Washington Report - March/April 2016 - Vol. XXXV, No. 2

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PRESIDENT OBAMA VISITS MOSQUE

DISPLAY UNTIL 4/30/2016

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TELLING THE TRUTH FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS...

Volume XXXV, No. 2

On Middle East Affairs

INTERPRETING THE MIDDLE EAST FOR NORTH AMERICANS

March/April 2016

INTERPRETING NORTH AMERICA FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

✮

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

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11

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Israeli Settlements Come at a High Price —Rachelle Marshall

Israel Plans to Build New Druze Town on Land Belonging to Displaced Palestinians —Jonathan Cook

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An Open Letter to President Barack Obama —Mohammed Omer

“I Shall Not Hate,” a Palestinian Doctor’s Parable —Delinda C. Hanley

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26 34 39 46

Gaza Flotilla Survivors File New Lawsuit Against Israel In U.S. District Court—Ann Wright

Ban Ki-moon, a “Mis-underestimated” Secretary-General—Ian Williams

Who Benefits From the Iran Accord?—Two Views —Ali Gharib, Patrick J. Buchanan

Omnibus Appropriations Act Includes $3.6 Billion for Israel—Shirl McArthur Significant Victory in Face of Islamophobia, Free Speech Crackdowns—Suhaib Khan

SPECIAL REPORTS

16 30 33 37 42

Remarks to the Islamic Society of Baltimore —President Barack Obama

Warming Planet Has Led to Catastrophe in the Middle East—Suhaib Khan

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Wrestlers Help Forge U.S.-Iran Friendship —Dale Sprusansky

Jakarta Attack Deepens Anxieties in SE Asia —John Gee

Preserving an Archaeological Site in Northern Syria Threatened by War—Pat McDonnell Twair

MOSAIC THEATER COMPANY OF DC

Eyewitness to the Refugee Crisis in Lesvos —Sara R. Powell

Ghassan Abbas in “I Shall Not Hate.” See story p. 22.

ON THE COVER: Kurdish Syrian refugees rest after crossing the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc, in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province,

Sept. 27, 2014.

STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES

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

Other Voices Why Israel’s Schools Merit a U.S. Boycott, Saree Makdisi, Los Angeles Times

Compiled by Janet McMahon

OV-1

Political Assault on Israeli Arab MKs Reaches a New Peak, Editorial, Haaretz

OV-2

Commentary on the Resignation of Makarim Wibisono, Richard Falk, http://richardfalk.wordpress.com

OV-3

How Can a Two-State Solution Calm Our Troubled Region?, Rami G. Khouri, Agence Global

OV-4

BDS Movement Faces Attack in Six State Legislatures, Alex Kane, http://mondoweiss.net

OV-5

Activists Deliver Petition Demanding Securities And Exchange Commission Enforce Disclosure Laws Regarding Israel Bonds, Sylvia Schwarz, http://mondoweiss.net OV-6 Democratic Jewish Group Downsizes as GOP Counterpart Gains Cash and Influence, Nathan Guttman, The Forward OV-8

DEPARTMENTS

Define “Establishment Candidate”: Rubio and Clinton Both Love Netanyahu, Philip Weiss, http://mondoweiss.net

OV-9

How the FBI Keeps Us Safe, Carl Strock, Albany [NY] Times Union

OV-10

You’ve Heard About Muslims Getting Profiled, What About Jews?, J.J. Goldberg, The Forward

OV-11

Life in a City With a Muslim-Majority City Council, Tom Perkins, The Nation

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U.S. Dropped 23,144 Bombs on Muslim-Majority Countries in 2015, Adam Johnson, www.alternet.org

OV-14

Israel Frets About “Iran as Neighbor” if Aleppo Falls & al-Assad Regime Wins, Juan Cole, www.juancole.com

OV-15

Why Frank Lloyd Wright’s Baghdad Opera House Never Came to Be, William O’Connor, www.thedailybeast.com

OV-15

5 Publishers’ Page

6 letters to the editor

48 diPloMatic doiNgs: League of Arab States Hosts 4th Arab American Day

48 arab aMericaN activisM: Sling International, DISH Network Reach Out to Arabic-Speaking Viewers

49 MusliM aMericaN activisM: Mideast Expert Graham Fuller Addresses MPAC Convention 49 huMaN rights: Guantanamo Bay: Year 14

52 Music & arts: Panel Tackles Satirical Cartooning, Free Speech

Washington Report staff (l-r) Suhaib Khan, Dale Sprusansky, bookstore director Kevin Davis, Rina Abd El Rahman and intern Ahmed Mansour pack free books.

ISIS: Just Beginning?

68 the World looKs at the Middle east — CARTOONS

Portraits: Poems of the Holy Land

71 obituaries

55 WagiNg Peace: The War Against 66 booK revieW:

—Reviewed by David Herrstrom

67 Middle east booKs aNd More

69 other PeoPle’s Mail

72 2015 aet choir oF aNgels 65 iNdeX to advertisers

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

44 israel aNd JudaisM: Religious Extremism in Israel Becoming Increasingly Mainstream —Allan C. Brownfeld

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American Educational Trust

Americans Demand Change.

The 2016 campaign season has shown that Americans are sick and tired of bought-and-paid-for politicians. This antiestablishment sentiment has—for better or worse—helped give rise to the likes of presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. While the Washington Report does not take partisan stands on domestic issues, we nonetheless agree that it’s time for both Republicans and Democrats to show special interest groups— especially those acting in the interests of a foreign country—the door.

Steadfast Reporting.

Since our very first issue in April 1982, the Washington Report has been tracking the influence of such groups—most notability the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—on U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Our honest reporting has exposed the millions of dollars pro-Israel groups have spent to buy votes on Capitol Hill. Readers continually thank us for our work and encourage us to press on, as the information we provide is completely absent from the mainstream media (themselves subject to lobby influence).

Over the past 34 years, we have certainly learned that the American people...

Crave the Truth.

Celebrating the release of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian from an Iranian prison in January, Secretary of State John Kerry extolled the importance of honest reporting. The desire to know the truth, he said, is “part of the human DNA.” As lobbyists work to obfuscate the truth, it is critical that we continue to…

Spread the Truth Far and Wide.

Media, politicians and pundits seem to be trying to divide Americans along lines of party, color, race, sexual orientation, inMARCH/APRIL 2016

Publishers’ Page ence is half the fun—but if you can’t attend, the May 2016 issue of the Washington Report will have a complete report on the conference—including transcripts, photos and commentary.

Notice Anything Different?

The first issue of the Washington Report. come bracket and religion—pitting one against the other. It was past time for President Barack Obama to speak to American Muslims, who have been waiting seven years for him to visit a U.S. mosque. His remarks were worth waiting for and, we thought, worth printing in their entirety (see p. 16). He thanked Muslim Americans for all they do in their communities and assured them: “You fit in here—right here. You’re right where you belong.” He added…

“You’re Part of America.”

The all-day March 18 conference, “Israel’s Influence: Good or Bad for the U.S.?” which we are co-sponsoring with the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep), will bring together a wide range of experts (including Rula Jebreal, Gideon Levy, Susan Abulhawa, Philip Weiss and Col. Lawrence Wilkerson) to offer a refreshingly honest overview of Israel’s impact on U.S. policy. Israel’s influence over Congress, academia, and the media will be among the topics discussed. Registrations are coming in at a faster pace than ever, and we are expecting a full and lively event. To purchase your ticket (students, journalists, and current government employees can register for free) and see a full list of speakers, visit <IsraelsInflu ence.org>. Being there and meeting with each other at a ground-breaking confer-

With the help of our younger staff members we’re expanding our presence on social media. We’ve also been experimenting with redesigning our magazine and website. Please let us know how we’re doing—we welcome any suggestions and (laudatory) comments. Our hope is that readers will find the Washington Report— the digital and print editions—more inviting, attractive and user-friendly.

Free Books! What’s Not To Like?

In order to trim expenses—and do some spring cleaning—we decided to empty our storage space, which contains a large number of books we’ve published ourselves or acquired over the years. In early February, our bookstore, Middle East Books and More, offered a variety of excellent books for free to readers who could distribute them to their local library, school, university, community center, mosque, synagogue, church, prison or favorite organization. The response was overwhelming. In the first week alone, we shipped out more than 2,000 free books! We are excited that readers are eager to share these valuable works. And now we’re just hoping our angels help us pay the shipping costs!

Many Thanks To You.

Judging by the new members of our Choir of Angels, as well as the generous donations you’ve made in 2015 and 2016 our readers are fired up to help the Washington Report and its bookstore Middle East Books and More...

Make A Difference Today!

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Publisher: Managing Editor: News Editor: Assistant Editor: Middle East Books and More Director: Advertising/Outreach: Communications Dir.:

Finance & Admin. Dir.: Art Director: Executive Editor:

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

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (ISSN 8755-4917) is published 8 times a year, monthly except Jan./Feb., March/April and June/July combined, at 1902 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009-1707. Tel. (202) 939-6050. Subscription prices (United States and possessions): one year, $29; two years, $55; three years, $75. For Canadian and Mexican subscriptions, $35 per year; for other foreign subscriptions, $70 per year.

Periodicals, postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056.

Published by the American Educational Trust (AET), a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC by retired U.S. foreign service officers to provide the American public with balanced and accurate information concerning U.S. relations with Middle Eastern states.

AET’s Foreign Policy Committee has included former U.S. ambassadors, government officials, and members of Congress, including the late Democratic Sen. J. William Fulbright and Republican Sen. Charles Percy, both former chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Members of AET’s Board of Directors and advisory committees receive no fees for their services.

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs does not take partisan domestic political positions. As a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, it endorses U.N. Security Council Resolution 242’s landfor-peace formula, supported by nine successive U.S. presidents. In general, it supports Middle East solutions which it judges to be consistent with the charter of the United Nations and traditional American support for human rights, self-determination, and fair play.

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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.org bookstore@wrmea.org circulation@wrmea.org advertising@wrmea.org Web sites: http://www.wrmea.org http://www.middleeastbooks.com Subscriptions, sample copies and donations: P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809-1056.

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

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LetterstotheEditor

The 600-Pound Gorilla

I am once more contributing $1,000 extra to your magazine for the fine work that you have been fervently engaged in by bringing to the attention of readers in this country the true story and record of what is happening in Palestine-Israel for almost 70 years.

I am also a subscriber to Foreign Affairs and have been for a few years. I find most of their articles to be of great assistance in educating the general reader as to the development of political and economic affairs in the various nations of the world. But in their most recent issue, one devoted entirely to Middle Eastern Affairs, I was astounded that they, too, handled the problem of the 600-pound gorilla in the room by essentially ignoring the problem. I am speaking, of course, of the disgusting history of the ongoing failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the fact that the entire issue failed to hardly mention the major cause of most Muslim discontent. I searched the entire issue and finally discovered an article written by a Natan Sachs of the Brookings Institution who, in an article entitled “Why Israel Waits,” gave the subject matter the usual treatment— obviously after he likely had submitted his article to AIPAC and had received an okay from their censors. Quite discouraging!

In any event, my frustration over developments in the area is a never ending irritation, and one which causes me considerable angst in political discussions, especially with friends who have no real clue, and even with some Jewish friends who are equally ignorant of what has occurred in Palestine-Israel for over half a century.

In any event, keep up the good work and I’ll look forward to possibly meeting some of you in Washington in the spring.

Jack E. Love, San Diego, CA We hope that means you’re planning to attend our March 18 conference at the National Press Club, “Israel’s Influence: Good or Bad for America?” Meanwhile, we are most grateful for your support, without which it would be much more difficult to take down that 600-pound gorilla!

March 2016: Israel’s Influence

The enclosed check for $500 is my contribution to the conference on Israel.

Wishing you a huge success, with wideranging coverage at least on social media.

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Wish I could be there, but will in spirit.

Mary Norton, Austin, TX Thank you so much for your financial and spiritual contributions to our upcoming conference. Both are greatly valued!

April 2015: The Israel Lobby

Believe it or not, I just finished reading every word of the proceedings from the April 2015 conference. I savored every word! Each section was read when I had enough time and was relaxed enough that I felt I had an understanding of what the speaker said. Reading the contents of the conference is far better than sitting and listening. Better yet, the speakers’ analysis of issues was not constrained like the self-censorship that occurs with the print and electronic media. I am happy to add support for the next conference. Sooner or later the truth will take hold. What you and your folks are doing is very important work. Congratulations and keep going.

Bob Younes, via e-mail Copies of the special supplement with the complete proceedings of “The Israel Lobby: Is it Good for the US? Is it Good for Israel?” are still available from AET’s Middle East Books and More (<bookstore@wrmea.org>), as is the conference DVD. We believe they will remain relevant for many years to come—but with your help that will be sooner rather than later.

Badly Needed Information

Thank you for all the help you have given us in contributing issues for our annual conference efforts. It always helps our efforts to be able to give out such a valuable source of badly needed information that probably would not otherwise be available Susan E. Nye, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Cambridge, MA Spreading the word is a shared value to those of us working for justice in the Middle East! We thank you for all you do.

A Restored Resource

I have enjoyed and appreciated the Washington Report and its objective coverage of Middle East affairs.

The resources listed on your site include the Council for the National Interest (of which Alison Weir was a founder), Jewish Voice for Peace and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, but not If Americans Knew, an excellent source on Israel MARCH/APRIL 2016

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and U.S. foreign policy, founded by ate and pro-democracy Syrians Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming!

Weir <www.ifamericansknew.org>. have faced not only the overSend your letters to the editor to the Washington I wondered about the reason whelming firepower of the Russian Report, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, DC 20009 for this and whether it had anyand Iranian-backed Assad regime, or e-mail <letters@wrmea.org>. thing to do with the fact that IAK but have also struggled to comhas been ostracized (I believe unpete with Islamist fanatics who have fairly and in a disturbing fashion) by JVP your tilt and apparent alignment with the been better-armed through their Sunni fiAssad regime and its Russian and Iran- nancial backers in the Gulf countries. and the U.S. Campaign.

Any information you could provide about ian backers in the Syrian civil war.

Despite its overwhelming advantage in I call on you to open your pages to a firepower and bombardment of Syria, the the Washington Report’s views or position greater diversity of views by both spe- Assad regime has steadily lost ground in on this situation would be appreciated.

Thank you for all your work in this area. cialists and non-specialists on Syria. four years and is now essentially staleAs a non-specialist but as a long-time mated despite recent heightened RussDavid Plimpton, via e-mail Thank you very much for pointing out anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist activist ian-Iranian intervention. this mysterious omission, since we never my own view on Syria is this: Civil society activists and aspirants for Contrary to various now fashionable democracy in Syria can expect only torremoved If Americans Knew from our list of resources. We support Weir and her im- “anti-imperialist” narratives the Syrian ture and death at the hands of the murportant work: her book, Against Our Better Revolution was not hatched by Western derous and totalitarian Assad and ISIS Judgment, is available from AET’s Middle intelligence agencies as a war of aggres- regimes. Short of a cease-fire and negotiEast Books and More, and we often rec- sion against a supposedly progressive ated arrangement for transition to a future ommend her to groups seeking speakers regime. It was a genuine popular revolt democratic Syria, their best hope is for a and resources. Weir is president of the against a corrupt crony-capitalist family de facto partition of Syria, which could Council for the National Interest, by the dictatorship (formerly Ba’athist “social- then allow the moderate rebels to disenway, which was founded by former Rep. ist”) which in the decades before the civil gage militarily with the Assad regime and Paul Findley (R-IL). She is founder and war and since 2011 has imprisoned, tor- push back against the Islamist extremists. tured and disappeared tens of thousands executive director of If Americans Knew.

In the meantime, along with sending of political dissidents. what humanitarian aid we can to the bomWhat’s in a Name, Indeed?

Given mainly lip service and little real barded and blockaded Syrian zones (via To change the name of the Washington military help from a Western imperialism organizations such as the Syrian-AmeriReport on Middle East Affairs, as urged by which feared the victory of a popular can Medical Society), we must stand puba letter to the editor from reader Andrés armed revolution in the Levant, the moder- licly against the machinations and aggresSteinmetz in the Nov./Dec. issue, would sions and oppressions of both the Westbe a mistake. As I see it, the focus of the ern and Russian imperialist blocs. magazine is the effect of Washington David L. Williams, Peregrine Forum, politicos’ policies on Middle East affairs, Madison, WI and so the name is apt. The alternative Thank you for your three decades of supsuggestions, Report on Middle East Affairs port! We are in complete agreement with and Palestine Report on Middle East Afyour concluding paragraph, and our editorial fairs, would be at the least misleading. position has been to call for non-intervention Keep the current name! If the magazine in Syria by all parties. Nor have we portrayed attracts the interest of those who are Bashar al-Assad as a paragon of democoverly influenced by the U.S.’s misbegotracy. What started out as a popular revolt ten views, that’s an added bonus. has morphed into a proxy war, however, with Richard Johnson, Glendale, CA the U.S. allying itself with an offshoot of alWe are indeed committed to examinQaeda, of all things! And we’ve seen the ing the role of Washington and the Israel tragic aftermath of our overthrow of other lobby in the U.S., occupation or no. secular dictators like Saddam Hussain and Muammar Qaddafi. Is that what we wish for Anti-Intervention in Syria the people of the region? It’s certainly what OTHER VOICES is an optional 16-page supEver since your magazine got off the Israel wishes. We’re sure the self-proclaimed plement available only to subscribers of the Washground in the 1980s I have promoted and Jewish state—and the neocon authors of the ington Report on Middle East Affairs. For an addidistributed it widely as an invaluable re1996 paper “A Clean Break”—would be tional $15 per year (see postcard insert for source for information and critical perspecthrilled to have a partitioned Syria next door.

Washington Report subscription rates), subtives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on Finally, we are disturbed by the mainscribers will receive Other Voices inside each issue the machinations of U.S. and Western imstream media’s failure to provide anything of their Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. perialism and struggles for democracy and other than the official “Russia is evil” verBack issues of both publications are available. human rights in the region. sion of events. “The U.S. and Russia in To subscribe telephone 1 (888) 881-5861, fax And I will continue (hopefully) to proSyria: Two Views” (Nov./Dec. 2015 (714) 226-9733, e-mail circulation@wrmea. org>, mote and distribute the Washington ReWashington Report, p. 24) was meant to or write to P.O. Box 91056, Long Beach, CA 90809port as a continuing invaluable resource provide our readers with a different per1056. on numerous topics. But I must register spective to which they might not be exmy strong disagreement and dismay at posed—just as is true of Palestine. ■ MARCH/APRIL 2016

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Special Report

Israeli Settlements Come at a High Price

By Rachelle Marshall

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A far greater cost is borne by the Palestinians, who live under restrictions that affect virtually every aspect of life and cost their economy $3.4 billion a year, according to the World Bank.

An equally great cost has been to chances of peace, as the continued expansion of settlements has all but ended the possibility of a twostate solution. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon recently confirmed this when he said the settlements “are steadily chipping away at the viability of a Palestinian state and the ability of the Palestinian people to live in dignity.”

