order to Syria and bring reconciliation to Iraq.

Extremely readable and cogent, The Jihadis Return is a page-turner. After investing just two hours or so, readers will have an in-depth understanding of what ISIS is, how it came into being and why jihadism is alive and well 13 years after 9/11. After absorbing Cockburn’s information, readers will wish their government officials had possessed (or paid attention to) such details over the course of the past two years—if not the past century. ❑ Dale Sprusansky is assistant editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

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Middle East Books and More Literature

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Music

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Film

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Pottery

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More

Fa l l 2 0 1 4 Zionism and the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land by Donald E. Wagner and Walter T. Davis, Pickwick Publications, 2014, 250 pp.

List: $31; MEB: $26. From the makers of Zionism Unsettled, this edited volume features contributions from Mustafa Abu Sway, Carole Burnett and Gary Burge and critically examines political Zionism, including discussing the role of Christianity and Christians in the Zionist project. The volume addresses politics, human rights and history, all with a theological perspective that sheds new light on Israel and Zionism.

Authentic Egyptian Cooking: From the Table of Abou El Sid by Nehal Leheta, AUC Press, 2013, hardcover, 144 pp. List: $29.95; MEB: $22. The historic restaurant Abou El Sid will be familiar to Egypt enthusiasts and food lovers in general. Now, house recipes are available for a worldwide audience, complete with a food glossary and recipes for every occasion, accompanied by stunning photographs. Veterans and newbies to Egyptian favorites like koshary, fuul and molokheya will all appreciate this great kitchen companion.

Gaza: A History by Jean-Pierre Filiu, Oxford University Press, 2014, hardcover, 440 pp. List: $29.95; MEB: $24. Filiu’s vast history of Gaza is the first of its kind. Spanning from the 18th century to the present, Filiu documents the specific events in Gaza’s history, placing it in relation to larger Palestinian, Arab and world histories. Despite its small size, Gaza’s place in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is critical to understanding the past and current dynamics of the region and this small strip of land that has seen such suffering over the past decades.

The Book of Gaza: A City in Short Fiction edited by Atef Abu Saif, Comma Books, 2014, 128 pp.

List: $15.99; MEB: $15. This incredible new volume comprises works by 12 of Gaza’s most recognized contemporary writers, including Zaki Al ‘Ela, Nayrouz Qarmout, Najla Ataalah and Yusra al Khatib.

The stories cover a wide variety of themes and topics, and are a useful and moving means to learn about the intricacies of life in Gaza in a more personal way than through political analysis or popular news. From a region where few works are translated into English, this collection is not to be missed.

Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair by Jonathan Cook, Zed Books, 2008, paperback, 304 pp.

List: $34.95; MEB: $26. Jonathan Cook, a prolific writer and journalist based in Nazareth, explores Israeli policies of displacement and control over Palestinian territories.

He smartly lays out how roadblocks, checkpoints, state bureaucracy, walls, roads and other Israeli programs are slowly destroying the Palestinian nation in the name of Israeli defense. This book is a blunt account of the ugly realities of settler colonialism.

Afghanistan: A Cultural History

by St. John Simpson, Interlink Books, 2012, paperback, 160 pp. List: $19.95; MEB: $18. In this beautiful collection of photographs of artifacts, monuments and landscapes, combined with accessible historical analysis, Simpson, a curator at the British Museum, guides readers through centuries of archeological discoveries from Afghanistan all the way to the present. Simpson masterfully shows how trade to different regions connected Afghanistan to the outside world and how Afghan culture was affected by such exchanges. This book is a wonderful way for experts and casual readers alike to discover the beauty of Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, It Was Paradise

by Mahmoud Darwish, University of California Press, 2013, paperback, 224 pp. List: $29.95; MEB: $22. The late Mahmoud Darwish is commonly referred to as Palestine’s poet, and his ability to beautifully capture the Palestinian experience in writing is unparalleled. This latest [final?] collection brings together some of Darwish’s poetry from throughout his career, including the famous “Miral.” His themes of exile, resistance, dispossession and nationalism show how Darwish was able to blend different poetic styles from Arab history.

Hezbollah: A Short History by Augustus Richard Norton, Princeton University Press, 2014, paperback, 229 pp. List: $15.95; MEB: $14. In this new updated edition of Norton’s authoritative work first published in 2007, the ever-controversial Hezbollah’s history is clearly laid out. From its founding as a Palestinian resistance organization, to its transformation into a Lebanese political party, to its current involvement in the war in Syria, this clear and concise guide to Hezbollah presents its tumultuous and complex history in an accessible way.

Iraq: A Political History by Adeed Dawisha, Princeton University Press, 2013, paperback, 393 pp.

List: $24.95; MEB: $24. Dawisha’s influential history of modern Iraq is a necessary reference for anyone interested in Iraq’s fascinating history. Beginning with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Dawisha follows the transformation of the state as it has attempted to consolidate its power over a diverse country. Dawisha’s insightful book is a key to understanding the complex dynamics of Iraq’s political landscape.

Shipping Rates Most items are discounted and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders accepted by mail, phone (800-368-5788 ext. 2), or Web (www.middleeast books.com). All payments in U.S. funds. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. Please send mail orders to Middle East Books and More, 1902 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, with checks and money orders made out to “AET.” U . S . S h i p p i n g R a t e s : Please add $5 for the first item and $2.50 for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item.

International shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first item and $6 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless otherwise requested.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

L i b r a r y p a c k a g e s (list value over $240) are available for $29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’s paid subscription or renewal. Call Middle East Books and More at 800-368-5788 ext. 2 to order. Our policy is to identify donors unless anonymity is specifically requested.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Upcoming Events, Announcements —Compiled by Kevin A. Davis & Obituaries Events “Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country” will be on display at the Russell Senate Office Building Rotunda in Washington, DC from Nov. 10 to 14. The exhibit, organized by the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, MI, highlights the role of Arab Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces, diplomatic service and Peace Corps. For more information visit <www.arabamericanmuseum.org>.

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UC Berkeley will host its Fall 2014 lecture series, including “Rethinking the Rise of Philosophy in Islam: Al-Kindi and his Greek Sources” with Prof. Emma Gannage on Nov. 13 and “The Jet Set Frontier in the Middle East: Hijackings, Petrodollars, and the Fragility of American Travel Networks before 9/11” with Prof. Waleed Hazbun on Dec. 4. Visit <www.cmes.berkeley.edu> for more information.

Nabil al-Raee and Alia Alrosan of the Friends of the Freedom Theatre in Jenin will be visiting La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA on Nov. 13 to show performance clips and discuss their plans for the U.S. debut of their new play, “Suicide Notes from Palestine.” Visit <www.mecafor peace.org> for more information.

The Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC will be hosting its 2014 Annual Conference entitled “From Local to Global: The Persistence of the Palestinian Struggle” on Nov. 14. Speakers include Prof.

