Barefoot to Palestine

Despite being raised a “hardcore Zionist,” Bennis came to realize the colonialist intentions rooted within the occupation of Palestine. In much of her work, she explores the dynamic nature of the discourse about Palestine within the U.S. and its somewhat positive changes. However, the “tragic irony,” she concluded, is that “we’re looking at this moment when the discourse in the United States has begun to change so dramatically and at the same time the condition of life for Palestinians has gotten worse and worse.”

Bennis also described literature and books as vital to this movement and emphasized that “Interlink publishes more books, in English, about the Middle East, about Palestine, by Palestinians, in greater numbers in the Interlink catalog than anywhere else in this country.”

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The Universal Enemy Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity, by Darryl Li, Stanford University Press,

2019, paperback, 384 pp. MEB $29. No contemporary figure is more demonized than the Islamist foreign fighter who wages jihad around the world. Spreading violence, disregarding national borders and rejecting secular norms, socalled jihadists seem opposed to universalism itself. In a radical departure from conventional wisdom on the topic, The Universal Enemy argues that transnational jihadists are engaged in their own form of universalism: these fighters struggle to realize an Islamist vision directed at all of humanity, transcending racial and cultural difference. Darryl Li reconceptualizes jihad as armed transnational solidarity under conditions of American empire, and highlights the parallels and overlaps between transnational jihads and other universalisms such as the War on Terror, United Nations peacekeeping, and socialist NonAlignment. Developed from more than a decade of research with former fighters in a halfdozen countries, Li explores the relationship between jihad and American empire to shed critical light on both.

Istanbul, City of the Fearless: Urban Activism, Coup d’Etat, and Memory in Turkey, by Christopher Houston, University of California Press, 2020, paperback, 242 pp.

MEB $34 Based on extensive field research in Turkey, Istanbul, City of the Fearless explores social movements and the broader practices of civil society in Istanbul in the critical years before and after the 1980 military coup, the defining event in the neoliberal reengineering of the city. Bringing together developments in anthropology, urban studies, cultural geography and social theory, Christopher Houston offers new insights into the meaning and study of urban violence, military rule, activism and spatial tactics, relations between political factions and ideologies, and political memory and commemoration. This book is both a social history and an anthropological study, investigating how activist practices and the coup not only contributed to the globalization of Istanbul beginning in the 1980s, but also exerted their force and influence into the future.

Falastin: A Cookbook, by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley,

Ten Speed Press, 2020, hardcover, 352 pp. MEB $32. The story of Palestine’s food is really the story of its people. When the events of 1948 forced residents from all regions of Palestine together into one compressed land, recipes that were once closely guarded family secrets were shared and passed between different groups in an effort to ensure that they were not lost forever. In Falastin, Sami Tamimi retraces the lineage and evolution of his country’s cuisine, born of its agriculturally optimal geography, its distinct culinary traditions and Palestinian cooks’ ingenuity and resourcefulness. Tamimi covers the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River—East Jerusalem and the West Bank, up north to the Galilee and the coastal cities of Haifa and Akka, inland to Nazareth, and then south to Hebron and the coastal Gaza Strip.

In Memoriam

Bahaa Tayar, a Palestinian Social Work Pioneer: 1957-2020 By Ellen Siegel

BAHAA TAYAR, 63, Ein el-Hillweh Center director, National Institution of Social Care and Vocational Training (NISCVT), commonly known as Beit Atfal Assumoud (BAS), Beirut, Lebanon, died June 12, 2020 from complications of kidney disease in Lebanon. Tayar was from Shaab, a village in the Galilee, in northern Palestine.

BAS was established in 1976 after the Tel Al Za’atar massacre to care for those children that were orphaned. Today, after almost 45 years of activities in 10 camps throughout Lebanon, it continues to care for those in need by helping to improve their situation through its centers, which provide services in each camp.

Bahaa joined BAS in 1984. She soon became the director of Ein El-Hilweh Center and, according to Kassem Aina, the organization’s director, “became one of the most important pioneers of social work in the Palestinian camps of Lebanon.” Ein El Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon located southeast of Saida. There are 70,000 inhabitants living in 1.5 square kilometers making it the highest population density of all the camps and is comprised of Palestinian refugees from both Lebanon and Syria. This camp has been subjected to Israeli attacks and internal armed conflicts resulting in much destruction and death. Day-to-day life is extremely dif

Bahaa Tayar comforted needy children living in Palestinian camps in Lebanon for 36 years.

