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THE HOLY LAND FOUNDATION CASE
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Source: Palestinian Wefaq Association
Help Palestinians in their time of greatest need Yaqoub (at right) is a farmer in Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip. His home was bombed on the fourth day of the latest Israeli attack. He, his wife, three children and mother-in-law now need food, supplies and materials to rebuild. Support the UPA Emergency Campaign for Gaza:
http://helpupa.org/gaza /FX )BNQTIJSF "WF /8 t 4VJUF t 8BTIJOHUPO %$ IFMQVQB PSH t 5FMFQIPOF t 5PMM 'SFF
United Palestinian Appeal
UPA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible according to applicable laws.
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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXXII, No. 1
January/February 2013
Telling the Truth for 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 The U.N. Welcomes the State of Palestine— Three Views—Ian Williams, John V. Whitbeck, Turkish Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu 12 This Time Israel’s Assault on Gaza Took Place in a New Middle East—Rachelle Marshall 15 In Gaza, There’s Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide—Mohammed Omer 17 Why All Americans Should Care About the Holy Land Foundation Case—Stephen Downs, Esq. and Kathy Manley, Esq. 18 Russell Tribunal on Palestine Examines Roles of U.N. And U.S.—Jane Adas 20 Gaza, October 2012: The “Calm” Before the Storm—Mohammed Omer
22 European Union Condemns Israeli Settlements—But Buys From Them—John Gee
28 Will the Zionist Organization of America Regain Its Revoked Tax-Exempt Status?—Grant F. Smith 34 Assassination Drones: A New Type of Warfare —Pam Bailey 36 Americans Must Demand Details of Their Government’s Drone War—Dale Sprusansky CONGRESS AND THE 2012 ELECTIONS 30 How Muslim and Arab Americans “Rocked the Vote” in 2012—Delinda C. Hanley 32 113th Congress May Do Slightly Less Harm to U.S. Interests in the Middle East—Shirl McArthur
SPECIAL REPORTS 24 What Lies Ahead for Syria?—Two Views —Patrick Seale, Fehmy Saddy, Ph.D.
44 Egypt’s New Coptic Pope Tawadros Faces Religious Tension, Uncertain Future—Joseph Mayton
27 Landmark Court Ruling for Democracy in Pakistan—Hamzah Saif
47 New York Times Flacks for Jewish Groups Against 15 Major Christian Leaders—James M. Wall
42 “Roads of Arabia”: Treasures From Saudi Arabia’s Ancient and More Recent Past
—Barbara G.B. Ferguson
78 “Homeland” Says More About Israelis and Americans Than About the Middle East
—Keenan Duffey
ON THE COVER: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (c) poses for a photo after delivering a speech to cheering crowds upon his arrival in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Dec. 2, 2012. He was returning from New York, where three days earlier the U.N. General Assembly admitted Palestine as a non-member observer state. ABBAS MOMANI/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 1-800-368-5788, and press 1.)
Other Voices
Compiled by Janet McMahon
Seeking Asylum, Sudanese Face Israeli Prison, Ben Lynfield, The Forward
Israel’s “Right to Self-Defense”— A Tremendous Propaganda Victory, Amira Hass, Haaretz
OV-9
OV-1 Susan Rice Wins Over Israel Supporters,
What Can the Arabs Do About Gaza?, Patrick Seale, Agence Global
Nathan Guttman, The Forward
OV-11
OV-2 Ehud Barak’s Cousin (Mis)Directs America’s
Killing Hope: Why Israel Targets Sports In Gaza, Dave Zirin, The Nation
OV-3
Israeli Policy Splits Palestinian Families, Mya Guarnieri, www.al-jazeera.com
OV-4
Israel vs. No. 2 Pencils, Lena K. Awwad and Shatha I. Hussein, The Harvard Crimson
OV-6
Christian Zionists, Maidhc Ó Cathail, thepassionateattachment.com Sheldon Adelson’s Self-Defeating Meddling, Samuel G. Freedman, The Forward
The Jewish Majority Is History, Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Israel Ranked World’s Most Militarized Nation, Jim Lobe, www.lobelog.com
OV-7
OV-13
Scandal Rocks Washington, Eric S. Margolis, ericmargolis.com
The Israeli Government and the Environment, Vince Stravino,www.lepoco.org
OV-12
OV-13
Broadwell Defended Petraeus’ Village Destruction Policy, Gareth Porter, IPS-Inter Press Service
OV-7
OV-14
Obama’s Fatwa, OV-8
Doug Noble, www.counterpunch.org
OV-16
DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE
50 CHRISTIANITY AND THE
Palestinians and Their Friends
Christian Narrative
Unite to Show Solidarity
—Jeffery M. Abood, KHS
38 NEW YORK CITY AND TRISTATE NEWS: Syrian Journalist, Novelist and Exile Samar Yazbek Discusses Events in Her Native Country—Jane Adas
52 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM:
40 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Feminist’s “I Rise” Exhibit Offers Insight Into Syrian Revolution, Life in Exile
52 MUSLIM-AMERICAN
—Pat and Samir Twair 45 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Arab Cinema Engages Viewers With Films on Modern Dilemmas, Ongoing Struggles—Elaine Pasquini 49 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: Jewish Groups Abandon Inter-Faith Dialogue After Christian Leaders Seek Review of U.S. Aid to Israel
—Allan C. Brownfeld
73 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS:
MIDDLE EAST: Walling in the
75 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL Second Annual Envision Arabia Summit
ACTIVISM: Muslim Legal Fund Calls for Donors
77 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS 80 BOOK REVIEWS: Sabra Zoo The Time That Remains
—Reviewed by Nicole Abdul 54 HUMAN RIGHTS: Activists Discuss Post-Assad Syria 55 MUSIC & ARTS:
81 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE AET BOOK CLUB 82 BULLETIN BOARD
Arab Movies Enthrall Washington, DC Audiences 56 WAGING PEACE: NCUSAR Policymakers Discuss Arab and American Interests
37 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS
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ANDREW I. KILLGORE RICHARD H. CURTISS Managing Editor: JANET McMAHON News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEY Book Club Director: ANDREW STIMSON Administrative Director: ALEX BEGLEY Art Director: RALPH U. SCHERER Assistant Editor: DALE SPRUSANSKY
LetterstotheEditor
Publisher:
Executive Editor:
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 9 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., June/July and Oct./Nov. 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. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. Published by the American Educational Trust (AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers to provide the American public with balanced and accurate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states. AET’s Foreign Policy Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of Congress, including the late Democratic Sen. J. William Fulbright and Republican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Members of AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committees receive no fees for their services. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution 242’s land-for-peace formula, supported by nine successive U.S. presidents. In general, it supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, selfdetermination, and fair play. Material from the Washington Report may be reprinted without charge with attribution to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Bylined material must also be attributed to the author. This release does not apply to photographs, cartoons or reprints from other publications. Indexed by Ebsco Information Services, InfoTrac, LexisNexis, Public Affairs Information Service, Index to Jewish Periodicals, Ethnic News Watch, Periodica Islamica. CONTACT INFORMATION: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Editorial Office and Bookstore: P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 Phone: (202) 939-6050 • (800) 368-5788 Fax: (202) 265-4574 E-mail: wrmea@wrmea.com bookclub@wrmea.com circulation@wrmea.com advertising@wrmea.com Web sites: http://www.wrmea.org http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056. Phone: (888) 881-5861 • Fax: (714) 226-9733 Printed in the USA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
An Encouraging U.N. Victory It is encouraging that the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state, a symbolic victory over the dark side of Israel’s brutal occupation. The U.N. decision was long overdue and a sharp rebuke for Israel and its chief, if not only, ally, the United States. Predictably, Israel mocked the whole world by announcing the construction of another illegal settlement of 3,000 more homes, showing its complete disdain for international law. Its purpose is self-evident: keep stealing more and more land and prevent the birth of an independent Palestinian state. It is inconceivable that the United States, which allegedly claims to be a beacon and supporter of people yearning to be free, should reward Israel for its cruel and inhumane policies. However, more and more Jews are speaking out against Israel’s occupation—see Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi’s Path to Palestinian Solidarity by Rabbi Brant Rosen (available from the AET Book Club). The world ignored the plight of European Jews, who suffered enormous injustice and suffered unspeakable atrocities under the Nazis. Let us not allow the dark side of world history to repeat itself by aiding and abetting Israel’s massive war machine to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from their ancestral homes. While Congress and President Barack Obama are poised to slash Social Security and Medicare, plans are underway to build an Israeli air force base costing U.S. taxpayers $100 million. Please write to your lawmakers and President Obama and demand a complete halt to funding the Israeli war machine. Tejinder Uberoi, Los Altos, CA As John V. Whitbeck notes on p. 9 of this issue, “the opponents of Palestine [including the U.S.] represent approximately 5 percent of the world’s population.” As Israel continues to reveal itself as a racist outlaw state, we believe more and more Americans will find Washington’s cowardly subservience completely unacceptable. Our elected “representatives” need to be made aware of this fact, both at the ballot box and through phone calls and letters (see box on p. 76). No Diplomat She The nomination of Ambassador Susan E. Rice as secretary of state would be a monumental mistake by the Obama administration. Ambassador Rice has repeatedly embarrassed the U.S. at the U.N. with her THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
princess-like attitude to dialogue, temperamental walk-outs, and strategic outbursts of indignant (and misplaced) outrage. Indeed, Ambassador Rice’s conduct is rather more representative of the arrogant, alienating approach of Republican administrations, and her actions at the U.N. are chillingly reminiscent of those of her predecessor at the U.N., the Bush crony John R. Bolton. Ambassador Rice alienates and angers people; she does not bring people together, and has achieved little or nothing during her tenure as the U.N. ambassador. Rice can only fail at mediating disputes and at promoting the interests of the U.S. abroad. As such, Ambas-
sador Rice would be a terrible secretary of state. The Obama administration should think very carefully about the implications of having Ms. Rice as the nation’s top diplomat. Dr. Rory E. Morty, Giessen, Germany We’re not sure if Rice’s arrogance is her own style or whether it represents Washington’s attitude toward nations and people who do not put Israel’s interests above their own. At any rate, her performance following the General Assembly vote to admit Palestine as a non-member state was indeed execrable and an embarrassment to us all. The article “Susan Rice Wins Over Israel Supporters” in this issue’s “Other Voices” supplement provides additional perspective on the would-be successor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the postcard insert urges that the next secretary of state be a true diplomat.
The Holy Land Five My name is Shukri Abu Baker, co-founder of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF). I’m currently serving my 65-year sentence in the Terre Haute USP after I had spent two years in the adjacent CMU. I am blessed to receive and enjoy your one-of-a-kind publication. The work you are doing is essential to the truth about the Middle East affairs. However, as much as I admire the 5
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Washington Report and its stance on most issues, I’m afraid I’m a little disappointed by the lack of interest in our case. In fact very little, if any, has been written in the fine pages of your publication to expose the legal travesty that had occurred to us resulting in the conviction and long-term imprisonment of five Palestinian Americans. For the first time in the history of this country the courts allowed anonymous expert witnesses to testify in violation of the Confrontation Clause of the Constitution. Those two witnesses were an IDF captain and a Shin Bet intelligence officer. The Supreme Court decided against hearing our case. I have enclosed more information on the court’s decision and its ramifications on Arab and Muslim Americans. You will also find valuable information about the case and our struggle for freedom and justice. I hope our case will be somehow covered in your next issue. Thank you and God bless the work you do. Shukri Baker, #32589-177, USP Unit C1, P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute, IN 47808 We first became aware of CMUs when we published Katherine Hughes’ article, “Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir at Terre Haute Prison’s New Communications Management Unit” (see May/June 2007 Washington Report, p. 12). In 2002, executive editor Richard H. Curtiss first wrote about Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who, despite having never been convicted of a single count against him, was imprisoned for six years and has been living under house arrest for the past four years. We have written about other political prisoners as well, including Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain of Albany, NY.
So we are all the more chagrined to discover that, although we have referred to your case over the years, we have never devoted an entire article to the “Holy Land Five.” We seek to rectify that with the article on p. 17 of this issue by attorneys Stephen Downs and Kathy Manley, “Why All Americans Should Care About the Holy Land Foundation Case.” The precedent set by the Supreme Court is ominous, indeed, and not just for Muslim Americans. The fact that the judicial branch of the government now seems to be as compromised as its legislative and executive counterparts puts all Americans at risk, there being no higher authority to which one can appeal. We are horrified at the treatment to which you and your charity have been subjected, and vow to do all we can to bring this injustice to light. We have included your complete mailing address for the benefit of Washington Report readers who may wish to correspond with you.
Gaza Concentration Camp and West Bank Concentration Camp William Gban, Washington, DC We hope readers will draw the same conclusion from our accounts of life in the West Bank and Gaza (such as Mohammed Omar’s on pp. 15 and 20).
A Small Crack in the Wall I just read the Sunday, Nov. 25 Washington Post piece by Ombudsman Patrick Pexton called “Outrage over a front-page photo.” The Post should be congratulated for selecting the photo published on Nov. 15 of a Palestinian man holding the body of his 11-month-old son, killed in an Israeli bomb strike. In addition, Pexton refers twice to the fact that Israel’s vastly superior weapons are supplied by the U.S. I hope you and the Washington Report will acknowledge Mr. Pexton’s article—a small crack in the Post’s usual pro-Israel wall! Diane Haddick, via e-mail The Washington Post’s kneejerk support of IsOther Voices is an optional rael and parroting 16-page supplement available of the pro-Israel line certainly is only to subscribers of the egregious, so you Washington Report on are right, the ombudsman’s reMiddle East Affairs. For an admarks are signifiditional $15 per year (see cant. Let’s hope it’s another sign of the postcard insert for Wash times (no pun inington Re port subscriptended).
More on the Mughals I read Ms. Barbara Ferguson’s article on the Mughals’ contribution to Indian art with much interest (see October 2012 Washington Report, p. 38). I commend the Smithsonian for holding the exhibit and thereby bringing an important part of Indian history to public attention. Although the 300year-long period of Mughal rule was marked by outstanding achievements such as unifying the various independent states on the subcontinent into one country, creating a new form of art and architecture by blending Persian, Ottoman and some European styles with the indigenous Indian, and—curiously enough for that age of relative religious intolerance—an attempt, that proved abortive, to forge a common religion using the best teachings of Hinduism, Christianiy and Islam, not much is heard or spoken about that phase of Indian history at the present time, either within India or abroad. If anything, the Mughals tend to be stigmatized as foreign invaders whose rule of India is best forgotten! One hopes this small beginning by the Smithsonian leads to a greater interest among historians and the electronic media engaged in documenting human history in this important part of the Indian subcontinent’s recent history. M.H. Quader, via e-mail If only we all could approach other cultures with open eyes and minds, surely we would be astonished at how much we could learn from them! Ferguson’s latest article, on p. 42 of this issue, introduces readers to another fascinating Smithsonian exhibition, “Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” ❑
tion rates), subscribers will receive Other Voices bound into each issue of their Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Back issues of both publications are available. To subscribe telephone 1 (800) 368-5788 (press 1), fax (202) 265-4574, e-mail <circulation@wrmea.com>, or write to P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009. 6
The Power of Words How long will it take for the American media, including your magazine, to call the Israeli-occupied areas what they are:
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
An Excellent Exposé Thanks so much for Delinda C. Hanley’s excellent exposé of Palestinian life in the camps (“The Heroes of Sabra and Shatila and Lebanon’s Other Refugee Camps,” Nov./Dec. 2012 Washington Report, p. 23). Weimer Frankfurt School political philosopher Adorno wrote that the hand that inflicted the wound is in some measure responsible for curing it. Let us hope Obama will play his hand! Dana April Seidenberg, Nairobi, Kenya We thank you for your three-year subscription and look forward to many years of continued correspondence.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
publishers_7_ralph_January-February 2013 Publishers page 12/6/12 3:02 PM Page 7
American Educational Trust
Publishers’ Page
Happy Birthday, Palestine!
HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
It’s going to take some serious work from all of us in the coming four years if Palestinians are to Our hearts rejoiced as we watched gain their freedom and human the landslide U.N. General Assemrights to which they are entitled bly vote to upgrade Palestine to under international law. The non-member observer state status Washington Report Web site, on Nov. 29—exactly 65 years ago <www.wrmea.org>, features a to the day when the General As“Vital Activist Resources” secsembly voted to partition mandation for help with your lettertory Palestine (see pp. 8-11 for writing campaigns. You’ll find views on this historic event). To the telephone numbers, e-mail paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther and snail mail addresses you King, Jr.: A standing ovation for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. need in our “Contact Your The Time Was Right to Elected Official” and “Contact The Last Chance for Peace. Do What’s Right. Your Local Media” tabs. We cheered along with Palestinians in Will the U.S. veto on behalf of Israel yet anGaza, the West Bank and Israel, and dias- other Security Council resolution? Ameri- Pages and Angels… pora Palestinians scattered across the can voters, Europeans, Arabs, and espe- The Washington Report had the privilege of planet. Palestinian American Samar Najia cially Israelis and Palestinians, are counting covering several important conferences put described the mixed emotions in her home on President Barack Obama to take off the on by major organizations this fall. Our rein the Washington, DC suburbs that night. gloves, stop supporting Netanyahu’s elec- ports on vital issues discussed—Israel/Pales“We were crying with joy and wishing my tion-year shenanigans and put a just Arab- tine, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Jordan and other uncle, who died in July, could have seen Israeli peace on the front-burner. If there’s hot spots—meant we had to add extra pages it.” Then Samar’s mother, Nanal Dajani, to be peace in our lifetime, Washington to this issue and postpone printing our watched U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan must shed the bias that prevents this coun- Angels list. Next issue will include the Rice give her mean-spirited speech ex- try from being… names of all the angels who have helped us plaining the negative U.S. vote, and subseproduce the Washington Report in 2012. quent mainstream media commentary. An Even-Handed Peace Broker. Nanal fumed: Palestinians and their supporters can relate We’re Also Counting On… to the Reverend King’s words: “I say to you The biannual Donation Appeal you’ve just re“I Need my Blood-Pressure Medicine.” that our goal is freedom, and I believe we ceived in your mailbox. We encourage you Indeed, Palestinians can’t yet say, “Free at are going to get there, because however to make additional generous contributions last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we much she strays away from it, the goal of and give magazine subscriptions so we can are free at last!” (Why does Reverend King America is freedom.” The year 2013 could continue our work in 2013. The olive oil, keep coming to mind? It must be his coura- bring Middle East peace or—if these short- pottery and other solidarity items you purgeous commitment to justice for all.) Cer- sighted U.S. policies continue—yet another chase from <www.middleeastbooks.org> help Palestinians feed their families. Your tainly Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Ne- deadly Arab-Israeli war. support of our advertisers helps us continue tanyahu keeps reminding the world that our work. A Palestinian-American head of a independence and freedom for Palestinians The Choice Is in America’s Hands. is still far away away. Israel is withholding If we destroy hopes for a diplomatic solu- charity in Washington, DC told us that it’s Palestinian tax revenue, and continuing its tion, Palestinians and their supporters will hard to figure out in dollars and cents how air-sea-and-land blockade of Gaza. In re- be forced to fight for their right to a viable many donors responded to the ads they’d sponse to the U.N. vote, and hoping to win Palestinian state alongside Israel, with placed in our magazine over the years. “But right-wing votes in upcoming Israeli par- Jerusalem as a shared capital. To quote Dr. the Washington Report is the most important liamentary elections… King one last time: “Let us therefore con- publication in our community,” he emphatinue our triumphal march to the realization sized “And it’s important to… Netanyahu Dealt a Final Blow… of the American dream….for all of us today, To the internationally backed two-state so- the battle is in our hands...The road ahead Show Our Solidarity.” lution, approving a settlement construction is not altogether a smooth one. There are no So please help us continue to spread the surge in two large Israeli settlements, E-1 broad highways that lead us easily and in- word, support Palestinian craftsmen and and Givat Hamatos. Palestinians consider evitably to quick solutions...” We know our farmers, train the next generation of jourE-1 as part of their future capital East readers and friends are committed to nalists, keep tabs on pro-Israel PACs and Jerusalem’s metropolitan area, linking Ra- making that journey. Each day brings yet other components of the Israel lobby (see mallah and Bethlehem and forming the core another sign of progress, making us believe story p. 28), and bring you the news you of their future state. Palestinians and their that we will indeed… can get nowhere else. Please give as genersupporters see a binding U.N. Security ously as you can and… Council Resolution requiring Israel to halt Reach the Promised Land. settlement construction as... We Need Your Help! Make a Difference Today! JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
7
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Three Views
PATRICK BAZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The U.N. Welcomes the State of Palestine
Palestinians celebrate in Gaza City early on Nov. 30, 2012, after the U.N. General Assembly voted 138-9 to upgrade Palestine to non-member state observer status.
Culmination of a Long Campaign By Ian Williams
aced with a landslide vote for PalestinF ian statehood on Nov. 29, Israel settled itself firmly into the sour grape-pressing business by declaring that the resolution they had fought so tenaciously against and wagged the American dog so hard to oppose, was meaningless and symbolic. Indeed—just like the resolution adopted in the General Assembly 65 years earlier to the day, which partitioned mandatory Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www. deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>. 8
Palestine and legitimized the establishment of a Jewish state there! The new sour grapes statements were somehow supposed to wipe out the memory of bluster and threats from Israeli ministers, the haranguing of foreign diplomats and the U.S. attempts to bully the Palestinians into accepting a “compromise” that would negate the whole point of gaining accepted statehood. Doublethink is, of course, a pervasive characteristic of Israeli hasbara, or propaganda, but the U.S. was equally inconsistent over the vote in ways that must have had State Department lawyers groaning in frustration. The positions expressed by Washington on the issue offer an arsenal of rhetorical weaponry to Russia and China on many other key votes. One can almost hear THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
the Russian and Serbian foreign ministries taking statements from Western officials opposing Palestinian statehood as texts to use next time the Kosovo recognition issue comes up in the United Nations. Adding to the irony is the former trust territories lining up to deny the sovereignty and statehood of Palestine—the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau (see John Whitbeck’s analysis on the facing page)—who formed half the votes the U.S. could muster. When their membership in the U.N. was proposed, the British representative, just for the record, mused aloud about the changing definition of sovereignty that allowed “nations” whose entire foreign policy and defense legally depended on the U.S. to join the United Nations. Years later, that adds poignancy to the United Kingdom’s anomalous position, as expressed by Foreign Secretary William Hague, that London would support the Palestinian vote—if the Palestinians promised not to use its confirmed attributes of statehood to join the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the International Criminal Court (ICC). The interesting implication is that there is indeed prima facie evidence of Israeli war crimes, otherwise what do they have to fear? It’s akin to issuing a driver’s license to someone with the proviso that they not sit behind a wheel! So what are the implications? In fact, many countries around the world have hosted embassies of the state of Palestine for decades and thus recognized its statehood. But the U.N. vote now gives clear legal title to the state of Palestine—which is not, one should note (as befits the region that gave the world the subtleties of the Athanasian creed) the same thing as the Palestinian Authority. For more than 15 years the Palestinian delegation to the U.N. has been involved in a campaign of attrition to enhance its status while at the same time reaffirming and clarifying the Palestinian legal position on the right to return and title to the occupied territories. The vote in the General Assembly is the culmination of this incremental legal campaign. By accepting Palestine as an observer state, the Assembly has accorded it the same status currently held by the Vatican—and, until recently, also held by Switzerland, whose government had never secured enough votes in domestic referenda to join as a full member. Those are powerful precedents for PalesJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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tine having the full attributes of statehood. Switzerland is unchallenged on its credentials as a state, having had sovereign existence for longer than most U.N. member states! The Vatican’s status has been challenged, but certainly not by Washington, which under other administrations has worked closely with the Holy See’s postage stamp state to thwart conventions on birth control and abortion. So, even if dubious in a strictly legal way, in terms of U.S. politics it is an unassailable precedent. To challenge Palestine’s prerogatives would throw doubt on the Vatican’s, and all the many conventions it has signed. Of course, it would have been better if the U.S. had not threatened to veto Palestine’s full membership in the U.N., but being an Observer State is entirely adequate. There is little doubt that bodies like the ICJ and ICC, which have rather more respect for the General Assembly and its decisions than Washington has had, will accept Palestine as a legitimate signatory to international treaties. While neither the U.S. nor Israel accepts the jurisdiction of the ICC, Palestine’s signature to the Convention setting up the Court means that crimes committed on its territory, that is the occupied territories, come under its mandate. Israeli officials involved in settlement building, for example, or land confiscation, let alone human rights violations, could face arrest in the many states, including most of Europe, that are signatory states. Israeli officials and officers already have to check with their lawyers as well as their travel agents when going abroad, but this vote will almost certainly exacerbate their isolation. So the state that kidnapped Adolf Eichmann and brought him to trial, and supported the International Tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, would then have to explain to a guffawing world why it was only kidding about combating impunity for war crimes. The real issue, however, is less the prospect of prosecution than negotiations, which in Israeli and U.S. orthography is spelled “capitulation.” Israeli apologists complain that the statehood issue could “tie the hands” of Palestinian negotiators—by which they mean that the U.N. has given the Palestinians clear and unequivocal title to what Israel prefers to call “disputed” territories. Palestine’s accession to, for example, the International Court of Justice, adds extra force to that body’s 2004 opinion on the Separation Wall with its definitive description of the territories, not to mention the Geneva Conventions. So the resolution does not “tie the JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
hands” of the negotiators, it frees them from the task of proving title to what they are negotiating about. It doesn’t even prevent the Palestinians from negotiating land exchanges and border changes, but they will do so with Israel on even shakier ground than hitherto, since the preposterous Israeli claims would not just be against a defenseless Bantustan, but against the world community as expressed in the U.N. Ever since the Clinton presidency, the shared aim of U.S. and Israeli diplomacy has been to by-pass and ignore the international legal positions expressed by the United Nations and other international bodies, and rely on “free negotiations” between a disarmed and occupied authority whose members can be and are locked up and bombed on a whim, and the regional superpower that is doing the occupying. The U.S. position has been to bully the Palestinian Authority into giving away one of its few effective weapons, which is its legal position as expressed in innumerable U.N. resolutions. That is why the U.S. invented cumbersome mechanisms like the Quartet to implicate others in the sell-out. However, it has been unsuccessful. With the exception of Israel, the rest of the world is unequivocal on the status of the territories, and even the U.S. officially pays lip service to the 1967 boundaries as the basis. Now Israel’s own lawyers are faced with the dilemma of denying the authority of a body whose Resolution 181 of all those years ago is Israel’s own legal foundation. They will do just that, of course, but the more legalistic will wriggle in doing so.
The World Has Spoken By John V. Whitbeck
he U.N. General Assembly has now
Tvoted, by 138 votes to 9, with 41 ab-
stentions and 5 no-shows, to recognize the existence as a state “of the State of Palestine on the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.” The “no” votes were cast by Israel, the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama. The Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, all former components of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, are “freely associated states” of the United States, with U.S. zip/postal codes and “Compacts of Free Association” which require them to be guided by the United John V. Whitbeck is an international lawyer who has advised the Palestinian negotiating team in negotiations with Israel. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
States in their foreign relations. They more closely resemble territories of the United States than genuine sovereign states—rather like the Cook Islands and Niue, “freely associated states” of New Zealand which make no claim to sovereign statehood and are not U.N. member states. They sneaked into the U.N. in the flood of new members consequent upon the dissolutions of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, when the previous standards for admission were effectively ignored. Nauru, a tiny island of 10,000 people in the central Pacific, has, since the exhaustion of the phosphate deposits which briefly made it the country with the world’s highest per capita income, had virtually no sources of income other than marketing its U.N. votes (reliably joining the United States in voting against Palestine) and diplomatic recognitions (joining Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela in recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and housing in tents aspiring illegal immigrants who had been hoping to reach Australia. It is a sad place, an island with no beaches, the world’s highest obesity rate and no real alternative to diplomatic prostitution. Accordingly, only three “real” states joined Israel and the United States in voting against Palestine and the two-state solution: Canada, the Czech Republic and Panama. They must make their own excuses. In population terms, the opponents of Palestine represent approximately 5 percent of the world’s population—370 million out of more than 7 billion—and, of those, the United States accounts for 314 million. It follows that countries with less than 1 percent of the world’s population supported the United States in this vote. The 41 states abstaining in the vote were Albania, Andorra, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Congo (DRC), Croatia, Estonia, Fiji, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Togo, Tonga, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu. It is worth noting (and a bit puzzling) that 15 of these states (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Congo (DRC), Hungary, Malawi, Mongolia, Montenegro, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Togo and Vanuatu) have extended diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine, although most of the formerly communist states of eastern Europe did so when they had communist governments. 9
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Statement by Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Republic of Turkey Nov. 29, 2012 at the U.N. General Assembly Regarding Palestinian Statehood His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, President of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Heads of Delegations, In Turkish we have a saying: One who closes his eyes only makes himself a night. For 60 years the whole world has shut their eyes to the plight of the Palestinian people. For many decades, we closed our eyes to the right of Palestinian people to their state. And for 60 years, no resolution that this august body accepted for a Palestinian state has been honored. However, no one can wash away the sorrow of the Palestinian people by just closing his eyes. The reality about Palestine is simple, yet a harsh one. It is on the streets of Gaza, where thousands of people live through an inhumane blockade in an open prison. It is in the streets of the West Bank, where people have to go through checkpoints nearly on every corner. It is in the heart of the Palestinian people, who have been subjected to exiles, massacres, wars, collective punishment and blockade for many decades. And the reality of Palestine is a bleeding wound in the conscience of all humanity. I have personally witnessed that reality when I visited Gaza with a group of Arab ministers at the height of the recent crisis. In Shifa hospital of Gaza, I came across a father, Basil Asheva, who lost his daughter Yusha a moment ago during the bombardment, which also left his wife heavily wounded. Leaning his head on my chest to seek some relief, he had no words but only tears to tell his family's tragedy. His tears reflected not only his personal sorrow, but also the tragedy of a whole Palestinian nation, in desperate search for relief. Today is a milestone. Finally, today we have a chance to open our eyes to the reality. Today, we have an opportunity to give comfort to the Palestinian people, who aspire for having a chance to uphold their dignity after years of humiliation. Therefore, I am pleased to participate in this historical meeting at the General Assembly. We have gathered here for correcting an historical injustice against the Palestinian people. We all believe and cherish the vision of a just, peaceful and harmonious future. For that future we should all together have to stand behind the Palestinian bid to become a “non-member observer state.”
They have been more than balanced out by the 28 states which have not yet recognized the State of Palestine but which voted in favor of Palestine: Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Eritrea, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago and Tuvalu. The Japan10
This is a moment of truth for all of us. We are all aware that the right of the Palestinians to a State has been unfortunately denied for decades. The denial of this right to the Palestinians has no justification on any grounds, be it moral, political or legal. Last year, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made the application for Palestine for U.N. membership. Unfortunately the application has been left unanswered at the Security Council. Here comes the second chance. We call on the international community, the members of this august body, to honor their already belated obligation to the Palestinians and grant them the status of a “non-member state.” It is high time for all of us to uphold the universal values of justice and dignity. Excellencies, If there is one term which characterizes our region, that is dignity. One could do without bread, but not without dignity. The struggle of the Palestinian people in the past 65 years has also been about protecting their dignity. They want respect and recognition of their right to determine their fate and future. We cannot shy away from supporting a fully legitimate demand by the Palestinian people to have a state of their own. If we are to talk about an international order and place our trust on the U.N. system, then the Palestinian flag should rise by this building. That flag will not only represent an independent member state among our family of nations. It will represent that we finally stood together to correct decades-long injustice to the Palestinian people and the state of Palestine. This is our responsibility to the Palestinian people. Let me be clear. Our vision for justice, international order and human rights will not be achieved until the moment we actually see the flag of the State of Palestine standing side by side with ours, as a full member of the United Nations. We have three main reasons to do so: First and foremost, it is a humanitarian and moral obligation on our part. No one can deny the suffering of the Palestinians since the First World War until today. There was always an excuse for the inhuman treatment of the Palestinian people. Today, we are talking about a whole history of this national tragedy continuing for more than 65 years. Secondly, it is about the political and historical context.
