Washington Report on Middle East Affairs | March-April 2012

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AIPAC FIGHTS $50 MILLION DEFAMATION SUIT

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On Middle East Affairs Volume XXXI, No. 2

March/April 2012

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 Israel’s Current Demand: Most of the West Bank —Rachelle Marshall 10 Common Sense About Iran—Two Views —William Pfaff, Paul Findley 14 Leaked EU Documents Criticize Israeli Policies, Hint At Greater EU Involvement—Jonathan Cook 16 A Vengeful U.S. Congresswoman Halts Funding for Palestinian “Sesame Street”—Mohammed Omer 20 The Crisis in Syria—Two Views —Patrick Seale, Immanuel Wallerstein 23 As Americans Leave Iraq, Political Tensions Increase—Rachelle Marshall 24 The Many Reasons Why the Guantánamo Detention Facility Must Close

—Delinda C. Hanley

26 No Uniting for Peace After Russia and China Veto Security Council Resolution on Syria—Ian Williams 28 Shared Values? Marylanders Oppose Sister-City Relationship With Beit Shemesh—Susan Kerin 30 So Sue Me: AIPAC Fights Former Executive’s $20 Million Defamation Suit—Grant F. Smith 34 The Shocking Silence of the U.S. Media Over the Obama “Hit” Column—George S. Hishmeh

CONGRESS AND THE 2012 ELECTIONS 12 They’re Baaack: Israel Lobby Poster Boys Rick Santorum and George Allen—Janet McMahon 13 Gingrich’s Lie Reveals His Bigotry—John E. Sununu 31 “Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Aid to Middle East, With Conditions—Shirl McArthur

SPECIAL REPORTS 18 The Diligence and Humility of Anthony Shadid (1968-2012)—Rami G. Khouri

38 Snapshots of the New Tunisia: A Revolution Still in Progress?—Salena Tramel and Mélanie Griot

PHOTO SALENA TRAMEL

36 Unsettled Maldives—John Gee

A traditional Tunisian door. See story p. 38.

ON THE COVER: Syrian refugee children fleeing the violence in their country with their families gather at a partially set up camp in Mafraq City, near Jordan’s northern border with Syria, Feb. 20, 2012.

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/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

Mitt Romney’s Man on Iran, Max Blumenthal, Al Akhbar English

OV-1

Getting Rid of “Anti-Israel” Presidents, Robert Parry, www.consortiumnews.com Welcome to the World’s First Bunker State, Jonathan Cook, www.counterpunch.org

Clinton Revives Dubious Charge of “Covert” Iranian Nuclear Site, Gareth Porter, IPS Inter Press Service

OV-8

OV-11

OV-3 Hasbara PennBDS Wrap-up: Pro-Israel Students Are Ignorant, Allison Deger, Mondoweiss.net OV-12

Iran’s Nuclear Scientists Are not Being Assassinated. They Are Being Murdered, Mehdi Hasan, www.guardian.co.uk

The Israel Lobby Finds a New Face: Black College Students, Seth Freed Wessler, http://colorlines.com

OV-12

Hebrew and English, Gilad Atzmon, www.gilad.co.uk OV-6

Creating American Terrorists, Philip Giraldi, www.antiwar.com

OV-13

A Perfect Record In Iran, Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com

OV-6

Our Innocents Abroad?, Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate, Inc.

OV-14

Jewish Fund-Raisers Stick With Obama, Josh Nathan-Kazis, The Forward

OV-7

Obama Does the Right Thing in Afghanistan, Eric S. Margolis, www.ericmargolis.com OV-15

OV-4

Whoever Killed the Scientist Was Aiming at Much More, Jim Lobe, IPS Inter Press Service

OV-5

DEPARTMENTS 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

50 ISRAEL AND JUDAISM: Freedom of Speech Under

7 PUBLISHERS’ PAGE

—Allan C. Brownfeld

MIDDLE EAST — CARTOONS

44 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Arab Spring Heroes, Local Activists Lauded At CAIR-SV Ninth Annual Banquet—Elaine Pasquini 46 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHRONICLE: Egyptian Americans Celebrate Revolution, Call on Congress to Stop U.S. Aid to Military

—Pat and Samir Twair 48 NEW YORK CITY AND TRISTATE NEWS: Canaan Fair Trade: A Palestinian Success Story—Jane Adas

66 HUMAN RIGHTS: Rep. Jim McDermott, Faith Leaders Discuss Conflict

52 MUSIC AND ARTS: 41 OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL

International Day of Solidarity

Increasing Attack Within the Organized Jewish Community

40 THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE

65 DIPLOMATIC DOINGS:

Minerals

National Press Club Panelists Discuss Elmer Berger, the Rabbi

Outcast

68 BOOK REVIEW: The Unmaking of Israel

—Reviewed by Allan C. Brownfeld 53 MUSLIM-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: ADC Hosts Cast

69 NEW ARRIVALS FROM THE AET BOOK CLUB

From “All-American Muslim” 70 BULLETIN BOARD 55 WAGING PEACE: Must-See Film, “This Is Where

71 2012 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS

We Take Our Stand,” Premieres In DC 64 ARAB-AMERICAN ACTIVISM: ADC Looks at the 2012 Elections

72 2011 AET CHOIR OF ANGELS 30 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

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ANDREW I. KILLGORE Executive Editor: RICHARD H. CURTISS Managing Editor: JANET McMAHON News Editor: DELINDA C. HANLEY Book Club Director: ANDREW STIMSON Circulation Director: ANNE O’ROURKE Administrative Director: ALEX BEGLEY Art Director: RALPH U. SCHERER

LetterstotheEditor

Publisher:

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April, June/July and Nov./Dec. combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 9396050. Subscription prices (United States and possessions): one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. For Canadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year. Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062.

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 seven 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.

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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.com http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009-9062 Printed in the USA

MARCH/APRIL 2012

A Monthly Angel I received the Jan./Feb. issue of the Washington Report about two weeks ago and, having read the “Publisher’s Page,” was mortified to learn that financial stringency compels you to reduce the number of issues this year to eight. Since then I have been considering how best I can help with my humble means—digging deep into a pocket that is basically shallow!! I herewith enclose a check for $100 and intend to make monthly remittances starting next month of such funds as I can spare, the intention being to make a total contribution of $500 for the year 2012.

Unfortunately, the fact remains that in spite of the Washington Report’s near-30 years’ lone but powerful advocacy of the right thing to do, special interests inimical to the country’s true interests continue to influence the formulation of our foreign and domestic policies. The consequences are there for all to see!! There is, therefore, a case for redoubling your fundraising efforts and, if at all possible, increasing the number of issues of the magazine yearly to 10, concurrently increasing the reach of your electronic medium.

With all best wishes to all of the Washington Report team, M.H. Quader, Harrisburg, PA Your generosity and commitment to the Washington Report are an inspiration to us—as is the support over three decades of so many of our readers. We’ve heard from many who would love to help us out today, but are simply struggling to survive themselves. Your strategy reinforces the point that no contribution is too small—because they all add up!

We are most grateful to you and all our supporters.

One-Sided Coverage of Syria I’ve been a subscriber to your magazine for the last decade, supporting you and telling all my friends and family that your magazine is the only one who tells the truth about what is happening in the Middle East. However, I am disappointed that your magazine has not revealed the truth about Syria. In the last three issues you have shown only antiSyrian-government protests. As a Syrianborn person who loves his country, I have been monitoring the situation there since day one, on the Internet and by calling friends, family members and many contacts in Syria, who do not agree with the reports we see and hear in Western media such as CNN and Fox News. Likewise, many of the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Gulf-sponsored Arabic news channels, like Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, seem to portray a dire situation in Syria, when the reality appears to be something quite the contrary. All my Syrian contacts agree that what is happening there is a conspiracy because of the country’s political position.

There have been many pro-Syrian-government protests in almost every city in the U.S., not to mention the millions of people who gathered for numerous protests within Syria supporting the reform under President Bashar Assad’s rule. None of these were were mentioned in your magazine.

And with regard to Mr. James Zogby’s

press conference releasing the results of an opinion poll on attitudes toward Syria in some of the Arab countries, it would have been more beneficial if this poll involved the Syrian people. Only they have the right to determine who will be their president, and I am certain that the majority support President Bashar Assad.

Michel Hajal, Las Vegas, NV Our editorial position was perhaps best expressed by Patrick Seale in the conclusion of his article “Remaking the Arab State” (November 2011 Washington Report, p. 26): “It is high time the Arabs were left alone to determine their own destiny.” We do believe that instability in Syria is being used as a way to destabilize Iran, and that there are many players—not all of them Syrians—involved in this complex situation. We hope you’ll find the “Two Views” beginning on p. 20 of this issue informative and thought-provoking.

“Technical Difficulty” or Censorship?

I’m really very disappointed in the bulletin you sent out Jan. 6 regarding CNN. While the tech/audio feed “problem” with a soldier at Ron Paul headquarters in Iowa is certainly suspicious and worthy of our attention, your litany of CNN staff (including “Cable news Jews”) is unhelpful, sexist, and borders on anti-Semitism.

5

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Criticism of reporters and news organizations should be based on their work. It is completely unfair to criticize Dana Bash based on her parents, her ex-husband, or the fact that her present husband converted to Judaism. That is just plain out of line.

It is noteworthy that Wolf Blitzer once worked for AIPAC. The whole “Cable news Jews” sidebar is just unworthy of the Washington Report. If “JWeekly.com” wants to cite an unnamed Bay Area journalist’s question and hazard an answer about Jews working for CNN and others, that’s their business. JWeekly’s list is snarky and without merit, and it is more than three years old!

We expect better from the Washington Report.

Ann Hafften, via e-mail Thank you for your comments. We appreciate that it is a sensitive issue. It seems to be one, however, that only Jewish Americans are allowed to—and do—ask about. But it does seem that Bash is concerned about Israel’s welfare. While subsequently talking to her husband on the air, Bash confessed that she “is worried” about Paul’s candidacy— which she was assigned to cover! In the print media, the son of Ethan Bronner, the New York Times’ departing Jerusalem bureau chief, served in the IDF; and according to Mondoweiss.net, the Israeli husband of Times Jerusalem correspondent Isabel Kirchner, Hirsh Goodman, recently called for an attack on Iran. Goodman was speaking at a Canadian synagogue at an event sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal.

We would be happy to report on similar conflicts of interest by Arab-American journalists—but they are not to be found. On the contrary, former Washington Report West Bank correspondent Maureen Meehan began writing for us after she was fired

by NPR for being married to a Palestinian official.

The Larger Context Thanks go to the Washington Report’s Action Alert of Jan. 6, 2012, for informing readers of possible bias in CNN’s reporting of Ron Paul’s presidential candidacy. Another thanks goes for calling attention to Jewish news correspondents who might let their allegiance to the Jewish state override their sense of balanced journalism.

Even after Israel’s popularity plummeted following the fatal attack on the Mavi Marmara, a study from the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Jewish Studies at Brandeis University then found that 75 percent of 6

American Jews still said that “caring about Israel is a significant part of their Jewish identity.” It seems logical that news correspondents also feel close to the Jewish state, in proportion to the findings of this study, and might let those feelings influence their coverage of a candidate who calls for an end to all foreign aid, including the recipient of the highest share of that aid—the state of Israel.

In previous letters to the Washington Report I suggested that activists working on peace in Palestine should be polled as to whether they support Israel’s claimed “right” to exist as a Jewish state in Palestine. It would also be beneficial if news correspondents (Jewish or otherwise) were likewise polled for their opinion.

In his essay, “A War for Israel,” Jeff Blankfort lists 62 Jewish organizations and 28 Jewish individuals—journalists, pundits, policymakers—who pressed strongly for war in Iraq. Many of these individuals and organizations are currently pressing for war on Iran, and sanctions against Syria. At roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population, Jews are well over-represented in media, but they are underrepresented in those Americans who are dying in these needless conflicts (0.6%, according to the National Museum of American Jewish Military History).

Let me be clear: there exists a potential for distrust, fear and hatred when an influential minority causes a majority population to act in ways detrimental to the interests of that majority. As the rhetoric and measures against Syria and Iran get ratcheted up, and Ron Paul’s non-interventionist candidacy is muted, Americans need to know who is propelling us to war and influencing our news coverage, for what reasons, and who is paying the price.

Henry Herskovitz, Ann Arbor, MI Indeed, the result could be tragic for all concerned.

A Semantic Issue The Washington Report is the best source in our language for news on the issue of our time, and I can only be thankful for your role in helping to enlighten people about it. But I have a semantic issue to raise in light of Palestine’s recent recognition by UNESCO and its continuing effort for wider U.N. recognition.

On p. 37 of the Jan./Feb. 2012 issue I noticed the words “human rights in Israel/Palestine.” The term seemed even more awkward given that it appeared on a facing page with a photo of Palestine’s ambassador to the U.N. and his comments on the various Judeo-American efforts to thwart his people’s existence.

Over the years, some people have used the term “Israel/Palestine” as a way, I guess, of appearing neutral on the question of whether or not the Jews have a right to an ethnically separatist state at the expense of the Palestinians’ land and self-determination. Given the recent events at the U.N., however, the term “Israel/Palestine” doesn’t appear to be neutral at all, but rather a sort of grammatical acceptance of Israel’s colonial domination of Palestine.

Hyphenated references to the “PalestineIsrael conflict” are accurate and valid, because they don’t conflate one group with the other. But a slash or virgule, in the case of “Israel/Palestine,” means “or,” as in “and/or.” So what we have is actually a reference to the nation of “Israel or Palestine.”

Since not even most Palestinians would deny that such a thing as “Israel” exists, the term “Israel/Palestine” becomes simply a way of semantically hinging Palestine’s existence on that of IsOther Voices is an optional rael, as if to acknowledge Palestine on its own would be some16-page supplement availhow “offensive” toward Israel. able only to subscribers of the I guarantee you that most of Washington Report on the Washington Report’s readers, like the vast majority of the naMiddle East Affairs. For an adtions on Earth, recognize the exditional $15 per year (see istence of the Palestinian nation postcard insert for Wash and the fact that its land and many of its people are currently ington Re port subscripunder the unlawful colonial contion rates), subscribers will trol of the Israeli apartheid regime. We will not be offended by receive Other Voices bound into each issue of their referring to Palestine by name, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. without slants or qualifications, Back issues of both publications are available. To subin the pages of your outstanding publication. So please do! scribe telephone 1 (800) 368-5788 (press 1), fax (202) In any event, thank you so 265-4574, e-mail <circulation@wrmea.com>, or write much for your invaluable work. to P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009.

Leo Oladimu, Bruceton Mills, WV ❑ THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

publishers_7_March April 2012 Publishers page 2/23/12 1:51 PM Page 7

American Educational Trust Two Deaths and a Life.

In the week before we went to press, we lost the incomparable Anthony Shadid (see p. 18 of this issue) and another American journalist, Marie Colvin, and almost lost the courageous human rights activist Khader Adnan, incarcerated in an Israeli prison without charges (euphemistically known as “administrative detention”). After 66 days and near death, he abandoned his hunger strike after Israeli authorities agreed to release him on April 17, four months after he was arrested.

Still in prison, then, the 33-year-old Palestinian baker, graduate student and father of two (with a third on the way) is…

Alive but not Alone.

Today Israel holds without evidence or charges 309 other Palestinians, whose sentences it can extend arbitrarily and indefinitely. Indeed, according to the agreement with Adnan, Israel can extend his imprisonment as well, if it decides it has uncovered “substantial evidence” against him in the weeks before his scheduled release. According to Randa Musa, Adnan’s wife, administrative detention is being used “with increasing frequency against university students and lecturers, young professionals and even elected parliamentarians.” In a Feb. 22 article for the Middle East Monitor, she also notes the possibility that the Israelis could re-arrest her husband after his release—”as they have done with the recent prisoner exchange deal.” Now, however…

The Whole World Is Watching…

And the outrage was not confined to occupied Palestine. After receiving our action alert about Adnan’s detention and hunger strike, Washington Report reader Melissa Lane created a petition demanding his immediate release which was hosted on <www.change.org> and received 1,000 signatures. Writing on <www.aljazeera. com>, Richard Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, urged that “opposition to administrative detention [be put] on the top of the human rights agenda throughout the world.”

Nor Can We Forget…

The additional 4,000 Palestinians who are currently serving prison sentences on charges brought by Israeli occupation authorities. Indeed, Musa wrote, “Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have passed MARCH/APRIL 2012

Publishers’ Page

through Israeli jails.” Since the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Palestinian forces are holding no Israeli prisoner—even though it is Israel that is violating international law. Apparently its troops are…

Just Following Orders.

Homeless in Winter.

The loss of a home is especially cruel in winter, as the 10.4 million Americans facing eviction due to foreclosures, underwater mortgages, or the inability to pay property taxes would agree. U.S. media reports of families living in cheap motels or even cars are heart-rending. Judging by President Barack Obama’s 2013 budget, however, which includes sweeping cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other vital health programs, Israeli demands trump…

The Needs of Americans.

The recently released budget allocates a record $3.1 billion in military assistance to Israel for the 2013 fiscal year. Not only is this just the largest assistance request for Israel ever—it is the largest foreign assistance request in U.S. history! Even National Jewish Democratic Council President David Harris has acknowledged that under President Obama the largest-ever military aid package for Israel was made in a time of a difficult budgetary climate here at home. And that’s only the beginning. In August 2007 the George W. Bush administration agreed to increase U.S. military assistance to Israel by $6 billion over the following decade—meaning that Israel will receive incremental annual increases of $150 million, reaching $3.15 billion for fiscal years 2013-2018.

Military vs. Humanitarian Aid. If the administration considers foreign aid a priority, there are plenty of other needs to be addressed. For example, only the BBC and al-Jazeera bothered to report that nearly 40 children living in tents in Afghanistan have died so far this winter— one of the harshest in years—and most in the capital, Kabul. The children lived in one of 40 tent camps housing at least 30,000 people displaced by the war between NATO troops and the Taliban. Elsewhere…

Israel Continues to Bulldoze…

Palestinian homes, community centers and even livestock pens in the Old City of Jerusalem and its suburb of Silwan, and THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

homes of its Bedouin citizens in the Negev.

On Feb. 22 it approved a plan to build 600 new homes in Shiloh, a hard-line settlement deep inside the West Bank.

Israel’s Racist Violence “Astounding.”

After a recent trip to occupied Palestine, Prof. Robin D. G. Kelley, a professor of American history at the University of California Los Angeles, told Mondoweiss staff reporter Alex Kane that he’d “witnessed a level of racist violence that I hadn’t even seen growing up as a black person here in the States, I have to say, and I’ve been beaten by the cops.

The level of racist violence from the settlers is kind of astounding…And the largest factor in all of this,” he continued, “is the United States of America.…because without U.S. support, we wouldn’t be dealing with all of this.” Horrifyingly, “all of this” includes the possibility of…

Another War for Israel...

This one against Iran. This time it’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who’s trying to box an American president into a corner in the waning months of an election year, when he will be less likely to risk losing the money and votes of Jewish Americans. We fervently hope President Obama will emulate his predecessor President Dwight David Eisenhower, who in 1956—another election year—refused to allow Israel to consolidate its gains in the Sinai Peninsula following its attack, in cahoots with Britain and France, on the Suez Canal. We urge our current president to have the courage to…

Be Like Ike! Sincere Thanks…

To our readers who answered our urgent request for funds—as well as advice—in the action alert survey we sent to our list in December. Your calls and comments, not to mention your generosity, invigorated our hearts. We included lines from many of your comments explaining how you value this publication in letters to 130 foundations and other potential donors asking for their help to survive beyond our 30th birthday. The Washington Report has been publishing since April 1982, and thanks to your continued support we hope and intend to continue.

Please consider making a special contribution in honor of our 30th anniversary and…

Make a Difference Today!

7

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Israel’s Current Demand: Most of the West Bank SpecialReport

HAZEM BADER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Rachelle Marshall

Mohammed Abu Qbeita screams in pain after an Israeli soldier drove a trailer hooked to a tractor over his legs, as Qbeita tried to block him when Israeli forces stopped workers on Jan. 25, 2012 from building a house in al-Dirat village, in the Hebron region of the West Bank.

The Israeli forces were seizing the equipment and trailer from the construction workers because the site falls in the occupied zone C, where Israel prevents Palestinians from building on their own land.

In the first stage we shall see euphoria, upon our return to our ancient sites. Next we shall see the emergence of a messianic, radical and dangerous nationalism. In the third stage we shall see Israeli society becoming more brutal and the emergence of a police state.—Israeli philosopher Yeshaya Liebowitz, shortly after Israel’s victory in the June 1967 war. eace talks between Israel and the Pales-

Ptinians began in 1991 and have contin-

ued intermittently since then, with the two sides steadily moving farther apart. Meanwhile Israel has been building settlements that today house half a million Israelis— Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East.

8

Jewish only—on Palestinian land. The Palestinians frequently complained they were negotiating with Israel over the division of a pie while Israel was busy eating it.

Israel is now offering to give back some of the crumbs.

Israeli negotiators announced in late January that their guiding principle for a twostate solution would be for existing settlement blocs to become permanent parts of Israel, with the new boundary defined by the separation barrier that has been under construction since 2006. The Palestinians charged that the proposal amounted to an abandonment of international law, since it assumes that both sides have an equal claim to the West Bank—when in fact Israel’s continued occupation and its settlements are in violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and several U.N. Security Council resolutions.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Designating the separation wall as the new boundary between Israel and the Palestinians would mean giving Israel more than 10 percent of the West Bank and leaving the Palestinians with the rest: 12 percent of original Palestine instead of the 22 percent they are asking for. Even that 12 percent would be a fragmented territory, divided up by Jewish-only highways, Israeli military bases, and the proliferating outposts established by ultranationalist militants.

The barrier that Israel wants to make the permanent border runs well east of the Green Line and in many places separates villagers from their farms and orchards.

Chris Hedges, former Middle East correspondent for The New York Times, has described the wall as confining Palestinians to “a series of podlike militarized ghettos,” MARCH/APRIL 2012

while giving Israel the West Bank’s most valuable water acquifers and more than 40,000 acres of its prime agricultural land.

Israel’s insistence on annexing the major Jewish settlements means that until there is a firm peace agreement, Israel can go on expanding its reach into West Bank territory indefinitely. Indeed, it is doing so as rapidly as possible. Obviously aware of this fact, four members of the U.N. Security Council—Britain, France, Germany and Portugal—issued a statement in late December asking Israel to stop all settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and pointing out that the settlements are illegal under international law.

The Security Council members were calling into the wind as far as Israel was concerned. As the year ended, plans were going ahead for 3,690 new apartments in East Jerusalem and 1,000 in nearby settlements. Peace Now reported a 20 percent increase in settlement construction in 2011, with 1,850 new units going up in settlements east of the separation wall, and 3,500 elsewhere in the West Bank. Human rights groups noted a corresponding increase in home demolitions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

At the end of January, a day before Netanyahu won re-election as head of the Likud party, he designated 70 settlements as priority areas for expansion, with subsidies for new housing and development. The decision, according to the prime minister’s office, was “designed to encourage positive migration to the communities” and help ease Israel’s housing shortage. Since 57 of the settlements to be developed are east of the wall and deep inside the West Bank, Israel’s action amounted to the further battering of a moribund peace process, and an end to any hope of a two-state solution.

Palestinians living within range of the settlements have more immediate problems, however, since there seems no limit to the brutality of settlers and the army. In late December, a coalition of human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, reported that during 2011 settlers destroyed hundreds of homes, water wells and farm structures, as well as 10,000 olive trees, some of them dating from Roman times. As Palestinians struggled to get by with ever scarcer land and water, the Israeli army destroyed a land reclamation project funded by the Dutch government and a solar energy project funded by Spain.

On Jan. 23, 100 Bedouins in Anata, northeast of Jerusalem, were forced into the cold outdoors just before midnight, when MARCH/APRIL 2012

HAZEM BADER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

marshall_8-9_Special Report 2/22/12 9:59 PM Page 9

A Jewish settler (wearing cap) from the illegal West Bank settlement of Susia tries to confiscate a donkey and cart carrying trees being transported by a Palestinian farmer (r) to plant on his land close to Susia village, Feb. 11, 2012. army bulldozers arrived without warning and demolished their entire community, including all their personal belongings. Many of the displaced were children and babies.

On Jan. 25 near Hebron, Mohammed Abu Qbeita was building a house on his own land when soldiers came and ordered him to stop. When he refused to move, an army officer truck knocked him to the ground and drove a trailers attached to a tractor over his legs, crushing one of them.

No one is safe from the random cruelty.

Shortly before Christmas an Anglican choir from the Bethlehem Bible School was returning from a concert in Nablus when their bus was attacked by a group of settlers who smashed the windshield and several windows, forcing the driver to drive away at high speed.¸ More than 90 percent of Palestinian complaints filed with the police are ignored, but the response was markedly different when Jewish extremists attacked an Israeli army base in mid-December. They vandalized vehicles, threw bricks and smashed windows in reaction to a rumor that a few outposts were to be dismantled.

Five of the attackers were arrested for conspiracy to riot and for gathering military intelligence on Israeli troop movements.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak called their actions “homegrown terror.”

The militants are reported to have close ties to some members of the Knesset and to members of the army who kept them informed when an outpost was scheduled to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

be dismantled. They are also supported by the American Friends of Likud, chaired by American millionaire Kenneth Abramowitz.

Whatever their eventual fate, the Israeli detainees are certain to avoid the treatment accorded most Palestinian prisoners, often including children. They were not beaten, subjected to harsh interrogation, or confined indefinitely without trial. The handful of Israelis who have been arrested for taking part in arson attacks on mosques and other Palestinian property were not even jailed, but only barred from the West Bank for periods ranging from 3 to 12 weeks.

Even more serious damage is being done to Palestinian society and governance by the Israeli government, with help from the U.S. Israel’s withholding of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax payments, and a cut of $147 million in U.S. aid have together contributed to a financial crisis for the Palestinian Authority. The penalties were imposed in retaliation for the Authority’s petition for full membership in the U.N., and its acceptance as a member of the U.N. Economic, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Israel and the U.S. have threatened even greater punishment if President Mahmoud Abbas carries through with his agreement to join in a unity government with Hamas.

The basic cause of the Palestinians’ financial problems and the stifling of their economy, however, is not the cuts in foreign aid, but Israel’s occupation. Israel controls 60 Continued on page 17 9

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Two Views

ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Common Sense About Iran

Protesting the Jan. 29 arrival at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport of IAEA inspectors seeking to clear up “outstanding substantive issues” about Iran’s nuclear program, Iranian students hold a poster of murdered nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan (r) and a picture of the family of another murdered nuclear scientist, Dariush Rezaei, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Is a Nuclear Iran Really to Be Feared?

By William Pfaff

he obsession of the American foreign

Tpolicy community, as well as most Amer-

ican (and a good many international) politicians, by the myth of Iran’s “existential” threat to Israel brings the world steadily closer to another war in the Middle East.

The debate over Iran takes for granted that the country soon will have nuclear weapons and would use them. The debate back in 2002-03 over Saddam Hussain’s alleged possession of nuclear weapons did the same. After the United States had gone to war against Iraq, no such weapons were found to exist.

The actual winner of the war that followed the American invasion of Iraq was Israel, which saw Iraq, its principal regional rival, destroyed at no cost to itself. The military victor of the war, but politico-strategic loser, was the United States, which destroyed Iraq, a country in no position to harm the United States, at a trillion-dollar William Pfaff is the author of The Irony of Manifest Destiny. Copyright © 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

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cost, enormous human suffering and waste, and the effective transfer of Iraq to Iran’s zone of military and strategic influence.

The present debate over Iran’s nuclear program, like the pre-2003 debate concerning Iraq’s nonexistent WMD program, has never extended to the most important question in the matter: What difference would it make if Iran did have nuclear weapons? What could it do with them, considering the nuclear deterrent force possessed by Israel, generally thought to be the fifth or sixth largest nuclear power in the world?

Between the start of the nuclear era to the end of the Cold War, tens if not hundreds of thousands of earnest scholars, strategists, pacifist activists, journalistic commentators, politicians and prospective victims of nuclear war brooded over how nuclear weapons might be used in war. So far as I know, the only conclusive answer we found (I was, on occasion, one of those people) was that they were only useful as a threat to deter someone else from aggression. They cannot stop the aggression, but they will exact a serious penalty for it.

The best known of these thinkers was undoubtedly my late colleague Herman Kahn. He made a professional career of lecTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

turing to military staffs, scholars, politicians and concerned laymen about how in the last analysis nuclear weapons had no real military or politico-strategic utility against another nuclear-armed power, other than when one actor possessed an absolute monopoly of these weapons, as was the case of the United States in 1945.

The U.S. used its monopoly to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki and put an end to the Second World War (over-used its monopoly—one would have been enough; indeed the Army Air Force might have dropped a nuclear bomb on an unoccupied island or deserted atoll, and told the Japanese to watch, or to go afterward and take a look at the hole).

Kahn’s characteristic conclusion was that the only future constructive use for nuclear weapons lay in creating a Doomsday Machine, the Ultimate Deterrent. It would be a thermonuclear device that would destroy the entire earth if a nuclear weapon were ever exploded anywhere in the world or in surrounding space.

The Iranians, a highly intelligent and well-educated people, know all of this perfectly well. If they intend to produce nuclear weapons, it is to possess a deterrent to foreign aggression. The Israelis, another highly intelligent and well-educated people, also know nuclear history. Their present policy is not based on fear of a nuclear attack by Iran (or by an Iranian proxy). It is calculated to prevent the United States from imposing on Israel a solution to its relationship with the Palestinians. They do not wish a permanent legal frontier dividing them from some new and recognized Palestinian state—a frontier sponsored and also guaranteed by the United States, as well as by international law.

Such a border, and such an internationally guaranteed Palestinian state, would stop further Israeli expansion into Palestinian territory, and possibly reverse the expansion that already has taken place. Continuing expansion is the present Israeli government’s policy, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated in the presence of the international press at Davos, at the start of the first Netanyahu government in 1996.

The propaganda concerning Iranian nuclear weapons is deliberately promoted by Israel and its allies in order to inspire an attack on Iran by the United States, or more likely, to rationalize such an attack MARCH/APRIL 2012

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by Israel itself. An attack, by either government, would undoubtedly provoke Iranian retaliation against American troops, ships and installations in regions neighboring Iran. It would also distract the United States from the Palestinian issue.

This explains recent efforts by the American military to dissuade Israel from such an attack. At the same time, others in the American government, and all but one of the present Republican candidates for the presidential nomination, irresponsibly promote such an attack, against the interests of their own nation. ❑

Israel’s Goal in Bombing Iran

By Paul Findley

ill Iran bomb Israel into rubble, like W Hiroshima and Nagasaki, if the Tehran regime is someday armed with nuclear weapons? No one of my acquaintances believes that will ever happen, nor do thoughtful Israelis. But many people believe Israel will soon use conventional bombs to disable Iranian nuclear research facilities. All of us should ponder why.

Bombing Iran is high risk. It will likely mean widening war, not just a skirmish. It will convince any Iranian doubters their country really needs nuclear weapon protection. Skillful bombing will delay any Iranian bomb construction for several years, but a determined Iranian government will eventually possess a warhead, even if comes from the black market.

Iran is a large, proud, well-educated, resourceful and well-armed nation, not a pipsqueak bunch of thugs. Although Israel has survived by the sword since its founding, thanks mainly to U.S. subservience, trying to immobilize Iran is a mammoth undertaking.

Iran’s main complaint against Israel is its brutal ongoing colonization of mostlyMuslim Palestine, a rebuke applauded by all Muslims and most other people worldwide.

Iran takes a major role supporting resistance to Israeli aggression. Israel could quiet complaint without firing a shot by withdrawing from illegally held Palestinian land.

Israel’s immediate goal is to make the United States its partner in a planned conventional assault on Iran. To that end, Israel’s U.S. lobby is trying to convince the American people Iran is a bad actor and a sinister force in the raging Syrian civil war.

Israel has such mastery of U.S. media this goal may be easily achieved.

President Obama keeps the war option alive and recently sent Israel a supply of America’s latest in deep penetration bombs, a certain and ominous sign of U.S. complicity if assault occurs.

My acquaintance with nuclear bombs began long ago. As a Seabee I walked through the awful devastation at Nagasaki shortly after U.S. nuclear bombing there ended World War II. It was a chilling experience. Years later in Congress, I heard an expert witness predict more than 20 nations had the wherewithal to build a nuclear warhead in a few weeks.

Fortunately, although nuclear armaments have proliferated, none has been fired in anger since Nagasaki. This is mainly because a little-noted military doctrine sends a powerful message: when disputing governments both possess nuclear weapons, neither will commit acts of war against the other. It is called Mutual Assured Destruction [MAD]. It created a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, both armed with nukes. It kept the Cold War from getting hot.

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower alluded to this doctrine in 1964 during a private discussion I had with him in his Gettysburg office. He said, “One way to keep European nations from fighting each other would be to supply an atomic [nuclear] warhead to each head of government.” He was not joking. His point: nuclear weapons have only one military value, but it is an important one—to deter attack.

Nukes now provide deterrence from attack only to the nations possessing nuclear warheads or those given special treaty protection by nations possessing these weapons. Until an international institution strong enough to enforce a worldwide ban on nuclear warheads comes into being, all

threatened nations will be tempted to build their own nuclear bomb deterrence.

Except for Pakistan, all Muslim countries lack such deterrence. If Iran possessed even one nuclear warhead, Israel would not be beating drums for assault of the Tehran regime.

Iran finds little sympathy among Americans these days. Most of them never heard of MAD, but they remember with anger Iran’s illegal imprisonment of U.S. diplomats in the American Embassy in Tehran throughout the last 440 days of the Carter administration.

Few American citizens, however, remember the illegal, bloody 1953 U.S.-British military coup that ousted Iran’s democratically elected government headed by Mohammad Mossadegh. Coup forces imprisoned the ousted leader for life, installed the shah as absolute dictator, and restored British-U.S. exploitation of Iranian oil reserves. It was the worst chapter of the otherwise admirable Eisenhower administration.

Iranians also remember U.S. support for Iraq in the war that dictator Saddam Hussain initiated against Tehran in the 1980s. The Iranian death toll exceeded a half-million.

If Iran gets a nuke or two, it will have deterrence against attack from any hostile power, including Israel. Another peaceful standoff would exist. Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs, says, “…deterrence is less disastrous than preventive war.”

Will President Obama lead America into a war whose only goal is to deny Iran deterrence from attack?

All parties, especially Obama and the Republicans campaigning to succeed him, should cease war talk. The Gulf is already rife with high tension, threats and hate. It is so full of competing military vessels they may literally bump us all into an unintended but horrific conflict that could engulf much of the world. ❑

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Paul Findley of Jacksonville, IL served 22 years in Congress, 10 of them as senior Republican on the House Middle East Subcommittee. His latest book, Speaking Out: A Congressman’s Lifelong Battle Against Bigotry, Famine and War, is available from the AET Book Club.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

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They’re Baaack: Israel Lobby Poster Boys Rick Santorum and George Allen ElectionWatch

PHOTO BY JAY LAPRETE/GETTY IMAGES

By Janet McMahon

Rick Santorum (l) at a Feb. 18, 2012 Tea Party rally, and George Allen during a 2006 campaign debate. mong the highlights (or lowlights) of

Athe 2012 election season is the at-

tempted comeback of two former senators known for their devotion to Israel: Rick Santorum (R-PA) and George Allen (R-VA).