Secretary of State John Kerry also warned of the consequences of more settlement construction. “It is not an answer to simply build in the West Bank and destroy the homes of folks you’re trying to make peace with and pretend that’s a solution,” he said. “Unless significant efforts are made to change the dynamic—and I Jewish settler leader Daniel Luria stands in front of an East Jerusalem home from which mean significant—it will only bring more vioits Palestinian owners were evicted and which is now the future site of a synagogue lence, more heartbreak, and more despair.” named after American spy for Israel Jonathan Pollard, Nov. 18, 2015.

That prediction is proving true. Between early fter Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and the October and mid-January, 26 Israelis were killed by PalestiniGolan Heights in 1967, there were hopes the Israelis ans and 169 Palestinians—several as young as 12 and 13— would eventually return the territories in accordance were killed by Israeli soldiers and police. The Palestinian atwith U.N. Security Council resolutions. It was not to happen. tacks, disorganized and unpredictable as they are, reflect the The ruling Labor government ignored the resolutions, and in frustration and despair Palestinians young and old feel as 1977 the Likud party headed by Menachem Begin came to hopes of peace remain in deep freeze. power. Begin and his minister of agriculture, Ariel Sharon, imIsrael has responded by restricting movement in and out of mediately laid plans for building Jewish settlements throughout Palestinian towns, conducting sweeping arrests, and raiding the occupied West Bank, on the theory that “facts on the Palestinian hospitals searching for suspects. The government ground” would assure that the territory could never be returned has set up scores of new checkpoints, 20 of them in Hebron to the Palestinians. alone, turning that city into a prison. Soldiers have a license to Today more than 600,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, in kill any Palestinian who appears to be carrying a weapon, settlements that extend from East Jerusalem to the Jordan even if it is only a screw driver. A video accidentally dropped Valley and are connected by a network of Jewish-only highby an Israeli soldier showed an Israeli sniper deliberately tarways. The settlers’ land, water and low rents are subsidized geting an unarmed Palestinian protester while the sniper’s

by U.S. and Israeli taxpayers, and by an additional $229 milcommanding officer says, “Come on, you’re allowed to shoot.” lion in tax-deductible donations from American donors. They Meanwhile Israel is accelerating the forced dispossession of receive protection from an Israeli military that receives more Palestinian families in order to make way for Jewish housing. Thouthan $4 billion a year in aid from the U.S. sands of West Bank homes are currently slated for demolition, and Israel announced plans on Jan. 21 to appropriate 380 more acres Rachelle Marshall is a free-lance editor living in Mill Valley, CA. A of territory near Jericho for settlement housing. “It is starting to look member of Jewish Voice for Peace, she writes frequently on the Middle East. like de facto annexation,” one American official said.

A

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WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2016

In East Jerusalem, 15 families face immediate eviction, 7 of them inside the walled Old City, and at least 100 more cases are pending. Echoing the stand of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Daniel Luria of Ateret Cohanim claims,“It is the natural and historic right of Jews to live anywhere in Jerusalem.” Daniel Seidemann, an expert on Israel’s land issues, says this means “what’s ours is ours—and what’s yours is ours, too.”

At present, 28,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter, along with 1,000 Jews. Ateret Cohanim is dedicated to changing this ratio by establishing Jewish enclaves inside the historic Arab Quarter. Evictions are often based on technicalities. One family hit by arcane rules is the Gaith-Sub Laban, who have lived in their home in the Old City for 62 years. Since 2010 they have been fighting eviction by a Jewish trust that claims the grandmother, Nora Sub Laban, who was born in the house, had installed an air conditioner without permission. She got rid of the air conditioner but the family still faces eviction.

Between 2009 and 2014, 467 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem were demolished, and 1,117 Palestinians displaced, to make room for Jewish settlers, and the process is continuing. Palestinian shopkeepers are also suffering as police barriers and a dozen new checkpoints keep potential customers away.

There seems no doubt that Israel’s government intends to erase East Jerusalem’s identity as an Arab city.

On the West Bank, the proliferation of settlements has given rise to another threat to Palestinians in the form of Jewish terrorists. According to Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet, the members come primarily from the makeshift settlements that right-wing Jews have established without authorization on Palestinian-owned hilltops.

After enjoying immunity from arrest for years as their crimes escalated, several suspected offenders are now awaiting trial in Israel for carrying out attacks MARCH/APRIL 2016

HAZEM BADER/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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A Palestinian family sits next to the remains of their home after it was demolished by Israeli bulldozers in a disputed military zone in the area of Musafir Jenbah, which includes several villages, south of the West Bank town of Hebron, Feb. 2, 2016. against Palestinians.

The group is accused of setting fires to churches, mosques and Palestinian homes, most shockingly a home in the village of Duma, where a firebomb tossed into the house killed 3 members of the Dawabsheh family, including a toddler and his parents, and left a 4-year-old severely burned. Other families have barely escaped similar arson attacks. Churches have had sayings such as “Christians to hell,” and “Death to Heathen Christians” scrawled on their walls.

According to Shin Bet, the group of 30 to 40 young men that calls itself The Revolt consists mainly of high school dropouts who have been rejected by the army. “The Revolt” also happens to be the title of Menachem Begin’s long out-ofprint autobiography—a candid account by the former prime minister of his role as a Jewish commando in carrying out violent attacks on British soldiers and Palestinian civilians in pre-Israel Palestine.

The crucial questions are how seriously the Israeli authorities will take the current lawlessness, and what steps they will take to deter similar crimes in the future. In the past, the few Israelis convicted of crimes against Palestinians

have served only short sentences before being released. In fact, said U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, “At times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law; one for Israelis and another for Palestinians.”

So far, Amiram Ben Uliel, 21, and a minor with U.S. citizenship have been charged with murder for the attack on the Dawabshehs. Three more Israelis, including two minors, have been charged with other acts of arson, plus several assaults.

The far right immediately used the arrests as an excuse to attack Shin Bet, charging that its interrogators had tortured the suspects into confessing. A lawyer for Ben Uliel said his indictment “is the beginning of opening a Pandora’s box against Shin Bet,” suggesting that the murder trials of the suspects will become show trials of the security services instead.

Harassment by settler groups such as The Revolt is only one of the many burdens Palestinians have had to bear since Labor Prime Minister Shimon Peres allowed a right-wing Jewish religious group to establish a settlement in the middle of Hebron during the early 1970s. Israelis, too, pay a price. Not only do their taxes subsidize the settlements, but their 18-year-old sons and

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daughters are drafted into the army to protect them. The young Israelis barely out of high school who are sent to the West Bank can’t help but adopt a hostile attitude toward the people they were trained to regard as potential enemies.

The veterans organization Breaking the Silence has published testimony showing that looting, the destruction of Palestinian property and the use of excessive force have become the norm in the occupation army. The veterans’ group has also published statements by 60 officers and soldiers who served in Israel’s 2014 war on Gaza. The guiding military principle in that war, they said, was that there should be “minimum risk to our forces even at the cost of civilian lives.”

The result, according to the veterans, was “massive and unprecedented harm to the population and the civilian infrastructure in Gaza.” Such statements prompted Prime Minister Netanyahu to accuse Breaking the Silence of “slandering Israel.”

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said its motives were “malicious,” and excluded it from all activities involving soldiers. Naftali Bennett, the education minister, has banned it from state schools.

Meanwhile, Israel’s right-wing leaders are attempting to silence liberal Israeli groups across the board. The vague charge of “incitement,” long brought

against Palestinians, is now being applied to Israeli citizens who defend Palestinian rights. Miri Regev, minister of culture and sports, is proposing a “Loyalty in Culture” amendment to the state budget that would, she said, “for the first time make support for a cultural institution dependent on its loyalty to the state of Israel.” The proposed law, said Israeli poet Meir Wieseltier, “brings us closer to the rise of fascism.” A far-right group called Im Tirzu is meanwhile conducting a campaign accusing internationally respected novelists such as Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua and David Grossman of being “moles in culture.”

A bill before the Knesset proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked requires human rights organizations that receive foreign funding to report their sources of funding. Ofer Cassif of Hebrew University responded to the proposed law by saying, “I think it is fair to compare Israel to Germany in the 1930s.” Other critics of the bill called it a symptom of Israel’s siege mentality, a mindset that has long been nurtured by Israeli leaders.

In 1955, then army chief of staff Moshe Dayan explained his opposition to mutual security pacts with neighboring Arab states by saying it was necessary for Israel to maintain “a high tension among our population and the army” in order to preserve unity in a population of immigrants. Main-

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taining the image of a beleaguered Israel surrounded by enemies has remained an essential element of official policy. As Israeli bombs were smashing into Gaza homes and shelters in 2014, and killing more than 2,000 civilians, Israelis and their U.S. supporters countered criticism by insisting on “Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Israel nevertheless does pay a price in worldwide public opinion for its violation of Palestinian rights. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced on Jan. 29 that France is planning an international conference to bring together the parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the U.S., “to preserve and make happen the two-state solution.” If the conference fails, Faubius said, France will recognize the Palestinian state.

A second warning sign to Israel was Obama’s recent appointment of Middle East expert Robert Malley as his adviser on dealing with Middle East terrorism.

After the Camp David negotiations failed in 2000, President Bill Clinton and his adviser Dennis Ross blamed PLO leader Yasser Arafat for turning down a supposedly generous offer by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Malley, however, revealed that Barak’s offer to Arafat would not have led to an independent state but consisted only of chunks of West Bank territory separated from one another by settlements and Israeli military outposts.

Malley recently asserted that the absence of a just resolution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict has contributed to the rise of ISIS and other extremist groups.

As the prospect of achieving such a resolution remained dim, there was a poignant illustration of the tragedy and farce that combine in Israel’s effort to rule over 3 million Palestinians. When a group of men dressed as Santas and carrying candy and toys tried to march to the wall surrounding Bethlehem just before Christmas, soldiers barred their way and fired tear gas at the Santas. “This is Bethlehem,” one of the marchers said, “tear gas and soldiers and walls. This is the Holy Land.” ■ MARCH/APRIL 2016

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The Nakba Continues

Israel Plans to Build New Druze Town on Land Belonging to Displaced Palestinians

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By Jonathan Cook

PHOTO J. COOK

n Israeli government plan to build hundreds of homes for the country’s Druze population faces stiff opposition, after it was revealed that the new community is to be located on the lands of Palestinian refugees.

The town, due to be built west of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, would be the first new community for members of Israel’s Palestinian minority since the state’s founding 68 years ago.

The country’s 1.6 million Palestinian citizens constitute a fifth of the population.

Leaders of the Palestinian minority expressed outrage that officials had selected a site where two Palestinian villages were located until their destruction following the 1948 war that established Israel.

Archival evidence shows that the Israeli military razed more than 500 Palestinian villages after the war to ensure their resi- The mosque is all that remains of the destroyed Palestinian village of Hittin. dents could not return.

“The decision to build a Druze town on these destroyed vilA former Druze government minister, Salah Tarif, also oblages is designed to light a fuse under the relations between jected, telling the newspaper the idea was “detached from realthe Druze and other members of the Palestinian minority,” ity.” He added that it was “a band-aid that’s meant to cover up said Samer Swaid, a Druze political activist. “This is all about the real problem—the condition of the existing [Druze] towns.”

Israel reinforcing its divide-and-rule policies over us.”

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the The choice of location is particularly sensitive because one plan for the town in January as part of “extensive activity” to of the destroyed villages, Hittin, has great historical and sympromote the Druze population. The town would “facilitate the bolic importance to Palestinian Muslims. reduction of [economic] gaps between Druze towns and other The village was established on the orders of Saladin to towns” in Israel, his office said. commemorate his victory in a famous battle against the CruSome 400 houses are to be built in an initial phase, but saders in 1187. The Crusaders’ defeat, at the Horns of Hittin, eventually the town is expected to comprise 2,500 homes. led to their exodus from the Holy Land.

Israel has 115,000 Druze citizens inside its recognized borAfter 1948, Israel razed all of Hittin apart from its ancient ders, and a further 25,000 in the Golan, Syrian territory occumosque. pied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in violation of internaSheikh Muwaffik Tarif, the Druzes' spiritual leader in Israel, tional law. was reported to be “taken aback” by the plan, sources close to The Druze are a secretive religious sect, an off-shoot of him told the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Islam, that emerged in Egypt in the 11th century. Today, most Druze communities are located in the mountainous areas of Jonathan Cook is a journalist based in Nazareth and a winner of the Lebanon, Syria and what is now northern Israel.

Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He is the author of Unlike other Palestinian citizens and the Druze in the Blood and Religion and Israel and the Clash of Civilisations (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More).

Golan, the Druze community in Israel is required to serve for MARCH/APRIL 2016

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three years in the Israeli military.

In return, the Druze were given the status of a separate national group. Israel categorizes other Palestinian citizens simply as “Arabs.”

That has entitled the Druze to a separate school system, with its own curriculum. Traditionally, the chief benefits of military service for the Druze have been access to security-related jobs after the draft, including in the police and as prison guards.

But critics, including from within the Druze, say the community has otherwise faced the same, or worse, discrimination in land allocations and budgets as other Palestinian citizens.

“The Druze have not benefited as a community from the draft,” said Hana Swaid, a former member of the Israeli parliament who now heads the Arab Center for Alternative Planning. “On the contrary, their loyalty and deference to the Israeli leadership were ex-

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ploited to their disadvantage.”

Swaid said research by his center showed three-quarters of Druze land had been confiscated, and many of their 14 existing towns and villages in Israel lacked master plans, making new development impossible.

“Many Druze families cannot get building permits for their homes, meaning they can be demolished, or they cannot connect legally to basic services like water and electricity,” he said.

Swaid noted that, after sweeping land confiscations from the Palestinian minority, the Israeli state nationalized 93 percent of territory in Israel, reserving most of it for the Jewish population. Only 3 percent was left in the hands of the Palestinian minority, resulting in severe overcrowding and unlicensed building.

“Of that 3 percent, only about a fifth of the land is authorized for development,” Swaid said. “That is why Palestinian communities are suffocating.”

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The Israeli media have reported that Netanyahu’s office is preparing to beef up the enforcement of home demolitions in a move that it is feared will target 50,000 unlicensed Palestinian homes in Israel.

The National Planning Council considered 10 different locations for the Druze town before settling on the area by the Sea of Galilee.

Netanyahu said the new town’s proximity to the city of Tiberias and major highways would help to “advance the Druze population economically and socially.”

Samer Swaid, who is not related to Hana Swaid, said most of the Druze rejected a town built on refugee land and wanted their confiscated lands to be returned so they could expand existing communities.

“There is, for example, a lot of confiscated land near Daliyat and Isifiya [two Druze villages south of Haifa] that could be given back to us so we could build there,” he stated.

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Swaid, a leading official in the Druze Initiative Committee, which rejects military service for the Druze, noted that hundreds of Druze protesters from Daliyat clashed violently with police in 2010, when the government took more land to lay a gas pipeline between the center of the country and Haifa.

“The government always finds Druze land available for its own projects, just not when we need to expand,” he complained.

A press release from Netanyahu’s office claimed that the 14 existing communities could not be further developed because they were located in hilly terrain or next to nature reserves.

Hana Swaid said these were “just pretexts” for inaction. “Israel has built many rural Jewish settlements on lands confiscated from the Druze villages. It seems these restrictions apply only when the Druze want to build.”

A 1965 planning law recognizes some 120 communities as Arab. It is all but impossible for most Palestinian citizens to live outside these communities or a handful of cities where Palestinian neighborhoods exist.

But while Israel has built hundreds of rural communities exclusively for Jewish citizens since Israel’s creation 68 years ago, Hana Swaid pointed out that no new communities for Palestinians had been established.

The decision to build the town was approved by the Netanyahu government in late 2012, but the location—over the two destroyed villages of Hittin and Nimrin— came to light only in January.

Suhad Bishara, a lawyer specializing in land issues for Adalah, a legal center for Palestinian citizens, said the development of the new town would violate the rights of the refugees to their land guaranteed in international law.

As part of Israel’s international obligations, she said, refugee land was supposed to be held in trust by an official, known as the Custodian, until the issue of the refugees had been settled.

MARCH/APRIL 2016

“Building on this land means the refugees cannot receive restitution in the future,” she said. “It complicates the picture of any future peace agreement.”

In addition to the millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants living outside Israel’s borders, one in four of the Palestinian population inside Israel are reported to be refugees. The internally displaced are officially classified as “present absentees”—present in Israel but absent from their homes.

“Present Absentees”

All the residents of Nimrin, a small village in 1948, were forced outside Israel’s borders. But some of Hittin’s families managed to remain close by their village.

Makbula Nassar, a Palestinian journalist whose mother’s family was from Hittin, said the internal refugees lived nearby in communities such as Eilaboun, Nazareth and Deir Hana.

“They have been actively struggling to get access to their lands, and especially the mosque, since the 1980s,” she said.

“The authorities immediately declared the mosque off-limits and an antiquity site.”

The mosque, which was built on Saladin’s orders, has been fenced off since 2000. “Why, if the mosque is an antiquity, is the state allowing it to fall into ruin? No one is caring for it.”

Jewish groups have also opposed the decision to build the town. In late December a protest was staged outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem by a historical society that recreates the Battle of Hittin, as well as by archeologists and members of neighboring Jewish communities.

They argue that, given the area’s historical significance, Israel ought to be pressing the United Nations to declare it a World Heritage Site and ban development.

Despite the opposition of many Druze leaders, government officials have highlighted the support of Ayoub Kara, a hawkish Druze member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and deputy minister for the development of the Druze.

“These lands belong to the state,” Kara wrote recently in the Makor Rishon newspaper. “The place doesn’t disturb anyone. It’s desolate.”

A spokesman for Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the criticisms.

Raneen Geries, an activist with Zochrot, a Jewish-Palestinian organization seeking to educate Israeli Jews about the Nakba, Israel’s dispossession of the Palestinians in 1948, said she believed the government was hoping to win wider Druze support by exploiting their religious attachment to the area.

The new town will be located next to an ancient shrine to Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law and the foremost prophet of the Druze. In Arabic he is known as Nabi Shuayb. The shrine has long been a major site of Druze pilgrimage.

In recent years Israel has massively developed the site, building a major road to the shrine and a large parking lot, further damaging the remains of Hittin and encroaching on its surviving mosque.

Nassar, who serves on the board of ADRID, a Palestinian organization defending the rights of the internal refugees, said that in the past there had been fears that highlighting Hittin’s problems would stir conflict with Druze religious leaders.

“That view strikes me as wrong,” she said. “For centuries Muslims, Christians and Druze shared the land. Now is the time to make an alliance with the Druze to support the cause of Hittin and Nimrin.” ■ (Advertisement)

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omer_14-15_Gaza on the Ground 2/11/16 7:47 PM Page 14

Gaza on the Ground

An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

By Mohammed Omer

PHOTO M. OMER

look around Gaza today and see only the aftermath of more Israeli cruelty and evidence of ever more bloodshed, pain, sadness and destruction, the words “Yes, we can” now drift away with the dust, carried by the winds of despair.

This despair has hung over our heads for at least the past 10 years, the result of Israel’s harsh collective punishment of the 1.9 million human beings who struggle to survive in Gaza. Half of them are children younger than your Sasha and Malia; many are babies, like mine, held in their parents’ arms.