PHOTO COURTESY BEIT ATFAL ASSUMOUD

ficult due to overcrowded and poor living conditions, unemployment, and outbreaks of violence. In addition, there are many school drop outs. BAS met an urgent need to establish a social/cultural center that could assist and support children and families. The first such center was built in 1985, a larger one was established in

1998, thanks to the support of some international organizations.

Today, the Beit Atfal Assumoud Center in Ein el-Hillweh has projects and programs that include a Family Happiness Project, which sponsors children, families and the elderly. Other services include a Palestinian Embroidery Project, kindergartens, dental clinics, remedial classes for school drop outs, special events for mothers, art, cultural, social, educational and recreational activities.

Bahaa was a dedicated social worker serving her people for more

than 36 years under very difficult circumstances. Besides running

Ellen Siegel, an American Jewish nurse, is a peace activist who has focused her activism on bringing awareness of the situation of the Palestinian refugees in the camps in Lebanon to others. She volunteered her medical services in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. She was working at Gaza Hospital in Sabra Camp during the massacre.

the day-to-day operations of a busy facility, she also helped establish the Family Guidance Center in Saida, which she described as “her baby,” that is dedicated to helping Palestinian and other needy children and families overcome difficult times and develop resources. She wanted to protect children, make them feel secure, and give them comfort. According to Sirkku Kivisto, from the Finnish Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Bahaa was a “great partner, energetic, humorous, brave.”

Bahaa will be sorely missed by her colleagues, those she cared for, and the international supporters who come to Beirut every September to commemorate and remember the massacre at Sabra and Shatila.

For more information or to make a donation in her name please visit BAS at <www.socialcare.org>. ■

Mohammed Ghuneim, 90, former director of the Voice of America Arabic Service, died May 16 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1929, Ghuneim was known throughout the Middle East, and beyond, for his courageous reporting from Lebanon, Syria and numerous other countries in that region. He covered the June war of 1967, the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict, and the subsequent ill-fated Arab-Israeli peace talks of the 1970s. In 1991, he also reported on the front lines when U.S. troops ousted Saddam Hussain from Kuwait. He reported in both Arabic and English to regional and global audiences. In an article published in the Public Diplomacy Council, another VOA veteran, Alan Heil, writes:

“In Syria in 1987, Mr. Ghuneim was detained by police for 12 hours while attempting to enter the country. According to U.S. Embassy officials there, American citizen Ghuneim was taken from Damascus International Airport to another location and kept in a tiny, dark cell. He was interrogated repeatedly about his ties to Iraq, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and the U.S. government.

After vigorous American Embassy appeals to the Syrian ministries of foreign affairs and information, Mr. Ghuneim was released and remained in Damascus for five days. He conducted a half dozen interviews with Syrian educational and cultural figures. And he even hired a contractual reporter for VOA in Damascus. Syrian officials later apologized to Ghuneim, calling his detention a case of ‘mistaken identity.’”

In the final years of his career, Ghuneim directed VOA’s Arabic division in Washington, DC. He is survived by his wife, two sons and daughters and six grandchildren.

John William Beattie, 72, survivor of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty during the Six Day War, died June 29. Known to most as Jack, he was born in Detroit, MI on Jan. 4, 1948. He served his country honorably in the U.S. Navy. He worked as a machine repairman for more than 20 years at Bridge Port Machine of Troy. He owned DB2 Machine Repair and operated it for many years. He was a longtime member of the Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA), U.S, Liberty Veterans Association (LVA) and the Algonac Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3901. Beattie loved being out on the water and boating. He also enjoyed a nice round of golf and bicycling. He was an avid reader who always looked forward to a good book. Above all, he was a fun, loving and outgoing man who understood the true value of friendship.

Jack is survived by his wife Debbie of 49 years, siblings Joan Ignash and Tom Beattie, many cherished nieces and nephews and many great friends.

Fazana Saleem-Ismail, 47, community activist and research scientist at SUNY Albany, died June 25 of stomach cancer. An active member in New York’s Albany community, she was known by many for educating people about the Muslim faith and speaking out against Islamophobia. According to an article in Albany’s Times Union, “She had many discussions about Islam with all different kinds of audiences including Girl Scout troops, high school students, church groups and public library patrons. She also played a large role in organizing ‘Ask a Muslim’ events where people were encouraged to ask questions of Muslims in an effort to dispel stereotypes.” Saleem-Ismail was also the founder of Jazzy Sun Birthdays, an organization that provides personalized birthdays to children living in homeless shelters throughout the Capital Region in Albany, and a founding member of Salaam Shalom, an organization of Muslim and Jewish women who speak out against negative stereotypes and prejudice. Saleem-Ismail leaves behind her husband, daughter and son.