Allen, who once was considered on track to be the GOP presidential nominee, is trying to regain his former Senate seat, which he lost to Sen. James Webb (D-VA) after one term. Ironically, it is Santorum, who lost his seat after two terms, who today is closer to that prize. Given the vagaries of this year’s GOP presidential primary season, however, Santorum could be just the latest in a series of “anyone-but-Romney” stand-ins.

“The Mullah Omar of Pennsylvania” In a 2003 CounterPunch profile, Jeffrey St. Clair described Santorum as “the Mullah Omar of Pennsylvania.” He goes on to describe the fundamentalist Christian as “the slick-haired darling of the neocons, an obedient automaton that feverishly promotes Janet McMahon is managing editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

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their wildest fantasies without hesitation.

“Undeterred by the First Amendment,” St. Clair continues, “Santorum says [he is] planning to introduce legislation that will limit criticism of Israel in colleges and universities that receive federal money.”

A frequent member of the Washington Report’s “Hall of Shame” over the years, in 2006 Santorum was among the top 10 Senate recipients of pro-Israel PAC funds, with $75,500, for a career total of $123,250 (having served two terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 1994).

Santorum seems to be obsessed with President Barack Obama’s religion. Campaigning in Ohio on Feb. 18, he accused the president of basing his agenda on “phony theology…not a theology based on the Bible.” On CBS’ “Face the Nation” the following day, he said he had been “talking about the radical environmentalists,” adding “I’ve repeatedly said that I believe the president’s Christian—he says he’s Christian. But I am talking about his worldview…We’re not here to serve the Earth. That is not the objective; man is the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

objective.”

Curiously, God does not seem to fit in Santorum’s explanation of his own worldview.

Adding fuel to the confusing fire, Santorum aide Alice Stewart told Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC the next day that Santorum was speaking about the “radical Islamic policies the president has.”

Mitchell claims not to have heard the word “Islamic,” and Stewart later said, “I was talking about radical environmental policies, and I misspoke. I regret it.”

Islamic, environmentalist—so easy to confuse the two. At the very least, there seem to be an abundance of Freudian slips being made.

Earlier in his career, as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, Santorum’s staff included Barbara Ledeen, the wife of überneocon Michael Ledeen who currently is senior adviser on Iran for The Israel Project. In his leadership position, according to an article in the Jan. 3 Forward, “Santorum initiated a semi-annual meeting of Republican members with representatives of all Jewish organizations, regardless of their views.

The atmosphere in the meetings, recalled a Jewish activist who took part in the discussions, was positive and both sides avoided touching on thorny issues such as judicial nominations or family values.”

The article goes on to note, however, that “Santorum’s ultra conservative ideology, which includes an anti-gay agenda, opposition to abortion rights and denial of the theory of evolution, has always been a barrier distancing him from the Jewish electorate.”

But the Forward gives the last word to Ledeen: “Whatever Jews may think about his views on abortions or gay rights, he was really engaged on issues important for the community.”

Eligible for Israeli Citizenship?

George Allen’s 2006 re-election bid collapsed just a few months before the November ballot, when he twice called an Indian-American aide of Webb’s “macaca”— a French colonial slang word for “monkey” used as a racial slur in Central Africa.

Continued on page 33 MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Gingrich’s Lie Reveals His Bigotry SpecialReport

By John E. Sununu

hen bigots speak, their words have

phrases that inflame, denigrate, and marginalize other races, religions, or nationalities. They employ distortions and stereotypes to bolster false arguments. Which brings us to Newt Gingrich, who in an interview last December derided “an invented Palestinian people.’’ His comments were a calculated—but demonstrably false—slander, designed to curry favor with a constituency for which he cares by insulting one for which he does not.

With one callous statement he dismissed the plight of 4 million people and their desire for self-determination. Questioned about the controversial statement during a Dec. 12 debate, he piled falsehood upon falsehood. The word “Palestinian,’’ he asserted, “did not become a common term until after 1977.’’ In denying the legitimacy of Palestinians’ identity, Gingrich’s only purpose was to deny any justification for a two-state solution for Middle East peace. If Palestinians are invented, the implication goes, so too must be their objection to the status quo.

During the debate, Gingrich claimed to “stand for the truth,’’ but that apparently does not require telling the truth. His statements are a complete fabrication. Documents prepared by the Arab Office in Jerusalem during the 1930s and ’40s refer frequently to “Palestinian Arabs,’’ “Palestinian Citizens,’’ and the potential formation of a “Palestinian State.’’ The 1973 CIA Atlas of Middle East Issues speaks of “Palestinians’’ and “Palestinian Refugees.’’

Contrary to Gingrich’s insinuation, Palestine is a real place found on maps of all kinds, created by people of all races, for hundreds of years; and the people living there have long been identified with it.

The Official 1931 Census of Palestine, conducted under British auspices, counted 850,000 Palestinian Arabs—both Muslim John E. Sununu, a regular Boston Globe contributor, is a former U.S. senator from New Hampshire. He has not endorsed a presidential candidate. His father, the former New Hampshire governor John H. Sununu, has endorsed Mitt Romney. This op-ed first appeared in The Boston Globe, Dec. 16, 2011. Reprinted with permission.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Wpurpose. They intentionally choose

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA). and Christian—and 175,000 Jews. Gingrich noted that the Ottomans once ruled the region, as if that justified his statements. But the Ottoman Empire included Syria and much of the Balkans. Are they invented people too?

The egregiousness of Gingrich’s statement isn’t simply in its inaccuracy, but in its objective. It implies that the claims of Palestinians must also be invented—rights to land, to sovereignty, to self-governance.

On Dec. 12 he asserted, “A right to return is based on a historically false story.’’ Although the right to reclaim or receive compensation for lost property is a question for Israeli-Palestinian negotiation, the historical facts are quite simple. And again, Gingrich has them wrong.

According to the CIA Atlas, the fighting that followed Israel’s declaration of statehood in 1948 displaced 750,000 Palestinian Arabs. Several hundred thousand more were displaced in 1967. Israelis and Palestinians have struggled to find a path to a peaceful resolution since. My point here is not to litigate this struggle, but to recognize that the conflict is real, the people are real, and the grievances are real on both sides: Israel’s unquestionable right to security, and Palestinians’ right to self-rule.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

My grandfather was born in Boston, but grew up in Jerusalem as a happy, well-educated Palestinian. As a Christian, he attended the French School and frequented the city’s historic YMCA. He returned to America in the 1930s and settled in New York. In 1948 the fighting forced his parents and cousins to leave their Jerusalem homes. They were never able to return; their houses were on the “wrong’’ side of the armistice line. Their property was taken, though today my cousins’ home looks the same as it did in photos from the 1930s. My great-grandparents lived out their lives in Lebanon. Does Gingrich consider the Lebanese an invented people too?

Gingrich is intelligent, which makes his bigotry all the more dangerous. He employs it not for self-satisfaction, but for political ends. His statements are wrong in fact—and contradict more than 40 years of bipartisan U.S. policy. They reflect a cavalier attitude toward diplomacy, and send the message to allies in Europe and the Middle East that we are inconsistent and unreliable. They were designed to marginalize, not explain; and will be used by extremists on both sides to discourage reconciliation and compromise.

Continued on page 33 13

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Leaked EU Documents Criticize Israeli Policies, Hint at Greater EU Involvement SpecialReport

By Jonathan Cook

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

European powers appear to be balking at the prospect that the two-state solution is about to slip out of grasp, as Netanyahu’s rightwing government refuses to make meaningful concessions and speeds up the pace of settlement-building in the West Bank and East Jeru salem.

That would mean the end of the framework of the Oslo accords, a diplomatic process that Europe has invested in heavily and which has dictated the West’s approach to peace-making for nearly two decades.

The EU’s critical stance has been expressed most clearly in three internal documents that were leaked separately to the media over the past weeks. All three reports suggest that Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel (r) speaks with a local European states are contemplating dignitary during a visit to the Jordan Valley village of Fasayel, located in Area C, the closed mili- becoming actively involved in areas of Palestinian life under Israeli rule, tary zone where Israel exercises full control, Feb. 1, 2012. possibly taking on a stewardship elations between Israel and Europe such as “Israel vs. Europe.” Most have role, even if—as seems certain—it would have rapidly soured after the leaking sided with Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s far- risk angering Israel.

One of the documents chiefly concerns in recent weeks of a series of confidential right foreign minister, who has accused the reports compiled by European diplomats Europeans of “interfering” in an internal Israeli activities in occupied East Jeruthat have criticized Israel in unprecedented Israeli issue and of “making themselves ir- salem, echoing a similar confidential report that was leaked two years ago. relevant.” terms.

But the EU also appears to be considerIsraeli observers have warned that a The documents, which warn that the chances of a two-state solution are fast fad- clash with Europe is the last thing Israel ing becoming more engaged in new areas ing, appear to reflect mounting exaspera- needs, following its recent falling-out with of the conflict. The two other reports tion among the 27 European Union mem- key strategic allies in the region, such as deal respectively with the large Palestinian minority living inside Israel and with ber states at Israel’s refusal to revive talks Turkey and Egypt.

Tzipi Livni, leader of the opposition Palestinians in the West Bank’s so-called with the Palestinians.

The reports recommend a more engaged Kadima party, warned that Israel was “Area C,” which covers nearly two-thirds role for the EU, including efforts to stop “starting a war against its closest friends in of the occupied territory and which the the “forced transfer” of Palestinians from Europe.” Meanwhile, the liberal Haaretz Oslo accords placed under temporary Issections of the West Bank and legislation newspaper argued that, with the loss of Eu- raeli control.

Europe’s reluctance to go public with the to prevent transactions by European com- rope, Washington was now “the only barrier between Israel and international isola- documents indicates the great sensitivity panies that support Israeli settlements.

The Israeli media, reporting on the de- tion—which borders on strategic danger.” of its proposed more activist role.

An Israeli official quoted by the Jeru Tensions have risen over what appears to veloping crisis, have led with headlines be an increasingly independent European salem Post newspaper was dismissive that Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian the reports would have any impact on the Nazareth and a winner of this year’s Martha conflict, suggesting a possible break with ground, suggesting they would not affect Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His the EU’s traditional submissiveness toward the official positions adopted in Brussels. most recent book is Disappearing Palestine. Washington’s Middle East agenda.

However, the documents do indicate

R

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

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that pressure is mounting on European states, which collectively have been the largest donor to the Palestinians during the Oslo period, to take a firmer line against Israeli intransigence. The publics of several major European countries have become far more critical of Israeli policies than their governments.

In addition, European governments may fear that the official demise of the Oslo process will provoke further conflict in a region already undergoing political upheavals that could spill over on to their shores.

The tenor of the reports has been echoed in recent public statements by European leaders. In January, for example, using uncharacteristically harsh language, Nick Clegg, Britain’s deputy prime minister, described Israeli settlement construction as “an act of deliberate vandalism.”

In another embarrassing incident for Israel, a report produced for the French parliament accused Israel of adopting “apartheid” policies in its distribution of water resources in the West Bank, preferring Jewish settlers over Palestinians.

Of the three EU documents, the most controversial suggests that Israel is conducting a policy of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank to allow the settlers to take over the area.

The report notes that, under Israeli rule, the Palestinian population has shrunk dramatically in Area C to only 150,000, compared to as many as twice that number in the Jordan Valley alone in 1967, when the West Bank was conquered by Israel. The Jewish population in the settlements, meanwhile, has grown to 310,000, tripling in less than 20 years.

The 16-page report, which was leaked to Israel’s popular Ynet Web site, claims Israel is “rapidly closing the window” on a twostate solution.

A diplomat told the Israeli media that all the European governments backed the document: “What’s special about this report is that we are all partners in it and agree on the wording.”

The paper blames a raft of Israeli policies for what is termed “forced transfer of the native population.” These include home demolitions, severe prohibitions on construction, settlement expansion, movement restrictions, and denial of access to land and water.

The result of Palestinian migration to other parts of the West Bank, mainly the cities under the control of the Palestinian Authority, is that less than 6 percent of the territory’s Palestinians now reside in an MARCH/APRIL 2012

area that is expected to comprise the majority of any future Palestinian state. Area C, the report notes, includes “crucial natural resources and land for the future demographic and economic growth of a viable Palestinian state.”

The report on Jerusalem makes similar criticisms, this time in relation to the eastern half of the city occupied by Israel in 1967. It accuses Israel of “systematically undermining the Palestinian presence” in the city through the discriminatory use of building regulations, enforcement of house demolitions and evictions, revocation of residency rights, construction of the separation wall, archeological activities, underfunding of schools, and denial of Palestinian political activity.

The report on Area C recommends that the EU take an active role in promoting Palestinian economic development and backing infrastructure projects related to roads, water, schools and medical clinics to “support the Palestinian people and help maintain their presence [in the area].” No mention is made of Israeli involvement or cooperation.

A Harsh Statement at the U.N. The document may have been one of the reasons for an unexpectedly harsh statement in December from Britain, France,

Germany and Portugal at the United Nations, expressing “dismay” at Israel’s settlement policy. They also castigated Israel for failure to control extremist groups among the settlers, who have grown increasingly bold in launching violent attacks on Palestinians, including burning crops and torching mosques.

The U.N. action coincided with the submission by Andrew Standley, the EU ambassador to Israel, of a formal protest to Israel’s Foreign Ministry over the growing number of house demolitions in Area C and the economic distress of its Palestinian inhabitants.

Standley’s letter also highlighted EU concerns about a plan for the so-called E1 zone, between Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank.

Israel has threatened to clear out 2,500 Bedouin living at the site to prepare for the construction of a new settlement called Mevasseret Adumim.

In December Lieberman expressed outrage at another confidential EU report, this one a draft by European embassies in Israel on an equally sensitive subject—Israel’s Palestinian minority. The paper was leaked to Haaretz. The Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the EU of drafting it “behind our backs.”

Continued on page 71

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A Vengeful U.S. Congresswoman Halts Funding for Palestinian “Sesame Street”

Gazaon the Ground

URIEL SINAI/GETTY IMAGES

By Mohammed Omer not being able to produce [episodes], due to production costs being very high.”

Beatrice Chow, spokeswoman for the Sesame Street Workshop in New York, confirmed that the Palestinian show is currently on hold.

Since “Shara’a Simsim” debuted in 1996, funding shortfalls have forced it to take several extended hiatuses. In its 15 years of existence it has completed just five seasons.

According to executive producer Daoud Kuttab, that all changed in 2008, when USAID funding covered nearly all the program’s costs, from writing through postproduction. But today the once bustling soundstage in Ramallah lies empty.

A Policy of Austerity as Retribution

“Shara’a Simsim” characters Kareem (l) and Haneen shake hands with Palestinian schoolchildren during a March 31, 2009 performance at the Al-Ahlia School in Ramallah. he iconic U.S.-funded Palestinian chil-

Tdren’s program “Shara’a Simsim,” the

Palestinian franchise of the American public television program “Sesame Street,” has become a casualty of one of the most rabidly pro-Israel members of Congress. The show is one of several educational/entertainment projects supported by a $192 million grant to the Palestinian Authority through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Last December House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ross-Lehtinen (R-FL) put a hold on the USAID program funds.

In addition to restricting the educational offerings to Palestinian children, RosLehtinen’s action affects other social services as well, including healthcare, sewage, and various government ministries in the West Bank and Gaza. Many Palestinians view the funding freeze as punishment for 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>.

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Palestine’s 2011 bid for full U.N. membership. Palestinian Minister of Labor Ahmed Al Majdalwi in Ramallah supports their assessment, stating that the cessation of financial support for the children’s program is “a political decision, and…biased toward Israel.”

Kareem and Haneen, like Bert and Ernie, are two of “Shara’a Simsim’s” colorful Muppets who deliver messages of tolerance, love, neighborliness and fairness to the children of Palestine. The series has become a source of hope for families living in the harsh reality of violence, hate and starvation. But the balance of its 2012 season is now on hold.

Those “most affected by this [suspension of funding] are the Palestinian child, his family and the society,” noted Layla Sayegh, “Shara’a Simsim” project manager in Palestine. All the show’s scriptwriters and producers have been laid off, she said. Despite the fact that “Shara’a Simsim” is part of the global “Sesame Street” franchise, Sayegh admitted that “We have reached the point of THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

In addition to “Shara’a Simsim,” a variety of essential public services designed to assist or educate Palestinians have been targeted by the U.S. Congress. The threat to cut funding had been made prior to the Palestinian Authority’s September 2011 bid for full membership. However, it was not until UNESCO, the U.N.’s non-political cultural body, chose to admit Palestine on that basis that Congress and the administration moved to punish both the offending body and the people of Palestine. Immediately after the Oct. 31 vote to admit Palestine, Washington cut off funding to UNESCO. A State Department spokeswoman announced that a scheduled November payment of roughly $60 million to UNESCO would not be made. And that was only the beginning.

Nor is “Shar’a Simsim” the only victim of political retribution. Seventy-year-old Safia Abdelrahman Abu Fsefes epitomizes the story of tens of thousands of Gazans who are not refugees, and therefore not eligible for United Nations-sponsored refugee programs through UNRWA. With Israel’s continued siege and blockade of Gaza, she and her 12 grandchildren depend upon a monthly food MARCH/APRIL 2012

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and cash allowance administered by the Palestinian Authority. The money goes to pay rent on the house they have lived in since her family’s home was demolished during Israel’s 2004 Operation Rainbow assault on Rafah. The food feeds her family.

Every three months, four sacks of flour, a few kilos of powdered milk, rice, a few liters of oil and some lentils are what keep Safia and her family alive. Now she fears that this will end.

“Isn’t it enough that we have been waiting for years for our house to be built by donors?” she asks in dismay. Regarding the withholding of USAID money she asks in disbelief, “Do you want us to die?”

Safia’s grandchildren attend schools in Rafah, the main city in the southern Gaza Strip. The funding freeze will affect education services as well. Then there’s the matter of healthcare. When Safia or her grandchildren are sick, she turns first to the government-run hospital. “This disappearing healthcare means catastrophe for everyone here,” she laments.

Dr. Mads Gilbert, the Norwegian doctor who has worked in Gaza, including during Operation Cast Lead, compares the U.S. policy of austerity as retribution to a form of “capital punishment” against the Palestinians for seeking full U.N. membership.

“The U.S. is now ‘waterboarding’ the civilian Palestinian societies in West Bank, Gaza and the much deprived and needy diaspora in Lebanon,” he charged. “It’s truly shocking and unbelievably vengeful.”

In her tiny, poorly equipped kitchen, Safia cooks some beans, a few zucchini, carrots and potatoes—all too aware that she can never afford meat for herself or her children, and that even the little they have is at risk. ❑

Israel’s Current Demand…

Continued from page 9

percent of the land on the West Bank, as well as its borders and most of the water.

The PA must import electricity from Israel, and monthly bills have doubled and even tripled, according to the Consumer Protection Society. The Palestinians also must import most of their consumer goods from Israel, and prices keep rising. The cost of chicken has doubled in recent years.

Missing from the punitive measures imposed by Israel and the U.S. is any semblance of rationality. The Palestinian Authority under the leadership of President Abbas, and especially Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, has greatly reduced corrupMARCH/APRIL 2012

tion and established the institutions that could someday be the basis of a stable and independent state. The PA has also restored law and order to the West Bank and helped provide Israel with the security it demands.

The obligation to provide free education for a million schoolchildren and support some 96,000 needy families, including those of prisoners in Israeli jails, has placed a heavy burden on a Palestinian economy suffering under tight Israeli restrictions. In order to continue providing vital services and cope with a $1.1 billion deficit, the PA has been forced to raise taxes and propose early retirement for 20,000 workers. The result is growing unrest among Palestinians, who in recent weeks have taken to the streets in protest demonstrations.

Like others around the world, Palestinians undoubtedly want a future in which they are able to get an education, raise their children without fear, earn a livelihood, be able to travel, and above all be free of an occupation that impinges on every aspect of their lives. With Hamas willing to renounce violence and enter serious peace negotiations, Israel now has an opportunity both to fulfill these hopes and assure its own security.

The agreement signed on Feb. 6 by Hamas leader Khaled Meshal and Abbas to form a unity government headed by Abbas is designed to prepare the way for elections in the West Bank and Gaza and eventually a Palestinian government that represented all factions of Palestinian society. Netanyahu responded to the news by threatening to end all peace efforts. “Hamas is an enemy of peace,” he said. “The only thing that ensures our existence, security, and prosperity is strength.”

The Obama administration has so far withheld judgment, but since congressional amendments require that no U.S. aid go to Hamas, even the aid that goes to maintain Palestinian security forces will be stopped (see p. 31 of this issue).

Unfounded Fears of Hamas Fears of Hamas as a terrorist organization are unfounded, according to Khaled Hroub of Cambridge University, who says there has been a major shift in the strategy of Hamas away from armed resistance. “The whole nonviolent strategy has shown its effectiveness,” Hroub said. “The Arab Spring has proved this with the fall of strong governments in Egypt and Tunisia.”

Meshal, who survived a 1997 Israeli assassination attempt in Amman, has conveyed this message to several Arab leaders.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

In late January he and several members of Hamas’ political bureau traveled to Jordan with a delegation that included the crown prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to meet with King Abdullah II. After the meeting, the royal palace issued a statement calling for a two-state solution and citing “the importance of unity among the Palestinian groups.” Hamas in turn praised the visit as “a good start” and expressed an awareness of Jordan’s need for security and stability.

Opposition by Washington and Israel to a unity government that represents all Palestinian factions is dangerously shortsighted, since such a government would be the only guarantee of a lasting peace agreement.The history of such countries as South Africa, Israel, and most recently Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is now the majority party in Parliament, shows that groups that once relied on violence become far more pragmatic when they are accepted into the political system and have a stake in its success. Statements by prominent Hamas members such as Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh expressing a willingness to work with Abbas indicate that Hamas would be no exception.

Hamas “is going through the same process as the Muslim Brotherhood elsewhere,” according to Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of a Palestinian research group in Jerusalem. ”The new political Islam is practical and realistic.”

If Israeli leaders truly wanted peace with the Palestinians, they would recognize that once there is a peace agreement that provides independence for the Palestinian people in a state of their own, any Palestinian faction that tried to disrupt that agreement and reignite the conflict would be condemned by a majority of Palestinians. An independent Palestinian state that fulfilled the aspirations of an overwhelming majority of Palestinians is the surest way to assure Israel’s security.

Israel’s latest demands suggest, however, that Israel’s first priority is not security, but continued dominance over the Palestinians. There is no other explanation for the Netanyahu government’s determination to build more West Bank settlements, and its insistence that most of those settlements, along with the Jordan Valley, become a permanent part of Israel. The Israelis are calling on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table without conditions, but their continued settlement expansion and opposition to reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah indicate they have no interest in peace. ❑ 17

khouri_18_In Memoriam 2/22/12 9:52 PM Page 18

The Diligence and Humility of Anthony Shadid (1968-2012) InMemoriam

REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR

By Rami G. Khouri

A man attending a Feb. 21 candlelight vigil at the American University of Beirut holds a memorial program showing Anthony Shadid (c) speaking with people in Cairo. hen special people depart this world

Wfor another, as New York Times cor-

respondent Anthony Shadid did on Feb. 16, those of us who are left behind feel like a rowboat bobbing in the rolling waves of a large luxury yacht or ocean liner that has left us in its wake. We are slightly disoriented, momentarily losing our balance and direction, focused only on regaining equilibrium, and later anchorage, in a suddenly turbulent and frightening world. Acids that are only occasionally activated for special assignments go to work in the pit of our stomach. They generate sadness at the passing of his life, fear because we have been alerted to the fragility of our own lives, and also small jolts of confidence and hope—because his life and death remind us that our world was, and remains, full of gifted people like him.

The full measure of such people is in both the person and the profession, two diRami G. Khouri is editor-at-large of The Daily Star, and director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. Copyright © 2012 Rami G. Khouri. Distributed by Agence Global.

18

mensions that must be separated and fused together in order to capture the significance of each. I first met Anthony in 2000 in Amman, Jordan, as he was heading to Iraq for The Washington Post. We had remained friends and colleagues ever since.

We met in many places—Amman, Beirut, Istanbul, Boston, on television and radio shows, and elsewhere—and I had many opportunities to encounter his personal and professional sides. In recent years, whether in my teaching, reporting and writing, or discussing Western news coverage of the Arab world, his name and work always entered the picture. What he did professionally, and how he behaved personally, proved to be meaningful to many other people, because in both realms he set standards of excellence that transcended his own life.

One measure of his impact on the world of journalism in the Middle East was how often other people tried to contact him, to invite him to speak, or just to meet and chat. In my many decades of work in this arena, his phone and e-mail were far and away the ones that others around the region and the world asked for most often. I would always ask him before passing on his THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

contacts, and he would always reply with the same gracious reply, “I’d love to see them if it works out with my schedule.”

For those of us left behind, we owe it to the person and the profession to recall what made him so special. The answer from my perspective is short and easy: humility. I saw it in him every time we met, whether chatting over a coffee or meal, or in the field working, covering an event we both attended, or chatting with a person who would provide useful facts or analysis.

Many of the testimonials about Anthony’s work focus on his reporting historic events from the perspective of ordinary men and women. That is correct, but the reason it is significant is that in his encounters with ordinary people or experts and public figures, he constantly asked questions to learn about the world he was covering, and, more importantly, he listened to the answers with obvious and genuine sincerity.

Such behavior is the hallmark of a quality reporter, in my view, and it is a character trait that I sense is increasingly rare among foreign correspondents or indigenous journalists in the Middle East, where the tendency is to slip away from the world of street reporting and slide into the world of studio oracles and Web stardom.

Anthony’s special gift was his ability to pose the questions, and record the answers, and leave the pontificating and moralizing to others. In the process he captured the nuances, the contradictions, and the warm and vulnerable humanity of individuals and families that in turn reflected the conditions of entire nations in situations of stress and change.

Whenever I saw him at work, his most frequent expressions were, “Oh, really?” and “You think so?” and “That’s really interesting” and statements like that, in which he reacted to the thoughts of others, acknowledging their thoughts, and parking his own. His analytical aggregating machine gathered such material, combined it with the telltale signs of societies in flux that he recorded with his eyes and ears, and ultimately offered it to his readers in his special, almost lyrical, style of writing that captured telling snapshots of men, women, soldiers and statesmen, merchants and crooks, and their many complex worlds.

Continued on page 22 MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Two Views The Crisis in Syria

JOSEPH EID/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

mistakes. The government’s mistake was to use live fire against street protesters who were—at first at least—demonstrating peacefully. The crisis could perhaps have been defused with the implementation of immediate reforms. Instead, mounting casualties have created enormous bitterness among the population, reducing the chance of a negotiated settlement.

The opposition’s mistake has been to resort to arms—to become militarized—largely in the form of the Free Syrian Army, a motley force of defectors from the armed services, as well as free-lance fighters and hard-line Islamists. It has been conducting hit-and-run attacks on regime targets and regime loyalists. The exiled opposition leadership is composed of a number of disparate, often squabbling, groupings—of which the best known is the Syrian National Council.

A Syrian supporter of President Bashar al-Assad wears a Christian rosary, Sunni praying beads and a Shi’i Inside the SNC, the Muslim Imam Ali sword around his neck at a Jan. 9 rally in front of a Greek Orthdox church in Damascus in memory Brotherhood is the best orgaof two victims of recent fighting in the country: Saria Hassoun, the son of Syria’s grand mufti, who was nized and funded element of the killed in October in Homs, and a 10-year-old Christian boy, killed recently in the central flashpoint city as opposition. Outlawed since its he ventured out to buy cookies. The opposition accused President Assad’s troops of killing the boy, but his terrorist campaign in 1977-1982 mother appeared on official Syrian television to say “armed gangs” were behind the murder. to overthrow the regime of Hafez al-Assad—an attempt crushed in blood at Hama—it is driven by a The Syrian Crisis and the New and Beijing were saying that they, too, had thirst for revenge.

Cold War interests in the Middle East, which they No regime, whatever its political colorBy Patrick Seale were determined to protect. The region ing, can tolerate an armed uprising withwas no longer an exclusive Western pre- out responding with full force. Indeed, the he Syrian crisis is no longer a purely serve under the hegemony of the United rise of an armed opposition has provided Syrian affair. Its wider dimension was States and its allies. the Syrian regime with the justification it highlighted on Feb. 4, when Russia and Russia has decades-old interests in the needed to seek to crush it with ever bloodChina cast their veto at the U.N. Security Middle East, in Syria in particular. As a ier repression.

Council, thereby aborting a Western- major customer of Iranian oil, China does Casualties over the last 11 months have backed Arab Resolution, which had called not approve of Western sanctions against been heavy—estimated at some 5,000 to on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Tehran. Nor does it take kindly to U.S. at- 6,000 members of the opposition, both At a stroke, the debate was no longer tempts to contain its influence in the Asia- armed and unarmed, and perhaps 1,500 simply about Syria’s internal power strug- Pacific region. There is a hint in the air of a members of the army and security forces. gle. Instead, with their vetoes, Moscow revived Cold War. There is necessarily an element of guessThe Syrian crisis has, in fact, been a two- work in these figures. As in all wars, the Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on stage affair from the very beginning—in- manipulation of information has been the Middle East. His latest book is The ternal as well as international. On the in- much in evidence.

Struggle for Arab Independence: Riad el- ternal level, the uprising has aimed to Inside Syria, therefore, the situation is Solh and the Makers of the Modern Middle topple the regime on the model of Tunisia, today one of increased violence by both East (Cambridge University Press). Copy- Egypt, Libya and Yemen. In this increas- sides, of sectarian polarization, and of a right © 2012 Patrick Seale. Distributed by ingly ugly struggle, both sides—govern- dangerous stalemate, slipping each day Agence Global. ment and opposition—have made serious closer to a full-blown sectarian civil war.

T

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

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The second level of the contest is being played out in the international arena, where Russia and China, with some support from other emerging powers such as India and Brazil, are challenging America’s supremacy in the Middle East. Washington’s outrage at the challenge was evident when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton angrily dismissed the Russian and Chinese veto as a “travesty.” Escalating the crisis, she called for an international coalition to support the Syrian opposition against what she described as the “brutal regime” in Damascus. She has encouraged the creation of a “Friends of Syria” group, with the apparent aim of channelling funds and weapons to Bashar al-Assad’s enemies.

At the heart of the international struggle is a concerted attempt by the United States and its allies to bring down the ruling regimes in both Iran and Syria. Iran’s “crime” has been to refuse to submit to American hegemony in the oil-rich Gulf region and to appear to pose a challenge, with its nuclear program, to Israel’s regional nuclear monopoly. At the same time, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah—partners for the past three decades—have managed to make a dent in Israel’s military supremacy.

They have in recent years been the main obstacle to U.S.-Israeli regional dominance.

Israel has for years demonized Iran’s nuclear program as an “existential” threat to itself and a danger to the entire world, and has repeatedly threatened to attack it. Its fevered gesticulations have pressured— some might say blackmailed—the United States and the European Union into imposing crippling sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and its Central Bank.

The real issue, however, is one of regional dominance. Iran’s nuclear program poses no particular danger to Israel. With its large nuclear arsenal, Israel has ample means to deter any would be aggressor.

Nor would Iran willingly risk annihilation in a nuclear exchange. However, a nuclearcapable Iran—even if it never actually built a bomb—would limit Israel’s freedom of action, notably its freedom to strike its neighbors at will.

Israel is at pains to restore its regional dominance, which has recently been somewhat curtailed. Its invasion of Lebanon in 2006 failed to destroy Hezbollah. Its 2008-9 assault on Gaza failed to destroy Hamas. Worse still from Israel’s point of view, the war attracted international opprobrium and damaged Israel’s relations with Turkey. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has put at risk the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty which, by removing the strongest country from the MARCH/APRIL 2012

Arab line-up, guaranteed Israeli dominance for 30 years.

Israel’s current strategy has been to get the United States to cripple Iran on its behalf— in much the same way as America’s pro-Israeli neocons pushed the United States into war against Iraq, a country which Israel had then considered threatening.

The United States has also suffered grave setbacks in the region: its catastrophic war in Iraq; its unfinished conflict in Afghanistan; the violent hostility it has aroused in the Muslim world, particularly in Pakistan, Yemen and the Horn of Africa. It, too, is striving to retain its pre-eminence over the oil-rich Gulf States. Some Washington hawks may think that the overthrow of the mullahs in Tehran would put the United States and its Israeli ally back on top.

Because of their own apprehension of Iran, the Arab states of the Gulf have allowed themselves to be drawn into the conflict. They seem to fear that Iran may endanger the existing political order by stirring up local Shi‘i communities. With Qatar in the lead, they joined the United States and Israel in their assault against Damascus and Tehran. Perhaps belatedly aware that a regional war could be catastrophic for them, there are signs that they are having second thoughts.

At February’s Munich Security Conference, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khalid al-Attiyeh, declared that an attack on Iran “is not a solution, and tightening the embargo will make the scenario worse. I believe we should have dialogue.”

That is the voice of reason.

The Syrian Impasse

By Immanuel Wallerstein

ashar al-Assad has risen to the heights B of being one of the least popular men in the world. He is denounced as a tyrant, indeed a very bloody tyrant, by almost everyone. Even those governments that refuse to denounce him seem to be counseling him to curb his repressive ways and to make some sort of political concessions to his internal opponents.

So, how is it that he ignores all this advice and proceeds to continue to use maximum force to continue political control of Syria? Why is there no outside intervention to force his removal from office?

Immanuel Wallerstein, senior research scholar at Yale University, is the author of The Decline of American Power: The U.S. in a Chaotic World (New Press). Copyright ©2012 Immanuel Wallerstein. Distributed by Agence Global.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

To answer these questions, let us start with assessing his strengths. First, he has a reasonably strong army, and up to now, with a few exceptions, the army and other structures of force in the country have stayed loyal to the regime. Secondly, he still seems to command the support of at least half of the population in what is increasingly being described as a civil war.

The key government posts and the officer corps are in the hands of the Alawi, a branch of Shi’i Islam. The Alawi are a minority of the population and certainly fear what would happen to them if the opposition forces, largely Sunni, were to come to power. In addition, the other significant minority forces—the Christians, the Druze, and the Kurds—seem to be equally wary of a Sunni government. Finally, the large merchant bourgeoisie have yet to turn against Assad and the Ba’ath regime.

But is this really enough? If this were all, I doubt that Assad could really hold out much longer. The regime is being squeezed economically. The opposition Free Syrian Army is being fed arms by Iraqi Sunnis and probably Qatar. And the chorus of denunciations in the world press and by politicians of all stripes grows louder by the day.

Yet, I don’t think that, a year or two from now, we will find that Assad is gone or the regime basically changed. The reason is that those who are denouncing him the loudest do not really want him to go. Let us take them one by one.

Saudi Arabia: The foreign minister told The New York Times that “violence had to be stopped and the Syrian government not given any more chances.” This sounds really strong until you notice that he added that “international intervention had to be ruled out.” The fact is that Saudi Arabia wants the credit of opposing Assad but is very afraid of a successor government. It knows that in a post-Assad (probably fairly anarchic) Syria, al-Qaeda would find a base. And the Saudis know that al-Qaeda’s number one objective is to overthrow the Saudi regime.