Rochelle Davis, Bill Fletcher, Henry Siegman, Ian Lustick and Diana Buttu. For more information and to register visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org>.

The Middle East Institute Annual Conference will be held Nov. 20 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC. The conference will feature such guests as Juan Cole, Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, Amr Shobaki, and Adel Altoraifi. Visit <www.mei.edu> to register.

A new exhibition entitled Arts of the Middle East will be on view at the American Task Force on Palestine’s Fen Gallery in Washington, DC from Nov. 22 to Dec. 12. It will feature ancient manuscripts, an68

BulletinBoard

tique maps, 19th century lithographs, calligraphy, vintage costumes, textiles, books and jewelry from the Middle East. Visit <www.americantaskforce.org> for more information.

Announcements The Arab Studies Journal is seeking submissions for its special issue entitled “Wayn al-Dawleh?” In Search of the Lebanese State. Submissions are due March 1, 2015. The journal will seek to address the role of the Lebanese state in daily life. Articles from various backgrounds are accepted. Contact <editor@arabstudiesjour nal.org> or visit <www.arabstudiesjour nal.org> for more information.

Obituaries Ahmed Saif, 63, a prominent Egyptian human rights lawyer, died Aug. 27 in a Cairo hospital of complications from heart surgery. Following his imprisonment and torture in the 1970s and 1980s for his involvement with various underground socialist movements, he dedicated himself to ending the practice of torture in Egypt. He was a founder of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, which advocated for victims of human rights abuse, and represented a number of prominent court cases in Egypt, making him a national symbol of human rights. He represented all 52 men accused of homosexuality in the famous Queen Boat incident of 2001. He was a leading figure in the 2011 Egyptian uprising, for which he was arrested for the fourth time, and was one of the few non-Islamist lawyers who agreed to defend detained supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi. Two of his three children—son Ala’a Abdul Fattah, a prominent blogger, and younger daughter Sana—are currently in jail for violating protest laws.

James A. Traficant Jr., 73, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio, died in Youngstown after a tractor accident. He was expelled from Congress in 2002 on charges of corruption. He was a prominent defender of John Demjanjuk, the Ukranian American who was deported to Israel, and later to Germany, and tried on allegations of having been a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. Traficant claimed that THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial. The affair led to him being targeted by AIPAC and he became a fierce critic of U.S. aid to Israel and the Israel lobby in the U.S. Michael Hariri, 87, a Mossad agent and assassin, died Sept. 21 in his birthplace of Tel Aviv. As a teenager he was a member of the Jewish terrorist organization Haganah, and later helped facilitate the immigration of thousands of Jews from Western Europe to Palestine. In 1954 he joined the Mossad, and led the Israeli hit squad tasked with retribution for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, which famously killed a Moroccan waiter in Norway by mistake. Six of the hitmen were arrested and tried for murder, but Hariri escaped the country.

After retiring from Israeli intelligence, he served as adviser to the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and again escaped during the 1989 U.S. invasion. Hariri’s role as a Mossad assassin is featured in the 2005 film “Munich.”

Mahsa Shekarloo, 44, an Iranian women’s rights activist and Internet pioneer, died Sept. 5 of cancer. Born in Tehran, she moved to Chicago as a young child. After graduating from college, she decided to move back to Tehran to start a career as an activist. Shekarloo founded the feminist magazine Bad Jens to present an accurate portrayal of Iranian women to a Western audience, which, she claimed, views them either as “victims” or “heroines.” She also helped found the Women’s Cultural Center in Iran and translated numerous books from Persian into English.

Gerald A. Larue, 98, a prominent American minister, died Sept. 17 of a stroke. A professor of religion and gerontology at the University of Southern California, he was known for questioning Biblical stories, and undertook numerous scientific trips to the Middle East, including to Egypt and Palestine, to investigate biblical claims. ❑ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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AET’s 2014 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2014 and Oct. 7, 2014 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 helped us co-sponsor the March 7 National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel “Special Relationship.” We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grateful for their generosity.

HUMMERS ($100 or more) Jeffrey M. Abood, Silver Lake, OH Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, Atlanta, GA Alice & Rizek Abusharr, Claremont, TX James C. Ahlstrom, Stirling, NJ Aglaia Ahmed, Buda, TX Dr. M.Y. Ahmed, Waterville, OH Emeel & Elizabeth Ajluni, Farmington Hills, MI Robert Akras, N. Bay Village, FL Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ Dr. Subhi Ali, Waverly, TN Nabil & Judy Amarah, Danbury, CT Mike & Pat Ameen, Kingwood, TX Edwin Amidon, Charlotte, VT Louise Anderson, Oakland, CA Sylvia Anderson de Freitas, Phoenix, AZ Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Dr. Robert Ashmore, Jr., Mequon, WI Mr. & Mrs. Sultan Aslam, Plainsboro, NJ Dr. & Mrs. Roger Bagshaw, Big Sur, CA Nabil Bahu, Athens, Greece Mrs. Alma Ball, Venice, FL Jamil Barhoum, San Diego, CA Allen & Jerrie Bartlett, Philadelphia, PA Susan M. Bell, Alexandria, VA Peter Bentley, Sebastian, FL Syed & Rubia Bokhari,º Bourbonnais, IL Stephen Buck, Bethesda, MD Prof. Mireya Camurati, Williamsville, NY John Carley, Pointe-Claire, Quebec Lois Carrig, Erie, PA Blaine Chandler, Boise, ID Patricia Christensen, Poulsbo, WA Dr. Arthur Clark, Calgary, Canada Dr. Robert G. Collmer, Waco, TX Lois Critchfield, Williamsburg, VA Ray Doherty, Houston, TX Tareck Elass, Washington, DC Gloria El-Khouri, Scottsdale, AZ Wajih Elkiswani, Niles, IL M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Dr. Moneim Fadali, Los Angeles, CA Dr. & Mrs. Hossam Fadel, Augusta, GA Albert E. Fairchild, Bethesda, MD Catherine Fararjeh, Santa Clara, CA Renee Farmer, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki, Albuquerque, NM Claire Bradley Feder, Atherton, CA Douglas A. Field, Kihei, HI Eileen Fleming, Clermont, FL E. Patrick Flynn, Carmel, NY Robert Gabe, Valatie, NY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