Mohamed Mounir, 65, prominent Egyptian journalist, died July 13 due to

By Sami Tayeb

complications from the coronavirus, just days after he was released from jail. Mounir was a founder of the Front for the Defense of Journalists and Freedoms. He previously worked at a number of newspapers, including Youm7, Masr al-Arabiya and Al-Ahaly. On June 15, Mounir was arrested and put in pretrial detention on charges of “spreading false news, joining a terrorist group and misuse of social media” after he appeared on Al Jazeera Mubasher to discuss Coptic issues in Egypt. Mounir became ill while in detention and was transferred to Cairo’s notorious Tora prison complex on June 30. He was released from Tora Prison on July 2, and his health rapidly deteriorated soon afterwards. He wrote updates on his condition and reached out for help on social media for his medical expenses. In one of his posts Mounir wrote, “When I die, I hope my biography will include just one line: Mohamed Mohamed Mounir Youssef participated in the revolution of January 25, 2011 honestly and sincerely.” On July 8, he tested positive for COVID-19 and died in an isolation unit at Agouza Hospital shortly afterward.

Saiful Azam, 79, a Bangladeshi fighter pilot and politician, died of natural causes in Dhaka, Bangladesh on June 14. “A unique figure in the history of Bangladesh, Azam fought in wars as a fighter pilot in three different countries— Jordan, Iraq and Pakistan. During the 1967 Six-Day War, he was the only pilot to have downed four Israeli aircraft.” Mourning him on social media, Palestinian historian Osama al-Ashqar hailed Azam as a great airman. “Our brothers in Bangladesh and Pakistan were our partners in resistance and defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the holy site in Jerusalem, he added. Renowned Palestinian journalist Tamer al-Mishal lauded Azam, calling him “the Eagle of the Air.”

Azam also shot down an Indian fighter jet during the India-Pakistan war of 1965. After his retirement in 1980, Azam became a politician for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. ■

Other People’s Mail

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. NW WASHINGTON, DC 20500 COMMENT LINE: (202) 456-1111 WWW.WHITEHOUSE.GOV/CONTACT SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2201 C ST. NW WASHINGTON, DC 20520 PHONE: (202) 647-6575 VISIT WWW.STATE.GOV TO E-MAIL

Compiled by Dale Sprusansky

DEFUND ISRAELI TORTURE OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

To The Daily Gazette, July 3, 2020

With rising awareness of police mistreatment of African Americans, let’s note that one entity that provides guidance to our police departments, the State of Israel, has a record of its own in mistreating the Palestinians under its occupation.

The Anti-Defamation League, sponsor of the police partnership, boasts that since 2003, nearly 200 American police agencies—federal, state and local—have participated in its seminars in Israel on what it calls “resilience and counter-terrorism.”

Young boys of the West Bank, those most likely to be in the streets throwing rocks at their Israeli overlords, are especially vulnerable to Israel’s idea of proper policing.

Amnesty International reports that Israel has “tortured and otherwise ill-treated” detained Palestinian minors through “beating with batons, slapping, throttling, prolonged shackling, stress positions, sleep deprivation and threats.” Also, that “Israel is the only country in the world that automatically prosecutes children in military courts that lack fundamental fair rights and guarantees.”

This is facilitated by American aid of nearly $4 billion a year, even though U.S. law bars military aid to countries that commit gross violations of human rights.

A bill pending in Congress would put a stop to it by identifying Israel as such a country. It is H.R. 2407, sponsored by Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, who calls Israeli treatment of Palestinian minors “state-sponsored child abuse.”

We are finally owning up to the brutality inflicted on African Americans. Can we also own up to the brutality inflicted on Palestinian children with the help of our tax dollars?