Perhaps, being so far removed from it, you cannot empathize with the effects of collective punishment. Having studied law and worked closely in community projects, however, you surely have an intellectual and historical understanding. I think you know that Israel’s intentions Children play on the ruins of demolished homes in Shejayeh, an area which was heavily hit by extend beyond removing Hamas—or any Israeli cannon shells and F-16 missiles during Israel’s 51-day war on Gaza in the summer of other group that would resist an occu2014, when more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed and around 100,000 became homeless. pier’s expansion and invasion of their homes and leaders.

The U.S. Constitution does not call for the punishment of an Dear Mr. President, entire population simply for voting for the “wrong party.” It and s president of the most powerful country on the planet; the Bill of Rights guarantee Americans the freedom to express the loving and protective father of two children; and a themselves freely and the right to struggle and defend their man fully aware of the human struggles of so many in inalienable rights. The American Revolution was an act of rethe down-trodden communities of many lands, including your bellion against oppression and the denial of “self-evident” own, your eyes must have been opened during the last three— rights and freedoms. of many—Israeli assaults on besieged Gaza, where I live with In Gaza, we are struggling against similar oppression. Israel my wife and young son. increasingly confines and punishes us for our struggle, as we I recall being in the Netherlands when you were first elected use whatever meager means we have to attain the same freepresident. Like so many millions around the world, I cheered dom and human dignity your forbearers fought for. loudly for you, believing that a fresh wind was blowing through What is the bond that binds U.S. politics and power to Israel’s the narrow halls of U.S. politics. I dared to hope that a brave ongoing cruel oppression? How can the U.S. justify its uncondiman—a champion of good people who were neglected and tional patronage of Israel escalating infliction of pain upon innoabused—had arrived to stand up and ease the pain and injuscent others? What satisfaction and reward does Israel gain for tice inflicted on so many, including my people in Palestine, long punishing every aspect of human life for nearly two million good tormented and driven from their ancient land, deprived of their Palestinian people in Gaza, who just want their freedom again? human dignity.

Three recent wars have whipped, beaten and left homeless Sadly, however, I perhaps dared to believe too much. As I many families who are still waiting for short- and long-term protection from cruelty. I met with Ahmed Al Kafarneh, an elAward-winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports from the Gaza derly man of dignity, living with his wife, son, daughter-in-law Strip, where he maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. Follow him on Twitter: @MoGaza. and three grandchildren. Before the 51-day war in 2014, he,

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like 100,000 other Palestinians, had built a beautiful home after 20 years of working in Israel—no easy task indeed. Now everything is gone, and he lives with his extended family in a rusty metal shipping container.

Mr. President, it is a cold and wet winter here—the coldest in years. Try to imagine yourself, Michelle, Sasha and Malia sitting on cold metal floors with rain dripping in from more holes in the container roof than you can count.

Are you not the same president who, when proclaiming Israel’s right to defend itself, vowed that you would do everything to protect your children? Does that same determination to protect not apply to our Palestinian children?

It seems you have forgotten our right—not only as Palestinians, but as human beings—to exist in freedom and safety from oppression and disproportionately heavy attacks from the Israeli military. In Gaza, our youngest generation knows only war, displacement, loss, trauma and pain. It faces even more obstacles in the path of “Yes we can” in the form of massive unemployment, repression and isolation caused by Israel’s U.S.-sanctioned economic blockade, denying an entire people free movement and a normal life of choices.

Does that not sound like slavery, Mr. President?

We are locked behind walls, contained like cattle, spied on by armed drones, with Israeli-army snipers patrolling barbedwire fences, and placed on a “diet” meted out by occupiers and thieves. Is that not extremism? Would you not resist it?

A few days ago, I met with 13 brave and dedicated U.S. doctors who came here to assist the local hospitals—a rare occasion when American doctors get to meet face to face with our own courageous doctors and Hippocratic Oath colleagues.

A 24-year-old Palestinian fine arts student paused when she heard of the delegation and asked, “Do Americans like us?

Does Obama like us?”

This is why I am writing this open letter to you, Mr. President.

Human beings, of all generations, live here in Gaza, waiting for your replies to these questions. “Change we can believe in,” Mr. President—but it must include our freedom of choice.

Gaza is the size of Manhattan Island. We are human beings like you and your fellow Americans—but we are trapped behind walls and fences we have never lived behind before and don’t want to wake up to tomorrow. Our southern borders are now fenced off by Egypt, locking down Rafah crossing. To the west, our beaches—frequented by children, families and fishermen— are threatened by Israeli naval vessels armed with missiles and water cannons. They confine our fishing boats to 6 nautical miles offshore instead of the designated 20 nautical miles.

Are you aware that 73 Palestinian fishermen were fired upon and arrested in 2015? Or that 55 percent of Gazans suffer from clinical depression, that 43 percent are unemployed, 40 percent fall below the poverty line, and 60 percent are food insecure?

Do you know how few hours of electricity we are allowed in 24 hours, with no power for 12 to 16 hours? The same shortage applies to water, cooking gas and many other basic essentials.

As you are served your meal this evening, remember we have half a million gas cylinders waiting to be filled before we can cook or boil water for washing and drinking (a human right).

This is all the more tragic because Gaza could be the perfect neighbor for Israel, living in peace and harmony and sharing mutually beneficial economic and trade relationships. We have many skilled workers and a well-educated young generation.

Palestine has always been progressive. The only thing we need is a chance to grow, develop and contribute with dignity and equality.

We want to build bridges of understanding, instead of separation walls of bigotry and hatred. We don’t want Israel experimenting with its new hi-tech weapons on the children of Gaza.

Your American-made missiles have been used to attack U.N. schools and shelters—the very schools which offer quality education and steer our children away from extremism.

This is usually something to be applauded, not targeted.

You have not seen Khuza’a and the massive destruction that Israel’s war machine left behind. Its children’s feet are cold this frigid winter because water continues to drip from their shell-pocked ceilings onto their beds. You are welcome to visit us at any time, should you choose to place humanitarian considerations over political ones.

It is time for you, Mr. President, to provide the children and youth of Gaza with hope they can believe in. You can do it before you leave office, and all your promises, behind. You can reignite the enthusiasm we felt when you stepped up to address the world, and strengthen your legacy for promoting peace after you leave the Oval Office.

Meanwhile, you are among the very few people on earth who could influence Israel and Egypt to open borders and end the collective blockade. Is not a decade enough? Especially when we know that the ones who suffer from the siege are ordinary people, not political groups such as Hamas. If the aim is for people to look beyond Hamas, they must be given options for the future.

The children and parents of Gaza are waiting for a solution, and you can revitalize the positive energy that came with you and your speeches early in your presidency. Make all people proud—including Americans—of your long-lasting achievements. Stand up for Gaza, as you always do for Israel, regardless of how badly they treat their fellow man (including yourself). We don’t want or need extremism in any form. We want stability, peace and to live in our homes without drones and tanks threatening us day and night. The young people of Gaza are seeking a better future.

Can we do this? Yes, we can! Step up Mr. President— please. ■

“”

“Do Americans like us?

Does Obama like us?”

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What They Said

Remarks By President Barack Obama at the Islamic Society of Baltimore

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MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

ell, good afterexpress their love for God noon. And, [Uniand each other. There’s a versity of Maryschool where teachers land pre-med student] open young minds. Kids Sabah [Mukhtar], thank you play baseball and football for the wonderful introducand basketball—boys and tion and for your example— girls—I hear they’re pretty your devotion to your faith good. (Laughter.) Cub and your education, and Scouts, Girl Scouts meet, your service to others. recite the Pledge of AlleYou’re an inspiration. giance here.

You’re going to be a fantasWith interfaith dialogue, tic doctor. And I suspect, you build bridges of underSabah, your parents are standing with other faith here because they wanted communities—Christians to see you so—where are and Jews. There’s a health Sabah’s parents? There clinic that serves the needy, you go. (Applause.) Good regardless of their faith. job, mom. She did great, And members of this comdidn’t she? She was terrific. munity are out in the To everyone here at the broader community, workIslamic Society of Baltimore, ing for social justice and thank you for welcoming me President Obama speaks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Feb. 3, 2016. urban development. As vothere today. I want to thank ers, you come here to meet Muslim-American leaders from across this city and this state, candidates. As one of your members said, “just look at the way and some who traveled even from out of state to be here. I want we live...we are true Americans.” to recognize Congressman John Sarbanes, who is here. (ApSo the first thing I want to say is two words that Muslim Ameriplause.) As well as two other great leaders in Congress—and cans don’t hear often enough—and that is, thank you. Thank proud Muslim Americans—Congressman Keith Ellison from the you for serving your community. Thank you for lifting up the lives great state of Minnesota—(applause)—and Congressman of your neighbors, and for helping keep us strong and united as Andre Carson from the great state of Indiana. (Applause.) one American family. We are grateful for that. (Applause.)

This mosque, like so many in our country, is an all-American Now, this brings me to the other reason I wanted to come story. You’ve been part of this city for nearly half a century. here today. I know that in Muslim communities across our You serve thousands of families—some who’ve lived here for country, this is a time of concern and, frankly, a time of some decades, as well as immigrants from many countries who’ve fear. Like all Americans, you’re worried about the threat of terworked to become proud American citizens. rorism. But on top of that, as Muslim Americans, you also Now, a lot of Americans have never visited a mosque. To have another concern—and that is your entire community so the folks watching this today who haven’t—think of your own often is targeted or blamed for the violent acts of the very few. church, or synagogue, or temple, and a mosque like this will The Muslim American community remains relatively small— be very familiar. This is where families come to worship and several million people in this country. And as a result, most Americans don’t necessarily know—or at least don't know that they know—a Muslim personally. And as a result, many only President Barack Obama delivered these remarks to the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Feb. 3, 2016. hear about Muslims and Islam from the news after an act of 16

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terrorism, or in distorted media portrayals in TV or film, all of which gives this hugely distorted impression.

And since 9/11, but more recently, since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, you’ve seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith. And of course, recently, we’ve heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country.

No surprise, then, that threats and harassment of Muslim Americans have surged. Here at this mosque, twice last year, threats were made against your children. Around the country, women wearing the hijab—just like Sabah—have been targeted. We’ve seen children bullied. We’ve seen mosques vandalized. Sikh Americans and others who are perceived to be Muslims have been targeted, as well.

I just had a chance to meet with some extraordinary Muslim Americans from across the country who are doing all sorts of work. Some of them are doctors; some of them are community leaders; religious leaders. All of them were doing extraordinary work, not just in the Muslim community but in the American community. And they’re proud of their work in business and education, and on behalf of social justice and the environment and education. I should point out they were all much younger than me—(laughter)—which is happening more frequently these days. And you couldn’t help but be inspired, hearing about the extraordinary work that they’re doing.

But you also could not help but be heartbroken to hear their worries and their anxieties.

Some of them are parents, and they talked about how their children were asking, are we going to be forced out of the country, or, are we going to be rounded up? Why do people treat us like that? Conversations that you shouldn’t have to have with children—not in this country. Not at this moment.

And that’s an anxiety echoed in letters I get from Muslim Americans around the country. I’ve had people write to me and say, I feel like I’m a second-class citizen. I’ve had mothers write and say, “my heart cries every night,” thinking about how her daughter might be treated at school. A girl from Ohio, 13 years old, told me, “I’m scared.” A girl from Texas signed her letter “a confused 14-year-old trying to find her place in the world.”

These are children just like mine. And the notion that they would be filled with doubt and questioning their places in this great country of ours at a time when they’ve got enough to worry about—it’s hard being a teenager already—that’s not who we are.

We’re one American family. And when any part of our family starts to feel separate or second-class or targeted, it tears at the very fabric of our nation. (Applause.)

It’s a challenge to our values—and that means we have much work to do. We’ve got to tackle this head on. We have to be honest and clear about it. And we have to speak out. This is a moment when, as Americans, we have to truly listen to each other and learn from each other. And I believe it has to begin with a common understanding of some basic facts. And I express these facts, although they’d be obvious to many of the people in this place, because, unfortunately, it’s not facts that are communicated on a regular basis through our media.

So let’s start with this fact: For more than a thousand years, people have been drawn to Islam’s message of peace. And the very word itself, Islam, comes from salam—peace. The standard greeting is as-salamu alaykum—peace be upon you. And like so many faiths, Islam is rooted in a commitment to compassion and mercy and justice and charity. Whoever wants to enter paradise, the Prophet Muhammad taught, “let him treat people the way he would love to be treated.” (Applause.) For Christians like myself, I’m assuming that sounds familiar. (Laughter.)

The world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are as diverse as humanity itself.

They are Arabs and Africans. They're from Latin America to Southeast Asia; Brazilians, Nigerians, Bangladeshis, Indonesians. They are white and brown and black. There’s a large African-American Muslim community. That diversity is represented here today. A 14-yearold boy in Texas who’s Muslim spoke for many when he wrote to me and said, “We just want to live in peace.”

Here’s another fact: Islam has always been part of America.

Starting in colonial times, many of the slaves brought here from Africa were Muslim. And even in their bondage, some kept their faith alive. A few even won their freedom and became known to many Americans. And when enshrining the freedom of religion in our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, our Founders meant what they said when they said it applied to all religions.

Back then, Muslims were often called Mahometans. And Thomas Jefferson explained that the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom he wrote was designed to protect all faiths— and I’m quoting Thomas Jefferson now—“the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mahometan.” (Applause.)

Jefferson and John Adams had their own copies of the Qur’an.

Benjamin Franklin wrote that “even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach to us, he would find a pulpit at his service.” (Applause.) So this is not a new thing.

Generations of Muslim Americans helped to build our nation. They were part of the flow of immigrants who became farmers and merchants. They built America’s first mosque, surprisingly enough, in North Dakota. (Laughter.) America’s

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Islam has always been part of America.

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oldest surviving mosque is in Iowa. The first Islamic center in New York City was built in the 1890s. Muslim Americans worked on Henry Ford’s assembly line, cranking out cars. A Muslim American designed the skyscrapers of Chicago.

In 1957, when dedicating the Islamic Center in Washington, DC, President Eisenhower said, “I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends, that under the American Constitution…and in American hearts…this place of worship, is just as welcome…as any other religion.” (Applause.)

And, perhaps the most pertinent fact, Muslim Americans enrich our lives today in every way. They’re our neighbors, the teachers who inspire our children, the doctors who trust us with our health—future doctors like Sabah. They’re scientists who win Nobel Prizes, young entrepreneurs who are creating new technologies that we use all the time. They’re the sports heroes we cheer for—like Muhammad Ali and Kareem AbdulJabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon. And by the way, when Team USA marches into the next Olympics, one of the Americans waving the red, white and blue—(applause)—will be a fencing champion, wearing her hijab, Ibtihaj Muhammad, who is here today. Stand up.

(Applause.) I told her to bring home the gold. (Laughter.)

Not to put any pressure on you. (Laughter.)

Muslim Americans keep us safe. They’re our police and our firefighters. They're in homeland security, in our intelligence community. They serve honorably in our armed forces— meaning they fight and bleed and die for our freedom. Some rest in Arlington National Cemetery. (Applause.)

So Muslim Americans are some of the most resilient and patriotic Americans you’ll ever meet. We’re honored to have some of our proud Muslim-American servicemembers here today. Please stand if you're here, so we can thank you for your service. (Applause.)

So part of the reason I want to lay out these facts is because, in the discussions that I was having with these incredibly accomplished young people, they were pointing out that so often they felt invisible. And part of what we have to do is to lift up the contributions of the Muslim American community not when there’s a problem, but all the time.

Our television shows should have some Muslim characters that are unrelated to national security—(applause)—because—it’s not that hard to do. There was a time when there were no black people on television. And you can tell good stories while still representing the reality of our communities.

Now, we do have another fact that we have to acknowledge.

Even as the overwhelming majority—and I repeat, the overwhelming majority—of the world’s Muslims embrace Islam as a

source of peace, it is undeniable that a small fraction of Muslims propagate a perverted interpretation of Islam. This is the truth.

Groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL, they’re not the first extremists in history to misuse God’s name. We’ve seen it before, across faiths. But right now, there is an organized extremist element that draws selectively from Islamic texts, twists them in an attempt to justify their killing and their terror. They combine it with false claims that America and the West are at war with Islam. And this warped thinking that has found adherents around the world—including, as we saw, tragically, in Boston and Chattanooga and San Bernardino—is real. It’s there. And it creates tensions and pressure that disproportionately burden the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Muslim citizens.

And the question then is, how do we move forward together? How do we keep our country strong and united? How do we defend ourselves against organizations that are bent on killing innocents? And it can’t be the work of any one faith alone. It can’t be just a burden on the Muslim community—although the Muslim community has to play a role. We all have responsibilities. So with the time I have left, I just want to suggest a few principles that I believe can guide us.

First, at a time when others are trying to divide us along lines of religion or sect, we have to reaffirm that most fundamental of truths: We are all God’s children. We’re all born equal, with inherent dignity.

And so often, we focus on our outward differences and we forget how much we share. Christians, Jews, Muslims—we’re all, under our faiths, descendants of Abraham. So mere tolerance of different religions is not enough. Our faiths summon us to embrace our common humanity. “O mankind,” the Qur’an teaches, we have “made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.” (Applause.) So all of us have the task of expressing our religious faith in a way that seeks to build bridges rather than to divide.

Second, as Americans, we have to stay true to our core values, and that includes freedom of religion for all faiths. I already mentioned our Founders, like Jefferson, knew that religious liberty is essential, not only to protect religion but because religion helps strengthen our nation—if it is free, if it is not an extension of the state. Part of what’s happened in the Middle East and North Africa and other places where we see sectarian violence is religion being a tool for another agenda—for power, for control. Freedom of religion helps prevent that, both ways—protects religious faiths, protects the state from—or those who want to take over the state from— using religious animosity as a tool for their own ends.

That doesn’t mean that those of us with religious faith

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How do we move forward together?

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should not be involved. We have to be active citizenry. But we have to respect the fact that we have freedom of religion.

Remember, many preachers and pastors fought to abolish the evil of slavery. People of faith advocated to improve conditions for workers and ban child labor. Dr. King was joined by people of many faiths, challenging us to live up to our ideals. And that civil activism, that civic participation, that’s the essence of our democracy, it is enhanced by freedom of religion.

Now, we have to acknowledge that there have been times where we have fallen short of our ideals. By the way, Thomas Jefferson’s opponents tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim—so I was not the first— President Obama greets young members of the overflow audience at the Islamic Society of (applause.) No, it’s true, it’s true. Look it up. Baltimore, Feb. 3, 2016.

(Laughter.) I’m in good company. (Laughter.)

But it hasn’t just been attacks of that sort that have been Which brings me to my next point: As we protect our country used. Mormon communities have been attacked throughout our from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the history. Catholics, including, most prominently, JFK—John F. rhetoric of the terrorists themselves. I often hear it said that we Kennedy—when he ran for president, was accused of being need moral clarity in this fight. And the suggestion is somehow disloyal. There was a suggestion that he would be taking orders that if I would simply say, these are all Islamic terrorists, then from the Pope as opposed to upholding his constitutional duties. we would actually have solved the problem by now, apparAnti-Semitism in this country has a sad and long history, and ently. (Laughter.) Well, I agree, we actually do need moral Jews were excluded routinely from colleges and professions clarity. Let’s have some moral clarity. (Applause.) and from public office.