Michael Gillespie, Maxwell, IA George Glober, Dallas, TX Herbert Greider, Dauphin, PA Agi Groff, New York, NY Mark Habib, Chico, CA Iftekhar Hai, S. San Francisco, CA Dr. Safei Hamed, Columbia, MD Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY James Hanson, Columbus, OH Katharina Harlow, Pacific Grove, CA Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Dr. Steven Harvey, Manchester, NH Mrs. Frances Hasenyager, Carmel, CA Mr. & Mrs. Sameer Hassan, Quaker Hill, CT Ibrahim Hayani, Unionville, Ont. Joan & Edward Hazbun, Media, PA Alan & Dot Heil, Alexandria, VA† James Hillen, North Vancouver, Canada Jerry Hlass, Long Beach, MS Veronica Hoke, Hillcrest Hts., MD Dr. Marwan Hujeij, Cincinnati, OH Mr. & Mrs. Azmi Ideis, Deltona, FL George Jabbour, Sterling Hts., MI Dr. Raymond Jallow, Los Angeles, CA Ronald Johnson, Pittsford, NY Anthony Jones, Jasper, Canada Mohamad Kamal, North York, Canada Mujid Kazimi, Newton, MA Louise & Bob Keeley, Washington, DC Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Edwin Kennedy, Bethesda, MD Dr. Mohayya Khilfeh, Chicago, IL Abdal Hakim Khirfan, Flint, MI Alfred & Dina Khoury, McLean, VA Eugene Khorey, West Mifflin, PA N. Khoury, Pasadena, CA Donald C. Kimmel, Bethesda, MD Gail Kirkpatrick, Philadelphia, PA Joseph Korey, Reading, PA Donald Kouri, Westmount, Canada Loretta Krause, Little Egg Harbor Township, NJ Ronald Kunde, Skokie, IL Ann Marie Labbate, Salt Point, NY William Lawand, Mount Royal, Canada Barbara Leclerq, Overland Park, KS Mary Lou Levin, Mill Valley, CA Josie Toth Linen, Richmond, VA Leslie Lomas, Boulder, CO George & Karen Longstreth, San Diego, CA Joseph Louis, Los Gatos, CA Jeanie Lucas, Thebarton, Australia J. Robert Lunney, Bronxville, NY Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Robert L. Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Allen J. MacDonald, Washington, DC Farah Mahmood, Forsyth, IL Tahera Mamdani, Fridley, MN Ted Marczak, Toms River, NJ Joseph A. Mark, Carmel, CA Linden Martineau, Ventnor City, NJ Carol Mazzia, Santa Rosa, CA Shirl McArthur, Reston, VA Stanley McGinley, The Woodlands, TX Robert Michael, Sun Lakes, AZ Tom Mickelson, Madison, WI Lynn & Jean Miller, Amherst, MA Peter Miller, Portland, OR Dr. Yehia Mishriki, Emmaus, PA Colleen Mitchell, Fresno, CA Nabil Mohamad, Washington, DC Mr. & Mrs. Farah Munayyer, West Caldwell, NJ Ann Murphy, Tacoma, WA Mohamad Nabi, Union, KY William & Nancy Nadeau, San Diego, CA Joseph Najemy, Worcester, MA Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX Neal & Donna Newby, Las Cruces, NM Susan Nicholson, Gloucester, MA Tom O’Connell, Brooklyn, NY Rev. John O’Neill, Petaluma, CA Khaled Othman, Riverside, CA Edmond & Lorraine Parker, Chicago, IL John Parry, Chapel Hill, NC Vicki Perkins, Calgary, Canada Dr. Bashar Pharoan, Timonium, MD Phillip Portlock, Washington, DC Barry Preisler, Albany, CA Clarence Prince, Austin, TX Syed R. Quadri, Elizabethtown, KY Bassam Rammaha, Corona, CA Nayla Rathle, Belmont, MA Vivian & Doris Regidor, Pearl City, HI Mr. & Mrs. Edward Reilly, Rocky Point, NY Paul Richards, Salem, OR Ms. Brynhild Rowberg, Northfield, MN Arthur Rowse, Chevy Chase, MD Ambassador William Rugh, Garrett Park, MD Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA Grace Said, Chevy Chase, MD Ramzy Salem, Monterey Park, CA Betty Sams, Washington, DC Dr. Dirgham H. Sbait, Portland, OR Russell Scardaci, Cairo, NY * 69

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Robert M. Schaible, Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, Buxton, ME Joan Seelye, Bethesda, MD Mona Serageldin, Cambridge, MA Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL William A. Shaheen III, Grosse Ile, MI Richard J. Shaker, Annapolis, MD George Shalabi, Sauk City, WI Qaiser & Tanseem Shamim, Somerset, NJ Theodore Shannon, Middleton, WI Lewis Shapiro, White Plains, NY Kathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA Yousuf Siddiqui, Bloomfield, MI Lucy Skivens-Smith, Dinwiddie, VA William Slavick, Portland, ME Edgar W. Snell, Jr., Schenectady, NY Jean Snyder, Greenbelt, MD P. & J. Starks, Greensboro, NC Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY Dr. William Strange, Fort Garland, CO Karl Striedieck, Port Matilda, PA Corrine Sutila, Los Angeles, CA Mushtaq Syed, Santa Clara, CA Dr. Yusuf Tamimi, Hilo, HI Doris Taweel, Laurel, MD J. Tayeb, Shelby Township, MI Ned Toomey, Bishop, CA Nona Tyler, Loveland, CO Unitarian Universalists for Justice, Cambridge, MA Tom Veblen, Washington, DC Elizabeth & Lawrence Waldron, Berkeley, CA Sheila Wells, Monterey Park, CA Duane & Barbara Wentz, Kirkland, WA Keith Wilbanks, Gainesville, GA Darrell & Sue Yeaney, Scotts Valley, CA Raymond Younes, Oxnard, CA Munir Zacharia, La Mirada, CA Nadim & Alicia Zacharia, San Diego, CA Ziyad & Cindi Zaitoun, Seattle, WA Fred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Dr. Majid Azzedine, Lakewood, WA Mr. & Mrs. Robert Beckmann, Seattle, WA Robert Adams Boyd, Binghamton, NY Prof. & Mrs. George W. Buchanan, Gaithersburg, MD Lynn & Aletha Carlton, Norwalk, CT Joe Chamy, Colleyville, TX Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Boulder, CO Joseph Daruty, Newport Beach, CA Robert & Tanis Diedrichs, Cedar Falls, IA Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA Ray Gordon, Bel Air, MD Iftekhar Hai, S. San Francisco, CA 70

Delinda C. Hanley, Kensington, MD*** Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Dr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Waco, TX Salman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD Omar & Nancy Kader, Vienna, VA Martha Katz, Youngstown, OH Dr. M. Jamil Khan, Bloomfield Hills, MI Omar Khwaja, Irvine, CA Paul N. Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Michael Ladah, Las Vegas, NV Kendall Landis, Media, PA David & Renee Lent, Hanover, NH† Joe and Lilli Lill, Arlington, VA Nidal Mahayni, Richmond, VA†† Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Dr. Charles W. McCutchen, Bethesda, MD Ben Monk, St. Paul, MN Dr. Eid B. Mustafa, Wichita Falls, TX Arthur Paone, Belmar, NJ Edward & Ann Peck, Chevy Chase, MD Catherine Quigley, Annandale, VA Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Yasir Shallal, McLean, VA James G. Smart, Keene, NH David J. Snider, Airmont, NY Mubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GA Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI John Theodosi, Lafayette, CA John V. Whitbeck, Paris, France Darrell & Sue Yeaney, Scotts Valley, CA Rafi Ziauddin, West Chester, PA