Carl Strock, Saratoga Springs, NY SHAME ON MISSOURI FOR PASSING ANTI-BDS LEGISLATION To the St. Louis Jewish Light, June 4, 2020

In May, the Missouri legislature passed a bill which, in the words of multiple opposed legislators, forces companies who

ANY SENATOR ANY REPRESENTATIVE U.S. SENATE U.S. HOUSE OF WASHINGTON, DC REPRESENTATIVES 20510 WASHINGTON, DC have a (202) 224-3121 20515 (202) 225-3121 major contract with the State of Missouri to sign a HRC claims to promote fairness and ac“loyalty oath” to the State of Israel (Senate curacy in Canadian media coverage of Bill 739). A representative from these comIsrael and the Middle East. Its 45,000 vigipanies must sign a statement that they will lant members daily monitor every newspanot refrain from buying and selling goods per, radio station and TV outlet to expose and services to and from Israel (or compawherever bias might rear its ugly head. I am nies doing business in Israel) for political astonished that HRC has found me so reasons. They can legally boycott North grossly misinformed, because my extensive Carolina, they can boycott organizations catalogue of information about the Israeli octhey think are promoting homosexuality, cupation includes sources like these: they can even boycott the United States Benny Morris of the Middle East Studies federal government, for whatever reason department at Ben-Gurion University in they choose. But if given the opportunity, Beersheba, Israel included in his book they must do business with Israel. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist

The bill was heavily supported by ChrisArab Conflict 1881-2001a lengthy descriptians United for Israel, whose leader John tion of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Hagee once claimed that Adolf Hitler was territory. He wrote, “Israel’s occupation was a descendant of murderous “half-breed founded on brute force, repression and fear, Jews.” One supporting representative collaboration and treachery, beatings and called Missouri a Christian state and said torture chambers.” that attacks on Israel are attacks on “our” In his book, Failed States: The Abuse of Christian faith as Missourians. As a fifth Power and the Assault on Democracy, generation Missouri Jew I find this stateNoam Chomsky of MIT wrote a large secment both offensive and dangerous. The tion about the Israeli occupation of PalesSt. Louis chapter of the American Jewish tine in which he classed Israel as a failed, Committee, by supporting the bill, has allied outlaw, terrorist state. itself with these extreme right-wing ChristTheodor Meron was a former adviser on ian forces, which are dangerous for Jews international law to the government of in America. It did so to shield Israel from Israel, professor of international law at New facing repercussions for its blatant violaYork University and Oxford and president tions of Palestinian rights. of the United Nations International Criminal

I hope to see other Jewish organizations Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In 2017 strongly renounce this unconstitutional Holocaust survivor Meron published in the piece of legislation. That the legislature American Journal of International Lawan spent any time on this issue in the midst of article on Israel’s 50-year-long violation of a pandemic and economic crisis is an insult international law by its occupation of the terto all Missourians. ritories of over a million Arabs, mostly

Michael Berg, St. Louis, MO Palestinians. “Israel must understand that PRO-ISRAEL MEDIA MONITOR CLAIMS THERE IS NO OCCUPATION the violation of Palestinian human rights and the colonization of territory populated by other peoples can no longer be acTo the Lethbridge Herald, June 24, 2020 cepted in our time,” he said.

In my Heraldletter of May 14, I used the If the best propaganda that HonestReword “occupation” in reference to the toxic porting Canada can come up with is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In response, on preposterous claim that there has been no May 28 HonestReporting Canada (HRC) Israeli occupation, those who fund them are declared that my use of that word was disinbeing swindled. genuous and misinformed, a big lie: there Owen Holmes, Lethbridge, Alberta, has been no such occupation, they claim. Canada ■

AET’s 2020 Choir of Angels

The following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 29, 2020 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID # 52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Some Angels are helping us co-sponsor the conference “Transcending the Israel Lobby.” Others are donating to our “Capital Building Fund,” which will help us expand and add coffee service to the Middle East Books and More bookstore. Thank you all for helping us survive the turmoil caused by the pandemic. We are deeply honored by your confidence and profoundly grateful for your generosity.