Ergo, “no international intervention.”

Israel: Yes, the Israelis continue to obsess about Iran. And yes, Ba’athist Syria continues to be an Iran-friendly power. But when all is said and done, Syria has been a relatively quiet Arab neighbor, an island of stability for the Israelis. Yes, the Syrians aid Hezbollah, but Hezbollah, too, has been relatively quiet. Why would the Israelis really want to take the risk of a turbulent post-Ba’athist Syria? Who would then wield power, and might they not have to improve their credentials by expanding jihad against Israel? And wouldn’t the fall of Assad lead to upsetting the relative quiet 21

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and stability that Lebanon now seems to enjoy, and might this not end up with the further strengthening and renewed radicalism of Hezbollah? Israel has a lot to lose, and not too much to gain if Assad falls.

The United States: The U.S. government talks a good line. But have you noticed how wary it is in practice? The Washington Post headlined an article on Feb. 11, “As carnage builds, U.S. sees ‘no good options’ on Syria.”

The story points out that the U.S. government has “no appetite for a military intervention.” No appetite, despite the pressure of neocon intellectuals like Charles Krauthammer who is honest enough to admit “it’s not just about freedom.” It’s really, he says, about undoing the regime in Iran.

But isn’t that exactly why Obama and his advisers see no good options? They were pressured into the Libyan operation.

The U.S. didn’t lose many lives, but did they really gain geopolitical advantage as a result? Is the new Libyan regime, if one can say there is a new Libyan regime, something better? Or is this the beginning of a long internal instability, as Iraq has turned out to be?

So, when Russia vetoed the U.N. resolution on Syria, I can imagine a sigh of relief in Washington. The pressure to up the ante

and begin a Libyan-style intervention was lifted. Obama was protected against Republican harassment on Syria by the Russian veto. And Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, could shift all blame to the Russians. They were “disgusting,” she said, oh so diplomatically.

France: Always nostalgic for their oncedominant role in Syria, Foreign Minister Alain Juppé shouts and denounces. But troops? You’ve got to be kidding. There’s an election coming up, and sending troops would not be at all popular, especially since this would be no piece of cake, as was Libya.

Turkey: Turkey has improved its relations with the Arab world incredibly in the last decade. It’s definitely unhappy about the civil war on its borders. It would love to see some kind of political compromise. But Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is quoted as guaranteeing that “Turkey is not providing arms or support to army defectors.” Turkey wants essentially to be friends to all sides. And besides, Turkey has its own Kurdish question, and Syria might offer active support, which hitherto it has refrained from doing.

So, who wants to intervene in Syria?

Perhaps Qatar. But Qatar, however wealthy it is, is scarcely a major military power. The

bottom line is that, however loud the rhetoric and however ugly the civil war, no one really, really wants Assad to go. So, in all probability, he will stay. ❑

In Memoriam…

Continued from page 18

The humility and warmth in his personal character generated trust among all who met him; that same humility in his low-key reporting manner generated among those he questioned or documented equally important comfort and confidence in speaking their minds honestly. The combination produced his rare example of reports over many years that accurately transmitted the world of the Middle East as it really is, and not as others in these or distant countries imagine it to be.

I will always be deeply impressed by the person of Anthony Shadid, and how he carried out his chosen profession of newspaper reporter. The stories he wrote, and the life he lived, can teach us for years to come—if we can muster his same combination of humility and diligence.

Thank you, Anthony, and God bless your memory. ❑

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MARCH/APRIL 2012

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As Americans Leave Iraq, Political Tensions Increase SpecialReport

By Rachelle Marshall n Dec. 15, Defense Secre-

Otary Leon Panetta low-

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

ered the American flag at Baghdad airport and officially declared the end of the Iraq war. Two days earlier, President Barack Obama welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki to the White House and hailed the emergence of “a sovereign, self-reliant and democratic” nation, “a model for others who are aspiring to build a democracy.” In a ceremony honoring returning soldiers, Obama noted that Iraq would now “be in the hands of the Iraqi people.”

But behind the optimistic rhetoric was the harsh reality that the war had left Iraq’s infrastructure in ruins, killed more than 100,000 Iraqis, and reduced millions to misery and destitution. Al Jazeera reported “an explosion of congenital abnormalities” among The day after a bomb ripped through a billiards café in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Saidiya on Iraqi newborns, resulting Jan. 26, Iraqis walk past the site of the blast. from the U.S. use of depleted party, a secular coalition headed by former Essawi “is the cleanest politician in Iraq.”) uranium and white phosphorus shells.

The full costs paid by the Iraqi people for Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. Iraqiya won The arrests of lower ranking Sunni officials the U.S. overthrow of Saddam Hussain and a majority of seats in the 2010 election for are continuing, reminding many observers subsequent war will never be known. We parliament, but Maliki maneuvered it into of Saddam Hussain’s oppression of Shi’is.

“This is a coup,” said an aide to Hashimi. do know their suffering resulted in neither a power-sharing agreement with his Dawa “This is the new dictatorship.” Mutlaq, the democracy nor peace. The Americans are party that left Maliki as prime minister.

He has since ignored that agreement and ousted deputy prime minister, charged that leaving behind a “budding dictatorship,” according to Human Rights Watch, with proceeded to concentrate power in his “Maliki is controlling everything. Through the country’s Shi’i leadership “ruling by own hands, aided by his personal security his police, his army, his security measures. force and fear.” The government is plagued forces, secret prisons and a judiciary that Everyone is afraid.”

The sweeping arrests of Sunnis in late fall by corruption and headed by an autocrat is virtually an extension of his office. He whose security forces abuse protesters, ha- retained the post of interior minister for and winter provoked a resurgence of viohimself, and dismantled the institutions lence between Shi’i and Sunnis. In the five rass journalists, and torture detainees.

As the time came for the departure of designed to promote clean elections and weeks following Panetta’s announcement U.S. troops, Maliki’s security forces began combat corruption. Maliki intensified his that the Iraq war was over, 434 people were rounding up and imprisoning hundreds of efforts to eliminate his political opponents killed in a wave of bombings and assassinahis political rivals and local Sunni officials, as soon as he returned from Washington tions that has since continued. In mid-January, 67 people were killed in a single day, charging them with being members of in December.

He immediately ordered the arrest of Vice and more than 200 wounded. Two weeks Saddam Hussain’s Ba’athist party and accusing them of terrorism. Many of the de- President Tariq al-Hashimi, who fled for later, 64 pilgrims were killed while traveltainees were in fact members of the Iraqiya sanctuary to the semi-autonomous Kurdish ling to a shrine in Zubayr, a Sunni town inarea of northern Iraq. Maliki then fired side a Shi’i province.

Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor liv- Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, Meanwhile the government remains paring in Mill Valley, CA. A member of Jewish and accused Iraq’s highly respected finance alyzed. As the arrests of their members conVoice for Peace, she writes frequently on the minister, Rafe al-Essawi, of having ties to in- tinued, the Iraqiya party walked out of parMiddle East. surgents. (According to a Western official, Continued on page 71 MARCH/APRIL 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

23

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The Many Reasons Why the Guantánamo Detention Facility Must Close SpecialReport

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

By Delinda C. Hanley

Prisoners first flown to Guantánamo before the prison was built were placed in cages similar to this one set up in front of the White House at a Jan. 11, 2012 protest. he 10th anniversary of the opening of

Tthe infamous U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba was marked by protests, debate, and even a 10-day fast in solidarity with the 171 remaining detainees. During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidates Barack Obama and John McCain both promised to close the detention center for terrorism suspects, which has held 779 detainees over the past 10 years. Two days after his inauguration, President Obama signed executive orders banning torture and directing the closing of the detention camp within a year.

So why is Guantánamo still open? Congress has blocked the transfer of detainees to U.S. federal courts and prisons and placed ridiculous restrictions on sending home the 89 prisoners cleared for transfer.

Speakers in Washington, DC for the anniversary gave powerful reasons why policymakers on both sides of the aisle should agree to dismantle this facility.

Most of the “enemy combatants” de-

Delinda C. Hanley is news editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

24

tained at Guantánamo were low-level insurgents, providing material support, or even hapless innocents swept up in the post-9/11 frenzy of fear. According to criminal defense lawyer Nancy Hollander, who spoke Feb. 14 at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, 85 percent of detainees were “captured” in response to U.S. leaflets dropped on Pakistan or Northern Alliance villages offering a $5,000 bounty to people who turned in their neighbors.

Only 5 percent were seized from an actual battlefield, she said. Some were captured far from battlefields, and others were transferred to the front, including one of her two Guantánamo defendants, Mohamedou Ould Slahi. Incarcerated since 2002, Slahi was snatched in his native country, Mauritania, handed over to Americans, “renditioned” to Jordan for eight months, then flown to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, and finally ending up in Gitmo.

Slahi first was suspected of being involved in a plot to bomb Los Angeles AirTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

port in 2000. Later, when that accusation didn’t pan out, he was charged with having associated with the Hamburg cell that recruited several 9/11 hijackers. After being tortured, Slahi falsely confessed to being involved with that group. In fact, torture is the second reason Guantánamo needs to go.

Hollander said interrogation logs show that her client Slahi, considered an HVD (high-value detainee), was subjected to sleep deprivation for more than 60 days, as well as to years of solitary confinement, waterboarding and military interrogations that resulted in several broken ribs. He was questioned blindfolded while hearing a drill or a gun being loaded. Interrogators once showed him a fake letter stating that his mother had been arrested. If he didn’t cooperate, they told him, she would be sent to Gitmo—the only woman among all the male prisoners.

In fact, on his first tour of Guantánamo, Lt. Col. Stuart Couch (who volunteered to prosecute Slahi because his Marine buddy Mike Horrock was the co-pilot on the second plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001) was an inadvertent witness to Guantánamo interrogation methods. Hollander described the event, which caused Couch to resign rather than to prosecute Slahi. While waiting to watch the interrogation of another suspect, Couch heard music blasting nearby. He thought he’d go tell some soldiers to quiet down, but instead he entered a room and found Slahi, shackled to the floor, in a pitch-black room with strobe-lights flashing, while hardcore rock music blasted from speakers. Slahi was rocking in a fetal position, praying. Two civilian interrogators made Couch leave.

Why can’t the remaining detainees leave Guantánamo and be tried in a U.S. federal court? After all, in the last decade U.S. federal courts have tried more than 400 people on terrorism charges. Congress has blocked that idea, claiming the suspects are too dangerous to release and that 46 of them should be permanently imprisoned without charge or trial. But the truth is the evidence against the men can’t be released in court because it’s been obtained by torture. Numerous studies have shown that MARCH/APRIL 2012

Nancy Hollander. torture victims will say anything to stop the pain. If courts canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t convict these men, they should be released.

Of the 171 men still imprisoned, who have been there since 2001 or 2002, most of the 89 cleared for release are Yemeni. Lawmakers have placed an absurd contingency on their repatriation: the U.S. defense secretary must certify that a freed â&#x20AC;&#x153;individual cannot engage or re-engage in any terrorist activity.â&#x20AC;? The Defense Department has claimed that about one in four of detainees released are known or suspected of subsequently joining militant groups. More than four in ten U.S. offenders return to state prison within three years of their release, Andy Worthington, author of GuantĂĄnamo Files: the Stories of 774 Detainees in Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Illegal Prison, told a New America Foundation audience in DC on Jan. 10.

Imagine what would happen if no prisoner from the state of Colorado could be released if one Coloradan committed a second crime, he said. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not possible to get out of Gitmo through legal means, Worthington added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The last two people to leave GuantĂĄnamo left in coffins.â&#x20AC;?

We have a justice system and it works, Hollander told her Georgetown audience, many of them law students. Indigent defendants are appointed public defenders.

They can call or have visits from their lawyer and family.

In sharp contrast, these accused men canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receive a fair trial, Hollander argued.

The rules are ever-changing for lawyers working pro-bono for GuantĂĄnamo defendants. They must plan expensive air travel to the base 20 days in advance and have to have a â&#x20AC;&#x153;minderâ&#x20AC;? on phone calls, to make sure they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discuss classified information. Guards are permitted to â&#x20AC;&#x153;scanâ&#x20AC;? attorney-client mail, and the notes Hollander takes while meeting with her clients must remain in a special â&#x20AC;&#x153;secure roomâ&#x20AC;? in WashMARCH/APRIL 2012

ington, DC. She cannot discuss the case with co-workers or read mail from her client without going to another â&#x20AC;&#x153;safeâ&#x20AC;? room on a military base, somewhat closer to her Albuquerque firm. This places a huge burden on the defense, she explained.

Also speaking at the New America Foundation panel was Col. Morris Davis, who resigned in 2007 as chief prosecutor for military commissions at Guantanamo because of his objection to the use of evidence obtained by torture and growing political interference in the military commissions. He offered another reason to close the prison: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to have my country back.â&#x20AC;?

Panelists described the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Obama on Dec. 31, which explicitly authorizes the federal government to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others picked up inside and outside the United States. Not only is this a foreign policy embarrassment, but it also undermines the constitutional rights of all American citizens, Colonel Davis stated.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that noncitizens, including alleged â&#x20AC;&#x153;enemy combatants,â&#x20AC;? have the right to habeus corpus, he noted, so a strong case can be made for the unconstitutionality of this act.

If Americans are captured in Cuba or Iran, or anywhere in the world, the U.S. government expects them to have the right of a trial. They canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just be detained.

GuantĂĄnamo lowers the bar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want our justice system back,â&#x20AC;? Hollander concluded her presentation by saying. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Torture is a crime. No one is being prosecuted for trashing our constitution.â&#x20AC;?

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hanley_24-25_Special Report 2/22/12 9:45 PM Page 25

Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA). this? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to take back our justice system,â&#x20AC;? she urged. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Only people can do that.â&#x20AC;?

Security experts say GuantĂĄnamo hurts U.S. security and bolsters al-Qaedaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recruiting efforts. Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar, retired four-star Marine generals, called GuantĂĄnamo â&#x20AC;&#x153;a morally and financially expensive symbol of detainee abuse.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Given the facts, a majority of Americans would agree GuantĂĄnamo must be closed,â&#x20AC;? Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) told listeners at the New America Foundation discussion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is all part of the politics of fear of the unknown and bigotry against Muslims,â&#x20AC;? he added. According to Moran, Congress is operating in an â&#x20AC;&#x153;echo chamber of conservative mediaâ&#x20AC;? which is hammering away saying GuantĂĄnamo contains the â&#x20AC;&#x153;worst of the worst,â&#x20AC;? while in truth many should not have been picked up or detained in the first place. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re held in detention without the ability to defend themselves or to know what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re accused of. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most expensive prison in the world, Moran stated, costing American taxpayers $800,000 per year per detainee.

To change the current political reality, Americans need to become more educated and push President Obama to show leadership and use his bully pulpit. In this election year, voters have the opportunity to demand that candidates work to close this facility immediately. GuantĂĄnamo compromises our foreign policy and the ideals that define the United States, Moran concluded. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Americans and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re better than this.â&#x20AC;? â?&#x2018; 25

williams_26-27_United Nations Report 2/22/12 9:42 PM Page 26

No Uniting for Peace After Russia and China Veto Security Council Resolution on Syria

By Ian Williams n an unaccustomed display of urgency

Iafter Russia and China vetoed the Arab

League’s Security Council resolution on Syria, the General Assembly took the opportunity provided by Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay’s report on the situation in Syria to vote on the issue. On Feb. 16 it overwhelmingly passed a resolution that no one could veto.

If the United Nations has one indispensable attribute it is the way the actors on its stages ham up their hypocrisy—especially since there is so much of it to put in the limelight. So U.S. Permanent Representative Susan Rice deplored the Russian and Chinese Feb. 4 vetoes—and they were indeed deplorable. Almost as deplorable, in fact, as her administration’s previous vetoes of Security Council resolutions expressing its own declared policy and international law on Israeli settlements. Perhaps people dancing on ethical thin ice should not stamp their feet quite so hard.

On cue, Riyad Mansour of the Palestine Mission sent a missive to the Council and the secretary-general detailing the latest Israeli crimes and helpfully enumerating the previous 416 reports the Mission has submitted on the subject since the year 2000.

Even more deliciously ironic, the pro-Israel neocon wing in the U.S. has now joined forces with al-Qaeda to call for support for the Syrian insurgents. Needless to say, neither group has shown overmuch respect for U.N. action in the past.

Of course, the case for action of any kind against the Assad regime is not helped when Arab countries pursuing similar policies against unarmed protestors are also in the vanguard of demanding action. Ambassador Rice and America’s friends in the Gulf might care to explain why Bahrain can repress its own people using foreign troops and police, with no fear of U.S. or U.N. action, but Assad can’t use his own army to counter what is now an armed insurgency.

Nor does it help that one Arab League member, Morocco, has been a recidivist defier of U.N. resolutions going back for 40 years of its occupation of the Western Sahara.

Once again, Realpolitik rears its ugly Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www. deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>.

26

head. As their own behavior eloquently testifies, the Gulf countries have only a homeopathic dose of sympathy for democracy protesters. But they do want to score a hit on Iran by helping defang virtually the only other regime outside Venezuela that is an active ally to Tehran. Presumably that also plays into the neocons’ support for action, as Iran has become the big Likudnik bugaboo since expedient amnesia has descended on the happy days of covert Iran-Israel weapons trading during Iran-Contra.

t always comes back to IIsrael!

In some ways, rational Israeli realpolitik should be happy with the Assad regime, which has maintained a truce along its border since 1973—but rationality about Iran long ago flew off into the desert. Syria’s army with its Russian weaponry has not been a serious threat to Israel for decades, although it does cramp the possibility of the otherwise likely Israeli bursts of military bloodlust in that direction. Indeed the tightly (secret-) policed state that Assad and his father have run has been very effective in heading off any free-lance guerrilla incursions, and has been useful to Israel on occasion in whacking the Palestinians in Lebanon.

While all that is useful background to consider when planning what form international action can feasibly take, it does not alter the basic point: what the Assad regime is doing in Syria violates humanitarian law. Moreover, every U.N. member state accepted the basic premise of “Responsibility to Protect” at the 2005 United Nations summit, when they unanimously reinterpreted the U.N. Charter’s provisions on threats to international peace and security to include the failure of governments to protect their own people.

While China prefers tactical abstentions to actual vetoes, Beijing went along on Syria at the Security Council because Moscow had, but it was clearly worried about what could be a very inauspicious diplomatic move.

Even the Russians did not deny the resolution’s basic premise, but rather tried to procrastinate and appeal for time for more diplomacy. Sadly they were ill-served by the Assad regime, which ratcheted up its THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

United Nations Report bloody assault to coincide with Moscow’s charm offensive on its behalf.

The other argument used to defend the veto is that the Syrian insurgents were also using violence. This recalls the sign that allegedly graced the lion cage in the Paris Zoo: ”This animal is dangerous—when attacked it fights back.” The regime had been shooting unarmed protestors for a long time before any of them took up arms.

Nor should Russia’s suggestions that its veto was influenced by Western overkill in Libya get too much credence. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was formerly Moscow’s man on the Security Council during the years of sanctions and over-reach toward Iraq. The Russians knew exactly what they were signing up for when they did not veto the Libya resolution, and shed few tears for the colonel. In playing to the sovereignty gallery at the U.N., however, they already had forfeited influence and markets in the new Libya—and this time they did not even get the support of those members usually deeply concerned about potential Western encroachment on sovereignty, such as India and Pakistan.

It is true that the course of events in Libya did not run so smoothly as in Tunisia—but that is arguably a consequence of delayed and low-key intervention, along with the regime drawing comfort from what it saw as tacit Russian support.

Unless Moscow has secret information about the prospects of Assad’s survival, it has lost the chance of continuing arms sales to the successor regime. And sadly, it might have done damage to the prospects for any stable Syrian regime by sending false reassurance.

It always comes back to Israel!

So now that Washington wants to get around the Russian veto, it falls immediately into a trap of its own making. Faced with U.S. vetoes in support of Israel, the Palestinians revived the Uniting for Peace procedure that the West had used to circumvent the Soviet veto during the Korean War. In the face of this, the U.S. and its allies had decided that the procedure was outdated.

Every media report and repeated speeches reiterate that General Assembly resolutions are not binding in international law—thus leaving in some legal limbo decisions like the General Assembly resolution on the partition MARCH/APRIL 2012

williams blueline p. 27_March/April 2012 Template 2/23/12 10:54 AM Page 27

of Palestine and the conduct of the Korean War. By “non-binding,” what they actually mean is that only the Security Council has legal authority to “enforce” decisions.

The General Assembly Resolution General Assembly president Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar could have used the Uniting for Peace procedure to respond to the impasse in the Security Council. But for once the U.S. and the West wanted a resolution, without in any way legitimizing what the Palestinians had been doing previously.

We can therefore assume that is why AlNasser forbore that route. Instead, taking some liberties with procedure, he took to a vote the Human Rights Commissioner’s Report on Syria, instead of allowing it to languish in the usual committees.

It is significant that when the Syrian delegate tried to appeal this on procedural grounds, he could only get support from Iran and North Korea. He thus wisely did not push for a vote on the appeal, since an actual vote would have underscored the regime’s isolation. Unlike Qaddafi, Assad does not even have a coterie of paid-for heads of state to stand up for him, so the General Assembly voted 137 to 12 to support the Arab League position on Syria, with Assad’s friends being low in both number and quality.

Despite the confused motives surrounding the passing of the resolution, its emphasis on human rights violations in a country needing international action in response is a useful precedent, reinforcing the gradual development of a global legal protocol to control rogue regimes. One of the reasons some otherwise worried governments supported it was because it was sponsored by the Arab League, and members traditionally prefer to defer to regional groupings like that. But one has to ponder just how desperate for friends the Damascus regime is when Sudan, whose president is under indictment by the International Criminal Court for just such causes, votes for international action. Uzbekistan and Yemen tactfully absented themselves from the vote.

While calling on the secretary-general to appoint a special envoy and supporting the Arab League plan for a peaceful solution, the General Assembly resolution is short on specifics. Conspiracy theorists notwithstanding, there is a sane lack of Western appetite to send troops in—and, of course, if Israel wanted to rally Arab support for Assad, it could intervene itself.

The danger of the Russian and Chinese veto is that it takes the Security Council out of the equation and thus removes direction and immediacy from any response. That is, MARCH/APRIL 2012

after all, the Council’s function. The General Assembly resolution that was passed could just prolong the agony, with the attendant dangers of a replay of Lebanon, as Kurds, Palestinians, Christians, Druze, Alawites and Sunnis run for the cover of their kind.

On the other hand, the resolution lends some degree of legitimacy to other states who can claim it, along with other excuses, to act in varying degrees of unilateralism—without the restraint of the Security Council. The signs are that Assad’s days are numbered, but if they are to be numbered in small figures, then the international community has to guarantee protection to those groups—not least to the Alawites, who, with some legitimacy, probably fear a pogrom from the opposition if their presidential patron is removed from the scene.

At the moment it does look like everyone

is just muddling along and hoping for the best, but one seriously hopes that various military powers are making substantive contingency plans and preparations for the various eventualities. The cover of the General Assembly resolution might be enough for arms supplies to the insurgents, for example, or for Turkish action to contain refugee flow. To the welter of motivations and allegiances in the struggle inside Syria, outsider interests will only add confusion.

Some are anti-Iranian, some pro-Israeli, some anti-Assad. Sadly, few will be genuinely pro-democracy or pro-Syrian.

The issue must come back to the Security Council, and Russia and China should grow up and accept that with the privilege of the veto comes responsibilities.

They could set an example to Washington yet! ❑

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27

kerin_28-29_Special Report 2/22/12 9:38 PM Page 28

Shared Values? Marylanders Oppose SisterCity Relationship With Beit Shemesh SpecialReport

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Susan Kerin

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man shouts at a woman reporter during a Dec. 26, 2011 protest in Beit Shemesh, where ultra-Orthodox Jews have campaigned to segregate men and women. e don’t want to play with Beit

“WShemesh,” human rights and

church representatives in Montgomery County, Maryland told County Executive Isiah Leggett when they learned that he would soon be formalizing a sister-city relationship with the controversial city located within Israel’s Jerusalem District.

Beit Shemesh has had ongoing and systemic segregation and hate violence issues which in recent months have made both national and international headlines.

According to Yvonne Wall, an Arab Israeli who lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, activists have been working to address these concerns as far back as 2009, when Montgomery County announced a town meeting to first launch its overall sister-city program. “We knew back then that Beit Shemesh was in consideration and had human rights issues,” Wall said, “but were told that the program had no short list of sister-city candidates so we were being premature to complain about a specific one.”

Activist Samira Hussein, who also attended the town meeting, got the same response. “After that,” she noted, “we were excluded entirely from future discussions.

And here we were the advisory group designated by the county executive to speak Susan Kerin is co-chair of Pax Christi at St. Francis Parish in Derwood, MD. 28

on such issues.” Both Hussein and Wall are members of Montgomery County’s Middle East American Advisory Group (MEAAG).

In contrast, the county’s ethnic advisory groups for the two other sister cities in the pipeline (Gondar, Ethiopia and Morazan, El Salvador) were not only enrolled in the discussions, but participated on delegations and were invited to be members of the private sister-cities board.

Unlike most other community programs in Montgomery County, the sister-cities program is not administered by a public committee, but through a private organization, Montgomery County Sister Cities, Inc. This made it difficult for constituents to both participate in and/or follow activities related to the process.

Last October, following an announcement in The Washington Post about the selection of Beit Shemesh as the county’s next sister city, a follow-up meeting was held with county representatives, but again the human rights concerns were dismissed, as were requests for a public comment forum to discuss the issues in an open, transparent and inclusive format.

As a result of the refusal, grassroot activists launched the Human Rights Matter!

Campaign (<www.mdhumanrightsmatter. org>). The organizational members included the local Pax Christi community, as well as Peace Action Montgomery, a 2,600THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

member grassroots organization committed to citizen engagement on peace issues.

Campaign steering committee members included social concerns lay-leaders for a number of local churches, a former state delegate, and a retired foreign service representative. The campaign received support from Mossawa, a leading Israeli civil rights group, and Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire.

Unlike most grassroots movements, the Human Rights Matter! Campaign didn’t rely on protests or letter-writing efforts but rather used internal pressure points in reaching the county executive about their concerns. According to Bob Cooke, a representative for the DC-Baltimore Regional Pax Christi, “It is easy and automatic sometimes to just jump into doing a protest or petition, but at the local level, it is possible to outreach directly with the players involved—to just walk through the front door.”

So Human Rights Matter! initiated contacts with public county-level committees including MEAAG, as well as the county’s Commission for Women, its Committee on Hate-Violence and its Human Rights Commission. The Campaign also reached out to local private chapters like the NAACP, as well as to local influential individuals who could make behind-the-scenes inquiries directly with the county executive. Virtually across the board, these groups and individuals were both receptive and responsive to the Campaign’s concerns.

To his credit, following a Jan. 10 meeting with the Campaign, County Executive Leggett affirmed his willingness to review the human rights concerns and made an open commitment to “consider Montgomery County’s history of tolerance and our value for basic human rights here and abroad in choosing a sister city in Israel or any other nation.”

Ultra-Orthodox assailants in Beit Shemesh have spat on girls, thrown eggs and bags of extrement and yelled insults, including “Sluts” or “Shiksas!” (non-Jewish women) at them. On Jan. 20, a thirdgrade boy, a new immigrant from the United States, was attacked by other children walking home from school, according to Haaretz. A few weeks earlier, a Haredi man threatened to kill the boy’s dog because it was impure.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

kerin_28-29_Special Report 2/22/12 9:38 PM Page 29

However, Leggett also had been receiving counter arguments that the hate-violence in Beit Shemesh, which included ultra-Orthodox men attacking Jewish schoolgirls on a sustained basis for their attire, were merely being committed by minority extremists, and that it was a distortion to paint the entire community in that regard.

Jean Athey, chair of Peace Action Montgomery, challenges this argument, noting that the recent hate-violence in Beit Shemesh is only part of the story. “It is certainly a symptom and a reprehensible one,” she pointed out, “but there are deeper concerns underlying these attacks that can’t merely be attributed to a ‘few bad apples.’”

For example, Athey cited ethnic discrimination as a concern, specifically the absence of non-Jewish Israelis in the community and the segregation of residents of Ethiopian descent. “We question why no Israeli Arabs live in Beit Shemesh, when approximately 20 percent of the population of Israel is Arab,” Athey explained.

“Beit Shemesh appears to be a city that, at minimum, is unwelcoming to those of a different ethnicity or religion. Moreover,

the Ethiopian community within Israel has requested the Knesset to investigate charges of discrimination against Ethiopians living in Beit Shemesh, given the fact that black children are segregated from white children in special schools, beginning in kindergarten.”

In the past few years Haredi extremists have assaulted bus passengers for sitting next to members of the opposite sex, and firebombed a pizza shop where sexes mingled, according to the JTA, a Jewish news service.

In addition, recent articles indicate the complicit role of the Beit Shemesh mayor in both gender and ethnic segregation issues.

In a January 2012 yNet report, he is quoted as saying he doesn’t find a problem with gender-segregated signs because they have been there for over 10 years and are a “gracious request.” Prominent signs calling for modest dress and excluding women from using certain sidewalks near synagogues have been tolerated for years. He also rationalized the segregation of Ethiopian schoolchildren as necessary because they are “small fish” that can’t compete among the “big fish.”

On Feb. 6 The Washington Post reported on a newly issued State Department travel advisory for Americans traveling to ultraOrthodox communities in Israel, citing as one example the violence in Beit Shemesh.

Less than two weeks later, Montgomery County officially announced it was delaying the Israeli sister-city partnership because of the controversy. Two county councilmembers were also quoted expressing their concerns. “This is great news,” Hussein responded, “and an indication of how local groups can coalesce to have impact.”

However, two follow-up reports in the Jerusalem Post quote a Montgomery County employee as noting that despite the delay, “the county was not ruling out a partnership with Beit Shemesh but would likely follow the advice of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington [the sponsoring agency for Beit Shemesh].” Pax Christi’s Bob Cooke seems undeterred by this, saying “we have done a good job in expressing to our neighbors and local representatives that human rights matter. I suspect that we will be able to do the same in conveying to them the message that the constituents’ voice matters too.” ❑

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29

smith_30_Special Report 2/22/12 9:37 PM Page 30

So Sue Me: AIPAC Fights Former Executive’s $20 Million Defamation Suit SpecialReport

By Grant F. Smith uring Feb. 14, 2012 oral arguments

Dbefore a three-judge panel in the Dis-

trict of Columbia Court of Appeals, attorney David Shapiro argued passionately that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has a long history of obtaining and using classified U.S. government information. The fiery Shapiro clashed with AIPAC’s legal team, headed by employment and labor law expert Thomas McCalley.

The $20 million question before the judges was whether AIPAC defamed its former top lobbyist, Steven J. Rosen, after it fired him in 2005—but before Rosen, along with his colleague Keith Weissman, was indicted by the Department of Justice under the Espionage Act. AIPAC repeatedly told establishment media outlets that Rosen’s “behavior did not comport with standards that AIPAC expects of its employees.”

A lower court judge threw out Rosen’s defamation suit in February of last year, ruling that the objective truth of the AIPAC statement was “not provably false…and not defamatory as a matter of law.” This was wrong, argued Shapiro, since AIPAC “knew everything” Rosen did while lobbying the executive branch and had no standards about classified information.

Shapiro presented tantalizing glimpses into the still-murky circumstances surrounding Rosen’s dismissal. In 2004 Rosen and Weissman passed what they thought was classified information to Washington Post reporter Glenn Kessler. It was all a sting. The pair were wiretapped by the FBI, which played select audio clips to AIPAC counsel Nathan Lewin. Lewin—who subsequently said he did not think Rosen had committed a crime—regretfully advised AIPAC to fire Rosen.

The Appeals Court judges repeatedly challenged Shapiro that employers have a right to dismiss employees who have been arrested or indicted. How could it possibly be defamatory to say that Rosen’s actions didn’t comport with AIPAC standards? Shapiro fired back, asserting it was defamatory because Grant F. Smith is director of the Washington, DC-based Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy. Legal briefs and declassified files referred to in his article may be browsed at the Israel Lobby Archive, <www.IRmep.org/ila/rosen>.

30

“AIPAC has no standards…any standards.”

Shapiro then listed reasons why, under Justice Department “Thompson Memorandum” corporate prosecution guidelines, AIPAC really fired and publicly chastised its employees: “They were investigating AIPAC, too.”

Shapiro reminded judges that AIPAC’s offices had been raided twice by the FBI. AIPAC chose to fire and put Rosen “in a zone of danger,” with a possible 20-year prison term, “to save itself.” Serial insinuations about Rosen dispersed the massive cloud of suspicion gathering over AIPAC itself.

IPAC “knew everything” A Rosen did while lobbying the executive branch.

The staid and serene McCalley tried to steer the panel back into more comfortable technical and procedural terrain. Citing legal precedents, McCalley calmly argued that no “subjective” employer statement about an employee who has been indicted is actionable as defamation. Besides, he added, the statements cited in Rosen’s lawsuit were mere repetitions of earlier statements, and therefore fell outside the applicable statute of limitations. AIPAC’s statements about Rosen, a public figure, had to be judged by different standards.

Chief Judge Eric Washington seemed to warm to McCalley’s arguments until Shapiro let loose an impassioned rebuttal.

Shapiro argued that Rosen’s standing in the Jewish community had been forever tainted by AIPAC and that he must be “allowed to present his case before a jury.”

Judge John M. Ferren demonstrated his acute awareness of the connection between the criminal Espionage Act case—dropped by the Obama administration in 2009— and Rosen’s near simultaneous defamation suit filing.

A public interest appeal has also now entered the fray. The day following the oral arguments, the court granted special permission for the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy’s motion to file an amicus brief. The 76-page brief, citing recently declassified State Department and FBI investigation files, argues that “AIPAC’s observable standard for employees is ‘solicit, obtain and leverage classified information THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

without being criminally indicted.’ AIPAC is never held publicly accountable for these types of activities which harm governance and public perception of rule of law.” The full brief, and AIPAC’s last ditch attempt to block it, is available online.

For AIPAC, the stakes could not be higher. If it becomes subject to paying off disgruntled former operatives who engaged in or witnessed illegal activity, the behemoth Israel lobby could go bankrupt. If, on the other hand, it quietly pays off Rosen, it will be seen as an admission of guilt.

The Appeals Court panel may well conclude that Rosen deserves another chance to argue that AIPAC had no right to fire him for activity that it has historically rewarded—as long as its operatives avoided indictment. Whatever the verdict, the overarching public interest question of why AIPAC itself has never been indicted for a string of illegal activities will likely continue to await a satisfactory answer.