Groups like ISIL are desperate for legitimacy. They try to And so if we’re serious about freedom of religion—and I’m portray themselves as religious leaders and holy warriors who speaking now to my fellow Christians, who remain the majority speak for Islam. I refuse to give them legitimacy. We must in this country—we have to understand an attack on one faith never give them that legitimacy. (Applause.) They’re not deis an attack on all our faiths. (Applause.) And when any relifending Islam. They’re not defending Muslims. The vast majorgious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak ity of the people they kill are innocent Muslim men, women up. And we have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate and children. (Applause.) prejudice or bias, and targets people because of religion.

And, by the way, the notion that America is at war with Islam We’ve got to make sure that hate crimes are punished, and ignores the fact that the world’s religions are a part of who we that the civil rights of all Americans are upheld. (Applause.) are. We can’t be at war with any other religion, because the And just as faith leaders, including Muslims, must speak out world’s religions are a part of the very fabric of the United when Christians are persecuted around the world—(apStates, our national character. (Applause.) plause)—or when anti-Semitism is on the rise—because the So the best way for us to fight terrorism is to deny these orfact is, is that there are Christians who are targeted now in the ganizations legitimacy and to show that here in the United Middle East, despite having been there for centuries, and States of America, we do not suppress Islam; we celebrate there are Jews who’ve lived in places like France for centuries and lift up the success of Muslim Americans. That’s how we who now feel obliged to leave because they feel themselves show the lie that they’re trying to propagate. (Applause.) We under assault—sometimes by Muslims. We have to be consisshouldn’t play into terrorist propaganda. And we can’t suggest tent in condemning hateful rhetoric and violence against that Islam itself is at the root of the problem. That betrays our everyone. (Applause.) And that includes against Muslims here values. It alienates Muslim Americans. It’s hurtful to those kids in the United States of America. (Applause.) who are trying to go to school and are members of the Boy So none of us can be silent. We can’t be bystanders to bigScouts, and are thinking about joining our military. That kind of otry. And together, we’ve got to show that America truly promindset helps our enemies. It helps our enemies recruit. It tects all faiths. makes us all less safe. So let’s be clear about that.

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Now, finally, just as all Americans have a responsibility to reject discrimination—I’ve said this before—Muslims around the world have a responsibility to reject extremist ideologies that are trying to penetrate within Muslim communities.

Here at this mosque, and across our country and around the world, Muslim leaders are roundly and repeatedly and consistently condemning terrorism. And around the globe, Muslims who’ve dared to speak out have often been targeted and even killed. So those voices are there; we just have to amplify them more. (Applause.)

And it was interesting, in the discussion I had before I came out, some people said, why is there always a burden on us?

When a young man in Charleston shoots African Americans in a church, there’s not an expectation that every white person in America suddenly is explaining that they’re not racist. Everybody is assumed to be horrified by that act. And I recognize that sometimes that doesn't feel fair.

But part of the answer is to make sure that the Muslim community in all of its variety, in all the good works that it’s doing, in all the talent that's on display, that it’s out there visible on a consistent basis—not just at a certain moment. (Applause.)

But what is also true is, is that there is a battle of hearts and minds that takes place—that is taking place right now—and American Muslims are better positioned than anybody to show that it is possible to be faithful to Islam and to be part of a pluralistic society, and to be on the cutting-edge of science, and to believe in democracy. (Applause.)

And so I would urge all of you not to see this as a burden, but as a great opportunity and a great privilege to show who you are. To use a little Christian expression—let your light shine. Because when you do you’ll make clear that this is not a clash of civilizations between the West and Islam. This is a struggle between the peace-loving, overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world and a radical, tiny minority. And ultimately, I’m confident that the overwhelming majority will win that battle. (Applause.) Muslims will decide the future of your faith. And I’m confident in the direction that it will go.

But across the Islamic world, influential voices should consistently speak out with an affirmative vision of their faith. And it’s happening. These are the voices of Muslim clerics who teach that Islam prohibits terrorism, for the Qur’an says whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind. (Applause.) These are the voices of Muslim scholars, some of whom join us today, who know Islam has a tradition of respect for other faiths; and Muslim teachers who point out that the first word revealed in the Qur’an—igra—means “read”—to seek knowledge, to question assumptions. (Applause.)

Muslim political leaders have to push back on the lie that the West oppresses Muslims, and against conspiracy theories that says America is the cause of every ill in the Middle East.

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Now, that doesn't mean that Muslim Americans aren’t free to criticize American—U.S. foreign policy. That's part of being an American. I promise you, as the president of the United States, I’m mindful that that is a healthy tradition that is alive and well in America. (Laughter.) But like leaders everywhere, these leaders have been offering, and need to continue to offer, a positive vision for progress, and that includes political and economic progress.

And we have to acknowledge that much of the violence in places like the Middle East is now turning into fights between sects—Shi’i, Sunni and others—where differences are often exploited to serve political agendas, as I said earlier. And this bloodshed is destroying Muslim families and communities, and there has to be global pressure to have the vision, and the courage to end this kind of thinking and this approach to organizing political power.

It’s not historically unique. It’s happened in every part of the world—from Northern Ireland to Africa, to Asia, to right here in the United States—in the past. But it is something that we have to fight against.

And we know it’s possible. Across the history of Islam, different sects traditionally have lived and thrived together peacefully. And in many parts of the world they do today, including here in the United States.

Like people of all religions, Muslims living their faith in a modern, pluralistic world are called upon to uphold human rights, to make sure that everyone has opportunity. That includes the aspirations of women and youth and all people. If we expect our own dignity to be respected, so must we respect the dignity of others. (Applause.)

So let me conclude by saying that as Muslim communities stand up for the future that you believe in, that you exhibit in your daily lives, as you teach your children, America will be your partner. We will—I will—do everything I can to lift up the multiplicity of Muslim voices that promote pluralism and peace. (Applause.) We will continue to reach out to young Muslims around the world, empowering them with science and technology and entrepreneurship, so they can pursue their God-given potential, and help build up their communities and provide opportunity. It’s why we will continue to partner with Muslim American communities—not just to help you protect against extremist threats, but to expand health care and education and opportunity—(applause)—because that’s the best way to build strong, resilient communities.

Our values must guide us in this work. Engagement with Muslim-American communities must never be a cover for surveillance. (Applause.) We can’t give in to profiling entire groups of people. There’s no one single profile of terrorists.

We can’t securitize our entire relationship with Muslim Americans. We can’t deal with you solely through the prism of law enforcement. We’ve got to build trust and mutual respect.

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That’s how we’ll keep our communities strong and our communities united.

As I was in discussion with the young people before I came in here, I said this will be a process. Law enforcement has a tough job. Some of these groups are specifically trying to target Muslim youth. We’re going to have to be partners in this process. There will be times where the relationship is clumsy or mishandled. But I want you to know that from the president to the FBI director, to everybody in law enforcement, my directive and their understanding is, is that this is something we have to do together. And if we don’t do it well, then we’re actually not making ourselves safer; we’re making ourselves less safe.

And here, I want to speak directly to the young people who may be listening. In our lives, we all have many identities. We are sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters. We’re classmates; Cub Scout troop members. We’re followers of our faith. We’re citizens of our country. And today, there are voices in this world, particularly over the Internet, who are constantly claiming that you have to choose between your identities—as a Muslim, for example, or an American.

Do not believe them. If you’re ever wondering whether you fit in here, let me say it as clearly as I can, as president of the United States: You fit in here—right here. (Applause.) You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America, too. (Applause.) You’re not Muslim or American. You’re Muslim and American. (Applause.)

Don’t grow cynical. Don’t respond to ignorance by embracing a world view that suggests you must choose between your faith and your patriotism. Don’t believe that you have to choose between your best impulses and somehow embrace a world view that pits us against each other—or, even worse, glorifies violence. Understand your power to bring about change. Stay engaged in your community. Help move our country forward—your country forward. (Applause.)

We are blessed to live in a nation where even if we sometimes stumble, even if we sometimes fall short, we never stop striving for our ideals. We keep moving closer to that more perfect union. We’re a country where, if you work hard and if you play by the rules, you can ultimately make it, no matter who you are or how you pray. It may not always start off even in the race, but here, more than any place else, there’s the opportunity to run that race.

And as we go forward, I want every Muslim American to remember you are not alone. Your fellow Americans stand with you—just as Sabah described her friends after she decided that she was going to start wearing a hijab. That’s not un-

usual. Because just as so often we only hear about Muslims after a terrorist attack, so often we only hear about Americans’ response to Muslims after a hate crime has happened, we don’t always hear about the extraordinary respect and love and community that so many Americans feel.

I’m thinking about the 7-year-old boy in Texas who emptied his piggy bank to help a mosque that had been vandalized.

(Applause.) Or all the faith communities that rallied around Muslim Americans after the tragedy in Chapel Hill. The churches and the synagogues standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their local mosques, including the woman carrying a sign saying, “We love our Muslim neighbors.” Think of our men and women in uniform who, when they heard that a little girl was afraid because she’s a Muslim, sent her a message—“I Will Protect You.” (Applause.)

I want every American to remember how Muslim communities are standing up for others, as well. Because right now, as we speak, there are Muslims in Kenya who saved Christians from terrorists, and Muslims who just met in Morocco to protect religious minorities, including Christians and Jews.

(Applause.) The good people of this mosque helped this city move forward after the turmoil of last year. Muslim Americans across the country helped African-American churches rebuild after arson.

Remember the Muslim Americans in Boston who reached out to victims of the Marathon bombing; the Muslim Americans across the country who raised money for the families of San Bernardino; the Muslim Americans in Chattanooga who honored our fallen servicemembers, one of them saying, “in the name of God, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, God bless our fallen heroes.” (Applause.)

We are one American family. We will rise and fall together.

It won’t always be easy. There will be times where our worst impulses are given voice. But I believe that ultimately, our best voices will win out. And that gives me confidence and faith in the future. (Applause.)

After more than 200 years, our blended heritage, the patchwork quilt which is America, that is not a weakness, that is one of our greatest strengths. It’s what makes us a beacon to the world. It’s what led that mother who wrote to me—the one who worries about her young daughter—it led her to end her letter with hope, despite her fears. She said, “I still believe in one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

(Applause.)

May God's peace be upon you. May God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much, everybody. (Applause.) ■

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Our values must guide us in this work.

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Special Report

“I Shall Not Hate,” A Palestinian Doctor’s Parable

By Delinda C. Hanley

STAFF PHOTO D. HANLEY

who told me: “My daughter said, ‘that’s just not fair what they did to that tree.’ She said she’d tie herself to the tree if they ever tried to chop down our tree!”

A few weeks later, on Feb. 6, I attended a performance of “I Shall Not Hate,” at the Atlas Theater in Washington, DC. The 75-minute one-man-play is based on the memoir, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity (available from Middle East Books and More) by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Gazan obstetrician whose three daughters—Bessan, 21, Mayar, 15, and Aya, 13—and niece, Noor, were killed when Israeli shells hit their family’s home on Jan. 16, 2009, during Operation Cast Lead.

Israelis heard Dr. Abuelaish’s anguished cries for help as they were broadcast live (L-r) Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, Ahmed Mansour, Sivan Atzmon, Ghassan Abbas, Ari Roth and Paul on Shlomi Eldar’s TV program. Eldar Costello discuss the play “I Shall Not Hate” following the Feb. 6 performance. helped get an ambulance to Abuelaish’s home in time to save a fourth daughter who was grievously came home from work on Jan. 14 to find the ancient red wounded. The tragedy was rebroadcast around the world and maple in front of my house looking like a skeleton. In the 20 shamed Israel into halting that year’s attacks on Gaza. (Israel has years I’ve lived in Kensington, MD the huge tree has enwaged two more full-scale wars on Gaza, in 2012 and 2014.) dured periodic trims to keep its branches from interfering with Israeli-Palestinian actor Ghassan Abbas transfixed the audithe overhead power lines—but this time the tree was decapience as he portrayed Dr. Abuelaish—whom we first meet as a tated. On Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Day, my local power com7-year-old Muslim child in Jabalya, two miles north of Gaza pany contractors finished off the job—leaving behind a massive City, working to help support his family. Next we see him as a stump that makes my heart ache every time I drive up or look boy comforting his inconsolable father as their home is bullout my window. The tree was located within the public right-ofdozed. Abuelaish’s family of 11 ended up living in one room way, on town property, our town mayor said when I complained with no electricity, running water or toilet. Later we marvel as bitterly. He claimed they’d mailed a “courtesy letter” offering a Abuelaish studies to become a doctor, returns to open a clinic replacement seedling. Nearly a month later, a new letter he in Gaza, then leaves his family behind to “deliver a new generpromised still hasn’t reached me. ation of occupiers” in Israel, traveling home to his wife and Four days later, on Jan. 22, a massive blizzard hit the East children in Gaza whenever he can. He knows he has been Coast, shutting down the capital. Like everyone else in the reaway too long when his son calls him uncle. gion, I was able to prepare by purchasing groceries, flashLike his countrymen, Dr. Abuelaish deals with relentless clolights and bringing in firewood. I worried about all the birds sures, food and electricity shortages, and difficulties obtaining, that used to live in that tree, and bought a sack of birdseed. or later providing, adequate health care. In one haunting Most of us hunkered down in comfort, knowing the storm scene Israeli soldiers senselessly delay him from reaching his would end and life would get back to normal. My neighbors took wife in intensive care. Finally Abuelaish has saved the money time out from their shoveling to commiserate with me about the to build a five-story home for his own family, his mother and loss of my tree, including the father of a middle school student brothers’ families. We know how that turned out from the news Delinda C. Hanley is the news editor of the Washington Report on reports we watched in 2009.

Middle East Affairs.

I

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Workers return to finish cutting down the beloved red maple tree in Kensington, MD.

The tragedies Dr. Abuelaish faced are all too common in Gaza and the West Bank, but Americans rarely have the opportunity to hear Palestinians tell their stories.

Nearly everyone in the audience stayed for a post-play discussion with Dr. Abuelaish, who now lives in Canada with what is left of his family, and Abbas, the actor who portrayed him. Artistic director Ari Roth, who founded the Mosaic Theater Company of DC in 2014—after his dismissal from the DC Jewish Community Center’s Theater J—talked about choosing this play for his “Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival” even before Shay Pitovsky and Abuelaish finished adapting the book.

Roth, who continues to challenge Washington, DC theatergoers, arranged for that night’s performance to benefit New Story Leadership (NSL), which needs funds to continue its vital work.

Founded by Paul Costello, NSL brings Israeli and Palestinian students to the U.S. to share their stories and hopes, and acquire skills to become social entrepreneurs back home. Two NSL students, Ahmed Mansour, a Palestinian from Gaza, who is interning with the Washington Report, and Sivan Atzmon, a Jewish Israeli from Jerusalem who interned with the Mosaic Theater, joined the others on stage.

Again Abbas brought the audience to tears when he said, “It’s been many years since I was an optimistic child.

They killed the child inside me. Today I don’t believe in peace any more.” Having just come from Israel, he warned, “It’s MARCH/APRIL 2016

stopped being the Holy Land.” He believes some day the Creator will come back, Abbas said, but He’s certainly nowhere in sight today.

Mansour—who has lived through the last three Israeli attacks, lost best friends to bombs and snipers, and three scholarships to study abroad due to border closures— said, “Don’t feel sorry for us. We, the trapped people of Gaza, are proud. We’re destined to live under occupation for now.

We’ve lived through Roman, Greek, Turkish and British occupations. Israel’s occupation is going to be over some day....It’s very hard to forget and forgive Israel for killing my dreams and my friends.”

When he tries, they just bomb again.

Roth empathized with the Palestinians and the exhausting, repetitive nature of the violence. “I choose not to believe Abbas has given up on peace,” Roth said, pointing out that as the actor pours his passion into playing Abuelaish he is a “soldier for peace, an emissary of hope.” Roth said he is convinced that “change is possible,” and added that he never lost hope, even after losing his job at Theatre J, and that today Mosaic Theater has become an important reality.

Dr. Abuelaish also urged his audience to translate hope into action. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon,” he pointed out.

“I fought to succeed.”

At the end of the play, Dr. Abuelaish asks, Who do you want me to hate? The Israeli babies I delivered? The Jewish family who invited me to eat with them?

The Israeli doctors who saved my child’s

life? “Hatred is our illness in this place,” he answers. “It is eating us up without ever letting us go.”

Today, Abuelaish said he has kept his daughters alive by writing his book, and turning it into a play so his dead children’s stories enter viewers’ souls. “Forgiveness is not a weakness,” he told his audience.

It requires more moral courage than hatred. “It’s easy to be angry and destroy.

Revenge and anger is a weakness.”

His daughter Shatha lost an eye and two fingers that terrible day, Abuelaish said, but two months later she sat for her exams, earning top grades, a 96 percent. Today she is an engineering student in Toronto. Abuelaish has established the Daughters for Life Foundation, <daughtersforlife.com>, in memory of Bessan, Mayar and Aya, to provide scholarships for young women in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria to study in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Costello asked the audience a question he asks NSL students when they’ve heard another share their story: Where did you connect with the story? When did it become your story, too? The answer for me was in the first scene, when the bulldozer demolished Dr. Abuelaish’s childhood home.

My tree’s loss still hurts, but its destruction is nothing compared to what Palestinians endure when they can’t get past an Israeli checkpoint to go to school or work. They are not able to stock up on food, cooking and heating gas or water to prepare for the next storm. How do they feel when each day they walk past the site where their loved one was killed or the ruins of their demolished home, business or olive trees?

What happens to a child who witnesses death and wanton destruction? Do they say that’s not fair and vow—like my neighbor’s child or, I dare say, any one of us—I’ll stop that tank, that Israeli soldier or settler from harming my family’s land.

That’s what I’ll try to remember every time I look at my stump. Like Dr. Abuelaish, I’ll try to forgive. I’ll put my loss into perspective. And fight hard to help Palestinians end the senseless destruction going on every day—until the Holy Land is holy again. ■

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Special Report

Gaza Flotilla Survivors File New Lawsuit Against Israel in U.S. District Court

By Ann Wright

STAFF PHOTO DELINDA HANLEY

In a Jan. 12 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, plaintiff Huwaida Arraf recounted: “At around midnight, the Israelis radioed us and we gave them the information they asked for. Then, I told them that we were unarmed civilians carrying only humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, that we were not in Israeli waters, so do not attack us. I repeated it many times. They went quiet for three hours.

Then there were helicopters above us. IDF commandos boarded our ship. I was screaming to them, ‘This is an American ship!’ There was shooting all over the place and I was afraid a gun would go off in my face. I was dragged and my head was pounded into the boat. They had me handcuffed and hooded and pinned to the A Jan. 12 press conference announcing the lawsuit included (l-r) Huwaida Arraf, Steven deck. They were really rough, and I was Schneebaum, Rodney Dixon, Sir Geoffrey Nice, Hakan Camuz, Prof. Ralph Steinhardt, screaming. It was not only terrifying and very viSehriban Dogan and Haydee Dijkstal. olent but completely unnecessary, the way they lmost six years after Israel Defense Forces commanattacked us, and someone needs to be held accountable. Israel dos attacked the boats of the 2010 Gaza Freedom is never held accountable for its human rights violations, and this Flotilla, a second lawsuit against the State of Israel allows it to continue abusing. We need deterrence. Israel must be and its officials has been filed in U.S. federal court. told that it cannot continue to injure, maim and kill with impunity.”