HUMMERS Ahmad & Shirley Gazori, Mill ($100 or more) Creek, WA Ahsen Abbasi, Leesburg, VA Michael Gillespie, Maxwell, IA Dr. & Mrs. Robert Abel, Wilmington, DE Doug Greene, Bowling Green, OH Fahed Abu-Akel, Atlanta, GA Dr. Safei Hamed, Columbia, MD James C. Ahlstrom, Stirling, NJ Ibrahim Hamide, Eugene, OR Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Erin K. Hankir, Nepean, Canada Nabil & Judy Amarah, Danbury, CT Delinda C. Hanley, Kensington, MD Edwin Amidon, Charlotte, VT Susan Haragely, Livonia, MI Nazife Amrou, Sylvania, OH Dr. Walid & Norma Harb, Dearborn Anace Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Hts., MI Dr. Robert Ashmore Jr., Mequon, WI Prof. & Mrs. Brice Harris, Pasadena, CA Mr. & Mrs. Sultan Aslam, Plainsboro, NJ Mr. & Mrs. Sameer Hassan, Ahmed Ayish, Arlington, VA Quaker Hill, CT Rick Bakry, New York, NY Julester Haste, Oxford, IA Allen & Jerrie Bartlett, Philadelphia, PA Jim Hausken, Kensington, CA Joseph Benedict, Mystic, CT Gerald Heidel, Bradenton, FL Bradley Bitar, Olympia, WA M.D. Hotchkiss, Portland, OR Elaine Brouillard, West HyannisBarbara Howard, Piscataway, NJ port, MA M. Al Hussaini, Great Falls, VA Sam Burgan, Falls Church, VA Mr. & Mrs. Azmi Ideis, Deltona, FL James Burkart, Bethesda, MD Issa & Rose Kamar, Plano, TX John Cornwall, Palm Springs, CA Timothy Kaminski, Saint Louis, MO Dr. & Mrs. Anton Dahbura, Mr. & Mrs. Basim Kattan, Washington, DC

Baltimore, MD M. Yousuf Khan, Scottsdale, AZ Gregory DeSylva, Rhinebeck, NY Dr. Mohayya Khilfeh, Chicago, IL Dr. George Doumani, Washington, DC Eugene Khorey, Homestead, PA Sarah L. Duncan, Vienna, OH Tony Khoury, Sedona, AZ Dr. David Dunning, Lake Oswego, OR Gail Kirkpatrick, Philadelphia, PA Steve Feldman, Winston-Salem, NC Ronald Kunde, Skokie, IL Dr. E.R. Fields, Marietta, GA Edwin Lindgren, Overland Park, KS Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA Erna Lund, Seattle, WA Allen J. Macdonald, SUPPORT MIDDLE EAST Washington, DC BOOKSTORE/COFFEE SHOP Brick-and-mortar retailers are facing a challenge. Even before the pandemic, competition from Amazon forced a lot of independent bookstores to close. Thanks to your support, Middle East Books and More defied that trend! When it’s safe we hope to welcome you back to browse, shop, and gather our community together for book talks, club meetings and film screenings. We’re still selling books online (www.MiddleEastBooks.com) but we are also using this time to expand and add a coffee shop to the bookstore. Now that we’ve completed the architectural plans and selected the contractor, we’ve learned that renovations will cost more than $100,000. Please send a check to AET, 1902 18th St, NW, Washington, DC, with “bookstore” on the memo line to help make your favorite bookstore a special gathering place for our community. Dr. & Mrs. Gabriel Makhlouf, Richmond, VA Tahera Mamdani, Fridley, MN Ted Marczak, Toms River, NJ Charles Marks, Altadena, CA## Martha Martin, Kahului, HI Stephen Mashney, Anaheim, CA Carol Mazzia, Santa Rosa, CA

Shirl McArthur, Reston, VA William McAuley, Chicago, IL Gwendolyn McEwen, Bellingham, WA Ray McGovern, Raleigh, NC Robert Michael, Sun Lakes, AZ Tom Mickelson, Cottage Grove, WI Curtis Miller, Albuquerque, NM Peter Miller, Portland, OR Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Moe Muhsin, Honolulu, HI Isa & Dalal Musa, Falls Church, VA Sara Najjar-Wilson, Reston, VA Stephen L. Naman, Atlanta, GA Mary Neznek, Washington, DC W. Eugene Notz, Charleston, SC Merrill O'Donnell, New Westminster, Canada Peggy Rafferty, Cedar Grove, NC Amani Ramahi, Lakewood, OH Marjorie Ransom, Washington, DC Kenneth Reed, Bishop, CA John Reinke, Redmond, WA Paul Richards, Salem, OR Ambassador William Rugh,

Hingham, MA Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA Dr. Mohammed Sabbagh, Grand

Blanc, MI Irmgard Scherer, Fairfax, VA Dr. Ajazuddin Shaikh, Granger, IN Yasir Shallal, McLean, VA Qaiser & Tanseem Shamim,