Unlike Rosen, concerned Americans had no standing to appeal the Justice Department’s 2009 order to drop Espionage Act prosecutions, or power to redirect indictments toward the main perpetrator. ❑

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mcarthur_31-33_Congress Watch 2/21/12 9:23 PM Page 31

“Omnibus” Appropriations Bill Includes Aid To Middle East, With Conditions CongressWatch

By Shirl McArthur nce again Congress failed to pass all but a few appropriations bills for FY O 2012 on time, so was forced to wrap the remaining ones into an “omnibus” bill, H.R. 2055. The conference report, H.Rept. 112331, was passed by the House on Dec. 16, 2011, by the Senate on Dec. 17, and signed

by President Barack Obama on Dec. 23 as P.L. 112-074.

Amounts appropriated for Middle East countries, either earmarked or mentioned in the conferees’ accompanying statement, are: Israel: $3.075 billion in military aid, to be disbursed within 30 days, and including the regular provision that 26.3 percent ($808.725 million) can be spent for articles and services in Israel; plus $20 million for “refugee resettlement;” plus, from the Energy Department portion of the bill, $2 million for the “U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Program;” plus, from the Defense Department portion of the bill, $235.7 million for “Israeli Cooperative Programs.” Total: $3.3327 billion.

Egypt: $1.3 billion in military aid, to be placed in an interest-bearing account for Egypt, plus $250 million in economic aid, and up to $60 million to establish and operate enterprise funds. Both military and economic aid for Egypt are conditioned in Sec. 7041(a), with presidential waiver authority, on Cairo’s meeting its obligations under the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and “is supporting the transition to civilian government including holding free and fair elections; implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association, and religion, and the due process of law.”

Jordan: $300 million in military aid, plus $360 million in economic aid, and up to $60 million to establish and operate enterprise funds.

Lebanon: $12 million for scholarships at non-profit institutions, plus $500,000 to support the U.S. Forest Service’s programs in Lebanon. Sec. 7041(e) says that military aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) may only be granted if the LAF is not controlled by a foreign terrorist organization, Shirl McArthur, a retired U.S. foreign service officer, is a consultant based in the Washington, DC area.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

and may be used “only to professionalize the LAF and to strengthen border security and combat terrorism.”

Tunisia: Up to $30 million for the costs of loan guarantees, plus up to $20 million to establish and operate enterprise funds.

Libya: $20 million “to promote democracy, transparent and accountable governance, human rights, transitional justice, and the

2012 Middle East Appropriations Israel $3,332,700,000 Egypt 1,610,000,000 Jordan 720,000,000 Lebanon 12,500,000 Tunisia 50,000,000 Libya 20,000,000 Palestinian Authority 0 rule of law, and for exchange programs between Libyan and American students.”

Although Obama requested $513.4 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority (PA), no funds are earmarked in the omnibus.

However, there are a number of sections in the General Provisions limiting such aid.

These include a number of “perennial provisions,” such as Sec. 7036, with presidential waiver authority, saying that no funds may be appropriated to support a Palestinian state unless the secretary of state certifies that the state has met a long list of requirements; Sec. 7039, applying a long list of conditions on aid for the West Bank and Gaza; and Sec. 7040(a), prohibiting aid to the PA, but with a conditioned presidential waiver authority. Sec. 7040(f) prohibits aid to Hamas or PA personnel located in Gaza, or “any entity effectively controlled

by Hamas, any power-sharing government of which Hamas is a member or that results from an agreement with Hamas and over which Hamas exercises undue influence.”

This last provision includes a very limited presidential waiver authority.

A major new anti-Palestinian provision is Sec. 7086. Part (a)(1) prohibits “assistance for the PA if the Palestinians obtain, after the date of enactment of this Act, the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

same standing as member states or full membership as a state in the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof outside an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.” Part (a)(2) grants the secretary of state waiver authority over this prohibition “in the national security interest of the U.S.” Part (b) of this section toughens the president’s waiver authority over the prohibition, going back to 1988, against the PLO having an office in the U.S. Part (b)(1) says the president may waive the prohibition if he can certify that the Palestinians have not gained membership in the U.N. or a specialized agency (same language as Sec. 7086(a)1) cited above). Part (b)(2) says if the president is unable to make such certification, he may still waive the prohibition if he can certify “that the Palestinians have entered into direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel,” but only after waiting at least 90 days (meaning the PLO office would have to close).

An anti-U.N. provision is Sec. 7049, saying that no funds may be used “to pay expenses for any U.S. delegation or as a contribution” to any U.N. agency or body that is presided over or chaired by a country designated as a supporter of terrorism. The section also says that contributions or assessments to the U.N. Human Rights Council may be made only if the secretary of state certifies that it is in the national interest of the U.S.

Presidential “Signing Statement” Modifies Some Provisions On signing the Omnibus bill, Obama issued a “Signing Statement” giving his “wellfounded constitutional objections” to certain provisions. He cited several sections, including Sec. 7049, described above (regarding the U.N.), that “restrict or require particular diplomatic communications, negotiations, or interactions with foreign governments or international organizations,” and others, including Sec. 7086 (anti-Palestinian provision described above), that “hinder my ability to receive diplomatic representatives of foreign governments.” His statement says that “I will not treat these provisions as limiting my constitutional authorities in the area of foreign relations.”

31

mcarthur_31-33_Congress Watch 2/21/12 9:23 PM Page 32

Kirk and Menendez. On Jan. 19 they wrote to Geithner expressing concern over the President Barack Obama’s FY 2013 Budget Request For Cultural Agencies rules being drafted in the Treasury Department to imU.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum $51.8 million ($1,000,000 increase) plement the provision. They especially were concerned John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 36.0 million ($883,000 decrease) that the rules could allow Source: Los Angeles Times, Feb. 14, 2012 countries to claim they have achieved “significant reductions” in their dealings with Defense Authorization Bill Includes to build strong international pressure Iran. They also expressed concern that Aim at Iran’s Central Bank against Iran,” and “would potentially Obama would freely use the “national seH.Rept. 112-329, the conference report to yield a net economic benefit to the Iran- curity waiver” provision.

Also, on Jan. 26, 85 Republicans and H.R. 1540, the National Defense Autho- ian regime.” Menendez reacted angrily to rization Act for FY ’12, was passed by the the administration’s efforts, saying that he four Democrats wrote to Obama decrying House on Dec. 14, by the Senate the fol- and others had worked to accommodate his signing statement. Ignoring the Constilowing day, and signed by the president the administration’s concerns. He said he tution, they said the president “indicated regretted working with the administra- that the sanctions program language was on Dec. 31 as P.L. 112-081. advisory only. It is not.” Interestingly, no The measure includes a far-reaching pro- tion on this.

The final, negotiated version does give member of the Republican or Democratic vision, Sec. 1245, initiated as an amendment to the bill by Sens. Mark Kirk (R- the president some flexibility. It says that leadership signed the letter.

IL)—who received more pro-Israel PAC the above sanctions shall not apply with contributions in 2010 than any other can- respect to a foreign financial institution if House Passes Iran, Syria Sanctions didate for the House or Senate—and the president determines “that the country Bills Robert Menendez (D-NJ)—who is up for with primary jurisdiction over the foreign On Dec. 14 the House passed both H.R. re-election this year—aimed at imposing financial institution has significantly re- 1905, the “Iran Threat Reduction Act of financial sanctions on Iran’s financial insti- duced its volume of crude oil purchases 2011,” and H.R. 2105, the “Iran, North tutions, including the Central Bank of Iran from Iran.” There is also a presidential Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation and Re(CBI). The key provision says that, begin- waiver provision, for not more than 120 form And Modernization Act of 2011.” ning 60 days after the enactment of the days, renewable for an additional 120 days, The bills, both co-sponsored by leading Act, “the president shall prohibit the if the president determines that it is in the Israel-firsters Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen opening, and prohibit or impose strict con- national security interest of the U.S. (R-FL) and Howard Berman (D-CA)—the Previously, on Nov. 17, six House Re- chair and ranking Democrat, respectively, ditions on the maintaining in the U.S. of a correspondent account or a payable- publican and Democratic leadership mem- on the House Foreign Affairs Committhrough account by a foreign financial in- bers signed a letter to Obama urging him tee—were brought up under “suspension stitution that the president determines has to “make the CBI’s involvement in prolifer- of the rules,” a procedure designed for knowingly conducted or facilitated any ation and terrorist activities the target of non-controversial bills, allowing no significant financial transactions with the coordinated multilateral sanctions.” On amendments and limited debate. H.R. CBI or another Iranian financial institution Nov. 21 Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) wrote to 1905 was passed by a roll call vote of 410designated by the secretary of the Trea- him expressing concern over the CBI’s ac- 11; when passed it had 365 co-sponsors, sury.” Exceptions are made for “any per- tivities. And on Nov. 22 Rep. Jeff Flake (R- including Ros-Lehtinen. H.R. 2105 was son for conducting or facilitating a trans- AZ), with two co-sponsors, introduced passed by a roll call vote of 418-2; when action for the sale of food, medicine, or H.R. 3508, amending the Iran Sanctions passed it had 47 co-sponsors, including Act of 2010 to include essentially the same Ros-Lehtinen. medical devices to Iran.”

The above sanctions shall apply to a for- CBI provisions as in the Defense AuthoAs passed, the bills contained the same eign central bank “only insofar as it en- rization Act. harsh provisions designed to inflict maxgages in a financial transaction for the sale imum suffering on the Iranian people, as or purchase of petroleum or petroleum Presidential “Signing Statement” described in previous issues of the Washproducts to or from Iran conducted or fa- Could Mitigate CBI Provision ington Report. Of the two, H.R. 1905 does cilitated on or after that date that is 180 Again, on signing the Defense Authoriza- the most damage to U.S. national interests. days after the enactment of this Act.” tion Act, Obama issued a “signing state- Among the bill’s many harsh provisions is The Obama administration argued ment” giving his objections to certain pro- one that, if allowed to become law, would strongly against the Kirk-Menendez visions. Specifically, he cited several provi- effectively prohibit diplomacy with Iran amendment, saying it could alienate cer- sions, including Sec. 1245 (the CBI provi- and would set a precedent that Congress tain countries and raise oil prices, which sion) that “could interfere with my consti- could dictate to whom the executive could help Iran’s economy. Treasury Sec- tutional foreign affairs powers.” He con- branch could talk. It says that “no person retary Timothy Geithner on Dec. 1 wrote cluded that “should any application of employed with the U.S. government may to Senate leaders saying that the amend- these provisions conflict with my constitu- contact in an official or unofficial capacment, in its current form “threatens to tional authorities, I will treat the provi- ity any person that (1) is an agent, instruundermine the effective, carefully phased, sions as non-binding.” mentality, or official of, is affiliated with, and sustainable approach we have taken Predictably, this caused a reaction from or is serving as a representative of the

‘Nuff Said:

32

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

mcarthur_31-33_Congress Watch 2/21/12 9:23 PM Page 33

Government of Iran; and (2) presents a threat to the U.S. or is affiliated with a terrorist organization.” Another provision is a stricter version of the CBI amendment to the Defense Authorization Act described above requiring sanctions on Iran’s central bank, but with no presidential waiver authority. The measure also would place additional sanctions on Iran’s already heavily sanctioned petroleum sector, and eliminate existing waiver authority permitting the export to Iran of parts for civilian aircraft.

H.R. 2105 includes the new provision excluding from the U.S. persons “who have aided proliferation relating to Iran.”

Seeing no action in the Senate on their draconian measures, Ros-Lehtinen and Berman on Jan. 13 called on the chairman and ranking Republican of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Dick Lugar (R-IN), to “expeditiously” mark up the bills or send them directly to the floor for full Senate consideration. This did not happen, and H.R. 1905’s Senate counterpart, S. 1048, introduced in May by Menendez, continues to languish, with 81 co-sponsors. However, on Feb. 2 Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) Senate Banking Committee held a mark-up session for a new Senate version of an “Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Human Rights” bill.

Not letting up, on Jan. 31 “Even-BeforeI-Was-a-Democrat-I-Was-a-Zionist” Berman introduced H.R. 3843 to amend the Iran Sanctions Act of 2010 “to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to the National Iranian Oil Company and the National Iranian Tanker Company.” And on Feb. 2 Ros-Lehtinen, with two co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 3880 to require sanctions “on foreign financial institutions that are members of an entity that provides services relating to secure communications, electronic funds transfers, or cable transfers” to the CBI or sanctioned financial institutions. On Feb. 1 Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), with 16 co-sponsors, introduced S. 2058 “to close loopholes, increase transparency, and improve the effectiveness of sanctions on Iranian trade in petroleum products.”

Coast Guard Authorization Amendment Targets Iran Shipping On Nov. 15 the House passed H.R. 2838, the “Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation” bill. It includes an amendment proposed by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) targeting Iranian commercial shipping.

Since 1996 certain foreign-based marine MARCH/APRIL 2012

classification societies have been allowed to review and inspect U.S.-flagged vessels on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard. McCaul’s amendment says that before a foreign classification society may be granted this authority, the secretary of state must determine “that such society does not provide comparable services in or for a state sponsor of terrorism.”

Imposing Collective Punishment on The Palestinian and Iranian People As described in the above paragraphs, Ros-Lehtinen and her congressional Israel-first allies have decided to follow Israel’s lead and impose collective punishment on the Palestinian people—and, going one better, on the Iranian people as well. Apparently, their goal is to inflict maximum damage to the Palestinian and Iranian societies. Reuters reported on Dec. 15 that the administration and congressional appropriators had reached agreement that the PA could continue to receive aid in FY ’12 so long as the PA was not admitted as a state to any more U.N. organizations. As reported in the previous issue of this magazine, Ros-Lehtinen had unblocked about $200 million of the PA aid appropriated in the FY ‘11 continuing appropriations bill (because it will directly benefit Israel), leaving about $200 million still blocked. Then, on Dec. 29, The Washington Post reported that she had unblocked an additional $40 million, leaving $147 million still blocked. The remaining funds are mostly for NGOs to provide direct help to the Palestinian people–who are obviously not of great concern to Ros-Lehtinen. ❑

Santorum & Allen…

Continued from page 12

Allen’s use of the word raised questions of how he knew it in the first place.

In an article in the Aug. 25, 2006 issue of the Forward, E.J. Kessler explained: “Allen’s mother, Henriette (Etty), whose maiden name was Lumbroso, is indeed Francophone and Tunisian born…Though Etty Allen seems not to have dwelled on it during her years in the spotlight as a coach’s wife, she comes from the august Sephardic Jewish Lumbroso family. Her father, who was the main importer of wines and liquors in Tunis—including the Cinzano brand—was known in France, where he lived after World War II, as part of the family, according to French Jewish sources.

If both of Etty’s parents were born JewTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ish—which, given her age and background, is likely—Senator Allen would be considered Jewish in the eyes of traditional rabbinic law, which traces Judaism through the mother.”

Allen responded angrily when asked by a television reporter whether any of his ancestors were Jewish—leading to speculation by Internet bloggers and some Jewish leaders that he was trying to hide his Jewish ancestry because he viewed it as a political liability.

Finally, at the end of August, Allen said his mother had only recently told him of her Jewish upbringing, which she had not revealed to her children or in-laws for fear they would face discrimination and antiSemitism.

According to a Sept. 21, 2006 article in The Washington Post, however, “Allen’s Jewish heritage has been a subject of lowlevel political speculation for years, in part because the former governor and first-term senator often refers to his grandfather’s incarceration by the Nazis in political speeches. But Allen has always said Lumbroso was a member of the Free French resistance movement and insisted that he and his mother were raised as Christians.”

Whether or not Allen was aware of his Jewish heritage—à la former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright—he long has been a fervent supporter of Israel, earning membership in this magazine’s congressional “Hall of Shame” in both 2004 and 2006. And the favor was returned. Allen received $42,000 from pro-Israel PACs for his 2006 re-election effort, for a career total of $52,400.

As of early December 2011, Allen had received no pro-Israel PAC contributions.

His expected Democratic opponent, former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011, had received only $1,000, however, so it looks like the Lobby is hedging its bets until it sees which way the electoral winds are blowing. ❑

Gingrich’s Lie… Continued from page 13

Language can be a wonderful and powerful tool—all the more reason for political leaders to use it thoughtfully and with care. Gingrich’s disgraceful behavior addressing such a difficult and sensitive issue demonstrates that he cannot be trusted to use words carefully. Why should anyone trust him with more? ❑ 33

hishmeh_34_Special Report 2/22/12 9:35 PM Page 34

The Shocking Silence of the U.S. Media Over the Obama â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hitâ&#x20AC;? Column SpecialReport

By George S. Hishmeh t is unbelievable, actually bewildering,

Ithat an American newspaperman should

suggest that one of three options facing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the conflict with Iran over its nuclear policies is to assassinate the American president.

Although he did not mention Barack Obama by name, all those who read the column felt this American president was the target.

But what has been equally appalling has been the failure of the American media, by and large, to cover this shocking development that surfaced in January. Surprisingly, it hardly attracted national attention except within the influential American Jewish community and the American Jewish media, since the author of the column was the Jewish publisher and editor of the Atlanta Jewish Times.

An Arab American who runs a think tank in Washington but refused to be identified wondered, in an e-mail sent to me, what would have been the consequences had the author been an Arab American.

Certainly, the uproar would have been sky high, but obviously not in the case of this Jewish newspaper.

The Jewish editor of the paper, Andrew B. Adler, outlined in his column three options that Israel, unlike the Obama administration, will be facing in the alleged threat posed by Iran: Strike Hezbollah and Hamas, strike Iran, or â&#x20AC;&#x153;order a hitâ&#x20AC;? on the president, Barack Obama.

Adlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s option three reads: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Give the go-ahead for U.S.-based [Israeli] Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president [Joe Biden] to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes, you read â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;threeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existence. Think about it. If I have [thought] of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most inner circles? â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.â&#x20AC;?

Adlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shocking suggestion has obviGeorge S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at <Hishmehg@aol.com>.

34

ously touched off an outcry within the influential Jewish community, minimal attention from two television networks and virtual silence by the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s major newspapers. An influential member of one liberal Jewish organization, who asked not to be identified, pointed his finger at the Republic Jewish Coalition, a political lobbying group which fervently supports Israel and the remaining Republican presidential candidates for the subdued silence elsewhere.

rder a hit on a â&#x20AC;&#x153;O president in order to preserve Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existence.â&#x20AC;?

Although the White House has yet to comment on Adlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loud opinion, probably so as not to agonize the Jewish community, the Secret Service is said to be aware of the column, titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;What would you do?â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;are taking the appropriate investigative steps.â&#x20AC;?

What all this means is that President Obama has to watch his step, nationally and internationally in the next few months, a position that may not satisfy each side especially as far as the various issues now being debated or articulated in the Middle East. Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the extremist Anti-Defamation League, dismissed an apology from Adler because in his opinion it â&#x20AC;&#x153;cannot possibly repair the damage.â&#x20AC;? He acknowledged that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the ideas expressed in Mr. Adlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s column reflect some of the extremist rhetoric that unfortunately existsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;even in some segments of our [Jewish] communityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that maliciously labels President Obama as an enemy of the Jewish people.â&#x20AC;?

Adler did apologize for what was described

as â&#x20AC;&#x153;incendiary rhetoricâ&#x20AC;? and has stepped away from his paper, established in 1925, and which he bought less than three years ago.

On the other hand, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s targeted assassinations of yesteryears are well known in the Arab world going back to the socalled 1954 Lavon Affair, a failed Israeli covert operation that involved planting bombs inside Egyptian, American and British-owned targets in Egypt, and, more recently, its alleged role in the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Tangentially, the American media has to examine itself more seriously. It should not remain silent when an American president is threatened.

Meantime, The New York Times, much to its credit, exclusively reported on Jan. 17 that a shady feature film titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Third Jihadâ&#x20AC;? was shown to nearly 1,500 police officers as part of training in the New York Police Department.

As the Times described the film, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ominous music plays as images appear on the screen. Muslim terrorists shoot Christians in the head, car bombs explode, executed children lie covered by sheets and a doctored photograph shows an Islamic flag flying by the White House.â&#x20AC;?

The paper continued: â&#x20AC;&#x153;News that police trainers showed this film so extensively comes as the department wrestles with its relationship with the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large Muslim community.â&#x20AC;? It added that the Police Department offers no apology for â&#x20AC;&#x153;aggressivelyâ&#x20AC;? spying on Muslim groups although civil rights advocates say the department, â&#x20AC;&#x153;in its zeal, has trampled on civil rights, blurred lines between foreign and domestic spying and sown fear among Muslims.â&#x20AC;? â?&#x2018;

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gee_36-37_Islam and the Near East in the Far East 2/22/12 9:32 PM Page 36

Unsettled Maldives

Islam and the Near East in theFar East

By John Gee

ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

year and a half, became a qadi (shariah judge) and married four local women. Despite his comments on their character, Ibn Battuta evidently decided as a qadi that the islanders were not as religiously observant as they should be, enforcing Friday prayers by beatings for those who did not pray. He attempted, unsuccessfully, to determine how the local women should dress: most only wore aprons that hung from their waists to the ground. He recorded that in his own time there, the ruler of the islands was a woman named Khadijah, who succeeded to the sultanate because there were no male heirs.

Ibn Battuta noted the importance of the coconut palm and fishing to the islands’ economy, and these have remained staples up Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed (c) greets people after Friday prayers in Male Feb. until the present. The country had few other natural resources, and 10, three days after he was ousted in what he described as a coup. when the British made the islands a protectorate in the 19th century, it was he Maldives, primarily known else- flights from Israel to the Maldives.

None of these issues are essentially a mat- for strategic reasons. At independence in where in the world as a high-end tourist destination, has been shaken by op- ter of religious outlook, though attitudes 1965, the Maldives remained a poor counposition protests that began in December and political language have been shaped by try. Tourism was developed during Abdul 2011. This was the second wave of protests religion in this strongly Muslim society. Gayoom’s 30-year rule, taking advantage of against the government of Mohamed The underlying causes of the protest ap- the sunshine, clear waters and diverse maNasheed, the former political dissident who pear to lie in the economic problems of the rine life around the atolls. There was not was elected president of the Indian Ocean Maldives and the sense that Nasheed’s gov- much interaction between the tourists and republic in 2008. It culminated, Nasheed ernment had failed to deliver. This has been locals: indeed, a selling point of holidays in says, in a mutiny by police and army offi- capitalized on by supporters of the previ- the islands was the exclusiveness of many ous president, Mahmoon Abdul Gayoom, of the resorts and the facilities on hand cers, forcing his resignation. within hotels and resorts. However, the The Nasheed government painted its op- eager to recover power.

The Republic of Maldives lies off the tourist industry generated jobs and money. ponents as religious extremists, and it was Nevertheless, discontent with Abdul aspects of their protests reinforcing this im- southwestern coast of India and consists of pression that tended to be publicized 1,192 islands scattered over a large area. Its Gayoom’s dictatorial rule grew, and he was abroad. Some claimed that the spas in lux- population is only 330,000, one-third of voted out of office in the 2008 presidential ury hotels scattered across the islands were whom live in the capital Male (roughly pro- election. The victor, Nasheed, pledged democratic reforms and economic justice, but centers of prostitution; the government or- nounced “Marlay”).

During the Middle Ages, the islands’ lo- in a resource-poor state still recovering dered them all to be closed, only to authorize their reopening at the beginning of cation made them convenient ports of call from the devastating tsunami of 2004, in February. A former justice minister and op- for traders from Oman and the Gulf region the context of a recession-hit world, the latposition leader, Mohamed Jameel, was ac- on their way to the eastern Indian Ocean ter was not easy. He and his Maldivian Decused of claiming that the government was and China, and they introduced Islam to the mocratic Party were not helped by the fact under the influence of Jews and Christian then-Buddhist islanders. The conversion of that his predecessor’s supporters were well priests. Protesters condemned the Trans- the islands occurred in the 12th century. entrenched in government institutions, inport Ministry’s decision to allow direct After the famed Arab traveler Ibn Battutah cluding the judiciary, and were looking for visited the islands in the middle years of the opportunities to make their way back to John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in 14th century, he wrote that the people of power: their Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party Singapore, and the author of Unequal Con- the Maldives “are all of them Muslims, (Maldivian People’s Party) was prominent flict: The Palestinians and Israel. pious and upright.” He stayed there for a in the anti-Nasheed protests.

T

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Nasheed resigned on Feb. 7, saying that he was the victim of a coup and calling for new elections. His vice president, Mohamed Waheed Hussein Manik, took over and immediately made overtures to the anti-Nasheed camp. A few days later, he said he would hold early elections, but these are likely to take place in an atmosphere of deep divisions and recrimination.

Given the charge that the new president had been brought to power by a coup, the alacrity with which Washington recognised his regime might be viewed by some as indecent for a government that talks of its commitment to promoting democracy.

This is a country where global warming is viewed as a threat to national existence.

Its highest point is only 7 feet, 7 inches above sea level, with the average height being just under 5 feet above sea level, leaving the islands extremely vulnerable to the projected rising of the waters in the coming decades. This vulnerability was underlined by the December 2004 tsunami, which washed over most of the islands and left only nine untouched by flooding. President Nasheed in 2008 talked of establishing a sovereign wealth fund that would buy land elsewhere, notably India, Sri Lanka and Australia, so that Maldivians will have somewhere to go as they are forced to abandon most of their homeland. That means committing resources that might otherwise be used within the country, however, and makes assumptions about the willingness of other countries to absorb foreign climate change refugees when they may have plenty of their own.

U.S. Libel Suit Against Israeli Human Rights Organization Dismissed Last year, Israeli citizen Mordechai Orian and his U.S.-based labor recruiting company Global Horizons sued the Israeli migrant workers’ rights organization, Kav LaOved, for $100 million in damages, alleging libel and tortious interference with business relationships. The suit was dismissed in January.

In 2002, a joint mission of the Fedération International des Droits de L’homme (FIDH) and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) visited Kav LaOved and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel at their invitation to investigate the position of migrant workers in Israel. This resulted in a report titled “Migrant Workers in Israel—A Contemporary Form of Slavery.” It documented abusive behavior toward workers, including illegal deductions from wages and non-payment of wages, followed by disMARCH/APRIL 2012

missal and deportation. One illustration of the treatment of migrant workers was a story of the experiences of Chinese workers hired by Orian.

Orian and Global Horizons demanded the removal of their names from the report, and FIDH complied in 2005. They allege that FIDH and EMRN republished the report in 2010 after Orian was arrested in Hawaii and charged in the largest human trafficking case in U.S. history. Six men, led

by Orian, were alleged to have lured 400 Thai workers to the U.S. in 2004; their passports were confiscated, their contract conditions were disregarded and they had to work in exploitative conditions on American farms.

The case against the report’s publishers was lodged in California. Kav LaOved moved to strike the complaint on the basis of a California statute prohibiting Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP), or as an alternative, for a host of independent reasons. The motions detailed Orian and Global Horizon’s record, itemized in a series of judicial and administrative decisions. In 2006 and 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor barred them from participating in the H-2A visa program for migrant workers and fined them for civil penalties and back wages. In August 2011, the Ninth Circuit awarded damages of $1.98 million to abused workers in Washington state after they brought a class action suit against Global Horizons.

After Kav LaOved filed its motion to strike, Orian withdrew his complaint “without prejudice,” but the court noted: Although Defendants have offered other evidence as well, the media coverage alone demonstrates that statements regarding human trafficking and human rights abuses

by Orian and Global Horizon are a topic of widespread, public interest.

The court noted that if SLAPP litigants were not held liable for defendants’ expenses when they withdrew from a case without a settlement that vindicated their stand, they might achieve most of their objectives in launching proceedings simply by forcing defendants to take on great expenses: Plaintiffs have made no attempt to demonstrate that they dismissed for reasons unrelated to the merits of Defendants’ antiSLAPP motions. In addition, the Court has already found Defendants would have prevailed on the merits of their anti-SLAPP motions, ruled the court.

It determined that Orian and Global Horizons had to pay Kav LaOved’s attorney fees and costs. ❑ THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Divide and Perish: The Geopolitics of the Middle East (Second Edition)

By Curtis F. Jones, AuthorHouse, 2011, paperback, 6” x 9,” 500 pp., $14.18. To order call Authorhouse hotline, 1-888-280-7715, mentioning ISBN 9781463410131.

Indispensible reading for anyone serious about understanding the underlying causes of the Middle East conflicts, with chapters on: 1. The Dictates of Geopolitics 2. The Middle East Geopolity 3. Demography 4. Too Much Oil 5. Not Enough Water 6. The Curse of Communalism 7. Frontiers of Conquest 8. Who Owns Palestine?

9. Iraq: The Most Difficult State 10. The Cycle of Empire 11. Stages of Government 12. Islamic Fundamentalism 13. The Rise of the IsraeliAmerican Diarchy 14. The Wraith of Arab Nationalism 15. Occupation: American Aims Versus Iraqi Reality 16. Through a Glass Darkly: A Policy Prescription

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Snapshots of the New Tunisia: A Revolution Still in Progress?

By Salena Tramel and Mélanie Griot

SpecialReport

All photos were taken in December 2012 by Salena Tramel and Mélanie Griot t a 7th century hammam, or public

Abath, in downtown Tunis, we had

our bodies professionally scrubbed. One at a time, we laid flat on slippery white tiles while a matron in a wet nightgown worked us over. She took pride in showing us the dead skin before rinsing it off with buckets of scalding water. It was a bit painful—and, in retrospect, so was the process of getting to know Tunisia today.

Just days after our arrival, we were amicably pepper sprayed following a polite conversation over drinks with college students at the restaurant Le Bœuf sur le Toit. Nor had the instigator spared himself. “We like to do this to remember the revolution,” he explained, as we collectively shed tears into the frigid air. Civil—and uncivil—effervescence remains strong in the small country that sparked a regional revolution.

Deliberations from the newly formed Constituent Assembly eclipsed Egyptian soaps on small TVs adorning humble shops in the medina (Old City). Facing the Catholic cathedral, two armored vehicles were parked next to the statue of philosopher Ibn Khaldoun. Razor wire blocked the entrance to public buildings such as the infamous Ministry of Interior, on Avenue Bourguiba, the Champs-Élysées of Tunis.

Tucked in between sidewalk cafés, Al Kitab bookstore drew in passersby with a display of once-forbidden titles. After the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, many Tunisians developed a new taste for politics. Selma Yabes, who inherited the store from her mother, explained that customers were hungry for other topics in the humanities as well, such as philosophy.

“We’re seeing an evolution today,” she said. “It’s as if Tunisians are trying to understand their history and catch up with all they’ve been missing.”

On the heels of the Casbah, the opposition was camped out at Bardo, site of the Constituent Assembly charged with writing a new constitution. Also known as Salena Tramel is an independent journalist and international development consultant who has lived and worked in the Middle East. She is based in Manhattan. Mélanie Griot is a writer and translator. A French native, she is based in Brooklyn, NY. 38

“Occupy Bardo,” the movement included families of the martyrs, the General Union of Tunisian Students, various political parties, and unemployed youth from the impoverished region of Gafsa. What they had in common was that they would not go gently into post-revolutionary bliss.

“After bringing down Ben Ali, we didn’t quit Souhir Smichi, third from left, with fellow Niqab-donning politics. The revolution students occupying La Manouba Arts and Humanities campus. has not stopped—it works in chapters,” said Ramy Sghaye, a 24-year-old student. The sit-in, which started Nov. 22, had gained momentum when we visited in early December, thanks in part to social media. “We understand that building the Tunisia of our dreams is a long process. It starts with a revolutionary constitution, not one from the old dictatorship,” Sghaye added. Fruit vendors in Sidi Bouzid.

Emphasizing that he was not against Ennahda, the moderate Islamist know what the person is thinking. I can’t party that won a majority of votes in the Oc- have a pedagogical relationship with a stutober elections, he explained that instead he dent without seeing her face and eyes.”

Inside the occupied administration wanted to keep the new leaders accountable.

Just a mile away, the usual end-of-se- building, a half-torn portrait of the unimester hustle and bustle had stopped versity’s president hung over the stairway abruptly on the tree-lined campus of with the caption “dégage” (get out)—the Manouba University due to a face-off—or very word used against Ben Ali. Bearded rather veil-off—over the Niqab, a veil escorts led us upstairs to talk to the Niqabwhich covers the face and can be worn to wearing female students. Once the men mask the eyes as well. After Salafist pro- left, the young women lifted their veils testers injured two professors, the admin- and greeted us with kisses—pulling down istration had suspended classes at its Arts the dark fabric only to pose for phoand Humanities campus. According to tographs. Souhir Smichi, a third-year EngAhlem Boussaada, a history professor lish student, did not buy the administrathere, protesters included many non-stu- tion’s argument. “They reject the Niqab as dents. “This Niqab thing is really a test. an idea, not because it creates a problem They’re trying to see what they can get,” with communication,” she said, pointing she explained. Boussaada spoke with pas- out that a blind professor taught classes at sion about the school’s decision not to Manouba. “I feel free when I wear the allow women in class with the full veil. Niqab. I feel I can express myself,” she “The eyes make up the human expres- continued. Noting that her sister wore sion,” she said. “If I can’t see them, I don’t tight Western clothes and heaps of THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

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LEFT: Al Kitab bookstore in downtown Tunis; RIGHT: Fathi Nasri, bundling green onions in the region of Sidi Bouzid. makeup, Smichi stressed her respect for other women who do the same.

On Dec. 17, we followed the revolution south to Sidi Bouzid, where the street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi had ignited himself, and subsequently the Arab Spring, exactly one year earlier. Throughout the picturesque drive, we passed olive plantations and greenish valleys where shepherds dressed in burnous (a hooded cloaklike garment favored by farmers) tended their flocks. The landscape turned rocky and dry as we neared our destination.

When we could not secure a room at the local inns buzzing with journalists, Aymen Hamdouni, our fixer, invited us to stay with his family. His father has a love for all things “Occidental,” tooling around the house with a glossy book on French civilization while his wife prepared oversized platters of fragrant couscous. We found ourselves huddled together with the Hamdouni family for a midnight candlelight ceremony in Bouazizi’s honor. Despite the bitter cold, the streets were packed as a larger-than-life banner of the young martyr was unfurled. Proud residents reminded us that the revolution had started in their hometown on Dec. 17, and not the day Ben Ali fled, Jan. 14, 2011.

Surely, there have been some changes this past year in Sidi Bouzid—just not for the rural majority. Scores of illegally built houses have sprouted on the outskirts of town, in many cases on state-owned land.

Brahim Ncibi, who said he had a property title, went ahead with constructing his dream home only days after Ben Ali left.

“City officials ask for bribes for a construction permit,” he explained, “and they favor their friends and those tied to the old party.”

Farmers, landless farmworkers and pastoralists often bear the brunt of the old regime’s institutionalized kleptomania. Ben Ali privatized swaths of state land, handing over the most fertile farms to his friends.

Overworked and underpaid peasants acMARCH/APRIL 2012

count for the vast majority of the country’s agricultural output, yet see little in return.

Aziz Bouhejba, who heads the National Federation of Ranchers, an organization with an uncertain future as it was once approved by the old regime, believes rural farmers could have much to gain by working together in “groupements,” or organizing cells. Milk producers would gain bargaining power against milk-collecting companies, he argued, and could better communicate their demands to the new authorities. Though rural solidarity exists, building healthy unions and social movements from scratch can be a tedious task for a peasantry infantilized by decades of brutal bureaucracy.