A groundbreaking civil claim for damages was filed in U.S. DisPlaintiff David Schermerhorn, calling into the press confertrict Court for the District of Columbia on Jan. 12, 2016 against ence by telephone, said, “Basic rights should be recognized the State of Israel for injuries suffered during the attack on a U.S. and upheld by our U.S. Courts. We want those among the Isship, Challenger I, in international waters on May 31, 2010. Chalraeli authorities responsible for the attack on Challenger I to lenger I was sailing as part of a six-ship flotilla seeking to deliver be held accountable for their egregious actions. They should humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the residents of Gaza, not be allowed to attack unarmed civilians with impunity, as who were and are still living under a land and sea blockade imwell as steal humanitarian aid and personal belongings.” posed by the Israeli government.

The case is groundbreaking as it relies on an exception in The four plaintiffs, three of whom are U.S. citizens, including the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to sue a foreign this author, are seeking compensation for the harm and distress, State for serious violations occurring in the U.S.—in this case injuries and losses caused by the attack. Israel has refused to a U.S.-flagged ship that comes within the reach of U.S. law. acknowledge responsibility and liability since the 2010 attack As plaintiffs’ counsel Steven Schneebaum explained: “States are and has not paid any compensation to those directly affected. generally immune from suit in United States courts. But that immuNor has it returned personal property stolen from the passennity is waived in a number of circumstances. When agents of forgers, or the vessel itself, which is still being held in Israel. eign governments commit wrongful acts in the United States that cause personal injury, and egregious acts against U.S. nationals Ann Wright is a 29-year veteran of the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and anywhere in the world, they are not entitled to immunity. We conretired as a colonel. She also served 16 years as a U.S. diplomat, resigntend that both of those exceptions apply to the facts of this case.” ing from the U.S. government in March 2003 in opposition to the war on According to Prof. Ralph Steinhardt, leading international law Iraq. She was a passenger on the 2010, 2011 and 2015 Gaza Freedom Flotillas and is an organizer for the 2016 Women’s Boat to Gaza. expert at George Washington University and a member of the

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plaintiffs’ legal team, “Israel is a sovereign state, which gives it certain rights and powers. But that certainly does not include the right to attack a civilian vessel flying the flag of the United States on the high seas and then to assault the civilians on board, including U.S. citizens. The attack on Challenger I was a patent violation of international law, including the laws of war, human rights, and the law of the sea. It falls to the courts of the United States to enforce the rules when—as here—Congress has given jurisdiction to those courts. If the situation were reversed, and the United States had attacked an Israeli vessel on the high seas and mistreated the Israeli citizens abroad, the Israeli Foreign States Immunity Law would open Israeli courts to a suit against the United States.”

Sir Geoffrey Nice and Rodney Dixon, UK-based international lawyers representing the plaintiffs in this and other legal actions around world, emphasized that, “This is a real test for the international rule of law—the rights of citizens to protest peacefully should be vigorously protected. No state should enjoy impunity.

We have also brought a case in California for the wrongful death of a U.S. citizen who was killed in the raid on the Flotilla.”

A report on the attack released by the U.N. Human Rights Council in September 2010 found that “the force used by the Israeli soldiers in intercepting the Challenger 1…was unnecessary, disproportionate, excessive and inappropriate, and amounted to violations of the right to physical integrity…” In addition, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has found in her preliminary examination of the attack a reasonable basis to believe that acts perpetrated against the Flotilla amounted to war crimes.

The non-U.S. plaintiff is a Belgian national. On board the Challenger 1 were 17 passengers from 7 countries: the U.S., UK, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland. A total of 16 U.S. citizens were on the six ships of the flotilla, including 18-year-old Furkan Dogan, who was killed on the Mavi Marmara by the IDF with five bullets fired at close range. (see April 2011 Washington Report, p. 55). The plaintiffs are all humanitarian activists who have been working to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people for decades. Each suffered physical and emotional harm and distress as a result of the attack.

Schermerhorn was injured by a stun grenade thrown at him that exploded one foot from his head, causing permanent partial loss of sight in one eye. Arraf, a lawyer and human rights activist, was physically abused by Israeli soldiers who slammed her head against the deck of the ship and stood on it before handcuffing and hooding her. Margriet Deknopper, the Belgian citizen, was shot in the face with a rubber bullet which broke her nose. This writer, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army Re-

serves and former U.S. diplomat, was assaulted by Israeli soldiers when they detained her and the others on the ship.

Hakan Camuz of Stoke & White LLP (London), who act for the passengers on all ships in the Flotilla, highlighted that “The plaintiffs, like all those on the Flotilla, were trying to do the right thing by bringing to the world's attention the cruelty of the blockade and its dire humanitarian consequences for the ordinary people of Gaza. They wanted to bring the residents of Gaza food, medical supplies, the necessities to survive, but were stopped with unjustified, brutal force, for which we now seek a just remedy. But this action is solely concerned with recovering appropriate damages for those of have suffered loss and injury as a result of Israel’s actions on the high seas.”

In October 2015, the family of Furkan Dogan filed a lawsuit in the Central District Court of California against former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for his role in the attack, in which eight Turkish citizens and one American citizen were executed by Israeli forces and over 50 Turkish passengers were wounded (see Nov./Dec. 2015 Washington Report, p. 42).

Additionally, the 7th High Criminal Court in Istanbul, Turkey has issued a "red notice" for the arrest of four senior Israeli government officials in a 2012 lawsuit filed in Turkey. The Israeli officials named by the court are Israel's former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, former navy chief Eliezer Marom, former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin and former air force intelligence chief Avishai Levy. Due to political considerations dealing with the state of Israel, Turkey’s Ministry of Justice has delayed sending to Interpol the "red notice," much to the consternation of those seeking justice.

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled in November 2015 that the Office of the Prosecutor must review its decision to close a preliminary examination into Israel’s attack on the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. The case was brought to the ICC by the Union of the Comoros, the country where the Mavi Marmara was registered. In November 2014, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had closed her examination into the case, saying it was without “sufficient gravity” to justify further action, but she did write that there was a reasonable basis to believe Israel committed war crimes. However, “Without in any way minimizing the impact of the alleged crimes on the victims and their families, I have to be guided by the Rome Statute, in accordance with which, the ICC shall prioritize war crimes committed on a large scale or pursuant to a plan or policy.” But the Appeals Court found she had made errors in her decision and ordered her to review the case. ■

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“This is a real test for the international rule of law.”

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United Nations Report

Ban Ki-moon, a “Mis-underestimated” Secretary-General

By Ian Williams

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

the diatribes delivered by Israeli officials and taking no notice of any dissent from the interlocutor. One gets the impression that they assume that any response less than a smack in the face is considered positive assent.

Ban’s door has always been open to the Israelis and their allies: they frequently make the trip to the U.N. part of their U.S. itinerary. It is likely that no other country’s officials have had as many official visits to the institution that they have often loved to hate—even if, as I have suggested in the past, they use the occasion to claim reimbursement for official business while they trawl for donations from venomous Likudnik billionaires in the Tristate Area to campaign against the bi-state solution.

Like many American decision-makers, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-m00n delivers opening remarks at the United Nations the Israelis assumed that the foreign General Assembly, Sept. 28, 2015. minister of a country like South Korea, n February, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote an totally dependent on U.S. military support, would be a Cold unprecedented op-ed for The New York Times—and alWar ally and follow Washington’s directions in the region, most as unprecedentedly, they published it! Firm and even though ROK delegations did not follow the Pacific minstraightforward, Ban’s column broke no new ground—but it existates in voting with the U.S. and Israel at the U.N. pressed the U.N. case with a clarity and prominence that has When Ban first took office, it was clear that the Middle East not often been heard in the U.S., even if it would be commonwas not the main focus of his attention. His earliest memories place elsewhere in the world. were of one of the first proxy wars of the Cold War era. The It must have been good, because it provoked an immediate inKorean War, like the Middle East conflict, is still an armistice dignant response from Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon—the according to the borders delineation, and it has always shown settler champion newly appointed to represent Israel at the U.N. alarming possibilities of becoming World War III, with three Ban has, in the inimitably mangled words of George W. declared nuclear powers bristling at each other.

Bush, been much “mis-underestimated” by the world, and, one However, what Ban might have lacked in knowledge of hates to say, even by many of his own senior staff. Part of the geopolitical minutiae in the Middle East he made up for with secret of his diplomacy is his quiet and unassuming demeanor principle. He was, after all, the candidate who proudly and on the world stage. He carries this virtue so far that it almost forthrightly announced his support for the International Crimibecomes a handicap—not least in dealing with Israeli politinal Court, even when the acting U.S. representative at the cians and diplomats.

U.N., the neocon John Bolton, had pledged to sabotage it— It is often instructive, tangentially, to read Israeli Foreign and Ban needed all the members of the Security Council beMinistry communiqués recording dialogues with foreign minishind him to be elected. ters and U.N. officials. They become monologues, transcribing Very early in his tenure at the U.N., he expressed a wish to go to Gaza, and the Israelis did their best to thwart him. They Ian Williams is a free-lance journalist based at the United Nations who blogs at <www.deadlinepundit.blogspot.com>. might not be good listeners, but they are good observers.

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They knew he would be horrified at seeing the results of the Gazans being shot at like fish in a barrel. And they were right.

Like most international political figures playing to a Western audience, Ban generally searches for “balance”—meaning that every criticism of Israel has to be weighed against a condemnation of its opponents, no matter how disproportionate the casualty lists. He is also trapped by his predecessor’s decision to go along with the so-called Quartet. The Quartet has no standing in international law whatsoever, but it was the price that the Israelis and the Americans cunningly demanded for any U.N. involvement at all in the Middle East for anything to do with Israel. So Russia, which historically at least had supported the Arabs, and Europe, which had spinelessly and ineffectually supported international law, joined with the U.S., the only component with any interest in the proceedings, and the U.N. secretary-general to oversee peace. In doing so, they have now had three secretaries-general in varying degrees letting an American-dominated body dumb down U.N. decisions that have themselves often been compromises—with a special representative, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, paid for by the U.S. State Department. More than a decade later we still hear invocations of roadmaps that reality had run through the shredder a long time ago.

It meant that Ban was not as strong as he could have been on, for example, the Mavi Marama incident. However, one

must also appreciate the position of a U.N. secretary-general.

In anticipation of Ban’s arrival, many of Kofi Annan’s staff who had, shall we say, a better appreciation of the Middle East situation and its legalities, assumed the worst about the arrival of someone they thought would be even more zealous to support Washington’s agenda than his predecessors. They left for other jobs, inside or outside the U.N. And it has to be said that no secretary-general can survive or thrive long who cannot get some cooperation from someone in Washington. Even when Jesse Helms and Congress were frothing at the mouth, the State Department had a much more astute appreciation of how essential the U.N. is to world order and kept productive lines open to the U.N.—even trying to ensure occasional payments of Washington’s dues.

One has only to consider how many years Congress, playing to the AIPAC/donor gallery, has mandated that the U.S. Embassy should move to Jerusalem, and how many years the president and State between them have thwarted the move.

There are similar tensions in the U.N. secretary-general’s office.

His senior staff is appointed by the five permanent members, not least the U.S. Those are not career bureaucrats well aware that promotion is not helped by upsetting ambassadors—and there are actually people in the U.N. who share the basic leaning toward Israel shared by many of their Western, and particularly American, peers.

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Ban is strong minded and has principles, but his immediate responses sometimes reflect the balances of opinion in the various committees, and sometimes his understandable ignorance of the full panoply of U.N. decisions. So, while it was a well-established majority U.N. position that the death penalty is a violation of human rights, U.N. officials tended not to push that position so vigorously when the world’s arch-executioners include three of the permanent superpower members of the Security Council and the two biggest oil producers in the Middle East. So Ban, confronted with Saddam Hussain’s execution, fell back on the sovereignty of Iraq at first. By the time the Ba’athist second stringers came up, however, he had shifted his statements.

In a similar way, once the reality of Gaza and occupation came in front of him and he appreciated the legal position, Ban has consistently called for an end to the siege of Gaza, and the cessation of illegal settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“The secretary-general firmly believes this is also the best and only way forward for Israel to remain a democratic state.”

Even as he greeted his frequent Israeli visitors effusively and politely, he still recited the legal position to them. The settlements are illegal and Israel had made

“”

commitments it was not keeping.

But he has never been able to shake off that initial impression that he was somehow a closet Republican AIPAC supporter, no matter what he said. And his views have been much stronger and more frequently expressed than those of some of his predecessors, and usually much stronger than those of President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

That was epitomized in January, when he spoke to the Security Council and con-

could not and would not be subject to attacks. "As oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism," Ban said. "So-called facts on the ground in the occupied West Bank are steadily chipping away at the viability of a Palestinian state and the ability of Palestinian people to live in dignity."

Even the White House is raising questions, albeit muted, about the settlements, which in American parlance once were illegal, then dialed down to obstacles to peace, and now seem to be being dialed up again.

It is difficult for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his cohorts to directly attack the U.S. administration— which is why they usually use their surrogates in Congress to do so. But the prime minister could hit out at Ban, and he did, declaiming, "The U.N. secretary-general's remarks gives a tailwind to terrorism. There is no justification for terrorism."

That was the background to Ban’s New York Times op-ed and Danon’s ferocious response. Clearly, with only one year left of Ban’s term, Israel—not least through its profoundly undiplomatic ambassador at the U.N.—feels there is little to be gained from diplomatic niceties. Danon has designs on Netanyahu’s position, and is aware that the profoundly reactionary donors to Super PACs, settlement builders and similar causes will flock to support someone who is attacking the U.N. so vigorously. So even if it alienates the very few friends the country has left in the U.N., Danon does not really care.

It is an interesting and disastrous dynamic in which people who do not have to live in the danger zone they are creating in the Eastern Mediterranean can create such problems in Washington, New York and, above all, in Israel, where the saner voices are drowned out in a tide of vitriol directed at anyone who tells the self-evident truth. ■

Ban has consistently called for an end to the siege of Gaza. demned Israel's "settlement enterprise" in the West Bank, calling the settlement activity "provocative acts" that he said "rightly raise fundamental questions about Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution." He even suggested that there was a connection between Palestinian attacks on settlers and security forces and the occupation.

Regardless of the morality and legality of such attacks, the reality is that if the Israelis were not in the occupied territories they

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Special Report

Eyewitness to the Refugee Crisis in Lesvos

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As winter draws nearer, refugees cook food in a camp by the Moria processing center on the Greek island of Lesvos, Nov. 15, 2015.

ccording to statistics listed on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 850,000 refugees arrived in Greece by sea in 2015. In January 2016, there were more than 60,000 arrivals by sea—a 3,571 percent increase. The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU), predicts that another three million will arrive in 2016.

There already have been almost 7,000 in the first three days of February alone.

Just looking at the numbers, and knowing they represent people fleeing for their lives, is breathtaking—but seeing in person the individuals who make up those numbers is staggering.

As the crisis continues, the organization and operating procedures for coping with the vast numbers of people arriving change frequently. Recently, the Greek island of Lesvos has

Sara R. Powell is a former director of the AET Book Club. She is currently volunteering with refugee assistance in Lesvos.

30

been divided into several crisis administrative zones. Here in the north, where most of the boats arrive—a six-mile trip across the Aegean from Turkey—there are three administrative zones. In zones one and two, when a boat arrives on its own, the passengers are taken to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) camp—a transit camp that functions as a sort of triage, providing dry clothing, medical attention, food and occasionally overnight shelter, if refugees arrive too late for a bus to the Moria refugee registration camp in southeastern Lesvos.

Molyvos, where I am based, is in zone one. Here the situation is slightly different. Refugees on a boat coming into Molyvos receive food, dry clothing and medical attention at the harbor before transport to Moria. If, however, a boat has been rescued, the rules are different again—depending on what group rescued the refugees. If the Greek Coast Guard picks up a boat, everybody on board is considered under arrest, and

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CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES

By Sara R. Powell

CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES

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A barbed wire fence surrounds the Moria processing center, a former military prison camp, on the island of Lesvos.

CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES

Starfish, the Greek NGO I volunteered for, is given the task of port role, it is an old military prison camp. Though refugees preliminarily registering those aboard, in addition to providing are free to come and go—there are a number of kiosks just the basic triage services all refugees receive. If Greenpeace outside the gates selling food, sleeping bags, cigarettes and or Drop in the Ocean, the other other sundries—Moria still looks groups allowed to do rescue and feels like a detention center. work, pick up the distressed Built on a steep hillside, and surboat, the procedure is the same rounded with high, razor-wire as if the boat arrived on its own. topped fences, the camp is seIn all cases, the refugees are verely overstressed by the numsent on to Moria within a day of bers of people passing through. their arrival. Though I have done Though construction to alleviate shifts at the IRC camp, the harthe overcrowding has begun bor and Donkey—a clothing storsince I arrived, drainage at the age and sorting center—most of bottom of the hill, especially near my work has been at Moria. the bathrooms, is still a major There every refugee who lands problem. on Lesvos—thousands of people The entire area is covered with daily—passes through on his or mud so deep and thick it sucks her road to safety. Most are from at your shoes as you walk. The Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, alrefugee housing units (RHUs) though there are refugees from are grouped about halfway up other nations as well. Lately, the the hill, on either side of the road numbers of refugees from that runs up to the dorms. About Afghanistan have been growing half of the almost 60 RHUs are as the security situation there difficult to access, involving hikhas deteriorated. ing around the rocky, muddy hillThe camp is a dismal place. side.

Administered by the Greek po- A sign at the Moria processing center directs refugees by naThere are also some issues lice, with the UNHCR in a sup- tionality. with how the space has been utiMARCH/APRIL 2016

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CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES

lized. For instance, the “dorms” where “extremely vulnerable individuals” (EVIs) are housed are at the top of a steep and slippery hill, although the reasoning behind that is somewhat understandable: these dorms are enclosed in yet another layer of fencing and razor wire, allowing vulnerable refugees to be more protected from the general population. Another example of poor spatial planning is the bank of phone charging stations located just outside the women’s restroom, where large groups of young men congregate. This intimidates many women—and not just Refugees buy food at a snack van outside the Moria processing center. the refugee women, but some NGO and volunteer workers as well, es- are a new addition since I arrived, so meant to hold 5 people, must be pecially at night. some progress is being made in improv- crammed with 20-25 people because In addition to the dorms and the ing accommodations. The Starfish volun- there is simply not enough shelter to go RHUs, there is the “Rubhall,” one large teers serve under the auspices of the around. Since translators are scarce, the heated tent reserved for single men.

Danish Refugee Council responsible for process becomes even more problemThe worst problem at Moria is the in- housing allocation at Moria, and every atic. adequate shelter. The dorms are heated afternoon, when housing allocation Most refugees stay only one day at and lit, but only about ten of the RHUs, starts, and on into the night, we struggle Moria before taking the ferry to Athens for where families are housed, are heated, with trying to explain to exhausted the next stage of their trip—although reand none have lighting. The few heaters refugees that these small IKEA huts, cent ferry strikes have been a complicating factor. From Athens, they continue by bus to the Macedonian border, stopping—often for several days—at a gas station where women and children are housed in heated tents, but men sleep outside in the cold. There they wait their turn to cross the tightly controlled border, where they receive a stamp allowing them to proceed to Germany.