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more) Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Rev. Dr. Lois Aroian, Willow Lake, SD Kamel and Majda Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Wilhelmine Bennett, Iowa City, IA Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MO Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Boulder, CO Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL* Mervat Eid, Henrietta, NY Edouard Emmet, Paris, France Rafeek Farah, New Boston, MI Elisabeth Fitzhugh, Mitchellville, MD Ronald & Mary Forthofer, Longmont, CO Elaine & William Guenther, Saint Joseph, MO George Hanna, Santa Ana, CA Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Les Janka, Leesburg, VA Zagloul Kadah, Seattle, WA Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Kids in Need of Development Education, Richardson, TX THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Mahmud Khan, Columbia, SC Bill & Jean Mansour, Corvallis, OR Jean Mayer, Bethesda, MD Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Liz Mulford, Cupertino, CA Mary Norton, Austin, TX Mary Regier, Albany, CA**** Robert Reynolds, Mill Valley, CA Gabrielle Saad, Oakland, CA Shahida Siddiqui, Trenton, NJ Yusef & Jennifer Sifri, Wilmington, NC† Mae Stephen, Palo Alto, CA Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI Dr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD*

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more) Asha A. Anand, Bethesda, MD Dr. Abdullah Arar, Amman, Jordan G. Edward & Ruth Brooking, Wilmington, DE Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius & Aston Bloom, Tucson, AZ Donald Bustany, Studio City, CA William G. Coughlin, Brookline, MA Luella Crow, Eugene, OR Thomas D’Albani & Dr. Jane Killgore, Bemidji, MN Gregory DeSylva, Rhinebeck, NY Linda Emmet, Paris, France Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey* Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Judith Howard, Norwood, MA** Mary Ann Hrankowski, Rochester, NY††† Shafiq Kombargi, Houston, TX Jack Love, San Diego, CA John Mahoney, AMEU, New York, NY Gerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CA Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Norman Tanber, Dana Point, CA Ms. Janice Terry, Marietta, OH John Van Wagoner, McLean, VA

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more) Henry Clifford, Essex, CT Donna B. Curtiss, Kensington, MD****, † John & Henrietta Goelet, New York, NY Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC Vincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT*, ** Mahmud Shaikhaly, Hollywood, CA Joan Toole, Albany, GA *In Memory of Richard H. Curtiss **In Honor of Andrew I. Killgore ***For Helen Thomas Internship ****In Memory of Frank Regier †In Memory of Ghassan Sabbagh ††In Memory of Leila Goodman †††In Memory of USS Liberty NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

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’Tis the Season for Charitable Giving: A Washington Report Compendium Compiled by Jhostyn Duval and Kevin Davis Addameer – Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association: 3 Edward

Said St., Sebat Bldg, 1st Floor, Suite 2 • Ramallah, Palestine • PO Box 17338 • +972 (0)2 296 04 46 • www.ad dameer.org • Supports Palestinian political prisoners through visits, aid, advocacy and the media.

Alalusi Foundation: 1975 National Ave.,

Hayward, CA 94545 • (510) 887-2374 • www.alalusifoundation.org • Iraq Orphans Project provides support to more than 2,300 orphaned children in Iraq.

American Friends of Birzeit University:

1416 N. Utah St. • Arlington, VA 22201 • www.birzeit.edu • For more than half a century Birzeit University has provided an excellent education for Palestinian men and women.

American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA): 1111 14th St. NW, Suite 400

• Washington, DC 20005 • (202) 2669700 • www.anera.org • Sponsors ongoing programs in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan, and provides emergency relief.

American University of Beirut/Medical Emergency Fund: 3 Dag Hammarskjold

Plaza, 8th Floor • New York, NY 10017 • (212) 583-7600 • www.aub.edu.lb • Provides medical services for the victims of recent wars.

Ashoka-Middle East/North Africa Program: 1700 North Moore St., Suite

2000 • Arlington, VA 22209 • (703) 527-8300 • www.ashoka.org/mena • Provides grants to social entrepreneurs who propose ideas and projects offering innovative solutions to humanitarian and human rights issues.

Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children: 72

Philisteen Street • PO Box 1276 • Gaza, Palestine • (+972-8) 2828495 • www.atfaluna.net • Provides education and training to deaf and hearingimpaired individuals and their families in the Gaza Strip.

The Bethlehem Association: PO Box

1111 • Media, PA 19063 • (610) 353NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

2010 • www.bethlehemassoc.org • An organization of the Bethlehemite Diaspora, the Bethlehem Association collects donations to support well-established and recognized charities and clinics in the West Bank’s Bethlehem District, the cities of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour.

Four Homes of Mercy: The Arab Orthodox Invalid’s Home Charitable Society: PO Box 19185 • Jerusalem,

Palestine 91191 • +972-02-627-4871 • www.fourhomesofmercy. com • Provides specialist residential services and respite care for people with congenital and acquired neurological disorders.

The Free Gaza Movement: 405 Vista Heights Rd. • El Cerrito, CA 94530 • (510) 232-2500 • www.freegaza.org • Challenges the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip by boat, bringing symbolic humanitarian aid.

Fund for Armenian Relief: 630 Second

Ave. • New York, NY 10016 • (212) 889-5150 • www.farusa.org • Supports Armenian communities, including in Lebanon, where Armenian villages give shelter to refugees of recent wars.

Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP): PO Box 1049 • Gaza

City, Palestine • +972-08-264-1511 • www.gcmhp.net/en • Provides urgently needed mental health care for residents of the Gaza Strip.

Hands Along the Nile Development Services, Inc. (HANDS): 1601 N. Kent

St. Suite 1014 • Arlington, VA 22209 • (800) 564-2544 • www.handsalongthe nile.org • Promotes U.S.-Egyptian cultural exchange and helps to empower local communities through a variety of development projects.

SpecialReport Hidaya Foundation: PO Box 5481 • Santa Clara, CA 95056 • (866) 2-HIDAYA • www.hidaya.org • Sponsors educational, social welfare and charitable projects in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, West Africa, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the U.S. and Canada.

Helping Hand for Relief and Development: 12541 McDougall St., Suite 100

• Detroit, MI 48212 • (313) 279-5378 • www.hhrd.org • Responds to human suffering in emergency and disaster situations all over the world, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, class, religion, color, cultural diversity and social background.

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF): 6935 Wisconsin Ave.