ese and Mexican votes in favor of Palestine mean that 18 of the 20 most populous states (all except the United States and Germany) voted in favor of Palestine. Five states did not vote: Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, Liberia, Madagascar and Ukraine. Kiribati is no surprise. For economic reasons, it is the only U.N. member state which does not maintain a permanent mission in New York. Why the other four, all of which have extended diplomatic recogniTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
tion to the State of Palestine, failed to push any of the three buttons is a mystery. The European Union vote was 14 “yes,” 1 “no” and 12 abstentions. Aside from Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, all of the old “Western” members voted for Palestine. All 10 of the new “Eastern” members (the three Baltic states, formerly part of the Soviet Union, the six former members of the Warsaw Pact and Slovenia) abstained or, in one case, voted JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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HENRY RAY ABRAMS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Palestinians in their bid at the Unfortunately, the negotiation U.N. and efforts to dissuade the process toward a comprehenU.N. members. sive peace on the basis of two In this episode, we often heard states, living side by side in “now is not the right time,” as peace, has been put on ice. was the case when President Instead, we see a deviation day Abbas submitted the Palestinian by day from the internationally bid for membership to the accepted solution that presecretary-general. scribes an independent PalesFor some, the timing was also” tine established with East “not right” when the late Presi Jerusalem as its capital on its dent Arafat read out the Pales1967 borders. tinian Declaration of IndepenThe current status quo is neither dence on 15 November 1988. sustainable nor is it One can trace this argument acceptable. back to when the U.N. General The recent Israeli attack on Assembly decided (Res.181) on Gaza, which resulted in the the partition on this very day in loss of many innocent civilian 1947. lives, was a testimony to this So let me ask it bluntly: If not fact. now, when will be the right Meanwhile the continued expantime for the Palestinians to sion of the illegal settlements achieve their right to statehood? undermines the vision of a The current stalemate in the two-state solution. peace process can no more be The third aspect is about our used as a pretext to undermine strategic vision. the Palestinian bid for becoming Peace in the Middle East and bean internationally recognized yond cannot be achieved withstate. out a just and comprehensive Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (l) hugs Palestin- Excellencies, Distinguished Represolution to the ian President Mahmoud Abbas prior to a meeting of the Comresentatives, Palestinian issue. The deadlock in the negotiations mittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestin- The recognition of Palestinian ian People, Nov. 29, 2012 at U.N. headquarters in New York. statehood is not an option but a and current stalemate in the moral, political, strategic and region serves no one’s interlegal obligation for the international community. ests. And I want to speak to all Palestinians from Al Khalil to BethSupporting the Palestinian bid is about whether we want a lehem, from Ramallah to Khan Younis, from Jerusalem, Al lasting peace in the Middle East and beyond. Quds Sharif to Gaza: We, as Turkey, will stand by you forGranting Palestine the status of non-member state at the ever. U.N. can serve as a “booster.” I call on all U.N. members to fulfill their long overdue responIt will create the long-needed momentum for a negotiated, sibility toward the Palestinians. comprehensive solution, rather than becoming a substitute I call on you to fulfill a long overdue promise, made with the for it. General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947. Our call is for peace, no more and no less. The draft you will be voting on shortly will just be the initial Ladies and Gentlemen, step in the right direction to bring some relief to the entire We need to address this issue in a constructive and unbiased Palestinian nation. manner. Now is the moment of truth. It requires wisdom, prudence and vision that no more deny It is the time to defend the basic rights of the Palestinians for the prospect of peace and stability in the region. statehood. It obliges us to listen to the call for relief and justice by the The flag of Palestine, Ladies and Gentlemen, should rise in Palestinian people, which we have turned deaf so far. this Assembly next to ours. Here, I would also like to address certain misguided efforts to And the State of Palestine must be taken out of the shade and stop the Palestinians from winning statehood at the U.N. given its rightful place under the sun. The argument that the Palestinians must resume negotiations before getting statehood is superficial. Thank you. We regret to see that there have been efforts to deter the
against Palestine. These “Eastern” states have passed from domination by one empire to domination by another empire without ever daring to fully assert their independence. That said, all except the Czech Republic did at least dare to abstain. It may take some time for the results of this vote to be fully digested. In the best of all possible worlds, one might hope that the United States would finally recognize that, on the issue of Palestine, it is totally diJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
vorced and isolated from the moral and ethical conscience of mankind and must now stop blocking progress toward peace with some measure of justice, step aside and permit other states with a genuine interest in actually achieving peace with some measure of justice to take the lead in helping Israelis and Palestinians to achieve it. Since we do not live in the best of all possible worlds, and since Americans persist in believing that they are the “indisTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
pensable” nation, other states will need to make clear to the United States that its vote on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People has definitively disqualified it not only from its prior monopoly control over the “Middle East peace process” but even from any further role in it, and that its further involvement in the pre-eminent moral issue facing the international community is no longer needed or wanted. ❑ 11
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This Time Israel’s Assault on Gaza Took Place in a New Middle East SpecialReport
PHOTO MOHAMMED OMER
By Rachelle Marshall
Mourners carry the bodies of two infants killed during Israel’s “Operation Pillar of Cloud” assault on Gaza. Israel killed a total of 178 Palestinians from Nov. 14 to 21, 2012. his has not been a very good morn-
“Ting for Netanyahu,” Deputy Prime
Minister Eli Yishai said the day after the American election. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took a major gamble and lost when he intervened in the U.S. presidential campaign this past fall on behalf of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Romney, of course, had given Netanyahu every reason to support him. He was quoted as saying that before dealing with the Palestinians he would ask the Israelis, “Would it help if I say this? What would you like me to do?” According to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, Romney would “subcontract U.S. Middle East policy to Israel.” Netanyahu’s message to Jewish Americans was that a second term for President Barack Obama would be “bad news for Israel.” But given the rise of Islamic movements in the region, and popular anger against Israel, the last thing Israelis need in the White House is a lackey of Netanyahu, whose bellicose threats alarm even memRachelle 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. 12
bers of his own military. As Israel’s recent assault on Gaza has shown, the more punishment it inflicts on the Palestinians, the greater their determination to resist and the stronger their support for Hamas. Obama’s hands-off Middle East policy of the past three years was put to the test almost immediately after the election by yet another Israeli assault on Gaza, with Israel claiming this time that its massive bombing campaign was in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza, for which they blamed Hamas. In fact, the rockets were fired by members of Islamic Jihad in retaliation for repeated Israeli air strikes aimed at its members. The militants also cited the shooting by Israeli soldiers of any Gaza farmer who strays to within 500 yards of the border, and the constant strafing of Gaza fishermen by Israeli gunboats (see p. 20). Under the terms of the temporary truce reached on Nov. 21, the Palestinians agreed to stop their rocket attacks, and Israel to stop its assaults on Gaza, including the targeted killings. Contrary to what Palestinians had assumed, however, Israel claimed it was not obliged to ease border restrictions or make any other concessions without further negotiations. Two days after the cease-fire was signed, Israeli soldiers killed 20-year-old THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Anwar Abdel Qdeih and wounded 19 others when they approached the buffer zone. The rockets fired from Gaza had been doing little damage when on Nov. 14 an Israeli air strike targeted Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jabari, just as Jabari was engaged in Egyptian-mediated truce talks with the militants. Hamas responded to Jabari’s murder by ending its efforts to restrain the militants and launching its own more accurate rockets. What had seemed like a pathologically senseless killing was actually in line with Israel’s long history of using assassinations to bring an end to a truce and to provoke renewed violence. Officials in the U.S. and Israel suggested that Israel had deliberately lured Hamas to join in the rocketing in order to test its defenses against rockets Iran had sent to Hamas intending them to be used in case of an Israeli strike on Iran. ”Israel was not confronting Gaza, but Iran,” said Michael Oren, Israel’s American-born ambassador to Washington. According to an American air defense officer, the U.S. and Israeli militaries were “absolutely learning a lot” from the Gaza campaign. Israel’s attack on Gaza was in effect a war game using live human beings as targets. The U.S.-supplied Iron Dome missile defense system shot down 88 percent of the incoming rockets, with only a few landing close to Israeli cities. Israel in response sent waves of U.S.-made F-16s to bomb targets across Gaza, demolishing government buildings, Hamas headquarters, TV stations, police stations and apartment houses, in addition to rocket emplacements. By the time the tenuous cease-fire was declared, Israel’s round-the-clock air bombing had killed 178 Palestinians and wounded nearly 1,400. The great majority of the victims were civilians, many of them children. In Israel, where warning sirens and bomb shelters provided protection, five civilians and one soldier were killed. Israel justified the large number of civilian casualties in Gaza by saying that Hamas fighters were using civilians as a cover. But there were no Hamas members in the home of Jamal Dalu when Israeli bombs demolished it on Nov. 18, killing Dalu’s sister, wife, daughter-in-law, two daughters and four grandchildren, whose tiny bodies had to be dug out of the rubble. The ferocity of Israel’s latest assault reJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
called its 2008-9 invasion of Gaza, in which 1,400 Gazans and 10 Israelis were killed. This time, however, the Israelis faced a different Middle East. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called Israel’s actions “wanton aggression,” and his party issued a statement saying “Israel has yet to realize that Egypt has changed and that the Egyptian people who revolted against oppression will not accept assaulting Gaza.” Despite such statements, Morsi proceeded to work closely with Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to achieve a cease-fire, an effort that remarkably brought him praise from Hamas, the U.S. and Israel. The Egyptian and American presidents held half a dozen telephone talks over a three-day period, at least one of them in the early hours of the morning. Meanwhile Obama reportedly was promising Netanyahu that U.S. troops would be stationed in the Sinai to stop the smuggling of arms to Hamas from Iran. The Egyptians also had high praise for the Americans. Essam el-Haddad, Morsi’s foreign policy adviser, said, “Yes, they were carrying the point of view of the Israeli side, but they were understanding also of the Palestinian side. The sincerity and understanding were really very helpful.” Obama vowed to seek “a more durable solution to this problem,” but he will not be able to do so until Israel abandons its policy of perpetuating violence to avoid negotiating a just peace. Instead of considering Hamas leaders’ offer in the mid1990s of a permanent truce in exchange for Israel’s return to its 1967 borders, Israel assassinated those who proposed it: Hamas’ spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi. In 2001, just after Hamas reached an agreement with PLO chief Yasser Arafat to refrain from hitting targets inside Israel, the Israelis assassinated Hamas leader Mahmoud Abu Hamoud. And in July 2002, just as a cease-fire called by Hamas was to go into effect, Israel killed another prominent Hamas member, Salah Shehada, by bombing his apartment house. The bomb killed 14 others, including 9 children. Since then Israel has carried out a series of killings, each one timed to provoke an end to a cease-fire, with the ultimate goal of retaining control of the West Bank and keeping Gazans in permanent subjection. As bombs rained down on Gaza in November, Israeli settlements continued to spread across the West Bank, swallowing up Palestinian land all the way to the Jordan Valley. Last year Israel built 1,850 new West Bank homes—a 20 percent increase over the previous year—and in early November Israel began accepting bids for 1,213 apartments in East Jerusalem, which it illegally JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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A Bedouin shepherd and his flock at a camp in the E1 area of the West Bank, between Jerusalem and the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim (background), Dec. 3, 2012. Following Palestine’s successful bid to be admitted to the U.N. as a non-member observer state, Israel announced plans to build 3,000 settler homes in the E1 area and elsewhere in the West Bank, as well as in Arab East Jerusalem. annexed in 1967. Settlement expansion is certain to continue after Israeli parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 22. Netanyahu’s Likud party has joined with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s ultranationalist party, Yisrael Beiteinu, and several religious parties on a right-wing ticket that is favored to win a majority in parliament. The Soviet-born Lieberman’s hostility to Arabs is undisguised, and he openly opposes a twostate solution. The fact that he is under investigation for fraud and money laundering has not reduced his following. The one hope of moderate Israelis and Palestinians is that former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will run on a ticket with former Kadima party chair Tzipi Livni on a platform favoring renewed peace efforts. When Olmert decided not to run, Livni announced she would run as head of a new party—”the Movement,” which will include eight members of Kadima, the party Livni helped to found in 2005. Netanyahu’s Likud party ticket will be headed by several ultranationalists, leaving Israeli voters a choice between candidates on the extreme right or moderate Zionists with no clear plan for achieving peace. With no prospect of ending the occupation in sight, President Abbas went before the U.N. General Assembly on Nov. 29 to petition for membership as a nonvoting state. The draft resolution “reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in the State of Palestine on the basis of the pre1967 borders.” Despite Israel's efforts to dissuade them, France, Russia, China and 12 members of the European Union announced they would vote for the resolution, leaving the U.S. alone among the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
major nations to oppose it. General Assembly members accepted the resolution by a vote of 138 to 9, with only Canada, the Czech Republic and the Pacific Islands voting with the U.S. and Israel to reject it. It is not surprising that Abbas’ mission to the U.N. has met with fierce opposition in Israel, since recognition as a state would enable the Palestinians to go before the International Criminal Court and charge the Israelis with war crimes—crimes that include building thousands of illegal homes on occupied territory. Yuval Shany, dean of Hebrew University’s law school, said, “The ICC is a big issue...especially in the area of settlements, where Israel doesn’t have good legal answers.” Thanks to Washington’s use of the veto, Israel has so far avoided censure by the U.N. Security Council. Israel has announced it will build 3,000 more settlement units in the West Bank. It also began to withhold Palestinian tax revenues, and has threatened to tighten travel restrictions and revoke VIP travel permits. Right-wing Israeli officials were not mollified by Abbas’ offer to relinquish the right of return in exchange for a state on the pre-1967 borders. Netanyahu dismissed it as irrelevant, and Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu called Abbas “a serial trickster, an obsessive liar.” Thanks to laws passed by Congress in the 1990s, the U.S. could pay a heavy price in international goodwill if the General Assembly grants the Palestinians’ request, since these laws require an immediate cutoff of U.S. funds to any U.N. agency that accepts them as a full member. After the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit the Palestinians as members last year, the U.S. was obliged to cut off its entire contribu13
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tion, more than 22 percent productive. Reporting from of UNESCO’s budget. Ramallah on Nov. 20, BronEven-Handed Mediator Needed The cuts severely affected ner noted “a growing idenAs Middle East nations go through historic changes, there has seldom been projects that U.N. Ambastification [in the West greater need for an even-handed mediator in the White House. In a region sador Susan Rice said “serve Bank] with the Islamist where national borders were artificially imposed by France and England after a wide range of American fighters for Hamas and deWorld War I, religious and ethnic identity often remain more important than interests,” including prorision for the Palestinian nationality, and as a result conflicts can easily spread across borders. moting freedom of informaAuthority.” According to Many of the rebel forces battling against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, tion and gender equality, Bronner, sympathy for the including Sunnis, Shi’i, Kurds, Alawites and jihadists, have skills honed in Iraq and preserving historic people of Gaza and anger at while fighting against the U.S. If Assad is ousted, and fighting breaks out among monuments. The Obama adthe Israelis have led more rival groups as it did in Libya, Iraq and Yemen, neighboring states could become involved. The thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled to Turkey and ministration made an inand more Palestinians to reJordan, and Israel’s proximity to Jordan, add to the volatility of the situation. tense effort to get the funds gard Hamas leader Khaled Under pressure from the Obama administration, a National Coalition of restored, but supporters of Meshal as their leader. Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was recently formed in Qatar the cutoff refused to change Abbas’ police forces on that is pledged to promote pluralism and tolerance. The new group was the law, saying it sends a the West Bank help provide quickly endorsed by the European Union and the Persian Gulf emirates, but message of support to Israel. security for Israel, he has just as quickly disavowed by Islamic factions that are gaining strength as the Others may wonder why repeatedly disavowed viofighting continues. denying funds for educalence, and he has consisReferring to the West’s support of the new coalition, Zuhair Salem of Syria’s tion and women’s rights tently been willing to talk Muslim Brotherhood said, “This direct tutelage and these dictates are not acceptable to the Syrian people anymore.” They are surely not acceptable comconstitutes “a message of peace with Israel if Israel ing from the ally of a nation that denies freedom to three million Palestinians support” for Israel. stops settlement construcand bombs them when they resist. In cooperating closely with Egyptian presA bipartisan group of tion. By rejecting Abbas’ ident Mohamed Morsi to bring about a Gaza truce, Obama showed a welU.S. senators said they peace overtures and reduccome awareness that the new leadership in the Middle East means lockstep would introduce legislation ing him to irrelevance, the allegiance to Israel no longer serves American interests in the region.—R.M. to cut off all aid to the Israeli government has once Palestinian Authority if it again shown its willingness tried to use the International Criminal Times correspondent Ethan Bronner that to maintain a continuing cycle of vioCourt against Israel, a move that would re- Israeli policy toward the Palestinians and lence—even if it means sacrificing the lives inforce a finding by long time New York U.S. support for Israel are proving counter- of Israelis as well as Palestinians. ❑ (Advertisement)
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
omer_15-16_Gaza on the Ground 12/6/12 2:01 PM Page 15
In Gaza, There’s Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide Gazaon the Ground
PHOTO M. OMER
By Mohammed Omer
Onlookers inspect the wreckage of the car carrying Ahmad Al-Jabari and Mohammed Al-Hums, assassinated in an Israeli missile strike, Nov. 14, 2012. ednesday, Nov. 14, started out as a
Wnormal day in Gaza City, with the
usual traffic, and the same traffic policeman at the Al Sarayya junction—a common sight when the traffic lights go dark due to electrical outages. Families rushed about collecting supplies and shopkeepers tidied up. A mother urged her children, distracted by something tantalizing, to move faster. In the late afternoon, as the sun began to set, a soft Mediterranean breeze scented the air with the smells of salt and seaweed as the residents of Gaza prepared for their evening meal. Boom! I was in a shop with a group of my journalist colleagues selecting an invitation card for my upcoming wedding. As the saleslady started to show me the cards, a missile exploded across the street and the mostly residential street of Al-Khidma AlAmmah turned black. A fireball the size of a small car shot down the middle of the Award-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
street, dissipating nearly 100 feet away. Dust, grease and concrete rained down as residents of the area rushed toward any shelter they could find. But there was none. As the breeze separated the black cloud, an ominous sight was revealed. The vehicle was a bonfire of grey paint, its Kia logo barely visible, liquefied by the heat. Inside the occupants burned. The smoke, fueled by oil, petrol and rubber, blackened and grew denser. The putrid smell of burning tar mixed with flesh was nauseating and vile, making it hard to breathe and even more difficult to see. One heard, but could not see, glass shattering. Women fled their homes wearing whatever clothes they had on. Bystanders, their ears ringing from the blast, froze, shocked and terrified. Others headed toward the burning car to help any survivors. As they neared, they were greeted by a macabre patchwork of severed limbs and disemboweled entrails. Moving closer, they spied a portion of someone’s head. The missile’s power, its boast of bravado, was confirmed by the remnants of human beings clinging to surrounding walls four stories above ground. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Men rushed into their homes, grabbing buckets of water, while women ran away, carrying their children away from the terror. The first ambulance arrived, but the Kia continued to burn. Nothing could be done for the victims inside. Within minutes, more emergency vehicles arrived. No one knew how many passengers were in the car. Since only pieces of their bodies remained, identifying the victims would be difficult. As the fire and ambulance crews worked, a witness thought he recognized the license plate. Weeping, he told the police investigator he thought it was “Abu Mohammed” (“father of Mohammed”). Firemen continued to battle the fire as paramedics sifted through the wreckage. From two deep, narrow holes driven into the asphalt by the missile, one pulled out fragments of fingers clutching a blood-soaked white satchel. Neighbors and witnesses solemnly helped the emergency workers with the grim task of collecting body parts and charred flesh, many murmuring in disbelief, “It’s Abu Mohammed…” The target of the Israeli missile strike was indeed later identified as Ahmad Al-Jabari, considered the senior, highest-ranking 15
omer_15-16_Gaza on the Ground 12/6/12 1:41 PM Page 16
Israel killed 1,500 Palestinian men, women and children, injured thousands more, and destroyed an enormous amount of Gaza’s infrastructure, much of which has yet to be repaired. The day after the White House issued its memo, the skies above Gaza were filled with Israeli fighter jets, attack helicopters and unmanned drones armed with high tech missiles, which every few minutes struck an area about the size of Manhattan Island. On the ground, Israeli artillery tanks fired shells on the captive people living in the besieged enclave, firing on East Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza City and the north of Gaza. From the sea, Israeli warships pounded the Gaza coast. In its eight-day war on Gaza, Israel killed 178 Palestinians, 45 of whom were children and A young boy sits with a wounded relative. women, the youngest being a 10INSET: A child’s toy lies amid the rubble month-old baby. The oldest person killed was 82 years old. The of a destroyed home. injured numbered 1,399 people, of whom 719 are children and women. According to doctors at An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire went Shifa hospital in Gaza City, 90 percent of the casualties were civilians. into effect, but lasted only two days. The de facto government here in Gaza As the missile struck Al-Jabari’s car, Israel announced its Operation “Pillar of gave a preliminary estimate of the damage Smoke.” Palestinian resistance groups in from Israeli attacks at $750 million. This Gaza retaliated by firing homemade rock- figure includes 200 houses completely deets into Israel, some of them reaching Tel molished and 8,000 partially demolished. Aviv for the first time. Three Israelis were Also bombed were 42 civic organizations, killed and several injured, according to Is- including sports clubs, health centers and raeli sources. The Israeli military re- banks, and 32 schools and colleges. Israeli sponded with high-tech guided missiles weapons targeted 14 media organizations, fired from F16 fighter jets, bombing build- killing three cameramen and injuring nine ing after building in civilian areas of Gaza. media crew members. Other targets inThe next day, the White House threw its cluded 90 commercial buildings and shops. full support behind Israel’s military attack. Seventy security compounds and police On Friday, Nov. 16, it released a memo en- stations were completely demolished, and titled “Updates for the American Jewish another 11 partially damaged. Once again the people of Gaza, who have Community.” The memo reiterated the Obama administration’s support of the Is- neither an army, navy or air force—or, apraeli position, but made no mention of parently, “the right to defend themPalestinian casualties, the timeline and selves”—were forced to endure many cause of the escalating conflict, or the sig- sleepless nights, with trapped and terrifed nificance of Al-Jabari’s assassination, given families huddling together as the sky filled with the sounds of death. Unlike during his involvement in brokering a truce. For many Gazans, this latest Israeli at- Operation Cast Lead, when Israel pretack brought back painful memories of Is- vented journalists from traveling to Gaza, rael’s 2008-9 Operation Cast Lead, which reporters from around the world were live also occurred between Barack Obama’s on the ground—often cringing themselves election and inauguration. Although he at the nearby explosions. This time the whole world was watchhad not yet taken the oath of office, Obama was silent during that deadly period when ing—but will anything be done? ❑ PHOTOS M. OMER
leader of the Izzadin Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. His assistant, Mohammed Al-Hums was also killed. But the twice-married Jabari and father of 14 children was more than just Hamas’ military leader: he was Israel’s inside man. So this assassination was unusual—or was it? Haaretz, Israel’s leading English-language newspaper, quoted Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin, who had worked with Al-Jabari in negotiating the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, as saying that AlJabari was assassinated just three
hours after having received the draft of a permanent truce agreement with Israel, which included mechanisms for maintaining the cease-fire. Israel thus assassinated the very man it was indirectly working with to obtain peace, after an agreement had been reached—but before it could be implemented. Born in 1960 east of Gaza City, Al-Jabari had the final say and control over all the armed militias in Gaza. Egyptian intelligence considered him the person to contact about negotiating and implementing ceasefires. He was considered an influential Hamas moderate. “Al-Jabari was interested in a long-term cease-fire; he was not interested in these repeated rounds of attacks with Israel,” Baskin noted. Egyptian officials expressed anger at his assassination, describing Al-Jabari as a man who was responsible for saving the lives of many Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas responded by accusing Israel of opening the “gates of hell” by instigating yet another episode in the war which Israeli leaders seem to not want to end, if their constant airstrikes on Gaza are any indication. A week before Al-Jabari’s assassination, an Israeli airstrike killed a 12-year-old boy playing soccer in a Gaza street. The child’s murder broke a two-week lull in violence. 16
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Why All Americans Should Care About the Holy Land Foundation Case By Stephen Downs, Esq. and Kathy Manley, Esq.
SpecialReport
n 2008, five directors of the Holy Land
charity in the U.S., were convicted on charges of material support for terrorism— essentially for feeding the poor and for building schools and hospitals in Palestine. Although none of the defendants were accused of violence or even encouraging violence, some of them received sentences of up to 65 years, and are incarcerated in mostly Muslim isolation prisons. At their first trial in 2007, the government conceded that no foundation money had gone to any terrorist organizations; rather, some money went to the same zakat (charity) committees in Palestine that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.N., the Red Crescent and many NGOs used to distribute aid to the Palestinian community during the same period. The zakat committees were not designated as terrorist organizations, and no practical way existed to distribute aid except through these committees, which is why other charities and the U.S. government itself used them. The first trial ended with a hung jury, without a single conviction on any count, and with some outright acquittals. At the second trial, the government called an “anonymous expert” to testify that some of these zakat committees were “controlled” in part by Hamas––a designated terrorist organization but also, since January 2006, Palestine’s lawfully elected government. The U.S. government claimed that channeling the foundation’s charitable activities through these “controlled” committees helped raise the prestige of Hamas and thus constituted material support for terrorism. A known expert can be cross-examined Stephen Downs retired in 2003 as chief attorney with the NY State Commission on Judicial Conduct. In 2006, he volunteered as part of the defense team in U.S. v. Yassin Aref. He is a member of the Muslim Solidarity Committee and Project SALAM, and executive director of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF). Kathy Manley is an Albany, NY criminal defense attorney and one of Aref’s attorneys. She is also a member of the Muslim Solidarity Committee, Project SALAM, the NCPCF and the NY Civil Liberties Union. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
REUTERS/JESSICA RINALDI
IFoundation, formerly the largest Muslim
Holy Land Foundation co-founder Shukri Abu Baker (c) and supporters leave the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in Dallas, Texas, after a U.S. District Court judge declared a mistrial, Oct. 22, 2007. All five defendants were convicted in their second trial, during which the government used anonymous “expert” witnesses. Baker is currently serving a 65-year prison term. On Oct. 29, 2012 the Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal. by the defense and shown to be ignorant about the subject, but an “anonymous expert” cannot be challenged because he is unknown––he could be a man off the street, or the prosecutor’s brother. By definition, an expert must have a public identity that establishes the claimed expertise. The 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to confront (cross-examine) the witnesses against the defendant. Anonymous expert witnesses violate this fundamental principle. Yet on the basis of this anonymous “expert” opinion, all the defendants were convicted at the second trial. On Oct. 29, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Holy Land Five’s appeals, and let stand the criminalizing of charitable intent using the opinion of an anonymous expert to do so. Well, one may say, injustices are everywhere. Why should I care about this particular case? The reason goes back to a 2010 Supreme Court case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, which involved two groups that sued the government to determine if merely giving advice to a designated terrorist organization on how to stop engaging in terrorism would constitute material support. The Court held that THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
it would, because even advice on how to live peacefully was material support. Under this ruling, then, coordinated free speech, peacemaking, charitable activities and social hospitality could all constitute material support, even if the defendant did not intend to engage in terrorism and in fact opposed it. The plaintiffs in the original Humanitarian case (as opposed to the Supreme Court appeal) argued that the government should have to prove that a person intended to engage in terrorism––otherwise, anyone (like the directors of the Holy Land Foundation) could be convicted of terrorism without even realizing that he or she was doing anything wrong; due process requires that criminal laws give fair notice as to what conduct is prohibited. The Supreme Court disagreed with this argument, saying it was absolutely clear what is prohibited. The secretary of state publishes a list of designated terrorist organizations: just avoid all contact with organizations on the list, and no one will violate the law. But that is exactly what the Holy Land Foundation directors did: they avoided providing aid to any designated terrorist orgaContinued on page 26 17
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Russell Tribunal on Palestine Examines Roles of U.N. and U.S. SpecialReport
Judges Roger Waters and Alice Walker listen to the testimony of attorney Diana Buttu. he first Russell Tribunal, chaired by
TJean-Paul Sartre, met in Stockholm,
The first session, held in Barcelona in March 2010, addressed the European Union’s failure to meet its responsibilities; the second, in London in November 2010, addressed corporate complicity; the third, in Cape Town in November 2011, considered the applicability to Israel of the Crime of Apartheid. The fourth and final session, which focused on the roles of the United
Sweden in 1967 to investigate and adjudicate, on the basis of international law, U.S. military intervention in Vietnam. Further tribunals were held in the 1970s to address human rights violations in Latin America, particularly by the Pinochet regime in Chile, and in 2004 after the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The tribunals do not have official standing, but rather aim to increase public awareness. In philosopher Bertrand Russell’s words, “May the tribunals prevent the crime of silence.” The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was established in March 2009 to address the failure of the international community to implement recommendations stipulated by the 2004 International Court of Justice’s 1,067-page advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel’s separation barrier, and the lack of any consequences for Israel following its 2008-09 assault on Gaza. The Panelists Stéphane Hessel (l) and Ilan Pappé. focus of the Tribunal is therefore not only on Israel’s responsibility for Nations and the United States, took place the suffering it inflicts on Palestinians, but this past Oct. 6 and 7 in New York. Next, also the complicity of states, corporations the jury will meet in Geneva to deliberate and international bodies in Israel’s viola- and present its conclusions. In each tribunal, a panel of judges with tions of international law. legal, cultural or political backgrounds heard Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the the testimony of expert witnesses and posed New York City metropolitan area. questions to each witness. In the New York 18
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
tribunal, the 11-member panel included South African law professor John Dugard, former special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories; Pulitzer Prizewinning author Alice Walker; Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire; former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA); and Roger Waters of the band Pink Floyd. Pierre Galand, president of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, chaired the New York sessions. Describing the proceedings as a “test of international conscience,” Galand announced that one of the witnesses, the director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights Raji Sourani, and one of the initiators of the Tribunal, Palestinian ambassador to the EU Leila Shahid, were unable to be present because the U.S. had denied them visas. Panelist and Holocaust survivor Stéphane Hessel, honorary president of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine and co-writer of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, greeted the audience that filled the Great Hall in Cooper Union. “This unfortunate population has been abused and abused,” he said, “with nobody to help them to the statehood they deserve.” Not only is the U.S. complicit, he emphasized, but the U.N. itself, which gave birth to the problem, has done nothing beyond pass resolutions. His hope for the Tribunal is that it be an impulse to end Israel’s impunity and the Palestinians’ impossible situation. Israeli Prof. Ilan Pappé spoke about the impact of Zionism on Palestinians. Because daily events in Palestine are not catastrophic enough for the media to take notice, he stressed the importance of a cumulative, historical perspective. Contrary to the Israeli narrative, Palestine was a thriving society when Zionism entered, Pappé said. The early Zionists viewed Palestinians as “alien natives” living in an area waiting to be “redeemed” by Jews. But Zionism during the Mandate period failed both demographically—by 1948 Jews were only one-third of the population—and geographically—Jews owned only 7 percent of the land, Pappé STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS
STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS
By Jane Adas
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS
noted. “The inevitable result,” he concluded, “was the 1947 decision to ethnically cleanse, a crime against humanity, beyond which is only genocide.” He ended his testimony with a plea to the Tribunal: “Do not seek to reduce Palestine to 20 percent of its former land.” The U.N., through its 1947 Resolution 181 partitioning Palestine, has a central role to play on Palestine. Therefore, according to Prof. Vera Angela Davis listens as expert witness Phyllis Bennis testifies. Gowlland-Debbas, the General Assembly has a permanent respon- Half of the 82 vetoes the U.S. has cast in the sibility until the issue is resolved. However, Security Council have been to protect Israel as former UNRWA head Peter Hansen noted, from condemnation. The Bush administrathat resolution itself was unfair in allotting tion included the U.N. in the Quartet to the majority of the land to the recently ar- lend some legitimacy to the peace process, rived minority Jewish population. The U.N., but, according to Hansen, this only damhe continued, has been weakest in securing aged the U.N.’s standing and respect. Discussing how the U.S. is undermining compliance with international law and its own resolutions, and strongest in humani- Palestine, Attorney Diana Buttu elicited the tarian operations in the field. UNRWA, with most responses from the panel of judges. a staff of 30,000, is the U.N.’s largest She described Washington’s actions as deagency—but, Hansen asked, why does no liberately changing the rules of the game in one question the ongoing need for such a re- order to make legal that which is illegal. The lief program? Is it dealing only with symp- goal of the peace process, Buttu contended, toms, rather like treating cancer with a has been to remove the stain of Israel as an band-aid? Yet Hansen admitted he sees no occupier. Since it began, 34 countries have alternative, since Israel cannot be trusted to opened relations with Israel while the settlement population has tripled. Now the abide by the 4th Geneva Convention. Gowlland-Debbas accused the Security process aims to redraw the borders to acCouncil of “manifest double standards” in commodate illegal settlers. Moreover, the a case where “the U.N. has special respon- U.S. has flipped the role of occupier and ocsibility.” Israeli policies and practices, she cupied via the Oslo accords: most of the elaborated, resemble many cases that the donor money to the Palestinian Authority is Security Council has vigorously enforced, to enable the occupied to provide security such as compensation for property rights to their oppressors, the occupiers. Buttu was spokesperson for the PLO’s in the former Yugoslavia and requiring Iraq to pay $52 billion in restitution fol- Negotiations Support Unit during the nelowing its occupation of Kuwait. The U.N. gotiations at the end of President Bill Clinhas imposed 19 sanctions regimes on four ton’s term in 2000. When Israel announced continents, and established a special tri- yet another new settlement, the Palestinian bunal in Lebanon after the assassination of contingent complained. A U.S. adviser, former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Yet whom Buttu would not name, responded, even when the International Court of Jus- “We can’t demand a freeze while negotiatice, in its advisory ruling on the illegality tions are underway.” When the second inof Israel’s separation barrier, called on the tifada broke out in September, that same U.N. to take further action, and even when adviser said, “We can’t demand a freeze the Goldstone report requested the Secu- now that there’s violence.” To the many questions from the panel as rity Council to report to the General Assembly about actions taken, the Security to why the U.S. supports Israel even when it makes no sense, and why Americans feel Council has done nothing. The reason for the U.N.’s inaction leads free to challenge all U.S. policies except directly to the second focus of the New those toward Israel, Buttu responded that York Tribunal: “The Role of the U.S. in sup- no one element is sufficient to explain it. In porting violations of Palestinian Rights.” addition to the Israel lobby, profits from JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
militarization, and Christian Zionism, she pointed out that the U.S. has adopted many Israeli techniques: pre-emptive strikes, drones, administrative detention, the wall being built along the Mexican border. M a i re a d M ag u i re asked the question that seems to be taboo in the U.S.: Why does President Barack Obama allow Israel to threaten Iran with wa r wh e n I r a n h a s signed the NPT and Israel has at least 200 nuclear weapons? Why does the president not demand that Israel sign the NPT? Katherine Gallagher, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, could only respond that there is an absolute disconnect when talking about a nuclear-free Middle East. David Wildman of the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries discussed the role of Christian Zionists in the Israel lobby. Theirs is a dualistic theology, he explained: the world is divided into good and bad. This explains why they do not see Gazans as civilians, Wildman added. Christian Zionists see truth as based on belief rather than facts, he continued. They believe that U.S. military expansion is part of God’s plan, and that organizations that support human rights and international law are “not with us.” Wildman also considers mainline churches as part of the Israel lobby, since they are silenced by their dedication to Christian-Jewish dialogue and their blindness to how Palestinians live. What is needed, he concluded, is to decolonize Christian philosophy. Phyllis Bennis, co-chair of the U.N.-based International Coordinating Network on Palestine, urged the world community to reclaim the U.N. from U.S. domination. Rather than seeking to renew peace talks, she argued, the U.N. should lead civil society in taking up the slack of failed diplomacy. The discourse is beginning to open up and change, Bennis believes—the challenge is how to direct this toward a transformation of policy. She sees the way forward through the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has united movements across the globe with flexibility. This is not about “Yea Palestine” or “Boo Israel,” she stressed, or about trying to impoverish the world’s 12th richest country. Rather, Bennis concluded, it is to compel Israel to comply with international law. ❑ 19
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Gaza, October 2012: The “Calm” Before The Storm
JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Gazaon the Ground
By Mohammed Omer
LEFT: An Israeli soldier takes a picture of the impact zone of a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, Oct. 24, 2012. RIGHT: Palestinians inspect a missile crater the day after an Oct. 28 Israeli attack on al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip. The Washington Report asked Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer to keep a diary of a typical month in Gaza under Israel’s nearly seven-year-long siege: ct. 1, 2012: One person is killed and
Ofour injured in a traffic accident in
Khan Younis, just north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. A 3-year-old child dies from burns in a fire caused by a candle during a power outage in Bureij camp; another child dies of an electric shock from a generator. Oct. 2: Israeli soldiers positioned northwest of Erez, in the northern Gaza Strip, open fire on workers collecting rubble from demolished houses. A Rafah smuggling tunnel into Egypt collapses, killing one person and injuring another. Egypt announces it will not create a free-trade zone on its border with Gaza. Oct. 3: Hamas police fire injures two boys during a police eviction of houses loAward-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports on the Gaza Strip, and maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza. 20
cated on government land. Oct. 4: Gaza tunnel owners are angry about the Egyptian army’s aggressive campaign to demolish the smuggling tunnels, “Gaza’s Lifeline.” Oct. 5: A young man sets himself on fire, made desperate by the deteriorating economy. Oct. 6: Israeli warships positioned off the Al-Waha coast northeast of Beit Lahia open fire on Palestinian fishing boats. The Rafah crossing is closed as Egyptian authorities observe the anniversary of the 1973 October War. Oct. 7: In a single incident, an Israeli F16 missile kills one civilian and wounds eight more, including four children and their mother. Israeli jets fire two missiles at children going home from school. Another fires two missiles at two people on a motorcycle passing by the Taha Hussein Secondary School in the Al-Brazil neighborhood south of Rafah. Israeli warships open fire on, and arrest, four fishermen, taking them to an unknown destination and confiscating their fishing boat. Oct. 8: Israeli troops on the border near Khan Younis fire missiles and shoot at villagers for two hours, injuring five people, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
four of them, including two children, from the same family. Israeli tank fire damages the minarets of the Ammar Ben Yasser mosque in Abasan village and Al-Hidaya mosque in Khuza’a village. Across the Gaza Strip, Israeli warplanes fire missiles at farmland in the Al-Farahin area (‘Abasan, Khuza’a, Al-Qarara and New ‘Abasan villages), injuring four civilians, including twin brothers. Israeli air strikes cause five schools, holding approximately 1,500 students, to evacuate. In Rafah, Israeli troops fire artillery shells at the abandoned Gaza International Airport in southeast Rafah. Other Israeli soldiers at the eastern Gaza City border fire three artillery shells at the Al-Amal Tar Factory, located half a mile from the border, causing structural damage. Israeli warplanes fire a missile at open land in Al-Nasser village, north of Rafah. Late in the evening, Israeli troops fire shells at a group of resistance fighters east of Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, injuring one member of the group. Oct. 9: Israeli troops on Gaza’s northern border fire three artillery shells at open farmland near the Al-Ghoul northeast of Beit Lahia. Israeli snipers in watchtowers northeast of Beit Hanoun in the northern JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Gaza Strip fire heavily on open areas (casualties and damage not reported), resuming their heavy fire just before midnight. Oct. 10: Israeli snipers fire heavily from watchtowers at Al-Ghoul on agricultural land in Al-Sayafa, while Israeli warplanes target a warehouse on farmland in Beit Lahia, destroying much of the structure, and damaging the Dar Al Tofola kindergarten, holding 130 children and 12 teachers. Israeli warships fire on Gazan fishermen. Oct. 11: Israeli warplanes fire a missile at a training site for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, north of Gaza City. The missile exploded inside the site. Oct. 12: Israeli warships fire on fishermen near the Gaza Strip’s Al-Waha Beach, causing the fishermen to flee to shore. Oct. 13: An Israeli warplane fires a missile at an olive grove north of Al-Bureij refugee camp, blowing up 17 trees, damaging five homes, and injuring a 12-year-old boy, whose right leg was struck by flying rubble as he slept in the early afternoon. An hour later another Israeli missile lands northeast of Nussirat, in the central Gaza Strip, leaving a bomb crater and terrorizing residents. Israeli gunboats attack more fishermen in their boats. Israeli warplanes fire a missile an hour later at the Al-Qassam Brigades training site near the Al-Zaitoun neighborhood. Oct. 14: In an early morning air strike on the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli fire kills one Palestinian civilian and seriously injures another. Later, two Israeli missiles score a direct hit on two resistance fighters riding a motorbike in Al-Fakhari, southeast of Khan Younis, killing one and seriously injuring the other. In central Gaza, an Israeli warplane assassinates two Palestinians. Later, an Israeli warplane fires a missile at a group of Palestinian resistance members in agricultural fields in Al-Salqa valley village, southeast of Deir Al-Balah. One man dies instantly, his body dismembered. Another dies of his injuries 30 minutes later. On the border near Khan Younis, Israeli troops open fire on farmland near the Kissufim military site, next to a highly populated area. Oct. 15: De facto Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh calls on Egyptian Intelligence to intervene and halt Israeli air strikes. Oct. 16: Israeli soldiers at the Erez crossing open fire on farmers harvesting olives in Beit Hanoun. Oct. 17: Israeli warplanes fire five missiles at an Al-Qassam Brigades military training site near the Bedouin village of Um alNasser Bedouin village in northern Gaza, damaging the home of a 73-year-old man and his 18 family members. Also damaged were the headquarters of the International JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Federation of Association Football’s (FIFA) “Goal” project and a religious institution belonging to the Ministry of Awqaf serving 850 undergraduates, both located less than a mile from the target area. Shelling also damaged the Bisan Entertainment City, and five more explosions were heard later on. Oct. 18: In two early morning air strikes, two Israeli missiles are fired at agricultural land in eastern Gaza City. Oct. 19: An Israeli warship opens fire on Palestinian fishermen at Al-Waha Beach. Around noon, Israeli soldiers at the Gaza/Israel border east of Al-Burej refugee camp shoot at farm volunteers from the Local Initiative and a number of Popular Resistance activists harvesting olives. Oct. 20: Warships fire at Palestinian fishermen in their boats late at night, and Israeli troops shouting through loudspeakers order the fishermen to leave. Oct. 21: The Ministry of Finance in Ramallah announces that the balance of the salaries owed to Palestinian Authority civil servants for September has been delivered. Oct. 22: In the pre-dawn darkness, Israeli snipers in watchtowers on the Israel/Erez crossing open heavy fire on agricultural areas and civilian homes until sunrise. Forty minutes later, Israeli warplanes began firing randomly at empty land and greenhouses. Later, another Israeli missile is fired at members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, injuring three, one of whom dies three hours later. Israeli tanks and bulldozers move 500 meters into Beit Lahia and began firing. Warplanes continue targeting empty fields, resulting in the evacuation of local high school students. Late in the afternoon, the tanks and bulldozers withdraw. An Israeli warplane fires a missile at a resistance group from Al-Naser Salah Al-Deen Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committee, while they were carrying out military activities. Later in the evening, the Israeli navy arrests four fishermen from the same family, just 1.2 miles off Al-Soudania beach, confiscating their boat and equipment. That night, Israeli warplanes fire a missile at members of AlQassam Brigades firing home-made rockets back. One fighter is killed immediately and two others are seriously injured. Oct. 23: Israeli troops move into Khan Younis in the late afternoon. Bulldozers level some land and tanks fire randomly. Israeli troops fire a ground-to-ground missile at retaliating members of Al-Qassam Brigades, killing one fighter and injuring four. Oct. 24: An Israeli air strike targets Gaza’s Al Tuffah area, killing three Palestinians. A Palestinian resistance fighter dies of injuries sustained the previous day. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
A missile fired from an Israeli drone above Rafah kills one resident and injures three others. Israeli troops again fire at the Gaza International Airport, and destroy the minaret of the mosque in Khan Younis. Israel closes the Erez crossing, stranding Palestinian patients seeking medical treatment at Israeli, Jordanian and West Bank hospitals. An F16 missile fired from an Israeli warplane lands near Ali Ben Abu Talib mosque. Israeli warplanes constantly occupy Gaza air space. Oct. 25: A Palestinian dies of injuries sustained in Israel’s drone attack on Rafah the previous day. A young man is found dead in Rafah after a smuggling tunnel collapses on him. Oct. 26: Palestinians visit family graves on the first day of the Eid holiday. Oct. 27: The bodies of two more young men are found in the tunnel which collapsed two days ago. Oct. 28: Israeli drones kill one man and injure another in Khan Younis. Israeli bulldozers demolish land northeast of Khan Younis. An Israeli F16 missile hits a newly built house in Al-Bureij, another hits abandoned Jewish settlements outside Gaza City, and a third hits Khan Younis. Oct. 29: One person is injured in an Israeli air strike on the northern Gaza Strip. Oct. 30: An Israeli helicopter fires missiles east of Khan Younis. Later, a number of Israeli troops invade the Shijaia’a neighborhood east of Gaza City. Oct. 31: Israeli soldiers stationed in watch towers on Na’ayma Street in Beit Hanoun target agricultural areas with heavy fire. ❑ (Advertisement)
The Children’s Relief Fund Sponsoring Needy Children in Palestine and Lebanon since 1983 For donation and sponsorship opportunities visit: www.TheCRF.net A charity of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
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European Union Condemns Israeli Settlements—But Buys From Them SpecialReport
URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES
By John Gee
New housing for Jews only being constructed in the illegal West Bank settlement of Ariel, Dec. 4, 2012. hereas the U.S. government’s posi-
Wtion on Israeli settlements in the
West Bank has been significantly diluted since 1967, European Union (EU) states have remained part of the overwhelming global majority that considers them to be illegal. In one of many statements made by the EU and its spokespeople over the years, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said on Sept. 27, 2010 in connection with Middle East peace talks: “Settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace, and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible.” This position is clear and has been consistently upheld. The West Bank colonies were established in violation of Article 49 of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, intended to protect civilians in time of war, including when they fall under foreign occupation. The EU maintains that the Geneva Convention provisions continue to John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. 22
apply to the territories Israel occupied in 1967, despite the long duration of the continuing occupation. It is one thing to adhere to a legal and political stand on this issue, however, and quite another to take effective action on it. Opposition to the Israeli settlements should, at the very least, mean doing everything possible to discourage the creation of new settlements, and doing nothing that might serve to legitimize and entrench those that already exist. Yet a recent report indicates that the EU states are importing goods from the settlements, and thereby reinforcing them economically. Moreover, these imports far exceed those from the West Bank and Gaza Strip—by 15 times. Trading Away Peace: How Europe Helps Sustain Illegal Israeli Settlements, released on Oct. 30, is a report prepared by a coalition of 22 NGOs, including Christian Aid (UK and Ireland), Church of Sweden, International Federation for Human Rights, Methodist Church in Britain, Norwegian People’s Aid, Trocaire (an Irish organizaTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
tion) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding. Most of the NGOs are religious or development organizations. The report is based upon records of imports from Israeli settlements and from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A certain amount of detective work was necessary. The EU requires that settlement products should be clearly labeled to distinguish them from goods produced within Israel’s 1967 borders, but it does not effectively enforce its own rules. This means that shoppers who are ready to buy Israeli produce but do not want to support the settlements may unknowingly be buying goods produced by the West Bank colonies. Israeli government figures indicate that the EU imports 230 million euros ($300 million) worth of settlement products each year. In contrast, it imports a mere 15 million euros (less than $20 million) from the Palestinians. The disparity is emphasized when the difference in populations is taken into account. As the report notes, “With more than 4 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in the occupied territory, this means the EU imports over 100 times more per settler than per Palestinian.” This disparity is partly due to factors beyond the EU’s control. Israel includes the settlements in its regional planning as though there are no borders to be respected within the areas under its control. They fall within the regions that have the highest priority development status, which means they receive generous grants. The settlements also benefit from government spending on infrastructure, such as the bypass roads that go around Palestinian population centers, allowing settlers to pass speedily between the colonies and pre1967 Israel with ease. The settlements and access roads were mostly built on land Israel declared to be state property, or acquired on spurious pretexts from its Palestinian owners, keeping their initial cost to their residents low. By contrast, Palestinian development is restricted by tight Israeli regulation of freedom of movement, planning restrictions, lack of credit facilities, settler violence (inJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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cluding the destruction of olive trees and the blocking or seizure of wells) and Israeli military operations that have repeatedly wrecked Palestinian institutions, damaged infrastructure and discouraged foreign investment. Some farmers across whose lands the apartheid wall runs have great difficulties gaining access to parts or all of their lands. Crucially, when it comes to agricultural products, settlements are provided a plentiful supply of water, while Palestinian water consumption is strictly limited and the construction of new wells by Palestinians to cope with a falling water table is almost never allowed. Agricultural goods exported to Europe from the settlements include dates, grapes, peppers, fresh herbs, avocados, citrus fruits, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, potatoes and cut flowers—all of which Palestinians are perfectly capable of growing given a reliable water supply, and capable of selling when their products are not held up at checkpoints. The settlements clearly enjoy a trade advantage over the Palestinians of the West Bank that has been artificially created and sustained by subsidisation of the settlements and constriction of the Palestinian economy. The EU is not obliged to accept this situation, however: there is much it could do to drastically reduce the extent to which settlements benefit from EU spending. For example, settlement products generally bear labels reading “Made in Israel.” The drafters of the coalition report ask as a minimum that the EU insist that all settlement produce be clearly labeled to identify its origin as the settlements, so that consumers don’t buy it unwittingly. Currently only Britain and Denmark have a policy of encouraging such identification. British voluntary guidelines introduced in 2009 advise that West Bank produce should be labeled as either “Israeli settlement produce” or as “Palestinian produce.” Among other measures the report calls for are excluding settlements from the benefits of bilateral agreements and cooperation programs, which should only apply to enterprises operating in territory recognized by EU countries as Israeli; actively discouraging corporate involvement in settlements; preventing financial transactions to settlements; and banning the importation of settlement products. Many of the settlement products marketed in Europe without proper attribution will be familiar to American consumers: Ahava cosmetics, produced by a company based in the settlement of Mitzpe JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Shalem; SodaStream’s carbonation devices, largely produced in the industrial zone of Ma’ale Adumim, the giant settlement built to the east of Jerusalem with the intention of sealing Israel’s permanent hold on the city; and some of Keter’s plastic garden furniture, which is produced in two settlement factories. There has been a growing international campaign for the boycott of all Israeli products until Israel pulls out of the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip. The organizations and bodies that produced Trading
Away Peace are careful to state, however, when they call for a ban on settlement products, that this “is not a ban or boycott on trade with Israel, which the signatories to this report do not advocate.” Efforts to cut off settlement trade with Europe may be expected to intensify. If they can be replicated elsewhere, the cost of maintaining the settlements might be made so heavy that Israel will have to stop building new settlements and withdraw from the existing ones as part of a comprehensive peace with the Palestinians. ❑
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
EEdited dited b byy | İHSAN D DAĞI AĞI iddle East Technical Te echnical University, University, A Middle M Ankara nkara TA F ublished b oundation for for P Published byy | SE SETA Foundation conomic and S ocial Resear ch Political, P olitical, E Economic Social Research
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Two Views What Lies Ahead for Syria? More Agony Ahead for Syria
be a recipe for more bloodshed rather than the beginning of dialogue. The opposition wants more than weapons. What it really hopes for is a Western military intervention on the Libyan model. But such an intervention
they undercut the efforts of his predecessor, Kofi Annan. To pay lip-service to the By Patrick Seale goal of a cease-fire and a negotiated transiight the Western powers and their tion of power while arming the rebels is to allies be making a mistake in Syria? guarantee that fighting will continue. Several of them—Britain and France, toArab diplomatic sources said that gether with Turkey, Saudi Brahimi had drafted a new Arabia and Qatar—have roadmap for peace, which recognized the new Coalihe was expected to pretion of Syrian opposition sent to the U.N. Security forces formed in Doha on Council and to regional Nov. 11. They will now powers. His plan was said come under intense presto call for the formation of sure to provide the rebels a national unity governwith heavier and more soment of both opposition phisticated “defensive” figures and regime loyalarms, such as anti-aircraft ists, with the task of conand anti-tank weapons. ducting free and fair elecThat is what is now being tions under international discussed in several capisupervision. t a l s. B u t w i l l b e t t e r According to these weapons be enough to sources, Brahimi had left bring down President open the contentious issue Bashar al-Assad? Most of the fate of President military experts think it Assad. The opposition redoubtful. The rebels have fuses to consider talks so made significant advances long as Assad remains in but are still far from landpower, while regime suping a decisive blow. porters, both domestic and Worried at the rise of Isforeign, believe that he lamist fighting groups— must be part of the transimuch like those it is fighttion process. Brahimi, like ing in Afghanistan, PakKofi Annan, seems to istan, Yemen and elsethink that the process has where—the United States to be “Syria-led”—which has so far hesitated to recimplies that Assad has to ognize the new Coalition, be involved. although it played a major But Brahimi’s task is role in its formation. This well-nigh impossible. is an illustration of the Neither the regime nor dilemmas facing the Westthe opposition shows any ern powers. sign of being ready for a If the rebels get better Syrians inspect the scene of a car bomb explosion in Jaramana, a mainly Christian deal. Most opposition facweapons, as seems likely, and Druze suburb of Damascus, Nov. 28, 2012. tions—and certainly the Assad’s regime is bound to fighting groups—declare respond by throwing its own more ad- does not seem probable—the Russians will that they will continue the struggle until vanced weapons into the battle, such as veto any U.N. Security Council Resolution Bashar al-Assad is toppled. He, in turn, MiG 29s, heavy battle tanks, missiles and authorizing the use of force. In any event, evidently hopes to crush them. In a word, long-range artillery, which have so far been no Western power wants to be drawn into both sides believe the time is not ripe for kept in reserve. The military escalation will the Syrian conflict. All are happy to hide a political settlement. Each believes the behind the Russian veto. military balance must first be changed in Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the By arming the rebels, the Western its favor before a negotiation can take Middle East. His latest book is The Struggle powers and their allies are in danger of un- place. In any event, so much blood has alfor Arab Independence: Riad el-Solh and the dercutting the efforts of Lakhdar Brahimi, ready been spilled, and so much hate genMakers of the Modern Middle East (Cam- the U.N. and Arab League envoy, to halt erated, that there is at present no room for bridge University Press). Copyright © 2012 the bloodshed and prepare the ground for rational thinking or mood for comproPatrick Seale. Distributed by Agence Global. a negotiation—in much the same way as mise. STR/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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The new umbrella Coalition is, however, a distinct improvement on the Turkey-based Syrian National Council (SNC), which it has incorporated and replaced. It is more representative of the various opposition factions. Its president, Moaz al-Khatib, has much in his favor: He is a Damascene (as is the industrialist Riad Seif, one of his two vice presidents); he is a moderate Muslim, acceptable to many Christians and to part, at least, of the silent majority. Some regime loyalists may even be prepared to fall in behind him. Above all, he has lived and worked in Syria all his life, and knows the different communities which make up the country’s mosaic. He left his native country only recently— unlike some SNC members who have lived in exile for decades. But al-Khatib is no politician. He is an intellectual and an academic. It may well be that expectations of what he can achieve have been pitched too high. The Coalition he heads has many failings. It does not represent Syria’s many minorities. No Kurdish group has agreed to join. Needless to say, the Alawites are absent. Above all, this group of civilian exiles will find it difficult to impose its will on fighters inside the country, who dismiss it as a foreign creation. Jihadi groups, in particular—who are steadily gaining in strength and are linked in some cases to alQaeda—detest the civilian opposition abroad. They have no time for anyone who is not a jihadi. Their aim is to create an Islamic state by force of arms. One already exists in embryo in that part of Aleppo which the rebels control. Al-Khatib must also wrestle with the fact that the countries which have chosen to recognize his Coalition are themselves far from united. Each country seems to be backing a different group with a different agenda. Syria has become a battlefield for foreign powers. It is all too easy to predict the likely outcome of current Western policy. It seems set to lead to military escalation; to a higher death toll on both sides; to more material damage; to greater sectarian divisions and hatreds, with each community taking to arms to protect itself. Even more serious is the fact that a military escalation will fragment the country even more than at present. Each side will fight to defend areas under its control. The struggle over the coming months is likely to be bloody. A major casualty of the conflict is the loss of Syria’s regional role. Syria has played a pivotal role in Arab politics since the Second World War, in association at different times with Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and, in recent times, Turkey. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
It used to be said that there can be no war without Syria and no peace without it. It has been the kingpin of resistance to Israel ever since the creation of the Jewish state—a role it has continued to play in recent decades as part of the so-called “resistance axis” in association with Iran and Lebanon’s Shi’i resistance movement Hezbollah. With Syria’s collapse, a new regional configuration of power is likely to emerge in which Islamists of various stripes seem destined to play a bigger role. As a prominent Arab exclaimed to me in late November, “Syria, as we know it, is finished!”