Farming the desert terrain is an expensive business, as irrigation is required for nearly all crops. Although drip irrigation is less water-intensive and more sustainable than the widely used method of basin flooding, which contributes to soil erosion and salinization, most small farmers can’t afford the initial investment. Traditional seeds and organic fertilizer were replaced by hybrid, imported versions. Adding insult to injury, free trade zones for monocrop exports to Europe threaten the local food supply and strip the land of its biodiversity. Abbsalm Dali, a farmer and high school economics teacher, said that the price of tomatoes had doubled in 20 years, but that the prices of seeds and fertilizer had multiplied nearly 30 times during those same decades.

Tunisian peasants increasingly find themselves at complicated crossroads.

Land ownership titles are hard to come by, leaving farmers without any real claims to the lands they have worked for years— whether belonging to the state or to wealthy landowners. Fathi Nasri, a young farmworker with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, ran out of options in the sciences. “I worked in my field of study for three years,” Nasri told us while tying bundles of green onions together on someTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

one else’s land. That job pays him 10 dinars ($6.65) per day. It’s his only choice—but Nasri fears that work could also dry up.

On Sidi Bouzid’s main drag—recently renamed Mohamed Bouazizi Avenue—three hunger strikers, all unemployed college graduates, shared a small tent outside the governorate office. “It’s been a year and they’re still not getting our message,” said Mohamed Kadri, “so we came here, the place where the revolution started. The provisional government has done nothing to promote jobs and other programs—there have only been promises,” Kadri added, his hands quivering from lack of food. He said the old system was maintained in the region because officials from the former ruling party had remained in power. As we were leaving, Kadri offered a message to the U.S. “Our revolution is still young, and clearly, America’s interventions are based on profit,” he said firmly. “Please stay out of our revolution, you might destroy it.”

Throughout our journey, we heard similar sentiments as to Western intentions in a free Tunisia. “After having lost most of their allies in the Arab world, what model does the U.S. want here?” wondered Moez Bouraoui, president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic and Fair Elections (ATIDE). With Americans backing the Gulf states, he reflected, is it in their interest to support a democratic nation in the region? His country’s former colonizer had not done much better: “France, our historical neighbor, has totally let us down,” Bouraoui lamented.

The revolution itself is proof of Tunisian determination—years of stalemated frustration culminating in a people’s ability to peacefully oust a tyrant in just 28 days. We were often reminded that last year’s events were the result of people of all ages—and across sectors—united together. Having spurred revolutionary tectonics across hemispheres, Tunisia is still at work to shed some 50 years of autocratic rule. As Bouraoui said, “It’s up to civil society to maintain the pressure.” ❑ 39

cartoons_40_March-April 2012 Cartoons 2/23/12 12:32 PM Page 40

Al-Mustaqbal, LebanonNew York Times Syndicate, New York

New York Times Syndicate, New York

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

CWS/CARTOONARTS INTERNATIONAL www.cartoonweb.com

THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

Morning Herald, Sydney

KHALIL BENDIB

OLIPHANT © 2011 UNIVERSAL UCLICK. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Khaleej Times, Dubai

Universal Uclick

The Muslim Observer, Livonia

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MARCH/APRIL 2012

opm_41-42_Other People's Mail 2/23/12 12:08 PM Page 41

Other People’s Mail Compiled by Dale Sprusansky and Delinda C. Hanley

Anthony Shadid: Role Model To The Washington Post, Feb. 21, 2012 Anthony Shadid was one of my favorite journalists. His work was consistently dependable, insightful and filled with compassion. His coverage of the Iraq War earned him two Pulitzer Prizes, but most important it invited his readers to understand who the people of Iraq are and what they have gone through. And despite the fact that Mr. Shadid experienced abuse while being held hostage in Libya, his coverage of the Arab Spring never lost its objectivity and thoroughness.

Last semester, one of my professors at American University in the District invited Mr. Shadid to talk to our class via Skype, as he was in Beirut. We discussed with him some of the concepts we had covered in our studies, including the causes and repercussions of political Islam’s rise in Tunisia and Egypt, and we asked him many questions. He shared with us his experiences, his analysis of socioeconomic and political issues in Iraq and elsewhere, and the depth of knowledge that supplemented his beautiful reporting.

It was a class I will never forget, and it is one that I have continuously recalled in my studies since and while spending this semester abroad in Jordan. Mr. Shadid was truly an inspiration and a role model for aspiring writers and scholars throughout the world.

Lily Emamian, Amman, Jordan

What Would Dr. King Say? To the Contra Costa Times, Jan. 26, 2012 Every January, Israeli supporters propagate fabricated quotes attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. to assert that he supported Israel’s policies.

In his article, “Fraud Fit for a King,” political analyst Tim Wise established that King never wrote such a thing. The fabricated quotes “came from a letter that he never wrote and was published in a collection of his essays that never existed.”

King was assassinated before the plight of Palestinians was well known in the West; unfortunately, he was largely unable to share his wisdom about their tragedy.

Had he been alive today, King would be in company with Nelson Mandela, who was pained by the “injustice and gross human MARCH/APRIL 2012

rights violations...perpetrated in Palestine.”

Mandela also said, “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

King would clearly be on the side of Nobel Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, who called Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip an “abomination” and decried the international community’s “silence and complicity, especially on the situation in Gaza.”

Hassan Fouda, Kensington, CA

With U.S. Assistance To the San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 28, 2011 No one should be surprised at the hatred and violence with which Israeli settlers have been treating Palestinians, as described in Joel Brinkley’s column. Occupiers throughout history have rationalized their conquest of other people’s land by dehumanizing the native population in order to ease their conscience and justify their acts of oppression and displacement.

What is surprising is that we continue to enable Israel’s illegal occupation and settlement expansion through billions in aid each year and by blocking efforts at the United Nations to take meaningful steps to hold Israel accountable to international law.

Ken Galal, San Francisco, CA

Problem With Israel To The Kansas City Star, Feb. 8, 2012 Israel is about to drag the U.S. into a war with Iran. The U.S. should stop all military and economic aid to Israel so we are not a supporter of that country’s attacks on Iran.

U.S. military aid to Israel amounts to billions of dollars a year. Israel will not try for peace as long as the U.S. maintains Israel as the dominant military power in the Middle East. Iran will not stop its nuclear weapons development as long as Israel has such weapons.

The United States’ unconditional support of Israel is the major cause of Middle East problems.

Ralph Whiteside, Leawood, KS

Report Israel’s Motives To The Washington Post, Feb. 11, 2012 The Post reported, “Israeli officials warn that beyond posing an existential threat to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Israel, Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon could trigger a regional nuclear arms race in the volatile Middle East and alter Israel’s strategic position in the region.”

The article should have objectively evaluated Israeli assertions instead of presenting this oblique and euphemistic characterization of Israel’s “strategic position.” It omitted the salient facts that Israel possesses nuclear weapons and is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Thus, whether Israel’s fears of Iran are justified or not, it would have been just as accurate to state that Israel wishes to remain the sole nuclear power in the region.

Brendan Martin, Arlington, VA

Enough Chest-Thumping To The Indianapolis Star, Jan. 30, 2012 A group of concerned Indiana residents visited Sen. Richard Lugar’s office on Jan. 25 to discuss rising tensions with Iran.

Among the participants was Rabbi Steven Ballaban of Bloomington, who said: “I speak for the 80 percent of American Jews who are not members of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee). War should never be our first choice and is rarely our best one.”

More than 4,800 members of the U.S. military were killed in Iraq. At least 104,990 Iraqi innocent civilians are documented casualties in the ensuing violence.

The U.S. invasion leaves a country torn by sectarian strife. Attacking Iran would roil a far more formidable foe than Iraq was and create a firestorm throughout the Middle East. Iran has a right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to enrich uranium for civilian use. Rather than trying to forbid this, the West needs to pursue diplomacy.

More than 60 percent of Israeli Jews support a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, even though that would mean Israel’s giving up its nuclear weapons.

Lugar’s historic achievement has come in Cooperative Threat Reduction. We hope that contrary to the chest-thumping of certain candidates, Lugar will speak for diplomacy, not a catastrophic war.

David Keppel, Bloomington, IN 41

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Does Canada Want War in Iran?

To the National Post (Canada), Jan. 6, 2012 Stephen Harper is preparing Canadians to support a war against Iran by saying it is “the most serious threat to peace and security in the world.”

Really? Iran has no nuclear weapons, nor has it waged war on other countries. Instead it was forced to fight off an invasion

by Iraq’s Saddam Hussain, then an American ally. Iran poses no threat to Canada. An Iran war may be started by Israel, which believes it alone should possess nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

Stephen Harper said he would change Canada. He has. Rather than acting as a “peacemaker,” he has placed us in the position of being a “powder monkey,” prepared to follow whatever directions Israel and the United States give.

Joe Hueglin, Niagara Falls, Ont.

Hormuz.

An Iranian bomb is “unacceptable,” we are told, but have we told Pakistan, India, Israel that their nuclear arsenal is unacceptable, since we aided those nations in building them?

As for danger to Israel, there are at least as many Muslims as Jews in Israel and the territories. Any attack on Israel would kill as many Muslims as Jews. Ahmadinejad and Netanyahu shout populist rhetoric at each other, but is it time for quiet diplomacy?

America cannot afford a third war, and wars no longer seem to be winnable. Instead of “tightening,” I would say to President Obama, “cool it.” Rather than taunt the mullahs, let 80 million Iranians know that we welcome their friendship and will work for it.

Bernice L. Youtz, Tacoma, WA

Anger in Afghanistan

Iraq War Over Yet Costs Rise

To San Diego Union Tribune, Jan. 14, 2012 How sad it is to read of another type of Abu Ghraib-type combatant-type abuse by our servicemen reported in the last couple of days from Afghanistan (“Is video of troops urinating on dead Afghans authentic?”). The expected, and understandable, reprisals will likely result in more casualties by participants on all sides as well as additional collateral damages to innocent civilians.

The Soviets did not succeed in their occupation of Afghanistan, and we who did not learn from history are certainly being doomed in our repeating it. We should by now have sadly realized that our net costs and results are quite unimpressive. Hopefully we will find some face-saving way to have us exit Afghanistan much sooner rather than later.

Tony Alfino, San Diego, CA

To The Portland Press Herald, Jan. 2, 2012 I read the recent report that Congress and the president passed an increase in spending for the military-industrial complex about which Dwight D. Eisenhower,

It’s Time for Quiet Diplomacy To The News Tribune, Jan. 13, 2012 I am troubled by the editorial “Tehran showing some welcome signs of desperation” and the conclusion that President Obama should keep tightening sanctions.

I was in Iran in 2010. Though no “Iran expert,” I noted that the government is brutal and all powerful, while the people are the friendliest I have ever met, eager to meet Americans.

The sanctions may or may not be effective, could be counter-productive. The aged clerics who rule supreme apparently see no need to comply with Western/ American demands, and they have their own weapons, could close the Strait of 42

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

former president and general, warned the United States.

The question that came to mind was, “If the war in Iraq has ended, why are taxpayers being asked to pay more than last year at a time when our economy is in the tank?”

Could it be that the lobbyists and war profiteers such as Halliburton and Blackwater are now pushing buttons in Washington for the invasion of Iran, using the same bogus intelligence that got more than 4,000 Americans killed and another 30,000 maimed and injured in Iraq?

Should we not heed the words of past warriors like Gen. Eisenhower or Marine Corps Gen. Smedley Butler, two-time Medal of Honor recipient, who declared that “war is a racket”?

How sad and interesting it was to watch the recent Republican presidential debates where only one candidate expressed the need to cut the billions of dollars being spent to support the military-industrial complex in 130 different countries.

God bless Gens. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Smedley Butler. And God bless everyone who realizes that “war is a racket.”

Patrick Eisenhart, Augusta, ME

A Fool’s Errand To the North County Times, Dec. 27, 2011 Edgar Stokes has some valid questions for GOP presidential contenders, all of whom, save for Ron Paul, seem quite eager to go to war with Iran. Edgar wonders whether they encourage their children to help fight the war, or are willing to raise their own taxes to pay for the war. Don’t count on it, Edgar.

Our wars are now the sole responsibility of an all-volunteer military. The general populace, for whom the “defense” is supposedly necessary, is not asked to contribute anything. No service, no taxes— nothing. We are only encouraged to “support the troops” with bumper stickers and yellow ribbons—gestures as hollow and weightless as the motives given by the politicians. Never mind the cost in the dead and wounded, not to mention the trillions in borrowed dollars.

How many of those who voted to go to war in Iraq actually watched their own sons and daughters go off and fight and die in that war? How many of the talking heads on television and radio encouraged their own children to fight and die to win the “war on terror”?

It’s a fool’s errand, and they know it.

And we remain the fools.

John Musser, Vista, CA ❑ MARCH/APRIL 2012

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pasquini_44-45_Northern California Chronicle 2/21/12 9:26 PM Page 44

Arab Spring Heroes, Local Activists Lauded At CAIR-SV Ninth Annual Banquet

Northern California Chronicle

STAFF PHOTOS PHIL PASQUINI

By Elaine Pasquini

“To truly make democracy work for us we need to expose our faith in the most profound way,” she said. “Only through our desire to help those who are in great need will we change how our neighbors view us, our faith, our children, and our families.”

Cherishing her childhood in southwest Detroit among a diverse community of African Americans, Latinos and Eastern Europeans—but few Muslims—Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, said, “Life was challenging, but I was so fortunate because in many ways it made me a better Muslim and a better public servant.”

Representing the predominantly nonMuslim 12th House district, the popular

(L-r) CAIR-SV executive director Basim Elkarra, Courage and Inspiration Award recipient Bill Camp, and California State assembly member Mariko Yamada. peakers as well as award recipients

Spaid tribute to the heroes of the Arab

Spring at the ninth annual banquet of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) held Dec. 4 at California State University, Sacramento, and hosted by the school’s Muslim Student Association.

“I join with you in this struggle to build a democracy, but the real courageous leaders who inspire all of us are the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen,” said Bill Camp upon accepting CAIR’s Courage and Inspiration Award.

“They are the ones who inspire us to take up this struggle.”

Noting that “140,000 workers joined the labor movement in Tunisia when President [Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali was forced from office,” Camp, executive director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFLCIO, told the audience, “We understand that building a voice for workers is what democracy building is all about.”

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

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Aw a r d s a l s o were presented to the following individuals: Distinguished Service Awards to Julius Shareef AbdurRahim and Mohammad “Moe” Mohanna; Out- Michigan state representative Rashida Tlaib (l) and CAIR-LA execustanding Youth tive director Hussam Ayloush.

Service Award to Kamran Islam; and the Fairness and In- Democrat was re-elected in 2010 with 88 tegrity in Media Award to Lonnie Wong of percent of the vote.

Sacramento’s Fox40 News.

CAIR-LA executive director Hussam Ay- Irvine 11 on Free Speech loush honored the protesters around the Osama Shabaik, Mohammad Anas Qureshi world who “sacrificed everything, includ- and Taher Herzallah of the “Irvine 11” ing their lives, to stand up for freedom and spoke at San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and the dignity of every human being to be Community Center on Nov. 28. free from political repression and economic On Feb. 8, 2010 the three activists, along injustice.” with eight other students, peacefully Michigan state representative Rashida protested the speaking appearance of IsTlaib, the first Muslim woman elected to raeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the Unithe Michigan legislature in 2008, delivered versity of California Irvine (UCI) campus the keynote address, “Making Democracy because of Israel’s brutal treatment of Work.”

Palestinians.

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2012

(L-r) Mohammad Anas Qureshi, Taher Herzallah and Osama Shabaik of the Irvine 11.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

300 children, and injured at least 5,300.

On Sept. 23, following a four-week trial and a two-day jury deliberation, the students were found guilty on the misdemeanor criminal charges of conspiring to disrupt and then disrupting a public meeting. Emotions ran high in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was read. “Even the court clerk choked up when she was reading it,” Shabaik recalled, also noting the judge’s comments that the verdict did not warrant a jail sentence, since the defendants stood on principle and felt they were doing something right.

Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson imposed a fine of $240 on each student, ordered each to perform 56 hours of community service, and be placed on probation for three years. The students are hopeful the decision will be overturned on appeal.

Loubna Qutami.

Report, p. 42). The artwork came about through a Middle East Children’s Alliancesponsored project “Let the Children Play and Heal,” designed to help youngsters cope with the trauma they experienced during Operation Cast Lead.

Many drawings feature images of soldiers and tanks in the streets and Israeli planes dropping bombs on homes. Disturbingly, depictions of ambulances and bodies on stretchers abound in the drawings. Through the artwork created by youngsters ages 7 to 14 using only crayons, pencils or magic markers, readers are enlightened on the horrors the children suffered and continue to suffer due to ongoing Israeli attacks. According to the Higher Committee for Medical and Emergency Services in Gaza, last year 19 children died and more than 200 were injured in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Proceeds from the sale of the book will support Gaza children’s centers. ❑

Loubna Qutami New ACCC Director Loubna Qutami recently became the new executive director of San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC) following longtime executive director Sally Al-Daher’s relocation to Texas.

Born in the Bay Area of Jordanian and Palestinian parents, the 26-year-old San Francisco State University graduate was formerly the ACCC cultural program director and brings youthful energy and ideas to the center, which every year offers more public programs and community services.

Gaza Children’s Book of Drawings A Child’s View From Gaza: Palestinian Children’s Art and the Fight Against Censorship (available from the AET Book Club) features drawings created by children in Gaza which were the subject of a Berkeley exhibition (see December 2011 Washington THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

STAFF PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

Since the American-born ambassador was the highest-ranking Israeli government official to ever speak at UCI, explained Shabaik, “We had a chance to send a direct message to Tel Aviv and we seized it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.”

After standing up and saying to Ambassador Oren, “Propagating murder is not an expression of free speech,” Shabaik was arrested by police officers. His fellow protesters were immediately arrested as well after delivering their short statements ranging from a mere 3 to 12 seconds.

“Through their actions, the university made it clear that it was not going to tolerate any form of protest or disruption, even though they had in the past multiple times,” Shabaik said. “When it comes to the Palestinian voice that speaks out against Israeli crimes, the university has been very hard-handed in dealing with it.

The school doesn’t allow us to do in terms of speaking out for Palestinians what it allows any other student to do.”

The university subsequently suspended the Muslim Student Union, even though only 2 percent of the group’s yearly events even deal with the Israel-Palestine issue.

“One reason we fought the charges is because we didn’t want student activism to die down,” Herzallah said. “And, actually, throughout our trial people became more motivated and we received messages of support from all over the world.”

Originally from Gaza, Herzallah knows the pain of Israel’s brutal military tactics firsthand. Three members of his immediate family were killed during Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s deadly 27-day assault on Gaza that began Dec. 22, 2008, and killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, including at least

STAFF PHOTO E. PASQUINI

STAFF PHOTO E. PASQUINI

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Egyptian Americans Celebrate Revolution, Call on Congress to Stop U.S. Aid to Military

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

By Pat and Samir Twair

Egyptian American Organization board members (l-r) Wahid Boctor, Aza Akkad and Dr. Faiza Shereen.

it backfires. “Look how Samira Ibrahim took her suit against virginity tests to the court, and she won.”

Soueif said pressure must be put on London and Washington to stop supplying weapons to the Egyptian military.

“The next battle will be with the military to hand over power to the people,” she concluded, lamenting the absence of leaders to articulate what Egyptians want.

El-Fattah, a prominent blogger, was temporarily jailed Oct. 30 for “inciting violence”—charges

Southern California Chronicle

Dr. Faiza Shereen, a professor at Cal Poly Pomona who has written a play, “The Country Within,” introduced the incoming EAO board.

Gaza Children’s Art Show Drawings from the exhibit “A Child’s View From Gaza,” banned by Oakland’s Museum of Children’s Art (see November 2011 Washington Report, p. 43) were on view in Los Angeles at the Levantine Cultural Center (LCC) from Jan. 17 to Feb. 17 in an exhibit organized by LCC founderdirector Jordan Elgrably, Amani Jabsheh and Dara Wells-Hajjar. On Jan. 27 the drawings were displayed on the auditorium walls of the Hollywood Women’s Club for a reception featuring the music of Musa Naser and a buffet of Arab food.

Speaking were three American women activists who’ve visited Gaza since Operation

ne message came through loud and

can Organization’s “Spirit of Tahrir” celebration in Los Angeles: “Do everything you can to persuade the U.S. Congress to withhold aid to the Egyptian military.”

More than 250 prominent members of Southern California’s Egyptian-American community gathered in the UCLA Faculty Center to honor the January 25 Egyptian Revolution and to communicate via Skype in Cairo with author Ahdaf Soueif and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah.

Soueif, whose latest book is titled Cairo My City, Our Revolution, said she hasn’t written fiction since the unfinished revolution began. “Hosni Mubarak may be gone but the military regime continues,” she remarked, “even though it takes a nip and tuck here and there to satisfy the people.”

Stating that a Muslim Brother is now her representative in parliament, even though she is secular, Soueif said there is fear that the overly religious will try to take over, and many Egyptians are watchful for this.

Responding to a question about gender issues, the writer for The Guardian noted that any time the regime harasses women Pat and Samir Twair are free-lance journalists based in Los Angeles.

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STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR

Oclear Jan. 29 at the Egyptian Ameri-

ABOVE: Gaza children’s art admirers (from l) Dr. Laila El-Marayati, Amani Jabsheh and Dr. Diane Shammas.

RIGHT: Gaza child’s drawing of an Israeli soldier. he denies. “We continue the revolution by challenging the military and demanding due process for the imprisoned, instead of five-minute trials,” he stated. “The struggle is getting results. The military lifted the emergency law before the first anniversary of the revolution.”

When asked how American Egyptians can help, El-Fattah reiterated: “Stop U.S. aid to the Egyptian military.”

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Cast Lead, Israel’s land, sea and air attack of the unprotected Palestinian coastal enclave from December 2008 to January 2009.

More than 200 people came to view the 24 drawings by Gazan children aged 7 to 14 who created the images in six centers offering art therapy classes in the aftermath of the Israeli onslaught. Skies are MARCH/APRIL 2012

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STAFF PHOTOS S. TWAIR

schedule to address MPAC on filled with helicopters shooting the need to stand against all missiles, firework explosions forms of bigotry. are actually white phosphorus The convention’s Plenary I raining down—even though Isfocused on “U.S. Policy, Potenr a e l d e n i e s h av i n g u s e d tials and Pitfalls.” Plenary II exit—apartment buildings colplored the topic of “Islamic lapse from tank bombardments, Movements: Help or HinIsraeli troops threaten Gazans drance?” cowering inside their homes.

“Imagine,” said Dr. Laila ElBDS Program at USC Marayati, who treated the traumatized survivors of war, “just “Our South African Moment: imagine the screams and terror Divestment from Apartheid in as children see enemy troops South Africa and Israel” was entering their towns and the title of a Jan. 12 program at camps. The ongoing Israeli emthe University of Southern Calbargo of building, medifornia featuring acical and educational tivist Angela Davis, supplies means that hospoet Fred Moten and pitals can’t be repaired, Omar Barghouti, foundand there are no parts i n g me m b e r o f t h e for broken medical Palestinian Campaign equipment.” for the Academic and The KinderUSA chairCultural Boycott of Isperson described Gaza’s rael (PACBI). education problem as Moten, who teaches systemic. Classrooms are at Duke University, alovercrowded and oper- TOP: Dr. Maher Hathout (l) and Dr. Cornel West at MPAC’s 2011 convention ban- lowed that some Israeli ate in three shifts a day. quet. ABOVE (l-r): Omar Barghouti, Fred Moten, Angela Davis and emcee David scholars are documentO n ly 4 0 p e rc e n t o f Lloyd. ing forms of repression Gaza’s children attend of the Palestinians, but school, she noted, and many toil at menial of the Greater Los Angeles Muslim Public added that “what is missing is a record of jobs to help put food on the table.

Affairs Council’s 11th annual convention. resistance by a people who are creating Educator Dr. Diane Shammas has travIn keeping with the convention theme beauty, building homes from rubble and eled to Gaza three times since 2009 to ana- “America’s Role in a Changing World,” loving their children under the thumb of lyze trauma directly linked to post-trau- West urged the audience of several hun- oppression.” matic stress disorder from coping with life dred young Muslims and community Explaining that the Palestinian struggle lived during bombing raids. leaders “not to become well adjusted to makes him feel his humanity, Moten noted Kristen Ess-Schurr, who reported from injustice” in a U.S. plagued by decrepit how unfair it is for his half-Jewish child to Gaza for Pacifica radio affiliates, noted that housing and an industrial prison com- be welcome to enter Israel, but a child of the high percentage of anemia in children plex.

Palestinian parents born abroad cannot is because they are too apprehensive and “I want to see Muslims lead the way as visit his ancestors’ homeland. tense to eat, many fearing they will be tar- Martin Luther King Jr. did,” stated the forDavis showed slides from a trip she took geted by Israeli snipers. mer Princeton University professor, who in June to occupied Palestine and called on “Fatalities draw media attention, so now teaches religious philosophy and African-American USC students to join troops shoot at the knees of children,” Ess- Christian practice at Union Theological campus Palestinian organizations. ProgresSchurr stated. “After a little girl was fatally Seminary in New York City. sives should put pressure on the Obama shot, the soldier claimed there was a bomb “The healthy future of the American administration to soften its blind support in her backpack.” Another hazard for chil- democracy depends more on what of Israel, she urged, and to stop being dedren is undetonated bombs. The journalist prophetic Muslims do in the next fensive about ubiquitous claims of being criticized Israel for not permitting nutri- decades,” West said. “It’s not a matter of anti-Semitic. tional foods to enter Gaza, instead sending integrating into a burning house—it’s a Barghouti described as Israel’s biggest in Israeli-made junk food. matter of becoming a fireman or fire- injustice its denial of refugee rights and During the question-and answer session, woman and putting the fire out.” racist laws that distinguish and favor Jews Elgrably asked what Americans can do to Also receiving a standing ovation at the over non-Jews. The boycott, divestment help Gazans. “Go to Gaza,” responded Dr. banquet in the Los Angeles Convention and sanctions (BDS) movement against IsEl-Marayati.

Center was State Sen. Ted Lieu, who in raeli apartheid practices discriminating early December publicly criticized Lowes against the Palestinians began in 2005. One MPAC Hosts 11th Confab for pulling ads from the cable TV series of its major successes, Barghouti noted, Television host Tavis Smiley introduced “All-American Muslim” in response to crit- was when dock workers worldwide reiconic civil rights advocate Dr. Cornel West icism from a Florida right-wing Christian spond to a BDS call to stop loading and unas keynote speaker at the Dec. 17 banquet group. The politician had changed his loading Israeli ships. ❑ MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Canaan Fair Trade: A Palestinian Success Story

STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS

By Jane Adas

ABOVE: Canaan Fair Trade’s Vivien Sancour. INSET: A bottle of fair trade olive oil available from the AET Book Club. or Palestinian farmers, “agricul-

Fture is a form of resistance,”

Vivien Sansour, product relations manager for the Palestine Fair Trade Association, told her Columbia University audience on Dec. 6.

In addition to challenges faced by farmers everywhere, those in Palestine lose crop land to Israeli settlements and buffer zones, many of their trees are cut down for the security of those settlers, and farmers have difficulty accessing their fields because of Israel’s separation barrier and restrictions on movement. With limited access to markets, Palestinian farmers frequently had no choice but to sell their olive oil below cost to Israeli companies. Many were leaving the land.

In 2003, Palestinian-born Dr. Nasser Abu Farh, then a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, returned to his homeland to conduct research for his dissertation. The son of a farmer, he assessed the grim situation, and the following year established the Palestinian Fair Trade AssociJane Adas is a free-lance writer based in the New York City metropolitan area.

48

ation (PFTA) to organize farmers, and Canaan Fair Trade to export and market their products.

This is truly a Palestinian success story.

In only eight years, PFTA now comprises 49 cooperatives with 1,200 members and has become financially self-sustaining.

Palestinian organic olive oil, Sansour proudly stated, is the first to be certified for fair trade. The farmers themselves determine a minimum price, which Canaan guarantees, giving them peace of mind and the security to plan for next year’s crop. With its share of the profits, PFTA instituted “Trees for Life.” It sells saplings at a token price to farmers whose trees the Israeli army has destroyed. It also encourages new farmers from among those who can no longer work as day laborers in Israel and among women. Sansour herself is awaiting 20 almond saplings.

Canaan Fair Trade (<www.canaanfairtrade.com>) internationally markets Palestinian olive oil and soap as well as sun-dried tomatoes and handrolled maftoul (couscous) made in women’s co-operatives. (Olive oil and maftoul are available from the AET Book Club’s Palestinian Arts and Crafts Trust (PACT), <www.middleeastbooks.com/pact>.) Canaan has business partners in 15 countries, including Williams-Sonoma in the U.S. This year, for the first time, Sansour reported, Canaan is working with two U.S. fair trade companies: Food for Thought and Higher Grounds.

Sansour acknowledged that PFTA would like to encourage more products, including fresh produce, but for now, under occupation, that would be too risky, she explained. Trucks are loaded in Jenin, and then re-inspected and offloaded at a checkpoint to Israeli-plated trucks, which are subjected to another security check in Haifa. At any point, the army might hold up the shipments indefinitely. Finally, only Israelis may load the pallets in shipping containers, for which they charge $1,000 per container. “They make things difficult and expensive for us,” Sansour noted.

Nevertheless, despite externally imposed problems and beyond economic benefits, Sansour said those participating in PFTA feel they are regenerating themselves along THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

New York City and Tri-StateNews with the soil. They tell her of an increased sense of self-worth, community, and pride that they are playing an important role in the global sustainable agriculture movement. One farmer told her, “I don’t want people to buy my oil because it is Palestinian. I want them to buy it because it is the best.” Try some. You will agree.

Children of the Gaza Massacre The Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn hosted a Jan. 7 panel discussion on “Children of the Gaza Massacre” to mark the third anniversary of Israel’s Cast Lead assault, which killed 356 Palestinian children.

The event began with scenes from Fida Qishta’s compelling new documentary, “Where Should the Birds Fly?” In 2006, Qishta founded the Lifemaker Center for children in her hometown of Rafah, because, she explained, “our children are older than their age” and are reluctant even to dream. Two years later, when the Israeli bombardment began, Qishta, over her father’s objections, went out with her camera to film the ongoing destruction and its aftermath. This footage lay the groundwork for “Where Should the Birds Fly?” At its heart is Mona Samouni, a young girl who lost 29 family members during the ordeal.

Two of the panelists had participated in a 13-member delegation to Gaza in May, 2009. Both returned feeling a responsibility to bear witness on behalf of people who felt abandoned by the world. Philip Weiss, founder and co-editor of the news Web site Mondoweiss.net, said that what he saw in Gaza led him to confront his own Jewish “community of enlightened intellectuals” about its blindness to Israel’s human rights abuses and apartheid-like policies.

Susan Johnson, with delegation member Joyce Ravitz, found a way to let the children of Gaza tell their own stories to the American public. The delegation had visited several children’s centers, including Qishta’s Lifemaker Center, and had seen the drawings that children made in order to work through their trauma. The two women decided to set up a traveling exhibit of the children’s art, entitled “A Child’s View from Gaza.” Six children’s centers in Gaza readily agreed. It took two years for the drawings to arrive. One shipment was lost in a warehouse in Atlanta, but 125 MARCH/APRIL 2012

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pro-Palestinian in public, drawings made it. Johnson but do what Israel wants in noted the effects of the siege private, and Israel boasting on Gaza: some of the picof being the only democracy tures are on the backs of rein the region, yet happy to cycled paper, and one center deal with autocrats. Malley sent photos of the children observed that the Arab drawing by candlelight durSpring makes it harder for ing one of the frequent periall hypocrites. ods of no electricity. At their Tariq Ali, the British-Pakown expense, Johnson and istani historian, novelist and Ravitz mounted the drawjournalist, took a much ings and offered them for broader view of the Arab exhibit.

Spring when he spoke at After a dozen showings Princeton University on Jan. across America, there was 20. He began with the trouble in Oakland, historical backwhere the exhibit, coground. Prior to the hosted by the Middle First World War, the East Children’s AlArab world was semiliance (MECA), was to unified under the Otbe shown at the Mutomans. This cohesion seum of Children’s was broken when the Art. The museum French carved off cancelled the exhibiLebanon from Syria tion at the last minute and the British sepadue to pressure from rated Kuwait from pro-Israel organizaIraq, later followed by tions. (See December 2011 Washington Re- TOP (l-r): Fida Qishta, Betty Eigen, Phillip Weiss and Susan Johnson. ABOVE (l-r): El- the implantation of Israel in the region. port, p. 42, and pp. 45 liott Abrams and Robert Malley at a Brooklyn synagogue, and Tariq Ali at Princeton.

People there are still and 46 of this issue.)

MECA, Johnson reported, was brilliant; it affair, and Robert Malley, Middle East Pro- living with the consequences of decisions identified the people behind the cancella- gram director at the International Crisis from the outside, he stated. The 1967 war tion, accused them of censorship, and Group, spoke at a Reform synagogue in was a huge defeat for the Arab states, Ali noted. What survived were the worst elefound an alternate venue. The resulting Brooklyn on Jan. 8. publicity led to an increase of requests to Abrams asserted that Israel’s security sit- ments of Ba’athist and Nasserite nationalists. show “A Child’s View from Gaza,” not only uation is clearly worse. It now has an This led to single-party states where the in the United States but in Europe and Egyptian front, complicating its military masses were reduced to spectators and disTurkey as well. To show the exhibit in your planning. Because “Arab regimes have sent severely punished. The Islamists bearea, contact Johnson at <achildsview1@ stoked hatred of Jews and Israel,” Abrams came the main opposition because nothing gmail.com>. maintains that Israel needs a clear state- else was left. Ali compared Islamist parties to As Johnson showed slides of the draw- ment of U.S. support. Even though there the Christian Democrats in Europe: socially ings, art therapist Betty Eigen pointed out has never been better military and intelli- and economically conservative, but defihow detailed some of them are. She ex- gence co-operation than under the Obama nitely more progressive than the Christian plained that the drawings act as visual di- administration, he added, what Arabs see is right in America.

Ali noted the similarity between the sponaries to tell the children’s stories so that the that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu trauma takes up less space inside them. and President Barack Obama don’t like each taneous, mass uprisings in 2011 to those in Eigen showed slides of amazingly similar other. This creates an unhealthy sense of Europe in 1848, which were also called the children’s drawings from the Holocaust and distancing between Israel and the U.S., “Spring of Nations.” It’s too soon, he acknowledged, to know whether the Arab from Darfur, adding that the former were Abrams concluded. used at the Nuremburg Trials and the latMalley deemed more democracy in the revolutions will fare better than the Euroter at the International Criminal Court as area good for Israel, because peace agree- pean ones, since the Arab world is in a state proof of war crimes. ments are better with governments that of flux—but, he added, the people are alert.