Suite 518 • Bethesda, MD 20815 • (866) 871-HCEF • www.hcef.org • Sponsors ongoing education, child sponsorship and housing programs for Palestinian Christians, as well as an emergency fund to supply medication, medical supplies, food and services.

The Hope Fund: 752 Forge Rd • Lexington, VA 24450 • (540) 319-4077 • www.theHopeFund.org • Provides a U.S. college education to Palestinian refugee students: Building tomorrow’s leaders one student at a time.

International Orthodox Christian Charities: 110 West Rd., Suite 360 • Balti-

more, MD 21204 • (410) 243-9820 • www.iocc.org • Provides emergency relief and development programs to those in need worldwide, without discrimination.

Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief/Helping Hand: 166-26

89th Ave. • Queens, NY 11432 • (718) 658-1199 • www.icna.org • Repairs infrastructure and sponsors educational and nutritional programs.

Hariri Foundation Lebanon Relief Fund:

7501 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 715E • Bethesda, MD 20814 • (301) 656-1666 • www.hfusa.org • Provides emergency medical services, food, water, shelter, clothing and refugee relocation for the victims of the war in Lebanon.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Islamic Relief USA: PO Box 22250 •

Alexandria, VA 22304 • (855) 447-1001 • www.irusa.org • Provides education, food, health aid, water and sanitation programs to communities facing floods, wars and other disasters.

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The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD): PO Box 8118 •

New York, NY 10116 • (646) 308-1322 • www.icahdusa.org • Rebuilds Palestinian homes demolished by Israel, sometimes several times, in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel.

The Jerusalem Fund: 2425 Virginia Ave., NW • Washington, DC 20037 • (202) 338-1958 • www.thejerusalem fund.org • Provides grants for humanitarian and cultural projects in Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, as well as for educational projects in the U.S. KinderUSA: PO Box 224846 • Dallas,

TX 75222 • (888) 451-8908 • www.kinderusa.org • Supports health and development programs for Palestinian children in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan.

Life for Relief and Development: PO

Box 236 • Southfield, MI 48037 • (248) 424-7493 • www.lifeusa.org • Provides medicine and medical equipment, and supports infrastructure development, in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine.

Maysoon’s Kids: 447 Lawton Ave. •

Cliffside Park, NJ 07010 • (917) 8039111 • www.maysoon.com • Palestinian-American comedienne Maysoon Zayid personally travels to nine different Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, where she provides humanitarian assistance and sponsors programs for disabled, wounded and at-risk children.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders: 333 7th Ave. • New

York, NY 10001-5004 • (212) 679-6800 • www.doctorswithoutborders.org • Global organization providing emergency medical relief around the world.

Mercy Corps: PO Box 2669, Dept. W • Portland, OR 97208 • (888) 747-7440 • www.mercycorps.org • Global organization that provides emergency medical relief in times of crisis, including helping victims of the Ebola epidemic.

Middle East Children’s Alliance: 1101 Eighth St., Suite 100 • Berkeley, CA 94710 • (510) 548-0542 • www.meca forpeace.org • Promotes peace and justice in the Middle East, focusing on Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Iraq.

Mosaic Foundation: 10855 E. Bethany

Dr., Suite 300 • Aurora, CO 80014 • (303) 743-7281 • www.mosaicfounda 72

tion.org • Founded by spouses of Arab ambassadors to the U.S., the foundation sponsors a number of projects in the U.S. and Arab world.

the Corrie Family Foundation promotes educational programs in the U.S., and economic, environmental and social justice in Rafah, where Rachel was killed.

Nazareth Project Inc.: 237 North

Prince Street • Lancaster, PA 17603 • (717) 290-1800 • www.nazarethpro ject.org • Raises funds to support the Nazareth Hospital in Israel and St. Luke’s Hospital in Nablus, West Bank.

Near East Foundation: 230 Euclid Avenue • Syracuse, NY 13210 • (315) 428-8670 • www.neareast.org • Supports community development and provides humanitarian and emergency assistance in more than 16 countries.

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund: PO

Box 1926 • Kent, OH 44240 • (330) 678-2645 • www.pcrf.net • Sponsors free medical care in the U.S. for children who cannot be adequately treated in the Middle East; trains local doctors and sends medical supplies to Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Medical Relief Society: PMRS Building, PO Box 572 • Ramallah, Palestine • +970-2-2969970 • www.pmrs.ps • A grassroots community-based Palestinian health organization.

Pilgrims of Ilbillin: 1541 Comanche Glen

• Madison, WI 53704 • (608) 241-9281 • www.pilgrimsofibillin.org • Supports Palestinian children in Israel through Archbishop Elias Chacour, promoting education and interfaith understanding.

The Rebuilding Alliance/Rebuilding Homes Campaign: 178 South Blvd. •

San Mateo, CA 94402 • (650) 325-4663 • www.rebuildingalliance.org • Raises awareness and funds to rebuild Palestinian homes and bring peace to the Middle East through strategic Palestinian and Israeli cooperation.

René Moawad Foundation: 1732 Con-

necticut Ave. NW, 3rd Floor • Washington, DC 20009 • (202) 338-3535 • www.rmf.org.lb • Promotes social, economic, agricultural and rural development, and democracy and human rights in Lebanon.

Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center: PO Box 9186 • Portland,

OR 97207 • (503) 653-6625 • www. sabeel.org • In addition to advocacy on behalf of Palestinians, Sabeel provides a variety of community programs, particularly to Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): 1666 K Street,

Suite 440 • Washington, DC 20006 • (202) 223-3767 • www.unrwausa.org • This U.N. agency aids Palestinian refugees through emergency relief such as food and healthcare, as well as longterm assistance through education and financial programs.

Project Hope: 29 An-Najah Al-Qadim

St. • Nablus, Palestine • +972-9-2337077 • www.projecthope.ps • Provides educational and recreational activities, medical and humanitarian relief, and practical training to residents of Nablus and its neighboring Askar and Balata refugee camps.

T’ruah, The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights (formerly Rabbis for Human Rights): 333 Seventh Ave., 13th Floor •

New York, NY 10001 • (212) 845-5201 • www.truah.org • In addition to advocacy, provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, including those in Israel’s unrecognized villages.

Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice: 203 East Fourth Ave., Suite

402 • Olympia, WA 98501 • (360) 754-3998 • www.rachelcorriefounda tion.org • In memory of Rachel Corrie, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

United Palestinian Appeal: 1330 New

Hampshire Ave. NW, Suite 104 • Washington, DC 20036 • (202) 6595007 • www.helpupa.org • Sponsors health, education and community development programs in the West Bank, Gaza and refugee camps throughout the Middle East.

World Vision: 1 World Drive • Missis-

sauga, Ontario, Canada L5T 2Y4 • (905) 565-6100 • www.worldvision.ca • Global Christian humanitarian organization providing relief in many countries in the Arab and Muslim world.