Waiting for Obama By Fehmy Saddy, Ph.D.
ow that President Barack Obama has N been re-elected for a second term and the Syrian opposition has been restructured along U.S. conditions to include other opposition factions and elected a former preacher at Omayyad Mosque in Damascus to lead their revolution, the Syrians hope to see at long last the beginning of the end of their predicament. The Arab League has endorsed the enlarged opposition, and the Gulf states, Turkey, France and the UK have recognized it as the sole representative of the Syrian people. The wait finally ended for President Obama to determine the next step. When he did, he offered a guarded support of the new opposition, then departed for Asia. Meanwhile, the carnage in Syria continues. The death toll has become a matter of emotionless statistics: 39,000 killed—give or take a few thousand. According to the U.N., several hundred thousand Syrian refugees— give or take a few hundred thousand because, understandably, it cannot account for everybody—have fled to neighboring countries. The U.N. estimates the number of internally displaced refugees, some of them displaced more than once, at having reached four million. They must endure the biting cold as they enter a second winter in a row. The World Food Program, which provides food to the refugees, cites a shortage of funding. On the bright side, the U.S. has anFehmy Saddy, Ph.D. is president of FS Partners SA. The author of numerous articles and editor and contributor to several books, he served in the Syrian Foreign Service in the late 1960s, earned degrees from Damascus University Law School and American University School of International Service and Washington College of Law, and has taught at the American University of Beirut, Kuwait University, University of Maryland and American University in Washington, DC. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
nounced a donation of $35 million to pay for food for those wretched-of-the-earth Syrians. A great power, of course, deserves recognition for its noblesse oblige. One of Washington’s conditions is that the opposition should not engage in negotiations with the Assad regime. Yet U.S. support remains confined to moral and humanitarian gestures, not military reinforcement. Meanwhile, the balance of forces on the ground remains in favor of the brutal Syrian regime, which has a huge arsenal of armor, fighter planes and sophisticated missile systems assembled over many years to fight a conventional war. The U.S. and its Western allies, particularly Israel and Turkey, also recognize that there is a real possibility that chemical weapons would be used by the Syrian regime as a last resort. In addition, the principal backers of the regime, Russia and Iran in particular—not to mention the tacit backing of Iraq, Algeria and Hezbollah—have shown no sign of wavering in their support, and are still calling for negotiations as the only viable approach for an orderly transition to a new political order that meets the aspirations of all Syrians. In this respect, they have the support of the United Nations and the Arab League and their joint emissary, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is committed to this approach and whose mission is endorsed by China. Against this background, U.S. policy remains ambivalent and has given no indication beyond its rhetoric of how to end the Syrian carnage. Washington is unwilling to provide military support at a time when it is trying to wind down U.S involvement in Afghanistan and it does not, and cannot, afford a new war in the Middle East, particularly one that would involve confrontation with Russia on its turf. The U.S. relied on pragmatism, the diplomatic approach for which it is known, to disengage from Vietnam and other prior conflicts. It conducted secret negotiations with the Viet Cong in Paris and, more recently, sought negotiations with the Taliban in its search for an exit from Afghanistan. Whenever the cost of a conflict outweighs its benefits, Washington has never hesitated to negotiate. Therefore, one must wonder why the U.S. does not exercise pragmatism in the context of the Syrian conflict, when the situation on the ground and political actors in the region and beyond favor a political solution? To answer this question, one must understand U.S. policy objectives in the Middle East. They are interlocked with Israeli objectives to such an extent that they cannot be analyzed in the absence of each other. These objectives are access to Arab oil, and the se25
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curity of Israel. The former is secured through close relationships with the Gulf states, where the U.S. has an extensive military and naval presence. For their part, the Gulf states must sell their oil and the U.S. has been a reliable partner, both as a repository of their liquidity and the source of goods and services to maintain their lifestyles. With respect of the latter, President Obama recently distinguished between allies, such as Israel, and clients, like Egypt. Thus, U.S. policy toward the Syrian conflict must be viewed through the prism of Israeli interests. Indeed, Washington’s position represents a masterpiece of covert Israeli diplomacy, with its delaying tactics and vague promises. The objective seems to be to let the conflict drag on, deepen the rift among the various Syrian religious and ethnic groups, and irrevocably tear apart the social fabric. The inevitable outcome of this process, which has been described as a “Somalization” of the conflict, is the eventual disintegration of Syria and its division into several entities. Certainly, developments on the ground point in this direction. The Syrian regime has lost much of the north and east of the country. Syrian Kurds are well positioned in the northeast to link with the Kurds in northern Iraq. In western Syria, along the Mediterranean, the mountainous enclave that is the regime’s base of support is witnessing a concentration of heavy weapons for a long drawn-out fight and eventual secession. This has been the dream of Israeli planners since the creation of the Jewish state. After all, breaking up Syria into small entities along confessional and ethnic lines not only would give legitimacy to Israel’s own version of a religion-based state, but also would eliminate an adversary that has claimed to be the “beating heart of Arabism.” In The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, his epic work on the Arab Revolution of 1914, T.E. Lawrence recounts how Britain and France, the great powers of their times, promised the Arabs an independent state in exchange for
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rising up against the Ottoman Empire. But their reward was the partitioning of the Middle East into separate entities under Mandatory powers, making room for European Jews to establish their state. A century later, Syria risks even further division, thus conceivably laying the ground for a Greater Israel. Perhaps a window of opportunity still remains for the Syrians to come together without outside interference, and through dialogue save their country from disintegration. If they fail to do so, history will just repeat itself. The epitaph of Syria is being written, and Syria’s revolutionaries will only need to wait for Obama to lay the tombstone. ❑ (Advertisement)
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Holy Land Case… Continued from page 17
nization on the list. On their own and through a former congressman, they even repeatedly asked the State Department and the Department of Justice for guidance on where they should and should not send their humanitarian aid. But the government refused to provide any guidance other than to refer them to the State Department list— which did not include the zakat committees. Yet by dealing with these committees, which were not on the list, the directors were found to have violated the law anyway, in direct contradiction to the Supreme Court’s holding in the Humanitarian case. By refusing to review the case, the Supreme Court signaled that due process no longer requires fair notice of prohibited conduct. Legal transactions could now be made criminal by discovering “associations” that were previously unknown to the parties involved. Moreover, the government could establish these “associations” by anonymous experts—mouthpieces for the government—that could not be confronted or cross-examined within the meaning of the 6th Amendment. The implications are enormous. The government can now criminalize political, religious and social ideology and speech. Donating to peace groups, participating in protests, attending church, mosque or synagogue, entertaining friends, and posting material on the Internet, for example, could later be found to be illegal because of “associations,” manufactured by anonymous experts, which in some way supposedly supported designated terrorist organizations one has never heard of. In this decade during which our civil liberties have steadily eroded, Americans have seen their government claim, under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the right to hold citizens without charges indefinitely, and we’ve seen the president of the United States claim the right to assassinate American citizens anywhere in the world without due process by using a presidential “kill list.” Now the government can convict any American of terrorism crimes he or she was not even aware of committing––based on information provided by an “anonymous expert” who can be neither challenged nor confronted. ❑ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
saif_27_Special Report 12/6/12 1:17 PM Page 27
Landmark Court Ruling for Democracy in Pakistan SpecialReport
1989 was a strange time for political friendships in Pakistan. “Sworn enemies who until a few days before were shooting each other’s workers” coalesced to force a collapse of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government. From the religious right, Islamist Jama’at-e-Islami joined forces with its bitter electoral and ideological rivals, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the secular nationalist Awami National Party (ANP). The Pashtun ANP and Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti also hastily swept contention under the rug and disavowed their earlier condemnation of the “exploiting” Punjabis to join Punjab’s chief minister, Nawaz Sharif, against Bhutto. This unlikely coalition of nine parties called itself the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), or the Islamic Democratic Alliance. While offering little in the way of an alternative, it nevertheless leveled unrelenting criticism against the PPP for undermining national security through its incompetence. Not only did it accuse the PPP of being insufficiently patriotic, it declared the party’s government “a liability to the country’s security.” The IJI’s jingoistic rhetoric drew on historical right-wing allegations that the liberal PPP was not suitable for Pakistan as an Islamic country. Not only that, but the coalition’s nine-member composition was a pointed reference to the conservative nineparty Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) that had rallied against Bhutto’s socialist father a decade earlier. Having gained incumbency with only a precarious majority, and dogged by rapidly escalating lawlessness and corruption, Bhutto’s PPP government capitulated quickly in the face of the IJI’s bellicosity. Its five-year term was aborted in 1990, when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the government, and new elections were hastily scheduled.
ASIF HASSAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Hamzah Saif
On the fourth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination on Dec. 27, 2007, a crowd gathers outside the Bhutto family mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh to listen to Bhutto’s widower and successor as head of the Pakistan People’s Party, President Asif Ali Zardari.
Winning a strong majority at the polls, IJI elected Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan’s new prime minster. The outgoing Bhutto refused to accept defeat, however, and charged the country’s military with engineering her government’s collapse. The military’s role, while an open secret, received little attention from institutional investigative agencies, many of which had been eviscerated by Gen. Zia ul-Haq’s brutal junta earlier in the 1980s. More than half a decade later, in 1996, former air force Chief of Staff Asghar Khan petitioned Pakistan’s Supreme Court to investigate Bhutto’s allegations. The petition languished in bureaucratic limbo for another 15 years. Finally, in 2012, Pakistan’s newly activist Supreme Court revived the case and swiftly pronounced judgment. This sudden renewed attention came in the context of increasing scrutiny of a national military hitherto wholly dismissive of legal strictures. A year earlier, following insistent requests by parliament’s Public Hamzah Saif is a researcher with the World Accounts Committee, the Ministry of DeBank. He has previously worked with the fense initiated an investigation of three reUSAID-funded FAIDA project in Afghani - tired generals for the mismanagement and stan, and has written on and advocated for possible pilfering of roughly two billion ruimproved human security conditions in Pak- pees ($22 million) from a military-run logisistan and Afghanistan with the Muslim tics company. A few months later, another retired general managing the elite Royal Public Affairs Council. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Palms Golf Club was determined by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to have engaged in illegal deals for personal profit. In this atmosphere, sifting through allegations and evidence with dispatch, the court ruled on Asghar Khan’s petition on Oct. 22. The army chief, Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg, and former director of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Gen. Assad Durrani, were found guilty of electoral manipulation and extra-constitutional interference in the political process. Former President Khan, now deceased, was indicted on charges of misuse of public office. The court’s ruling detailed a total of 80 million rupees distributed by the ISI and the military, in coordination with President Khan, the promilitary IJI: 3.5 million rupees went to Punjab’s Nawaz Sharif; 5 million to the conservative Jamaat-e-Islami; 10 million to Pashtun leader Mir Afzal Khan; and 1.5 million to the son-in-law of Baloch nationalist Akbar Bugti, others. The court found that the money had been used to fund the IJI coalition and engineer the PPP defeat.
Great Significance, Limited Bite While the judgment is a landmark in its indictment of former military leaders, its imContinued on page 79 27
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Will the Zionist Organization of America Regain Its Revoked Tax-Exempt Status? SpecialReport
COURTESY IRMEP
By Grant F. Smith
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is just one of a myriad of organizations which make up the Rubik’s Cube that is the Israel lobby. n Oct. 17, 2012 the National Archives
Oand Records Administration released
long-secret U.S. Justice Department files concerning a decade-long battle to regulate the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) as a foreign agent of Israel. The declassified files, released in response to a 2011 Freedom of Information Act request, reveal why the ZOA—a once-formidable entity whose leaders can be linked to major Israeli covert operations within the United States—may have to struggle to regain its IRS tax-exempt status, mysteriously revoked in May of 2011. Although the ZOA claims that it was founded in 1897, it appears in historical Grant F. Smith is director of the Washington, DC-based Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep). Declassified files referred to in this article may be browsed at the Israel Lobby Archive, <www.IRmep. org/ila/>. The full story of ZOA officials’ involvement in uranium-235 diversions is covered in his new book Divert!, available from the AET Book Club. 28
newspaper database citations as a “new” organization shortly before it was incorporated. The ZOA came into being through passage of a special law-chapter 205-in the New York state Senate and Assembly with approval of the governor on April 14, 1920. Its early mission was to replace and consolidate older U.S.-based Zionist movements to create a state for Jews in Palestine. By 1946 chapters had spread throughout the United States, and the ZOA triumphantly claimed 190,000 members, among them such major Jewish leaders as Justice Louis Brandeis, Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, Rabbi Stephen Wise, Louis Lipsky, Emanuel Neumann and Judge Louis Levinthal. ZOA members effectively lobbied state legislatures to pass—and even a president to declare—non-binding resolutions in support of creating a Jewish state in Palestine. But the ZOA’s hidden foreign connections soon created trouble. In an effort to thwart Soviet Communist, Nazi and other organized foreign efforts to lobby and influence American public opinion, the U.S. passed the Foreign Agents RegTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
istration Act (FARA) on June 8, 1938. The legislation did not prohibit any foreign government or entity from launching U.S. public relations campaigns or lobbying initiatives—instead it required transparency, public filings, and mandatory declaration stamps on written communications. It also required U.S. agents to publicly reveal controling relationships with foreign principals, campaigns, and funding flows. FARA registration initially was enforced by the U.S. Department of State. In September 1938 it politely invited ZOA to begin registering as the U.S. foreign agent of its parent, the World Zionist Organization (WZO)—a global entity composed of duespaying Jews committed (and paying the shekel tax) to the Zionist program. Three days later ZOA formally refused, emphasizing its primary role as educating American Jews about Zionism while obtaining their financial support and winning over American “public opinion.” In 1942 the enforcement of FARA and maintenance of registrant files passed to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which conducted a careful review of legally binding corporate control relationships between the WZO and ZOA. In 1947 it found that the ZOA was constitutionally subject to WZO rules, which governed ZOA protocols for sending delegates to global conferences, subordinated ZOA to WZO’s laws and resolutions, and subjected ZOA to WZO approval in its negotiations with governments and NGOs. ZOA also had to regard the WZO as the ultimate authority regarding discipline and dispute resolution. More ominously, ZOA was also beholden to WZO orders for unspecified “political actions of another kind.” On six separate occasions between 1941 and 1948, the Justice Department ordered ZOA to register as a foreign agent. In the opinion of FARA section staff, registering ZOA was integral to the FARA section’s credibility and the broader effort to regulate the activities of other Israel lobbying organizations, including the Jewish Agency’s American Section and, later, the Jewish Agency-funded American Zionist Council (AIPAC’s parent organization). In March of 1948, a staffer wrote: “If ZOA is to be exempted from registration, DOJ might as well forget its entire campaign…” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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The DOJ ordered investigations into the ZOA’s publicity campaigns against Arabs and into member support for war materiel transfers to Jewish fighters, which led the FBI to conclude in 1948 that “Close examination of these statements plus investigation of ZOA activities, present and past, easily leads to the conclusion that the ZOA is the agent of a foreign state, acting in its interests, and as such should be registered with the Justice Department or under the legislation affecting lobbies in the United States.” By May 27, 1948, the FARA section— after sending threatening 10-day deadlines to ZOA—sensed it had quietly been stabbed in the back. A staffer filed an internal memo documenting that a high official (discovered to be Attorney General Tom C. Clark himself) apparently had verbally advised ZOA executives in a meeting that all past and current ZOA activities would not be subject to FARA registration or prosecutions in exchange for changes to the WZO/ZOA constitutions. Even in the face of growing evidence of Neutrality Act violations involving conventional weapons smuggling and WZO-Jewish Agency organization of networks of Americans to transfer technology to Israel, the FBI was ordered to terminate its investigations of ZOA. Only a handful of low-level
American smugglers were ever prosecuted for violating Arms Export Control and Neutrality Acts—despite tons of explosives, ammunition-making equipment, stolen U.S. government-owned .50 caliber machine guns, and surplus WWII aircraft purchased on false pretenses and shipped by an archipelago of Israel front groups under the direction of clandestine WZO and Jewish agency operatives. By the early 1960s, the FARA section chief resigned himself to politely corresponding with ZOA officials, inquiring whether any of the promised control resolutions with the WZO 12 years earlier had yet been ratified. According to the New York State Division of Corporations, ZOA didn’t file any changes to its governing documents until December of 1999. The ZOA currently claims only 30,000 members, and over the past decade its revenues have averaged a paltry $3 million per year. Approximately 10 percent of this revenue is spent on executive director Mort Klein’s compensation package (which some Jewish publications claim is too lavish), while another 10 percent goes toward lobbying the U.S. Congress. ZOA explicitly lobbies to cut Title VI funding to any American college or university that permits vigorous student protests or calls for accountability over ongoing Israeli land grabs and
human rights violations—citing a spreading “anti-Semitic” campus climate that violates the civil rights of Jewish students. Unlike AIPAC—which claims it lobbies only with non-tax-deductible contributions, and typically lists specific bills on its mandatory quarterly lobbying disclosures—the ZOA is extremely vague about exactly how its two lobbyists spend ZOA’s fully tax-deductible dollars. Most ZOA disclosures list only “support for U.S.-Israel political, military and economic cooperation.” It is also vague about the current purpose and operations of “ZOA House” in Israel— formerly used to teach Hebrew to newly arrived immigrants. An unabashed supporter of Likud and illegal settlement expansion, the ZOA frequently clashes with other Israel lobby organizations it views as too willing to compromise on territory and principle. The umbrella Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations has frequently had to mediate disputes between ZOA and AIPAC, which claims a sole mandate to lobby Congress on behalf of 50 other Zionist organizations.
Failure to File According to news reports citing ZOA insiders, ZOA lost its tax-exempt status in Continued on page 31
Smugglers and Spies Presumably emboldened by the conventional arms smuggling success and ZOA’s overwhelming victory over FARA, smuggler David Lowenthal, ZOA Pittsburgh chapter president Zalman Shapiro, and future ZOA national president Ivan Novick incorporated the Apollo IndustriesNUMEC front companies. Between 1956 and 1968, while under Shapiro’s control, nuclear fuel processor NUMEC “lost” more government-supplied weapons-grade uranium (337 kilograms, according to 2001 Department of Energy estimates) than any single facility in U.S. history. Although Shapiro and an array of sympathizers still publicly claim the bomb-grade material had vented into the surrounding environment during production, high-ranking CIA and Justice Department officials concluded the material was illegally diverted into Israel’s clandestine nuclear weapons program. Shapiro was investigated as an Israeli foreign agent and alleged violator of the Atomic Energy Act, but internal presidential administration deliberations from LBJ to Jimmy Carter revealed that fear of Shapiro’s ZOA-powered political connections rendered him untouchable—even after a NUMEC employee gave the FBI credible eyewitness testimony in 1980 alleging Shapiro’s personal involvement in smuggling. Another ZOA operative engaged in “political activities of another kind” when Israel’s Mossad intelligence service wiretapped U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young secretly opening lines of communication with the Palestine Liberation Organization in New York. According to former Mossad case officer and whistleblower Victor Ostrovsky, after transcripts of Young’s secret talks with PLO representatives (talks President Carter had promised would not take place) were transferred to Israel, U.S. collaborators were immediately tasked to bombard American media with the Mossad’s explosive news, destroying Young’s career and President Carter’s diplomatic tender to Palestine. Among the loudest and earliest pundits trumpeting the Young affair
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
in The New York Times and Baltimore Sun was ZOA national president and Apollo Industries founder Novick. Since the 1980s, the ZOA has purchased many shrill newspaper advertisements excoriating the State Department’s appointment of out-of-favor diplomatic officials, opposing the formation of a Palestinian state, and smearing as anti-Semites academics criticizing ZOA’s constant conflation of Judaism with Zionism. In 1998 the ZOA condemned ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s decision to cancel a supply contract with Mei Eden, a Golan Heights-based mineral water company. In 2010 ZOA president Mort Klein accused Georgetown University of promoting “hatred of Israel and Jews” for hosting a Palestinian Solidarity Movement conference on the moral case for boycotting Israel. In 2012 ZOA labeled as an anti-Semite and attacked “Uncle Tom” Friedman after he wrote that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s standing ovations in the U.S. Congress were bought and paid for by the Israel lobby. ZOA dinners have long served as soap boxes for U.S. politicians from both parties to make hard-line pronouncements and commitments to Zionism. In a 1980 ZOA convention in Jerusalem, U.S. Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) claimed the West Bank was “liberated territory” not “occupied territory” that had to be returned under international law. In 2001, thenSen. Joe Biden (D-DE) urged the ZOA’s leadership and Israel’s government to keep disagreements with the U.S. government private, and never argue publicly for all the world press to hear. The Pittsburgh chapter continued to be one of the ZOA’s strongholds—able to raise a quarter of a million dollars with a single dinner, according to 2003 tax filings— even as the powers of the national organization slowly faded. Former NUMEC president Shapiro and the Center for Security Policy’s Frank Gaffney were among Pittsburgh event luminaries raising funds and trumpeting the need to attack Iraq before the disastrous 2003 U.S. invasion. —G.F.S.
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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How Muslim and Arab Americans “Rocked The Vote” in 2012 SpecialReport
STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY
By Delinda C. Hanley
Volunteers at the Dar Alnoor Islamic Center in Manassas, VA on Nov. 4 call a list of registered voters with Arab- or South Asian-sounding names, urging them to vote two days later (but not favoring any one candidate or party). ow many times did you hear about
Hthe big impact in key states of Latino
and female voters on the 2012 elections? Or the black/white voting divide? There was little mention of Muslim- and Arab-American voters in this election—nor, come to think of it, Jewish voters, despite both parties’ strident campaign rhetoric in support of Israel that was calculated to attract Jewish and Evangelical Christian votes. According to national surveys in 2000, 72 to 78 percent of American Muslims voted for President George W. Bush because, as opposed to Democratic candidate Al Gore, Bush spoke out against racial profiling and the use of secret evidence in deportation hearings. In 2004, 93 percent of Muslims, many of them socially conservative, voted for the Democratic candidate, Sen. John Kerry, and only 1 percent for Bush, partly because the incumbent’s “war on terrorism” looked very much like a war on Islam. In 2008, nearly 90 percent of Muslims voted for then-Sen. Barack Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report. 30
Obama and only 2 percent for Sen. John McCain. By then Republican policies and rhetoric had grown even more anti-Muslim, and the community believed Obama would improve relations between America and the Islamic world and encourage tolerance at home. In the 2012 presidential election, much like the close election in 2000, swing states and minority communities were the deciding factor. In fact, Arab-, Muslim- and South Asian-American voters made a big difference in both congressional elections and the re-election of President Obama in vital swing states. As usual, neither Democrats nor Republicans made much of an effort to court these constituents, but nonetheless, Muslim- and Arab-American organizers ensured their community’s active involvement. Arab and Muslim Americans used blogs, Twitter, YouTube and other social media to “rock the vote.” Princeton University activist Zeba Iqbal, for example, led a social media campaign (#MuslimVOTE) to encourage Muslims in America to expand their influence. The Council on American THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Islamic Relations (CAIR), American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Arab American Institute (AAI), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and other organizations worked hard to mobilize their communities to participate in the election. They conducted polls to determine the top issues of concern, and offered an issue-by-issue breakdown of President Obama’s and Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s positions. They invited candidates running for local, state and national offices to forums in mosques, community centers and college campuses. The Muslim- and Arab-American communities organized debate-viewing parties, and feverishly registered new voters. They distributed get-out-the-vote posters and lawn signs to mosques, and called on religious leaders to use prayers marking the Eid Al-Adha holiday to urge eligible Muslims to vote. Robert McCaw, government affairs coordinator for CAIR, and Nada El-Eryan, chapter president of ADC in the Washington, DC area, described their organizations’ extensive national effort to conduct a getout-the-vote phone bank. Volunteers called registered voters with Arab- or South Asian-sounding names in their own states, urging them to vote and offering a ride if needed. Using their own cell phones, the volunteers followed a script which did not favor any one candidate or party. Finally, on election day, Muslims and Arab-Americans volunteered at polling places around the country. Their efforts paid off. An informal exit poll conducted by CAIR found that 95.5 percent of Muslim voters said they went to the polls on Nov. 6. Of those who voted, 8.3 percent said they did so for the first time. The CAIR poll found that 85.7 percent cast their ballots to re-elect President Obama, while only 4.4 percent voted for Mitt Romney. [Exit polls of Jewish voters showed that Obama received 69 percent of the Jewish vote, despite Republican efforts to court that traditionally Democratic constituency.] Muslim voters in swing states such as Florida, Virginia and Ohio played a critical role in tipping the balance JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY
fused to call Jerusalem the in the president’s re-eleceternal capital of the Jewish tion victory. people, over hawkish ZionActivists like Laila Abdeist Josh Mandel. The New laziz, a community orgaJersey Muslim- and Arabnizer for Emerge USA, American communities mowhich maintains a database bilized to support Bill of 150,000 registered MusPascrell (D) against Rabbi lim voters in Florida, urged Shmuley Boteach (R), who Florida Muslims to show up attacked Pascrell on his at the polls and vote. “We lukewarm support for Ismay be a minority vote, but rael. we are a minority vote in a In 2012 Muslims and tight race in a key state,” Arab-Americans proved she wrote in an article pubonce again that they can be lished on Huffington a decisive voice in deterpost.com. After a lot of mining election results, eshard work, Floridians depecially in key battlefeated two Islamophobes— ground states where they Republican Rep. Allen West (who made controver- CAIR’s Robert McCaw and Nada El-Eryan, with ADC, wind up a Nov. 3 make up 1 percent of voters. Muslim and Arab sial statements about Islam get-out-the-vote phone bank at ADC headquarters in the nation’s capital. Americans, who historibeing a “vicious enemy,” attacked CAIR, and defamed Muslim-Amer- Walsh (R-IL), who repeatedly slammed cally have voted as a bloc, have in the last ican Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN]), as well as Islam. Walsh (whose funders included decade started to vote in extremely high Republican congressional-hopeful Adam casino magnate and Israel-firster Sheldon numbers. Before long even the mainstream Hasner (who once left a Florida House Adelson) claimed radical American Mus- media will be forced to note the impact of meeting when an imam delivered the lims posed a “real threat” in the U.S., and Arab-, Muslim- and South Asian-Amerithey are “trying to kill Americans every can voters. Candidates will have to address opening prayer). these voters’ concerns, including civil American Muslims in Illinois, where week.” Ohio Arab Americans and Muslims also rights at home and foreign policy issues, if they make up 2.8 percent of the population, also helped defeat Tea Party Rep. Joe supported Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), who re- they want to win their elections. ❑
ZOA Tax-Exempt Status… Continued from page 29
early 2011, after it failed to file mandatory public IRS Form 990 tax returns for three consecutive years. Although to date the organization has offered no credible explanation of precisely how this happened, stricter reporting requirements may be the reason. IRS revisions to the 2008 Form 990 required a much fuller disclosure of a charity’s governance structure, policies, foreign activities, related organizations and actual expenditures on charitable activities. It is also possible that too many large donations from such prominent ZOA donors as casino magnate Sheldon Adelson may have “tipped” the organization out of its status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with broad public support and into a less favorable foundation tax category. Along with other Zionist organizations such as Hadassah chapters that recently lost their tax exempt status over failure to file, the ZOA may find that not only is reinstatement extremely challenging, but that the IRS has no institutional memory. The IRS, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
which provides copies of applications and IRS determination letters on demand to the public, claims it destroyed ZOA’s original application records and its own determination of ZOA’s tax status (along with records of many other nonprofits) in a round of housekeeping. Although the ZOA claims to have retained a new accounting firm in order to submit the three years of missing returns, IRS reinstatement regulations require all revoked organizations to submit an entirely new application for tax-exempt status. That means submitting certified articles of incorporation, a mandatory dissolution clause, detailed information about related organizations and justifying precisely what charitable purposes merit IRS tax exemption. ZOA will once again have to clarify its murky relationships with foreign organizations like the World Zionist Organization as it starts from “square one” with the IRS. Since the 1960s, broad reorganizations periodically announced by major Israel lobbying organizations have allegedly altered lines and boxes on the global Zionist organization chart, even as congressional amendments have steadily watered down THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. Moreover, a new American umbrella corporation called the “American Zionist Movement” (AZM), created at a Miami conference in the early 1990s and with almost no funding or infrastructure, claims to be the legal intermediary among the WZO, ZOA and 25 other youth and adult organizations. However, the ever abrasive ZOA once claimed to have withdrawn from AZM in 1996 over disputes about the Oslo accords. AZM is reportedly funded by the WZO. After more than half a century, the ZOA/WZO relationship and activities still are not very clear to outside observers. The Justice Department may even be persuaded to review the ZOA’s new public application for tax-exempt status for any WZO FARA regulatory issues. ZOA national vice chairman Steven M. Goldberg, for example, presently serves as a board member of both World Likud and the WZO executive board. Absent any more improper “favors” of the kind once secretly bestowed by the Justice Department, the Zionist Organization of America may find its road to tax preferences both closely followed and heavily challenged from many quarters. ❑ 31
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113th Congress May Do Slightly Less Harm To U.S. Interests in the Middle East CongressWatch
By Shirl McArthur
ith an increased Democratic margin in the Senate and a slightly lower W Republican margin in the House, as well as changes to key congressional committees, the 113th Congress may see somewhat less Republican obstructionism to President Barack Obama’s foreign policy agenda. However, both houses of Congress will remain staunchly pro-Israel, although perhaps a bit less stridently pro-Likud. Democrats gained two seats in the Senate, and now have 53 seats to the Republicans’ 45. Two Independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT) and newly elected Angus King (ME), will caucus with the Democrats, and vote with them on votes requiring a 60-vote threshold. The result in the House is a 234 to 201 Republican majority, a gain of eight seats for the Democrats. In the Senate, the most important committee change may be in the Foreign Relations Committee. Chairman John Kerry (DMA), who has been a strong supporter of Obama’s foreign policy objectives, has openly lobbied to be appointed secretary of state when Secretary Hillary Clinton leaves. There has also been speculation that he may be appointed secretary of defense. In either case, his likely replacement as Foreign Relations Committee chair would be Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of this magazine’s “Hall of Shame,” who is a strong supporter of Israel and can be expected to push for even harsher sanctions against Iran. Other significant Democratic departures from the committee include the retirements of moderate Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA), a member of this magazine’s “Hall of Fame,” and Daniel Akaka (D-HI). On the Republican side, committee ranking Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), a moderate and strong exponent of a bipartisan foreign policy, was defeated in the primary. His likely replacement will be Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), also a moderate and supporter of bipartisan foreign policy, but with less institutional clout than Lugar had. Other important Senate changes include the retirements of Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who has worked to thwart several of Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service officer, is a consultant based in the Washington, DC area. 32
Obama’s foreign policy initiatives, and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), a strong Zionist who has pushed for more forceful U.S. actions against Iran and Syria.
ongress will remain C staunchly pro-Israel, although perhaps a bit less stridently pro-Likud. In the House, the most important changes will occur in the Foreign Affairs Committee. Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Israel’s foremost proponent in the House, has reached her “term limit” and cannot be chairwoman again in the next Congress. However, she likely will seek and get the chair of the Middle East subcommittee, from which she undoubtedly will try to continue to promote Israel’s interests over those of her own country. Her replacement likely will be Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), who has not been active on Middle East issues. Ranking committee Democrat Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) was defeated in a re-drawn California district pitting him against Rep. Brad Sherman (DCA). Sherman is Jewish and equally proZionist, but perhaps less stridently so. Berman’s replacement as ranking Democrat likely will be Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who is Jewish and also a supporter of Israel. Other significant election results included the defeats of several “know-nothing-party” members, including Reps. Robert Dold (RIL), Joe Walsh (R-IL) and Allen West (R-FL), all of whom have pushed ill-considered proIsrael and anti-Arab measures. Special note should be made of the defeat of Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the Senate. Berkley has been a leading challenger to Ros-Lehtinen for the title of Israel’s foremost champion in Congress.
All Five Arab Americans, Seven Fewer Jewish Americans Re-Elected Of the five Arab Americans in the House, Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Nick Rahall (D-WV) handily won re-election. Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany (R) faces a run-off election in December, because he failed to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
get 50 percent of the vote. However, he got 45 percent against 30 percent for the nearest challenger and is a good bet for re-election. In the Senate, Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Lieberman resigned and no new Jewish senators were elected, so there will be 10 Jewish senators, a decline of two from the 112th Congress. American Jews are still overrepresented, however, with less than 2 percent of the population and 10 percent of the Senate. Nine Jewish Americans in the House either retired, resigned or lost their bids for re-election, and four new Jewish representatives were elected, so there will be 22 Jewish representatives (5 percent of House members), a decline of 5 from the 112th Congress. The new Jewish members will be Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Alan Lowenthal (DCA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).
Republicans Seek a “Cover-up” Over Assault in Benghazi Following the well-planned and -executed Sept. 11 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, by a group of well-armed Salafists, resulting in the murder of four Americans, congressional Republicans prior to the elections eagerly criticized the Obama administration’s reaction. They claimed that the administration tried to cover up the fact that it was a terrorist attack rather than simply a reaction to the release of the virulently anti-Muslim video “The Innocence of Muslims.” Their criticisms centered on the Sept. 16 comments by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice that “putting together the best information that we have available to us today, our current assessment is what happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction” to the video. House Oversight Committee chairman Issa, joined by National Security Subcommittee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), sent a strong letter to Clinton saying that recently revealed documents “paint a disturbing picture” that “reiterates the fact that the U.S. government may have had evidence indicating that the attack was not a spontaneous event but rather a preplanned terrorist attack.” In the Senate, Sens. John McCain (RAZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) Nov. 20 Statement on H.Res. 813 “I object to H.Res. 813, an unfortunately and unnecessarily onesided resolution that was brought up on Friday, Nov. 16 for consideration without any advance notice to members of Congress and which was completed in about a minute without any discussion. The hasty nature in which this resolution of such significance was considered undermines the unspoken, but operationally essential understanding, that bills of great importance will not be quietly tiptoed through Congress. A loss of Members’ confidence in Leadership results when House floor procedures are conducted in a manner frustrating to good faith. Such conduct can only add to the hyperpartisanship and the breakdown of comity in Congress that Americans find objectionable. “Members must be given the opportunity to debate U.S. support of a military operation that is likely to be of significant consequence in talks between Israel and the Palestinians. This impacts the region and the world. “Only one minute for consideration of a most consequential resolution in the House, when in the past week, the death toll in Gaza has climbed past 100, including 24 children. Over 800 people are reported to have been wounded. Rockets from groups in Gaza have landed in several Israeli towns. Three Israelis have been killed. “This latest military escalation began after Israel assassinated Ahmed Al-Jabari, the head of Hamas’ military wing. According to Is-
similar letter to Rice. Rice also has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Clinton as secretary of state, and one possible fall-out from the events could be a dimming of her chances of Senate confirmation. Graham, McCain and Ayotte, among others, have been outspoken in their opposition to her nomination. “Susan Rice would have an incredibly difficult time getting through the Senate,” Graham said. “I would not vote for her unless there’s a tremendous opening up of information explaining herself in a way she has not yet done.” In a Nov. 14 press conference, Obama reacted strongly to the criticisms of Rice. After saying that he had not made any decisions on who might replace departing senior administration officials, he said, “if Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me…but for them to go after the U.N. ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and who was just making a presentation based on intelligence she had received, and besmirch her reputation, is outrageous.” Clearly there were intelligence, communications and operational failures on the parts of the State Department and the CIA, but there have been no indications of a “cover-up.” During the week of Nov. 12 several congressional committees held closed-door hearings to try to uncover the extent of those failures. Saying that scattered testimony among a number of panels is inefficient, McCain, Graham and Ayotte on Nov. 14 introduced S.Res. 594 to establish “a select committee of the Senate to JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
raeli negotiator Gershon Baskin, who secured the release of Gilad Shalit, Mr. Jabari ‘wasn’t just interested in a long-term cease-fire; he was also the person responsible for enforcing previous cease-fire understandings…On the morning that he was killed, Mr. Jabari received a draft proposal for an extended cease-fire with Israel, including mechanisms that would verify intentions and ensure compliance.’ Could anything be more destructive of peace than the assassination of a principal to cease-fire negotiations? And the House only has one minute to consider the ramifications of such action? “The root of this latest flare up in hostilities is deep. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on a two-state solution have been virtually non-existent. Innocent people in Gaza continue to suffer under a blockade that has deprived them of everything from food and clean water to educational opportunities. Illegal settlements continue to be built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, further diminishing prospects for a negotiated two-state solution. “The hastily written, and even more hastily passed, resolution fails to mention any of that. In its deficiencies are writ the failures of our own Middle East policies. This latest outbreak in violence is deplorable and I am strongly supportive of Egyptian efforts to negotiate a cease-fire. Innocent people on both sides deserve to live without fear. Can the House Leadership spare a minute for that point to be made?”
make thorough and complete investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding, and the response of the U.S. government to, the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attacks against the U.S. Consulate and personnel in Benghazi, Libya, and to make recommendations to prevent similar attacks in the future.” If passed (which is doubtful), the measure says the select committee would consist of eight senators, with four each appointed by the majority leader and the minority leader. The previous bills “to require investigations into and a report on” the attacks, H.R. 6511 and S. 3551, introduced in September, have made no progress.