As for its impact on the rest of the world, represent their people. He listed the negaThe “Arab Spring” One Year Later tives as increased instability, the likelihood Ali referred to the waves of Islamophobia Two events asesssed the Arab Spring one that public opinion will be more hostile to- after 9/11 when pundits opined that “Musyear later. The first focused on “Implica- ward Israel, and reduced moral authority of lims are genetically hostile to democracy.” tions for Israel.” Council on Foreign Rela- the U.S., in part because of the failure of the The Arab Spring disproved that and set a tions senior fellow Elliott Abrams, the neo- peace process. America’s image in the re- good example to young people everywhere con deputy national security adviser under gion is so low that almost anything we do that if they become politically active, they President George W. Bush who is perhaps is suspect, he explained. Malley described can effect change. But, he cautioned, they best known for his role in the Iran-Contra parallel duplicity: Arab regimes that are Continued on page 51 MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Freedom of Speech Under Increasing Attack Within the Organized Jewish Community Israel andJudaism

By Allan C. Brownfeld hen it comes to discussing Israel and

Wevents in the Middle East, freedom of

speech is coming under an increasing assault within the organized American Jewish community.

Even a brief look at organizational Jewish life reveals growing efforts to stifle free expression. In too many cases, these efforts are succeeding.

The national umbrella organization for Jewish federations has removed critics of Israel from an online voting contest designed to identify “heroes” within the Jewish community. One of the excluded nominees, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) deputy director Cecilia Surasky, was among the top 10 vote-getters in the Jewish Community Heroes contest when Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) officials pulled her name from the contest Web site.

According to the Oct. 21, 2011 Forward, “Surasky’s organization takes no stand on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—today seen as a litmus test in much of the Jewish community for upholding Israel’s continued existence as both a Jewish and democratic state. JVP also does not condemn the movement for boycotting, divestment and sanctions against Israel and was instrumental in organizing a protest at the JFNA’s 2010 General Assembly, at which protesters disrupted an address by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.”

Explained JFNA spokesman Joe Berkofsky, “One of the core values of the Jewish Federations is to support Israel, and our Jewish Heroes rules preclude us from accepting nominees whose aims run counter to our mission.”

JVP argued that the contest changed its rules partway through. A comparison of current and cached versions of the JFNA’s Web site shows that the initial rules were amended to state that nominees are ineligible if they are “nominated for a cause that runs directly counter to the ideals of the JFNA.” No such language was evident a week before Surasky was removed.

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

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Now in its third year, the Jewish Community Heroes contest features an open nomination process, Internet voting and a panel of judges to select the winner of a $25,000 grant toward his or her philanthropic work. The contest is promoted heavily through social networking services and Jewish media Web sites. Surasky had nearly 1,500 votes when her voting page was taken down, according to JVP.

ne of the core “O values of the Jewish Federations is to support Israel.”

In a press release, JVP pointed to the presence among the top vote-getters of Maris Friedman, a Chabad rabbi who in 2009 declared his belief in “the Jewish way” to fight a war against the Arabs: “Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle).” The rabbi later allegedly retracted the comments. In Surasky’s view, the JFNA was treating her group differently than extreme right-wingers who opposed JFNA policies.

Developments at the Washington, DC Jewish Community Center also reveal an effort to put an end to free and open discussion. Andy Shallal, an Iraqi-born Muslim, was proud of the open conversation channel he had maintained with Ari Roth, longtime artistic director of Theater J, a highly regarded component of the JCC. Together with another local theater lover, Mimi Conway, they created the Peace Café, an afterplay forum, complete with plates of hummus and pita bread supplied by Shallal’s popular Busboys and Poets dining spots, that had become a mainstay of Theater J’s programming.

The café, established 10 years ago during the run of a politically charged play about the Middle East, has been important as an outlet for debate over issues raised by Theater J’s repertory. “It was an emotional experience for me, to walk into a Jewish community center, to grow up as a Muslim, thinking of Israelis as really scary people,” said Shallal. “I walked through that door and it was a very beautiful experience.”

According to The Washington Post of Aug. 7, 2011, “...suddenly, a few months ago, the curtain was drawn. The commuTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

nity center’s then-chief executive officer, Arna Meyer Mickelson, told Shallal that Peace Café could no longer use the facilities of the center....Artists and devisers of programming say that a concerted move is afoot to smother any type of critical examination of Israel...In San Fransisco, after the presentation by a Jewish group of a play about Rachel Corrie, an American activist run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza, a Bay Area organization, the Jewish Community Federation, imposed a ban on funding for any group espousing support for a political boycott of Israeli business interests.”

In March of last year, a group calling itself Citizens Opposed to Propaganda Masquerading as Art, headed by lawyer Robert G. Samet, asked that the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington look at imposing curbs on financing for Theater J. As evidence of the theater company’s intent to produce works that “demonize Israel and the Jewish people,” Samet cited “Return to Haifa,” a work by Israeli playwright Boaz Gaon, that was performed at Theater J by Israel’s most renowned company, the Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv.

Although a hit for Theater J, the play was viewed by Samet’s group as virulently anti-Israel. It portrayed an encounter between a Palestinian couple, returning for the first time to the home in Haifa they had fled at the time of Israel’s birth, and the Israeli couple who had moved in and raised a family. A key element of the play was its attempt to dramatize the exile stories of Jews and Palestinians as being intertwined, a dimension that some observers thought had struck a conciliatory chord.

The play was performed in Hebrew in Tel Aviv. The Theater J production was the first to be done in Hebrew and Arabic.

In the case of San Francisco, 73 Bay Area rabbis, intellectuals and artists signed a full-page open letter in the May 7, 2010 edition of The Forward warning Jewish communities of “the dangerous precedent” being set in their community. “This is a national issue,” said Rachel Biale, former Bay Area director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance (PJA) and one of the letter’s organizers. “The Bay Area is a pilot community. If it flies here, others may follow suit and even adopt stricter guidelines.”

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The controversial policy, passed by the federation’s board, states, in part, that the organization will not fund groups that “advocate for, or endorse, undermining the legitimacy of Israel...including participation in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement,” nor will it support programming that is co-sponsored or co-presented by such organizations.

The new policy followed a fracas at the 2009 San Fransisco Film Festival which twice screened “Rachel,” an Israeli-made film about Rachel Corrie. The festival sponsors invited Corrie’s mother to speak at one of the showings. Michael Harris, of the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs spoke as well, but he was heckled and booed, while Cindy Corrie was applauded.

Playing With Fire “Who’s to say what’s in Israel’s best interest?” asked Steven Zipperstein, professor of Jewish culture and history at Stanford.

“With regard to Israel, there is vast disagreement among Jews. Once such guidelines are imposed, we’re playing with fire that is potentially uncontainable.”

In March 2011, a Brandeis University chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) applied to become a constituent member of the school’s Hillel Foundation and was rejected. JVP then managed to collect signatures from 1,000 students on a petition demanding that the decision be overturned.

Following the Brandeis incident, the group released a petition signed by 50 rabbis and other Jewish leaders urging Hillel not to “exclude from your communal table Jewish students whose relationship with Israel may be one of thoughtful critique.”

In their presentation to the Brandeis Hillel board, JVP members said they supported “a democratic state in Eretz Yisrael based on Jewish values,” a formulation that some Hillel members saw as purposefully vague and possibly indicating a vision of a one-state solution. “There is always going to be a question of how we create a tent in which people feel embraced and empowered in their Judaism,” said Larry Sternberg, executive director of Brandeis’s Hillel. “But we can’t have a referendum on the boundaries every day.

And on Israel, the community expects us to reflect a certain core set of beliefs....we can’t be expected to compromise on those.”

Efforts by J Street, which calls itself “Zionist” and “pro-Israel,” but challenges some policies of the Israeli government, to become part of organized Jewish life have been repeatedly thwarted. In November 2011, the Jewish Student Union at the UniMARCH/APRIL 2012

versity of California at Berkeley decided by a one-vote margin to bar the university’s chapter from joining as a member organization. In February 2010, the University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel faced criticism when it hosted Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street. In November 2010, Ben-Ami’s speaking engagement at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton Centre, Massachusetts was canceled when members of the congregation spoke out against his organization.

In Nashville, J Street’s status seems to be in flux. According to Bill Smith, chair of the local J Street chapter, the group hosted retired Israeli Gen. Israel Oron at the local Jewish community center. But when J Street asked to bring in former Knesset member Yael Dayan, daughter of the late general and foreign minister Moshe Dayan, the JCC said no. More recently, the JCC—in addition to four local synagogues—declined to host Ben-Ami when he visited in last November.

What made Yael Dayan objectionable in Nashville was her own criticism of current Israeli government policies. During a weeklong speaking tour of the U.S. in 2010, Dayan urged her audience to withdraw blind support for Israel. She discussed Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, Jewish settlers uprooting olive trees that had belonged to Palestinians for generations, and the need for a two-state solution.

As the above examples make clear, the

Jewish tradition of open debate and discussion—the searching after justice—is now being sharply challenged by those who would stifle all dissent. This is leading to the alienation of many, particularly young people. Rabbi Sid Schwartz, the founder of PANIM, the Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, speaking of young Jews, writes: “In the past decade, I note that fewer and fewer identify as Zionists. Israel plays a much less significant role in their identity formation...and an astounding number hold the organized Jewish community in contempt. I believe the way our community has chosen to ‘defend Israel’ has profoundly alienated the next generation of American Jews....a generation of Jews who see themselves as global citizens will not identify with a community that offers them anything less.” ❑

New York City…

Continued from page 49

must be consistent and organized—this cannot be fought as individuals. The biggest challenge in the U.S. is what Ali calls the “extreme center” that will do nothing even in the face of a huge crisis such as the 2008 crash. He concluded by describing the U.S. as the most provincial empire in history—“Americans know they rule the world, but have no interest in that world.” ❑

Help make sure that the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs will be here for the next generation. By remembering the Washington Report in your will, you can: • Make a significant gift without affecting your current cash flow; • Direct your bequest to a vital purpose—educating readers about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; • Receive a charitable estate tax deduction; • Leave a legacy for future generations.

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THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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National Press Club Panelists Discuss Elmer Berger, the Rabbi Outcast Jack Ross, author of Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism appeared at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Dec. 8 to lead a panel discussion on Zionism and the life of Rabbi Berger. According to Ross’ book, the first executive director of the American Council for Judaism (ACJ) was a 20th century Jewish Reform rabbi who, as an ardent anti-Zionist, often spoke out against the nationalization of Judaism.

Following opening remarks by John Utley, president of the Freda Utley Foundation, which sponsored the event, Allan Brownfeld, editor of the ACJ’s Issues magazine and a regular columnist for this publication (see p. 50), began the discussion by noting that Rabbi Berger emphasized the “purely religious nature of Judaism and rejected [Zionist] nationalism.” As a believer that Judaism is “a religion of universal values,” Brownfeld explained, Rabbi Berger decried that the state of Israel transformed Judaism into an “ethnocentric religion.”

Brownfeld expressed his own strong belief that “narrow nationalism has corrupted a great religious tradition,” adding that Israel should stop viewing American Jews as “Israelis in exile” and instead focus on “being the government of its own citizens.”

Describing Rabbi Berger as a “trailblazer” for American Jewish dissent against Israel, Josh Ruebner, national advocacy director for the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, said that Israel is struggling to uphold its Zionist national narrative. Citing Birthright Israel, an organization that offers Jewish teens and young adults free heritage trips to Israel, Ruebner expressed his belief that, upon seeing the reality in Israel, a growing number of trip participants are coming to reject Israel’s “Zionist propaganda.” Adding that “no one can believe that Israel is a David vs. a Goliath,” Ruebner said it is becoming “harder and harder” for Israel to maintain its current narrative in the face of a “growing movement of dissent.”

Recalling a 1958 dinner he had with Rabbi Berger in Jerusalem, Ambassador Andrew Killgore, publisher of the Washington Report, described the rabbi as a man who was “strong, serious, and stuck to his guns.” Rabbi Berger expressed his fear that the state of Israel had “put the Jewish world in a box” and thus “[limited] their options in the world,” Killgore recalled.

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While noting that Rabbi Berger was not a charismatic man, Ross pointed out that he instead relied on “the force of speaking the truth,” regardless of the consequences. Ross also described Shlomo Sand’s The Invention of the Jewish People, which argues that Judaism has never been a nationality, as a book that Rabbi Berger likely wished he had written prior to his death in 1996.

Both Rabbi Outcast and The Invention of the Jewish People are available from the AET Book Club.

—Dale Sprusansky

Traditional Palestinian Costume: Lecture and Book Signing

Jack Ross, author of a must-read book on the career of anti-Zionist rabbi Elmer Berger.

Hanan Karaman Munayyer discussed her spectacular book, Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolutions, on Nov. 30, 2011 at the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC. The molecular biologist and her husband, Farah, ventured into the history of Palestinian costumes 25 years ago, eventually collecting more than 2,000 pieces, including five collections from five sources.

Hanan Munayyer pointed out that Palestinian A-line dresses have a big belt and embroidered chest pieces, sleeves and sides—often worked onto panels that could be transferred to another dress as the old one wore out. Embroidery patterns, unique to the town or district of origin, were passed from mother to daughter.

Each woman had from three to eight dresses, depending on her wealth—at least one for daily wear and another for special occasions. A special bridal headdress, fes-

tooned with Ottoman coins, could be used by the entire clan.

The Munayyer collection has been displayed in the United Nations lobby in New York City, the Arabesque Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

Traditional Palestinian Costumes features more than 700 beautiful high-resolution photographs of rare embroidery from all regions of Palestine, as well as jewelry, accessories and art. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently presented copies of the book to 150 world leaders.

Discover a treasure trove of Palestinian heritage and culture by purchasing this $150 book from the AET Book Club at <www. middleeastbooks.com>. Visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org> to view Munayyer’s fascinating presentation.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Middle East Souk in DC Makes for a Fun-Filled Afternoon

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Music & Arts

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Hanan Munayyer with a Palestinian dress.

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When Christmas shoppers walked through the doors of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development in Washington, DC on Dec. 10, they found themselves transported to a lively Middle East souk. For five hours bargain hunters forgot about tight budgets (not to mention snug waistlines) as they filled shopping bags with Palestinian olive oil, pottery, embroidery, jewelry, books and DVDs, and lingered to sip coffee and tea or devour plates heaped with shawarma, falafel and sweets from (where else?) the Jerusalem Restaurant in Falls Church, VA. A number of shoppers went home wearMARCH/APRIL 2012

our community is so central” to the greater Muslim community.

With 25 million viewers, “All-American Muslim” received plenty of attention, some negative, outside the community.

However, it also had its critics from within the community, leading Abed to pose the question “which hurt more?” to each cast member. Suehaila Amen replied that she has grown accustomed to criticism from non-Arab society post-9/11, and as a result she’s had to develop “thick skin.” The criticism from within the community was tougher to deal with, she said.

(Above) Shoppers buy Palestinian pottery from the American Educational Trust’s booth.

Nina Bazzy, who has a successful eventplanning business, said, “I’ve grown up ing intricate henna patterns on their hands noted. “People said ‘I don’t know anything with and married most of the community,” or a neck draped with a keffiyeh from the about these people and would love to so negative comments were hurtful. Some critics said Bazzy should be more religious, Herbawi factory in Hebron, the only re- learn’—this is why we did this show.”

The TLC network spoke with imams and but she explained, “I am not trying to be a maining keffiyeh factory in Palestine.

While it’s true the Arab-American commu- Muslim families from coast to coast and fi- role model, I can only be who I am.“ Bazzy nity looks forward to this yearly taste of nally selected five families in Dearborn, said she hopes she showed that Islam is a home, a growing number of Washingtoni- Michigan who showed their daily lives, beautiful religion. “It’s cool,” she said.

Billy Amen added that despite the critians now also start their Christmas shop- trying to raise families, juggle jobs, and enping at the Jerusalem Fund’s souk. More gage in their regular civic duties. “We just cism, most Muslims in their community and more Americans want to support fell in love with these personalities in Dear- seemed proud of the people representing Palestinians by buying their beautiful born as characters,” Orstein explained. them on the show.

When asked if they’d have agreed to be products, and thanks to the Jerusalem TLC brought cameras into their homes and Fund and other vital organizations, that let each cast member tell his or her own on the show if they’d known the criticism story, hoping they’d help knock down that would follow, Suehaila Amen said, opportunity grows every year. ”I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. It’s —Delinda C. Hanley stereotypes.

Suehaila Amen added that it is impossi- been the most extraordinary experience ble to find a group that is completely rep- for all of us.”

Muslim-American Activism Billy Amen challenged Muslims to introresentative of the diverse Muslim-American community. Nevertheless, she pointed duce themselves to others, start a dialogue ADC Hosts Cast From “All-American out, whenever there is an incident on the with people, and be more active in general.

Muslim” news involving a Muslim, whether he is He works with young people and he An enthusiastic audience packed Wash- Caucasian, African American, or Arab promised, “the generation coming up— ington, DC’s West End Cinema on Jan. 4 American, “the media always seem to come they will shock us.” American-born Musfor a community forum hosted by the to Dearborn to see what we think because lims will make their marks in medicine, law, journalism and government American-Arab Anti-Discriminaand combat bigotry across the tion Committee (ADC) with cast country. members from the TLC docu-series Audience members wanted to “All-American Muslim.” ADC legal know how they could support the director Abed Ayoub asked cast TLC network, which had the members Suehaila Amen, her courage to produce the series, and brother Bilal “Billy” Amen and the advertisers who stood by the Nina Bazzy, along with TLC’s vice show when the conservative president of production and develFlorida Family Association pushed opment on the East Coast, Alon advertisers to pull out. (Lowes Orstein, to discuss the groundHardware did pull their ads and enbreaking 8-part show. dured countrywide protests.)

In reply to Ayoub’s question to Suehaila Amen suggested the auOrstein about why TLC chose this dience write to TLC and show their show at this time, the TLC execuappreciation. “They took a chance tive replied, “It had to be done.” on us,” she added.

TLC is a learning channel, he This event was streamed live on pointed out, and it only made sense ADC-TV. To watch a recording on to take on the issue of the “oft-misthe ADC Web site visit <www. understood” Muslim-American community. Muslim Americans are (L-r) Bilal “Billy” Amen, Nina Bazzy and Suehaila Amen adc.org/media/adc-tv/>.

—Delinda C. Hanley rarely seen on television, Orstein talk about their hit reality show, “All-American Muslim.”

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PHOTO BY MICHAEL. KEATING

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Haroon Moghul, a fellow at the Institute which the Muslim world is analyzed. ConThe Truth About Muslims in America Concerned by the abundance of misinfor- for Social Policy and Understanding, noted tending that “the old analytic paradigm mation regarding Islam in American soci- that because the Qur’an emerged from a has too many holes in it,” Voll said that a ety, the Religious Education Freedom Pro- harsh desert society, oral tradition plays a new, more appropriate explanatory narraject at the Newseum in Washington, DC crucial role in making verses written for tive is needed in order to properly analyze current trends in the faith. hosted a Jan. 18 public forum tiIn Voll’s opinion, the Muslim tled “What is the Truth about world’s shift away from “the grand Islam and Muslims in America?” imagery” of Nasser’s socialism or Attendees were invited to ask chalSayyid Qutb’s al-Qaeda inspiring lenging questions about the Musbrand of Islamism is the most dislim faith to a panel of experts on tinctive transformation Islam has Islam and interfaith peace. By disundergone in recent history. Havcussing and providing accurate ing turned away from political and clear answers to issues such as agendas that were either idealistic women’s rights, shariah law, and or straightforward in their promojihad, event organizers hoped that tion of strict adherence to the listeners developed a greater unQur’an and shariah law, Voll exderstanding of the peaceful nature plained, Islamist parties are now of Islam. Charles C. Haynes, direc“pragmatic in the way they opertor of the Religious Freedom Education Project, moderated the dis- (ABOVE, l-r) Haroon Moghul and Melissa Rogers. (BELOW, ate.” l-r) Rabbi Marc Schneier and Asma Uddin.

Voll went on to cite specific excussion. amples of political Islam’s “pragBefore panelists began answermatic” transformation, beginning ing audience questions, a brief in Malaysia. He noted that the video titled “My Fellow AmeriPan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), can” was screened. The video, prowhich typically received between duced by Unity Productions, 10 to 15 percent of the popular showed everyday American Musvote in elections, saw a recent inlims—doctors, firefighters and crease in its popularity once the mothers—against an audio backparty adopted a more pragmatic ground of incendiary anti-Muslim “electoral approach” centered on rhetoric. Among the chilling rematters of social justice and ecomarks was radio talk show host nomic equality rather than reliMichael Savage calling the Qur’an gious piety. “a book of hate” and stating that Turning to Indonesia, the Muslims “need deportation.” Folworld’s most populous Muslim lowing the video, Alex Kronemer, co-founder of the Unity Productions Foun- 7th century Arabian society relevant and country, Voll said that the country’s two most popular Islamist organizations— dation, explained that the brief film was meaningful to Muslims today.

To watch a video of the Newseum event Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama— intended to showcase the “careless and opportunistic rhetoric” that has targeted visit <www.myfellowamerican.us/new- promote a reformist version of Islam. Censeum>. The film “My Fellow American” tered on the ideals of self-interpretation of Muslims following 9/11.

Throughout the question-and-answer can be viewed at <www.myfellowameri- the Qur’an (ijtihad) and social welfare, —Dale Sprusansky these groups, which have a combined session, panelists emphasized that people can.us>. membership of around 65 million, epitoof all faiths must fight for the protection of mize the Muslim world’s turn toward a religious rights and advocate for interfaith Rethinking Islam in the 21st Century understanding. Melissa Rogers, director of Addressing the various ways in which more pragmatic brand of Islam, he said.

In the Arab world, Voll pointed out that the Center for Religion and Public Affairs Islam has transformed over the past 20 at Wake Forest University, called on Chris- years, Georgetown University Prof. John the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood has tians to not “let false witness against other Voll spoke at the Woodrow Wilson Inter- long adopted a pragmatic approach toward faiths slide.” People of different faiths national Center for Scholars in Washing- politics. While their slogan, “Islam is the “have to go to bat for one another’s rights,” ton, DC on Feb. 13. In his remarks on Solution,” carries a fundamentalist connothe Baptist opined.

“Islam and Democracy for the 21st Cen- tation in the West, Voll explained that to Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of Foun- tury,” Voll argued that traditional ap- many Arabs it evokes thoughts of compasdation for Ethnic Understanding, agreed, proaches to studying Islam have lost their sion and mercy. For urban Egyptians, he stating that people of all faiths “have a sin- applicability due to recent changes in how noted, the Brotherhood’s slogan is manigle destiny.” Defending the Qur’an as a the Muslim faith is practiced, interpreted fested in the form of medical assistance and social assistance. According to Voll, this book that promotes peace, Rabbi Schneier and applied to politics and everyday life. noted that because many people fail to According to Voll, because terms like commitment to a grassroots, pragmatic apread Islamic oral tradition, definitions and “Islam” and “democracy” have a different proach toward politics can in large part exterms used in the Qur’an are often misun- meaning today than they did 20 years ago, plain the Brotherhood’s success in Egypt’s derstood and incorrectly interpreted. they no longer can remain the lens through recent parliamentary elections.

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250 U.S. military veterans and active duty soldiers, as well as Iraqi and Afghan civilians, to gather together and provide accounts of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. The film of their testimony is masterfully made—and devastating.

The hour-long documentary from Displaced Films focuses on three participants: three-tour Marine Jason Washburn, Sgt. Selena Coppa, an active duty female soldier, Prof. John Voll describes current trends in the Islamic faith. and Geoff Millard, a Aside from transformations in political nine-year National Guard veteran who parties, Voll noted that the Arab Awaken- served 13 months in Iraq.

Many of the soldiers, including Millard, ing has showcased the growing role of women in Islam. Observing that “a sub- said they believed they were the good stantial proportion of the protesters in guys. “It really messed me up when I disTahrir” were women, Voll commented that covered I was on the bully’s team. It’s not what I signed up for,” Sgt. Millard says in “Islamic identities are changing.”

Under the old approach toward studying the film, going on to call himself angry, lost Islam, Voll noted, some of the Arab world’s and betrayed. “No one can hear what we women activists would have been classi- did and support the war.”

In the film, Jason Hurd gives his unforfied as radical fundamentalists due to their affiliation with Islamic parties. In particu- gettable testimony, describing having very lar, he pointed to Yemeni human rights ac- nearly destroyed a car that approached his tivist Tawakul Karman, co-winner of the checkpoint and wouldn’t stop. It turned 2011 Nobel Peace Prize and a member of out that an 80-year-old woman was in that the Islamist Al-Islah party. An advocate of car. “Do you not think that if a foreign ocsocial equality for women and youth, Kar- cupier came to this country, everyone who man personifies the changing face of Islam, owns a shotgun would fight for their right Voll said, one in which both women and to self-determination?” Hurd asks the men advocate a pragmatic social agenda. In Winter Soldier audience.

Following the film, director David Zeiger Voll’s opinion, it is individuals such as Karman who highlight the need for scholars to (“Sir No Sir”) and Millard answered quesredefine the old vocabulary and develop a tions. The Iraq veteran touched upon the new, 21st-century approach for analyzing Obama administration’s preference for Islam.

—Dale Sprusansky

Waging Peace Must-See Film, “This Is Where We Take Our Stand,” Premieres in DC “This Is Where We Take Our Stand: The Iraq Veterans Against the War Who Risked Everything to Tell Their Story,” had its Washington, DC premiere Feb. 2 at the 14th and V Busboys & Poets. This riveting film is based on the “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan” event held March 13-16, 2008, on the fifth anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, MD. Inspired by the Winter Soldier Investigation of 1971, Iraq Veterans Against the War asked more than MARCH/APRIL 2012

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using drones instead of ground troops in today’s wars. He pointed out that 14 civilians are murdered for every target killed.

The drone operators, some of them sitting in trailers at military bases in Nevada or Florida, work with drones to direct kills against perceived enemy combatants that exist only on their video monitors. They also see the carnage they’ve inflicted. “The suicide rate is really high for people who fly those drones,” Millard said.

Americans may be celebrating the end of the war but had there been no anti-war movement, he added, there would be troops in Iraq still—not just scores of contractors and diplomats. Iraq Veterans Against the War, founded in 2004, were on the front lines of this movement.

When the soldiers came home their fellow Americans shook their hands but wouldn’t listen to their stories. It’s time to hear them now.

PBS released the film to its affiliates across the nation, but it has been playing in the middle of the night. Please call your local PBS station and ask them to program the film during primetime viewing hours.

The AET Book Club will carry this DVD, which should be required viewing for every neocon American supporting U.S. military action in Iran. Call Iraq Veterans Against the War at (646) 723-0989 or visit <www.ivaw.org> for more information.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Rising Tension and Rhetoric in U.S. And Iran

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) held a Jan. 30 panel discussion at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill to address “Avoiding Disaster: The Consequences of a Military Strike Against Iran and its Alternatives.” Moderator Alejandro J. Beutel, MPAC’s government and policy analyst, brought together several experts to comment on international policy and domestic politics in both Iran and the U.S. Dr. Paul Pillar, director of graduate studies at Georgetown University’s Center for Peace and Security Studies, highlighted the pattern in U.S. political rhetoric and analysis. Frequently, he noted, the possibility of Iran creating a nuclear bomb is discussed in the terms of worst-case scenarios. AlterSgt. Geoff Millard (l) and director David Zieger. natively, U.S. military action

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(L-r) Alejandro J. Beutel, Heather Hurlburt, Jamal Abdi and Dr. Paul Pillar discuss rising tensions with Iran.

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the National Security Network, described a few optimistic signs from Tehran. There is a possibility that Iran can engage in the upcoming P5 +1 talks through Turkey, he said. On the international scene, debate about Iran is more open in Israel and France than previously. Another important actor is China, which has many economic incentives to keep the Straits of Hormuz open. Additionally, U.S. leaders have interests in common with Iran, namely stability in Afghanistan and Iraq, stemming the drug trade, and avoiding a regional arms race. All of these factors, in combination with better communication channels, could help de-escalate the situation, Hurlburt concluded.

—Kellye Steindel

Panel Discusses Iran-Israel-U.S. Relations Looking to predict what 2012 will hold for American-Israeli-Iranian relations, The Atlantic Council’s Iran Task Force hosted a Jan. 17 panel discussion titled “U.S.-Israel and Iran: Looming Military Confrontation?” at the think tank’s Washington, DC headquarters. Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, moderated the discussion.

Saying that the decision whether or not to strike Iran “may be the most fateful decision that Israel has faced since the creation of the state,” Michael Eisenstadt, di-

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against Iran to prevent such an event is depicted only in terms of the best-case outcomes. The bias is also evident in political rhetoric depicting Iran as an irrational, aggressive actor with nuclear ambitions that would be easily subdued and rational after a U.S. attack. Dr. Pillar emphasized that such analysis is inconsistent and blatantly disregards the consequences of a U.S. strike.

Most likely, he said, a “surgical strike” against Iran would not resolve the nuclear issue. Such an attack instead would provide political fuel to Iran’s leaders to continue developing nuclear weapons and would also “poison” relations with future generations. Dr. Pillar concluded by stressing that U.S. leaders must realize that “exerting pressure on Iran has become the end and no longer the means to the end.”

Jamal Abdi, director of policy at the National Iranian American Council, also discussed the consequences of a U.S. attack, focusing on Iran’s internal politics. Agreeing with Dr. Pillar that no one knows how Iran would react, Abdi described how little understanding the U.S. has of internal decision-making in Iran. Behind any issue, there are several strong players jockeying for political power, he pointed out. This leaves little political room to maneuver for Iranian leaders who can’t risk appearing weak or pro-American by meeting with U.S. leaders.

Iranians are in agreement that their country has the right to make nuclear energy, Abdi continued. In his opinion, an attack on Iran would unify divided parties, provide the Iranian government with an excuse to crack down on the opposition, and elevate the discussion of whether or not to weaponize its nuclear program. In order to de-escalate the mounting tension, Abdi concluded, Washington needs to focus on creating a direct diplomatic channel of communication with Iran.

Despite the widespread anxiety over Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, Heather Hurlburt, executive director of

rector of the AIPAC-spinoff Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Military and Security Studies Program, commented that 2012 “is likely the year of decision for Israel.” While claiming that both Israel and the U.S. believe their interests are best served via diplomacy, Eisenstadt pointed out that Israel assumes that time is running out to reach a diplomatic solution regarding Iran’s alleged nuclear program.

The U.S. is increasing its arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to demonstrate to Iran that obtaining a nuclear weapon “will harm and not enhance its security,” Eisenstadt added. He also pointed out that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has recently heated his rhetoric toward Iran by “delineating a number of red lines,” such as closing the Strait of Hormuz, that Iran must not cross. While Eisenstadt explained that these recent U.S. actions are intended to project U.S. strength, he noted that Tehran believes that the U.S. is a power in decline and that the “credibility of U.S. deterrence has been diminished.”

Pointing out that “a military strike is an act of war,” Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and currently a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, warned that if the U.S. were to initiate conflict by striking Iranian targets, the situation could escalate and “become another ground war in Asia.”

Emphasizing that “the negatives [of attacking Iran] far outweigh the positives,” Riedel pointed out that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and three former heads of Mossad, the Israeli national intelligence agency, have spoken out against striking Iran.

“Iran is not an existential threat to the U.S. or Israel,” Riedel insisted, noting that even if Iran were to obtain a nuclear weapon, the regional balance of power “would remain overwhelmingly in Israel’s favor.” He pointed out that Iran has an “air

(L-r) Michael Eisenstadt, Barbara Slavin and Bruce Riedel discuss the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran.

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The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC hosted Trita Parsi on Feb. 1 to speak about his latest book, A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran. Parsi, founder and current president of the National Iranian American Council, said he interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the U.S., Iran, Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Brazil—including the top American and Iranian negotiators—to examine the Obama administration’s policy toward Iran.

The book’s title is based on a conversation Parsi had with a U.S. administration official who stated that diplomacy with Iran was a “single roll of the dice.” The Obama administration had only one chance to make inroads with Iran after President Barack Obama took office, the official pointed out. In 2008, Obama’s stance toward Iran represented a marked change from President George Bush’s foreign policy. This change was welcomed by Obama’s constituents as well as by other U.S. allies. The president made history when he addressed Iran as the Islamic Republic, but Iranian leaders were cautious and waited to see how Obama would act.

That opportunity came when Iran approached the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) asking to enrich medical isotopes (radioactive substance used in imaging and treatment of disease) with the help of the P5 +1 countries. When the talks failed in October 2010, Obama made a political move to impose more sanctions.

As Parsi noted, those talks were the only opportunity to begin a dialogue with Iran.

Due to domestic pressures in the U.S., however, Obama was unable to extend the time and diplomatic resources necessary to coax Iran into a deal.

One year later, Brazil and Turkey reached a successful agreement with Iran.

Although it was essentially within the same parameters as earlier U.S. efforts, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected the deal on the grounds that Iran’s nuclear capacity had increased since the original P5 +1 talks. According to Parsi, the Obama MARCH/APRIL 2012

PHOTO COURTESY DAVID HAWXHURST

Parsi Discusses A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran.

Iran Said to Have Much to Prove to Skeptics in March Elections

Trita Parsi discusses the failures of U.S. diplomacy with Iran. administration had lost its political momentum and no longer had the flexibility to devote more time to building a diplomatic channel with Iran.

In negotiations with other nations, such as Russia and Greece, Parsi noted the U.S. made successful inroads only after five or seven years. Discussing Turkey’s and Brazil’s success, he pointed out that without the 30 years of animosity that characterize U.S.-Iranian relations, Brazil and Turkey were able to approach Iran with patience, and supplied more effort to the talks.

Parsi’s key recommendation for moving forward with Iran is for Washington to stop viewing a deal on medical isotopes as the goal of diplomatic talks. Instead, he explained, negotiating with Iran is a longterm process and not simply a “zero sum game” where the only resolution is Iran forfeiting all its nuclear capabilities.

Parsi concluded that the U.S. must also create more diplomatic channels with Iran because, at the moment, the U.S. does not have the ability to communicate or defuse tensions with Iran. He warned that military action now is more likely than ever.

A Single Roll of the Dice is available from the AET Book Club.

—Kellye Steindel

Dr. Hosein Ghazian, a visiting scholar from Syracuse University, joined Geneive Abdo, a Century Foundation fellow and Iran analyst, for “An Assessment of Iran’s Upcoming Parliamentary Elections,” on Feb. 9 at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. They examined some of the situations that could occur around Iran’s March 2 parliamentary elections.

Dr. Ghazian began with a joke that had Japanese and American officials bragging about each country’s advanced voting technology that allowed them to see election results mere hours after the polls closed. The punch line had the Iranian official declaring that “our process is so advanced, Iranians know the results 48 hours before the election!” The joke illustrated the skepticism of Iran’s critics, at home and abroad, who question the Islamic Republic’s claim that around 60 percent of voters turned out for the 2008 elections. If that figure is true, Dr. Ghazian said, it creates, “a picture of broad participation…[and] produces the notion that Iran is unique and unrivaled in the world,” when it comes to the degree of government approval among the voters. If, on the other hand, that number is fabricated as part of a propaganda scheme, as Dr. Ghazian seemed more inclined to believe, then the government has created a situation where it must again prove—not only to the foreign powers who question it, but also to Iranian voters who took to the streets en masse to protest the 2009 presidential election results, which boasted 95 percent voter turnout—that it draws power from vast popular support.

Dr. Ghazian also pointed to the “re-shuffling” of the political system to bar certain candidates and parties from running as a clear message that no opposition force could “use the election to threaten the Supreme Leader or the government.”