The Zakat Foundation of America: PO

Box 639 • Worth, IL 60482 • (708) 233-0555 • www.zakat.org • Sponsors programs in 10 countries for emergency relief, orphan sponsorship, education, development and health. ❑ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

booklist_fall_73-74_Book List Fall 2014 10/23/14 8:09 AM Page 73

MIDDLE EAST BOOKS FALL 2014 BOOKLIST

Following is a sample of our offerings; for a complete list, non-book items, updated inventory, sale items, and shipping information go to <www.middleeastbooks.com>. You’ll find serious studies, great fiction, moving films, delicious cookbooks, and children’s books here – all at our discounted prices. New titles are in bold.

www.middleeastbooks.com

For books, pottery, olive oil, and other products from Palestine!

Qty Author/Title ___ Abdul-Baki, Kathryn: Tower of Dreams: A Novel ___ Abourezk, James G.: Advise & Dissent: Memoirs of an Ex-Senator ___ Abourezk, Sanaa: Secrets of Healthy Middle Eastern Cuisine ___ Abu-Assad, Hany: Paradise Now (DVD) ___ Abulhawa, Susan: Mornings in Jenin: A Novel ___ Abulhawa, Susan: My Voice Sought the Wind ___ Abu-Lughod, Lila: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? ___ Abu-Zahra, Nadia & Adah Kay: Unfree in Palestine ___ Adas, Jane: Burning Issues: Understanding and Misunderstanding the Middle East ___ Ahmed, Akbar: Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam ___ Aithie, Charles & Patricia: Yemen: Jewel of Arabia ___ Alareer, Refaat: Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers ___ Alhassen, Maytha & Ahmed Shihab-Eldin: Demanding Dignity ___ Ali, Tariq: Night of the Golden Butterfly (Islamic Quintet) ___ Allan, Diana: Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Exile ___ Aloni, Udi: What Does a Jew Want?: On Binationalism & Other Specters ___ Alrawi, Karim: The Mouse Who Saved Egypt ___ Amit & Levit: Israeli Rejectionism: A Hidden Agenda ___ Amos, Deborah: Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval ___ Arnander & Skipworth: Apricots Tomorrow ___ Aruri, Nasser: Dishonest Broker: Role of the U.S. ___ Ashour, Radwa: The Woman From Tantoura ___ Ateek, Naim: A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation ___ Ateek, Naim: Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation ___ Bailey & Bailey: Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? ___ Bakalian & Bozorgmehr: Backlash 9/11 ___ Barakat, Ibtisam: Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood ___ Barakat, Yahya: Rachel: An American Conscience (DVD) ___ Baroud, Ramzy: Searching Jenin ___ Benjamin, Medea: Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control ___ Berlin & Dienst: Freedom Sailors: The Free Gaza’s 2008 Voyage ___ Berry & Philo: Israel and Palestine: Competing Histories ___ Bishara, Rawia: Olive, Lemons, and Za’atar ___ Blasim, Hassan: The Corpse Exhibition & Other Stories of Iraq ___ Bollyn, Christopher: Solving 9-11: The Deception That Changed the World ___ Boullata & Engel: We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine & Lebanon ___ Braverman, Mark: A Wall in Jerusalem ___ Britton, Simone: Rachel (DVD) ___ Brynen & El-Rifai (ed.): The Palestinian Refugee Problem ___ Burge, Gary M.: Jesus & the Land: New Testament Challenge to Holy Land Theol. ___ Burnett, Carole Monica: Zionism through Christian Lenses ___ Butcher, Sally: The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian ___ Butcher, Sally: New Middle Eastern Street Food: Comfort Food from Snackistan ___ Chaabane, Sadok: Ben Ali: On the Road to Pluralism in Tunisia ___ Chacour, Elias: Blood Brothers ___ Chacour, Elias: We Belong to the Land ___ Chacour & Michel: Faith Beyond Despair ___ Chomsky & Pappé (eds.): Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War ___ Chomsky, Noam: Interventions ___ Chomsky, Noam: Making the Future: Occupations, Interventions, Empire ___ Chorin, Ethan: Translating Libya: Modern Libyan Short Stories ___ Clark, Victoria: Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes ___ Cook, Jonathan: Blood & Religion: Unmasking the Jewish & Democratic State ___ Corasanti, Michelle Cohen: The Almond Tree ___ Costanzo, Saverio: Private (DVD) ___ Cram, Bestor: This is Where We Take Our Stand (DVD) ___ Critchfield, Lois: Oman Emerges: An American Company in an Ancient Kingdom ___ Curtiss, Richard: Stealth PACs: How Israel’s Lobby Seeks to Control U.S. Policy ___ Dammaj, Zayd: The Hostage ___ Darwish, Mahmoud: Journal of an Ordinary Grief ___ Darwish, Mahmoud: Unfortunately, It Was Paradise ___ Davis, Eric: Memories of State: Politics, History, Identity in Iraq ___ Davis, Rochelle A.: Palestinian Village Histories: Geographies of the Displaced ___ Dawood, Karimah bint: Heavenly Bites: Best of Muslim Home Cooking ___ Demi: Muhammad ___ Dennis, Aaron: The People & the Olive (DVD) ___ Dennis, Yvonne Wakim: A Kid’s Guide to Arab American History ___ Dumper, Michael: Jerusalem Unbound: Geography, History, & Future ___ Dunlop, Fiona: The North African Kitchen: Regional Recipes & Stories ___ El-Haddad & Schmitt: Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

List MEB $10.00 $8 $19.95 $14 $19.95 $12 $27.98 $20 $16.00 $11 $18.00 $16 $35.00 $26 $30.00 $22 $16.95 $34.95 $30.00 $22.00 $16.95 $26.95 $24.95 $19.95 $16.95 $30.00 $25.95 N/A $18.00 $22.95 $24.00 $15.00 $20.00 $21.95 $16.00 $25.00 $17.95 $16.95 N/A $17.95 $29.95 $15.00 $24.99 $20.00 $17.00 N/A $40.00 $21.99 $25.00 $25.00 $30.00 N/A $12.99 $10.00 $16.99 $16.00 $15.95 $16.95 $19.95 $20.00 $24.95 $14.95 $24.95 $15.00 $29.95 $14.95 $10.95 $16.00 $29.95 $24.95 $24.95 $18.00 $19.95 N/A $16.95 $35.00 $29.95 $29.00

$10 $25 $22 $18 $13 $18 $20 $14 $14 $20 $8 $12 $12 $16 $15 $10 $15 $18 $12 $5 $13 $12 $12 $10 $26 $12 $20 $10 $15 $15 $25 $18 $20 $20 $25 $4 $8 $8 $15 $12 $10 $12 $15 $12 $15 $12 $20 $10 $24 $2 $8 $12 $22 $15 $20 $13 $15 $20 $15 $28 $20 $24