Israel’s Right to “Self-Defense” Supported; Loan Guarantees Extended Congress’ predictable reaction to the midNovember escalating fighting between Gaza and Israel was to pass, on Nov. 15 and 16, S.Res. 599 and the identical H.Res. 813 “expressing vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizing and strongly supporting its right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism.” S.Res. 599 was introduced on Nov. 15 by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), with 65 co-sponsors, and H.Res. 813 was introduced on Nov. 16 by Ros-Lehtinen and Berman, about an hour before the House recessed for Thanksgiving, and immediately passed by the few members remaining on the floor (see statement by Rep. Dennis Kucinich above). THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
As reported in the Washington Report’s October issue, in July Congress passed S. 2165, the “U.S.-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act,” which Obama signed on July 27. One of its provisions extended Israel’s loan guarantee authority until Sept. 30, 2015. Accordingly, on Oct. 24 U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Israeli Treasury Director General Doron Cohen signed an agreement extending the guarantees. This gives Israel four more years to use about $3.8 billion in guarantees remaining from the $9 billion in guarantees granted in 2003.
Granger, Ros-Lehtinen Place “Holds” On Aid to Egypt The various measures introduced in the House and Senate suspending aid to Egypt have made no significant progress and will die with the end of the 112th Congress. However, after the U.S. Agency for International Development informed Congress that it intended to transfer $450 million to the Egyptian government, House Foreign Aid Appropriations Subcommittee chair Kay Granger (R-TX) immediately announced that she was putting a “hold” on the money. She said she wasn’t convinced of “the urgent need” for the funds. Then, on Oct. 2, Ros-Lehtinen said that she, too, was putting a hold on the transfer. She said “an unprecedented $450 million check to the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt is problematic,” adding, “I reject the administration’s attempt to double down on its failed Egypt policy at the expense of the American taxpayers.” ❑ 33
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Assassination Drones: A New Type of Warfare SpecialReport
PHOTO P. BAILEY
By Pam Bailey
Noor Behram, a photojournalist from North Waziristan, has been documenting the effects of drone strikes for four years, focusing on the deaths and injuries of children and women. “Death, destruction, disease, horror. That’s what war is all about, Anon. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. [But] you’ve made it neat and painless. So neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it.” —Captain Kirk, “Star Trek” arfare used to be an emotional,
Wmessy, painful exercise no matter
which side you were on. The inevitability of death and destruction for the aggressor as well as the “targets” provided a strong incentive to end any war. But drones (also known as UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles) make waging war physically and emotionally painless for those who deploy them. This has enormous consequences for Americans, who must foot the bill as well as bear the consequences of the inevitable anti-U.S. backlash. But even more serious Pam Bailey is a free-lance writer who travels frequently to Palestine and other “targets” of U.S. foreign policy. She was a participant in the CODEPINK delegation to Pakistan, and blogs at <paminprogress.tumblr.com>. 34
are the ramifications for the citizens on the “receiving end,” whose own governments may or may not be complicit. In October of 2012, CODEPINK: Women for Peace organized a delegation to Pakistan, the country most in the “crosshairs” of the CIA’s drone force, to protest what it considers an immoral and illegal expansion of traditional warfare; stand in solidarity with the families who have become “collateral damage”; and learn more about a country that few Americans understand, even as our government wages a virtual war against it. However, the issues at hand are just as applicable to the Gaza Strip (where U.S. ally Israel uses the same technology to target Palestinians), Yemen, Somalia and a growing list of other countries. Controlled remotely by “pilots” thousands of miles away, drones are used both to kill and for surveillance—keeping constant watch over a targeted community. Even the seemingly more benign surveillance has a deeply damaging psychological impact. One Pakistani father of three who is raising his family in Waziristan, the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
tribal territory most targeted by the CIA for suspected terrorist activity, explained it this way: “Drones are always on my mind. It makes it difficult to sleep. They are like a mosquito. Even when you don’t see them, you can hear them, you know they are there.” In Living Under Drones, a report produced by the Stanford International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic, psychiatrists call this pervasive worry common to conflict zones “anticipatory anxiety.” People are constantly worrying, “when is the next drone attack going to happen?” When they hear the sound of a drone, they run to seek shelter. Despite these insidious effects, the U.S. government increasingly is turning to drones as a way to continue intervening at will in “trouble zones,” while appeasing a war-weary American public. A May 2012 AP/GfK poll found that 66 percent of Americans are weary of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and want U.S. troops home. Drones are offered as the ideal solution: fewer American “boots on the ground.” This means that, increasingly, the human cost is mostly one-sided, with victims’ deaths and injuries not even counted by the U.S. government (that’s a job left to NGOs). In 2002, the U.S. drone fleet numbered only 167. Today, reports the Christian Science Monitor, it has expanded to more than 7,000—and that number is set to increase. As stated in the Oct. 18 Washington Post, “the CIA is urging the White House to approve a significant expansion of the agency’s fleet of armed drones, a move that would extend the spy service’s decade-long transformation into a paramilitary force. The outcome has broad implications for counterterrorism policy and whether the CIA gradually returns to an organization focused mainly on gathering intelligence, or remains a central player in the targeted killing of terrorism suspects abroad.” Just what is wrong with that? Consider: • The definition and targeting of “terrorists” are alarmingly ambiguous and arbitrary. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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• Drones aren’t as precise as they have been advertised; civilians are increasingly “collateral damage.” • The result: “blowback”—a lesson we should have learned when we funded the mujahedeen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, only to have them turn against us. Drone strikes are a recruiting tool for the Taliban. • Drone attacks undermine what little respect remains for international law. And just whom are we really killing? Increasingly, drone attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere are impersonally described as “signature” strikes; in other words, “patterns of life” are targeted rather than specific individuals. For example, in his article, “One Hell of a Killing Machine: Signature Strikes and International Law,” published in the October Journal of International Criminal Justice, Kevin Heller of the Melbourne Law School wrote: “Multiple media reports indicate that the U.S. considers all ‘military-age males in a strike zone’ to be justified drone targets, because ‘simple logic’ indicates that ‘people in an area of known terrorist activity...are probably up to no good.’” In the vast majority of strikes today, the identity of the individuals targeted isn’t known. As a result, reports Reuters, of the 500 “militants” killed by drones between 2008 and 2010, only 8 percent have been confirmed to be mid- to top-tier organizers or leaders. “If they think specific people have done something wrong, arrest them and bring them to court. That is a basic right you give to your own people,” said Karim Khan, a Pakistani journalist whose compound was destroyed by a Hellfire missile from an American drone on Dec. 24, 2009. Only three persons were in Khan’s compound when the drone fired six Hellfire missiles: a mason who was building a mosque nearby, Khan’s 16-year-old son and his younger brother, who worked as a teacher and believed education was more powerful than the gun. Instead, the drones taught his students hatred. Although Washington announced shortly after the strike on Khan’s compound that a “militant target” named Al Juma had been killed, no one by that name was present. Several months later, yet another strike allegedly killed the same man. “I think actually he is still alive today,” Khan said with graveyard humor. Between June 2004 and September 2012, reports the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the U.S. has unleashed 346 drone JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
attacks on Pakistan—292 of which were approved by President Barack Obama. Of the 2,562 to 3,325 people killed, 474 to 881 (176 of them children) have now been confirmed to be civilians.
Blowback: Reaping What We Sow The Pew Research Center reported in June of 2012 that 74 percent of Pakistanis now consider the U.S. an enemy. “I interviewed young children from Waziristan and surrounding areas, all under the age of 21, who were being questioned by Pakistani authorities for having links with extremist organizations, including Taliban factions,” Anum Abbasi, an associate with the Research Society of International Law (RSIL) in Islamabad, told the CODEPINK delegation. “What became clear from this empirical research [not yet published] is that a primary motivator is the U.S. drone strikes. They breed anger, hatred and desperation.” And most certainly, anti-American sentiment.
International law: Bending it to Fit The question of whether drone attacks are legal, in letter or spirit, under international law is a matter of much debate, and the answer depends on whether the U.S. can credibly make the case that the strikes are
in self-defense, or carried out with the consent of the government of the targeted country. According to the authors of Living Under Drones, “The U.S. government’s extreme reluctance to provide details about particular strikes or the targeted killing program in general has impeded much-needed democratic debate about the legality and wisdom of U.S. policies and practices....The U.S. has largely refused to answer basic questions about the drone program posed in litigation or by civil society, journalists, or public officials.” There is a growing consensus, however, that the U.S. is on shaky ground. The attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001 was too long ago to trigger the self-defense clause, or to justify our presence in the region. And while Pakistani officials cooperated initially with the U.S. drone strikes, domestic outrage has grown so exponentially that they finally publicly filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy in October. Whether they are legal or not, perhaps the most important question is whether drone strikes that cause significant “collateral damage” are moral—especially given that they are used to kill people in countries against which Washington has not even declared war. ❑
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Americans Must Demand Details of Their Government’s Drone War SpecialReport
S.S. MIRZA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Dale Sprusansky
A Pakistani demonstrator carries a burning U.S. flag as others shout slogans during an Oct. 13, 2012 protest in Multan against drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal region. uring a recent visit to the Smithson-
Dian’s National Air and Space Museum
in Washington, DC, this writer overheard a father eagerly directing his young son to the nearby drone exhibit. Pointing to the drones hanging from the ceiling, the father proudly told his son that “this is what daddy does at work.” I instantly scoffed to myself, thinking, “why don’t you tell your son what those drones do?” Of course (and appropriately), the man did not explain to his little boy that these machines are used to covertly and extrajudicially kill suspected terrorists—some of them American citizens—overseas. Unfortunately, that child’s naïveté is not so different from that of the American public. While, unlike the child, most adults are aware that drones are used to kill individuals believed to be terrorists, few Americans have ever paused to genuinely consider or question the legal, moral and strategic implications of their government’s drone program. The U.S. has been carrying out drone Dale Sprusansky is assistant editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. 36
strikes against targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade—since February 2002. In all that time, the White House has not provided clear and transparent answers to key questions regarding the covert program: How does the government determine who is targeted by a drone strike? Are drone strikes really limiting the growth of terrorism? How many innocent civilians have been killed? What is the legal basis for carrying out a strike in a sovereign nation’s territory? Does the president have the Constitutional authority to unilaterally conduct a drone war without congressional approval and a declaration of war? The questions continue to multiply. Just as the boy in the museum blindly accepted that his dad’s job is “cool,” so too do the American people seem to have blindly accepted drone warfare as an empirical fact of the 21st century. War-weary Americans seem to have little concern over military operations that do not directly risk the lives of U.S. soldiers. Indeed, an October 2012 Pew Research Center poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe the U.S. should immediately remove troops THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
from Afghanistan. However, according to a June 2012 Pew poll, roughly the same number of respondents—62 percent—approve of the U.S. drone campaign. These polls seem to suggest that drone warfare simply is not seen by many Americans as a form of war. If unmanned aircraft were terrorizing their communities and killing their neighbors, it is likely that Americans would have a vastly different perspective. As Americans upgrade their technological gadgets this holiday season, perhaps they should also update their understanding of war. As Pam Bailey outlines on p. 34, drones do indeed represent a new type of 21st century warfare, a type that Americans must acknowledge as existing, then fully vet and question before it becomes institutionalized. A major reason for the broad American acceptance of killer drones is that both political parties have largely ignored the drone issue. In a deeply divided nation, drones seem to be one of the few areas where Democrats and Republicans are able to agree. Because partisan feuds drive mainstream news coverage, the lack of disagreement on this issue has resulted in it being the topic of little discussion in major American media outlets. Speaking at a Nov. 16 congressional briefing organized by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) on the topic of drones (see p. 63), Bob Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy, highlighted this phenomenon. “If Congress isn’t talking about something, it’s not perceived as controversial,” he astutely pointed out. The bipartisan silence on this issue was on full display at the Oct. 22 foreign policy presidential debate in Boca Raton, Florida. When asked by moderator Bob Schieffer to discuss his position on drones, Gov. Mitt Romney said that he “entirely” supported President Barack Obama’s drone strategy. Not surprisingly, President Obama dodged the question entirely and instead spoke only vaguely about the Middle East. Just like that, the presidential candidates of the country’s two major political parties assured the 59.2 million Americans watching that they need not concern themselves about drones. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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President Obama’s decision not to answer the drone question at the debate reflects the approach he has taken to the topic throughout his presidency. Indeed, he did not publically acknowledge the use of drones in Pakistan until January 2012. Since then, his administration has promised that the executive office is working on providing the American people with a clearer understanding of the drone program. “Staying true to our values as a nation also includes upholding the transparency upon which our democracy depends,” said John Brennan, President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, in his April 2012 remarks on the drone program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Despite talk of greater transparency, however, the administration officially has released very few details regarding the program to date. Speaking to CNN’s Jessica Yellin in September 2012, President Obama refused to provide specifics about the program. “I’ve got to be careful here. There are classified issues…I can’t get too deeply into how these things work,” he told Yellin, while assuring her that drone strikes are carefully planned and carried out. What little is known of the U.S. drone program comes from unnamed sources quoted in newspapers such as The New York Times, whose May 2012 article “Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will” is the most in-depth overview of the drone program published in a U.S. paper to date. The fact that details of the drone program have been leaked seemed to bother the allegedly transparent President Obama, who told Yellin, “A lot of what you read in the press that purports to be accurate isn’t always accurate.” Aside from the fact that elected officials largely ignore the issue, another reason the much-needed national dialogue on drones
has not taken place can be attributed to the moral relativism that cripples the minds of many Americans. To many in this country, people living in Pakistan and Yemen are “others,” who exist in a strange and “uncivilized” part of the world. According to this perspective, the deaths of some innocent civilians in a distant part of the world, while unfortunate, are an acceptable price to pay to ensure the safety of American civilians. As Georgetown University professor John Esposito noted while discussing drones at the Islamic Society of North America’s (ISNA) convention in August, “Life has become cheap.” This idea of the relative value of lives has been openly discussed in the media. Appearing on MSNBC’s Oct. 23 “Morning Joe” program, Time magazine columnist Joe Klein offered a disturbing justification of the American drone program. “The bottom line,” he said, “is whose 4-year-old gets killed? What we’re doing is limiting the possibility that 4-year-olds here get killed by indiscriminate acts of terror.” Bottom line: in the U.S., American lives are more important than the lives of foreigners. While, to varying extents, each culture has its own “others”—those who, for whatever reason, are seen as being less deserving of their rights, not to mention their lives—the notion of “otherness” is quintessentially un-American. It must be remembered, however, that Americans, like everyone else in the world, are not inherently hateful or unsympathetic. Rather, unfortunate events, such as the 9/11 attacks, or the firing of a drone at a village, can poison human minds and lead generations to believe and act upon mistruths. The drone program is thus the result of the pervasive mistruth that the Muslim world is rife with terrorists who must be killed before they kill us.
While the issue of moral relativism is daunting and difficult to reverse, it must not be used as an excuse to allow the drone program to continue unabated. Because most Americans are good-hearted people, it is essential that they be informed of the realities of drone warfare—particularly when it comes to the deaths of innocent civilians (which have been underreported by the Obama administration and the media). Despite the unfortunate fact that they have mistrustful views of the Muslim world, the American people as a whole would not support the drone program if they knew it was claiming the lives of far too many civilians, allowing al-Qaeda to expand in places like Yemen, and being used 98 percent of the time to kill low-level insurgents who posed no credible threat to the U.S. Just Foreign Policy’s Naiman is thus likely correct in stating, “If the American people found out what the real [drone] strategy was, I’m sure they would not support it.” As President Obama prepares to begin his second term, now is the time for the American people to demand clear answers about his administration’s killer drone program. A new system of warfare must not become normalized before all the facts have been presented and the American people have had the opportunity to participate in a national debate. Drone warfare must not be permitted to proceed unchecked for another four years. ❑
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Syrian Journalist, Novelist and Exile Samar Yazbek Discusses Events in Her Native Country By Jane Adas
STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS
school walls. When the parents demanded the release of their children, they too were arrested. According to Yazbek, some of the children and parents were humiliated and tortured. This led to a large demonstration, which the regime brutally put down. The following day, Yazbek attended a protest in Damascus in solidarity with Daraa and witnessed security forces attacking and arresting demonstrators. In response, Syrian youths planned to hold demonstrations every Friday and named each one. On April 1, the “Friday of Dignity,” Yazbek was in Duma, where demonstrators were carrying olive branches and signs saying, “We want a civil state,” “No sectarianism,” and “We are all Syrians.” A young man next to Yazbek suddenly dropped to the ground with a bullet in his head. Snipers on rooftops killed 11 people that day. This violence led to the demand for the overthrow of the regime. The demonstrations spread and the ferocity of repression increased. Soldiers began defecting and forming militias. This Yazbek said, increased the violence on all sides, and today there are some 750 armed militias. A minority of them are jihadists, she acknowledged, but added that they are unwelcome by most Syrians. In the beginning, Sunnis, Druze, Christians, Alawites and secularists joined together with the same demands: freedom, dignity, and justice. Yazbek accused the regime of increasing sectarian tensions, for example by killing Alawites and claiming Sunnis had done it, by making Sunnis the bogeymen. Most Syrians, she added, are resisting attempts to provoke a sectarian war, but the violence nevertheless increases. Even when militias take control of an area, Yazbek observed, the regime controls the air—it simply bombs the “liberated” areas. She called for U.N.-imposed no-fly zones to stop the killing, but is not in favor of international intervention. What Yazbek most hopes for is the over-
Samar Yazbek. ovelist and journalist Samar Yazbek
Nwitnessed the growing violence in
her native Syria until she was forced to flee in the summer of 2011. She has since returned several times undercover, and has recorded what she has seen and experienced in A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution (available from the AET Book Club). Yazbek spoke about the situation in Syria at Rutgers University’s Douglass College on Sept. 27. When Bashar al-Assad became president, a position he inherited from his father, he promised reforms. Instead, Yazbek explained, he instituted investment policies to attract capital. This enriched some merchants, but increased the gap between rich and poor and further impoverished an already neglected countryside. This is where the anti-government demonstrations began, with demands for reform and an end to 40 years of martial law rather than regime change. On March 15, 2011 in the southern city of Daraa, security forces arrested children who were writing revolutionary slogans on Jane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area. 38
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
New York City and Tri-StateNews throw of the regime followed by democratic elections when, she is certain, Islamists will come to power. But she is fine with that. “I am not against Islamists,” Yazbek explained. “Syria is a diverse country where secularists can work alongside Islamists.” Only at the end of her talk did Yazbek reveal that she herself is an Alawite.
Nurit Peled-Elhanan and Miko Peled Challenge Zionist Narrative Nurit Peled-Elhanan and Miko Peled are a formidable brother/sister team. Their father, Mattiyahu Peled, was an Israeli general who left the military for academia as a scholar of Arabic literature. He became a prominent peace activist, a path his daughter also followed. In 2001, Peled-Elhanan received the EU’s Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and Freedom of Speech, and in 2009 was one of the instigators of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine. She is professor of education and language at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and author of Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education. Miko Peled left Israel to teach karate and raise a family in California. The death of Elhanan’s daughter Smadar, who was killed in a 1997 suicide bombing in Jerusalem, set Peled on his own, more gradual path to fully committed peace activism, which he chronicles in The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine (both books are available from the AET Book Club). The two held a public conversation Oct. 8 at Manhattan’s All Souls Unitarian Church. Each author takes a different approach. Peled-Elhanan’s is a thoroughly documented study, replete with scholarly apparatus. Peled’s is a first-person account of his growing awareness of the consequences for Palestinians of Zionism. Nevertheless, both have the same goal: to expose, challenge and overcome the Zionist national narrative. Peled related his mother’s decision in 1948 to reject the offer of a beautiful Palestinian house at no cost because she could not “move into the home of another mother.” Something about this family story bothered Peled. While writing his book, he realized why: because it contradicts the national narrative of “Arabs attacked. We won. They left.” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
STAFF PHOTOS J. ADAS
â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Revolutions to Constitutions and Counter-Revolutions: Understanding the Second Year of the Arab Uprisings in their Full Historical Context.â&#x20AC;? Khouri, an internationally syndicated political columnist based in Beirut, portrayed what has been happening in the Arab world over the past 22 months as the people themselves Authors Miko Peled (l) and Nurit Peled-Elhanan. challenging and If this were true, he asked, what was the breaking down the security/police states, moral issue in accepting the house? But which the West strongly backed for more who attacked? At the time, he elaborated, than half a century. Acting like a citizen, he two communities expected to become elaborated, means electing their own presistates. The Zionists had thousands of mili- dents and writing their own constitutions tias; there was no equivalent on the other shaped by the consent of the governed. Khouri recognized that many things are side. Arab armies did not get involved until months later. Nobody attacked. Back in his changing at the same time and that the adopted home, Peled joined dialogue process is extremely varied across the regroups. He recalled feeling anxious about gion: Tunisia and Egypt did it on their going to a Palestinian home in San Diego, own, NATO interceded in Libya, the Saudis but in time his new friends patiently and crushed the Bahraini revolt, and Syria is in kindly widened his vision. Fear turned to turmoil. Even where there is a lower intensity of citizen grievances and regime retrust and awareness led to action. Peled-Elhanan examined post-Oslo text- sponsesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as in Morocco, Jordan, Saudi books used by Israeli high school students, Arabia and Kuwaitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;people want constitufor whom the next step is induction into tional reforms and to know how their govthe army. She found that Palestinians are ernment is spending their money. In this fluid situation, Khouri identified mostly absent; when they are depicted, it is never PLU (people like us), she said. Rather important shared aspirations. People want Palestinians are presented as primitive, the fundamental rights of citizenship poor, even sometimes labeled â&#x20AC;&#x153;foreign equally distributed, rather than power, reworkers.â&#x20AC;? They are depicted as a threat, as venge or handouts. They want respect for in a photo of Palestinian boys throwing the individual, the collectiveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether stones. But, Peled-Elhanan noted, half the family, tribal, or ethnicâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and for their photo is missingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the part with an Israeli country. (Most Arab countries, he noted, tank, which would have made the boys have been treated with disdain.) And they look like David facing Goliath. Or they are want social justice. According to Khouri, shown as a problemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a photo of Palestini- this is the most important demand, one that ans in pitiful refugee campsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that poisons links Arab and Islamic values with modern democratic systems. Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relations with the Arab world. The public sphere is, for the first time, Peled interjected that because settler children receive a more extreme version of open to new political actors: youth, Muslim the Zionist narrative, he fears they will be- Brothers and Salafis, tribes, labor unions, come like the Taliban. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;racist dis- women. In some places, Khouri added, this courseâ&#x20AC;? in Israeli textbooks, Peled-Elhanan list includes militiasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;whether criminal, concluded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;infects students with ideol- tribal, or ideological, indigenous or foreignogyâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;prepares them for one thing funded. The issues being openly contested are the balance between military and civilonly: to be good soldiers.â&#x20AC;? ian power; religiosity and secularism; public Rami Khouri on Arab Uprisings sector rights and private interests; rural and â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the first time, millions of Arabs are act- urban; and minorities and the majority. ing like citizens,â&#x20AC;? Rami Khouri told the au- What is the role of women? How much can dience who had come to the CUNY Gradu- a government control the media? Khouri ate Center on Oct. 18 to hear him discuss characterized it as a new social contract tryJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Journalist Rami Khouri. ing to be shaped. As an example, he noted that when it was suggested that Tunisia be an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arab Islamicâ&#x20AC;? country, the people said noâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not all of us are Arab or Muslim. The process will take years, Khouri cautioned. In the United States these issues were dealt with sequentially over two centuries and entailed genocide against Indians, civil war, and phobias against Jews and Catholics, and now Muslims. People in Western countries and Israel, stuck in a neo-colonial/neoimperial mindset, seem to be uncomfortable with democratic, free Arabs and Muslims, he said; we look at people wanting to be free and ask the wrong questions: What does this mean for Israel? For oil? To worried questions about the rise to power of Islamists, Khouri replied that accountability to citizens makes leaders more pragmatic. For instance, President Mohamed Morsi no longer objects to bikinis on the beach because Egypt needs tourism. Khouri pointed out that Jim Crow laws, enacted by Christians, were much worse than anything Islamists are doing. We in the West, he advised, should grasp the complexity and be more humble and patient. â?&#x2018; (Advertisement)
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Feminist’s “I Rise” Exhibit Offers Insight Into Syrian Revolution, Life in Exile
STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR
By Pat and Samir Twair
Afashe is not just an accomplished painter, she’s a filmmaker, feminist, human rights attorney and an activist with other exiled Syrians campaigning for the downfall of the Assad regime that has ruled their country for more than 40 years. She graduated from the Ismail Institute of Art in Damascus, where she studied with Adnan Abed al-Rahman, and went on to receive her degree in criminal law in 2003 from the Uni-
Fadia Afashe and her film actor husband, Jihad Abdo, in front of her painting “Touchable.” INSET: Afashe’s painting “Black Hole” portrays her friend, who was arrested for peacefully demonstrating against the Syrian regime, naked in a jail cell. adia Afashe epitomizes the new Syrian
Fwoman: she’s beautiful, highly edu-
cated and multi-talented. On Oct. 27 she opened an exhibition at the Levantine Cultural Center in Los Angeles of more than 20 of her acrylic-on-canvas works dealing with the ongoing Syrian revolution and her life of exile in the U.S. This series of “I Rise” paintings reveals the artist’s despair over the suffering of Syrians in a brutal civil war, particularly the torment of targeted women—including some whom the artist knew—who have disappeared, been imprisoned, or were forced to watch their loved ones being beaten or killed. Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles. 40
versity of Damascus. Thereafter she continued to paint and also used her legal training to advocate for women’s rights. Syria and Iraq took pride in educating women citizens, who work as engineers, professors, physicians and even held ministerial posts. When it comes to marital or societal equality, however, it is the man who rules. A wife cannot travel abroad without her husband’s approval, for example, and in the case of divorce, the wife loses custody of her sons at age 10 and daughters at age 12 to the husband. It is the archaic laws of rape in most Arab countries that most insense Afashe. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Southern California Chronicle
While enrolled in a human rights course in Geneva, Switzerland, Afashe received a grant to film a 10-minute docu-drama about a woman who was forcibly raped. Out of shame for the girl’s lost virginity, her parents made her marry the rapist, because they reasoned no man would marry a “damaged” female. It took Afashe one month to film the project in Syria. She titled it “Suspended,” but the subject matter automatically banned it from public exposure in theaters or on TV. “The rapist can pay his victim money and his guilty sentence can be suspended,” Afashe explained. In the case of her subject, the victim was pushed unwillingly into a marriage of endless rape. At the onset of the Syrian revolution in spring 2011, Afashe traveled to the University of Minnesota for a fellowship at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs which she completed in May 2012. She was accompanied by her husband, Jihad Abdo, a recognized film actor in Syria. (In Syria’s controlled economy, it should be noted, all incomes are rigidly limited by the government, so that a film star makes no more than a teacher—unless s/he belongs to the Ba’ath party or is a crony of the ruling family.) While they realized that, as anti-Assad activists, they were safe in the U.S., the couple sorely missed their culture and loved ones. The emotions of estrangement are expressed in the artist’s self-portrait, entitled “Vision,” and of her and her husband embracing in “Can’t Be,” as they are still trying to escape, but holding each other to feel safe. Her canvas “Transformation,” conveys Afashe’s sense of empowerment to rebuild a liberated Syria. The artist tells the stories of relatives and friends in long brush strokes of gray and blue contrasting between a dark background, representing tyranny and the light of the oppressed to refuse to bow to defeat. In “Touchable,” she depicts her 35year-old friend and mother of two who disappeared in December 2011. The regime denies it arrested the government critic, but her family is still searching for her. The artist painted the back view of a woman in a piece she calls “Mother,” depicting a woman who witnessed her son being torJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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tured and was thereafter unable to speak. “Black Hole” focuses on a nude female crouching on a jail floor. It is the artist’s friend who, at age 28, was arrested for leading a peaceful demonstration, was stripped of her clothing and thrown into a cell filled with criminal prisoners. “The Pianist” is a more colorful work in reds, yellows and oranges depicting Afashe’s friend, revolutionary composer Malek Jandali, performing his composition “Watani Ana.” The collection of powerful expressionist revolutionary works next will be exhibited on Southern California campuses. Eventually Afashe hopes to take her newly acquired knowledge of American public policy to a new democratic Syria and help to reform its antiquated judicial system. More than 1,800 people gathered Nov. 3 in the Orange County Convention Center for the 16th annual fund-raising banquet of the Council on American Islamic Relations of the greater Los Angeles area. The evening’s theme was “Upholding our Constitution, Defending Our Faith,” with Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights as keynote speaker. Half the center’s cases deal with defending the rights of Muslims, Ratner stated. Many of these focus on prisoners at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, while others deal with Muslims arrested in entrapment cases. “We’re deeply into a plague against Muslims that’s really a plague of Islamophobia that’s sweeping the country,” he continued. “After 9/11 the government conducted special registrations of Muslim men between certain ages, and we learned it was putting informants into mosques throughout the country.” Ratner expressed scorn for the Supreme Court’s refusal in late October to hear the case of Ghassan Elashi, the founder of the Holy Land Foundation, who was sentenced to 65 years for heading the HLF because the government claimed the charitable foundation was sending zakat money to Hamas. Ratner closed by describing CAIR as the most important civil rights organization in the U.S. CAIR/LA’s executive director Hussam Ayloush reinforced this plaudit when he said his organization handled 300 legal cases for Muslims in the past year and that, nationwide, CAIR represented 707 cases. Nathan Lean, author of The IslamophoJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR
CAIR/LA’s 16th Banquet
TOP: Civil rights attorney Michael Ratner addresses the CAIR/LA banquet. ABOVE: Greta Berlin discusses Freedom Sailors, the book she co-edited about a perilous humanitarian voyage to Gaza. bia Industry, was presented CAIR/LA’s Bridge Builder Award. Konrad Aderer, who made the documentary, “Enemy Alien,” about the late Palestinian human rights activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti, received the Courage in Media Award. California State Senator Ted Lieu was given the Excellence in Leadership Award for publicly criticizing Lowe’s home improvement stores for withdrawing their ads from the “All American Muslim” TV show because it showcased people of the Islamic faith.
Sailors to Gaza Recall Their Voyage “All 44 of the people planning to sail on the first voyage to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza were forewarned if you’re afraid of being injured, killed or imprisoned don’t get on the boats. All 44 did climb aboard, but only after they wrote their last will and testament.” So said Greta Berlin, coTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
founder of the Free Gaza Movement, at an Oct. 11 booksigning in the Levantine Cultural Center for the paperback she co-edited with Dr. Bill Dienst, entitled Freedom Sailors (available from the AET Book Club). It was an emotional reunion for Los Angeles friends of Berlin whose home base is now in the south of France. The book was released in August, the fourth anniversary of the sailing of the Liberty and Free Gaza, two ancient fishing boats. Each vessel was intended for no more than 11 people, but together they carried 44 passengers and crew from 17 countries across the Mediterranean Sea under the hostile surveillance of the Israeli navy. Frustrated and outraged by Israel’s draconian blockade of Gaza which has rendered its 1.7 million inhabitants underfed, without adequate medical care and with no possibility to travel or study abroad, Berlin and activists worldwide came up with the idea to sail to Gaza with needed supplies as well as lend moral support to a people who’d not seen a foreign vessel sail into their port for 41 years. “It took two years to raise $750,000 to buy and rebuild our two dilapidated boats,” Berlin explained. “We had to prepare for the voyage with subterfuge and indirect answers to the media about when we’d sail and from where because the Mossad was hellbent on sabotaging our boats.” Freedom Sailors reads like a thriller rather than a well-documented memoir of a mission that defied all odds against it. Physical and financial sacrifices were made by the dedicated band of activists who endured 33 hours at sea, with all communications jammed by the Israelis and the night bitterly cold. Sea sickness prevailed and the toilets didn’t work. It was worth it, however, when the sailors caught sight of Gaza and realized the Israelis wouldn’t kill or stop them. More than 40,000 Gazans welcomed the freedom sailors, who really hadn’t planned on what they would do if they reached their destination safely. They delivered 100 hearing aids, knitted garments for infants, and educational materials, and toured hospitals and schools during their five-day stay. When they left, some remained to make room on their boats for a father and his young son whose leg had been blown off by shrapnel and a mother and her three youngsters who held Cypriot passports but whom the Israelis wouldn’t allow to leave Gaza. ❑ 41
ferguson_42-43_Special Report 12/6/12 1:18 PM Page 42
“Roads of Arabia”: Treasures From Saudi Arabia’s Ancient and More Recent Past SpecialReport
PHOTO BY JOHN TSANTES
By Barbara G.B. Ferguson
Cutting the ribbon to open “Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington DC (l-r) James B. Smith, American ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States; Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, president and chairman, Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities; Prince Turki Al Faisal; Dr. G. Wayne Clough, secretary, Smithsonian Institution; and Dr. Julian Raby, The Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art. ost Americans associate the King-
Mdom of Saudi Arabia with the vast
amounts of oil and gas that have been extracted from under its desert sands. They will be surprised and delighted, however, to discover new treasures that also have been preserved for thousands of years under a fierce sun and weather, and which tell a fascinating tale—that of Saudi Arabia’s own history. Workers building a road near Thaj recently discovered a child’s grave, laden with gold jewelry. And only two years ago, at al-Magar, a camel herder discovered a large menagerie of animal statues, including a saluki dog, a camel, a goat, eagle and ostrich. These date back to the Neolithic period, or 7,000 BCE. The funerary treasures of Thaj and the stone statues of al-Magar are just a few of the wonderful discoveries on display in “Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” currently on display at the Smithsonian’s Barbara G.B. Ferguson has lived and reported from the Middle East, Paris, London and now Washington, DC, and visited Saudi Arabia numerous times. Her e-mail is: <BarbaraGBFerguson@gmail.com>. 42
Sackler Gallery on the National Mall in Washington, DC. What is poignant is that they all share the same link: crossroads. Thousands of years ago, trade routes criss-crossed the Arabian Peninsula, from south-to-north and west-to-east. Nomads and pilgrims traversed the country, bringing prosperity to caravan sites while exposing the local culture to influences from surrounding kingdoms. “Roads of Arabia” is an astonishing display of the remarkable and often surprising vestiges from these ancient incense routes which transported prized frankincense and myrrh to Mesopotamia and the Greco-Roman world. Later, with the introduction of Islam, pilgrimage roads converged on Mecca (Makkah) and gradually replaced the well-traveled incense roads. The exhibition, organized in conjunction with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), features 320 objects recently excavated from more than 10 archaeological sites throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Many of the objects on exhibit have never before been displayed. “This is a new window to see a country that has never been thought of or seen in the arena of heritage, development of civilization, and culture,” said Saudi Prince Sultan THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, son of the Saudi crown prince and president of the Saudi Tourism Commission, who was in Washington for the exhibit’s inauguration. “We’ve always been at the crossroads of civilization, and we are now at the crossroads of international affairs and economic affairs,” he said. “To understand Saudi Arabia, its future, its role in the world, is also to understand that it was not a country that was invented with the discovery of the first oil well,” said Prince Sultan, who is perhaps best known to Americans for his 1985 flight on the space shuttle Discovery. “Most Westerners believe that Saudi Arabia is only a desert land with oil fields,” said Dr. Ali Al-Ghabban, vice president of antiquities and museums at the SCTA and co-curator of “Roads.” “They don’t know that the country was a bridge between the East and West. We played this role in the fourth millennium BCE, and we continue to play it,” he told journalists at the press preview for “Roads of Arabia.” “We would like to show everyone—foreigners and Saudis—how we have participated in the history of humanity, not only in the Islamic period, but even before Islam.” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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RIGHT: Incense burner, Turkey, Ottoman dynasty, 1649 CE, bronze inlaid with gold, 14 x 27.4 cm., National Museum, Riyadh. BELOW: Fragment of a horse, Al-Magar, Saudi Arabia, attributed to ca. 7000 BCE, stone, 52 x 86 cm.; National Museum, Riyadh. BOTTOM: Door of the Kaa’ba, Turkey, Ottoman dynasty, 1635-36 CE, gilt silver on wood, 342 x 182 cm., National Museum, Riyadh. Sackler Gallery director Dr. Julian Raby agrees, describing the exhibition as “a new window onto a country whose pre-Islamic past is little known to anyone other than a handful of scholars today, and whose Islamic history is often misunderstood.”
Several of the various discoveries displayed in the exhibit prompt questions rather than answers. The camel herder’s discovery of a stone horse statue near al-Magar, for example, created quite a stir. “Archeologists suggest there are reins on the horse,” noted Dr. Massumeh Farhad, chief curator and curator of Islamic art at the Sackler Gallery. “And this is important because this means the sculpture is of a domesticated horse. Scholars have long argued over where horses were first domesticated; most believe it was in Central Asia. “But now, if this discovery is correct, it means the horse was domesticated in Arabia before Central Asia.” If the supposition is proven correct, this would mean that the people at al-Magar may have been domesticating horses up to 2,000 years prior to anyone else in the world. During construction of a causeway linking Tarut Island to the mainland in 1966, workers came across a tomb of a young girl, six or seven, lying on her back with a gold funeral mask and gold gloves and surrounded by jewelry. This discovery reJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
sulted in a completely different perspective of the area. Legends speak of the ancient Arabian city of Gehrra as unparalleled in wealth and importance. Located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, the city attained mythical status in the ancient world—but its exact location was unknown. Then, in 1998, archaeologists discovered the first century A.D. tomb of a young royal girl outside the city of Thaj. Rich with gold, pearls and pre-
cious stones, including a Hellenistic gold funerary mask, scholars suggested that Thaj could well be the lost city of Gehrra.
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
At Qaryat alFaw, located in the southwest of the King-
dom, are massive and finely detailed statues of men. Also on display from this region is a millennium-old funeral bed, one of only four known to exist in the world. The exhibit comprises three distinct sections. First are the artifacts from the network of oases which linked caravan trails to metropolitan cities. The second section focuses on the impact of Islam after the 7th century, especially the development of pilgrimage trails that lead from major cities such as Damascus, Cairo and Baghdad to Mecca. Highlights of this section include some 20 finely inscribed tombstones from the nowdestroyed al-Ma’lat cemetery. These tombstones reflect the lives of early pilgrims who either lived in Mecca or traveled great distances to reach it. A particularly poignant example memorializes a father and daughter who died on their pilgrimage journey together. The tombstones also display some of the earliest examples of Arabic script, which Dr. Farhad described as “critical and invaluable for scholars.” Yet another highlight is a set of gilded doors that once graced the entrance to the Kaa‘ba, the most scared site in Islam. The exhibit’s third section introduces artifacts that focus on the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. “It offers a glimpse into Saudi Arabia, before its transformation from oil revenues,” said Dr. Raby. “Roads” will be on display at the Sackler until Feb. 24, 2013. It will then travel to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Discussions are underway for the exhibit to continue on to New York and Pittsburgh through 2015. “Roads of Arabia” can be viewed online at the exhibition’s Web site, <www.roadsofarabia.com>, which features highlights and history through photo slideshows, interactive maps and videos. ❑ 43
mayton_44_Cairo Communique 12/5/12 3:37 PM Page 44
Egypt’s New Coptic Pope Tawadros Faces Religious Tension, Uncertain Future CairoCommuniqué
KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
By Joseph Mayton
Pope Tawadros II (c) at his enthronement ceremony at Saint Mark’s Coptic Cathedral, in Cairo’s al-Abbassiya district, Nov. 18, 2012. n early November, less than a week after new Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros had taken over as the newest pontiff in the world’s oldest Christian sect, he lashed out on television, accusing the ultra-conservative Salafists of “destroying” the future of the country. His comments are unlikely to go over well with a majority of Egyptians, who have turned even more toward their Islamic faith since the January 2011 uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak from power. Nevertheless, Pope Tawadros, like the Coptic community, is forging ahead, asserting their identity despite fears of a conservative backlash that has already threatened Egypt’s social fabric. The new pope’s ascension comes at a time when relations between Muslim and Christian Egyptians are strained at best. Reports of girls having their hair cut off on public transportation by Salafist (Islamic puritan) women in niqab, the full-face-covering veil popular among the ultra-conservatives, or of a teacher cutting students’
IEgypt’s
Joseph Mayton is a free-lance journalist based in Cairo, where he administers the Web site <http://bikyamasr.com>. 44
hair for failing to cover their heads with a hijab are just the tip of the iceberg. In an early November incident, a group of Salafists occupied a plot of land on the outskirts of Cairo owned by the Coptic Christian Church and attempted to turn it into a makeshift mosque. It took police a full day to arrive. Luckily for residents, violence and clashes did not break out, but it would not have been the first time Christians and Muslims have battled. The average Egyptian Christian is uncertain which way the church will go under Pope Tawadros. As George Zaki, a young man studying to become a Coptic priest, says, right now “it is really up in the air” in which direction the church will head. Zaki wants a strong leader who is willing to speak his mind, but doesn’t feel that immediately lashing out at the Salafists is a good move. “Many of us are definitely fearful of the Salafists, even my Muslim friends,” he explains, “because we all fought and protested for a new Egypt that wouldn’t see religion be part of the political make-up.” Prior to Pope Tawadros’ appointment on Nov. 4, the Muslim Brotherhood began talking about working with the new pope, THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
and those who cover religious issues on the ground say they support the status quo. “What the Coptic community doesn’t need is someone who will anger the Islamists in government right now,” says Yussif Qandeel, a reporter at an Egyptian Arabic daily who regularly covers Christian issues. Judging by his conversations with members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)—the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing—Qandeel says “they want to see someone be pope who they can work with, which means continuing the [late Pope] Shenouda tradition.” Not everyone in the Coptic community may agree, however. Although Pope Shenouda, who died on March 17, was extremely popular, many Copts considered him weak in standing up for the community’s rights and ability to function in Egyptian society. Still, overall the Christian community is inclined to support the new pope, who already has demonstrated his ability to combine the strengths of the Shenouda era with distancing himself from what many perceived to be Shenouda’s willingness to acquiesce to the Mubarak regime. Certainly it will be difficult to replace a man who presided over the Coptic community for more than four decades, as Shenouda did. Despite the growing internal struggle within the church, however, most are optimistic, including Zaki, who believes the future will find the Coptic Church stronger than ever. “We are a strong people, a strong group of Christians and we have been through a lot in the past years,” he explains, “so I think the future of the Church will not be determined by one choice, but by the strength of our own community and by our people as Egyptians.” Fears of anti-Christian sentiment received a reprieve earlier this year when the country’s leading Islamic institute, alAzhar, called for a Bill of Rights to be adopted before a constitution is drafted. The idea, simply, would be to establish certain “inalienable” rights for all Egyptians, including freedom of speech, assembly and, most importantly, freedom of religion. Continued on page 46 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
pasquini_45-46_Northern California Chronicle 12/5/12 3:39 PM Page 45
Arab Cinema Engages Viewers With Films on Modern Dilemmas, Ongoing Struggles By Elaine Pasquini
Northern California Chronicle
he wealth of creative filmmaking from
Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Arab Film Festival president Jess Ghannam (l) listens as Sameh Zoabi answers an audience member’s question following the screening of his film “Man Without a Cell Phone” at the Arab Film Festival’s opening night.