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force of antiques,” and that the Islamic Republic’s only regional ally is the weak Syrian regime. On the other hand, Riedel noted, Israel is believed to have more than 100 nuclear weapons and has the military and monetary support of the U.S. For more information visit <www.acus. org/event/us-israel-and-iran-looming-military-confrontation>. —Dale Sprusansky

Dr. Hosein Ghazian (l) and Geneive Abdo address concerns about Iran’s March 2 elections.

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Protesters Demand No War on Iran Disturbed by the West’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Iran, anti-war activists across the U.S. and the world held an international day of action on Feb. 4. In 73 cities, demonstrators united under the slogan “No War on Iran, No Sanctions, No Intervention, No Assassinations” assembled to voice their convictions.

In Washington, DC protesters gathered in front of the White House for two hours.

Chanting “same lies, same plan, no war on Iran,” the demonstrators warned that government “lies” and fabrications are once again being used as a pretext for violence and sanctions. Calling for an end to an interventionist U.S. foreign policy, the group, chanting “no sanctions, no war, Iran is a sovereign state,” urged the U.S. to respect Iran’s sovereignty and revoke the sanctions it has imposed on the country.

Concerned that Israel will either launch 58

Protesters in front of the White House hold signs urging the U.S. to avoid fighting a war on Israel’s behalf. its own “racist war” against Iran or convince the U.S. to launch a military attack, demonstrators called on U.S. leaders to stop following an Israel-centric foreign policy.

Highlighting what he believes to be the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy, one protester held a sign pointing out that Israel is the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. Protesters also accused Israel of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists and called for an end to such covert activities within Iran’s borders.

—Dale Sprusansky

Daniel Ellsberg Speaks at Protest Several hundred human rights supporters gathered in San Francisco’s Hallidie Plaza Feb. 4 demanding that the U.S. and Israel not bomb Iran. Many carried signs reading “No War on Iran,” while one protester held a sign proclaiming himself as “Conservative and Anti-War.” Concerns about Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s Feb. 2 statement “that the world is increasingly ready to consider a military strike against Iran if economic sanctions don’t halt

Tehran’s suspect nuclear program,” and President Barack Obama’s remarks in his Jan. 23 State of the Union address that “no options are off the table” in dealing with Iran spurred people into the streets of 56 cities on Feb. 4 to demand that no military action be taken against Iran by any country, including the United States. World Can't Wait and the ANSWER Coalition sponsored the event.

Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 released the Pentagon Papers, a U.S. government study of the Vietnam War, was one of several speakers, including Cindy Sheehan and Father Louis Vitale, who addressed the large crowd.

“Our presence here today shows that it is possible that this attack be avoided despite the pressing of the Israeli leadership,” Ellsberg said. “I do not believe that Obama wants an attack on Iran, even by Israel.

And many Israelis do not want an attack on Iran. If it were left to Congress, I think they would not, as a majority, back an attack on Iran, despite what they are saying in this election year. But, if Israeli Prime

PHOTO COURTESY M. SAVABIEASFAHANI.

While he did not definitively predict upheaval, he did say that any turmoil over the elections would mobilize society in favor of the opposition and that the true character of the voters would be evident in the events set in motion post-election.

Abdo agreed that the March election will be pivotal to prove the government’s strength and legitimacy as Iran prepares its citizens for a possible Israeli attack. Iran’s government will need to show that it is in control and strong, she said, also noting the importance of proving the regime’s legitimacy to Iran’s neighbors—because “there is a big question mark there right now over how Arab states will respond if there is a military attack.”

Touching on the rift between parliament and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Abdo stressed the power play that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has made, saying that he treats “the parliament as an extension of his office. He has used the parliament, in fact, in his conflict against Ahmadinejad…it is important for this Supreme Leader that this particular parliament support him.” In many ways, this election is less about who is running and more about how the government will prove that it was a fair fight.

Abdo mentioned her meetings with some factions who are working on a boycott of the election, using social networks to ask people to stay home, not go to work, not vote. Though she can’t be sure if people will respond to the boycott, all this is being done to make it very difficult to fabricate the voter turnout if critics feel that there are any discrepancies. —Alex Begley

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Protesters called for “No War on Iran!” in front of People’s Food Co-op in downtown Ann Arbor, MI on Feb. 4 and, the following week, Feb. 11 (above) in frigid temperatures.

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PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

PHOTO PHIL PASQUINI

“The United States and Egypt: Between Islamists and Generals,” highlighted both the “healthy” and the “dangerous” political developments that have occurred in Egypt since the January 2011 uprising.

As an example of the former, Dunne (L-r) Daniel Ellscited the lifting of berg, Cindy Sheehan restrictions on the and Father Louis Viformation of polititale at a Feb. 4 San cal parties, which Francisco rally. has resulted in “a lot more political life” in the country. Indeed, the scholar pointed out, more than 50 political parties have formed over the past year. Of those 50 parties, Dunne noted that 27 ran in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, which ran from late November to early January, and 15 won seats. Furthermore, Dunne said that the results of the parliamentary elections have been “broadly accepted by Egyptians as being legitimate.”

Identifying the Egyptian military’s mismanagement of the economy as perhaps the most dangerous development over the past year, Dunne predicted that Egypt is facing a “looming economic crisis” that could feature hyperinflation and the crash of the Egyptian currency. She also classified the military’s decision to decline assistance from the IMF and World Bank last summer as a “big mistake,” and said that the military, which has spent more than

Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barack decide, against their own military leadership and their own intelligence, that the time has come to attack Iran in this election year, it will be on the calculation that the U.S. will not be able to stand back from Iranian retaliation to that attack. It is up to us to press Obama to come back to the promises he made that got him a Nobel Peace Prize and from which he has backed away in the last year, and that is a promise to negotiate, to make concessions, and to provide alternatives to war.”

— Elaine Pasquini

Egypt One Year Later: Positives and Negatives Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, spoke Jan. 20 at The Women’s Foreign Policy Group’s Washington, DC headquarters. Her luncheon remarks, titled MARCH/APRIL 2012

PHOTO COURTESY THE WOMEN’S FOREIGN POLICY GROUP

A youngster carries an anti-war sign at the Feb. 4 San Francisco rally.

half of Egypt’s foreign reserves since the uprising, is now reconsidering its decision “at the eleventh hour.”

Turning her attention to matters of internal security, Dunne noted that the country has failed to reform the corrupt internal security forces, and accused the military of having “impeded the reform of the police.” She described rising sectarian tensions between Christians and Muslims as having “gotten out of hand,” and accused Salafis of “choosing to provoke confrontations with the Christians.” Dunne also stated that domestic security concerns have forced the military to keep a large number of personnel in major cities, reducing its presence along Egypt’s borders.

As a result, she explained, there has been an increase in weapon trades and terror groups have begun to operate more freely in the Sinai region.

With regard to U.S.-Egypt relations, Dunne commented that the Egyptian military’s “campaign against civil society organizations,” particularly those that are American-based or work in the fields of democracy and the rule of law has, “put the U.S. in a very uncomfortable position.”

Describing the current U.S. aid agreement with Egypt, in which Washington sends $1.3 billion annually to Egypt as a reward for maintaining peace with Israel, as “worn out,” Dunne called on both countries to “rethink” the nature of the agreement.

While arguing that the U.S. should continue to send aid to Egypt, Dunne called on Washington to “deal with Egypt for its own sake and not based on Israel’s needs.”

Such an approach, she concluded, would be much appreciated by most Egyptians.

—Dale Sprusansky

Women’s Foreign Policy Group’s president Patricia Ellis (l) and speaker Michele Dunne.

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The neocon Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, criticized Bahrain’s Sunni royal family for making “SunniShi’a a deeper dividing line” in the Shi’imajority country. Despite claims to the contrary, he said, the Commission of Inquiry’s report found no evidence that Iran incited the February protests as a means to undermine the Sunni government. Abrams concluded by stating that the Bahraini royal family needs to “seek reconciliation,” or deal with the reality that it has lost the legitimacy of the majority of its people.

For more information visit <www. pomed.org>.

—Dale Sprusansky

pendent Commission of Inquiry, an independent investigation into the human rights abuses that occurred during protests in early 2011. Commenting that the report signaled the king’s willingness to be honest about Bahrain’s human rights abuses, the senator praised the king for having the “courage” to listen to the findings of the commission on television.

Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, highlighted the numerous areas in which the Bahraini government has promised to institute the commission’s recommendations. Enacting legislative amendments that bring Bahraini law into compliance with international human rights standards, reinstating employees who were dismissed for protesting, bringing in international experts to assist in reforms, and allowing

Panel Discusses Libya’s Transition The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Washington, DC office hosted a

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Bahrain’s Unfinished Uprising

Azza Kamel Maghur (l) and Fadel Lamen are critical of Libya’s transitional government. for civilian review of convictions made by state security courts are among the pledges the government has made.

While Hiltermann described these proposed reforms as “welcomed moves” and “important first steps,” he cautioned that many have yet to be implemented and that deeper institutional and political reforms are needed.

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Nearly one year after protesters took to the streets of Bahrain, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) held a Feb. 9 panel discussion titled “The Unfinished February 14 Uprising: What Next for Bahrain?” to assess the country’s political trajectory. Stephen McInerney, executive director of POMED, moderated the discussion, which was held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Beginning the discussion, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) expressed concern that January 2012 saw the highest number of protester deaths in Bahrain since the previous March. Calling attention to reports alleging that torture and the excessive use of tear gas continue to cause protester deaths, Senator Wyden urged the Obama administration to take a firmer stance against the Bahraini government.

Saying that the recent U.S. decision to sell Bahrain $1 million in arms “sends the wrong message at the wrong time” to both Bahrain and the world, the senator chastised the administration for “rewarding [the kingdom’s] bad behavior” and urged the U.S. to use “every lever it has to influence the kingdom.”

Disagreeing with the senator’s stance, Colin Kahl, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), argued that withholding arms from Bahrain would result in no political reform and would only serve to hinder the strategically important Bahraini-U.S. relationship. Instead of a rash withdrawal of arms sales, Kahl, who was the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East from February 2009 through December 2011, said he believes the U.S. should invoke the Bahrainis’ interests and allow reforms to occur “on Bahrain’s terms at Bahrain’s pace.”

Despite his frustration with Bahrain’s recent actions, Wyden said he “commended” Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for establishing the Bahrain Inde-

(L-r) Joost Hiltermann, Elliott Abrams and Colin Kahl debate protests and reforms in Bahrain.

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Feb. 2 panel discussion titled “Transition in Libya: The Next Steps.” Marina Ottaway, senior associate at its Middle East Program, moderated the discussion.

Azza Kamel Maghur, a Libyan lawyer and democracy advocate, opened the discussion by highlighting several of Libya’s most pressing challenges. Pointing out that the National Transitional Council (NTC) has failed to build proper police forces, Maghur accused the transitional government of “only [providing empty] promises of security.” The presence of criminals freed by Qaddafi, along with the proliferation of arms in the street, has served to further destabilize Libya’s internal security, she added.

Accusing the NTC of leaving the country on “the edge of anarchy,” Maghur noted that it has not maintained an open line of communication with the Libyan people and has frequently failed to provide copies of new laws and regulations. She described the council as “a hurdle in the MARCH/APRIL 2012

democratization process.”

Citing a recurrence of clashes in western Libya and ongoing human rights violations, she criticized the NTC for failing to take significant steps toward achieving national reconciliation. Libya’s “dysfunctional judiciary,” Maghur stated, has allowed for the continuation of human rights abuses and for militias to operate outside the rule of law.

Fadel Lamen, president of the American Libyan Council, lamented that the NTC has “not been able to articulate a real vision.”

He pointed out that the council, as well as Libya as a whole, is struggling to shake off the “default setting” of how to live and govern that the Qaddafi regime instilled in the country. Lamenting that the NTC “cannot think outside of the ways they were taught,” Lamen accused it of succumbing to the “old mentality” of thinking that they know what is best for the Libyan people. In order for the NTC to regain its legitimacy, he argued, it needs to either “lead, follow, or go away”—but cannot continue to do none of the three.

For more information visit <www.carnegie endowment.org>.

—Dale Sprusansky

Panel Discusses Yemen’s Political Stalemate George Washington University’s Project on Middle East Political Science hosted a Jan. 25 panel discussion titled “Yemen’s Stalemate” at the university’s Elliott School of International Affairs. GWU Prof. Marc Lynch moderated the discussion.

Stacey Philbrick Yadav, a professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, addressed the November 2011 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-brokered power transfer agreement in which Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to relinquish the presidency in exchange for legal immunity. Saying that the deal will only “reproduce problems that fueled the revolutionary movement to begin with,” she criticized the agreement for having no provisions that combat corruption. Furthermore, Yadav explained, the deal represents a “symbolic loss for the protesters,” for whom “legal accountability [has been] a central demand.” In particular, Yadav noted that the agreement dealt a tough blow to the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), a coalition of various Yemeni opposition parties who have made anti-corruption their “central motif.”

Yadav added that many Yemenis, frustrated by the JMP’s failure to advance its anti-corruption agenda, have organized sitins and work stoppages in an effort to force MARCH/APRIL 2012

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(L-r) Professors Laurent Bonnefoy, Stacey Philbrick Yadav and Sheila Carapico describe the power transfer agreement in Yemen. corrupt heads of enterprises to step down.

According to Yadav, this grassroots “parallel revolution” is an indictment of both the regime and the opposition.

Dismissing the popularly held notion that Yemen lacks a functioning civil society, Sheila Carapico, a professor at the University of Richmond, described the nation’s civil society as “quite vibrant.” Carapico specifically pointed to Yemeni human rights activist Tawakul Karman, co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, as an individual who epitomizes the depth of grassroots political activity occurring in Yemen.

Dubbed by some as the “mother of the revolution,” Karman is the first Arab woman and youngest person to win a Nobel Prize.

Laurent Bonnefoy, a researcher at Institut Français du Proche-Orient in France, analyzed how Yemen’s “deeply fragmented” Islamist groups have responded to the nation’s uprising. Beginning with the Al-Islah political party, whose membership includes the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood, Bonnefoy explained that the group at first adopted a very ambiguous attitude toward the revolutionary movement, but has since thrown its weight behind the uprising and has come to “represent the revolutionary movement.”

Unlike Al-Islah, Bonnefoy stated, the Quietist Salafist Movement, which has “reasserted its apolitical approach to politics,” has strongly denounced the revolutionary movement, and has accused it of being an “illegitimate” and “alien movement” manipulated by foreign powers. On the other hand, Bonnefoy noted that the Activist Salafists have followed the lead of Egypt’s Al-Nour Salafist party and decided to parTHE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

ticipate in the electoral process.

Addressing the northern Houthi rebels, followers of the Zaidi branch of Shi’i Islam, Bonnefoy explained that the group has “decided to play the institutional game” and has created the al-Ummah political party. Yemen’s jihadists have suffered a “crisis of legitimacy,” Bonnefoy concluded, and have increasingly turned their attention to local and community issues.

—Dale Sprusansky

Analyzing Post-Uprising Arab Politics The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a Jan. 18 discussion titled “A Year of Turmoil: The Arab Awakening and the Path Ahead” at the Reserve Officers Association’s headquarters on Capitol Hill.

Steven Heydemann, USIP’s senior adviser for Middle East Initiatives, moderated the discussion.

Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, now senior USIP adviser for international affairs, emphasized that the U.S. “should not despair when an Islamic party emerges [in the Arab world].”

Rather, stressed Hadley—who as deputy national security adviser to Condoleezza Rice allowed the false claim about Iraq seeking to acquire uranium from Niger to be included in President George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address—the U.S. should interact with Islamists and respectfully discuss the importance of “establishing a pluralistic society.”

Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, agreed with the neocon Hadley that the central challenge in the 61

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For more information visit <www.usip. org/events/year-turmoil>.

—Dale Sprusansky

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Divestment Continues in Sacramento

(L-r) Marwan Muasher, Stephen Hadley and Steven Heydemann address future U.S. relations with Islamists.

Arab world is ensuring the emergence of pluralistic societies. Islamists are “neither the democrats nor the devils,” Muasher added, and cautioned against subscribing to the belief that “political Islam is monotheistic.”

Saying that the U.S. has no choice but to support Arab transitions to democracy, Hadley noted that the U.S. must be cautious in how it engages Arab countries.

Given the U.S. history of supporting authoritarian regimes in the region, Hadley suggested that NGOs, universities and corporations, rather than the U.S. government, be used to reach out and provide assistance to the Arab world. Muasher advised Arab governments that remain in power to re-

frain from thinking that they “have survived the storm” and begin to initiate a “gradual and serious reform process.”

Addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict, Muasher, former deputy prime minister of Jordan, stated that continuing Israeli settlement building combined with the Arab Awakening have resulted in “an Arab public that is more hostile to the occupation.”

Saying that all sides need to “move very quickly” if there is hope for a two-state solution, he expressed skepticism that significant progress will be made in a U.S. election year. Muasher added that, in his opinion, achieving a two-state solution is in Israel’s best interest and “is crucial for the survival of the state.”

A contingent from California’s Israel Divestment Campaign went to Sacramento on Dec. 12, to submit a petition to the California Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)—the largest public pension fund in the U.S.—signed by more than 5,300 California taxpayers and public employees.

They called on PERS to immediately investigate five companies in which it invests pension funds: Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Caterpillar, Elbit and Veolia.

PERS member Sherna Gluck, professor emerita at California State University at Long Beach, reviewed PERS’ commitment to the U.N. Principles of Responsible Investing and recapped the complicit activities of the aforementioned five corporations.

Emily Alba of the Chico Peace Network recounted witnessing how Israeli settlements, financed by Bank Hapoalim and Leumi loans, carve up and destroy Palestinian land on the West Bank. Alba also gave a moving account of how a Palestinian farmer’s plot was split in two by Caterpillar equipment.

Mikos Fabersunne, another PERS member of the Davis BDS Network, described his ride on the apartheid-like Veolia light rail. He stressed how Veolia is not only an immoral investment but also a risky one.

The Israeli Divestment Campaign (IDC) representatives criticized PERS for investing in Elbit for its construction of the apartheid wall and noted how Scandinavian funds were withdrawn because the wall is deemed a breech of international law.

One encouraging development, according to Gluck, is that the PERS corporate governance staff continues to communicate with the IDC as late as February, —Pat McDonnell Twair

PHOTO COURTESY IDC

USC Panel on Academic Freedom

Sherna Gluck (c) testifies at CalPERS with Emily Alba (l) and Mikos Fabersunne.

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“The Irvine 11: Freedom of Speech, Civil Disobedience and Selective Prosecution” was the title of a Jan. 12 panel at the University of Southern California. Speakers were Irvine 11 defense attorney Reem Salahi, Peter Bebring of the ACLU and Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Salahi gave a brief outline of the Irvine 11 court case (see May/June 2010 WashMARCH/APRIL 2012

STAFF PHOTO SAMIR TWAIR

PHOTO COURTESY SARA JAWHARI

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According to Omar Barghouti, Israel is put on a pedestal in the U.S. ington Report, pp. 36-37) in which 10 students were put on probation for nonviolently interrupting Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren when he spoke in February 2010 at the University of California at Irvine.

Civil disobedience has always been practiced on U.S. campuses, Bebring noted, and UCI administrators should have had a better sense of proportionality when disciplining the students.

Barghouti said the Jewish community’s overt pressure on the Orange County district attorney to try the Irvine 11 as criminals rather than as hecklers was an attempt to intimidate Palestinian supporters.

“Since when has heckling been considered a crime in the U.S.?” Barghouti asked.

“We must oppose these selective rules. Israel is put on a pedestal in the U.S. It’s our challenge to take Israel off this pedestal.

The Israeli lobby no longer participates [in discusions] on British or U.S. campuses because it’s always on the losing side. The only weapon it has is illegal suppression of the facts.”

Barghouti urged the student audience to “never be on the defensive” and to “join mainstream organizations.”

Since the BDS movement was founded in 2005, it has been embraced in Europe faster than the South African antiapartheid campaign, which grew over decades, he stressed. Israel’s unity with neo-fascists in Europe and with right-wing Christians in the U.S. is shortsighted and eventually will backfire, he predicted.

—Pat McDonnell Twair

Despite Controversy, PennBDS Conference a Success The National Boycott, Divestments and MARCH/APRIL 2012

(L-r) Rev. Carolyn Boyd, Rev. Graylan Hagler and Bill Fletcher, Jr. led the “BDS and the Black Community” panel. “The black spirit is analogous to the spirit of the Palestinian people,” said Boyd. “You cannot be justice warriors in a foreign land if you are not justice warriors in this land,” said Hagler.

Sanctions Conference at the University of Pennsylvania’s campus on Feb. 3 opened with a video of support from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Hundreds of activists and academics gathered for a weekend of workshops, analysis and entertainment, in spite of attacks by BDS opponents who attempted to derail the event.

Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa presented a list of anti-Palestinian Israeli laws as pictures of Israeli violence against Palestinians flashed by on a screen behind her. Abulhawa, who founded Playgrounds for Palestine, which builds playgrounds for Palestinian children in the occupied territories and Lebanon, spoke of the injustices Palestinians face in Israel and the Middle East.

“There is something humiliating in perpetually having to prove that we are human,” she told the rapt audience.

Comparing the Palestinian struggle to those of U.S. civil rights activists and antiVietnam war and apartheid South Africa protesters, Abulhawa condemned the U.N. for inactivity and called on Israel “to abandon their nation of superiority.”

“You will never break us,” she concluded to applause.

Human rights activist Andrew Kadi followed Abulhawa, describing the progress BDS has made. The BDS message has caused speakers and musicians, like Elvis Costello, to cancel Israeli tours.

Omar Barghouti, a founder of BDS, and Palestinian-American Columbia University Prof. Rashid Khalidi each delivered video messages. “As human rights activists,” Barghouti said, “the BDS movement will bring freedom, justice and equality to THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

apply universally to all humans irrespective of color, ethnicity or religion.”

Khalidi praised PennBDS for creating a place for dialogue where Americans could learn more about the Palestinian situation in unbiased and non-antagonistic framing.

Despite heated rhetoric in the weeks leading up to the conference, the weekend proceeded relatively smoothly. There were security concerns after a Feb. 1 column in The Daily Pennsylvanian by Ruben Gur, a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Radiology and Neurology. The Penn police ordered PennBDS to hire more security forces for the conference.

Ali Abuminah, creator of the online publication Electronic Intifada, gave the keynote speech on Saturday night. “What was striking was the positive, relaxed atmosphere,” he later said. “I’m so relieved it went that way, because I think the inflammatory rhetoric before had everybody a little bit on edge, and maybe that’s what it was intended to do.”

Matt Berkman, co-founder of PennBDS and doctoral candidate in political science, said he considered the conference a success. “Scores of people came up to me to say all the panels were amazing and thanked us for organizing it,” he said.

The conference did run into conflicts with media organizations. PennBDS revoked The Jewish Exponent’s press pass and Martin Himel, a right-wing pro-Israel filmmaker who neglected to register as press, was removed from the conference during an interview with Abuminah. “It was clear to me that he had a very specific agenda…and it was a very extreme agenda,” Abunimah said. —Lisa Rollins 63

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Arab-American Activism

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ADC Looks at the 2012 U.S. Elections The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) discussed the upcoming 2012 elections and their impact on issues pertaining to the Arab-American community on Jan. 26—part of ADC’s monthly Arabesque Lecture Series at its national headquarters in Washington, DC. International human rights lawyer and media commentator Arsalan Iftikhar, a Democrat, and Middle East and North Africa affairs expert Randa Fahmy-Hudome, a Republican, squared off for a lively debate moderated by ADC legal director Abed Ayoub.

Iftikhar is founder of <www.TheMuslimGuy.com>. Fahmy-Hudome, who served as associate deputy secretary of energy, and counselor to Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI), currently is president of the strategic consulting firm Fahmy-Hudome International (FHI).

Ayoub launched the discussion by noting that each election year Arab Americans hear that “this election is the most important in our time. What is so important about 2012?” Fahmy-Hudome pointed out that in every election getting Arab American voters out is essential because they live in such critical swing states as Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California and Illinois.

Domestic policy issues, including civil rights, the economy and jobs, are vital issues to Arab Americans, she added. While most Americans are removed from foreign policy issues, this group is touched by the Arab-Israeli problem and they know that time is running out for a solution, FahmyHudome said. This particular issue will make them go to the polls, she said, calling recent Republican candidates’ anti-Palestinian statements “boneheaded and unwise.” She urged her audience to “Speak up as a community. You’ll be heard. Don’t let politicians take your vote for granted.”

Arab Americans need to take Republicans to task for those “bone-headed remarks,” Iftikhar said. Newt Gingrich not only called Palestinians an “invented people” but has said he fears this country will be taken over by radical Islamists, Iftikhar pointed out, and warns that shariah law is a mortal threat to the American way of life.

Herman Cain wouldn’t appoint Muslims to his cabinet. Rick Perry suggested that Turkey is run by Islamic terrorists and questioned its membership in NATO. Rick Santorum thinks there should be racial profiling of Muslims at airports and that

(L-r) Abed Ayoub, Arsalan Iftikhar and Randa Fahmy-Hudome debate the U.S. elections.

Islam doesn’t teach ethics. There’s a whisper campaign, much like that waged against John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic to run for office, that President Barack Obama is a “crypto-Muslim.” Santorum didn’t correct that charge, which has somehow become a slur. Muslims have become “political football” in these elections. Minorities have been demonized to score political points, Iftikhar warned.

“We all have to call out racist and xenophobic behavior of any kind,” he stated, adding that no other community has been so marginalized. The two most despised groups today are Muslims and gays. For the first time African Americans and Hispanics aren’t on the PEW Research Center public opinion list, Iftikhar said.

Both panelists agreed that Arab Americans must remain actively involved in elections, educating the general American public about the community, demanding respect from politicians—and, of course, voting. They should demystify shariah (Islamic jurisprudence) and point out the absurdity of fear-mongering surrounding it, given that no law can ever supersede the Constitution.

The panelists went on to discuss President Obama’s performance during the last three years, especially the disappointment Arab Americans feel toward some of his policies and positions. They lamented his failure thus far to meet with the ArabAmerican and Muslim-American community. Do his advisers believe they are “toxic”? The future of civil rights in America and its balance with national security measures is also an election issue, as are the strategic relationships between the U.S and Arab countries and, of course, the IsraeliPalestinian issue.

Panelists emphasized the significance of the youth vote and discussed ways to reach out to youth in universities to get them more involved. They also discussed the impact of veterans coming home from Iraq. Will they have greater understanding or bias toward Arabs ?

ADC President Warren David concluded the event by thanking the speakers and the THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

audience for their participation. To watch a podcast of this excellent panel visit <www.adc.org/media/adc-tv/>. Iftikhar’s new book, Islamic Pacifism: Global Muslims in the Post-Osama Era, is available from the AET Book Store.

—Delinda Hanley

Journalist, Pollster Discusses Egyptian Revolution To brief congressional staffers on the Egyptian revolution, the Arab American Institute (AAI) hosted a Jan. 31 discussion titled “Egypt: One Year after the Revolution” at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Cairo-based journalist and author Ashraf Khalil and AAI President James Zogby offered their views on Egypt’s ongoing transition.

Saying that former President Hosni Mubarak’s greatest crime was “robbing Egyptians of their dignity, of their self respect,” Khalil argued that regaining a sense of pride and self-purpose has been the Egyptian revolution’s greatest achievement. Egyptians are “losing track of the fact that they are winning [the revolution],” he warned. The journalist urged observers and Egyptians alike to avoid making “snap reactions” to events and to understand that “whatever happens [in Egypt] is going to take 10 years.”

Regarding the buildup to the 2011 uprising, Khalil explained that the brutal June 2010 death of Khaled Said at the hands of security forces in Alexandria was a breaking point for many Egyptians.

While covering the protests that followed Said’s death, Khalil said he noticed many first-time protesters taking to the streets.

The presence of these typically “depoliticized” people in the street symbolized that the Mubarak regime was losing its legitimacy and that Egyptians were prepared to enter into “a fight for survival,” he said.

Khalil suggested that the revolution could be a positive development for Egyptian-Israeli relations. Describing the former relationship as one of “bad habits and bad dynamics,” Khalil said he envisions a “healthier” and “more mature” relationMARCH/APRIL 2012

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STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

Palestinian women, including Hind Husseini, the woman who established a school for refugee Palestinian girls in East Jerusalem.

Schnabel, who said his mother was the first president of Hadassah, the women’s Zionist Organization in America, in New York in 1948, met Jebreal in 2007, read her book and agreed to help make it into a movie.

Jebreal said it was especially meaningful to be rewarded for her work by her own community. Like other Arabs, she said, she is pleased that the world is supporting Arabs who are speaking out and calling for their rights. It can also happen in Palestine, Jebreal stated: “I hope in our lifetime we ourselves will be a nation governed as we really deserve to be.” —Delinda C. Hanley

Dr. James Zogby (l) and Ashraf Khalil discuss the achievements of the Egyptian revolution.

Diplomatic Doings International Day of Solidarity

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Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat, the chief representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the U.S., and his wife, Jumana, hosted a Dec. 1, 2011 reception at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Pentagon City in Arlington, VA to celebrate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Palestinian Americans, friends, scholars, activists and diplomats gathered to enjoy food catered by the

Jerusalem Restaurant in nearby Falls Church and peruse a photo exhibit by award-winning international author and photographer Yousef Khanfar. Guests examined embroidered Palestinian dresses as well as a table laden with Palestinian products, including embroidery, pottery, olive oil and soaps, many of which were on loan from the AET Book Store, <www.middleeastbooks.com/pact>.

“Sooner or later Palestine will become a full member of the U.N.,” Ambassador Areikat predicted, days after the U.N. shelved a vote on statehood. The Palestinian Spring will come at the end of Israel’s military occupation, the end of divisions among Palestinians, and when our people can enjoy justice, equality and democracy, Areikat said.

The high point of the evening came when Rula Jebreal, Italo-Palestinian author of the autobiographical novel Miral, and Academy Award nominee Julian Schnabel, who directed the groundbreaking film based on her screenplay, accepted the “Peace and Justice Award,” from Ambassador Areikat. Their dramatic film “Miral” introduced moviegoers to the effects of Israel’s occupation on three remarkable

(L-r) Yousef Khanfar, Dr. Hussein Al-Araj, chief of staff to President Mahmoud Abbas, Rula Jebreal, Julian Schnabel and Ambassador Maen Areikat.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hosts King Abdullah II of Jordan

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

ship between the two countries if Israel begins taking Egyptian public opinion into consideration before making decisions.

Zogby reviewed his latest polling data, noting that jobs, healthcare, education, and corruption are Egyptians’ top concerns—just as they were before the revolution. With regard to American views of Egypt, he pointed out that 32 percent of Americans currently have a positive view of Egypt, down from 60 percent prior to the January 2011 uprising. For more information visit <www.aaiusa.org>.

—Dale Sprusansky

King Abdullah II of Jordan urges American investment in his country.

“I’m here to tell you that Jordan is open for business. Not only despite the Arab Spring, but also because of the Arab Spring,” King Abdullah II ibn Hussein of Jordan told business leaders at a Jan. 19 luncheon hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. “The Arab Spring has been very costly to many countries,” he added, noting that it has weakened investor confidence and caused a serious decline in tourism. “But at the end of the day people want more freedom, more jobs and more dignity. These are the messages of the Arab Spring.”

Describing his country as “a stable and reliable gateway,” King Abdullah said that economic development was essential for future stability. Jordan was the first Arab country to sign a free trade agreement with the United States, and is now modernizing 65

its tax code, the king said.

Jordan’s official unemployment rate is 13 percent, but unofficially the rate is much higher. King Abdullah asked American businesses to invest in the kingdom’s struggling economy. The rewards are great, he promised, because Jordanian workers are both highly skilled in their professions and speak English. He concluded by urging American listeners to create opportunities for a prosperous future for Jordan’s young people.

King Abdullah II was in Washington to speak with U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about attempts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

—Delinda C. Hanley

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Ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo (second from right) welcomes guests to a reception at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC on Dec. 7, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national day.

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Qatar Celebrates National Day in DC The Ambassador of Qatar to the United States Ali bin Fahad Al-Hajri hosted a reception to celebrate Qatar’s National Day at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC on Dec. 19, 2011. The event drew highlevel dignitaries, ambassadors, members of Congress, military, commercial and defense attachés, prominent university and academic representatives, as well as Qatari students studying in the U.S. Videos shown on large screens around the ballroom focused on Qatar’s rich heritage and changing cityscape. Guests could meet Qatar’s citizens on this visual tour, including pearl divers, entrepreneurs, al-Jazeera television correspondents, and students taking classes at Education City, which includes branches of Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M University, Carnegie Mellon University and Georgetown University

Algeria’s Ambassador to the U.S. Abdallah Baali (r) and Rafika Lakreche Baali welcome guests to a reception on Nov. 1, 2011 to celebrate the 57th anniversary of their November revolution to gain rights denied them under French colonial rule.

School of Foreign Service. Or they could talk in person to Qatari students attending university in the United States and hear their post-graduation plans for working back home.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Human Rights

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Rep. Jim McDermott, Faith Leaders Discuss Conflict Minerals

Ambassador Ali Al Hajri welcomes guests to a reception for Qatar National Day, in Washington, DC. 66

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) joined faith leaders on a Jan. 25, 2012 conference call to discuss opposition to the use of conflict minerals—minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, the proceeds from the sale of which finance continued fighting. The call was organized by Rabbi David Saperstein, director and counsel of the Religious Action MARCH/APRIL 2012

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Children sing a song of peace at a dinner reception held at the Iranian Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC on Feb. 10 to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Dr. Mostafa Rahmani, director of Iranian Interests, reminded guests of the turbulent history of Iran-U.S. relations, beginning with the 1953 CIA-orchestrated plot to topple Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, an elected leader, and replace him with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

(L-r) Dr. Raymond Jallow; Ambassador Hesham Elnakib, the Egyptian consul general; and Iraqi Consul General Ahmed N. Jewad at a reception held at the Los Angeles Egyptian Consulate to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Egypt’s January 25 revolution.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

and gold. More than 5 million people have been killed over the past 15 years in the DRC alone. At the same time, more consumers are becoming aware that these min-

PHOTO COURTESY AL JAZEERA

Center of Reform Judaism.

In addition to McDermott and Saperstein, the participants included Simon Taylor, founding director of Global Witness, and Lisa Sharon Harper, director of mobilizing at Sojourners. They focused on how conflict minerals violate the shared morality of the faith community and the importance of U.S. laws and regulations in fighting their sale.

People living in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been suffering from violence, forced labor and other abuses, as warring factions buy weapons with profits from the trade in minerals including tin, tantalum, coltan

erals are key components in cell phones and other popular electronic devices.