Only Syrians and Iraqis are allowed through, however. All others are sent back to Athens at their own expense.

But while they may have reached Europe safely, the refugees too often discover that they have not reached the land Refugees line up for food at a feeding station by the Moria processing center. of milk and honey. ■ 32

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Special Report

T

Warming Planet Has Led to Catastrophe in the Middle East

By Suhaib Khan

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

he year 2015 was the hottest in recorded history, according to climate scientists. It broke the previous record—set the year before. And 2013 was one of the hottest years recorded. Many people realize the ominous nature of this news, yet don’t understand the way in which it is linked to catastrophic events unfolding throughout the globe, including in the Middle East. Take, for example, the brutal civil war that has led to the greatest migration of humans since World War II. The Syrian civil war is often presented as a purely political crisis—which, for the most part, it is. But drastic climatic changes laid the foundation for the emergence of this crisis.

In the years leading up to the 2011 uprising, Syria experienced one of the worst droughts in recorded history. According to scientists such as Solomon Hsiang at the University of California, Berkeley, this Syrian women till the fields in the drought-hit region of Hasaka in northeastern Syria, June 17, 2010. drought was exacerbated by climate change. Syrian farmers, forced to abanMecca—the center of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, during don their failing crops and, as a result, their entire livelihoods, which millions of faithful travel to the region. The study predicts fled to the cities, where they joined Iraqi refugees already there. summer temperatures of 140 degrees in places like Kuwait City.

This placed intense social strains on the country, among them Nor is this phenomenon limited to the Middle East. Ethiopia rising food prices. The resulting dissatisfaction added to the tenis currently suffering its worst drought in 30 years, leading to sions that led to the Syrian uprising. massive food insecurity. Somalia is also experiencing drought Of course numerous factors—political, social, economic and and famine, contributing to the flow of refugees north. others—contributed to the outbreak of the violence, but the The science is fairly clear: if the Earth is permitted to warm at role of climate change in aggravating existing disaffections its current rate, then large swaths of the Middle East will becannot be discounted. come uninhabitable, access to major holy sites will be im“The entire world needs to be planning for a drier future in peded, and there likely will be an even greater refugee crisis on that area,” warned Richard Seager, climate scientist at ColumEurope’s doorstep. As bleak as this picture is, the MIT scienbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “And tists also included one important point: lowering greenhouse there will be lots of global implications.” gas emissions soon may avoid these catastrophic scenarios.

Future climate projections paint an increasingly worrisome As residents of one of the world’s richest countries, as well picture for the Middle East. According to a recent study by scias historically one of its biggest polluters, Americans need to entists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Perrecognize that our high-consumption lifestyles have led to sian Gulf will be too hot for human survival by 2070—in less widespread suffering caused by a warming planet, and likely than a single lifetime. This includes metropolises such as Abu will lead to increased suffering in the future. And, as recent Dhabi, Dubai and Doha, as well as cities like Medina and droughts, floods and blizzards have shown us, we are not immune to the effects of climate change. Indeed, the future of Suhaib Khan is communications director of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. not only the Middle East, but of the entire planet, is at stake. ■ MARCH/APRIL 2016

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Special Report

Who Benefits From the Iran Accord?

U.S. Hawks Ignore Top Israeli Official on Iran

TWO VIEWS

O

n Jan. 18, Israel’s top military official made some staggering comments during the course of a security conference in Tel Aviv. Here’s how The Forward‘s J.J. Goldberg reported the comments of Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s chief of staff, which seem as of yet to be unavailable in a full English translation from the original Hebrew: Eisenkot said there were two “existential threats” to Israel, and both are currently “declining.” One was the threat of nonconventional weaponry, including both Iran’s nuclear program and Syrian chemical weapons…

First, he said Israel faces no existential threats right now, because Obama’s Iran nuclear deal has removed the greatest threat to Israel’s existence…

As for the Iranian nuclear agreement, he said it is “a strategic turning point” that includes “many risks but also opportunities.”

These comments should be unremarkable, since Israel’s security establishment has long given support, if cautious support, to diplomacy with Iran and the accord reached as a result. But Eisenkot’s remarks are still worth pointing out because of the sad state of affairs in the American discourse about Iran.

The Silence of the Hawks

Take, for example, the many adherents of a right-wing pro-Israel worldview—including Washington’s neoconservatives. They now dominate the Republican Party and make up a large, pro-Israel circle of hawks in the Democratic Party as well—both on Capitol Hill and beyond. What are the chances that this esteemed class of commentators, pundits and politicians will even begin to address the remarks that Eisenkot just made? Allow me

Ali Gharib is a New York-based journalist on U.S. foreign policy with a focus on the Middle East and Central Asia. Copyright © 2007-2016 LobeLog.com VPS. 34

The Iran country exhibit at the International Tourism Trade Fair FITUR at Ifema in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 20, 2016.

this bold prediction: few if any will deign to address them at all.

I’m guessing, for example, that this news item won’t be linked in newsletters from neocon groups like The Israel Project and the Foreign Policy Initiative, which focus heavily on Iran and Israel matters. And I certainly can’t imagine they’ll appear in the neoconservative publications—Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and so on—that supply hawkish and Republican Washington with its talking points.

These groups, pundits and politicians have all roundly opposed the Iran nuclear deal, sometimes on the very grounds that it makes Israel less safe. Take, for example, Lindsey Graham, the trigger-happy South Carolina Republican senator, who said immediately after the Iran deal that it was “akin to declaring war on Sunni Arabs and Israel by the P5+1.” That’s right: he’s saying that the deal was so bad for Israel’s security that it was tantamount to America, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany all declaring war against Israel! What will Graham have to say about Eisenkot’s remarks? I’m guessing we’ll never find out— he and his hawkish friends are unlikely ever to address it.

One might be able to forgive this hawkish constellation for taking the view they did: they were merely taking cues from Israel’s right-wing government and its American lobbyists. “This agreement is not just bad for Israel, it’s dangerous for the entire free world,” said the right-wing Israeli official Danny Danon.

“Giving the world’s largest supporter of terrorism a free pass in developing nuclear weapons is like providing a pyromaniac with

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2016

CARLOS ALVAREZ/GETTY IMAGES

By Ali Gharib

matches.” (Of course, precisely zero nuclear experts think that this deal gives Iran a “free pass” to develop nuclear weapons, but never mind.)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was just as blunt: “This is a very dangerous deal and it threatens all of us. My solemn responsibility as prime minister is to make sure Israel’s concerns are heard,” he said, appealing to American Jews to oppose the accord. Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, who looks out for Israel’s interests first, lobbied hard on Capitol Hill against the deal. Accordingly, pro-Israel activists the country over took the cues and ran with them. One group of Jewish activists in Pittsburgh even warned that the deal would hasten a “Second Holocaust in Israel.” Will Danon, Netanyahu, Dermer and these Pittsburgh activists acknowledge Eisenkot’s remarks this week? Count me doubtful.

ever Netanyahu says as articles of faith, faithfully repeating his talking points across any number of media and platforms. Of course, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. But that these right-wing activists and agitators who rely so heavily on whining about Israel’s security don’t dare to take on Eisenkot’s positions speaks volumes about how seriously—and to what ends—they consider these issues. I hope they think of this as a challenge: Will any of them soberly remark on what the head of Israel’s military has to say about how the Iran nuclear deal has made Israel safer?

U.S., Iran Step Back From the Brink

T

By Patrick J. Buchanan

o awaken Jan. 14 to front-page photos of U.S. sailors kneeling on the deck of their patrol boat, hands on their heads in postures of surrender, on Iran's Farsi Island, brought One neoconservative pundit did address the concerns of Israel’s back old and bad memories. security establishment. When an Israeli strike against Iran was In January 1968, LBJ's last year, 82 sailors of the Pueblo were still considered a live issue, Emanuele Ottolenghi of the Foundacaptured by North Korea and held hostage with Captain Lloyd tion for Defense of Democracies made the point that Israel could “Pete” Bucher, and abused and tortured for a year before release. definitely still attack Iran (there’s more than a hint of hopefulness In the final 444 days of the Carter presidency, 52 Americans in his analysis). His argument, made in The Israel Project’s publiwere held hostage in Tehran, and released only when Ronald cation, The Tower, came before the deal had been struck, but Reagan raised his hand to take the oath. was nonetheless headlined, “How a Weak Iran Deal Makes Us In 2001, under George W. Bush, an EP-3 with 24 crew memAll Less Safe and War More Likely.” When he finally got around bers was crashed by a Chinese fighter and forced to land on to responding to those members of the security establishment— Hainan Island, where they were held for 11 days until we exat this time, mostly former officials who had come out against the pressed “sorrow.” prospect of an Israeli attack—he simply dismissed them: Compared to these hostage-takings, the Farsi Island inciRetired Mossad and Military Intelligence officials voicing views dent does not seem serious. Its resoluin public that they could not express while tion within hours by Secretary of State in service hold the same value as similar John Kerry and Foreign Minister Mohamopinions, authored by former U.S. secremad Javad Zarif suggests that Iran taries of state or national security advisers, wanted nothing to halt implementation, about where the Obama administration’s just days away, of the nuclear deal that foreign policy can or cannot go. Though will release $100 billion in frozen assets. they’re often well known, some with politiFacilitating the sailors' release was a cal stars in their eyes, or scores to settle, taped admission by one, identified as the rarely are these voices considered evi“commander,” who called Iran's treatdence of policy. ment of the sailors “fantastic,” and said Ah, you see these former officials, with the intrusion into Iranian waters “was a their political ambitions or “scores to setmistake. That was our fault. And we tle” are soooooooo unreliable. Ironically, apologize for our mistake.”

Ottolenghi cites “some of their peers Still, what the reactions to this incident opining in the opposite direction,” both reveal is that not only is the United understating the prevalence of the antiStates dealing with a divided regime and attack view among the security establishnation in Iran, the U.S. is itself divided on ment and ignoring the possibility that what course to pursue with Iran. these officials, too, could be motivated by For more information, to purchase “This administration's craven desire to other factors. What makes Ottolenghi of tickets, or to make a donation, please preserve the dangerous Iranian nuclear Eisenkot’s position—that is, the current visit <www.IsraelsInfluence.org>. deal at all costs evidently knows no limhead of Israel’s military? I’m not holding its,” said John McCain. He castigated my breath to find out.

Co-Sponsored by: Neoconservatives and other right-wing Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of the new pro-Israel hawks have ignored the fact that book The Greatest Comeback: How Richard some (current) officials from Israel’s secuNixon Rose From Defeat to Create the New rity establishment never viewed Iran—even Majority. Copyright © 2016 Creators Syndiarmed with a nuclear bomb—as an existencate, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Patrick J. Buchanan and Creators Syndicate, Inc. tial threat. They have instead taken what-

The Ottolenghi Intervention

Save the Date: March 18, 2016

National Press Club

MARCH/APRIL 2016

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

35

U.S. officials, presumably including Kerry, for â&#x20AC;&#x153;falling all over themselves to offer praise for Iran's graciousness in detaining our ships and service members.â&#x20AC;?

Marco Rubio, inflamed over the treatment of the sailors, pledged anew to kill the nuclear deal on his first day in office. But by then Iran will have complied with its terms and gotten its cash.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Commander Ali Fadavi warned that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the USS Truman aircraft carrier showed unprofessional moves for 40 minutes after the detention of the trespassers.â&#x20AC;?

Fadavi added that Iran â&#x20AC;&#x153;was highly prepared with our coastto-sea missilesâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;missile launching speedboatsâ&#x20AC;? to strike, had the U.S. warship taken action. Last fall, Iran tested two ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and a missile boat a mile from the Truman test-fired a rocket in the opposite direction.

There may be bluster and bluff in this. But if the RGC had fired at the Truman, that would have brought swift retaliation and a possible air, naval and missile war in the Persian Gulf.

Any prospective U.S. dĂŠtente with Iran would be dead.

And, truth be told, some Americans, Saudis, Sunni Arabs and Israelis, who regard Iran as an existential threat, would relish seeing U.S. power unleashed against Iran.

So, too, many of the mullahs and Revolutionary Guard Corps might welcome a clash to abort the nuclear deal, restore the purity of their revolution, and rout the allies of President Hassan Rouhani in the February elections.

Indeed, assuming no clash in the next six weeks, the date to watch is Feb. 26, when elections are held for control of Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

290-seat assembly.

A Guardian Council has power to disqualify candidates and it is likely that of the 12,000 who have filed, many will be purged for not supporting the principles of the Islamic Republic as required.

Yet, if President Rouhani, his prestige enhanced by the nuclear deal, to which all five U.N. Security Council members have signed on, and with billions being released to Iran, wins, a brighter day will begin.

And the world will await the reaction of the defeated hard-liners.

That same Feb. 26, elections are to be held for the 88-seat clerical Experts Assembly, which will choose the successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, himself the successor, 25 years ago, to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founding father of the revolution.

Rumors of Khamenei's deteriorating healthâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;he reportedly has suffered from stage 4 prostate cancerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;could mean the Experts Assembly will be naming soon a new Supreme Leader of Iran.

The Feb. 26 elections could thus decide whether there is to be a cold peace between the United States and Iran, or a new war in the Middle East.

In the summer of 1914, the Great War came because, in the great capitalsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, Paris, Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;those who saw war as a disaster for civilization were outmaneuvered by more resolute men who saw war as the opportunity to smash hated rivals once and for all.

Anti-war Americans and Iranians won this one; they will have to win them all. The war parties, here and over there, need win only once. â&#x2013;

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I

Special Report

Wrestlers Help Forge U.S.-Iran Friendship

By Dale Sprusansky

ELSA/GETTY IMAGES

n May 2014, Kiki Kelley, an American woman dressed in red, white and blue, entered a packed Tehran arena holding a sign that read “USA.” Upon seeing her enter, the all-male crowd became vocal. They stood up from their seats, raised their hands and began…to cheer.

Yes, clap and cheer. In the midst of tense nuclear negotiations between their country and the U.S., the Iranian crowd was elated to welcome team USA to Tehran to compete in the World Cup for GrecoRoman wrestling.

“The crowd was going crazy, as if the two countries had never broken relations,” recalled Bahman Baktiari, executive director of the International Foundation for Civil Society, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit that helped bring the American wrestlers to Iran.

Such a scene may seem unprecedented, but it’s actually not atypical. A Reece Humphrey of the USA (r) tries to take down Masoud Esmaeilpour Jouybari of Iran during similar script played out in 1998 when the Rumble on the Rails Wrestling event at New York City’s Grand Central Station, May 15, U.S. wrestlers returned to Iran for the 2013. The event was part of a successful U.S.-Iranian-Russian combined effort to save wrestling as an Olympic sport. first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. On that occasion, too, the Iranian crowd provided the to her prominent role in a male-dominated sport. While her American wrestling team with an overwhelmingly friendly welpresence at the event had to be negotiated with Iranian officome. cials, she received nothing but warmth from the Iranian peoSince then, U.S. teams have traveled to Iran roughly 14 ple. In fact, the Iranians ended up loving Kelley so much that times, and by all accounts they’ve had tremendously positive they invited her to stay in the country for an additional six days experiences. and, per custom, lavished her with gifts. “I came back with “I’ve been to over 30 countries with teams, and Tehran is in three extra suitcases,” she said. the top two or three cities that I’ve been to. Just fabulous in far Kelley credits the warm response she received to the reas the embracing that they do to you, the culture, just totally spect she demonstrated for Iranian culture. For instance, she the opposite of what you’d think,” said James Ravannack, made sure to dress very conservatively upon her arrival, even president of USA Wrestling, at a Feb. 2 Atlantic Council event though many Iranian women have liberal interpretations of on “wrestling diplomacy.” their country’s dress code. At one point, a group of young IraRavannack’s statement would likely shock many Americans. nians even pulled Kelley aside to ask her a pressing question: It certainly surprised his family. “Calling my wife, she said, “why are you dressed so conservatively?” Kelley’s respect, ‘how bad is it?’” he recalled. “I said, bad? We’re having a great however, did not go unappreciated, and even earned her this time, not bad at all.” headline in Iranian newspapers: "Modest American Woman Kiki Kelley, team leader of USA Wrestling’s Men’s GrecoTeam Leader to Attend World Cup." Roman team, was nervous about how Iranians would respond Having a respectful attitude helped facilitate numerous jovial and lighthearted moments with Iranians, Kelley said. “We Dale Sprusansky is assistant editor of the Washington Report on Middle east Affairs. started to get to know people, and realized they love ‘SeinMARCH/APRIL 2016

WAsHIngton RePoRt on MIddLe eAst AffAIRs

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STAFF PHOTO D. SPRUSANSKY

feld,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; they love laughing, bris of 36 years of bad and they loved being rhetoric and dehumanizaround us,â&#x20AC;? she recalled. ing behavior.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone would volunSullivan also noted that teer to be with us.â&#x20AC;?

U.S.-Iranian exchanges In addition to her posioccur in other areasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; tive embrace with Iranian particularly in education. culture, Kelley also enMore than 12,000 Iranian joyed the business side of students currently study her trip. Wrestling is more in the U.S., he noted. than just a sport in Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are only 10 counit is a source of national tries in the world that pride. Wrestling has been send more students to practiced in Iran since anstudy here in the United cient times, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safe States than Iran,â&#x20AC;? he exto say that the Persians (L-r) Gregg Sullivan, Bahman Baktiari and Kiki Kelley discuss U.S.-Iran â&#x20AC;&#x153;sports plained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing diplomacy.â&#x20AC;? have mastered the sport. when you think of the fact Indeed, Iran has won more Olympic counterparts hone their skills, Kelley that we do not have diplomatic relations, medals in wrestling than in all other said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iran has every major Greco- we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had an embassy there for 36 sports combined.

Roman skill that we lack, so from a team years.â&#x20AC;? These students, he said, are â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Training and competing in a country leader perspective, just technically best advocates for a changed relationthat produces some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great- speaking, I want my guys to have as ship between us and Iran.â&#x20AC;? est wrestlers helped their American much time with Iranians as possible,â&#x20AC;?

To those who question the value of exshe explained. change programs, Sullivan noted that (Advertisement) Despite the tough competition, life in virtually the entire Iranian nuclear negotiIran was far from stressful for the Ameri- ating team was U.S.-educated. This, he can wrestling team. Because of the believes, was no coincidence. sportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prominence in the country, they While the U.S. government would like were readily identified and treated as to expand the number of exchanges that m a s h r a b i y a celebrities wherever they traveled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was take place between Iranians and Ameriwell known in the bazaars, it was crazy,â&#x20AC;? cans, Sullivan said the current security Kelley recalled. environment precludes this from happenGregg Sullivan, senior adviser for pub- ing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a simple truth that there are peolic diplomacy at the State Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ple inside of Iran who are opposed to this office of Iranian affairs, said the U.S.- process of dĂŠtente thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on beIran wrestling exchangeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which also tween the U.S. and Iran," he stated. regularly brings Iranian wrestlers to the "There are some who see it as an exisU.S.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;has helped form strong people-to- tential threatâ&#x20AC;Śand theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re using the tools people relationships between the citi- that they haveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the intelligence service, zens of the two hostile nations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We at the security service, the judiciaryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;to the State Department, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen so draw a firm line against what they see as much evidence of good will between the the unjust encroachment of American inAmerican and Iranian people,â&#x20AC;? he said. fluence into Iranian society.â&#x20AC;?