“Sacred Stones”: This first documentary feature film by Palestinian filmmakers Muayad Alayan (pictured) and Laila Higazi THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
“Private Sun”: Rami Alayan made an impressive directorial debut with “Private Sun,” his 25-minute short beautifully filmed in Bethlehem, Beit Sahour and Al-Walajeh, a village on the northwest outskirts of Bethlehem that was destroyed during the 1948 war but still retains its exquisite natural landscape. Alayan’s original screenplay compassionately explores a Palestinian woman’s dilemma of wanting to sunbathe on doctor’s orders to counteract a painful vitamin D deficiency, while facing obstacles from the conservative society in which she lives. Co-produced by Alayan and his filmmaker brother, Muayad, the film won Best Short at Argentina’s Mujeres en Foco Film Festival 2012 and Special Jury Award at Worldfest-Houston International 2012. Alayan is the writer of “Tamer and Hanan,” an animated series aiming to educate children about concepts of democracy and individual rights. For more information visit <www.privatesun.ps>.
delves into the Palestinian stone industry, uncovering the truths about Israel’s exploitation of this “white petroleum” unique to the West Bank and the deathly health hazards of quarrying the precious resource. Through onsite interviews and scenes of stone removal and processing for commercial purposes, the filmmakers bring to light aspects of the Israeli occupation not widely known, such as the practice by Israeli officials of ignoring unhealthy working conditions for Palestinian quarry workers on the West Bank, while at the same time requiring safe conditions for workers in the stone industry within Israel. “Sacred Stones” received the Aljazeera Documentary Channel Award for medium length films at the Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival in Qatar 2012. “Karama Has No Walls”: Yemeni-Scottish director Sara Ishaq was visiting her family in Sana’a on March 18, 2011, the day 53 people were killed and hundreds injured while p ro t e s t i n g aga i n s t Yemen’s government led by then-President STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
mation is available at the AFF Web site, <http://arabfilmfestival.org>. STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
again at the annual Arab Film Festival (AFF) which debuted Oct. 11 at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre. The 16th season opened with the screening of Sameh Zoabi’s “Man Without a Cell Phone,” a thoughtful comedy centered on the controversial installation of a cell phone tower near a Palestinian village within Israel, the dependency of young people—and others—on their phones, and the commonsensical resolution. Filmed in Iksal, his hometown, Zoabi explained: “I tried to make a film combining entertainment with my social and political responsibility to my experience of growing up in a Palestinian village inside Israel.” In the question-and-answer session following the screening, Zoabi was asked how the film was received in Israel. His response— “The Israelis loved the film because they know what they are. I don’t think it’s a secret”—drew tumultuous applause. “Man Without a Cell Phone” sheds light on the quality of life for Palestinians living inside Israel, a subject not widely explored in the film industry or the media. “I tried to touch on the disconnect between the Palestinians living inside Israel and those on the West Bank,” Zoabi said. “This disconnect between different parts of our society is part of the occupation. The separation wall is a physical separation, but a bigger issue, which no one talks about, is the sad reality of keeping people separated so that they can be controlled. The occupation is psychological, as well as physical, and making films is one way to tell these stories.” Awards for excellence were presented to the directors of the best films in four categories: Faouzi Bensaidi, “Death for Sale” (Belgium, France, Morocco, 2011, Narrative Feature); Namir Abdel Messeeh, “The Virgin, the Copts, and Me” (France, Qatar, 2012, Documentary Feature); Lamia Alami, “Farewell Exile” (Morocco, Switzerland, France, 2011, Narrative Short); and Sara Ishaq, “Karama Has No Walls” (Yemen, 2012, Documentary Short). For the next 10 days audiences in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego enjoyed the best of Arab cinema from around the globe. More infor-
STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI
Tthe Arab world was celebrated once
45
pasquini_45-46_Northern California Chronicle 12/5/12 3:39 PM Page 46
“Fallujah: A Lost Generation?”: In his 50-minute documentary, French-Iraqi investigative journalist Feurat Alani focuses on the legacy of the U.S.led war on Iraq, specif-
STAFF PHOTO E. PASQUINI
Ali Abdullah Saleh. Through the lenses of two cameramen, and the accounts of witnesses, her 26-minute film starkly documents the horrifying events as they unfolded on the day known as the Friday of Karama (dignity), considered the turning point of the country’s revolution. For more information on this winner of the Arab Film Festival's Short Documentary Award, visit <http://karamahasnowalls.com>.
ically in the town of Fallujah, scene of a 2004 massive siege by coalition forces that killed between 800 and 6,000 civilians. Since Operation Phantom Fury, residents of the city of Fallujah and the surrounding area of Al Anbar province have experienced extraordinarily high rates of cancer, birth defects and infant mortality. Through interviews with local residents, doctors, international weapons experts and scientists, Alani examines the genetic damage caused by weapons deployed by U.S. forces in the battle, including depleted uranium, anti-personnel thermobaric explosives and white phosphorus (deemed illegal to use against civilians by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons). Despite requests, however, no high level American military leader
would discuss the subject of Fallujah with the filmmaker. “Donor Opium”: “Investing in a failed project” is a term mentioned several times in the 25-minute documentary “Donor Opium” to describe financial aid to Gaza over the last two decades since the Oslo peace accords were signed. Filmmaker Mariam Shahin highlights the detrimental effect foreign aid has had on the residents of Gaza by turning an historically self-sufficient agricultural society into a consumer culture dependent on foreign aid. The film also illuminates how Israel’s continued economic blockade has prevented any improvement in life for the residents of Gaza, who are now poorer than they were in 1993. ❑
Islamic art and culture were highlighted in a threeday program titled “Doorway to Islamic Civilization” at Oakland’s Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California Nov. 9 to 11. Zawaya, a non-profit co-founded by Nabila Mango and Haya Shawwa Ben Halim in 2003 to promote Arab art and culture, organized the weekend event to educate the public through the arts and to combat Islamophobia. The extravaganza kicked off with a performance by Aswat, the Bay Area’s premier Arab music ensemble, followed by a screening of filmmaker Michael Wolfe’s “Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World.” Ziya Art Studio co-founder Arash Shirinbab moderated a panel discussion after the film which included Wolfe, Washington Report staff photographer Phil Pasquini, Heba Mostafa, Reem Hussain and Fateme (L-r) Michael Wolfe, Fateme Montazeri, Reem Hussain, Phil Pasquini and Montazeri. Over the following two days, 34 workshops were Heba Mostafa discuss “Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World” at the offered on art, crafts, architecture, calligraphy, Doorway to Islamic Civilization program. lifestyle, culture, music, writing and special youth programs. The diverse workshops ran the gamut from Sharyn formed a Sufi Estaghfur’llah Dhikr. The Dervish tradition of Omar’s “Perfume and Incense of the Islamic Golden Age” to whirling and sacred Turkish music is the foundation of this “Hijabi for a Day: Unveiling the Veil” by Ameena Jandali and devotional act, which is a living prayer of forgiveness and reZahra Billoo. In addition, the Mevlevi Order of America permembrance of oneness. ❑
New Coptic Pope… Continued from page 44
The proposed document received massive popular support from activists, liberals, Islamists, intellectuals and Christians alike. Nevertheless, the implementation of these “inalienable” rights remains to be seen. In the process of drafting a new constitution, the Constituent Assembly was consumed with the question of shariah, or Islamic law, leaving many Egyptians wondering what happened to the proposed Bill of Rights. 46
For its part, the Coptic Church has historically avoided advocating separation of church and state, despite the inclination of the greater Coptic community, which has long demanded that the government end its preferential treatment of Muslim Egyptians. This was evident a few years back, when a Coptic woman had to fight numerous court battles in order to retain custody of her two children, who grew up Coptic but whom the government reclassified as Muslims after their father converted to Islam. Although its views on religion in Egypt are becoming more liberal, the Coptic Church has long preferred a separate set of laws for Egypt’s Muslim and Christian communities to a uniTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
STAFF PHOTO E. PASQUINI
Doorway to Islamic Civilization
fying concept of freedom of religion. While the Coptic community is hopeful about the future of Egypt and the social and politial roles it will play, they must have reservations about how far the Christian community can realistically advance. Not only do Coptic Egyptians have limited mobility and limited parliamentary representation, but the country’s turn toward conservatism may well be a major impediment to creating a robust civil society that treats Coptic Christians with equal weight. The new constitution undoubtedly will provide the first look at just how much unity and freedom its citizens, Muslim and Coptic alike, will enjoy in the new Egypt. ❑ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
wall_47-48_Special Report 12/6/12 1:21 PM Page 47
New York Times Flacks for Jewish Groups Against 15 Major Christian Leaders SpecialReport
By James M. Wall ou have to know American Jewish
Yleaders are really riled up when they
call on The New York Times to flack for them against 15 leaders of Christian churches who had the audacity to send a letter to the U.S. Congress, which said, with proper Christian indignation: As Christian leaders in the United States, it is our moral responsibility to question the continuation of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. Realizing a just and lasting peace will require this accountability, as continued U.S. military assistance to Israel—offered without conditions or accountability—will only serve to sustain the status quo and Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian territories. We request, therefore, that Congress hold Israel accountable to these standards by making the disbursement of U.S. military assistance to Israel contingent on the Israeli government’s compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies. Is that clear? These church leaders are saying it is their moral responsibility to tell the Congress that it must hold Israel accountable to U.S. laws and policies when it disburses money to Israel. So what’s the big news angle in The New York Times story for Saturday, Oct. 20, following the release of the letter from the 15 leaders to Congress? The lead of the story should be that “American Jewish leaders defend the action of a secular state that receives more U.S. foreign aid than any other nation in the world.” What these so-called “outraged” Jewish groups are saying is that their feelings are hurt. These American Jewish leaders have worked so hard over the decades to maintain “good relations” with their Christian colleagues, and just as they were about to have yet another “good relations” meeting between Christians and Jews (no mention of Muslims, it must be noted), here come 15 Christian leaders demanding accountability from a secular foreign state for human rights violations carried out with American money. Horrors, what a thing for Christian leadJames M. Wall is a contributing editor of The Christian Century magazine, of which he was editor and publisher from 1972 through 1999. He currently blogs at <http:// wallwritings.me>. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
ers to say! Man (and woman) the barricades, the fragile American relationship between Jews and Christians is under severe threat. In case you have missed this unfolding threat to fragile American relationships between Jews and Christians (still no Muslims involved), this is how The Times’ Laurie Goodstein began her not-so-subtle attack on the 15 Protestant leaders:
ote the use of the N weasel word “accusations” of human rights violations. A letter signed by 15 leaders of Christian churches that calls for Congress to reconsider giving aid to Israel because of accusations of human rights violations has outraged Jewish leaders and threatened to derail longstanding efforts to build interfaith relations. The Christian leaders say their intention was to put the Palestinian plight and the stalled peace negotiations back in the spotlight at a time when all of the attention to Middle East policy seems to be focused on Syria, the Arab Spring and the Iranian nuclear threat. The church leaders did not ask Congress to “reconsider” giving aid to Israel. And note the use of the weasel word “accusations” of human rights violations, as though Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights have not been amply demonstrated over the decades. The Times says the letter is intended to “put the Palestinian plight and the stalled peace negotiations back in the spotlight.” That is balderdash, as Joe Biden likes to say. The 15 leaders make no reference to a motive for writing the latter. They do not have to. The New Testament is their motive. Putting the Palestinian “plight” in the “spotlight” is Times speak, speculation without attribution. The Times failed to explain that the “Jewish groups” that are attacking the 15 Christian leaders are being directed by a secular organization, the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA). The Times does not distinguish between religious Jews and political Zionist Jews, a fatal flaw in its coverage. How secular is the JCPA? You be the judge. Here is how the JCPA describes its mission: The mission of the Council is to serve as the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
representative voice of the organized American Jewish community in addressing the principal mandate of the Jewish community relations field, expressed in three interrelated goals: One: To safeguard the rights of Jews here and around the world. Two: To dedicate ourselves to the safety and security of the state of Israel. Three: To protect, preserve and promote a just American society, one that is democratic and pluralistic, one that furthers harmonious interreligious, interethnic, interracial and other intergroup relations. “To dedicate ourselves to the safety and security of the state of Israel” is not biblical, my friends, it is political. The Times should say so. Instead it puts the JCPA, a secular public affairs organization, under the same umbrella as the rabbis and the 15 Christian church leaders. The planned Oct. 22 interfaith dialogue meeting was canceled by the JCPA, a secular organization. Here is the start of its news release making the announcement: Canceling an interfaith dialogue meeting, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and other Jewish groups have called for a summit with the heads of Jewish organizations that have been engaged in the roundtable and the heads of the Christian denominations that penned a letter to Congress calling for an investigation into Israel’s use of the U.S. military aid. “The letter signed by 15 church leaders is a step too far,” said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow. “The participation of these leaders in yet another one-sided anti-Israel campaign cannot be viewed apart from the vicious anti-Zionism that has gone virtually unchecked in several of these denominations. We remain committed to the enterprise of interfaith relations because it is central to the development of a just and righteous society.” To be clear, some of the Jewish groups that signed the JCPA letter have rabbis in their titles, making them religious. But others, like the American Jewish Committee, are not religious. Jewish theologian Marc Ellis has warned Christian leaders that when they agreed to accept the “ecumenical deal” with their Jewish counterparts, they were opting out of any possible prophetic leadership in the Middle East. The deal, by the way, was the tacit understanding between earlier generations of Christian and Jewish leaders that 47
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they would work in all sorts of common projects, ranging from cooperative civil rights struggles in the U.S. to mutual worship events in local communities. That “deal” has always reminded me of what my father used to say about the Methodist and Baptist churches in our “dry” Georgia county. Usually speaking so my teetotaling mother and aunt could hear him, he would declare, “The churches are in cahoots with the bootleggers in this county.” He was right; the church folks, unwillingly, of course, kept the county dry while the bootleggers made enough illegal whiskey to satisfy the needs of the pious members of the community who wanted a “little pick-me-up at the end of the day.” At least, that’s what my teetotaling father always said. The kicker in the Marc Ellis description of the “ecumenical deal” was the understanding that Israel always would be off limits to religious criticism by the churches. Essentially, the deal was this: We work together, but you leave Israel alone. The deal was sweetened over the years by all-expenses-paid clergy trips to the Holy Land and some shared breaking of bread among Jews and Christians (still no Muslims, of course).The deal between our contemporary churches and our contemporary bootleggers has held firm, until, that is, U.S. denominations started passing resolutions calling for boycotts, divestments
and sanctions (BDS), to protest the continued violations of human rights in Palestine. Those resolutions outraged the same Jewish leaders who are now upset by the letter to Congress from the church leaders. That’s why these Jewish leaders infiltrated religious denominational meetings to intimidate voters and water down resolutions as much as they could. Now, in October 2012, 15 U.S. Protestant church leaders are fed up with the lack of human rights action by the U.S. government. So it was that together they composed a remarkable statement and sent it off to the U.S. Congress. Jewish leaders, and publications like The New York Times, were suddenly confronted by a new phenomenon from within the churches. You could almost hear them asking, like a puzzled Butch Cassidy, who are these guys, anyway? Who are these 15 U.S. church leaders with their outrageous defiance of the “ecumenical deal”? To begin with, the 15 church leaders are heavyweights, top officials for their denominations. They include the leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the American Friends Service Committee (a Quaker agency) and the Mennonite Central Committee. Two Catholic lead-
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
ers also signed, not including the Catholic Council of Bishops. These are not just leaders of a few religious groups, which a Protestant version of the Jewish Council of Public Affairs could corral into an interfaith dialogue meeting. These are the major-domos of American Protestantism, which raises the question of what exactly gives the JCPA and its scattered letter signers, these “outraged Jewish groups” as The Times calls them, the right to claim religious standing in this conversation. Many of these Jewish groups are secular and function as part of the Israel Lobby, a collection of lobbying organizations that have Israel, not Judaism, as their primary client. The false premise that Goodstein and The New York Times operate from is that the 15 Christian church leaders are required to “get along” with the Israel Lobby, not the Jewish religious establishment of this nation. Are church leaders required by The Times to “get along” with the National Rifle Association and the Chamber of Commerce? This false premise is blending apples and oranges, nothing consistent about it.
A Modern Secular State A bit of history could be helpful here. When the modern state of Israel was created by the United Nations on Nov. 29, 1947, the vote in the U.N. General Assembly was 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions. The General Assembly vote was preceded by decades of dialogue within world Jewry. Many Jewish religious leaders reminded the Zionists in their midst that idolatry was prohibited by Scripture, citing the passage, ”Thou shall have no other God before me” (Exodus 20:3). Zionism was a political movement that created a modern secular state. It did so through force of military arms and by the blatant exploitation of the horrors of the Holocaust. They called their new state a “Jewish state.” That, however, is a secular ethnic designation, not a religious one. It also contradicts the foundation of a democracy, since at its formation the state contained a substantial number of non-Jews. In the years leading up to 1947, there was considerable Jewish religious opposition to the creation of a secular state of Israel. The battle was between Zionists and non-Zionists. The biblical admonition that it is idolatry to equate a state with Yahweh was ignored. The 15 church leaders have declared that they believe it is their moral responsibility to question the continuation of uncondiContinued on page 51 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Jewish Groups Abandon Inter-Faith Dialogue After Christian Leaders Seek Review of U.S. Aid to Israel Israel andJudaism
By Allan C. Brownfeld he Oct. 5 letter signed by 15 leaders
Tof Christian churches called on Con-
gress to reconsider giving military aid to Israel because of its human rights violations. The Christian leaders said their intention was to put the Palestinians’ plight and the stalled peace talks back in the spotlight at a time when all of the attention to U.S. Middle East policy seemed to be focused on Syria, the Arab Spring and the Iranian nuclear threat. “We asked Congress to treat Israel like it would any other country,” explained the Rev. Gradye Parsons, the top official of the Presbyterian Church (USA), “to make sure our military aid is going to a country espousing the values we would as Americans—that it’s not being used to continually violate the rights of other people.” The Christian groups sent the letter to every member of Congress urging that hearings be held into whether Israel was violating the terms of foreign aid recipients. The 15 signers wrote that they had “witnessed widespread Israeli human rights violations against the Palestinians, including killing of civilians, home demolitions and forced displacement, and restrictions on Palestinian movement.” The letter noted that Israel had continued expanding settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem despite American calls to stop “claiming territory that under international law and U.S. policy should belong to a future Palestinian state.” While acknowledging that “Israel faces real security threats and that it has both a right and a duty to protect the state and its citizens,” the letter called for “an immediate investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.” According to the letter, these laws “respectively prohibit assistance to any country which engages in a constant pattern of human rights violations and limit the use of U.S. weapons to ‘internal security’ or ‘leAllan 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. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
gitimate self-defense’...We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for noncompliance.” The letter includes examples of Israeli human rights violations being carried out with U.S. weapons, such as the killing of Palestinian civilians and home demolitions and forced displacement.
e asked Congress “W to treat Israel like it would any other country.” The Rev. Jeff DeYoe, advocacy chair for the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, stated that “Israel’s grave and systematic abuses of Palestinian human rights and violations of international law have been thoroughly documented for many years. We’re pleased and encouraged that church leaders from a growing number of denominations are recognizing this and taking a stand in favor of justice and freedom for all the peoples of the Holy Land. We hope members of Congress will do the same.” First to pull out of the interfaith roundtable was the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “It is outrageous that mere days after the Iranian president repeated his call for Israel’s elimination, these American Protestant leaders would launch a biased attack against the Jewish state by calling on Congress to investigate Israel’s use of foreign aid,” said the ADL’s Abe Foxman. “The blatant lack of sensitivity by the Protestant dialogue partners we had been planning to meet with has seriously damaged the foundation for mutual respect,” he added, and called on other Jewish leaders to boycott the event as well. JCPA president Rabbi Steve Gutow, a former AIPAC official, charged that “these churches have squandered our trust. They either refuse to pay attention to our plea for a fair appraisal of the situation or they simply do not care.” “We will continue to be vigilant against anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian activities wherever and whenever we see them because it is the right thing to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
do,” added JCPA chair Larry Gold. “If only the leaders of these churches cared a fraction as much about the anti-Israel and antiZionist activities that have found comfortable homes in their denominations.” An accompanying letter to the Christian leaders signed by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), B’nai B’rith International, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, JCPA, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism called for “a meeting with the senior leadership of our agencies and the senior leadership of the Christian institutions that joined the letter to Congress and have participated in the Roundtable in the past…to communicate face-to-face at the highest levels and determine a more positive path forward for our communities.” “Something is deeply broken, badly broken,” said Ethan Felson, JCPA vice president and general counsel. “We’re certainly not getting anywhere now.” According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Felson also threatened that the “JCPA is considering as a response asking Congress to investigate delegitimizers of Israel and issue a resolution against their efforts.” He also suggested that “American Jewish groups could retaliate by advocating against U.S. aid to the Palestinians.” In an Oct. 25 Haaretz op-ed titled “Heading Toward An Irreparable rift Between U.S. Jews and Protestants,” Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former head of the URJ, the more liberal branch of American Judaism, suggested that church leaders are, at best, indifferent to Jewish concerns. “There have always been ups and downs in the relations between mainline Protestants and American Jews,” he wrote, “but they have now hit a 45-year low. And this time they may not recover...Criticism of settlements [the basis of the church letter] is completely legitimate; I am an outspoken settlement critic myself. But the Protestant leaders made no effort to include in their letter words that might have reassured Jews and others that this effort was not motivated by hostility to Israel.” Rabbi Yoffie admitted that, “To be sure, no matter what the wording, Jewish leadContinued on page 51 49
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Walling in the Christian Narrative
Christianity and the Middle East
AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
By Jeffery M. Abood, KHS
Muslim Palestinians clean the entrance of the Catholic Latrun Monastery between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Sept. 5, 2012, a day after unknown vandals burned the door of the monastery and scrawled anti-Christian graffiti in an apparent “price tag” hate crime. he Christians in the Holy Land are a
Tsmall yet, in the eyes of the world,
very significant community. So much so, in fact, that it has become an important part of Israeli strategy to attempt to surround their voice with a wall of silence, working to ensure that it is not heard. Seeking to shift blame from the fact that Christians are leaving the Holy Land because of a brutal occupation, the Israeli government continues to promote the misconception that the only place Christians “have it good is in Israel.” In an April 22, 2012 interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” (available at <www.wrmea.org>), Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said, “The only place in the Middle East where Christians aren’t endangered but flourishing is Israel.” This and similar statements often reiterated by U.S. supporters of Israel are, howSir Jeffery M. Abood, KHS has been knighted in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He has also received a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his leadership in working with the Palestinian Christian communities in the Holy Land. He can be reached at <jabood@att.net>. The views expressed reflect only those of the author and may not reflect the views of any organization to which he belongs. 50
ever, based on two false assumptions: that Christians are in fact “flourishing” in Israel, and that their increasing numbers are evidence of that.
“Flourishing” in Israel? The Christians actually living in the Holy Land disagree with Israel’s self-serving assessment. About 155,000 Christians are citizens of Israel—less than 2 percent of its 7.9 million population, according to Haaretz. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has noted that they “suffer from over 35 discriminatory laws” affecting the population in everything from health care to education to where they can live or even worship. According to numerous polls and a recent EU Heads of Mission report: “Church leaders cite as reasons for increased emigration: Government of Israel-imposed family-reunification restrictions, limited ability of Christian communities in the Jerusalem area to expand due to confiscation of church properties and building restrictions, taxation problems and difficulties in obtaining residency permits for Christian clergy."
Permanent vs. Non-Permanent Christian Communities It is vital to define who the Christian Israelis are, as well as their actual numbers, for two THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
reasons. First, so that the church can equip itself to adequately provide pastoral care for them. Secondly, so that politicians cannot use the Holy Land’s Christian communities to further their own political agendas. While on the surface some numbers may appear to be increasing, this is misleading, since they give no indication of permanence. There are in fact two categories of Christians in the Holy Land today: permanent and non-permanent. The permanent Christian communities, whether in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank, are almost exclusively Palestinian. These are the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land, where they have lived for more than 2,000 years. Since the 1950s there has also been a small but growing community of Hebrewspeaking Christians. These number about 500 and comprise the Christian spouses of Jewish immigrants, Jews who have converted, and internally displaced Palestinians (those who have moved to larger cities within Israel looking for work and become more assimilated to the language). In an attempt to artificially boost their numbers, Israel includes non-permanent Christian communities in its counts as evidence that the Christians in Israel are “flourishing.” This, of course, is highly misleading. If one includes Christians who are there only temporarily, then the thousands of Christian tourists each year would also qualify as “Christians of the Holy Land.” The largest non-permanent Christian community is composed of migrant workers, primarily from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka and Eastern Europe, a large percentage of whom are Christian. There is increasing violence against them from Jewish Israelis. The migrant workers have no legal status and are forbidden from owning land. Work permits prohibit them from marrying and having children. They are even limited in where and how long they can work before they are forced to leave Israel. In fact, Christians in these communities are being actively deported on a regular basis, including hundreds of young children of migrant workers who were born in Israel, speak Hebrew and have never seen their parents’ native countries in their lives. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying that the deportation policy was intended JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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to stem a flood of illegal immigrants whose children receive state-funded education and health care benefits, and “to defend Israel’s Jewish identity.” The other non-permanent group of Christians in Israel are refugees seeking asylum. These are mostly Christians from Africa, especially South Sudan and Eritrea. The new Prevention of Infiltration Law labels all irregular border-crossers into Israel as “infiltrators.” In August, according to Human Rights Watch, Israel began increasing deportations of these refugees back to dangerous and unstable countries in violation of international law.
Movement of Christians Israeli Ambassador Oren (born Michael Scott Bornstein in upstate New York) and other apologists for Israel cite these artificially inflated numbers as evidence that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians are welcome. This is a fallacy, as Christians have been welcomed, and their numbers increasing, in other Arab countries as well. For example, fleeing Iraqi Christians all had to go somewhere. Many went to Jordan, taking their money with them, and began creating businesses and contributing to the country’s economic growth. This helped provide a bit of an economic boom. For similar reasons, the number of Christians also increased in Syria and Lebanon. Israel’s motivation to “wall in” and hold hostage the Christian narrative was best summed up by CBS correspondent Bob Simon, who posed this telltale question on his “60 Minutes” segment: “Do you think the Israeli government ever thinks of the fact [that] if Christians are not being treated well here [in the Holy Land] and that America is an overwhelmingly Christian country, that this could have consequences?” Americans relate well to other Christians. This is why it is important to break down Israel’s wall of silence and not allow others to speak for the Christians in the Holy Land. ❑
New York Times Flacks… Continued from page 48
tional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel. The cancellation of an interfaith meeting by the Jewish Council of Public Affairs was a political move which The New York Times helped to promote. The JCPA and its letter signers have no dogs in this hunt. They can be as outraged as they want. This is still a free country. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
But the 15 church leaders have made the right religious, not political, move. They are speaking the language of “moral responsibility” in a letter directed to the U.S. Congress on the matter of U.S. funds used by Israel to violate the human rights of the Palestinian people. Interfaith dialogue has always been nothing more than a device used by American Jewish groups to intimidate the American churches into keeping the ecumenical deal. By this intimidation, these groups have followed the example set by the government of Israel which has long used the so-called “peace process” to sustain its occupation and expand its borders, always to the detriment of the Palestinian people. It is the right time for the leaders of the American churches to make their moral demand to the Congress. With their letter, they have done so, courageously, considering the political climate of our time. Interfaith dialogue can wait. ❑
Israel and Judaism… Continued from page 49
ers would never agree to a reduction of American aid to Israel...This is a consensus position of the Jewish community.”