McDermott and Taylor explained provisions of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that require companies to track the origin of the materials they use. Specifically, Section 1502 of the act requires companies to perform supply chain due diligence to enable annual disclosure of whether their products contain conflict minerals and to report any possible use of conflict minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Section 1503 governs reporting issues pertinent to mine operators, including health and safety standards. Section 1504 seeks to make revenues transparent by requiring companies that develop oil, natural gas or minerals to annually disclose certain payments made to the United States or a foreign government. Contrary to some claims, Dodd Frank does not create an embargo on minerals from the DRC. Furthermore, in cases where companies cannot determine the origin of the minerals, the only consequence is that they must report their findings to the SEC. While everyone agreed that the Dodd Frank Act, which passed in July 2010, is a positive step forward, they also expressed concern about the ongoing delays in its implementation. The SEC still has not published final rules and regulations specifying exactly what companies need to do to ensure compliance. McDermott joined the other panelists in blaming the situation on industry groups who have been lobbying vigorously against the legislation. They believe that many of these groups are overstating the compliance costs and prolonging a climate of uncertainty that could penalize companies who want to move forward with cleaning up their supply chain.

—Anne O’Rourke

Children working in mines, South Kivu (above). Rep. Jim McDermott (right).

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Books The Unmaking of Israel

By Gershom Gorenberg, HarperCollins, 2011, hardcover, 325 pp. List: $25.99; AET: $16.

Reviewed by Allan C. Brownfeld For those concerned with Israel’s future, recent developments are increasingly worrisome.

According to David Newman, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben-Gurion University, “Israel’s democracy is now under threat to an extent which it has never previously experienced.”

In this important book, the respected Israeli historian and journalist Gershom Gorenberg shows how Israel’s own policies are undermining its democracy and existence as a Jewish state and explains what must be done to bring it back from the brink.

In Gorenberg’s view, “Long-term rule of Palestinians was a retreat from the ideal of democracy, a retreat that governments denied by describing the occupation as temporary. The settlement enterprise was a multipronged assault on the rule of law.

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

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Contrary to a common portrayal, secular politicians initiated settlement in the occupied territories and have continued to back it ever since. But the most ideologically committed settlers have been religious Zionists—and the government’s support for settlement has fostered the transformation of religious Zionism into a movement of the radical right.”

Gorenberg shows how the Israeli government, by subsidizing right-wing yeshivas (religious schools), has fostered a new form of Jewish “racism.” In late 2009, for example, two rabbis from the Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva, Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur, published a book called The Law Of The King, whose “repeated themes,” Gorenberg writes, “are that a Jew’s life is worth more than a gentile’s, and that for a Jew to kill a gentile is a lesser sin than killing another Jew.” Gorenberg goes on to note that, “In the years 2006 to 2010, the government allocated an average of nearly $400,000 annually to Od Yosef Hai, nearly half its budget came from the state.”

The establishment of a state religion— dominated by a taxpayer-paid Orthodox rabbinate—has harmed Judaism and alienated many Israelis from it, the author argues. There is no civil marriage in Israel: only Orthodox rabbis can perform weddings and funerals. Jews and non-Jews can marry only by going abroad. This, Gorenberg declares, is hardly religious freedom as it is understood in the West.

While Israel began as a parliamentary democracy, and still is for its Jewish residents, it is something far different for both Palestinian citizens of Israel and those living in the occupied territories.

Gorenberg charges that short-sighted policies, unintended consequences, and the refusal to heed warnings now threaten the state’s identity and existence. By keeping the territories it occupied in 1967, he believes, Israel has crippled its democracy and the rule of law.

“I write from an Israel with a divided soul,” Gorenberg declares. “It is not only defined by its contradictions: it is at risk of being torn apart THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

by them. It is a country with uncertain borders and a government that ignores its own laws. Its democratic ideals, much as they have helped shape its history, are on the verge of being remembered among the false political promises of 20th century ideologues.”

If Israel is to establish itself as a liberal democracy, Gorenberg believes, it must: (1) end the settlement enterprise, end the occupation and find a peaceful way to partition the land between Jordan and the Mediterranean; (2) divorce state and synagogue—freeing the state from clericalism, and religion from the state; and (3) graduate from being an ethnic movement to being a democratic state in which all citizens enjoy equality.

“Nothing does more to alienate Jews from Judaism in Israel than the various reminders of state ‘support’ for religion,” argues Gorenberg, an Israeli patriot and a committed Jew. He urges a comparison with America, which, constitutionally, is the most secular country in the West, yet, as a society, is strikingly religious. Nearly two-thirds of Americans report that religion is important in their lives, compared to a median of 38 percent in developed countries. It is the author’s hope that, “In Israel, once the state ceased to fund and sanction specific varieties of religion, Judaism is likely to flourish, invite wider interest and take new forms.”

Gorenberg wants Israel to save itself.

He writes as one disappointed with what he believes was the early Zionist commitment to a democratic state and what he believes is its abandonment. But he does not consider that, perhaps from the start, the idea of establishing a “Jewish” state and declaring that Jews everywhere in the world have a “right to return” while the Palestinians—who he admits were, in part, “expelled” from the area—do not, violated both international law and traditional moral norms. The Palestinians argue that the Western world tried to make up to the European Jews for the evils of the Nazis by giving them the land of the Arab Palestinians—who were simply innocent bystanders.

Deeming it too late to alter these historical facts, Gorenberg writes that what must be done now is to divide the land and create two states. His book should be required reading for those who view Israel simply as “the only democracy” in the Middle East. Gershom Gorenberg has provided a blueprint for a better future.

This deeply personal critique deserves serious consideration. ❑ MARCH/APRIL 2012

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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

Spring 2012 The Unmaking of Israel by Gershom Gorenberg, HarperCollins, 2011, hardcover, 325 pp. List: $25.99; AET: $16. The product of more than 25 years of investigative reporting and historical research on Israel’s politics and policies, The Unmaking of Israel is a penetrating and provocative look at how the nation’s policies are undermining its democracy. Informing his examination with interviews in Israel and the West Bank, and with access to previously classified Israeli documents, Gorenberg delivers an incisive discussion of the causes and trends of extremism in Israeli government and society.

A Child’s View From Gaza by the Middle East Children’s Alliance, MECA, 2011, hardcover, 80 pp. List: $25; AET: $23. Featuring beautiful, highresolution images from an exhibit of children’s artwork from Gaza, A Child’s View captures the trauma of Israel’s 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead as experienced by young Palestinians. The book also includes a foreword by Alice Walker, as well as an essay by MECA executive director Barbara Lubin describing the organization’s fight against censorship of the exhibit.

The Invisible Arab: The Promise & Peril of the Arab Revolution by Marwan Bishara, Nation Books, 2012, 258 pp. List: $26; AET: $18. Al Jazeera’s chief policy analyst traces the roots of the revolutions through on-theground reporting, extensive research and scholarship, and political commentary. Bishara argues persuasively that the Arab revolutions present a great window of opportunity for reinventing and improving Arab ties with the rest of the world—notably the West—on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest.

The “Ugly American” in the Arab Mind: Why Do Arabs Resent America? by Mohamed El-Bendary, Potomac Books, 2011, 211 pp. List: $27.50; AET: $24.

Journalist and scholar Mohamed El-Bendary explores the roots of America’s image problem in the Middle East, including Arab perceptions of U.S. militarism, its unwavering support for Israel and failure to improve relations with Muslim nations and peoples. Through analysis of how the United States is portrayed in the Arab media, The “Ugly American” attempts to help policymakers and ordinary Americans better understand the Arab point of view.

The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle & Deborah Durland Desaix, Holiday House, 2010, paperback, 40 pp. List: $8.95; AET: $7. For ages 8 and up. During the Nazis occupation of Paris, many Jews found refuge in a seemingly unlikely place: the sprawling complex of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Not just a place of worship but a community center, the mosque became a vital hiding place for Jews of all ages, especially children. Beautifully illustrated and well researched, The Grand Mosque of Paris tells an important chapter of WW II history.

Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracycc by Ben White, Pluto Press, 2011, paperback, 152 pp. List: $25; AET: $22.

Palestinians in Israel considers a key issue ignored by the official “peace process” and by most mainstream commentators: that of the growing Palestinian minority within Israel itself. White shows how the consistent emphasis on privileging one ethno-religious group over another cannot be seen as compatible with democratic values and warns that, unless addressed, it will undermine any attempts to find a lasting peace.

Divert!: NUMEC, Zalman Shapiro and the Diversion of U.S. Weapons Grade Uranium Into the Israeli Nuclear Weapons Program by Grant F. Smith, Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, Inc., 2012, paperback, 310 pp. List: $19.95; AET: $15. Based on an exhaustive review of formerly classified government documents, as well as previously unexplored corporate filings, office diaries and interviews, Smith has written a riveting account of the 1960s diversion of U.S. weapons-grade nuclear material from a front company in Pennsylvania into Israel’s clandestine atomic weapons program. Divert! is a cautionary tale of how U.S. Middle East policy is continually undermined from within by corruption, immunity, deceit and secrecy.

Just to Live in Peace: Christians of the Holy Land

by Sr. Anne Guinan & Sr. Caritas Kennedy, Mission Helper Productions, 2009, DVD, 42 mins. List: $15; AET: $12.50. Just to Live in Peace tells the story of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its effect on the lives of many ordinary Palestinian Christians who struggle daily to keep their homes, dignity and livelihood. Filmed on location, this powerful documentary is intended to introduce Western audiences to the plight of fellow Christians living in the Holy Land.

The Arab Revolt and the Imperialist Counterattack

by James Petras, CreateSpace, 2011, paperback, 135 pp. List: $16.95; AET: $14. In this second, much-expanded edition of his significant work, Petras explores how the growing militarization of U.S. policy in North Africa and the Gulf challenges the Arab democratic revolutions. The author argues that the U.S. and other imperialist powers are undermining the revolutions across the Arab world while attempting to maintain the status quo by keeping “crumbling dictatorships” in power.

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 $11 for the first item and $3 for each additional item. International shipping charges: Please add $13 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless otherwise requested.

MARCH/APRIL 2012

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.

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Announcements, Upcoming Events & —Compiled by Alex Begley Obituaries Announcements The Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies will offer its Palestinian Summer Celebration 2012 at Bethlehem University from June 17 to Aug. 12. The annual program offers the opportunity to encounter the life, culture and politics of Palestine as well as to meet accomplished experts, activists, and officials. Arabic language and Palestinian history courses are offered through Bethlehem University, and volunteer opportunities are also available through local community organizations. For more information visit <www.sirajcenter.org/>.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) has launched a new podcast dealing with current issues affecting the ArabAmerican community. The free podcast on iTunes U will air every two weeks and remain on the AANM’s iTunes U page permanently, along with such offerings as oral histories and video of Museum events. Listeners can access the podcast by visiting <itunes.apple.com/institution/arab-american-national-museum/id430581561#ls=1> or by clicking on the iTunes logo on the Online Activities page of <www.arabamericanmuseum.org>.

Applications for the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations 2012 Washington, DC Summer Internship Program are now being accepted. The program offers students a valuable 10-week professional, academic and career opportunity internship.

Application deadline for the May 28-Aug. 3 program is March 12. For more information visit <www.ncusar.org>.

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the Lebanese American University announce a summer study abroad program in Beirut. The six-week language and cultural immersion program, from June 25-Aug. 3, provides international students a unique perspective on Lebanese culture and daily life. For more information visit <ncusar.org/programs/lau-sinarc.html>.

Application deadline is May 1.

Upcoming Events The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI invites educators to a Free Teacher Open House on March 15 from 46 p.m. Teachers will be able to tour the museum and learn about its various educa70

tional programs as well as about the Arab American community. To RSVP by 5 p.m., March 14, call (313) 624-0239 or e-mail your name, school and phone number to David Serio at <dserio@accesscommunity.org>.

The American Task Force for Lebanon will hold its 2012 Gala Awards Night April 27 at 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Washington, DC Hotel. The event will feature Phillip Ruffin, owner of such Ruffin Companies as Treasure Island in Las Vegas, NV; fashion designer Reem Acra; and Dr. Samuel Hazo, former State Poet of Pennsylvania. Tickets are $185 per person and can be purchased by calling (202) 223-9333.

Obituaries Ambassador Richard W. Boehm, 85, died Nov. 28, 2011 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Bethesda, MD. A former U.S. ambassador to Cyprus and Oman, he was a World War II veteran and joined the Foreign Service in 1955. After postings in Okinawa and West Berlin, he served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg, followed by postings to Turkey and Thailand.

From 1978 to 1983, he was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassies in Nepal and Turkey before being appointed ambassador to Cyrpus in 1984. He also served as U.S. ambassador to Oman for three years before retiring in 1992. He is survived by his two children, Stephen and Karen Boehm.

Cardinal John Patrick Foley, 76, died of leukemia Dec. 11, 2011 in Darby, PA. A trained journalist, he served as the spokesman for the Vatican for 23 years before being appointed Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In that position he sought to promote peace and foster a vibrant Christian presence in the Holy Land.

As Vatican spokesman he offered his opinion on many topics, including Israel’s West Bank barrier. “The wall is a human rights issue,” he said, “because it separates people from the possibility of their work, of their education, of reaching land which they own, of reaching relatives they have, and of reaching the places of worship in Jerusalem which are so important to them.” He called the wall an “overreaction” and said that it causes resentment. In an interview about THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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the wall for “Rome Reports,” he remarked that “one of the sad things is the departure of some of the Christians from the Holy Land…the authorities in Jordan, the Palestinian territories, and in Israel all say that Christians help to promote peace in the Holy Land, so it would be a tragedy for those areas if they left.”

Jerzy Kluger, 90, died of Alzheimer’s disease Dec. 31, 2011 in Rome. The Holocaust survivor was a childhood friend of Pope John Paul II, reuniting with him in the 1960s, when he contacted then-Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, who had traveled to Rome for the Second Vatican Council.

When the archbishop was elected pope in 1978, he honored their friendship by reportedly reserving his first private audience with Kluger and his family. According to The New York Times, following the 1981 assassination attempt on his life, Pope John Paul 11 asked Kluger to help him establish diplomatic relations with Israel, which the Vatican officially recognized in 1993. Working behind the scenes, Kluger was considered to have played a key role in that process.

Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi, 93, died Jan. 2 of complications from the flu. The Japanese-American civil rights figure refused to go to an internment camp in 1941, and was arrested for disobeying internment orders and for breaking curfew.

After serving several months in a labor camp, he appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against him in 1943. He again served time for refusing to be inducted into the military, claiming racism within the Selective Service. After President Harry S. Truman pardoned his conviction for refusing service in 1947, Hirabayashi earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Washington, then went on to teach at the American universities of Beirut and in Cairo before settling at the University of Alberta. In the 1980s he was contacted by Peter Irons, who had new information from the Justice Department showing that the government had withheld documents stating that Japanese Americans posed no threat to the U.S. After 40 years, Dr. Hirabayashi reopened his case and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled unanimously in his favor. In part because of his court victories, Congress apologized in 1988 and awarded over $1 billion in reparations to internees. ❑ MARCH/APRIL 2012

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AET’s 2012 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and Feb. 13, 2012 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grateful for their generosity.

HUMMERS ($100 or more) Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Dr. Ibrahim Fawal, Birmingham, AL Sam Gousen, Arlington, VA Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ Dr. Mazen Khalidi, Grosse Point Farms, MI Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Richard Makdisi & Lindsay Wheeler, Berkeley, CA Martha Martin, Paia, HI Gerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CA Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA

M.H. Quader, Harrisburg, PA Paul Richards, Salem, OR Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Mr. & Mrs. Peter Viering, Stonington, CT Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA

Audrey Olson, Saint Paul, MN Linda Thain-Ali, Kesap, Turkey

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more)

Patricia Ann Abraham, Charleston, SC Robert & Tanis Diedrichs, Cedar Falls, IA Les Janka, Arlington, VA Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Fred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA

Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, West Kingston, RI Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Joan McConnell, Saltspring Island, Canada Ralph Nader, Washington, DC Ingrid Van Buren, Honolulu, HI

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more)

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)

Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA

John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, France

Leaked EU Documents…

Americans Leave Iraq…

Continued from page 15

Continued from page 23

The 27-page report breaks new ground in proposing that the EU play a central part in protecting the interests of Palestinians within Israel’s borders rather than only in the occupied territories.

It catalogues widespread discrimination in education, employment, housing and access to land, and notes a surge in legislative proposals targeting the Palestinian minority and “a political climate in which discriminatory rhetoric and practice go unsanctioned.”

It suggests that Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian citizens should move from being “second tier to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” to a “core issue.” It adds that Israel’s obligation to “ensure the equality of all its citizens” cannot wait on a revival of the stalled peace process. Tackling inequality, it concludes, “is integral to Israel’s long-term stability.”

A long list of recommendations for the EU to implement include lobbying against discriminatory laws, encouraging greater investment by European hi-tech firms in Arab areas, ensuring each European state “adopts” an Arab community, and awarding more scholarships to Arab students. ❑

liament in protest, and the Shi’i-dominated cabinet responded by suspending them.

After several weeks the Iraqiya members returned, but the controversy remained unresolved. The Obama administration is accordingly in a difficult position since, with all his faults, Maliki can still count on U.S. protection, and Washington is once again in the position of supporting a Middle East dictator.

At least two U.S. military bases remain in Iraq, along with 4,000 troops and thousands of private contractors. In addition to spending $1 billion a year to train Iraq’s soldiers and police, Washington has agreed to sell the Iraq government $11 billion worth of arms, including tanks, cannons and F-16 fighter jets. “Washington took up the decision to build up Iraq as a counterweight to Iran,” said Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group. The danger is that Maliki will use the army to enhance his own control, since it consists mainly of former Shi’i militias, with sectarian rather than national allegiances.

If Maliki continues to suppress political opposition and concentrate power in his own hands, Obama may soon have to decide

whether to uphold America’s proclaimed commitment to democracy, or provide lethal weapons to the authoritarian ruler of a strategically located country with an abundant supply of oil.

But three prominent Iraqis recently warned that unless Maliki implements the year-old power-sharing agreement, integrates Sunnis into the army, and agrees to form a unity government, Iraq is doomed to civil war. In a Dec. 28 New York Times oped column, Allawi, Osama al-Nujaifi, speaker of the Iraq Parliament, and Finance Minister Rafe al-Essawi urged Obama to make it clear to Maliki that to retain U.S. support he must abide by the power-sharing agreement and dismantle the undemocratic institutions he has created. The writers ask America “to help us build the Iraq of our dreams: a nationalist, liberal, secular country, with democratic institutions and a democratic culture.”

In a Times column on Jan. 2, this one a broad-ranging commentary on the rapidly changing Middle East, Allawi argued that Iraq must resist being dragged into the U.S.-Iranian cold war or other regional struggles, but instead support free and fair elections, minority rights and the rule of law throughout the Middle East. Allawi’s advice is equally valid for the Obama administration. ❑

MARCH/APRIL 2012

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more)

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

71

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AET’s 2011 Choir of Angels Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grateful for their generosity.

HUMMERS ($100 or more) Americans For a Palestinian State, Oakland, CA Ahsen Abbasi, Leesburg, VA Catherine Abbott, Edina, MN Miriam & Stephen Adams, Albuquerque, NM Frank Afranji, Tigard, OR Emeel & Elizabeth Ajluni, Farmington Hills, MI Robert Akras, North Bay Village, FL H.R. Alalusi, Moraga, CA Haroune Alameddine, Canton, MI Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ Joe & Siham Alfred, Somerset, NJ Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Nadir Amra, Rochester, MN Louise Anderson, Oakland, CA Dr. Nabih Ammari, Cleveland, OH Sylvia Anderson de Freitas, Paradise Valley, AZ Dr. Abdullah Arar, Amman, Jordan M. Arefi, West Bloomfield, MI David & Kathryn Asfour, Vallejo, CA Dr. Robert Ashmore, Jr., Mequon, WI Gilad Atzmon, London, UK Prof. & Mrs. Bilal Ayyub, Potomac, MD Fuad Baali, Bowling Green, KY Donna Baer, Grand Junction, CO Alma Ball, Venice, FL Tom Ball, Sacramento, CA Dr. Sami Baraka, Wyandotte, MI Rev. Robert Barber, Parrish, FL Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Allen & Jerrie Bartlett, Philadelphia, PA Mona & Rifaat Bashir, Mechanicsburg, PA William Battistoni, Dickinson, TX Mr. & Mrs. Robert Beckmann, Seattle, WA Mohammed & Wendy Bendebba, Baltimore, MD Joseph Benedict, Mystic, CT Robert Adams Boyd, Binghamton, NY Mireya Camurati, Williamsville, NY John Carley, Pointe-Claire, Canada George Cave, Silver Spring, MD Ouahib Chalbi, Coon Rapids, MN Patricia Christensen, Poulsbo, WA Donald Clarke, Devon, PA 72

Joan & Charles Collins, Willard, MO Dr. Robert Collmer, Waco, TX Carole Courey, Cataumet, MA Robert & Joyce Covey, La Cañada, CA Mrs. Walter Cox, Monroe, GA Jay Crook, Tucson, AZ Taher & Sheila Dajani, Alexandria, VA Dr. Hassan Dannawi, Macon, GA Joseph Daruty, Redlands, CA Glenn Davenport, Corvallis, OR Amb. John Gunther Dean, Paris, France Lee & Amelia Dinsmore, Elcho, WI Dr. George Doumani, Washington, DC Dr. David Dunning, Lake Oswego, OR Kassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TX Osamah Elkhatib, Dubuque, IA Gloria El-Khouri, Scottsdale, AZ Barbara Erickson, Berkeley, CA M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Dr. & Mrs. Hossam Fadel, Augusta, GA Dan Farah, Ventura, CA Mr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki, Albuquerque, NM P. Michele Felton, Winton, NC Barbara Ferguson & Tim Kennedy, Arlington, VA Boris Fischer, Hilton Head, SC Patrick Flynn, Yorba Linda, CA Mr. & Mrs. Fawzi Freij, Vienna, VA Robert Gabe, Valatie, NY Ken Galal, San Francisco, CA Ahmad & Shirley Gazori, Mill Creek, WA Dr. Abdollah Gilani, Los Angeles, CA Tom Gillespie, Granada Hills, CA Lewrene Glaser, Alexandria, VA David Glick, Fairfax, CA Herbert Greider, Dauphin, PA Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Guenther, Newtown, PAs Joyce Guinn, Germantown, WI Mr. & Mrs. Samer Habiby, Holmdel, NJ Raymond Haddock, Spotsylvania, VA Dr. Wasif Hafeez, West Bloomfield, MI Allen Hamood, Dearborn Heights, MI Erin Hankir, Ontario, Canada Delinda Hanley, Kensington, MD Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Angelica Harter, Cambridge, MA THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Prof. & Mrs. Brice Harris, Los Angeles, CA Mr. & Mrs. David Harrison, San Antonio, TX Frances Hasenyager, Carmel, CA Mr. & Mrs. Sameer Hassan, Quaker Hill, CT Albert Hazbun, El Dorado Hills, CA Alan Heil, Alexandria, VA Mr. & Mrs. John Hendrickson, Tulsa, OK Rich Hoban, Cleveland Heights, OH Veronica Hoke, Hillcrest Heights, MD Edmund Hopper, Hilton Head Island, SC William Hunt, Somerset, WI Ismail Husseini, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Dr. Sami Husseini, Ithaca, NY Rosario Ilacqua, New York, NY George Jabbour, Sterling Heights, MI The Said Jibrin Family, Bethesda, MD Anthony Jones, Alberta, Canada Omar & Nancy Kader, Vienna, VA Akram Karam, Charlotte, NC Mr. & Mrs. Basim Kattan, Washington, DC Martha Katz, Youngstown, OH Michael Keating, Olney, MD Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Rev. Charles Kennedy, Newbury, NH Edwin Kennedy Jr., Bethesda, MD Susan Kerin, Gaithersburg, MD Dr. Mazen Khalidi, Grosse Point Farms, MI Akbar Khan, Princeton, NJ Majid Khan, Bloomfield Heights, MI Eugene Khourey, West Mifflin, PA Dr. & Mrs. Assad Khoury, Potomac, MD N. Khoury, Pasadena, CA Omar Khwaja, Irvine, CA Ray Kielhamer, San Carlos, CA Ernestine King, Topsham, ME Paul Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA John Kliewer, Vienna, VA Shafiq Kombargi, Houston, TX Joseph Korey Jr., Reading, PA Donald Kouri, Quebec, Canada Ronald Kunde, Skokie, IL Kendall Landis, Media, PA William Lawand, Mount Royal, Canada Fran Lilleness, Seattle, WA Marilyn Sutton Loos, Haverford, PA MARCH/APRIL 2012

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J. Robert Lunney, Bronxville, NY Helen Mabarak, Ann Arbor, MI Robert Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Sen. Malcolm Mabry, Jr., Dublin, MS A. Kent MacDougall, Berkeley, CA Peter MacHarrie, Silver Spring, MD Farah Mahmood, Forsyth, IL Dr. Asad Malik, Rochester Hills, MI Trini Marquez, Beach, ND Martha Martin, Paia, HI William McAuley, Chicago, IL Randolph McClain, Columbus, OH Ken Megill, Washington, DC Darrel Meyers, Burbank, CA Robert Michael, Sun Lakes, AZ Ben Monk, St. Paul, MN John & Ruth Monson, La Crosse, WI Evemarie Moore, Chicago, IL Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Robert Moran, Richmond, VA Ahmed Mousapha, Madinah, Saudi Arabia Adil Mohyuddin, Tullahoma, TN Liz Mulford, Cupertino, CA John & Gabriella Mulholland, Alpharetta, GA Charles Murphy, Upper Falls, MD Joseph Najemy, Worcester, MA Lama Najjar, Montreal, Canada Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX George Nassor, Wyckoff, NJ Neal & Donna Newby, Mancos, CO Mr. & Mrs. W. Eugene Notz, Charleston, SC Kamal Obeid, Fremont, CA Anne O’Leary, Arlington, VA Michio Oka, El Sobrante, CA Edmund Ord, Oakland, CA Khaled Othman, Riverside, CA John Pallone, Rapallo, Italy Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA Teodor [?] Polak, Los Angeles, CA Patricia & Herbert Pratt, Cambridge, MA M.S. Quereshi, Brampton, Canada Catherine Quigley, Annandale, VA Cheryl Quigley, Toms River, NJ Mr. & Mrs. Duane Rames, Mesa, AZ Nayla Rathle, Belmont, MA Vivian & Doris Regidor, Pearl City, HI Frank & Mary Regier, Strongsville, OH Dr. William Reid, Glen Allen, VA Mr. & Mrs. Edward Reilly, Rocky Point, NY Kyle Reynolds, Cypress, TX Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Suhail Rifai, New Brunswick, NJ Sean Roach, Washington, DC Fred Rogers, Northfield, MN Rose Foundation/Wheeler and MARCH/APRIL 2012

Makdisi Fund, Oakland, CA Dr. Wendell Rossman, Phoenix, AZ Brynhild Rowberg, Northfield, MN Edward & Alice Saad, Cheshire, CT Gabrielle & Jalal Saad, Oakland, CA Nadia Saad, Chevy Chase, MD Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA Ma-moun Sakkal, Bothell, WA Dr. Yahya Salah, Amman, Jordan Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Salem, Laurel, MD Anis & Rhonda Salib, Huntsville, AL Betty Sams, Washington, DC Dr. H.I. Sayed, Charlottesville, VA Carl Schieren, New York, NY Elizabeth Schiltz, Kokomo, IN Genevieve Scott Bell, Davis, CA Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL Andrew Shahin, Victorville, CA Rifqa Shahin, Apple Valley, CA Richard Shaker, Annapolis, MD Theodore Shannon, Middleton, WI Lewis Shapiro, White Plains, NY Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab, Odenton, MD Kathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA David Shibley, Santa Monica, CA Zac Sidawi, Costa Mesa, CA Shahida Siddiqui, Trenton, NJ Lucy Skivens-Smith, Dinwiddie, VA James Smart, Keene, NH Glenn Smith, Santa Rosa, CA Edgar Snell Jr., Schenectady, NY John Soderberg, Foley, AL Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY Robert Stiver, Pearl City, HI Philip Stoddard, Bethesda, MD Mubadda Suidan, Atlanta, GA Beverly Swartz, Sarasota, FL Thomas & Carol Swepston, Englewood, FL Mr. & Mrs. Ayoub Talhami, Evanston, IL Dr. Joseph Tamari, Chicago, IL Dr. Yusuf Tamimi, Hilo, HI Cheryl Tatum, Owensboro, KY Doris Taweel, Laurel, MD † John Taylor, New York, NY John Theodosi, Lafayette, CA Charles Thomas, La Conner, WA Ned Toomey, Bishop, CA Charles & Letitia Ufford, South Bristol, ME Tom Veblen, Washington, DC Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA Dale Walker, Hoboken, NJ Rev. Hermann Weinlick, Minneapolis, MN Carol Wells & Theodore Hajjar, Venice, CA Arthur & Marianne Whitman, Auburn, ME THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Nabil Yakub, McLean, VA Raymond Younes, Oxnard, CA Bernice Youtz, Tacoma, WA Munir Zacharia, La Mirada, CA Dr. Henry Zeiter, Lodi, CA Hugh Ziada, Garden Grove, CA Rafi Ziauddin, West Chester, PA Elia Zughaib, Alexandria, VA †

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more) Jeff Abood, Silver Lake, OH Patricia Ann Abraham, Charleston, SC Diane Adkin, Camas, WA Dr. M.Y. Ahmed, Waterville, OH Khaled Al-Maeena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Nabil & Judy Amarah, Danbury, CT A.R. Armin, Troy, MI Jamil Barhoum, San Diego, CA Heidi Beck, Cedarville, CA Elizabeth Boosahda, Worcester, MA Michael Boosahda, Worcester, MA Dr. & Mrs. Issa J. Boullata, Montreal, Canada Prof. & Mrs. George Wesley Buchanan, Gaithersburg, MD William Carey, Old Lyme, CT Mr. & Mrs. Rajie Cook, Washington Crossing, PA Mr. & Mrs. John Crawford, Boulder, CO Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Curtiss, Herndon, VA Mohamed Dabbagh, Mahwah, NJ Ron Dudum, San Francisco, CA Elisabeth Fitzhugh, Mitchellville, MD Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Ronald & Mary Forthofer, Longmont, CO Bill Gartland, Rio, WI Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA Marvin & Sherna Gluck, Topanga, CA Ray Gordon, Venice, FL H. Clark Griswold, Woodbury, CT Dr. Marwan Hajj, Towson, MD Dr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Waco, TX Dr. M. Jamil Khan, Bloomfield Hills, MI Sandra La Framboise, Oakland, CA Matt Labadie, Portland, OR Laurel Family Eyecare, Laurel, MD Barbara Leclerq, Overland Park, KS Joe & Lilli Lill, Arlington, VA Jack Love, Escondido, CA Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI John Malouf, Lubbock, TX Joseph Mark, Carmel, CA Jean Mayer, Bethesda, MD 73

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Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN George Mendenhall, Ann Arbor, MI Dr. Yehia Mishriki, Emmaus, PA Mr. & Mrs. David Nalle, Washington, DC Alice Nashashibi, San Francisco, CA Howard & Mary Norton, Austin, TX Dr. Ibrahim Oweiss, Kensington, MD Edmond & Lorraine Parker, Chicago, IL John Parry, Chapel Hill, NC Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA Denis Sabourin, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Robert M. Schaible, Buxton, ME Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Aziz Shalaby, Vancouver, WA Yusef & Jennifer Sifri, Wilmington, NC David Snider, Airmont, NY Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI Zuhair Thalji, Willow Springs, IL Joan Tanous, Boulder, CO Union of Arab American Journalists, Dearborn, MI John Van Wagoner, McLean, VA James Wall, Elmhurst, IL Joseph Walsh, Adamsville, RI Dr. Harry Wendt, Minneapolis, MN John V. Whitbeck, Paris, France Nigel Wright, Delmar, NY Dr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD Mashood Yunus, Eagan, MN Ziyad & Cindi Zaitoun, Seattle, WA****

Lois Critchfield, Williamsburg, VA Richard Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL L.F. Boker Doyle, New York, NY Dr. Rafeek Farah, New Boston, MI E. Patrick Flynn, Carmel, NY Glenn Glover, Birmingham, AL Michael Habermann, Hackettstown, NJ Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Salman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Fahd Jajeh, Lake Forest, IL Issa & Rose Kamar, Plano, TX Louise and Bob Keeley, Washington, DC Amb. Clovis Maksoud, Washington, DC Paul Meyer, Iowa City, IA Clifford Misener, Brookings, OR Thomas Muller, Arcadia, FL William O’Grady, St. Petersburg, FL Gennaro Pasquale, Oyster Bay, NY Phil & Elaine Pasquini, Novato, CA Amb. Ed Peck, Chevy Chase, MD*** Hertha Poje-Ammoumi, New York, NY Dr. Amani Ramahi, Lakewood, OH Ruth Ramsey, Blairsville, GA Dr. Mohammed Sabbagh, Grand Blanc, MI James & Lisa Sams, Bethesda, MD Mae Stephen, Palo Alto, CA Dr. I. Tabry, Fort Lauderdale, FL Linda Thain-Ali, Kesap, Turkey Mr. & Mrs. Donn Trautman, Evanston, IL David Willcox, Harrison, AR

Thomas D’Albani & Jane Killgore, Bemidji, MN Do Right Foundation, Las Vegas, NV Dr. & Mrs. Rod & Carole Driver, West Kingston, RI Linda Emmet, Paris, France Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Douglas A. Field, Kihei, HI Paul Findley, Jacksonville, IL Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Dr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CA Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD Amb. Holsey G. Handyside, Bedford, OH Judith Howard, Norwood, MA Mary Ann Hrankowski, Rochester, NY** Sufian & Barbara Husseini, Salem, OR Wendy Kaufmyn, Berkeley, CA Vincent & Louise Larsen, Billings, MT William Lightfoot, Vienna, VA Rachelle Marshall, Mill Valley, CA John McLaughlin, Gordonsville, VA Luella Moffett, Virginia Beach, VA Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Ghulam Qadir, M.D. & Huda Zenati, Ph.D., Dearborn, MI Mahmud Shaikhaly, Hollywood, CA Mark Sheridan, Alexandria, VA James Skovron, Washington, DC

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more)

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more)

Caipirinha Foundation, San Francisco, CA Henry Clifford, Essex, CT Dick & Donna Curtiss, Kensington, MD*† John & Henrietta Goelet, Meru, France Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC*

Michael & Jane Adas, Highland Park, NJ Mohamed Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Drs. A.J. and M.T. Amirana, Las Vegas, NV Dr. Lois Aroian, Willow Lake, SD Kamel Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MO William Coughlin, Brookline, MA 74

Asha Anand, Bethesda, MD Dr. Joseph Bailey, Valley Center, CA The Estate of Pascal Biagini, Drexel Hill, PA Aston L. Bloom & Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius, Tucson, AZ Branscomb Family Foundation, Basalt, CO G. Edward, Jr. & Ruth Brooking, Wilmington, DE Joe Chamy, Colleyville, TX Luella Crow, Eugene, OR

THE WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)

*In memory of Grace Perolio **In memory of John Hrankowski ***In honor of the marriage of Marianne Tralewski and Harry Dennis ****In memory of Rachel Corrie †In memory of Said Jibrin MARCH/APRIL 2012

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American Educational Trust The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009

March/April 2012 Vol. XXXI, No. 2

In the northern West Bank village of Araba, Maale, the 4-year-old daughter of Palestinian political prisoner Khader Adnan, offers chocolate to celebrate the end of her fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prison hunger strike, Feb. 22, 2012. Adnan ended his 66-day hunger SAIF DAHLAH/AFP/Getty Images strike over his detention without charges after Israel agreed to free him in April.