According to Sullivan, the wrestling Despite the State Department's official ;&(37,21$/ ($87< exchange even played a role in helping travel warning on Iran, Sullivan acknowlfacilitate a resolution to the tenuous nu- edged that "the vast majority of Americlear issue. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sports diplomacy played a can citizens do travel to Iran without inci

critical role in nurturing an environment dent."

where new messages, new rhetoric, reOr, perhaps better stated, the vast maspectful language could be heard,â&#x20AC;? he jority of Americans who travel to Iran explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It helped clear away the de- wonder why they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t visit sooner. â&#x2013;

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Congress Watch

O

Omnibus Appropriations Act Includes $3.6 Billion for Israel

By Shirl McArthur

JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

n Dec. 18 both houses of Congress passed H.R. 2029, the 2,009-page Omnibus Appropriations Act combining all pending FY ’16 appropriations bills, including Foreign Operations and the Department of Defense (DoD). President Barack Obama signed it that same day as P.L. 114-113.

For Israel the act provides $3.1 billion in military aid, in accordance with the previously signed Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel. Included are the provisions unique to Israel, saying that the full amount shall be disbursed to Israel within 30 days, and that not less than $815.3 million shall be available for procurement in Israel, rather than the U.S., for defense articles and services. The act also includes $10 million in so-called refugee assistance in Israel. In addition, from the DoD portion of the act, $487.595 million is earmarked for programs for or with Israel—mostly for Gen. Martin Dempsey, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, salutes during Israel’s missile defense systems, but also including an offical ceremony with his Israeli counterpart, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot (hidden), at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, June 9, 2015. The U.S. gives Israel $3.1 $40 million to help it improve tunnel detection sysbillion yearly in military aid. tems. Also, the loan guarantees that should have expired in September 2015 are extended until Sept. 30, 2019. and the Palestinians. Also, for the PLO office to stay open the The total for Israel, then, is not less than $3.597 billion. president must certify that the Palestinians have not taken any For Egypt the act earmarks $150 million for economic aid action in the ICC that would “subject Israeli nationals to an invesand $1.3 billion in military aid, but with conditions, including tigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.” that Egypt sustains its strategic relationship with the U.S. and Aid for Other Middle East Countries—No Surprises is meeting its obligations under the 1979 peace treaty with IsFor Jordan not less than $1.275 billion, including $204 million rael. Also, 15 percent of the military aid shall be withheld until for budget support and $100 million for water sector support. the secretary of state certifies that Egypt is undertaking acThe act also provides that additional unspecified funds shall tions mostly regarding democracy and human rights. Howbe made available to implement the Jordan Response Plan of ever, this condition can be waived if the secretary of state cer2015 for the Syria crisis. tifies that it is in the U.S. national security interest to do so.

For Lebanon no funds are earmarked, but funds may be proFor the Palestine Authority no funds are specifically earvided for programs and equipment for Lebanese forces “to address marked. Included in the omnibus bill, however, are the standard security and stability requirements in areas affected by the conflict “general” provisions placing conditions on aid to the Palestiniin Syria,” and to strengthen border security and combat terrorism. ans—several of which also include “national security interest of For Libya $20 million is earmarked for programs to the U.S.” waiver authority. There is also a provision limiting presistrengthen governing institutions and civil society, improve dential waiver authority to close the PLO mission in the U.S. if border security, and promote democracy and stability. the Palestinians have obtained, in the U.N. or a U.N. agency, full For Morocco no earmarked funds, but economic aid shall membership as a state outside an agreement between Israel be made available for the Western Sahara (see Nov./Dec. Shirl McArthur is a retired foreign service officer. He lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

2015 Washington Report, p. 22).

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mcarthur_39-41_Congress Watch 2/11/16 6:31 PM Page 40

For Tunisia $141.9 million in economic aid.

Anti-Iran Hard-Liners Not Prepared to Ease Up

The congressional Iran-bashing machine really cranked up after Iran’s second longrange ballistic missile test in November. In addition to the letters described in the previous issue, at least seven letters were sent to Obama urging punitive actions of some kind. The letters receiving the most signatures were: in the Senate, a Dec. 16 letter originated by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (RNH) and signed by 35 other senators urging that sanctions relief under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear agreement, not go forward; and, in the House, a Dec. 17 letter originated by Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) and signed by 105 other House members urging that sanctions relief under the JCPOA “be postponed until the U.N. undertakes a rigorous investigation of the launches and (Advertisement)

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takes appropriate actions.”

Following the missile tests two new bills were introduced. On Jan. 6 Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA), with 13 co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 4333 “to authorize expedited considerations of sanctions in the event the Government of Iran commits acts of terror or uses ballistic missile technology in violation of international law.” On Jan. 7 Rep. John Delaney (D-MD), with seven cosponsors, introduced H.R. 4342, the “Iran Ballistic Missile Prevention and Sanctions” bill. It would direct the president to impose additional sanctions on persons or entities that knowingly transfer to or from Iran advanced conventional weapons or ballistic missiles or relevant technology, components or technical information.

With the Jan. 16 official implementation of the JCPOA, the U.N. and individual nations lifted their nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. This took the wind out of the sails, at least temporarily, of the hard-liners trying to prevent implementation of the agreement. Even if they were to succeed in stopping Washington from removing its nuclear-related sanctions, the only practical effect would be to isolate the U.S., since the rest of the world has moved forward in restoring some relations, commercial especially, with Iran. On Dec. 3 Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) and ranking Democrat Ben Cardin (D-MD) wrote to Obama outlining the steps they expect Congress to make monitoring the agreement and requesting that he make administration officials available for hearings.

So the two identical bills aimed at preventing the lifting of sanctions until 90 days after the director of national intelligence issues a report on Iran’s nuclear program are effectively dead. S. 2429 was introduced by Ayotte and 12 cosponsors on Dec. 18, and H.R. 4344 was introduced by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and 3 co-sponsors on Jan. 7.

Two identical bills were introduced on Dec. 1 “expressing the sense of Congress regarding the right of states and local governments to maintain economic

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

sanctions against Iran.” S.Con.Res. 26 was introduced by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), with three co-sponsors, and H.Con.Res. 100 was introduced by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), with 36 co-sponsors.

Efforts to Equate Israel’s Colonies With Israel Continue

Previously described measures regarding acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel (BDS) would equate Israel’s colonies with Israel, effectively recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank.

Two new, identical ones were recently introduced “expressing opposition to the European Commission interpretive notice regarding labeling Israeli products and goods manufactured in the West Bank and other areas.” The EC directive said that such products cannot be labeled “Made in Israel,” but must be labeled as coming from a “settlement” in the territories. On Dec. 16 Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and 10 co-sponsors introduced H.Res. 567, and on Jan. 20 Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and 2 co-sponsors introduced S.Res. 346.

Also, on Nov. 10, 36 House members, led by Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and Randy Weber (R-TX), wrote to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Frederica Mogherini complaining about the directive and urging her not to implement it. Similarly, on Nov. 12 Sens. Cardin and Rob Portman (R-OH) and Reps. Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Roskam signed a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman complaining about the directive.

As previously reported, earlier the House and Senate passed different versions of H.R. 644, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement” bill, a companion to the already-passed Trade Promotion Authority Act strongly promoted by the Obama administration. Finally, on Dec. 9 the joint committee resolving differences in the two versions filed its conference report. Unfortunately, the conference report includes the provision from the House version that equates Israel’s colonies with Israel. The House passed MARCH/APRIL 2016

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Status Updates

H.R. 3662, the “Iran Terror Finance Transparency” bill introduced in October by Rep. Steve Russell (R-OK) and aimed at institutions providing financial services to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or other foreign terrorist organizations, has gained 43 co-sponsors and now has 63, including Russell.

H.Con.Res. 96, introduced in November by Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA), now has 13 co-sponsors, and H.Res. 485, introduced in October by Rep. Martha McSally (RAZ), still has 52. Both blame Palestinians for the violence in Israel.

H.Res. 500, introduced in October by Rep. Steve King (RIA), saying that Israel has the right to defend itself, has gained a co-sponsor and now has 43, including King.

S. 1789, introduced in July by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Senate version of the House-passed U.S.-Jordan Dethe conference report on Dec. 11, but it has not been taken up in the Senate.

Obama Signs the Hezbollah Financing Bill

As previously reported, the House and the Senate passed different versions of H.R. 2297, the “Hezbollah International Financing Prevention” bill. On Dec. 16 the House agreed to the Senate version, clearing it for the president, who signed it Dec. 18, as P.L. 114-102.

Identical bills were introduced in November aimed at designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization. H.R. 3892, introduced by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), has gained cosponsors and now has 20, including Diaz-Balart. S. 2230, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), now has three cosponsors, including Cruz.

Republicans Declare “Refugees and Muslims Not Welcome Here!”

After the November terrorist attacks in France, at least 24 new measures were introduced, mostly by Republicans, that would bar, or at least restrict, Middle East refugees from entering the U.S. The most important of these was H.R. 4038, the socalled “SAFE” act. It would stop Iraqi and Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. unless various U.S. government agencies can certify that they don’t pose a security MARCH/APRIL 2016

fense Cooperation bill, was placed on the Senate Calendar Oct. 27, but no action has been taken. It has 20 cosponsors, including Rubio.

S. 1587, introduced in June by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS, has gained a co-sponsor and now has three, including Kaine.

H.Res. 209, introduced in April by Rep. Jackie Walorski (RIN) deploring “the actions of the Palestinian Authority to join the International Criminal Court,” has gained a cosponsor and now has 33, including Walorski.

BILLS OPPOSING THE BDS MOVEMENT H.Res. 318, introduced in June by Rep. Carlos Curbelo (RFL), has gained a co-sponsor and now has 35, including Curbelo.

—S.M.

risk, effectively barring those refugees from the U.S. The House passed the bill on Nov. 19 by a vote of 289-137 (and Obama immediately promised to veto it if it reaches his desk). But in the Senate on Jan. 20, the Democratic leadership objected to the partisan nature of the discussion, and by a vote of 55-43—short of the 60 votes required—refused to close debate on the bill.

Another anti-refugee measure was the long-dormant H.R. 158, introduced in January 2015 by Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) to “improve” the visa waiver program, which allows short-term visa-free travel to the U.S. for tourists and business travelers from 38 program countries. The bill would make any person ineligible for the program who for the past five years has been in Iraq, Syria, Sudan or Iran. It would also make nationals of program countries who are also dual nationals of Iraq, Syria, Sudan or Iran ineligible for the program. The full text of H.R. 158 was slipped into the Omnibus bill and became law with the passage of the Omnibus. The Obama administration announced on Jan. 21 that it has begun to implement the provision, but that it would issue waivers on a case-by-case basis.

Many members of Congress have expressed concern over the unintended effects of the provision, especially the part regarding dual nationals, so on Jan. 13 Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), with three cosponsors, introduced H.R. 4380, which

would eliminate the dual nationals provision. And on Dec. 9 Sen. Harry Reid (DNV), with 13 Democratic co-sponsors, introduced S. 2377, the “Visa Waiver Program Security Enhancement” bill. Included among its many provisions are those tightening the visa waiver program by requiring secure passports and improving information sharing. It does not make certain persons ineligible.

AUMFs Against ISIS, Prohibition Of Funds for Operations in Syria

Five new measures were introduced authorizing the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS. On Nov. 18 Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) introduced H.J.Res. 73; on Dec. 3 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), with three co-sponsors, introduced S.J.Res. 26; on Dec. 10 Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA), with one co-sponsor, introduced H.R. 4208; on Jan. 11 Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) introduced H.Con.Res. 106; and on Jan. 20 Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with four cosponsors introduced S.J.Res. 29.

On Nov. 19 Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (DHI), with three co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 4108, which would prohibit funds to help the Syrian opposition. The previously described S. 2239, introduced in November by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and prohibiting funds for operations in Syria, still has three co-sponsors, including Udall. ■

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Islam and the Near East in the Far East

Jakarta Attack Deepens Anxieties in SE Asia

By John Gee

MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

to be planning a “suicide attack” in Kuala Lumpur.

Since ISIS declared a caliphate, a steady trickle of volunteers from Malaysia and Indonesia have made their way to Syria and Iraq, where they were eventually formed into one Malay-speaking Southeast Asian unit called Katibah Nusantara. Around 100 Filipinos and a handful of Singaporeans are also reported to have journeyed to ISIS-held territory.

Governments in the ISIS supporters’ countries of origin became increasingly worried about the possibility of trained militants returning home and linking up with ISIS supporters in order to carry out terrorist strikes. There have been reports of training camps being set up in Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia, which has been the scene of Muslim-Christian conflicts in the A “Pray for Jakarta” message (top) is displayed on a screen as Indonesian police stand guard outside the damaged Starbucks coffee shop in central Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2016, three days after recent past; in Aceh, in the far west of Indonesia; and in the southern Philippines, the city was rocked by deadly bomb attacks. in areas outside governmental control. errorists occupied a Starbucks cafe in the heart of InSulawesi is the center of operations of the East Indonesia Mudonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Jan. 14, shooting at cusjahidin (MIT) group, headed by Santoso, the most wanted tertomers. They also attacked a nearby police post. One rorist in Indonesia. Before aligning itself with ISIS, MIT had alof the terrorists was shot down by an off-duty police officer beready attacked churches in Java and police officers in Sulawesi. fore he could detonate the explosives he carried, and the other The media in Indonesia and Malaysia have regularly rethree blew themselves up as Indonesian police laid siege to ported the detention of suspected terrorists and people seeking them. Besides the four terrorists four civilians were killed, and to travel to the ISIS-controlled region. There was alarm in over 20 injured, some seriously. The Starbucks was a popular Malaysia when serving members of the armed forces and staff gathering place for foreigners working in Jakarta, but only one charged with security screening at airports were detained on of the dead, a Canadian, was a Westerner; the other three were suspicion of being terrorist sympathizers. The level of alarm Indonesians, including a man who was at first mistakenly identithroughout the region was raised by the terrorist attacks in fied as one of the terrorists.

Paris on Nov. 13, 2015, in which 130 people were killed.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the “solIn Malaysia, this provided a ready rationale for introducing a diers of the caliphate” had struck a blow against the “crusader new national security law giving the government wide-ranging alliance.” It could have been much worse had the response by emergency powers. The National Security Council Bill was Indonesian police been slower. In the aftermath, police rounded presented to Malaysia's parliament and rushed through within up individuals suspected of being linked to the attack, seizing two days, with little time for public scrutiny or parliamentary weapons and explosives in the process. Neighboring Malaysia debate. Passed on Dec. 3, the new law allows the prime minannounced the arrest of four ISIS suspects, including one said ister, as chairman of the new council, to designate a location as a “security area.” For the next six months—longer if the John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Singapore, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel. order is renewed—security forces can carry out searches and

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arrest people without first obtaining warrants. Properties considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;prejudicial to national securityâ&#x20AC;? can be demolished. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a grave infringement of the federal constitution,â&#x20AC;? said Steven Thiru, president of the Malaysian Bar Council.

Opposition politicians see the measures as providing a tool for Prime Minister Najib Razak to suppress criticism, following months of demands that he account fully for why he received $681 million in a personal bank account and who exactly the money came from.

The Indonesian government intends to strengthen its anti-terrorist legislation and is likely to draw on Malaysiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s example. One measure that may be adopted is the use of â&#x20AC;&#x153;preventive detentionâ&#x20AC;? (detention without trial for people suspected of security offences or of posing a security threat), which is legal in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, but currently not in Indonesia.

Terrorist acts in Southeast Asia are likely to harden public opinion against ISIS and its local affiliates. Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Indonesians: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are all grieving for the fallen victims of this incident, but we also condemn the act that has disturbed security and peace and spread terror among our people.â&#x20AC;?

He pledged that the security forces would catch the men who planned the Jakarta attacks.

On Jan. 20, Singapore announced that in November it had arrested 27 Bangladeshi construction workers who had established a group that planned to carry out terrorist attacks in Bangladesh.

All but one were deported to their home country, where they were questioned by police and some were detained. The remaining man was held for attempting to leave Singapore illegally.

China Tiptoes Around Anti-ISIS Role

Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reluctance to be drawn into conflicts far from its borders took a knock in November, when Chinese national Fan Jinghui was captured and murdered by MARCH/APRIL 2016

ISIS. The 50-year-old former school teacher was offered for ransom in September. Beijing has been suspected of paying for the release of citizens taken hostage in Sudan and other countries in the past, and it is not known why it did not pay a ransom on this occasion.

The killing of Fan Jinghui was strongly condemned by Chinese President Xi Jinping, as would be expected, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei went further in another statement by saying that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;criminals must be brought to justice.â&#x20AC;?

It is difficult to assess exactly what such a statement can mean in practice, since China has resisted being drawn into conflicts outside its immediate neighborhood ever since the Communist victory in 1949. Its declared policy remains one of non-interference in other countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; internal affairs. That policy, however, is now under a strain.

With the decline of the influence of communist thinking in China, nationalism has acquired a greater role as a unifying factor, utilized by the leadership in Beijing. The problem with this for Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership is that it reduces its room to maneuver in international relations: once it asserts a stand that is supposedly in Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national interest, it is not easy to back down.

Perhaps it could be claimed that pursuing the killers of one of its nationals does not constitute interference in other countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; affairs, but it is hard to see (Advertisement)

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how China could catch or kill them without somehow intervening in the ISISheld areasâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;unless it depended on other states that are involved there to do the job for it. In any case, China reportedly has sold Caihong-4 drones to the Iraqi government, and one was used against ISIS in December. Beijing sees any agreement with a government as not constituting interference in another countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affairs, but those opposing such a regime generally see it as China taking sides with the established authority, no matter what its nature.

Another factor making for a modification of the non-interference policy is the unrest in Xinjiang, in northwestern China. Some Uighurs from the region may have made their way to Syria and Iraq; others have traveled as refugees to Southeast Asia, where some are alleged

by Saud Usman Nasution, head of Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency, to have joined Indonesian terrorist groups. As mentioned in the previous issue of the Washington Report, Thailand deported 109 Uighur asylum seekers to China, and China will no doubt take a strong interest in what Uighurs in Indonesia do.

Flag Apology

Singapore strictly regulates how its flag is used and displayed within its borders, so the revelation that a junior member of Israel's embassy staff had used it as a table cloth briefly created some ill feeling. On Dec. 28, a post was put on a Singaporean website about the incident.

The official was said to have used the flag as a table cloth at a party, and this action had then been reported to the Singapore police.

The Israeli ambassador was summoned to Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy subsequently issued a statement reading: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Director General of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed that requisite strong disciplinary procedure will be adopted against the individual after his meeting with the Singapore authoritiesâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? â&#x2013;

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Israel and Judaism

Religious Extremism in Israel Becoming Increasingly Mainstream

By Allan C. Brownfeld

JACK GUEZ/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

For some in Israel, those charged with this terrorist attack have become heroes.