How Large a “Consensus”? How much of a “consensus” exists is open to serious question, however, since many Jewish voices have been heard in support of the church leaders’ letter. Rabbis Alissa Wise and Brant Rosen, leaders of the Jewish Voice for Peace Religious Roundtable, wrote that, “As fellow Jewish leaders we are profoundly disappointed that some in our community have chosen to literally walk away from the table of dialogue. Actions such as these run directly counter to the spirit and mission of interfaith understanding. Indeed, true dialogue does not only occur in the areas in which both parties find agreement, but particularly in those difficult places where there is disagreement and divergence of opinion.” Rabbis Wise and Rosen went on to note that, “Considering the vehemence of such a response, one might assume the Christian leaders’ letter was filled with outrageous and incendiary anti-Israel rhetoric. In fact, the letter is a sensitively worded and faithful call, citing ‘both Israelis and Palestinians in their desire to live in peace and wellbeing,’ acknowledging ‘the pain and suffering of Israelis as a result of Palestinian actions,’ the ‘horror and loss of life from rocket attacks from Gaza and suicide THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
bombings,’ and ‘the broad impact that a sense of insecurity and fear has had on Israeli society.’” This statement, which was endorsed by the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, which includes, among many others, Rabbis Elizabeth Bolton, Lynn Gottlieb, David Mivasair and Joseph Berman, concluded: “It is hardly outrageous for American taxpayers to require Israel’s compliance with our nation’s laws and policies.…As the letter notes, the most recent 2011 U.S. State Department country report on Human Rights Practices covering Israel and the Occupied Territories detailed numerous human rights violations committed by the Israeli military against Palestinian civilians—many of which involve the misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons. As Israel’s primary ally, our country alone is able to create the kind of leverage that might challenge Israel to turn away from policies that impede the cause of a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians—and true security for all who live in the region.” The New York Times of Oct. 21 reported that, “Several Christian leaders responded in interviews that the letter was focused only on Israel because it is the largest recipient of American foreign aid, and because aid flows to Israel without conditions or accountability. Humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority was suspended last year because of violations, and Congress is re-evaluating aid to Egypt, noted Peter Makari, the executive for the Middle East and Europe in global ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who helped write the letter.” The JCPA, however, accused the Christian leaders of “vicious anti-Zionism” and charged them with “stony silence to the use of anti-Judaism and relentless attacks on the Jewish state, often from within their own ranks.” By speaking their conscience, the 15 Christian leaders broke the unwritten rule imposed by Jewish groups: if you want to have dialogue with us, never criticize Israel. It is strange indeed that interfaith dialogue can be challenged over different opinions about the use—or abuse—of U.S. foreign aid. But while such mainstream Jewish groups such as the ADL and the AJC, which called the Christian letter an “unworthy tactic” without addressing its substance, may not want to engage in interfaith talks with these Christian churches, many other Jews, not represented by those who claim to speak in their name, do. ❑ 51
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Arab-American Activism
Some 500 students and young professionals convened at New York University’s Kimmel Center Oct. 6 to 8 for the second annual “Envision Arabia Summit,” where they heard 12 renowned speakers in the fields of science, technology, culture and society, human rights, law and economic development. Master of ceremonies Ahmed Shihab Eldin, host/producer of the Huffington Post’s Streaming Network, opened the summit, saying, “We are here to come up with new models for sustainability and development. We need to think creatively.” The Envision Arabia Summit, known on Twitter as #EAS12, was organized by the Arab Development Initiative (ADI), an Arab Diaspora group of students from Canada’s McGill University, and sponsored by Etihad Airways, Aramex, Barclays Banks and the Corcorde-Corodex Group. Modeled after the TEDx talks, which are designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences, “Envision” organizers scheduled brief presentations, including courses on time management or project development. Teams proposed their ideas prior to the conference, and each team received a full day of feedback and project mentorship from professionals in the field. Unlike typical TEDx talks, teams could reincorporate their feedback to improve their project proposal and compete in the competition. The winner was determined through participants “investing” fake money into the most promising campaigns. Several speakers, including Dr. Bassem Youssef, host of the Egyptian TV show “Al Bernameg,” are part of the Arab world’s “reawakening” and have inspired the nonprofit and private sectors in Arab countries. “It’s time to change the world,” Youssef stated, “and not through burning flags but by being the best ambassadors of our identities.” One of these “ambassadors” is 17-yearold Egyptian Azza Faiad, who amazed the audience with her proposed solution to fossil fuel shortages. Amira Ayman and Yara AlSayes presented another youth initiative called “Tahrir Supplies,” which merged new media communication with economic development. Ayman and AlSayes founded Tahrir Supplies with two others to provide medical supplies and vol52
PHOTO COURTESY M. QAYYUM
Second Annual Envision Arabia Summit
Envision Arabia attendees, with moderator Ahmed Shihab Eldin at far right. unteers during the Tahrir Square revolution. Lebanese architect Nicolas Fayad, who was named by Forbes Magazine as one of “30 Under 30” in the arts and design field, discussed how architectural development leads to social development. “Technological change presents a dilemma for the planner who wishes to maintain history, and culture,” he said, adding that contemporary city planners often neglect Arab heritage. Regarding activism and peace movements, Syrian-American Rafif Jouejati discussed her role as the official spokesperson of Syria’s Local Coordinations Committee (LCC). Nasser Weddady, a human rights activist from Mauritania, provided examples of activism in the virtual world. In his 17 minutes, he described the steps involved in bringing about “Blogospheric pressure.” He described a HAMSA project, the brainchild of the U.S.-based American Islamic Congress, which organizes campaigns to unite people of conscience to support civil rights in the Middle East. The crowd stifled nervous giggles as the screen showed Nokia’s “Connecting People” logo as “Jailing People” as an example of activism challenging corporate social responsibility. Regarding film and society, non-Arab speakers complemented the narrative of cultural impact and exchange. Nittin Sawhney, a native of India, showcased how his initiative in Palestine, “Voices Beyond Walls,” designs workshops for children to get involved with film, arts and theater in Gaza. Sawhney presented raw footage of his short film “Flying Paper,” which depicts youths learning how to film, create storyboards and use photojournalism as they engage in kite-making and kite-flying activities. The “Envision Arabia Summit” is growing and connecting Arab Diaspora stuTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
dents with non-profit and private sectors. Even if the Arab Development Initiative meets only once a year, they’ll maintain relationships online throughout the year. —Mehrunisa Qayyum
Muslim-American Activism Muslim Legal Fund Calls for Donors The Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) held a benefit banquet at the Westin Tysons Corner Hotel in Falls Church, VA on Nov. 3. Marwan Ahmad, head of MLFA’s Washington, DC office, welcomed attendees and described the MLFA as a national civil liberties legal fund established in 2001. Its nine regional offices support legal cases that involve civil liberty encroachments. MLFA has supported many of the cases mentioned over the years in the Washington Report, including the Holy Land Foundation case (see p. 17), whose appeal the Supreme Court refused to hear the previous week. MLFA helped Sami Al-Arian, who was not convicted of supporting terrorism, but remains on house arrest pending contempt of court charges. MLFA succeeded in helping the six American imams who were pulled from a plane, arrested and interrogated for hours. Dr. Shaker Sayed, MLFA’s regional director, encouraged Muslims to build coalitions with other Muslim and non-Muslim organizations to fight for their rights. African Americans didn’t get their rights without a long fight, he noted. “We’re Americans like everyone else. We just want peace, justice and freedom. Squeaky wheels get greased. You’re not making enough noise if you’re taking a beating and not fighting back. You have the right to fight back,” Sayed concluded. MLFA executive director Khalil Meek JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR
STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY
said, hatred of Islam stems pointed out that MLFA is the largely from tensions with only national legal fund dedMuslim immigrants, whereas icated to defending Muslims’ in the U.S. the central issue is civil liberties in American an attempt by the Christian courtrooms. “We’re not Right to oust all Muslims lawyers,” Meek explained, and those who don’t agree “we’re a 501(c)(3) charity with its narrow views from which collects money from the public forum. the Muslim community and In some U.S. circles hatred uses it to review legal cases, of Muslims has been taken evaluate attorneys, negotiates up by Jews seeking to bolfees and provide funding for ster Jewish claims to Israel, selected cases that have the the rabbi continued. Some greatest potential to impact wealthy American Jews civil rights and liberties in have fanned Islamophobia America.” by calling Barack Obama a “As a citizen of this counMuslim in an effort to denitry, I love America and the grate him in the 2008, 2010 ideals and principles for which it stands,” Meek Thomas Drake (l) speaks with Imam Shaker Elsayed following the MLFA and 2012 elections. “From a Jewish standstated, one of which is “fair, banquet, as Coleen Rowley looks on. impartial blind justice.” This means that ment manufactured evidence against me point, the use of hate-mongering to make everyone is equal. But these core values are and tried to put me away for years,” Drake a political point—one that’s almost a copy being challenged in the name of security, said. After spending all his money on his of anti-Semitic tropes, with ‘Muslim’ subdefense Drake prevailed, but said he stituted for ‘Jew’—is painful to me beyond Meek warned. Next to speak was 13-year-old Fatma, couldn’t have done it without first-rate belief,” he concluded. Sayed, who is executive director of the who was only 3 when her dad, Ismail lawyers. Drake called on members of the Royer, was arrested for helping friends go community to donate to the MLFA. One at- Islamic Shura Council of Southern Califorto a training camp for Lashkar-e-Taiba, an torney’s fee can easily be $250 or more per nia, commented that the most devastating organization fighting Indian rule in Kash- hour, he said, and he or she may spend 500 impact of Islamophobia is that it renders mir (and later designated a terrorist group to 1,000 hours to defend a client charged the Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities near-permanent foreigners. by the United States). Fatma said she does- with a national security crime. —Delinda C. Hanley Reverend Lawson, who has been a n’t understand what others think he did, leader of the American civil rights movebut she’s read a lot of his letters and thinks Islamophobia Dialogue Opens ment for 50 years, blamed a hypocritical “he is cool.” Huda said she misses her father, Seiful- The first of three interfaith dialogues on Is- U.S. foreign policy for fanning the flames lah Chapman, of Alexandria, VA, one of lamophobia presented by Progressive Con- of Islamophobia. —Pat McDonnell Twair the men accused of using paintball games versations took place Nov. 11 in Culverto train for holy war. Palms United Methodist Church, Culver Christian Zionism and Islamophobia Next to speak was MLFA board member City. Discussants were Rabbi Haim Dov Be- The connection between Christian Zionism Coleen Rowley, the former FBI special agent liak, Shakeel Sayed and the Rev. James and Islamophobia was examined at an Oct. who was named one of Time Magazine’s Lawson. Estee Chandler was the emcee. 24 panel discussion co-hosted by the Coun2002 Persons of the Year for her whistleRabbi Beliak, who was out of town, ad- cil for the National Interest (CNI) and the Inblowing on pre-9/11 lapses in the FBI. “Civil dressed the group via Skype. In Europe, he ternational Council for Middle East Studies, liberty is the law, not a luxury,” she Inc. (ICMES) and held at the House emphasized. “Due process isn’t just of Representatives Visitors Center a nicety.” With 1.6 billion pieces of on Capitol Hill. data coming into the FBI each day, In his introductory remarks, CNI U.S. security depends on the pubexecutive director Philip Giraldi, a lic, including tips from relatives or former CIA counter-terrorism spe“guys in Times Square” to spot cialist and military intelligence oftrouble. ficer, distinguished between ChrisAnother whistleblower, Thomas tian Zionists and evangelical ChrisDrake, a former senior executive at tians. The former, he explained, are the National Security Agency obsessed with Israel, whose exis(NSA), spoke about being accused tence they view as a prelude to Arof violating the Espionage Act for mageddon and the second coming planning to sneak defense docuof Christ. Christian Zionists, who ments, which he deemed evidence have proven themselves to be very of fraud, waste, abuse and warsuccessful at lobbying Congress, rantless domestic spying by the Islamophobia dialogue participants (l-r) the Rev. James Law- consider Islam and Muslims as the NSA, to a reporter. “The govern- son, emcee Estee Chandler and Shakeel Sayed. enemy. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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(L-r) Fuad Sha’ban, Jon Utley, Lorraine Bartlett and Norton Mezvinsky give a fascinating overview of Christian Zionism and how it became connected with Islamophobia. Fuad Sha’ban, author of For Zion’s Sake: The Judeo-Christian Tradition in American Culture, is vice president of Yarmouk Private University in Syria and professor of literature and translation at the University of Petra in Amman, Jordan. Citing what he described as “many recent disturbing and insulting remarks against Islam,” he proceeded to summarize the history of Chris tian Zionism in the U.S. According to Sha’ban, that history goes back to Christopher Columbus, whose main goal was to regain the Holy Land and convert everyone to Christianity in order to assist with the ingathering of Jews there. Columbus considered this as being a victory against the “empire of Muhammad.” The Puritans who later arrived in the New World and established settlements there pictured themselves as tribes of Israel escaping Egypt across the Red Sea. Indeed, founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin proposed a seal for the 13 colonies depicting Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt. In 19th century America, many new churches with a millennial focus were established, including the Mormon church and Seventh Day Adventists. Missionaries traveled to the Arab world not only to convert both Muslims and Christians, Sha’ban said, but to witness Armageddon and the second coming. Here at home, many books and articles were written about Islam, which was generally portrayed negatively, according to Sha’ban. In an interesting aside, he noted that the first American biography of the Prophet Muhammad was written by Washington Irving, author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Jon Utley, associate publisher of The American Conservative and former foreign correspondent for Knight Ridder newspapers, discussed more recent history. Noting that until Jimmy Carter he never knew an 54
evangelical Christian, Utley explained that Carter’s successor, President Ronald Reagan, brought evangelicals in to anti-Communist circles, where they acted as a counterweight to the American left. The evangelicals focused on the Book of Revelation (which, Utley noted, Martin Luther did not translate into German because it was too violent). Christian Zionists such as the Reverends Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson downplayed the existence of Palestinian Christians, Utley continued, and Robertson attributed the murder of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a fundamentalist Jew to the fact that Rabin was going against God’s will. Domestically, Utley pointed out, Christian Zionists supported Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut when he ran for re-election as an Independent after losing the Democratic primary six years ago. Lieberman’s support of Israel and of an aggressive U.S. foreign policy was more important than his liberalism, Utley explained. “U.S. foreign policy is made by people who care,” Utley concluded. Since most Americans don’t care about foreign policy, he noted, it is not a policy of the majority. Christian Zionists, while representing a minority of Americans, constitute a very powerful group, Utley said, and “they need to be challenged.” According to ICMES president Norton Mezvinsky, distinguished university professor emeritus at Central Connecticut State University and co-author with Israel Shahak of Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel (available from the AET Book Club), Christian Zionists began to focus on Islam in the mid-1970s. Mezvinsky attributed this focus to the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Arab oil boycott, undertaken in response to Washington’s coming to the military rescue of Israel the previous year. The 1979 Iranian revolution only increased the intensity THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
of this focus on Islam. In 1991, Mezvinsky explained, during the first Gulf war, Christian Zionists viewed Iraq as equivalent to Babylon in the Book of Revelation. They saw the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq as the prelude to Armageddon— and, as such, something to be welcomed. Attorney Lorraine Bartlett, who retired from the U.S. Army as a defense attorney with the Office of Military Commissions, is herself an evangelical Christian—but not a Christian Zionist. Comparing the demonization of Arabs today with that of African Americans in the 1950s, she went on to note the expansion of Americans’ knowledge of other cultures, especially since 9/11. Rather than debate theology with her co-religionists, Bartlett said, she finds it more effective to engage them by asking, “Does this sound like something Jesus would say?” CNI president Alison Weir concluded the discussion by placing it in a larger context, noting that Christian Zionism did not expand in a vacuum. Instead, she reminded the audience, Israel provided Rev. Jerry Falwell with a private jet, and encouraged the alliance with Christian Zionists. Perhaps even more significantly, she noted, the executive director of the powerful organization Christians United for Israel, run by the Rev. John Hagee, is not even a Christian. “The evangelical theology I write about is not my theology—I’m Jewish,” David Brog told the Israeli daily Haaretz.” Moreover, his cousin is current Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and the two relatives spend time together whenever Barak visits Washington. —Janet McMahon
Human Rights Activists Discuss Post-Assad Syria On Oct. 4, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a team of seven scholars at its Washington, DC headquarters to present the findings of its “The Day After” project, which outlines the challenges facing a post-Bashar Assad Syria. The recommendations and strategies presented are the result of monthly deliberations among 45 to 50 key figures of the Syrian opposition, with a focus on the issues of transitional justice, security reform, social policy, economic restructuring, constitutional reform, electoral reform and the rule of law. Steve Heydemann, USIP senior adviser for Middle East Initiatives, began by saying that, unlike in other nations swept by the Arab Spring, the establishment of a new order in Syria will not start only upon JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
heartwarming comedy set in a remote North African village. Romanian director Radu Mihăileanu and French-Algerian actress Leïla Bekhti brought to life the lighthearted story of a young woman who leads the village wives in a hilarious sex strike against their indolent husbands. The film was chosen as an Official Selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The Arabian Sights festival’s special guests included Safinez Bousbia, director of “El Gusto,” a moving story of enduring friendship; Nawaf Al-Janahi, director of (L-r) Steven Heydemann, Amr al-Azm, Afra Jalabi, Prof. Murhaf Jouejati, Rafif Jouejati “Sea Shadow”; and Joe Bou Eid, director and Rami Nakhla stress the importance of “The Day After” in Syria. of “Heels of War,” a story of love set amid the devastation of Israel’s 1982 invasion of the fall of the regime. This is because the security forces. Fortunately for the forthcoming transi- Lebanon. Each director was present to anprocess already has begun in areas that have been wrested from government con- tional council of Syria, there is an abun- swer questions following the screening of trol, he explained, where local needs have dance of information, knowledge and ex- his or her film. Bousbia’s “El Gusto,” co-sponsored with been taken care of for many months. As a pertise to aid their efforts in converting result, he said, “The Day After” focused on Syria into a democratic state. As of now the Algerian Embassy—and variously dethe development of programs and strate- there are few certainties and an infinite scribed as the “Buena Vista Social Club of gies that assist already autonomous regions amount of questions surrounding Syria. Algeria,” referring to the film about reTherefore, it is of primary importance for united Cuban musicians, and “a beautiful of Syria. Shawnee State University professor Afra projects such as “The Day After” to assist rhythmic cocktail of Andalusian, Berber, —Marwan Ayad Arabic, and Flamenco”—is a picturesque Jalabi discussed the project’s transitional Syria’s transition. documentary chronicling the reuniting of justice component. Noting that human Jewish and Muslim Chaabi musicians from rights abuses, such as the 1982 massacre of Music & Arts the Algerian Casbah. Explaining that she Hama led by Bashar’s father, Hafez Alhoped that the musicians’ story would inAssad, have a long history in Syria, Jalabi spire others to follow their dreams, Bousclaimed that “it is almost an impossibility Arab Movies Enthrall Washington, bia, too, seemed inspired: she took an alto come across someone who has not been DC Audiences directly or indirectly impacted by this The 17th Annual Arabian Sights Film Festi- most decade-long hiatus from her career as regime.” She shared the personal example val returned to Washington, DC, from Oct. an architect to devote herself to the movie. of her cousin, who has been imprisoned 25 to Nov. 4, with 10 new riveting and vi- Despite being the director’s debut, the film for 31 years without trial. Such cases illus- brant films from today’s Arab world. Co- won Best Director from the Arab World at trate the lack of accountability for human hosted by National Geographic, the films the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, and was an rights and the need for justice, Jalabi said. addressed a broad range of themes, from the Official Selection at the Tribeca and Seattle The goal of the transitional justice com- contemporary turmoil of the Arab Spring to International Film Festivals. The festival’s closing night featured “Asponent is to empower the Syrian people, the timeless wonder of teenage love. allowing them to create a culture of equalOpening night, co-sponsored by the ma’a” and “Heels of War.” Sponsored by ity under the rule of law, Jalabi continued. French Embassy, featured “The Source,” a the Egyptian Embassy, Asma’a tells the emotional tale of the stigma of being Because it is simply impossible to try HIV-positive in Egypt. The film won each abuse of human rights through Best Director from the Arab World the Syrian legal system, “The Day and Best Actor at the Abu Dhabi Film After” recommends the establishment Festival. Premiering in the United of truth commissions, which will proStates at the festival, writer-director vide treatment for the victims of the Joe Bou Eid’s poignant “Heels of War” Syrian regime through a communal is a poetic “personal recount” of the healing process. meeting of his parents in a picturesque Murhaf Jouejati, a member of the village in Lebanon. Told with sifted Syrian National Council and chair of memory, it is an intimate tale of dis“The Day After” project’s Security covering love and humanity. Eid said Sector Reform working group, rehe hoped that highlighting the stunmained hopeful that “there are good ning beauty in two otherwise unreapples that we can rely on after the markable lives would inspire us to collapse of the Assad regime” to assist find exceptional moments in our own; new security forces. The project “everyone will live once in their stressed the importance of avoiding a lives,” he said. complete deterioration of the existing The festival also featured “The Resecurity apparatuses so that a state of Radu Mihăileanu answers questions about his film luctant Revolutionary,” an insightful paralysis does not plague the country’s “The Source.” STAFF PHOTO H. SAIF
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Jewish population began emigrating documentary about life during from Yemen, and as the tradition of Yemen’s contemporary revolution; keeping wealth in the form of silver “Taxi Ballad,” a charming story of an jewelry became outdated, the iconic idyllic Lebanese childhood; “Omar Yemeni silverwork became harder to Killed Me,” a spell-binding courtfind. room drama addressing issues of race Yemen is one of the region’s poorand justice for Arabs in France; est countries, and as the raw materi“How Big Is Your Love,” a tender tale als in silver bracelets and beaded of an Algerian boy and his grandparnecklaces became more valuable than ents; and the “visually ravishing the pieces themselves, Rubaih saw drama” “The Rif Lover,” about pieces of Yemen’s rich history disaptaboos and patriarchy in Morocco. pearing. To ensure that young MusFestival attendees were as diverse as the movies themselves, and com- Arab short films discussants (l-r) Yazan Khalili, Fareed lim artisans could make a living, and to preserve decades-old jewelry from prised renowned film critics, Middle Majari and Rima Abouziab. destruction, he began traveling to Eastern immigrants, and college and high-school students. The screenings pro- “Abdelkrim’s Battleship” by Walid Mattar, Europe, the United States and Japan. With —Samir Twair a mix of his own pieces (both of his own vided a contemporary look at the countries Tunisia. design and from his collection of rare, represented in National Geographic’s “1001 decades-old Jewish-made silver) and those Muslim Inventions” exhibit, and patrons Yemeni Silversmith Hopes to of a younger generation of jewelers, he of the film festival were given free access Preserve Culture to the exhibit. —Hamzah Saif Kamal Rubaih, a jewelry-maker and pur- hopes not only to bring attention to veyor of silver crafts from Sana’a, Yemen, Yemen’s struggling silver market, but also Arab Short Films Address the “Arab brought his collection of new and antique to keep cultural touchstones from vanishSpring” pieces to retired foreign service officer, ing. According to Ransom, there may be 30 In collaboration with the Levantine Cul- writer and jewelry collector Marjorie Rantural Center, the Los Angeles Goethe Insti- som’s District of Columbia home on Nov. or 40 Yemeni Muslims creating jewelry today. There are many more who could, tut hosted Nov. 14 and 15 screenings at the 13, to display, educate and sell. Silver has long been a symbol of wealth she said, but the demand for silver is deinstitute of 13 short films produced in the Arab world. Addressing the “Arab Spring” in Yemeni society and a vital part of a clining as silver decreases in value. “Alfrom an artistic and cultural perspective, woman’s dowry. Bridal dowries in the form most no Yemeni women wear silver jewelry “Arab Shorts” is the Goethe Institut’s effort of intricate necklaces, earrings and now,” she remarked. Ransom and Rubaih, who has a shop in to connect the Arab world with Southern bracelets were often the work of Yemen’s Jewish silversmiths. The two most common Sana’a called World Friend, are working California. The screened films were selected from styles, the intricate filigree of bowsani and on a book, The Demise of an Ancient Craft. 139 independent and experimental films the floral patterns of badeehi, are named for Due out this year, it undoubtedly will and videos viewed by Goethe Institut cu- the families who perfected the craft. As the draw from Ransom’s extensive travels throughout the region and Rubaih’s pasrators since 2009. sion for keeping his craft alive. For more Ahmad Ghossein’s “My Father Is Still a information e-mail <maransom@veriCommunist,” a 35-minute digital film from zon.net>, or <rubaih88@yahoo.com>. Lebanon, opened the Nov. 14 screenings. —Alex Begley Also in the program were “As They Say,” by Hicham Ayouch, Morocco/UAE; “Be Quiet” by Sameh Zoabi, Palestine; “MousWaging Peace tache” by Meqdad al-Kout, Kuwait; and “The Forty Second Winter” by Ehab TaraNCUSAR Policymakers Discuss Arab bieh, Syria. and American Interests Zoabi’s “Be Quiet” has won more than 20 international awards and recognitions. The National Council on U.S.-Arab RelaThe 16-minute film tells the story of a tions held its 21st annual Arab-U.S. Policystrong-willed boy and his father making a makers Conference Oct.25 and 26 at the short car journey home to Nazareth beset Ronald Reagan Building and International by problems from the Israeli military. Trade Center in Washington, DC. Bahrain’s The Nov. 15 program offered Ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo hosted a “04:02:2011” by Mahmoud Farag, Egypt; pre-conference reception at her country’s “Under the Iron” by Agathe Dirani, Egypt; embassy, honoring veteran diplomat and “With Soul, With Blood” by Rabih Mroue, scholar Ambassador Clovis Maksoud. Lebanon; “Payback” by Omar Khaled, Change Without Progress in the Egypt; “Land of the Heroes” by Sahim Omar Kalifa, Belgium/Iraq; “Checkpoint” Kamal Rubaih transforms Marjorie Ran- Middle East by Ruben Amar, France; “Tandid—Con- som’s Washington, DC home into a Yemeni The first day began with a rousing keynote demnation” by Walid Mattar, Tunisia; and silver souk. address by Ambassador Chas Freeman, 56
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would argue, that have led Syria down who served as assistant secretary of dethe path that it has taken,” she said. fense for international security affairs Urging that the U.S. not arm the Syrand as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. ian opposition, Yacoubian explained that Freeman described a discouraging U.S. it is “nearly impossible to ensure position in the Middle East and Washweapons do not end up in the hands of ington’s “groping for the exits without a the wrong people,” and cautioned that plan in Afghanistan.” Americans are havthe rebels could end up using the arms ing a hard time dealing with the Arab against each other. She also dismissed uprisings and their aftermath, the Syrian the notion that arming the opposition civil war, a stalemate with Iran and will translate into greater U.S. influence being, as he put it, “snookered in the over a future Syrian government. Holy Land.” Retired Ambassador Theodore KatFreeman went on to note that the 2003 touf, former U.S. ambassador to the UAE U.S. invasion of Iraq “claimed at least and Syria, reminded the audience that 6,000 American military and civilian removing Assad from power will not lives. It wounded 100,000 U.S. personnel. magically solve Syria’s problems. “If he It displaced 2.8 million Iraqis and—by leaves…you would have fragmentation conservative estimate—killed at least 125,000 of them, while wounding an- Prince Turki Al Faisal speaks during the Eid Al in Syria,” he said. “For both sides, this is an existential struggle, and the Alawiteother 350,000. The U.S. invasion and oc- Adha holiday at the NCUSAR conference. dominated army is not going to give up cupation of Iraq will ultimately cost An Oct. 25 lunchtime keynote address because Bashar gave up. And the opposiAmerican taxpayers at least $3.4 trillion, of which $1.4 trillion represents money actu- by former Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. tion is not going to lay down their arms beally spent by the Department of Defense, Prince Turki Al Faisal, chairman of the cause Bashar left.” Trinity University professor Dr. David the Department of State, and intelligence King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic agencies during combat operations; $1 tril- Studies, addressed the challenges facing Lesch, who met with Assad on a regular lion is the minimal estimate of future in- the Kingdom. But Prince Turki first cele- basis between 2004 and 2009, said that terest payments; and $1 trillion is for fu- brated Saudi Arabia’s 80th birthday by re- Assad “believes what he is doing is not ture health care, disability, and other pay- lating its storybook history. He enthralled only surviving, protecting those around ments to the almost one million American his audience as he asked them to “imagine him, the system, but he’s saving the counthe setting: a barren desert on a large try.” veterans of the war... Lesch noted that reform is against the “The very same band of shameless ideo- peninsula streaked by strong winds and logues, militarists, and armchair strategists scorching heat. Raiding tribes on camels very nature of Syria’s authoritarian system, who brought off that coup now clamor for pass in the night, never staying in one one that “has a paradigm of stagnation and an assault on Iran,” Freeman warned. ”One place too long, their swords glinting control.” This system “is not geared to rewonders why anyone in America still lis- against the fires. It is a place of conflict, of spond to people’s demands, it controls peotens to them. Anywhere else, they would thieves, of honor, of survival against all ple’s demands,” he said. “It’s not geared to have been brought to account for the huge odds....Nations come and go. International implement dramatic reform, it’s conpowers vie for control. War, espionage, structed to maintain the status quo and damage they have done.” Freeman lamented that “Americans can- and sectarian strife are the norm. There is survive.” Historically, Lesch added, the Asnot undo our past mistakes in the Middle little stability to be found...It is into this sads have only made concessions from a East. We must learn from these even as we setting that the Saudi state enters the pic- perceived position of strength. While Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Madeal with their consequences. Among ture.” Later, Prince Turki reviewed domestic liki has been accused of supporting the these consequences is a major reduction in U.S. prestige and influence in the region.... issues that have faced Saudi rulers ever Assad regime due to Iranian pressure, the “The past four years have seen a great since, and discussed the Kingdom’s eco- reality is much more nuanced than widely deal of change without much, if any, nomic, social and political reforms, as well believed, said Dr. Judith Yaphe, a research fellow at the Institute for National Strateprogress toward realization of any part of as the necessity for modernization. —Delinda C. Hanley gic Studies. “I think Maliki is wary of the U.S. agenda. They have also seen a Syria. I think all Iraqis are,” she said, notshortage of American audacity and steadily diminishing hope for an effective U.S. role Panel Foresees Long Struggle in Syria ing that Syria has allowed weapons and inin resolving conflicts and reducing ten- Mona Yacoubian, director of the Stimson dividuals aimed at destabilizing Iraq to sions in the Middle East... Center’s Pathways to Progress program, cross the border since the 2003 U.S. inva“The next president will have to deal opened the “Geo-Political Dynamics: Iraq sion. “I don’t think that Maliki’s an Iranian with these issues and he will not succeed and Syria” panel at the NCUSAR confer- tool,” Yaphe added. “He’s got his own stratby pursuing the course of least political ence by noting the three constants of the egy and his own goals in this game.” resistance at home or by doing more of Syrian crisis: the Assad regime’s lack of inthe same abroad,” Freeman warned. “Our terest in a negotiated solution, the frac- Assessments of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia country’s interests and those of our tured nature of the opposition, and the in- and Algeria friends in the region will not prosper ternational community’s indecisive re- The “Geo-Political Dynamics: Arab North without painful adjustments in U.S. pol- sponse. “It’s been the interplay of these Africa” panel began with Karim Haggag, a icy.” three factors, these three constants, I visiting professor at the National Defense JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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to the Sept. 11 killing of panel by expressing his belief that a twoAmbassador Christopher state resolution to the Israel-Palestine conStevens. “Those responsible flict is achievable. In his opinion, violence for the action against the was needed to force Israeli hands. American Embassy are not Unfortunately, Perry said, the current the Libyan people. They are Palestinian strategy of nonviolence and coa small group of terrorists, operation with Israeli security forces is but the Libyan people, they only enabling Israel’s occupation. Since Iswent out to the streets, they rael began occupying the West Bank and demonstrated, they showed Gaza, he noted, “the only time during their support for democ- which settlement construction actually racy,” he reminded the au- ceased…was during the second intifada, dience. when attacks on Israel were at their height, David Ottaway, a senior when Israelis were dying. And the times at scholar at the Woodrow which Israel construction were at their (L-r) John Hofmeister, Ambassador of Qatar to the U.S. Wilson International Center peak was when Palestinians were quiesMohammed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi and Randa Fahmy for Scholars, described cent—that is to say, now.” Tunisia’s post-uprising tranPerry said that a third intifada may be Hudome discuss energy policy and supplies. sition as well sequenced, on the horizon, and he urged Washington University, noting that under new political unlike those in Libya and Egypt. He noted to prepare for this eventuality. Jeff Steinberg, editor of Executive Intelleadership, Egyptian policy has changed that Tunisia wrote its constitution before very little. Domestically, he said, “Egypt’s holding parliamentary and presidential ligence Review, highlighted how U.S. polinstitutions—the military, the national se- elections, which are scheduled for June icy toward Israel has come full circle since curity bureaucracy, the judiciary, the 2013. Ottaway also commended Tunisia for President Harry Truman endorsed the parmedia—have all remained to a certain level the inclusive and cooperative atmosphere tition of Palestine in 1947. The Joint Chiefs very cohesive throughout what has been a that existed in the country in the months of Staff and then Secretary of State George Marshall firmly opposed any form of parvery turbulent transition.” In the foreign following the revolution. Algeria “remains a puzzle,” said Alexis tition, he noted, warning Truman that enpolicy arena, Haggag noted that Cairo has not resumed diplomatic relations with Arieff, a Maghreb analyst at the Congres- dorsing partition could “result in serious Iran, still has a strategic partnership with sional Research Service. “The inner work- disturbances throughout the near and the U.S., and has remained committed to its ings of Algerian politics remain opaque Middle East.” and a constant source of debate and specuToday, Steinberg believes, the debate of peace treaty with Israel. Haggag did point out that President Mo- lation, even within politically connected 65 years ago is being reignited. “In the past hamed Morsi is attempting to re-establish circles in Algiers,” she noted. Algerians do five years, the dam has burst in the longEgypt as a regional leader by creating a not appear to have an appetite for up- taboo subject of the strategic benefits and liSyrian initiative, reaching out to Nile Basin heaval, Arieff added, and the government abilities of the U.S. special relationship with countries, and visiting Iran for the Non- has effectively contained unrest in the Israel,” he said. “And I can tell you that behind the curtains in national security circles Aligned Movement summit in August. country. According to Arieff, Algeria has “not ar- the debate is even more intense.” Morsi is signaling that Egypt no longer Dr. Tamara Sonn, a professor at the Colwill be subordinate to foreign powers, ticulated a clear approach” to the situation in northern Mali, where Islamic militants lege of William and Mary, noted Haggag noted. Ambassador Ali Aujali, Libya’s ambas- have seized control of an area the size of hypocrisies of U.S. Middle East policy. The sador to the U.S., cited security, national France. “Algerian officials have emitted U.S. viewed Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait as reconciliation and unemployment as his conflicting signals as to their stance toward illegal, she pointed out, but sees no issue country’s greatest challenges. Of these, he a proposed regional military intervention with Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Washington promotes democracy, she added, cited security as the country’s top priority. in northern Mali,” she concluded. but delegitimizes elected groups such as “Without security we will not be able to do anything,” the ambassador said, noting Suffering and Stagnation in Palestine Hamas. Sonn believes that Arab unity poses the that security concerns are preventing for- Author Mark Perry opened the “Geo-Politeign investors from entering the country. ical Dynamics: The Palestinian Future” greatest threat to Israel’s occupation. “The While oil is generating a great deal of money for Libya, Ambassador Aujali stressed that his country must develop a diversified economy. “The diversity of our economy is very important. We have to attract investment,” he said. In addition, Aujali said, the standard of living in Libya must improve. “Education needs to be reformed. Political systems need to be reformed,” he stressed. Ambassador Aujali concluded by urging (L-r) Mark Perry, Dr. John Duke Anthony, moderator Alison Weir, Dr. Sara Roy, Dr. the U.S. not to lose confidence in Libya due Tamara Sonn and Jeff Steinberg give a lively talk on Palestine.
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pity,” he said. “We stand to lose more than anybody else if Iran would retaliate against an Israeli attack or an American attack.”
Panel Debates Iranian Power
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greatest ally of Israeli intransigence has been not so much Israel’s Western supporters as is so often claimed,” she argued, “but lack of unity among Palestinians and their regional supporters.” Harvard University professor Dr. Sara Roy outlined the crises confronting Gaza. “What is happening to Gaza is no less than a systematic and progressive assault on its economy, environment and society that has imposed considerable and possibly irreversible damage,” she said. Roy pointed to a leaked 2008 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv as evidence that Israel is waging economic warfare on Gaza. “Israeli officials…intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse, without quite pushing it over the edge, functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis,” the cable read. Roy noted that 70 to 80 percent of Gazans rely on some form of humanitarian assistance, and that the youth unemployment rate is at 46.9 percent. In addition, she said, since Israel’s 2008-9 Operation Cast Lead, there has been a reported rise in the number of birth deformities. Turning to the environment, Roy noted that Gaza’s agricultural sector “has been severely degraded if not entirely destroyed.” She noted that the buffer zone imposed on Gaza since 2000 “now absorbs nearly 14 percent of Gaza’s total land area, and encompasses somewhere between 48 to 55 percent of the Gaza Strip’s total arable land.” Roy also pointed out that 90 percent of Gaza’s aquifer is unfit for human consumption.
GCC Assistant Secretary-General for Negotiations Dr. Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg. in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. “is no longer the place to go for solid security assurance.” The “belief in the GCC states is that it is not wise strategy to put all your security eggs in one basket,” he said The Gulf countries are concerned about the extent to which Washington is embracing political Islam in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia, Abdulla continued. “The concern here is not just that the United States has made a shift, a sudden shift, from old allies, the moderate regimes, to the new forces of change, but the suddenness of policy shift is raising some concern and creating mistrust,” he explained. The professor concluded by noting that the stature of the Gulf states is rising. “The center of gravity is changing from the traditional capitals—from Cairo and Baghdad and Damascus and Beirut—to the new centers of activities and creativity and gravity, which is Doha and Abu Dhabi and Riyadh,” he said. Kuwait University professor Dr. Abdullah K. Al-Shayji rounded out the panel by stating his wish that Washington would allow the GCC to become involved in the Iranian nuclear negotiations. “We are bystanders at the end of the day, and this is a
The panel on “The Arabian Peninsula (GCC Countries)” opened with Dr. Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg, assistant secretary-general for negotiations and strategic dialogue at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), noting that President Barack Obama has started interacting with the GCC as a regional group. Traditionally, he said, the U.S. has dealt with each member state separately. Aluwaisheg attributed Washington’s renewed interest in the GCC to two factors. First, he noted, the GCC “was one of the few areas that emerged almost unscathed by the [global financial] crisis.” In addition, he said, the U.S. is likely concerned that the GCC has shifted its focus to trading with Asia. Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor at United Arab Emirates University, noted that in light of the poor U.S. performances JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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The Ascending GCC
RAND Corporation senior policy analyst Alireza Nader opened the “Geo-Political Dynamics of Iran” panel by arguing that Tehran’s regional influence is declining considerably. He cited the 2009 Green Movement protests and Iran’s support of the Assad regime as the two factors most hindering the Islamic Republic’s regional image and legitimacy. Sanctions have caused Iran’s currency to depreciate by 90 percent in the last year, he pointed out, and the country’s middle class is suffering. Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service concurred, adding that Iran’s oil exports have dropped 60 percent since 2011. He described Ayatollah Khamenei as “shocked at the degree to which the region has cooperated with the United States and with international sanctions.” Katzman predicted that Khamenei’s advisers will soon “come to him and tell him that the sanctions are extracting too high a cost and that there needs to be a compromise on the nuclear issue.” Tehran “is serious about coming to the [negotiating] table” and resolving the nuclear crisis, Nader maintained. While a diplomatic solution is certainly not guaranteed, he warned that a military strike on Iran would quash any hope for a resolution. An Israeli attack “could have a rallyaround-the-flag effect in Iran and really enhance the regime’s popularity among one of its core constituents,” he said, “and it could lead to an increase in popularity among the Arab populations regarding Iran.” American University professor Hillary Mann Leverett expressed her belief that most U.S. analysts have an incorrect and clichéd understanding of the Islamic Republic. She reminded the audience of President John F. Kennedy’s warning “that the great enemy of truth is very often not the
Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla of UAE University (l) and Dr. John Duke Anthony. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Saudi-U.S. Relations: View from Riyadh U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James B. Smith opened the second day of the NCUSAR’s 21st annual U.S.-Arab Policymakers Conference. As ambassador, Smith said, he follows President Barack Obama’s “vision of a new beginning in the Islamic 60
View From the Arab League
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lie—deliberate, contrived and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.” Leverett slammed the idea that sanctions will help resolve the nuclear crisis or encourage Iranians to overthrow the current regime. Noting that there is no historical precedent to support this notion, she said proponents of the idea “should explain why, even after crippling sanctions on Iraq for 10 years, over 10 years, that killed over one million Iraqis, half of whom were children, that the Iraqis didn’t rise up to overthrow Saddam Hussain.” Leverett also dismissed the widely held belief that Iran’s clout is declining. “The Arab awakening is accelerating the erosion of American standing and position in the Middle East, not Iran’s,” she argued. She also rejected the idea that the fall of Assad would be a huge blow to Tehran. “While the Islamic Republic does not believe that Bashar al-Assad will be overthrown by Syrians,” she explained, “the key point is that even a post-Assad government would not be pro-American or pro-Israeli, and it even may be less keen on keeping the border with Israel quiet. And unless a post-Assad government were Taliban-like, Syria’s foreign policy will be just fine for the Islamic Republic,” she said. Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, attributed the nuclear stalemate to the fact that both the U.S. and the Iranians are “pursuing a perpetual policy of escalation.” As a result, he said, “there’s the constant, endless search for a game changer, for something that enables one side to either force onto the other a deal that it otherwise would not accept.” Parsi noted that the current sanctions policy is based on the assumption that the Iranians will only cave under immense pressure. While Ayatollah Khomeini gave into pressure and ended the Iran-Iraq war in 1989, Parsi noted that he did so knowing what the endgame was—a situation that is dramatically different from the present reality. “If the Iranians were to capitulate right now, I don’t think they’d have a clue as to what they would get, or not get,” Parsi argued. —Dale Sprusansky
(L-r) Elizabeth Wossen, Energy Links Group, Dr. Mody Alkhalaf, assistant attaché for cultural affairs at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2007-2009 Ford Fraker discuss business opportunities, including human resource development, in the Middle East. world, one that’s based on shared interests, mutual trust, and mutual respect.” Among the shared accomplishments during the three years he’s been ambassador Smith cited 60,000 Saudi students now studying in the U.S., more than onefourth of whom are women, as well as numerous professional relationships between U.S. universities and Saudi universities, including partnerships with teaching hospitals. Agricultural exports “increased 103 percent” in 2011, Ambassador Smith said, and more than “240 American companies have exported to Saudi Arabia for the very first time in the last two years.” Smith praised U.S. Commercial Counselor Amer Kayani for leading 18 trade missions from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. Both countries need to create jobs for a “new generation of highly educated young people,” Smith observed. In Saudi Arabia, 60 to 65 percent of the population is under 25, while in the U.S. the percentage of Americans under 18 hovers around 24 percent. The ambassador urged long-term partnerships with groups in the Kingdom because, he noted, “the Saudi economy is larger than all of the other economies in the Gulf combined.” Saudi Arabia faced the demands of the Arab Spring in other countries with $138 billion in government subsidies, indicating, Ambassador Smith said, that the government “demonstrated a keen understanding of their own population and responsiveness to the concerns of that population. Indeed, they continue on a course of measured modernization.” The U.S. is focusing on developing economic, educational, military and agricultural ties with Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Smith concluded, adding his approval of the Kingdom’s steps toward “carefullymanaged reform.” —Alex Begley THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Dr. Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif, the Arab League’s ambassador to Washington, DC, discussed “Arab-U.S. Relations: A View from the League of Arab States,” on the second day of the NCUSAR conference. He began by focusing on the Arab League’s role in the wave of protests and regime changes that washed across the Arab world in 2011. After citing some of the driving factors behind the Arab Spring—including social media, the role of the military and foreign intervention—the ambassador stated that “the longevity of the leadership in all the Arab Spring countries has left no doubt as to who has been responsible for each country’s plight and grievances.” The Arab League, he continued, “adopted a number of unprecedented initiatives…aimed at combating all forms of atrocities, violence, and killing of innocent civilians [in Libya and Syria].” Alsharif also noted the suspension of Libya from the Arab League in February of 2011 and of Syria that November. The Arab League took additional steps in Syria, he pointed out, sending in a “monitoring team,” imposing sanctions, and calling for members of the Syrian government to be tried by the International Criminal Court. Alsharif considers the April 2012 meetings by White House officials Steven Simon and Samantha Power with members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood as a key bridge-building moment between the U.S. and the democratically elected Islamic party. He also noted steps being taken by Arab governments in the way of spending and transparency in countries that have not experienced an “Arab awakening.” As examples of U.S. involvement in the Arab Spring, Alsharif cited the Atrocities Prevention Board initiative of August 2011, which made the protection of civilians a focus of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, and the Open Government Partnership, an “international voluntary effort to improve government performance,” to which Jordan has already committed. Another highlight of U.S. policy, according to Ambassador Alsharif, is “the memorandum of understanding for cooperation that was signed recently between the General Secretary of the Arab League and the U.S. Department of State.” Alsharif expressed the belief that this would in fact “promote more effective cooperation and coordination of policies, as well as to develop dialogue in various fields in order to achieve economic, social, cultural, educaJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Arab League Ambassador Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif highlights U.S. and Arab League accomplishments and hopes for the future in his region. tional, and humanitarian cooperation.” “Given all the developments in the region and in the United States policies, perhaps this is the right time to revive the Arab Peace Initiatives,” he went on to say. Alsharif quoted several prominent voices, including former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg and author Peter Beinart, who have spoken out against Zionism and Israeli settlements. Alsharif proposed bringing the Arab peace plan back to the table because, he explained, “one does not have to be a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim to be sympathetic or a supporter of the Palestinian cause, but one has to be a fair human being.” —Alex Begley
New Media on the Rise in Indonesia
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The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Gallup released the findings of their “Media Use in Indonesia 2012” survey at Gallup’s Washington, DC headquarters on Oct. 16. Covering media consumption in Indonesia, the results highlight that while traditional media remain the primary sources of news information, new media is gaining an increasing role in the country. Indonesia, whose population is nearly 238 million, is the fourth most populated country, just after the United States. The survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 3,000 Indonesians, ages 15 and
up, between July 4 and Aug. 2, 2012. The results were presented by Chris Stewart, senior managing consultant with Gallup; William Bell, research director of International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB); Dr. Rajesh Srinivasan, principal at Gallup; and Leah Ermarth, IBB research director. Headlining the survey’s findings was the continuing salience of television as a source of news for Indonesians, with 95.9 percent of all adults reporting utilizing it as a primary news platform. The dominance of TV, however, is facing a rising challenge from mobile technology, with 81 percent of Indonesians now indicating they have a phone in their home, 63 percent reporting owning a personal mobile device, and roughly half (49.8 percent) reporting using SMS technology for news. Underscoring the growing penetration of mobile technology in Indonesia, use of SMS technology has risen sharply in rural and urban areas alike, with 97 percent of Indonesians reporting SMS as the primary use of their mobile devices. Mirroring trends in other countries, ownership of and consumption of news via mobile phones is higher among younger and more educated Indonesians. Internet use, too, has surged across the country, with both rural and urban areas seeing spikes in usage. Social networking is highly popular among Indonesian Web users. Facebook, in particular, registers exceedingly widespread use, with a little over a fifth of Indonesians, and 99.9 percent of all Internet users, using the Web site. “Everybody seems to be doing it,” remarked Srinivasan. The Internet is also being used for news, with 72 percent of Web users reporting using the Internet for staying current with the latest developments. Yahoo News is “far and away” the news site of choice among Indonesian Web surfers. The Internet is now about as popular in Indonesia as the archetypal form of news broadcast, the radio, with roughly 20 percent of adults reporting getting their news online at least once a week. Over the last few years, the survey noted, Internet usage
(L-r) Leah Ermarth, Dr. Rajesh Srinivasan, William Bell and Chris Stewart describe soaring mobile phone usage in Indonesia. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
has been rising sharply, while radio popularity has been in steady decline. What began in Internet cafes has now spread to mobile devices, with Internet access through mobile devices exceeded only by access through home computers. Bell described this as a “trend to watch.” As in other countries, Web surfing records higher use among the more educated, wealthier, and urban Indonesians. While mobile technology is gaining popularity across the board in Indonesia, a clear digital divide is still evident, and usage of Internet and mobile technologies for all purposes is higher among those 30 and younger. As this generation matures and the popularity of new media grows across the country, social networking will become critical in any communication strategy for Indonesia. “This is only the beginning,” concluded the survey. —Hamzah Saif
Talking to the Taliban The New America Foundation (NAF) hosted an Oct. 15 discussion entitled “Talking to the Taliban” which focused on the possible contours of a peace settlement in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Based on talks NAF research fellow Anitol Lieven had with the Taliban in July, he and Peter Bergen, NAF director of national security studies, described various scenarios that may play out. Lieven, a former journalist and author of America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism, met with his Afghan interlocutors, including former mujahideen and Taliban government figures who remain close to the movement, in a hotel in an unspecified Gulf country. None of the former Taliban leaders Lieven spoke with claimed to represent the Taliban as a party or a particular ethnicity or nationality, Lieven said. Pakistan’s military, he noted, argues that the Taliban cannot win an “outright military victory” in most of the Pashtun territory, which includes both Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to Lieven, support for the Taliban among the Afghan population is approximately 30 percent—not enough for the Taliban to run the government, but possibly sufficient to ensure that they have a seat at the table. The Taliban insist that any type of settlement “must come in a single package,” Lieven said, with no concessions in advance and no surrendering of arms in any cease-fire. While a power-sharing agreement inevitably would include the Taliban, he added, the “actual business of 61
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Is There a Political Solution to the Afghan Conflict?