Somerset, NJ Dr. Mostafa Hashem Sherif, Tinton

Falls, NJ Yasser Soliman, Hamilton Township, NJ Darcy Sreebny, Issaquah, WA Corrine Sutila, Los Angeles, CA Mushtaq Syed, Santa Clara, CA Dr. Joseph Tamari, Chicago, IL Eddy Tamura, Moraga, CA Doris Taweel, Laurel, MD Tom Veblen, Washington, DC V. R. Vitolins, Grosse Pointe

Farms, MI Hermann Weinlick, Minneapolis, MN Duane & Barbara Wentz,

Kirkland, WA Michael Wilke, St. Charles, IL

David Williams, Golden, CO Robert Witty, Cold Spring, NY Mashood Yunus, New Brighton, MN Hugh Ziada, Garden Grove, CA

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more)

Catherine Abbott, Edina, MN Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Syed & Rubia Bokhari, Bourbonnais, IL Duncan Clark, Rockville, MD William G. Coughlin, Brookline, MA Andrew & Krista Curtiss, Herndon, VA Dr. William Fuller, Valdosta, GA Eyas Hattab, Louisville, KY Bilquis Jaweed, West Chester, OH Killgore Family, Washington, DC * Dr. Muhammad M. Kudaimi, Munster, IN Sedigheh Kunkel, Santa Monica, CA Tony Litwinko, Los Angeles, CA Nidal Mahayni, Richmond, VA Richard Makdisi & Lindsay Wheeler,

Berkeley, CA Dr. Charles W. McCutchen,

Bethesda, MD Curtis Miller, Albuquerque, NM Yehia Mishriki, Orefield, PA Museum of the Palestinian

People, Washington, DC Claire Nader, Winsted, CT Hertha Poje-Ammoumi, New York, NY Phillip Portlock, Washington, DC Mary H. Regier, El Cerrito, CA Jeanne Riha, Brooklyn, NY Rotary Foundation, Evanston, IL Ramzy Salem, Monterey Park, CA Sarah Saul, Portland, ME Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL Bernice Shaheen, Palm Desert, CA**** David J. Snider, Bolton, MA William R. Stanley, Lexington, SC John K. Y. & Margot S. Taylor,

New York, NY Benjamin Wade, Saratoga, CA

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more)

Sylvia Anderson de Freitas, Duluth, MN Dr. & Mrs. Roger Bagshaw, Big Sur, CA Helen Bourne, Encinitas, CA William G. Coughlin, Brookline, MA Mr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki,

Albuquerque, NM Raymond Gordon, Venice, FL Alfred R. Greve, Holmes, NY Dr. Wasif Hafeez, W. Bloomfield, MI Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Virginia Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD Kandy L. Hixson, Akron, OH Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Darrel Meyers, Burbank, CA Lisa Schiltz, Houston, TX James G. Smart, Keene, NH Anver Tayob, Saint Louis, MO Tom Veblen, Washington, DC Dr. James Zogby, Washington, DC***

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Anonymous, San Francisco, CA Asha A. Anand, Bethesda, MD Lois Aroian, East Jordan, MI G. Edward & Ruth Brooking,

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Boulder, CO Judith Howard, Norwood, MA Mohammed Jokhdar, Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia Ghazy Kader, Shoreline, WA Damaris Koehler, Mannheim,

Germany Jack Love, Kailua Kona, HI Mary Norton, Austin, TX M.F. Shoukfeh, Lubbock, TX Dr. Imad Tabry, Fort Lauderdale, FL Donn Trautman, Evanston, IL Young Again Foundation, Leland, NC

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)

American Council for Judaism,

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Anonymous, Palo Alto, CA # Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West

Linn, OR*,** John & Henrietta Goelet,

Washington, DC William Lightfoot, Vienna, VA Estate of Jean Elizabeth Mayer,

Bethesda, MD

* In Memory of Andrew I. Killgore ** In Memory of Richard H. Curtiss *** In Memory of Eileen Zogby **** In Memory of Dr. Jack Shaheen # In Memory of Rachelle &

Hugh Marshall ## In Memory of Amal Marks

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August/September 2020 Vol. XXXIX, No. 5

Children collect waste from garbage bins in Beirut, Lebanon on July 9, 2020. The Lebanese are experiencing dire living conditions amid the country’s financial crisis that coincides with the weakening in the value of the Lebanese pound against the U.S. dollar and an unprecedented increase in inflation. A large number of people have lost their jobs after the closure of thousands of companies. (Photo by bilal Jawich/Xinhua via Getty)