Qty Author/Title List ___ Ennes, James Jr.: Assault on the Liberty: The True Story of the Israeli Attack N/A ___ Farber, Seth: Radicals, Rabbis & Peacemakers: Jewish Critics of Israel $19.95 ___ Filiu, Jean-Pierre: Gaza: A History $29.95 ___ Findley, Paul: Deliberate Deceptions: The Facts about the U.S.-Israeli Relationship $14.95 ___ Findley, Paul: Speaking Out: A Congressman's Lifelong Fight $26.95 ___ Findley, Paul: They Dare to Speak Out $15.95 ___ Finkelstein, Norman: The Holocaust Industry $13.00 ___ Fischbach, Michael: Records of Dispossession $39.50 ___ Freeman, Chas W. Jr.: America’s Misadventures in the Middle East $23.95 ___ Friel & Falk: Israel-Palestine on Record: NYT Misreports on Conflict $19.95 ___ Gardner, Lloyd: Killing Machine: Drone Warfare $26.95 ___ Gates, Jeff: Guilt by Association: How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War $27.95 ___ Gerges, Fawaz: The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution $32.99 ___ Gibran, Kahlil: The Storm: Stories and Prose Poems $18.00 ___ Gibran, Kahlil: The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart $13.00 ___ Gilani & Adams: Cinderella: An Islamic Tale $14.00 ___ Gish, Arthur: At-Tuwani Journal: Hope & Nonviolent Action in a Palestinian Village$17.99 ___ Gish, Arthur: Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking $17.99 ___ Habiby, Emile: The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist $12.95 ___ Haddad, Bassam: Arabs & Terrorism (DVD) $24.95 ___ Haiek, Joseph: Arab American Almanac N/A ___ Hallaj, Dixiane: Born a Refugee: A Novel $12.00 ___ Halliday, Fred: 100 Myths About the Middle East $20.95 ___ Halsell, Grace: Soul Sister N/A ___ Hameed, Mazher: Arabia Imperiled: Security Imperatives of the Gulf States N/A ___ Hammad, Suheir: ZaatarDiva $13.95 ___ Han, Carolyn: Yemeni Folk Tales: From the Land of Sheba $13.95 ___ Hashim & Beg: A Journey Through Islamic History $22.95 ___ Hazo, Samuel: The Time Remaining $19.95 ___ Hedges & Al-Arian: Collateral Damage: U.S. War on Iraqi Civilians N/A ___ Heide, Gilliland & Lewin: Sami and the Time of Troubles $6.95 ___ Hiller, Mischa: Sabra Zoo N/A ___ Hiro, Dilip: The Essential Middle East: A Comprehensive Guide $17.95 ___ Holdbrooks, Terry C.: Traitor?

N/A ___ Honig-Parnass & Haddad: Between the Lines: Readings On Israel/Palestine $17.00 ___ Horowitz, Ratner, & Weiss: The Goldstone Report $18.95 ___ Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church: Zionism Unsettled N/A ___ Jebreal, Rula: Miral: A Novel $15.00 ___ Johnson & Keeble: Saluki: Hound of the Bedouin $16.95 ___ Johnson & Styles: Humpy Grumpy Saves the Day! N/A ___ K., Rima: The Adventures of Iman: As One N/A ___ K., Rima: The Adventures of Iman: Just Say No N/A ___ Kanafani, Ghassan: Palestine’s Children $16.95 ___ Karmi, Ghada: In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story $16.00 ___ Kassem, Fatma: Palestinian Women: Narrative Histories & Gendered Memory $34.95 ___ Kassir, Samir: Being Arab $12.95 ___ Kenny, Kathy Saade: Katrina in Five Worlds N/A ___ Khalidi, Rashid: Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Undermines Peace $25.95 ___ Khalidi, Rashid: Under Siege: PLO Decisionmaking During the 1982 War $35.00 ___ Khan, Hena: Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story $16.95 ___ Khoury, Elias: Gate of the Sun $20.00 ___ Kipnis, Yigal: 1973: The Road to War $39.00 ___ Knight, Michael: Journey to the End of Islam $16.95 ___ Kundnani, Arun: The Muslims Are Coming! $26.95 ___ Laird & Fowles: A Fistful of Pearls & Other Tales from Iraq $8.95 ___ Lawrence, Quil: Invisible Nation: Kurds Quest for Statehood $17.00 ___ Lean, Nathan: Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear $17.00 ___ LeVine & Mossberg: One Land, Two States $29.95 ___ Levy, Gideon: The Punishment of Gaza $15.95 ___ Luyendijk, Joris: People Like Us: Misrepresenting the Middle East $14.95 ___ Maalouf, Amin: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes $16.95 ___ MacDonald & Arzoumanian: Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale $7.99 ___ Mahfouz, Naguib: Fountain and Tomb $12.95 ___ Maira, Sunaina: Jil Oslo: Palestinian Hip Hop, Youth Culture $16.00 ___ Makdisi, Jean Said: Teta, Mother, and Me: Three Generations $25.95 ___ Makdisi, Saree: Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation $22.95 ___ Malek, Alia: A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories $25.00 ___ Mamdani, Mahmood: Good Muslim, Bad Muslim $14.95

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MEB $15 $12 $24 $10 $18 $10 $12 $20 $15 $10 $22 $10 $30 $10 $12 $10 $10 $10 $8 $20 $25 $10 $20 $5 $3 $10 $10 $16 $16 $20 $5 $14 $10 $10 $10 $10 $10 $12 $13 $15 $3 $3 $15 $10 $22 $10 $15 $14 $25 $15 $15 $25 $14 $22 $7 $10 $15 $25 $12 $10 $12 $5 $10 $14 $11 $12 $10 $12

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booklist_fall_73-74_Book List Fall 2014 10/23/14 8:09 AM Page 74