Anitol Lieven talks about his conversations with the Taliban.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) hosted an Oct. 9 event titled “Is There a Political Solution to the Afghan Conflict?” at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) building in Washington, DC. MEI scholar Marvin Weinbaum moderated. Ambassador Omar Samad, former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada, opened the panel by discussing two issues he believes have hindered investment in human capital and the Afghan economy. The first, he said, is the great degree to which Islamic radicalism has been injected into the country’s geopolitical scene. This, the ambassador cautioned, can lead to acts of terrorism. Ambassador Samad cited as the second issue the agendas of neighboring Pakistan and Iran. These countries, he said, are “using extremism for their grand strategy vis-à-vis India and Central Asia.” Such actions have an adverse influence on the future of Afghanistan, Samad stated. In the ambassador’s opinion, a political solution in Afghanistan must include an intra-Afghan dynamic that allows the political process to move toward a solution.
cal solution, she added. Chaudhary opined that internal U.S. politics have hindered efforts to broker a peace deal with the Taliban. Moreover, she said, the interests and role of Pakistan have yet to be fully articulated and addressed. Arif Rafiq, an adjunct MEI scholar, described the Bonn Agreement—a series of agreements between a variety of Afghan groups and political factions that was forged post-9/11 to establish a framework for rebuilding Afghanistan—as unraveling. The surge has failed to hinder the Taliban, Rafiq noted, and a high level of violence still occurs. “Rather than weakening the Taliban, the surge has empowered a wide variety of militia groups,” he said, “and there has been an influx of weaponry which makes it hard to determine how involved the Taliban are.” Rafiq concluded by noting that the increase in violence has caused Washington’s trust in the Afghans to decline. This, he concluded, is tainting the U.S. hand off of security control to the Afghans. —Awrad Saleh
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government must be run by technocrats.” Regarding how al-Qaeda and the AlHaqqani networks might influence the Taliban in a power-sharing arrangement, Lieven said his contacts indicated that the Taliban would push out al-Qaeda and require Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Education Is Key to Afghanistan Omar’s approval of the ouster of al-Qaeda. This would be a signal to the Al-Haqqani On Oct. 19, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s network to fall in line with an agreement. Middle East Program, Asia Program and A new constitution would Global Women’s Leadership Inihave to undergo a deliberative tiative co-hosted a discussion on process through a Loya Jirga, “When America Leaves: ProtectLieven continued. In addition, ing Women and Girls in Afghans would have to agree on Afghanistan through Education” some sort of tax collection strucwith Hassina Sherjan, founder ture—something that has never and CEO of Aid Afghanistan for before existed in Afghanistan. Education (AAE). The WashingLieven said his contacts view ton, DC event was moderated by most of the current government Haleh Esfandiari, director of the of Hamid Karzai as corrupt, but (L-r) Ambassador Omar Samad, Shamila Chaudhary and Arif Wilson Center’s Middle East Prowould be willing to work with Rafiq discuss the possibilities of a political solution in gram. others who are “less compro- Afghanistan. Sherjan began with a personal mised.” Not only would there be account of AAE’s founding. no room for Karzai in a future government, Regional and international solutions that Born in Afghanistan but raised in the he was told, but even elections could not do not hinder the domestic process are also United States, Sherjan recalled the abject necessary, he added. “We must look at the condition of Afghan refugees in Peshawar take place before Karzai’s departure. The Taliban would accept technical ad- period between now and 2015 with the that she witnessed during a visit in 1995. vice on military matters or civilian aid from withdrawal of NATO as the last window of Struck by the “thirst for knowledge” U.S. forces until 2024, Lieven said, which opportunity to get this right,” Samad con- among the women there, and with the dewould allow the U.S. to actively monitor cluded. sire to help “those left behind,” Sherjan Shamila Chaudhary, a senior fellow at founded AAE to provide educational instithe drug trade. Lieven speculated that as U.S. military and special forces withdraw the New America Foundation who for- tutions for Afghans who have been marfrom Afghanistan, Russia may be more merly served as director for Pakistan and ginalized by three decades of war. Afghanistan on the National Security willing to step in with aid. Operating first among the refugee camps In conclusion, Lieven advised that it Council, offered the U.S. government’s per- in Pakistan, Sherjan traveled in 1999 to would be worthwhile for Washington to spective. At this point in time, she argued, Afghanistan, where she attempted to work explore getting forces in northern and cen- only the Afghans can push for a successful with Taliban leaders to establish schools. tral Afghanistan to begin negotiating with political solution. Attacks on NATO forces When that failed, Sherjan began to operate and President Hamid Karzai’s flip-flopping five clandestine institutions. From that, both the Taliban and the Pakistanis. —Mehrunisa Qayyum on the issue of detainees suggest that the AAE has now grown to 13 schools in nine environment is not conducive for a politi- provinces, currently enrolling 3,000 girls 62
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sential to prevent a regression to the discord of the 1990s, she emphasized, adding that “education is the vehicle for peace, and ultimately happiness.”—Hamzah Saif
Dennis Kucinich Holds First Congressional Briefing on Drones STAFF PHOTO H. SAIF
More than a decade after the U.S. launched its secret drone program, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) hosted Congress’ first briefing on the matter on Nov. 16 at the Rayburn House Office Building. Kucinich opened the hearing by questioning the strategic and moral standing of the drone program. “There is increasing evidence that [drone] strikes cause significant harm to civilian populations and serve as a powerful recruitment tool for terrorists,” he said. The former presidential candidate also expressed concern that those killed by drones are being denied due process and “deprived of their human rights.” Kucinich went on to express his disapproval that the White House has not allowed Congress to view the legal framework it uses to justify drone strikes. The drone program is “being carried out with no transparency, no accountability, and no judicial review,” he charged. Arguing that drones must be subject to the same scrutiny and laws as other weapons, he said, “We must reject the notion that Congress and the American people have to be kept in the dark.” Not only is “the use of armed drones in a sovereign country’s territory an act of war,” Kucinich pointed out, but the drone program is “an historical undercutting of Article 1 of the Constitution.” Under Section 8, he explained, Congress—and Congress alone—has the power to declare war. The drone program thus is “not a small matter,” Kucinich said, and called upon people of all political parties to become in-
and 104 boys, with plans to expand into southern Afghanistan, where education prospects for both genders are dismal. Seeing lack of education as a primary reason for the disintegration of the Afghan government in the 1990s, Sherjan argued for educational programs which reach beyond the major cities. “Afghanistan is not Kabul or Herat,” she said, noting that much needed to be done for women’s literacy in small towns and rural areas. Afghans remain committed to girls’ education, she stressed, noting that “parents are always very eager to send all of their kids to school.” Husbands, too, play a positive role in the education of Afghan women, and Sherjan observed that 80 percent of her female students are encouraged by their spouses to attend school. Reflecting critically on development initiatives in the country, Sherjan noted that programs are currently driven not by Afghan concerns, but by “what we think Afghans want.” She emphasized the need for deeper communication between Afghans and international donors, and for greater commitment to development from both. Donors need to ensure their programs are “sustainable for the long run,” she elaborated, and Afghans need to take “greater ownership” to ensure that gains are sustained. Acknowledging American disenchantment with spending in Afghanistan, she cautioned against a premature decrease in assistance, reminding her listeners that “quitters are not winners.” With regard to a post-American Afghanistan, Sherjan said that while she did not believe that the Taliban “have a chance,” she did expect tumultuous years ahead, likening the struggle to the Arab Spring movements. Democratic traditions are only strong when developed indigenously, she pointed out, and Afghans must “earn [their] democracy.” Education is esJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Hassina Sherjan, founder and CEO of Aid Afghanistan for Education.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich hosts the first congressional briefing on drones. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
volved in this issue. [On Nov. 28, Kucinich, along with Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Rush Holt Jr. (D-NJ), introduced H. Res. 819, which compels the administration to release the documents it uses to legally justify the use of drones to assassinate individuals—including American citizens—overseas.] Stanford Law School Professor James Cavallaro, co-author of the groundbreaking academic study Living Under Drones, highlighted four little-discussed flaws of the drone program. First, he said, contrary to claims made by the administration, “drones kill a significant number of civilians.” In Pakistan alone, he noted that between 478 and 885 civilians have been killed since 2004. Second, Cavallaro pointed out, drones cause psychological disorders and societal harm in impacted areas. Residents of areas frequently targeted by drones have high levels of anxiety and suffer from PTSD and nervous disorders, he noted, adding that many are afraid to gather in groups and opt to keep their children home from school due to fears of impending drone strikes. Third, the fact that first responders have been killed reacting to drone strikes raises serious legal issues, Cavallaro said. If these killings are intentional, he added, they would constitute war crimes. Finally, Cavallaro warned that drones are unreliable and counterproductive. Noting that 80 percent of detainees at Guantanamo Bay have been found innocent and released, he asked, “What if the same proportion holds for those targeted and killed by U.S. drone strikes?” Moreover, he pointed out, the vast majority of “terrorists” killed have been low-level insurgents. “Only two percent of those killed were high-level targets,” he noted. Cavallaro concluded by describing drones as “faceless ambassadors of death,” since often they are the only interaction many communities have with the U.S. According to Frank Jannuzi, head of Amnesty International’s Washington, DC office, the U.S. is subverting international human rights laws by citing national security as the reason for drone strikes. “The administration continues to rely on a global war legal theory that treats the entire world as a battlefield…on which lethal force may be apparently used without regard to any human rights standards,” he pointed out. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, reflected on her recent trip to Pakistan (see p. 34). “We found intense anger over the violation of Pakistan’s sover63
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(L-r) Prof. James Cavallaro, Frank Jannuzi, Medea Benjamin and Bob Naiman testify on the use of armed drones.
Yemen’s Path Forward The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East co-hosted an Oct. 25 event titled “Looking Forward in Yemen: Challenges, Opportunities, and the International Community’s Role” at the Atlantic Council’s Washington, DC offices. POMED executive director Stephen McInerney moderated. Atiaf Alwazir, co-founder of the SupportYemen campaign, began by offering her thoughts on Yemen’s upcoming national dialogue—a six-month discussion, beginning Nov. 15, that will address issues relating to Yemen’s transition. National reconciliation, counterterrorism, constitutional reform, development and the southern separatist movement are among the important issues the dialogue will address. 64
According to Alwazir, Yemenis—particularly those living in the capital of Sana’a—are optimistic that the national dialogue will be a success. She cautioned, however, that those living outside of Yemen’s major cities are apathetic toward the process. This apathy is due to the fact that rural Yemenis have seen their lives change very little since the uprising began, she explained. Ultimately, Alwazir hopes, the national dialogue will result in a more inclusive and accountable Yemeni political system that encourages new political actors to become part of the decision making process. “For Yemen to move forward, a true healing process needs to happen,” she stressed. Ibrahim Mothana, co-founder of Yemen’s Watan Party, critiqued the U.S. role in Yemen, arguing that Washington must place more emphasis on public diplomacy and embrace individuals outside of Yemen’s large cities. Former New York Times reporter in Yemen Laura Kasinof agreed, describing America’s Sana’a-centric mentality as a “huge problem” because “a majority of Yemenis live outside of
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eignty” and the fact that Pakistani lives are viewed as dispensable, she said. “Continuing the strikes only exacerbates the problem,” she argued, and allows terrorists to “cast themselves as defenders of the people.” Benjamin also pointed out that law enforcement agencies here in the U.S. are increasingly using drones for a variety of purposes. She urged Americans to be wary of domestic drone use, warning that “our privacy laws are not strong enough to ensure that the new technology will be used responsibly and consistent with democratic values.” Bob Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy, urged Congress to push the administration to provide redress to innocent individuals adversely impacted by drone strikes. “This is something Congress could make happen very easily,” he said. A public redress process would not allow the administration to cover-up civilian deaths, he explained. —Dale Sprusansky
cities.” By only focusing on the capital, she explained, the U.S. has developed an incomplete and false understanding of Yemen. Mothana urged the U.S. to review the way in which its aid money is being spent within Yemen. Currently, he said, a small circle of large city elites disproportionally benefit from aid, meaning that aid typically never reaches Yemen’s smaller cities— where it is needed the most. U.S. drone attacks are not solving Yemen’s terrorism threat, Mothana argued. Indeed, he noted, in 2009 John Brennan, President Barack Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, stated that Yemen was home to around 300 terrorists. Now, Mothana noted, the administration believes there are thousands of terrorists in Yemen. “It’s important to step back and see what went wrong,” he said. The idea that killing terrorist leaders with drones dismantles terrorist networks is foolish, Mothana added, since innocents impacted by drones “end up hating America and don’t mind calling themselves alQaeda” in order to seek revenge. “You kill a leader, you breed another,” Mothana cautioned. Kasinof pointed out that many Yemenis believe the U.S. is only interested in Yemen because of the terrorism threat. Noting that Yemenis “just want people to take interest in them for the fact that they are Yemenis,” Kasinof added that Yemenis are upset that, instead of the U.S. treating it like other post-uprising Arab countries, Washington is treating their country like Afghanistan or Pakistan. Kasinof concluded by saying that it’s “important to remember how highly dysfunctional the [Yemeni] government is.” The fact that“Yemen is ruled by armies” and it’s almost impossible to see any evi-
(L-r) Stephen McInerney, Atiaf Alwazir and Ibrahim Mothana describe the challenges and opportunities in Yemen. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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participate in governing: “We were not allowed to sit on the bench, enter the stadium or even watch the match” of government, he said. Abol Fotouh was optimistic that democracy was moving forward, however, noting that Egyptians can now demonstrate even in front of the presidential palace. He characterized Strong Egypt’s platform as “left on economics, liberal on social issues and accepting of the Islamic and Christian foundations of Egyptian civilization.” Should it come to power, he added, it would be willing to rule with honest and sincere members of the previous government. “You can only replace an entire party in an advanced government,” he explained. —Janet McMahon
dence of the government on the ground, she explained, is why “trying to build the capacity of the Yemeni government is so important.” —Dale Sprusansky
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Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotouh discusses his new political party, Strong Egypt. trying to protect his decisions against the judiciary and against the popular will. There should be no [presidential] immunity,” he insisted. Abol Fotouh was also critical of the draft constitution—which was finalized several days later—because it did not ensure social justice or address the demands of the poor, who constitute 40 percent of Egypt’s 83 million citizens. He also objected to its granting special treatment to the military. During the ensuing discussion, Abol Fotouh noted that Egypt represents the first time that Islamists have come to power through democracy. “It is our responsibility to respect and protect this development,” he said. Freely acknowledging that mistakes have been made during the first few months of Egypt’s new political system, he pointed out that, previously, there had been no opportunity for an opposition to
Conference Assesses the Maghreb The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held an Oct. 12 conference at its Washington, DC offices to address the topic of “The Maghreb in Transition: Seeking Stability in an Era of Uncertainty.” The conference featured panel discussions on the region’s political and economic climate, as well as a keynote address by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Regional and Domestic Outlook Harvard University professor Malika Zeghal began by discussing Tunisia, whose situation she described as “uncertain.” While the period between the revolution and the October 2011 Constituent Assembly election was characterized by unity and compromise, she noted, currently the country is experiencing a number of social and political divisions. Having gained legitimacy by winning the October 2011 election, the Islamist Ennahda party no longer feels the need to compromise with liberals, Zeghal said. This
(L-r) Dan Brumberg, Prof. Malika Zeghal, Prof. Hugh Roberts and Prof. Anouar Boukhars. STAFF PHOTOS D. SPRUSANSKY
Dr. Abdel-Moneim Abol Fotouh, a longtime Egyptian political activist and 2011 presidential candidate, discussed “The Challenges Facing Post-Revolutionary Egypt” at a Nov. 28 event sponsored by Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. His appearance came amid continuing demonstrations in Egypt for and against President Mohamed Morsi’s Nov. 22 announcement suspending judicial review of his presidential edicts until a new constitution is drafted by the country’s Constituent Assembly—the successor to an earlier one disbanded by Egypt’s Supreme Judiciary Council. Like Morsi, Abol Fotouh is a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which both men resigned when they ran for public office. As Georgetown professor and Center founding director Dr. John Esposito noted in his introductory remarks, Abol Fotouh, a well-known civic leader since his student days, “has a history of being vocal about dictatorship and corruption.” Seen as a liberal Islamic leader, he is known for his moderate positions and “is considered by many as a bridge between Islamic, liberal and leftist parties in Egypt,” Esposito said. Abol Fotouh has recently formed a new political party, Strong Egypt, which has attracted many Egyptian young people and plans to run candidates in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Despite the fact that, according to Dr. Yvonne Haddad, Abol Fotouh’s English is very good, he spoke in Arabic. His remarks were ably translated by Prof. Samer Shehata, with Haddad and several other distinguished Center staff and audience members occasionally chiming in. Describing Egypt’s January 25 movement as a “noble revolution that managed to bring down the last pharaoh,” Abol Fotouh pointed out that “Egypt is the only country in the region to try and imprison its leader. Egyptians have learned that their president is a public servant” to be held accountable, he added. That hard-won knowledge is behind much of the anger over Morsi’s declaration, Abol Fotouh explained. “All of us are proud of the president and his election,” he said. “But there is anger that Morsi is
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Former Egyptian Presidential Candidate Speaks at Georgetown
(L-r) John Alterman, Mostafa Terrab, Mustapha Nabli and Caroline Freund. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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agur 25 days after he took office signals that there is dysfunction in the country. Porter expressed his fear that Libya’s high levels of oil income will provide the country’s leaders with a false sense of security and cause them to neglect issues such as health care, infrastructure and education. William Lawrence, director of the International Crisis Group’s North Africa project, said that the mass anti-militia demonstration that took place in Libya following Ambassador Christopher Stevens’ death shows that the “population is taking control where the government [is] unable to.”
youth population, actually are areas of opportunity, he maintained.
Secretary of State Clinton’s Address
Economic Challenges and Opportunities Caroline Freund, chief economist for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank, opened the panel on the region’s economy by highlighting lessons learned from democratic transitions that have taken place in other regions of the world. In nations that experience quick transitions, she said, economic growth generally drops by 5 percent in the first year, but quickly recovers. Furthermore, Freund said, these countries generally experience high long-term growth rates. The case is much different in countries that go through slow transitions, she said, pointing out that instability in these countries results in little private sector investment. According to Freund, the biggest problem facing North Africa is the lack of a vibrant public sector. Corruption, a lack of uniformly enforced rules and regulations, and educational systems that do not prepare people for private sector jobs discourage potential investors, she added. Freund concluded her remarks by calling on the region’s governments to realize that shortterm fixes such as fuel subsidies and wage increases ultimately do nothing to facilitate much needed long-term economic growth. Mustapha Nabli, former governor of the Tunisian Central Bank, emphasized the correlation between politics and the economy. While investors viewed the region’s pre-uprising leaders as having little credibility, he noted, they view temporary and transitional governments as having even less credibility, due to the fact no individual or group holds power. It is therefore critical for transitions in the region to move “in a predictable way,” Nabli emphasized. Mostafa Terrab, chairman and CEO of OCP Group, lamented the fact that the region, and Africa as a whole, is often simplistically portrayed as a “problem” area by the West. Some of these so-called “problems,” such as the region’s high THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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approach has contributed to an atmosphere of distrust and polarization that is harming the nation, she explained, by handcuffing economic growth and limiting the government’s ability to provide public services and build institutions. According to Tufts University professor Hugh Roberts, the Arab Awakening has not hit Algeria because the Algerian government uses a “sophisticated strategy” to prevent unrest. He identified three cornerstones of the oligarchy’s strategy: the buying off of discontent by granting pay raises, co-opting the opposition, and using “the stick” against those who refuse to be co-opted. The government has even amended the electoral law to enable the legal rigging of elections, he added. Roberts placed much of the blame for the lack of reform in Algeria on the opposition, which he described as weak and “not serious.” They do not put forward propositions for real reform, he said, and never define how they intend to change the country. Roberts concluded by stating that Algeria is at a standstill because both the regime and the opposition “have reached the limits of their repertoire.” “Algeria is not a police state,” said Yahia Zoubir, a professor at the Marseille School of Management. He agreed with Roberts that while the opposition does face some constraints, it has room to maneuver if it became motivated and chose to do so. With regard to Morocco, McDaniel College professor Anouar Boukhars noted that the Arab Awakening forced that country’s monarchy to look for new allies. These it found, he said, in the form of the moderate Islamic Justice and Development Party (PJD), which now controls parliament. Despite the fact that the PJD officially leads government, Boukhars said that ultimate power still rests with King Mohammed VI. Because the PJD does not want a confrontation with the king, he said, it is being judicial and prudent in selecting its battles. Over time, Boukhars noted, the PJD “believes the balance will eventually shift their way.” Discussing Libya, Geoff Porter, director of North Africa Risk Consulting, said that the country can take two dramatically different paths. If all goes well, he said, Libya “could be a phenomenally rich and successful democracy.” If things go sour, however, he warned, Libya could end up as a failed state. “Libya’s coming down from its revolutionary high, and it’s crashing really hard,” according to Porter, who noted that the ouster of Prime Minister Mustafa Abush-
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at CSIS. Speaking one month after the death in Benghazi of Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used her conference keynote address to reaffirm America’s commitment to diplomacy. “Diplomacy, by its nature, has to be often practiced in dangerous places….That is the reality of the world we live in, and we will never prevent every act of violence or terrorism or achieve perfect security. Our people cannot live in bunkers and do their jobs,” Clinton said. “The United States will not retreat. We will keep leading, and we will stay engaged in the Maghreb and everywhere in the world, including in those hard places where America’s interests and values are at stake,” she pledged. The U.S. will not let the violent antiIslam film protests derail American efforts in the Maghreb, Clinton stated. “It is important to look at the full picture, to weigh the violent acts of a small number of extremists against the aspirations and actions of the region’s people and governments. That broader view supports rather than discredits the promise of the Arab revolutions,” she said. Clinton described supporting the region’s transitions as a “strategic necessity” for the U.S. “We will not return to the false choice between freedom and stability. And we will not pull back our support for emerging democracies when the going gets rough,” she vowed. “That would be a costly strategic mistake that would, I believe, undermine both our interests and our values.” JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Washington is committed to stimulating the economies of the Maghreb countries, Clinton continued. “One of our top priorities is helping nations trade more with each other,” she added. Observing that “North Africa is one of the least-integrated regions in the world,” Clinton said that “opening the border between Algeria and Morocco would be an important step in moving toward [economic] integration.” The U.S. also is focused on “bringing women and young people into the formal economy, providing capital and training for entrepreneurs [and] helping emerging democracies update their economic regulations, their investment laws, [and] their trade policies,” Secretary Clinton said, “so their private sectors can actually flourish.” —Dale Sprusansky
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Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi, accepting the Issam M. Fares Award for Excellence, decries the failure of the peace process.
MEI Conference Examines New Challenges in the Middle East The Middle East Institute (MEI) held its 66th annual conference Nov. 13 and 14 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC. The conference was titled “New Horizons, New Challenges: The Middle East in 2013.”
The conference opened with a Nov. 13 banquet and awards ceremony at which Steve Inskeep, host of National Public Radio’s (NPR) “Morning Edition,” interviewed Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who has served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and a number of other countries in the Middle East. There are a lot of reasons to be positive about Afghanistan, Crocker argued. “The good news is that through the surge, through the development of a larger and more capable set of Afghan security forces, the Taliban-led insurgents have been badly damaged,” he said. Crocker also maintained that the quality of life for the average Afghan has improved dramatically, citing the dramatic rise of school attendance and life expectancy in the country. Young Afghans are living in a country that is dramatically different from the Afghanistan of their parents’ generation, the ambassador added. “The 20- and 30somethings are coming of age in a post-Taliban era where they have access to free media, to an education system, to a university system,” he explained. According to Crocker, Afghan President Hamid Karzai tends to criticize the U.S. because he needs to carefully measure his country’s political atmosphere. “Since the time of Ahmad Shah Abdullah in the 18th JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Hanan Ashrawi Speak at Awards Banquet
financial support to start-ups and entrepreneurs, has been tremendously successful at helping young Arabs find employment. Noting that his foundation has created 320,000 job opportunities, Jameel said that his ultimate goal is “to help create half a million job opportunities a year in the Middle East and Turkey.” Palestinian activist and peace negotiator Dr. Hanan Ashrawi was presented with the Issam M. Fares Award for Excellence. In her remarks, she lamented the failure of the peace process, noting that it has become “a process for its own sake, used as a cover for Israeli impunity and imperialism.” Naguib Sawiris, executive chairman of The Orascom Group, Egypt’s largest private sector employer, received the MEI Award for Distinction in Civic Leadership. He emphasized the importance of doing what is right and just, instead of what is politically expedient. “I take pride in the fact that even during the Mubarak regime, I was critical,” Sawiris said. —Dale Sprusansky
Prof. Mehrzad Boroujerdi outlines a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. century, the primary imperative of an Afghan leader who rules from Kabul is pretty simple: stay alive,” he commented. Crocker described the U.S.-Afghan relationship as “workable.” Offering his take on the assassination in Benghazi of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Crocker said that this unfortunate incident should not cause the U.S. to halt its diplomatic efforts in unstable countries. “We have to be prepared to go to dangerous places, do difficult things,” he stated. “There’s nothing that makes us [diplomats] immune to that risk, and if we’re doing our jobs right we’re going to run that risk...I simply hope that we don’t take the position after Chris’ assassination that we shouldn’t expose our people to danger. We need to do it,” he said. At the awards ceremony, businessman Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, founder of the Bab Rizq Jameel job creation organization, was awarded the MEI Visionary Award. Jameel’s foundation, which grants THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
The conference’s second day began with a panel titled “U.S.-Mideast Diplomacy in Transition: New Era, New Principles.” Ellen Laipson, president of the Stimson Center, discussed how both Arabs and Americans perceive the role of the U.S. in the region. In Tunisia and Libya, she said, there is “a great hunger for more American engagement,” while Egyptians are suspicious of Washington. Laipson cited a Gallup poll which found that 82 percent of Egyptians oppose U.S. aid to their country. Domestically, Laipson said, Americans want their country to practice “selective engagement in the Middle East.” Polls show declining support for U.S. military bases in the region, she pointed out, and Americans are unsure if the Arab Spring has been a positive development. Daniel Brumberg, senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace, noted that leaders in post-uprising countries must balance a “fine line” in executing foreign policy: they must formulate policies that satisfy their constituents at home but do not agitate the U.S. For its part, the U.S. should be understanding of the fact that these new leaders have to establish their legitimacy at home, Brumberg said. —Dale Sprusansky
Post-Uprising Egypt Speaking on the panel titled “Challenges Ahead for Egypt,” Freedom House Egypt 67
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(L-r) Kim Ghattas, Amr Al Azm, Saban Kardas, Geneive Abdo, Randa Slim and Ekaterina Stepanova examine the regional repercussions of the crisis in Syria. director Nancy Okail discussed the role of civil society in post-uprising Egypt. Poor Egyptians feel ignored by civil society organizations because they have become heavily engaged in the country’s political debate, she noted, adding that these organizations must explain to the poor that holding leaders accountable will result in their needs being met. George Washington University professor Nathan Brown explained that Egyptian politics are extremely polarized, and the fact that politicians have no formal place to meet because parliament was dissolved has significantly contributed to this polarization. President Mohamed Morsi has effectively negotiated with the military and the judiciary, Brown added, but has not built good relationships with non-Muslim Brotherhood political parties. —Dale Sprusansky
Panelists Argue That Diplomacy Is Only Solution in Iran The conference’s third panel was titled “After the U.S. Elections: What’s at Stake for Iran?” Syracuse University professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi stressed that there is no military solution to the Iranian nuclear standoff. He went on to list six reasons why diplomacy can be used to solve the impasse. First, Boroujerdi said, Iran is losing strategic depth due to the fact that its oil productivity is declining. Second, Iran is becoming “marginalized in the region” and has poor relations with neighbors such as Turkey and Azerbaijan. Third, according to Boroujerdi, the Assad regime’s downfall is a major blow to Iran. Unlike during the Iran-Iraq war, he added, Iranians are currently unwilling to accept a wartime economy. Finally, Boroujerdi cited as the final two reasons Iran may be ready to negotiate President Barack Obama’s willingness to stand up to the Israelis, and the harmful impact of sanctions on the Iranian middle class. —Dale Sprusansky 68
How Syrian Crisis Affects Its Neighbors The final panel on Nov. 14, moderated by BBC State Department correspondent Kim Ghattas, looked at “Syria and the Regional Implications of the Crisis.” Speakers examined the regional repercussions in Turkey, Lebanon and Iran. Amr Al Azm, an active member of the Syrian opposition from Shawnee State University in Ohio, reminded listeners how the Syrian tragedy started, with children in Deraa who were imprisoned and horribly tortured for writing “the people want to topple the regime”on the walls of their school. “Today, 18 months later, we are still counting the costs,” he said. “Over 40,000 dead, many more imprisoned and millions displaced.” Al Azm went on to describe the current stalemate on the military and political fronts, and called for a “gamechanger.” If the opposition obtains weapons that can take out aircraft and tanks, it could begin to take major cities, Al Azm argued, and perhaps at that point the regime would decide to negotiate. Negotiations require an opposition partner, hence the current haste to create a unified opposition with a government-in-exile, he observed. Saban Kardas with the TOBB University in Ankara, described Turkey’s mediation efforts in Syria, including its work with Gulf countries, the Arab League and the U.N. Ankara has reached out to Tehran and Moscow as well, to try to convince them to end their support of the Syrian regime. The Syrian revolution is a domestic issue for Turkey, Kardas stated, and has become a sectarian conflict that could spread to his country. In addition, he warned, the future of both Syrian Kurds and Syrian refugees in Turkey impact Turkey. Geneive Abdo, director of the Iran Program at the Stimson Center, examined Iran’s influence on the Syrian revolution. Iran successfully crushed its own uprising in 2009-2010, she noted, but when the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
Arab uprisings began in February 2011, Ayatollah Khamenei characterized those other uprisings as an “Islamic Awakening.” Calling the Awakening a protest of nationalism against oppression, Khamenei suggested that this was Iran’s moment to become the regional superpower it has meant to be since the 1979 revolution. Two years later, Abdo continued, Syria has become a catastrophe for Iran. “Iran sees its military power diminishing, its great ally collapsing and its religious authority being undermined.” If Israel attacks Iran, Tehran no longer can count on help from Hezbollah and Syria. Even the Shi’i in Bahrain who are leading their own uprising are distancing themselves from Iran. “The growing antagonism toward the Iran-Assad/Shi’i axis is being used by Sunni clerics to claim power and legitimacy,” Abdo suggested. According to Abdo, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are “intimately involved in the Syrian uprising,” and have “assisted the regime with technical equipment to monitor e-mail, Twitter and YouTube.” Iran is supporting Syria because it believes that this is actually a proxy war against the United States, with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar doing America’s “dirty deeds.” Abdo predicted that as the Syrian war rages on, “Iran will become more religiously and politically isolated in the region, and its goal of expanding its regional authority will become more complicated and more difficult to achieve.” Randa Slim, a fellow at the New America Foundation, discussed whether Lebanon will be dragged into the Syrian conflict, and how far Hezbollah will go to help Assad. “Whatever happens in the region impacts Lebanon—good or bad,” and “it’s usually bad for Lebanon,” Slim noted. “It’s going to be very hard for Lebanese political parties to resist the temptation to get into it. And they are into it, all of them—Sunni, Shi’i, all shades and forms of Christian parties, Druze—everybody JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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or Israeli settler violence, it behas a stake in the Syrian fight,” comes impossible for violators to Slim warned. spin their story, Munayyer conShe went on to highlight the cluded. plight of the 119,000 registered Dr. Will Youmans, a media exSyrian refugees who need shelpert at George Washington Uniter this winter. Most have been versity, noted that Palestinians taken in by Lebanese families, don’t have museums or memorishe noted, because the Lebanese als to capture their history. Ingovernment doesn’t want to esstead, he said, “we have a countablish camps for fear of another try living inside us,” and sugdiaspora—like the Palestinigested capturing the history Isans’—that will remain in rael is trying to erase, including Lebanon and disrupt the dyfamily stories, photos and land namics inside the country. deeds, in some kind of virtual Ekaterina Stepanova, head of the Peace and Conflict Studies (L-r) Moderator Omar Fayez, Yousef Munayyer, Dr. Will “WikiPalestine.” Samer Badawi with the InstiUnit at the Russian Academy of Youmans and Samer Badawi provide reasons for optimism. Sciences in Moscow, discussed the slow AIPAC was wrong, Perry chortled, and it is tute for Middle East Understanding changes occurring in Russia’s foreign pol- now obvious that J Street-style Jewish vot- brought the house down as he pulled out icy in regard to the Syria crisis. From “one- ers are more interested in domestic issues a tiny black-and-white photo his mother sided, unconditional support to the Assad like the economy, the deficit, health care had left in a box after visiting the United regime,” she said, Russia is moving “to- and education than they are in sending States. The photo captured his grandmother as a young lady, standing tall and ward a more manageable, negotiated solu- $3.5 billion a year to Israel. British-American writer Helena Cobban, proudly resisting, beside his mother when tion.” The only disagreements Russia and China have with the West on Syria, who recently launched Just World Pub- she was a little girl. That child has his Stepanova opined, “are about the form, lishing, called for Obama to come to the as- daughter’s face, Badawi marvelled. “I don’t feel fully at home anywhere,” substance and perceived end product of sistance of 500,000 stateless Palestinians, this presumably Syrian-led transition.” Christians and Muslims alike, caught in Badawi admitted. Not all of us are on the Concluded Stepanova, “In the Middle East, the “meatgrinder” in Syria. “Now is the same page, he added, given divisions beRussia is a power in decline. It will remain time to be bold,” she said, not at the end of tween the West Bank, Gaza, student so for any foreseeable future. The old So- Obama’s second term. The Israel/Palestine groups, advocates of one state or two viet time—military, ideological, economic issue is just as important as the fiscal cliff, states. “What brings us all together are the Cobban argued, because it feeds an anti- photos of our mothers and grandmothers,” role—is simply gone, irreversibly.” —Delinda C. Hanley American sentiment which requires a spi- he concluded. “We are all after the liberation of Palestine.” —Delinda C. Hanley ralling U.S. defense budget. Annual Palestine Center Conference The second panel, “Taking Stock in the Examines Post-Election U.S., Mideast Arab Uprisings: Where are We Headed?” Palestinian Politics and the So-Called The Palestine Center’s annual conference featured George Washington University Peace Process on Nov. 9 looked at “Where are we professor Dr. Nathan Brown, Adel Iskan- The final panel of the Palestine Center’s anheaded? The U.S. and Middle East after dar, from Georgetown University’s Center nual conference on Nov. 9 focused on inElections.” Panelists discussed the impact for Contemporary Arab Studies, and ternal Palestinian politics and the current of the recent election on U.S. policy in the American University’s Dr. Kristin Smith state of the so-called peace process. Acregion. Hrair Balian, director of the conflict Diwan. cording to human rights attorney Noura The third panel, “Public Discourse on Erakat, “the two state solution…no longer resolution program at the Carter Center, recalled the promises made by President Palestine: Reasons for Optimism?” opened exists as a viable option.” The peace Barack Obama in his seminal Cairo speech with Jerusalem Fund executive director process has failed, she argued, because the in 2009, promising a new beginning in re- Yousef Munayyer, who focused on the pro- Oslo accords never referenced internalations between the U.S. and the Islamic liferation of social media and new technol- tional law and left all disputes to be settled world. While he failed to live up to his ogy that is upending mainstream media. politically. Such an approach has left the promise not to turn his back on Palestini- He described the recent success of Pales- politically inferior Palestinians virtually ans, Balian argued, Obama’s administration tinian campaigns that actually crossed into powerless, she lamented. has remained cautiously involved in the mainstream media, including a “Love Erakat also criticized the fact that Oslo Under Apartheid” campaign on Feb. 14 framed the conflict in terms of “land for Arab Awakening countries. According to Mark Perry, who served as which showed YouTube videos of partners peace,” a paradigm she described as seunofficial adviser to the late Palestinian separated by Israel’s occupation. Other verely misleading. “This is a conflict about President Yasser Arafat, what was impor- campaigns by hunger-striking Palestinian settler colonialism, about the colonization tant about the recent elections is that the prisoners held under administrative deten- of an indigenous population’s land,” Erakat American Israel Public Affairs Committee tion, and Palestinians remembering the stated. As an example of how devastating (AIPAC) committed political suicide. AIPAC Nakba, as well as the Sabra and Shatila this colonization has been, she noted that promised Israel that Jewish Americans massacres, forced mainstream media to pay 50,000 Palestinians are currently stuck bewould only support candidates who attention. When cellphones record out- tween Israel’s apartheid wall and the Green wouldn’t impose peace, he explained. rages like Israel’s attack on the Gaza flotilla, Line. This fact has led to the creation of a JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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(L-r) Leila Hilal, Khaled Elgindy and Noura Erakat discuss Palestinian strategy. new international term: “internally stuck persons,” she noted. “We’ve pursued a paradigm which was based on the notion that Israel would see it in its rational self-interest to end the occupation,” commented Leila Hilal, director of the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force, and that the Palestinians, by providing concessions, would produce a two-state outcome. The flaw with this line of thinking, she pointed out, is that Israel has “chosen apartheid and they’ve chosen not to admit that they’re practicing apartheid.” Regarding intra-Palestinian politics, Erakat decried the fact that Palestinians, particularly those living in refugee camps, have very little control over their political leaders. “There is no form of accountability in Palestinian leadership today,” she said. Erakat was particularly critical of the Palestinian National Authority, which she said “continues to rule by fiat without a democratic mandate.” Khaled Elgindy of the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy dug deeper into the Palestinian leadership issue. “We have a very severe leadership crisis on the Palestinian side,” he said. “I think it is much more severe than people in Washington believe.” Calling this crisis “all consuming,” Elgindy said that “the PA [Palestinian Authority] is collapsing before our very eyes” and noted that Hamas and Fatah are internally divided. In Elgindy’s opinion, Palestinian leaders, and President Mahmoud Abbas in particular, have no coherent strategy for dealing with the Israeli occupation and tend to flip “from one tactical move to another.” He added that “the growing regional and international isolation of Mahmoud Abbas” is a problem, as he has bad relations with countries such as Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Ara70
bia and the UAE. Elgindy concluded by lamenting that Israel has been able to establish a “five-star occupation,” in which its security is paid for by the cash-strapped Palestinians and money from the U.S. and other international sources is used to fund its occupation. —Dale Sprusansky
Friends of Sabeel Examine a Path to Peace in Albuquerque, NM More than 300 people from around the world attended the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) Sept. 28-29 conference on “The Path to Peace in Palestine and Israel” in Albuquerque, NM. Sabeel, an international peace movement started by Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, seeks justice and peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on international law. During their year of planning, conference organizers discovered that divisions within the American Christian and Jewish communities were equally profound. The local Jewish establishment accused Sabeel of being anti-Semitic and successfully pressured the Episcopal Cathedral to rescind its invitation to host the conference. Aware of the perils, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church nevertheless courageously stepped up to the plate. An impressive array of human rights activists were brought together in Albuquerque. Diverse workshops included water justice, Zionism, and advocacy for alternative Jewish and Christian voices. Nadia Hijab, a Palestinian American, cofounder of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, traveled from France to share her insightful analysis of U.S. foreign policy. Mark Braverman, a Jewish American, used Christian theology to remind church-going people that their religion required them to stand up anywhere, anytime to defend THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
human rights. Guilt over the Holocaust is no excuse, he said, and the actions of Israel’s government are no exception. Miko Peled’s credentials defied anyone to accuse him of anti-Semitism. His grandfather signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence and his father, a general in the 1967 war, also fought with a Jewish militia in 1948. Rejecting the national narrative of entitlement, Miko Peled’s mother refused the gift of a Palestinian home upon the creation of Israel. Nor did the tragic killing of Peled’s 14-year-old niece in a 1997 suicide bombing dissuade his family from following the path of coexistence. Peled has devoted his life to informing Americans. He warned listeners: “Israel is already one state. It is a racist, apartheid state. We must transition to a democracy with equal rights for all.” Most sobering of the speakers was Jeff Halper, a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. He echoed Peled’s assessment that the twostate option was over, and warned that, except for enclaves with concentrations of Palestinians, Israel is on the verge of annexing the West Bank, which already is fragmented by settlements, checkpoints and Jewish-only highways. The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), a group the American-born Halper founded, rebuilds Palestinian homes as an act of resistance—although, he admitted, there is no way to rebuild the thousands of homes Israel has demolished. Halper, who became an Israeli citizen in the 1970s, maintains that the U.S. Defense Department, not the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is the greatest Israeli lobby in this country. The U.S.-Israel military connection includes nuclear submarines, intercontinental missiles, surveillance technology and the militarization of America’s police force, Halper charged. Security politics, military technology and homeland security have come together, he added, claiming that Israel uses Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to showcase or test new weaponry. Sharing information through the arts is as important as insightful political analysis. Students for Justice in Palestine sponsored a traveling art exhibit. “A Child’s View from Gaza,” has drawings depicting life under occupation through innocent eyes. Iktamel, a Palestinian university student, stood near the precious drawings, eager to engage passersby who were drawn to take a closer look. Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb shared slides of a mural project sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Paintings in blazing colors show kite flying in Nablus, a farmer protecting olive trees, a megaphone telling all to follow their dreams, and a peaceful world with JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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The Friends of Sabeel interfaith panel with (l-r) Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Imam Abdul Aziz Shafi, Rev. Naim Ateek and moderator Rev. David Cameron at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
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cluded restoring systems that perpetuate human dignity. “Peace must be based on justice,” he said, “but first comes repentance.” Although the conference theme of Justice in Palestine and Israel is far from being realized, links were forged among the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular communities. One Jewish woman said, “Being surrounded by so many compassionate Christians has been very healing.” Clearly the fault line is not between Arabs and Jews, but between those willing to support a just peace and all that entails. Therein lies the hope. —Iris Keltz
Chicagoans Rally for Peace in Gaza More than 400 people gathered in front of President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign headquarters in Chicago on Nov. 15 to rally
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shooting stars and verdant flowers covering the earth. Pamela Olson, author of Fast Times in Palestine, and this writer, author of Walking the Narrow Bridge, chronicled lifechanging experiences through their memoirs. Olson’s story began in 2005, at the start of the second intifada; mine in 1967, when I found sanctuary with a Palestinian family during a war. Bekah Wolf, daughter of a Santa Fe cantor, discussed her path to activism. While exploring her Jewish roots, she met and married a Palestinian from the West Bank with whom she has a child. These stories exemplify a world where love triumphs over ethnic and religious differences. Halper said he believes the greatest hope for the Middle East is to become a regional economic confederation. Ali Abunimah, founder of the Electronic Intifada Web site, invoked the possibility of miracles, reminding the audience that “We never expected apartheid in South Africa to end.” It’s impossible to say what will trigger a change in Israel’s horrendous direction–– the Arab Spring, alternative Christian and Jewish voices, informed leaders, studying Holy Scripture, creating the next generation of leaders, compelling narratives, music, art, or sharing food––like the dinner catered by local Palestinians who prepared a feast for attendees as if cooking for a celebration. “We are here to build a social movement, not just to get informed,” said Rabbi Gottlieb, who recognized the struggle to overcome militarism, racism and economic exploitation in Palestine/Israel is part of a global struggle. Sabeel founder Rev. Naim Ateek added that a beautiful resistance in-
against Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza known as Operation “Pillar of Cloud.” Less than 36 hours after Israel launched its first rockets into Gaza, Palestinian activists, humanitarians and their supporters took to the streets of Chicago, marching and chanting such slogans as “Not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes” and “Obama, Obama you will see, Palestine will be free!” The rally also featured speakers from organizations supporting the Palestinian cause, who urged Washington to halt aid to Israel, as it has financed Israel’s military since the Camp David Accords were signed in 1978. “We have to divest from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation,” said Jumana Al-Qawasmi, a student at Loyola University Chicago who is an active member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Chicago Divest. Many companies manufacture their products in Israel’s illegal settlements and then sell them in the U.S., thereby supporting Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. Not only does the U.S. condone Israel’s actions, but “the U.S., Wall Street and the Pentagon want to reshape the Middle East,” John Beacham with the Chicago chapter of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) told protesters. Leah Bolger, national president of Veterans for Peace, expressed her personal disgust for the U.S. sanctioning of violence abroad. “War is just terrorism in uniforms,” she said. “We denounce it…Not in our names and not with our dollars.” Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter, echoed these statements, stating that America is siding with
Hundreds of protesters gather in Chicago to demand an end to Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Iowans Protest Israeli Attack on Gaza Led by Kathleen McQuillen of the Des Moines office of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Iowa activists gathered in front of the Federal Building in Des Moines on Nov. 15 to protest Israel’s deadly attack on the captive civilian population of Gaza. Following the rally outside, a smaller group delivered letters to the offices of Sens. Tom Harkin (D) and Charles Grassley (R). A statement issued by the U.S. State Department asserting Israel’s right to defend itself fails to address the real issue, said McQuillen. The roots of the current conflict are to be found in Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands, its failure to recognize the results of the 2006 Palestinian election, and the continued blockade of Gaza. “As long as the U.S. continues to fund Israel’s attacks, as long as the U.S. continues to provide diplomatic cover at the United Nations, and as long as the State Department, policymakers, and our senators say that Israel has a right to defend itself— without any acknowledgement or recognition of Palestinian rights to food, shelter, health care, freedom of movement and commerce—the U.S. position is really indefensible,” she declared. “Iowans are calling on their senators to push for a cease-fire and to push for a seri72
Iowa activists rally in front of the Federal Building in Des Moines on Nov. 15 to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza. ous diplomatic effort to resolve the con- concerned that State Department officials flict. ‘Equal rights for all’ must be the new aren’t giving us all we need to know, eiU.S. policy for the peoples of Israel and ther.” Before leading a delegation to their senPalestine,” concluded McQuillen. “I’m here protesting the Israeli attack on ators’ offices, McQuillen read aloud the Gaza led by Binyamin Netanyahu. It seems text of a statement published by Jewish like a suicidal move for Israel and it’s a Voice for Peace (JVP) calling “for an immetragedy for the Middle East, an unspeak- diate cessation of the air strikes and naval able crime against the people of Gaza,” said bombardment into Gaza and an end to the Judy Lonning, a retired Des Moines ongoing siege of Gaza.” — Michael Gillespie teacher and a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Lonning said she sees Netanyahu’s deci- L.A. Gaza Demo Turns Violent sion to attack Gaza prior to the upcoming Stand With Us, the latest reincarnation of Israeli election as politically motivated, de- the hard-line Jewish Defense League, was signed to bolster support for his campaign the first group to ask to demonstrate on to retain the office of prime minister. Nov. 18 in front of the West Los Angeles Former state representative turned ac- Federal Building. It e-mailed its intention tivist and radio personality Ed Fallon took to rally for Israel’s latest aerial bombardpart in the protest. “I’m pro-Israel, pro- ment of Gaza. On very short notice, PalesGaza, pro-Palestine, pro-peace! I think Is- tinian supporters reacted by calling for a rael has no right to attack innocent civilians. I don’t support Hamas lobbing rockets into Israel either,” he said, “but [Israel’s attack on Gaza] is not the appropriate response from what I can tell.” Fallon said he wanted to know more about the situation in Gaza. “Obviously our mainstream corporate media is not doing a very good job of giving us information,” he ex- More than 250 people demonstrated across from the Westwood plained, “and I’m Federal Building Nov. 18 against Israel’s aerial attack on Gaza. STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR
the wrong player in the conflict. “We forget the root of the problem which is the occupation,” he said. “And only one side occupies…Our government is on the wrong side of history.” Members of Chicago’s Palestinian and Muslim communities also addressed the gathering, calling for a change in U.S. policy. “Israel is the source of instability in the Middle East, said Zaher Sahloul, executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC). “The U.S. must condemn the terrorist activities of Israel.” Added Rafeeq Jaber, representing the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA): “Mr. Obama, be the first to say ‘no’ to AIPAC and ‘no’ to injustice.” The rally ended with a powerful speech by Thaer Ahmed of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). “Justice isn’t going to come from Obama, his administration or from the U.S. government,” Ahmed said. “It is going to come from me and you in the middle of winter, standing in front of Obama Headquarters and the Israeli Consulate.” That same day, 61 protests took place throughout the U.S. —Leen Jaber
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she said she would not rest until Palestinians are living with dignity, independence and without fear. Another Palestinian, Talat M. Othman, born in Betuniaa and now head of Grove Financial, Inc., an international investment firm focusing on the Middle East, accepted an award for his commitment and work for Palestine. He said he felt undeserving of recognition, when the people on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank are making the supreme sacrifice. The last award was presented to the Hope Fund, which was started by Dr. Fahim I. and Nancy Qubain in 2001. Their daughter, Helen Qubain, who is running the Hope Fund, accepted the award and described its mission: to bring Palestinian students from refugee camps to study in colleges across the United States. Qubain said she could hear bombs going off as she spoke via Skype with students in Gaza who were leaving their homes, risking their lives searching for power to try and complete college applications. “They are so
Diplomatic Doings
Palestinians and their supporters attended a commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People on Nov. 16 hosted by Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat and his wife, Jumana, at their Virginia residence. It was a somber gathering, which began with a moment of silence for all the innocent victims who had fallen since Israeli warplanes began pounding Gaza the previous day. Ambassador Areikat characterized this latest attack as another chapter in the story of Palestinian people who have suffered since Israel’s creation in 1948, forcing many of his people into exile. “We never give up. We are steadfast,” he said, noting that on Nov. 29, the PLO leadership would seek non-member state status for Palestine in the United Nations. “We are willing to resume negotiations with Israel the next morning after the international community recognizes the Palestinian state within the 1967 borders,” Ambassador Areikat said. “We’ll sit across the table as equals, without Israel dictating the terms of peace.” He presented awards to Nablus-born Dr. Najat Arafat Khelil, who obtained her doctorate degree in nuclear physics from the State University of North Texas, where she became the first woman to earn such a degree. She went on to found or serve in every major Arab-American organization. Khelil, the youngest of 11 children, said her father had always told her she could achieve anything. “This award is so important to me because it’s presented by my people.” Saying her heart goes out to Gaza,
STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY
Palestinians and Their Friends Unite To Show Solidarity
Helen Qubain accepts an award for the Hope Fund, started by her parents.
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counter-demonstration across the street. By noon an estimated 1,000 boisterous Zionists had gathered at the federal building waving Israeli flags and shouting at passing cars. The din of honking horns and shouts was deafening. Across Wilshire Boulevard, some 250 Palestinian supporters joined in chants aired over a high-powered sound system. Among the activists was Marcy Winograd, who ran unsuccessfully for former Rep. Jane Harman’s 36th California congressional district seat in a special June 2011 election. The placard she carried showed a photo of dead Palestinian children and a statement reading: “Whose Jewish values? Not mine.” Taunts and gestures were exchanged on both sides of Wilshire. A smaller crowd of people wearing keffiyehs occupied the northwestern corner of Wilshire and Veteran Avenue. At 3:15 p.m., a group of men from the Zionist contingent crossed Wilshire, walking toward the smaller group as if they were leaving. As the Zionists faced the Palestinians, they began to shove and push them. The Palestinians resisted. According to Zeyad Alami, a 55-year-old realtor from Moorpark, one Zionist held a stick and, as he raised it, Alami tried to wrest it from his hand. Alami said his assailant then punched him in the face with his other hand. Alami fell on the street, fracturing his forearm on hitting the pavement. Police and security volunteers broke up the skirmish, but made no arrests. A tactical alert was called. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol responded and temporarily closed Wilshire. A concerned stranger drove Alami to the nearby UCLA Medical Center in her car. It was determined that Alami would undergo surgery Nov. 26, after swelling subsided around the fracture. At 3:45 p.m. the police offered to escort the Palestinians to their cars in the federal building parking lot. It was a wise decision on the part of the police, who carved a safe corridor through the mob of threatening, jeering Zionists. Commented one Palestinian: “All those big Israeli flags made their group look larger than it was. Tomorrow I’m ordering dozens of Palestinian flags for whenever we demonstrate again.” It was rumored the Israeli L.A. Consulate had provided the Israeli flags. By the end of the event, those flags had been neatly stacked in a huge pile for whoever supplied them. —Pat McDonnell Twair
(L-r) Nadia Ghannam, director of community affairs, Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat, PLO Representative to the U.S., Jumana Areikat and John Sakakini, public affairs officer at the PLO Mission in Washington, DC, welcome guests to International Solidarity Day. THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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desperate for a better future,” Qubain said. She called upon the Palestinian-American community “to house our kids, take in students and provide summer internships...It will take the whole community to help keep The Hope Fund going.” Ambassador Areikat closed by thanking the heads of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) for coming. “Last night an UNRWA teacher, Marwan Abu El Qumsan, was killed in an Israeli airstrike,” the ambassador said. “In 2009 Israel deliberately attacked an UNRWA compound and schools. I’d like to thank American organizations who are devoted to helping Palestinians in the Middle East.” —Delinda C. Hanley
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A lot of work went into this placard held during a Nov. 18 demonstration in Los Angeles against Israel’s strikes on Gaza. 74
As President Barack Obama pardoned two turkeys in a popular pre-Thanksgiving Day Rose Garden ritual on Nov. 21, 2012, peace activists outside the White House demanded “mercy for the children of Gaza!” The fighting killed 178 Palestinians (45 of them women and children), and four Israeli civilians, including an Arab Israeli, and two Israeli soldiers. Thankfully, a truce was called just as the protest ended.
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Lebanon’s new Consul General to Los Angeles Johnny Ibrahim (l) and Judge James Kaddo greet 365 guests to the 69th anniversary of the Republic of Lebanon at a Nov. 24 buffet reception in the Riviera Country Club, West Los Angeles.
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Algeria’s Ambassador to the U.S. Abdallah Baali (r) and his wife, Rafika Lakreche Baali, welcome guests to their national day celebration at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Washington, DC.
Ellen Siegel (c) helps a shopper make a selection at a Folk Art Mavens sale of Palestinian handcrafted gifts on Nov. 9, 2012 in Westmoreland Congregational Church in Bethesda, MD. Another volunteer, Gretchen Theobald (r),formerly ran the Palestinian Embroidery Project in DC, with Pamela Mertz.
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Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky
Israel’s Stranglehold on Gaza To The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer, Dec. 2, 2012 Charles Krauthammer tries to deny that Israel is an occupying force in the Gaza Strip. He uses the fact that, in 2005, Israel evacuated its troops and settlers from Gaza to thus ask the ludicrous question: “What occupation?” Hence, he omits other equally wellknown facts, such as: Israel controls all access in or out of Gaza by only two crossing gates. Gaza is surrounded by a security fence, and Israel often shoots anyone who comes within 1,000 feet of it on the Gaza side. Israel controls all goods entering Gaza by only three gates. It bans so many necessary items that many factories and thousands of businesses have had to shut down. Because of Israel’s control of water and electricity, Gaza endures extreme shortages of both. Israel totally controls Gaza’s air space and territorial fishing waters off their coastline. Israel bars the Gazans from building an airport or seaport. Israel has veto power over who can have Palestinian residency status in Gaza. Israel controls Gaza’s taxes. These facts and many more, and their devastating effect on the Gaza population, are so well known that even spokespeople for the U.N., Human Rights Watch and other international bodies continue to refer to Israel as an occupying force in Gaza. Who is Krauthammer trying to fool? David Singerman, Cleveland Heights, OH
Deeper Gaza Analysis Needed To The Wichita Eagle, Nov. 27, 2012 Thanks to the [letter] writer of “Stop the siege on the Gaza Strip,” Eagle readers were given an all too rare exposure to the context of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Under a cloud of one-sided reporting and knee-jerk support of Israel’s behavior, the American public is deprived of historical facts and of a moral and humane understanding of the horrific conditions resulting from Israel’s occupation of Palestine. In a show of unanimous bipartisan agreement, the U.S. Congress passed a declaration initiated by Sens. Al Franken (DMN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in unconditional support of Israel without a mention of Palestinian suffering and reasons for rocket firings. I do not condone violence on either side, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
but I do write this to encourage a deeper analysis of the inevitable tragic consequences when the daily life of the Palestinians is a life of terror and resistance to Israeli domination. Case in point: On Nov. 8, two days before the rocket firings, 13-year-old Ahmed Daqqa, who was playing soccer in the village of Abassan, was killed by Israeli soldiers 1.5 kilometers away in Gaza territory. On Nov. 10, another four civilians, ages 16-19, were killed. This belies Israelis’ propaganda that they are the victims and entitled to self-defense with impunity. Alice Powell, Wichita, KS
blockade and siege. According to U.N. and Red Cross observers, the people of Gaza have since been forced to live in conditions that violate basic human rights. The conditions include constant incursions by Israeli tanks and military, mortar attacks, border harassment and more. It is interesting to note that recently two Israeli officials suggested that Hamas be recognized as legitimate and a dialogue opened. Finally—some wisdom. Howdy Emerson, Trinidad, CA
Statehood Levels Negotiations
To The Washington Post, Nov. 24, 2012 In his Nov. 20 op-ed column, “The callousness of Hamas,” Richard Cohen stated that Israel cares more about “sparing innocent lives” than does Hamas and avoids civilian casualties by using “highly accurate ammunition,” thus pinpointing strategic targets and not firing haphazardly as does Hamas. Perhaps if the United States had given Hamas the billions of dollars and technical help we have given Israel over the years, the Islamist group also could have acquired highly accurate ammunition to help it kill more discriminately. Malcolm Lloyd, Fairfax, VA
To The Oakland Tribune, Dec. 4, 2012 On Nov. 29, Palestine was recognized as a non-U.N. member state. Of course Israel didn’t want Palestine to obtain even a modicum of statehood—and the U.S. in its kneejerk obeisance follows Israel’s policy without giving the idea some independent thought. Yes, Israel has a problem with states. It can’t indiscriminately bomb them, assassinate their leaders, blockade their borders, close ports, limit freedom of movement and settle their people on land that is not theirs. Palestinian statehood would surely be an inconvenience to Israel. But it might actually move the peace process: If Palestine moved from occupied territory to statehood, there would be more equality between the negotiators. Gen Katz, Oakland, CA
AP Distorts Facts
Disappointed in U.S. Vote
To the [Eureka, CA] Times-Standard, Nov. 6, 2012 Thanks for the article, “A circus comes to Gaza.” One small statement is typical of Associated Press articles about Gaza. The people of Gaza “face a punishing blockade imposed [by Israel] after Hamas seized control in 2007.” “Seized control” implies Hamas forced its way into control. That is untrue. The Palestinian election of 2006 was closely overseen by Israeli and U.N. observers and deemed fair and legitimate. In Gaza, Hamas handily won. Immediately thereafter Israel declared Hamas a terrorist organization (to delegitimize them) and attempted to prevent them from assuming control of the government. What Hamas did was assert its right to govern as elected. Unable to drive Hamas out, Israel imposed its brutal, punishing and illegal
To The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2012 I am profoundly disappointed by our government’s vote against recognition of Palestine as a United Nations observer state. It is no small irony that 65 years to the day after the United States voted in the General Assembly to create a Jewish state and a Palestinian state, a resolution that Israel cites proudly in its Declaration of Independence as fundamental to its own legitimacy, the United States and Israel vote in that same body to deny legitimacy to the Palestinian state. Israel opposed the measure even though it effectively provides legal sanction to its acquisition of an additional 23 percent of the territory over and above that allocated to Israel in the 1947 resolution. This vote, undoubtedly driven by domestic political considerations, defies the
Human Cost of Gaza War
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will of the international community, harms our national interest by worsening our already abysmal standing in the Arab and wider Muslim world, and perpetuates a gross historic injustice against the Palestinian people, who no less than anyone else are entitled to self-determination on their own land. Joseph J. Saltarelli, New York, NY
Unilateral Israeli Settlements To The [Montreal] Gazette, Dec. 3, 2012 Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu says the U.N. resolution giving Palestinians non-member observer state status won’t change the facts on the ground. Actually, that’s not true. We learn elsewhere in these pages that, in retaliation, he has decreed a further expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. That continues to change the facts on the ground. Since the conclusion of the Oslo accords almost 20 years ago, Israeli governments have expanded settlements in disputed territory without asking anyone’s permission, in other words, unilaterally. If Canada has a traditional position against “unilateral declarations of independence and associated unilateral action,” as the Gazette says it does, why doesn’t our government oppose this, as it does the U.N. resolution? The resolution doesn’t, as Mr. Netanyahu points out, give the Palestinians their state. But it begins to take away their state of despair. Howard M. Greenfield, Montreal, Canada
Sanctions and Iran To The New York Times, Nov. 6, 2012 Regarding “For Iran’s sick, sanctions a matter of life and death”: One month ago, the Iranian rial dropped in value by about 40 percent in just one week, and the consequences for Iranian society were grave. In addition, protests filled the streets near Tehran’s central bazaar and the people were angry—with their government and with the West. The effects of the U.S.-led sanctions remain ever-present. Thomas Erdbrink’s report showed how Iran’s drug market is losing its ability to supply Iranians the medicines they need. Shouldn’t we now start questioning the wisdom of these sanctions? At the outset, the sanctions, including embargoes, asset freezes and travel bans, were targeted on the government—precisely to avoid harming Iranian civilians. But are the sanctions working in the in76
tended way? Are they legitimate? Are they stopping Iran’s nuclear enrichment? How will this particular sanctions regime affect the West’s use of soft power? Johannes Makar, Leuven, Belgium
Drones Kill Pakistani Children To Florida Today, Nov. 26, 2012 Although we do not know the names of the Pakistani children killed or injured by American drone strikes, we know the name, Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls’ education. Time magazine columnist Joe Klein defended drone attacks as excusable protection of American children. Former Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said children of terrorists are fair game for U.S. drones. The anachronistic thinking of my violence is better than your violence is likely to energize the Taliban, not Pakistan’s only reported problem. They have an energy crisis, unemployment, ethnic violence and curtailed freedom of expression from decades of military rule, supported by several U.S. administrations, that help deter
WRITE OR TELEPHONE THOSE WORKING FOR YOU IN WASHINGTON. President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1414 White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111 Fax: (202) 456-2461 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Department of State Washington, DC 20520 State Department Public Information Line: (202) 647-6575 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 AND THE WHITE HOUSE E-mail Congress: visit the Web site <www.congress.org> for contact information. E-mail President Obama: <president@whitehouse.gov> E-mail Vice President Joe Biden: <vice.president@whitehouse.gov>
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
long-term political problem-solving. Like the George W. Bush administration, the Obama administration does not generally release the body count on non-Americans. The resentment in Pakistan over drone strikes cannot be ignored. Extreme right-wing voices are able to boost legitimate grievances of ordinary people. Drone strikes worsen life and are counterproductive for American interests if those interests include an end to the war on terrorism. Merl W. Brightbill, Melbourne Beach, FL
Drone Policy in Reverse To The Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2012 William H. Barkell wrote that there is nothing illegal or immoral about the U.S. drone program. I wonder whether he would feel the same way if Mexico decided that gunrunners from the United States are unlawful enemy combatants, responsible for the thousands of killings in Mexico. Should Mexico have the ability to send drones over U.S. soil to follow the gunrunners and kill them? Could it use missiles to eliminate certain gun shops that it is convinced are responsible for selling the guns? And if people mistaken for gunrunners are killed, or, say, a wedding party taking place next to the gun shop is obliterated, would that be acceptable as collateral damage? Please remember that legality is the lowest level of behavior acceptable to society. Is that where our value system should be? Might doesn’t make right, even for the U.S. Raymond E. Meyer, Falls Church, VA
End War in Afghanistan To The Times [of Indiana], Oct. 10, 2012 Our world has changed since the war in Afghanistan started 11 years ago. We now live in a global community strongly connected by technology, economy, political alliance and civil society. Never before have we understood so clearly that our fates as individuals, nations and a global community are connected. The U.S. must decide what its future will be in this world. I want to see the U.S. known for diplomacy, the rule of law, and accountability, not for aggression and militarism. We must end the war in Afghanistan— the longest in our history—and redirect the money to human needs here and abroad. We have spent more than half a trillion dollars on this war so far. This is money that should instead be spent to rebuild our economy and to contribute a stronger global economy and security. We should invest in people, not war. Kim Mileusnic, Crown Point, IN ❑ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST
The De Volkskrant, Amsterdam
Aukland, New Zealand
The Dominion Post, Wellington
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com
The Khaleej Times, Dubai
The New York Times Syndicate, New York
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Trouw, Amsterdam
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“Homeland” Says More About Israelis and Americans Than About the Middle East SpecialReport
RONEN AKERMAN/SHOWTIME
By Keenan Duffey
It’s not a Beirut market, but one in Tel Aviv that Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes, is walking through in this publicity shot for a recent “Homeland” episode. y fondest memories from my time in
MBeirut are of Hamra Street. I remem-
ber walking up to the newspaper stand and buying Al-Hayat and Al-Sharq AlAwsat on the weekends. I remember the conversations I had with the newspaper vendor about life in Beirut. I remember discussing the challenges of the Arabic program at the American University of Beirut (AUB) with classmates over hummus and shisha at Café Hamra. And I remember that if I was ever lost in Beirut, I could ask anyone I came across where Hamra Street was and they would point the way home. But the Hamra Street depicted in an October episode of the Showtime television series “Homeland” was completely unrecognizable to me. The popular Showtime series follows the story of U.S. Marine Nicholas Brody, who was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Abu Nazir. Rescued in a daring Delta Force operation after being held in captivity for nearly Keenan Duffey interned with the Washington Report in the summer of 2012. He currently is a master’s student at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and works part-time for a Democratic consulting firm. 78
seven years, Sergeant Brody is welcomed back to the U.S. as a war hero. He successfully runs for Congress and, in the latest episodes, is being considered as a possible candidate for vice president. But the war hero has a secret, and only quirky, bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison knows the truth about him. The truth is that while in captivity Brody converted to Islam and is now a member of a sleeper cell working for the terrorist mastermind Abu Nazir. “Homeland” is based on the Israeli television drama “Prisoners of War,” in which two Israel Defense Forces soldiers return home after being held hostage in Lebanon for 17 years. Both “Homeland” and “Prisoners of War” have received rave reviews and accolades. The American series won both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series-Drama this past year. According to TV Guide, even President Barack Obama is a fan of “Homeland.” Some people have lauded the show for its depiction of Muslims and of Islam. Sergeant Brody proves himself to be a devout Muslim, praying five times a day in his garage to avoid being found out by his wife or family. It is certainly the first time I have seen a U.S. Marine praying toward Mecca on American television, despite the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
fact that there are devout Muslims in the Marine Corps. Unfortunately the groundbreaking visual is cheapened by the reality that Brody is a treasonous terrorist. Instead of blazing a trail for future Muslim protagonists on American television, “Homeland” is choosing to depict Islam as deceptive and anti-American. Season 2 began on Sept. 30 with the brainwashed Sergeant Brody continuing his climb up the political ladder in Washington; Israel bombing Iranian nuclear sites; and the CIA hot on the trail of terrorist Abu Nazir in Beirut. As a former AUB student, I was excited to see the streets of Beirut on American television. The new season’s second episode opened with the CIA gathering intelligence on Abu Nazir. Apparently, he was preparing to meet another terrorist on Hamra Street. Hamra Street? Why would terrorists want to meet in that beautiful, crowded and overly commercialized location? I wondered if the two terrorists would meet up at Burger Nation, the gourmet burger outlet. Or perhaps they would rendezvous at the Route 66 American Diner. Or maybe they would just drop in at Costa Coffee, order a latte and some coffee cake, and discuss their evil plans with the sounds of soft jazz playing in the background. Any of these options would be a typical choice for a meeting on Hamra Street. But I was disappointed and confused when “Homeland” depicted Hamra Street as nothing more than a narrow, dusty alley full of AK-47-toting militants. The scene quickly devolved into a cacophony of gunfire and incoherent shouts in Arabic. Beirut’s most beautiful street looked less like the Paris of the Middle East and more like a warzone. Following the conclusion of that episode, Showtime aired a behind-the- scenes segment which explained that the whole Hamra Street scene was actually shot in Haifa, Israel. Don’t the writers owe the audience the courtesy of at least checking out what Beirut looks like today? After all, it’s not the 1980s anymore. Unfortunately, no one seems to have informed the writers of that—or worse, they don’t seem to care. According to an Oct. 18 Associated Press (AP) article, Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud is so upset about the show’s portrayal of Beirut that he is considering a JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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lawsuit. “It showed Hamra Street with militia roaming in it. This does not reflect reality,” Abboud told AP. “It was not filmed in Beirut and does not portray the real image of Beirut.” Lebanon’s leading LBC TV carried a report on the controversy, saying the show disparages Arabs and that its setting in Israel—which has invaded and bombed its northern neighbor innumerable times—is “a double insult.” The AP article concludes: “Ariel Kolitz, a Tel Aviv businessman who was a childhood friend of Gideon Raff, the Israeli cocreator of ‘Homeland,’ said it wasn’t as if the production team had the option of shooting in Beirut, where Raff and other Israelis involved are not permitted to visit and where they could be in danger.” The most insidious aspect of “Homeland” is its appearance of authenticity. Viewers feel they have stepped behind the curtain of the Middle East, and gained inside access to the CIA as well as to the inner workings of a terror cell. In reality, “Homeland” is a mirror reflecting the fears, false assumptions and hostility that so many Israelis and Americans already hold about Islam and the Middle East. ❑
Landmark Court Ruling… Continued from page 27
mediate scope is limited and encumbered by significant political ramifications. Although it declares Beg and Durrani unequivocally guilty, it outlines no legal mechanism for enforcement, leaving their arrest far from certain. Moreover, loathe to allow such senior members be tried and sentenced in a civilian court, the army can be expected to create strong impediments to their incarceration. In addition, because the ruling also is silent on the fate of the politicians found complicit in manipulating the 1990 election, the army is protesting against being judged the sole guilty party. This has the added consequence of shielding these politicians from immediate criticism just as the new election cycle is heating up. The judgment also pointedly reiterates that the office of the president, currently occupied by Asif Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, must remain politically neutral. As was his late wife, Zardari is both president and the leader of the PPP. With general elections around the corner—likely in early 2013—and Zardari, as the face of the party, expected to campaign vigorously, the court’s pronouncement suggests that JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
he must choose between the electoral fate of his party and his presidency—a particularly unsavory choice for Zardari. Earlier court proceedings investigating charges of gross corruption against him have been stalled by presidential immunity; relinquishing his position would promptly reinitiate the proceedings and likely result in Zardari’s arrest. Nevertheless, despite its shortcomings, the judgment represents a new trend in relations between Pakistan’s civilian and military sectors. After a decade of excesses during the U.S.-supported junta of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the army finds its public image—frequently deployed in the past to legitimize coups and pro-army legislation—rapidly deteriorating. Its influence has ebbed from the heights of the 1990s, as former military lackeys— indeed, much of the IJI coalition members—have become fierce adversaries. The closest thing to a pro-military party is Pakistan’s new Tehreek-e-Insaf, a staunchly ideological party that happens to share some common ground with the military, making the latter more redundant in the political arena. The military is not going down quietly, however, and remains a potent force. While current army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, is widely perceived to have little political ambition, the army and the ISI have been actively attempting to influence the political proceedings, leading former Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gillani to recently describe it as a “state within a state.”
A Wake-up Call for U.S. Policy After General Musharraf’s acquiescence to Washington’s post-9/11 Coalition of the Willing, U.S.-Pakistan relations hit a high, much as they had done under General Zia’s junta in the 1980s. Domestically, Musharraf enjoyed early support as, reeling from the prior decade’s predatory plutocracy, many Pakistanis had welcomed the coup. However, as the War on Terror displaced millions of Afghans and Pakistanis, and Islamabad’s participation brought suicide bombings to Pakistan’s cities, Musharraf’s domestic popularity quickly eroded. With the junta’s façade of “enlightened moderation” crumbling, the White House decided that backing Pakistan’s return to democracy was in the American interest. With U.S. facilitation, Pakistan’s former political heavyweights, exiled under Musharraf, returned under the protective amnesty of the newly drafted National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). An agreement shrouded in secrecy, the NRO guaranteed the returning politiTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
cians—including Benazir Bhutto—immunity from previous charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder and terrorism. Public distrust of the resurgent political class understandably ran high—a distrust fueled by the fact of Washington’s backing. After all, American sponsorship of their country’s political parties was nothing new to Pakistanis. Commenting on popular perception in 1990, the left-leaning Economic and Political Weekly called the PPP and the IJI “a brainchild of U.S. imperialism,” in an age when “civilian regimes are seen to be more suitable to fulfill the grand designs of imperialist strategy as opposed to the more naked military dictatorships.” But American analysts were optimistic that U.S. support for the democratic process, achieved through the structured and monitored disbursal of funds, would be viewed favorably. Five years later, however, Pew reports that barely a tenth of Pakistanis welcome U.S. assistance. Fewer still approve of their government, with support for the president frequently registering in the single digits. Despite the shift toward supporting Pakistan’s political parties, American divestment from the country’s military is not unequivocal. Despite hiccups, the CIA and ISI maintain close ties, cooperating closely in matters of terrorism, and Pakistan’s military leadership is happy to look the other way when it comes to the widely despised drone strikes. Washington’s public support of the civil government, while tacitly patronzing the military, reflects what many Pakistanis view as U.S. duplicity in achieving its policy objectives through the lofty rhetoric of democratic reform. In that light, it would be a mistake for U.S. policymakers to read the court’s recent decision as a victory of the political parties over a once-strident military, as legitimizing American patronage of the former, or as signaling an ascendency of a political group that should be supported. It should instead be seen as one step in the progression toward a democratic process that rejects both the military junta and civilian plutocracies that have been the instruments of domestic repression while vying for American funds. The Supreme Court’s decision, while laden with tension and uncertainty, is a welcome assertion of democratic independence. It is Pakistan’s tiny Tahrir Square; countless more are needed before Pakistanis truly own their government. A cleareyed assessment would indicate the need for a reformulated American policy—one that supports true democratic change. ❑ 79
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Books, DVDs Reviewed by Nicole Abdul
The Time That Remains Directed by Elia Suleiman, MPI Home Video, 2012, DVD, 109 mins., Arabic with English and Hebrew subtitles. List: $24.98; AET: $20. Through short autobiographical vignettes, Elia Suleiman’s latest film, “The Time that Remains,” tells the story of his life in Nazareth. Inspired by his father’s diaries and his mother’s letters to her family, Suleiman begins the film during the surrender of 1948. Many Palestinians fled, including some of his family members, but Suleiman remained behind, along with his mother, father and aunt. “The Time that Remains” is punctuated with black comedy—the absurdities of life under occupation are captured by Suleiman’s lens, which lacks anger, but simply looks upon the situation with stark silence. Viewers are invited to feel part of Suleiman’s life as he takes them from childhood into adulthood, and as he takes on the role of looking after his ailing mother. Nicole Abdul is a doctor based in Sheffield, England who has an interest in Middle East affairs.
While often humorous, the film also captures Palestinian despair, like the neighbor who constantly douses himself in petrol, trying to end his life while shouting existential questions. Invariably, Suleiman’s father’s response is to quietly put out his cigarette a meter away from the man and escort him home—a profound portrayal of extraordinary patience when there is so little to spare. Other satirical incidents include a man putting his trash out while being watched by an Israeli tank. When the man takes a call on his cell phone the tank’s turret slowly turns back and forth, following him as he paces across the road chatting about his social life. Later, outside a nightclub, Israeli soldiers try to instigate a curfew, but while attempting for the third time to get the revelers’ attention, they too begin nodding along to the music’s beat. “The Time that Remains” is a quiet reminder of Palestinian life under occupation, made more bearable and affecting by Suleiman’s sense of the absurd. Instead of showing the violent reality that Palestinians deal with, the film emphasizes the daily struggles of life under constant threat, a more mundane but by no means less powerful method of storytelling. Clever, brilliantly written and well directed, “The Time That Remains” is a sure classic.
Sabra Zoo By Mischa Hiller, Telegram Books, 2012, paperback, 231 pp. List: $13.95; AET: $11. The Sabra and Shatila massacres of 1982 were a gross assault against the human rights of Palestinians. It is estimated that between 800 and 3,000 innocent people were brutally slaughtered over a few days in the Beirut camps, and yet public knowledge of the massacres is limited. In his beautifully written book, Sabra Zoo, Mischa Hiller captures the struggles of people living in Lebanon during
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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
1982. Although written as fiction, Hiller’s story is a realistic account of Beirut at that time. The main character, Ivan, is an 18-yearold boy of Norwegian and Palestinian roots, whose parents have just been evacuated from Lebanon with other Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) cadres. Ivan decides to stay on, translating for international medical personnel in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp and working for the PLO as a courier. Despite the country’s instability, life must continue for those remaining and Ivan is no exception. Like many 18 year olds around the world, Ivan gets into drinking, and experiences the rite of passage, as he becomes a man. An unconventional love story between Ivan and a volunteer physiotherapist serves as a reminder that even war cannot halt emotions. A friendship between Ivan and a victim of a cluster bomb also unfolds, showing the raw kindness and bonds that humans can form. Life in Sabra Zoo is hard, but at least Ivan has friends. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst when the camp suffers the horrendous massacre. Even though the book details the results of the massacre in just a few pages, it really opened my eyes to the truly horrific nature of the attack. I have visited Sabra refugee camp, and attended the 30th memorial service of the massacre in Beirut in 2012. Even though I have spoken to survivors, I did not realize the extent of the brutality. I cannot forget the woman Ivan finds in the camp after the massacre, who has had the unborn baby she was carrying ripped out of her abdomen, both corpses lying motionless and still connected by the umbilical cord. Not content to kill so many innocent people; the perpetrators also subjected their victims to torture and indignities. While the book ends on a positive note, at least for Ivan, justice has yet to be served for the thousands of people left mourning their loved ones. Sabra Zoo is absorbing and accessible. Whether you have had a long-standing interest in the situation or, like me two years ago, you are a novice, this is certainly a starting point to spark a thirst for more information. After reading it, be sure to pass it on to a friend— maybe it will spark more interest than you thought possible in 203 pages. ❑ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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AET Book Club Catalog Literature
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Music
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Film
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Monographs
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More
Winter 2013 Sabra Zoo, by Mischa Hiller, Telegram Books, 2012, paperback, 231 pp. List: $13.95; AET: $11. This absorbing and accessible book captures the challenges facing those living in Lebanon during the Israeli invasion of 1982. Ivan, 18 years old, is an interpreter for international medical volunteers in the Sabra refugee camp, as well as an undercover courier for the PLO. Despite the chaos around him, he manages to find love and friendship—until his life is upended by the horrors of the Sabra-Shatila massacre.
The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims, by Nathan Lean, Pluto Press, 2012, paperback, 222 pp. List: $17; AET: $13. This disturbing account of Islamophobia in the United States and Europe explores the confluence of conservative bloggers, right-wing pundits, evangelical religious leaders and politicians, all united in their quest to exhume the ghosts of 9/11 and convince their audiences that Islam is the enemy. Lean reveals their motives and exposes the ideologies that drive their propaganda machine.
Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education, by Nurit Peled-Elhanan, I.B. Tauris, 2012, paperback, 280 pp. List: $29; AET: $20. In this longawaited paperback edition, the author, a professor of language and education at Hebrew University, dissects Israeli textbooks and uncovers the systematic marginalization of Palestinians, legitimization of Israeli military actions, and the priming of students for enlistment into military service. Her book provides an important analysis of how the Israeli school system “teaches children to hate.”
I Was Born There, I Was Born Here, by Mourid Barghouti, Walker & Company, 2012, hardcover, 240 pp. List: $28; AET: $19. The latest memoir by the author of the acclaimed I Saw Ramallah is full of heart-rending stories, family history, and poetic ruminations. In expressive prose, Barghouti explores Palestinian history as well as daily life and the importance of being able to say while standing in a small village in Palestine, "I was born here," rather than saying from exile, "I was born there.”
Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad, by David W. Lesch, Yale University Press, 2012, hardcover, 275 pp. List: $28; AET: $19. A widely respected Middle East scholar relies on his unprecedented access to the upper echelons of Syrian power to document Assad’s failed leadership that has culminated in the violence currently strangling the country. Avoiding technical jargon and oversimplifications, and reinforced by personal interviews with high-level officials, Lesch’s analysis of the uprising and of Syria’s uncertain future is one of the best sources on the situation to date.
The Iraqi Family Cookbook, by Kay Karim, Hippocrene Books, 2012, paperback, 295 pp. List: $19.95; AET: $15. One of the AET Book Club’s bestselling titles, The Iraqi Family Cookbook has been reissued in a new edition, completely revamped with large color photos, new stories, and a section on Iraqi history and traditions. Karim’s collection of recipes is lovingly gathered from generations of family tradition, as well as her brilliant research on dishes from across Iraq.
Poetry of the Taliban, edited by Alex Strick Van Linschoten & Felix Kuehn, Columbia University Press, 2012, hardcover, 247 pp. List: $24.50; AET: $22. Over the last decade, the Taliban has published openly on the Internet a surprising amount of poetry, mostly ignored by experts. Editors Van Linschoten and Kuehn have collected more than 200 poems from uncensored voices within the Taliban, countering the stereotype of an ideologically rigid and backward rank-and-file. Narratives of unrequited love, bloody vengeance and even aspirations for nonviolence provide fascinating insight into the minds and hearts of this heterogeneous group.
A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution, by Samar Yazbek, Haus Publishing, 2012, paperback, 250 pp. List: $18.95; AET: $14. Syrian novelist, journalist and activist Yazbek has collected personal accounts from ordinary Syrians and her own journal entries to produce a snapshot of the Syrian uprising. A member of the ruling Ala wite community, Yazbek’s family, hometown and even her childhood friends have branded her a traitor for her public criticism of the Assad regime. Her book is an exciting work of journalism, self-reflection, and testimony.
The Sky of Afghanistan, by Ana A. de Eulate & Sonja Wimmer, Cuento de Luz SL, 2012, hardcover, 24 pp. List: $24.99; AET: $20. Beautifully illustrated and undeniably moving, The Sky of Afghanistan is the story of a young Afghan girl’s dream of peace. As her country is wracked by war, her imagination drifts toward the images of peace for her people and for her country. Her powerful dreams soon expand and fill the homes and hearts of those around her, uniting a people in their common desire for peace.
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.middleeastbooks.com). All payments in U.S. funds. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. Please make checks and money orders out to “AET.” Contact the AET Book Club for complete shipping guidelines and options. 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 $2.50 for each additional item. International shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless otherwise requested. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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 the Book Club at 800-368-5788 ext. 2 to order. AET policy is to identify donors unless anonymity is specifically requested.
THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
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Upcoming Events, Announcements & Obituaries
BulletinBoard
—Compiled by Andrew Stimson Upcoming Events The Muslim Group of USA and Canada will hold its 29th Annual Conference, Dec. 26-29 at the Westin O’Hare Hotel, 6100 North River Rd., Rosemont, IL 60018. This year’s theme is “Social Standards of Living: Let’s Talk Islam,” and will feature lectures and workshops in English and Arabic, children’s programs, a bazaar, and much more. For more information visit <www.mgusac.org/> or call (828) 475-2647. The University of California, Irvine will display the multimedia exhibit “Patriots & Peacemakers: Arab Americans in Service to Our Country,” Jan. 5-26 in the student center. The exhibit features personal stories of men and women whose sacrifice and service highlight the important role Arab Americans have played in the U.S. throughout its history. For more information visit <www.arab americanmuseum.org/patriots.and.peacemakers.socal>. The Alif Institute will host Dr. Jack Shaheen’s “A is for Arab: Archiving Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture,” Jan. 7-27, 3288 Marjan Dr., Atlanta, GA 30340. The exhibit features photographs from Shaheen’s impressive archive of documents and films depicting stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in the U.S. from the early 20th century to the present. For more information visit <www. alifinstitute.org/>.
Announcements The Arab American National Museum is now accepting submissions for the 2013 Arab American Book Awards, honoring significant literature by and about Arab Americans. Deadline for submission is Feb. 1. Information on the guidelines is available at <www.arabamericanmuseum.org/bookaward>. Applications are currently being accepted for the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 17th Annual Oman Cultural Immersion Program, Feb. 13-27. Application deadline is Jan. 15. For more information visit <http://ncusar.org/>. 82
On behalf of their daughter, the peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed in 2003 when she was run over by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to protect a Palestinian home in Gaza from demolition, Craig and Cindy Corrie accepted the 2012 LennonOno Grant for Peace, presented by Yoko Ono in Reykjavik, Iceland. Ono, the Corries and other award recipients participated in the annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower on the island of Videy in Iceland, Oct. 9. To learn more about the award recipients visit <http:// imaginepeace.com/archives/18529>.
Obituaries: Maideh Mazda Magee, 90, author of the popular cookbook In a Persian Kitchen, linguist, art history lecturer, and wife of a U.S. diplomat, died Aug. 7, 2012 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan to Persian parents, Maideh Mazda grew up speaking Persian, Azeri, Russian, English and Turkish. She attended an American Presbyterian missionary high school in Tehran, completed an undergraduate degree at Rutgers University and received a master’s degree in international relations from the University of California at Berkeley. While teaching at the Navy Language School during the 1950s, she married U.S. foreign service officer Charles T. Magee, whom she would later accompany on his assignments in Canada, Western and Eastern Europe as well as the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 2010, she served as a guide, lecturing in several languages on the Marjorie Merriweather Post Collection of Russian and French art at the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC. Since it was first pubished in 1960, In a Persian Kitchen has appeared in over 20 editions. Reginald Bartholomew, 76, a distinguished U.S. diplomat who served four presidents, as ambassador to Lebanon (1983-86) under Ronald Reagan, died in New York City on Aug. 26, 2012. Born to Italian immigrants living in Portland, Maine, he attended Dartmouth THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
College and later received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago. After a brief career as a professor of government at Wesleyan University, Bartholomew joined the Department of Defense and later served in the National Security Council under President Jimmy Carter. Bartholomew was an important negotiator in the SALT II arms control talks between the United States and the Soviet Union, and in 1979 was appointed director of the State Department’s Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs. As U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Bartholomew’s second day on the job was spent touring the bombed-out shell of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, where 241 Marines had been killed by a suicide bomber the previous day. He urged the Reagan administration to resist calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Lebanon. Later that year, the newly rebuilt United States Embassy in Lebanon was also bombed, killing nine. Bartholomew was rescued from the scene and suffered only minor injuries. He served in Lebanon until 1986, when he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Spain. He also served as ambassador to Italy (1993-97) before retiring from the foreign service. Mohammed Rafeh, 30, a Syrian actor famous throughout the Arab world, was kidnapped in Damascus and executed Nov. 2, 2012 by suspected members of the Free Syrian Army. His remains were returned to his family two days later and he was buried in a military ceremony. His killing was thought to be in retaliation for his pro-Assad statements and for allegedly providing information to Syrian authorities on anti-government protesters. Born to a Palestinian father and Syrian mother, Rafeh played several roles on Syrian television before becoming regionally famous as Ibrahim in the widely syndicated TV show “Bab al-Hara.” ❑ JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
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January/February 2013 Vol. XXXII, No. 1
Pakistani villagers injured in a U.S. drone attack rest on a bed after arriving from the North Waziristan area of Ghundai Village for treatment in Peshawar, Nov. 3, 2013. A missile hit near their home on Oct. 24, when a U.S. drone fired two missiles at a suspected militant compound, killing three people. A. MAJEED/AFP/Getty Images