Qty Author/Title List ___ McGeough, Paul: Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination and the Rise of Hamas $26.95 ___ McHugo, John: A Concise History of the Arabs $26.95 ___ Mearsheimer & Walt: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy $15.00 ___ Mikhail, Mona: Seen and Heard: A Century of Arab Women in Literature $15.00 ___ Mobin-Uddin, Asma: A Party in Ramadan $16.95 ___ Moreh, Dror: The Gatekeepers (DVD) $30.99 ___ Mosallam, Abdullmohsin: Encounters with Saudi Arabia N/A ___ Mohyeldin, Ayman: The War Around Us (DVD) $24.98 ___ Mussalam, Sami: The PLO: Its Function and Structure N/A ___ Myre & Griffin: This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines $25.95 ___ Nadir, Leilah: Orange Trees of Baghdad N/A ___ National Summit to Reassess U.S.-Israel Relationship (DVD) N/A ___ Naylor, Phillip: North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present $30.00 ___ Neff, Donald: Warriors Against Israel: How Israel Became America's Ally $19.95 ___ Neff, Donald: Warriors for Jerusalem: The Six Days That Changed the Middle East $9.95 ___ Nogueira & Davidson: Roadmap to Apartheid (DVD) $25.00 ___ Oborne & Morrison: A Dangerous Delusion: Why the West is Wrong About Iran $14.95 ___ Olson, Pamela: Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland $16.00 ___ Omar, Manal M.: Barefoot in Baghdad: A Story of Identity $15.00 ___ Oweiss, Ibrahim M.: A Tale of Two Cultures: A Personal Account $24.00 ___ Pappé, Ilan: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine $14.95 ___ Pappé, Ilan: A History of Modern Palestine $23.99 ___ Pappé, Ilan: The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge $26.95 ___ Pappé, Ilan: Out of the Frame: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Israel $22.00 ___ Pasquini, Phil: Domes, Arches, & Minarets: A History of IslamicInspired Buildings $45.00 ___ Pearlman, Wendy: Occupied Voices: Stories from the Second Intifada $14.95 ___ Pedahzur & Perliger: Jewish Terrorism in Israel $25.00 ___ Peleg & Waxman: Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within $27.99 ___ Perni, Yasmine: The Stones Cry Out: The Story of Palestinian Christians (DVD) $25.00 ___ Peterson, Scott: Let the Swords Encircle Me: Iran $32.00 ___ Porter, Gareth: Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iranian Nuclear Scare $28.00 ___ Quigley, John: The Case for Palestine: An International Law Perspective $22.95 ___ Quigley, John: The Six-Day War & Israeli Self-Defense $29.99 ___ Quigley, John: The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East $28.95 ___ Ra’ad, Basem: Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean $35.00 ___ Raheb, Mitri: Faith in the Face of Empire $20.00 ___ Raheb, Mitri: Sailing Through Troubled Waters: Christianity in the Middle East $19.99 ___ Ransom, Marjorie: Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba: Yemeni Jewelry $49.95 ___ Ring, Kenneth: Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out $26.95 ___ Roberts, Paul: How America Was Lost: From 9/11 to the Police State $29.95 ___ Rogan, Eugene: The Arabs: A History $35.00 ___ Rose, Jacqueline: The Last Resistance $25.95 ___ Rosen, Brant: Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path to Palestinian Solidarity $21.00 ___ Rosen, Nir: Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America’s Wars in the Mideast $35.00

MEB $10 $22 $12 $10 $15 $18 $5 $24 $2 $15 $15 $20 $22 $5 $7 $15 $12 $11 $14 $20 $10 $15 $22 $15 $30 $6 $24 $21 $22 $15 $15 $5 $10 $10 $22 $10 $5 $40 $12 $24 $15 $20 $16 $25

Qty Author/Title ___ Rothchild, Alice: Voices Across the Divide (DVD) ___ Rothchild, Alice: On the Brink ___ Roy, Sara: Failing Peace: Gaza & the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict ___ Roy, Sara: Hamas & Civil Society in Gaza: Engaging the Islamist Social Sector ___ Ruebner, Josh: Shattered Hopes: The Failure of Obama’s Middle East Policy ___ Rumford, James: Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad ___ Sabbagh, Karl: Palestine: History of a Lost Nation ___ Safieh, Afif: The Peace Process: From Breakthrough to Breakdown ___ Said, Edward: Covering Islam ___ Said, Edward: Orientalism ___ Said, Edward: Out of Place: A Memoir ___ Said, Edward: Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine ___ Said, Edward: The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After ___ Said, Edward: The Politics of Dispossession: The Struggle For Self-Determination ___ Said, Edward: The Question of Palestine ___ Said, Najla: Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused ___ Saif, Abu Atef: The Book of Gaza ___ Salih, Tayeb: The Wedding of Zein and Other Stories ___ Salt, Jeremy: The Unmaking of the Middle East: A History of Western Disorder ___ Sand, Shlomo: The Invention of the Land of Israel ___ Shadid, Anthony: Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats, Politics of Islam ___ Shahak, Israel: Open Secrets: Israeli Foreign and Nuclear Policies ___ Shahak & Mezvinsky: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel ___ Shaheen, Jack: Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (Book) ___ Shaheen, Jack: Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (DVD) ___ Sharafeddine, Fatima: The Amazing Travels of Ibn Battuta ___ Shehadeh, Raja: Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine ___ Shehadeh, Raja: When the Birds Stopped Singing: Life in Ramallah Under Siege ___ Smith, Grant: Divert! ___ Smith, Grant: Spy Trade: How Israel’s Lobby Undermines America’s Economy ___ Stewart & Angelone: It’s Better to Jump (DVD) ___ Sugarman, Martin: Speak Palestine, Speak Again ___ Sutcliffe, William: The Wall: A Modern Fable ___ Tamari, Salim: Mountain Against Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society & Culture ___ Tamari & Nassar: The Storyteller of Jerusalem: Life & Times of Wasif Jawhariyyeh ___ Tehranian, John: Whitewashed: America’s Invisible Middle East Minority ___ Thomas, Amelia: The Zoo on the Road to Nablus: A Story of Survival ___ Traboulsi, Fawwaz: A History of Modern Lebanon ___ Tyrer, David: The Politics of Islamophobia: Race, Power, and Fantasy ___ Weaver, Alain: Mapping Exile & Return: Palestinian Dispossession ___ Weir, Alison: Against Our Better Judgment ___ Whitbeck, John: The World According to Whitbeck ___ Wiles, Rich: Generation Palestine: Voices from the BDS Movement ___ Yakhlif, Yahya: A Lake Beyond the Wind ___ Younan, Munib: Our Sharad Witness: A Voice for Justice and Reconciliation ___ Zogby, James: Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us and Why it Matters ___ Zurayk, Rami: Food, Farming, and Freedom: Sowing the Arab Spring

List MEB N/A $15 $18.00 $16 $31.00 $20 $35.00 $30 $26.95 $20 $17.95 $13 $15.00 $8 $24.99 $10 $16.00 $12 $15.00 $12 $14.00 $12 $14.00 $12 $27.50 $20 $18.00 $12 $14.95 $12 $27.95 $20 $15.99 $15 $13.95 $8 $29.95 $20 $26.95 $18 $17.50 $10 $36.95 $10 $20.95 $15 $25.00 $20 $29.95 $15 $17.95 $12 $14.00 $10 $12.95 $9 $19.95 $15 N/A $13 $19.95 $17 N/A $12 $17.99 $12 $34.95 $15 $25.00 $20 $35.00 $15 $24.95 $10 $34.99 $30 $35.00 $30 $39.00 $30 N/A $10 N/A $6 $24.00 $22 $12.95 $10 $20.00 $15 $25.00 $10 $23.95 $15

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November/December 2014 Vol. XXXIII, No. 8

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