In December, a widely viewed video showed young Jewish extremists celebrating the death of Palestinians in Duma. A video filmed at a wedding shows a room full of jumping, dancing men wearing white skullcaps with the long sidelocks of Orthodox Jews. Some of them are brandishing guns and knives. According to The New York Times, “Two of them appear to be stabbing pieces of paper they held in their hands, which the television station identified as pictures of an 18-month child, Ali Dawabsheh, who was burned to death in a July 31 arson attack...Palestinians and their supporters say the arson attack and the celebratory video were inevitable, Right-wing Israeli activists protest in front of the Petah Tikva Justice Court during a Dec. 28, 2015 hearing in the case of the Jewish extremists suspected of the July 31 firebombing of a Pales- complaining that the Israeli authorities have for years dragged their feet on findtinian home in the West Bank village of Duma, killing a toddler and his parents. ing and prosecuting extremist Jews who he growth of Jewish extremism in Israel has been a rehave physically attacked them and their property.” ality for many years. In December, Amiram Ben-Uliel, Recently there has also been an escalation of anti-Christian 21, along with another young Jewish Israeli, was activity by Israeli Jewish extremists. The anti-Arab group charged with murder in last July’s deadly arson attack on a Lehava, which opposes the presence of both Muslims and Palestinian home in the West Bank village of Duma which killed Christians in the country, has stepped up its activism, including toddler Ali Dawabsheh and his parents, Saad and Riham. (See a protest at a Christmas celebration in front of the Jerusalem September 2015 Washington Report, p. 11.) Their second child, YMCA. “The Arabs won’t defeat us with knives, and the ChrisAhmed, 4, survived, but was left with burns on more than 60 tians won’t buy us with presents,” the Lehava protesters percent of his body. chanted. In December, Bentzi Gopstein, the head of Lehava, Ben-Uliel, who grew up in an Israeli settlement in the West wrote an opinion piece in Kooker, an ultra-Orthodox online pubBank and spent some of his teenage years living in outposts lication, calling for the outright removal of Christians from Israel. on West Bank hilltops, confessed to planning and carrying out Gopstein wrote: “Missionary work must not be given a the attack. A minor who was not named confessed to helping foothold. Let’s throw the vampires out of our land before they plan it. Israeli police said the two suspects were part of a drink our blood again.” The Israel Religious Action Center, a religroup of Jewish youths who have been involved in nationalistigious rights group affiliated with the country’s Reform Judaism cally motivated crimes against Palestinians and other minorimovement, has called on legal authorities to launch a criminal inties. Police said the young extremists also have burned and vestigation into what it views as Lehava’s incitement to violence. vandalized churches and targeted Christians.

Orly Erez-Likhovski, the center’s legal director, lamented that, “Unfortunately, against this blatant incitement, accompanied by Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated columnist and associate editor of unruly violence, there’s deafening silence by law enforcement.” the Lincoln Review, a journal published by the Lincoln Institute for ReIsrael’s religious right-wing seems to be growing both in numsearch and Education, and editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism. bers and militancy, and is an important part of Prime Minister

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Binyamin Netanyahu’s government. Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid declares that, “Israel’s religious right can no longer absolve itself of responsibility for the actions of radicals who grew up in its midst, and now finds itself at a critical juncture.…Sadly, these are not ‘wild weeds’ [referring to the Hebrew expression often used by the right to describe far-right extremists]. They grew in a well-cultivated patch of earth.”

American-born Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh has a history of racist incitement which sanctions violence against Arabs.

In the past, he has spoken in support of the actions of Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein, also American-born, who murdered 29 people and injured over 100 in the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre in Hebron. An estimated 10 percent of those living in West Bank settlements are emigrants from the United States.

Rabbi Ginsburgh speaks freely of Jews’ allegedly genetic-based spiritual superiority over non-Jews. “If you saw two people drowning, a Jew and a nonJew, the Torah says you save the Jewish life first,” he says. “If a Jew needs a liver, can you take the liver of an innocent non-Jew passing by to save him? The Torah would probably permit that. Jewish life has an infinite value.”

Another militant rabbi, Dov Lior, was involved in publishing the 2011 text, The King’s Torah, which became a best-seller in Israel. It discusses when it is permissible for Jews to kill non-Jews. Lior considers Baruch Goldstein a hero. In a eulogy, Rabbi Lior declared that, “Goldstein was full of love for fellow human beings. He dedicated himself to helping others.” The terms “human beings” and “others,” in Orthodox Jewish law, refer solely to Jews.

Meretz leader Zahava Gal-on called on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to open an investigation into rabbis who she says are supporting right-wing extremists. According to former Shin Bet head Carmi Gillon, the threat posed to Israel by a terrorist “underground” of religious far-right extremists has reached unprecedented levels, worse than in the MARCH/APRIL 2016

lead-up to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, when Gillon headed the security service. He described far-right extremists such as those currently charged with the Duma firebombing as “a professional underground in every regard.”

Yet in the West Bank, police systematically close investigations of Israeli violence against Palestinians. Out of 1,104 investigations opened after Palestinians complained of violent injury or property damage over a 10-year period, from 2005 to August 2015, 940—or 91.6 percent—were closed without charges being filed, according to Yesh Din, a legal defense organization. In 85 percent of the cases, the closure was due to failure of the police to investigate.

A Typical Case

In one typical case, reports Haaretz, in October 2011 a few Israeli Jews from Combatants for Peace accompanied Palestinians from the village of Jalud on their first olive harvest in 10 years. In all those years the IDF had kept them from working their land to avoid friction with the messianic settlers from local outposts such as Esh Kadesh. Masked Israelis, accompanied by an armed, unmasked Israeli in civilian clothes, came, threw a stun grenade, fired into the air and attacked the harvesters with clubs, injuring three Israelis and two Palestinians. Soldiers and Border Police officers who were there fired tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinians. The case was closed despite the wounded Israelis and the presence of soldiers who were witnesses.

In Haaretz columnist Amira Hass’ view, “Thanks to the mainstream, the West Bank has become the land of unlimited possibilities for the average Israeli Jew...The messianism was born of the incessant secular Israeli disregard for international law and justice, which prohibit settlements in occupied territory. Their deranged messianism is fed by the consistent deranged political objective of the settlement enterprise: to thwart the pos-

sibility of living in equality and peace with the Palestinian people.”

Israeli commentators have begun to compare the rising Jewish extremism to ISIS. Liberal Zionist and Haaretz columnist Asher Schechter recently wrote a piece entitled “Meet Judeo-ISIS: The Inevitable Result Of Israel’s Presence in the West Bank.” Even so mainstream a figure as former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens wrote an article titled, “The Jewish Equivalant of ISIS.” In the face of the growth of religious extremism in Israel, and its lack of religious freedom for non-Orthodox Jews, the organized American Jewish community has remained largely silent. Israelis concerned about the growth of intolerant religious extremism in their own country have noticed. Haaretz columnist Chemi Shalev decries “the deafening silence of most American Jews in response to the waves of chauvinistic anti-democratic legislation and incitement in which Israel is increasingly drowning. The authoritarian campaign includes legislative assaults on free speech, incitement against dissenters, the withholding of government funds for regulatory measures against—and greater government control over—television and other media, compulsory changes to school curricula, reinforced Orthodox hegemony over religious affairs and repeated attacks on the Arab minority.”

Forward editor Jane Eisner wrote on Jan. 7 that Shalev “is correct in charging that many of us react to an assault on liberal values in the Israeli context differently than if it happened here. What if the U.S. government tried to ban a book because it promoted racial intermarriage? What if a desperate Republican Party candidate appealed to his white constituency on Election Day by warning of ‘droves’ of Hispanics swarming to the polls? Yet when the Israeli government banned such a book, or when Binyamin Netanyahu employed such a cynical tactic, there was a response from predictable sources, but no lasting campaign or outcry.” ■

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khan_46_Campus News 2/11/16 9:35 PM Page 46

Campus News

Significant Victory in Face of Islamophobia, Free Speech Crackdowns

I

Wheaton College

A professor at Wheaton College in Illinios was suspended in December for saying that Muslims and Christians worship the “same God.” Associate professor of political science Larycia Hawkins, who also wore a headscarf in solidarity with Muslims, posted the message on Facebook, writing, “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book...And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.” The private evangelical university released a statement justifying Professor Hawkins’ suspension because of questions about the “theological implications” of her comments.

“Wheaton College embodies a distinctive Protestant evangelical identity, represented in our Statement of Faith, which guides the leadership, faculty and students of Wheaton at the core of our institution’s identity,” the statement read. “Upon

Suhaib Khan is communications director of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

46

entering into a contractual employment agreement, each of our faculty and staff members voluntarily commits to accept and model the Statement of Faith with integrity, compassion and theological clarity.”

On Feb. 6, the college and Hawkins released a joint statement saying that they had reached a “mutual place of resolution and reconciliation” and would part ways.

This follows a letter published by 78 faculty members in The Wheaton Record asking the president of the college to end the termination process.

George Washington University

George Washington University president Steven Knapp has apologized to a GWU student who was forced to take down a Palestinian flag displayed in his dormitory window in October.

Ramie Abounaja, a 20-year-old pre-med student of Palestinian descent, was ordered to remove the flag by a police officer for allegedly violating the Washington, DC university’s housing code.

However, as The Intercept reported on Dec. 9, a visit to campus housing revealed that “countless” other flags hang from dormitory windows.

The officer initially approached Abounaja saying that the campus police department had received “many complaints” regarding the flag and that it needed to be removed, which Abounaja did. According to a statement released by Abounaja, the officer then filed a report saying that “over his lifelong career, [he] has never had to deal with something such as this.” Abounaja then received a letter from the Graduate Fellow Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, saying that Abounaja’s behavior “had the potential to leave a profound impact on the community.” Abounaja said he was unable to find any written rule that he had violated.

In a December letter to the university community, GWU President Steven Knapp apologized for the incident and assured students that the university has a strong anti-discrimination policy. Abounaja said the apology was “above and beyond what I expected.”

Continued on p. 65

Wheaton College suspended Prof. Larycia Hawkins after she said that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God.”

n the past few months, universities have seen unprecedented Islamophobia, crackdowns on student free speech involving Palestine, and continuing victories for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Here is a roundup of events taking place on college campuses:

CHICAGO.SUNTIMES.COM

By Suhaib Khan

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

MARCH/APRIL 2016

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activisms_48-63_Special Report 2/11/16 1:55 PM Page 48

Diplomatic Doings

The League of Arab States and the Council of Arab Ambassadors held an Arab American Day event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on Dec. 4. Nearly 600 business leaders, including members of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), diplomats, and Arab American luminaries, attended the fourth annual Arab American Day The Arab League’s new Chief Representative to the U.S., Ambassador Salah Ahmed Hamed Sarhan, welcomed guests and expressed his grief for the victims and families of the recent attack in San Bernardino, California. “No kind or amount of grievance can justify these horrific crimes against innocent people,” Ambassador Sarhan said.

He also expressed his worry for the Arab American community in the wake of this attack, especially after remarks by politicians and political commentators conflating Islam and terrorism and supporting racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims. “Let me state the obvious: Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and those who commit these shocking crimes in the name of Islam are nothing more than evil criminals. Muslims and nonMuslims in the Arab world coexisted as one community for over 1,400 years.

Islam, as all other religions, condemns these barbaric and savage acts.”

Ambassador Sarhan praised the creation of Arab American Day as a way of honoring the contributions of Americans of Arab descent. “I am a newcomer to your great country,” he said, “but from what I have learned, Arab Americans have every reason to be proud of how they have served their new country in every field and endeavor. You are a tremendous asset to your country, America, as well as the countries from which you descended.”

48

(L-r) Sameh Alfonse, Andrew Gelfuso, VP, Ronald Reagan Building, Ambassador Salah Sarhan, Ambassador Antoine Chedid, David Thorne, senior adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry, Ralph Nader and David Hamod, president of the NUSACC.

He thanked the volunteers and Sameh Alfonse, who serves as Minister Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Arab League office in Washington, DC, for putting on the day-long event and gala.

Departing Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Antoine Chedid reflected on his 8 years in Washington, DC, and the Arab presence in America, “which is as old as any other ethnic group.” Chedid said America’s promise of freedom attracted those early immigrants from the Arab world. “They came with empty pockets, but rich in spirit. They decided to build their new towers in America.” The ambassador encouraged the new generation of Arab-Americans to continue to do the same.

Ralph Nader, the world’s best known consumer safety advocate, gave a very spirited speech. He encouraged this country to accept more refugees, especially Iraqis and Afghans who have helped U.S. forces.

The U.S. has tried being a military super power with military bases in 20 countries, Nader said. “That hasn’t worked so well.” Instead, he urged the U.S. to become a “humanitarian superpower,” and improve health care, land reclamation and agriculture. He believes this nation could be leading the world’s

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

efforts to encourage economic development, finding new ways to transport people, build homes and provide new sources of energy. —Delinda C. Hanley

Arab American Activism

Sling International, DISH Network Reach Out to Arabic-Speaking Viewers

Sling International and DISH Network cohosted a dinner for the Arab-American community on Nov. 19 at Habib’s Cuisine in Dearborn, MI. Sling International provides global programming from nearly 200 channels in 18 languages to U.S. households. DISH is well-known for providing programming to the Middle Eastern community in the U.S. Chris Kuelling, senior vice president of International Programming for DISH and Sling International, described their outreach to the Arab-American community.

He encouraged open dialogue between his management and the community, which, Kuelling pointed out, is crucial to the future success of all parties involved.

The Sling marketing team followed with a detailed demonstration of Sling International services.

Sling International recently launched its “Arabic Mosaic” package that conMARCH/APRIL 2016

COURTESY WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT

League of Arab States Hosts 4th Arab American Day

Key community leaders, local retailers, and media representatives celebrate the winner of the DISH retailer contest—the retailer with the highest number of new customer activations.

nects viewers with even more top-rated channels from the Middle East, showcasing news, sports, dramas and movies.

For more information visit <www.sling. com> and <www.dish.com>.

—Muna Howard

Muslim American Activism

Mideast Expert Graham Fuller Addresses MPAC Convention

More than 800 Middle East enthusiasts attended the 15th annual convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) on Dec. 5 in the Long Beach Convention Center. The keynote speaker was Graham Fuller, who worked for two decades as a CIA operations officer in the Middle East. He was vice chairman of the National Intelligence Council at the CIA before retiring and becoming a senior politi-

Salam Al-Marayati (l) and Graham Fuller at the MPAC dinner.

MARCH/APRIL 2016

PHOTO COURTESY ISLAMIC RELIEF USA

cal scientist at Rand Corporation in Santa Monica. He is now teaching history at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. Fuller is author of A World Without Islam, which deals with the relationship between the East and the West. In his book he examines the roots of terrorism, the conflict in Israel, and the role of Islam in waging the anti-imperial struggle. Is Islam a problem and the cause of various international crises? Contrary to popular perceptions, Fuller suggests that the origin of modern-day tensions is geopolitical rather than religious, and that these tensions also would have developed in a world without Islam. Fuller finds that, contrary to the claims of many politicians, journalists and theologians, a

STAFF PHOTO S. TWAIR

PHOTO COURTESY GLOBAL DIVERSITY MARKETING

activisms_48-63_Special Report 2/11/16 1:55 PM Page 49

world without Islam might not look very different from what we see today.

In his address to the dinner audience, Fuller commented that he has never seen the Middle East in as much turmoil as now.

The Rev. Ed Bacon of All Saints Church in Pasadena concluded the program by disclosing that his church received a Syrian refugee family after the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.

MPAC president Salam Al-Marayati said that instead of bringing people to Long Beach for a day of programs, as they have for the past 14 conventions, the convention committee visited five local mosques to tackle timely hot-button issues facing the Muslim community.

—Samir Twair

Human Rights

Guantanamo Bay: Year 14

President Barack Obama now has less than a year to fulfill one of the first promises of his presidency. On Jan. 22, 2009, the newly inaugurated president signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center within a year. Seven years later, 91 men remain at the facility.

Water is a basic necessity of life, so Islamic Relief USA is leading an effort to deliver 150,000 bottles of water to residents of Flint, Michigan, whose water is dirty, lead-contaminated and unsafe to drink. After Islamic Relief USA trucked cases of water bottles to Flint, 60 volunteers went door-to-door distributing water to residents, who were truly appreciative. When asked what else they needed they simply replied, “All we need is water.” Islamic Relief USA is looking for other long-term ways to help the people of Flint.

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rived at Guantanamo, she said, as their poor treatment caused them to be radicalized. As their frustration and resentment built, they allegedly started making threatening statements to their captors. These threats resulted in (L-r) Dr. Karen Greenberg, Andy Worthington and Thomas Wilner dis- them being deemed cusss the prospects of President Obama fulfilling his promise to close “too dangerous to rethe Guantanamo Bay detention facility. lease.”

To commemorate the 14th anniversary Guantanamo’s interrogation program of the prison—which was opened in was a disaster from the beginning, 2002 in conjunction with President Greenberg stated. When the first batch George W. Bush’s “war on terror”—New of prisoners arrived, the military only had America held an event at its Washington, Arabic translators at the facility—but virDC office on Jan. 11. tually all the men spoke either Pashtu or Dr. Karen Greenberg, director of the Urdu, and thus couldn’t communicate Center on National Security at Fordham with their interrogators. This led to the University and author of The Least Worst use of torture, which resulted in the colPlace: Guantanamo’s First 100 Days, re- lection of improper intelligence about flected on the opening of the facility. other inmates at the facility. Without solid Naive officials in Washington initially evidence against most of the prisoners, believed that Gitmo would only be open the government lacked the ability to sefor a short period of time, Greenberg cure convictions and instead opted for noted. In 2001 Secretary of Defense indefinite detention.

Donald Rumsfeld reportedly told GuanThe Marines who built Guantanamo tanamo’s commanding general that the were under the impression that the site facility would only be in operation for would be used primarily for military comabout six months. When the general ex- missions, Greenberg noted. Several pressed doubts about this prediction, a weeks later, when no one seemed to confident Rumsfeld said the facility care that a courthouse had not been would exist for a maximum of 18 months. built, the base’s commander realized The general responded by wisely pre- that this was not a priority. Though the dicting that the detention center would prospect of military commissions has long outlive both of their appointments. long been used to justify Gitmo’s exisGreenberg attributes Guantanamo’s tence, Greenberg noted that only 10 of longevity to its being used for three primary the roughly 780 men incarcerated there purposes: preventive detention, interroga- have been charged. Of those, only two tions and military commissions (trials). have been successfully convicted. The Preventive detentions were viewed as a government has all but given up on means to remove potentially dangerous charging additional detainees, she said. individuals from the battlefield, she exIn order for Gitmo to finally be closed, plained. The problem is that many of those those who remain at the facility will need swept up were either low-level fighters or to be transferred to U.S. soil, Greenberg completely innocent. These men actually said. But Congress would likely balk at became more dangerous once they ar- such a move, meaning that President 50

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Obama would have to use his executive powers to override lawmakers.

Thomas Wilner, an attorney who has represented several Gitmo detainees, believes the Supreme Court would likely side with Obama if he decided to bypass Congress and bring the remaining detainees to the U.S. Such a move, though, has political and constitutional risks, he cautioned. In an election year, Hillary Clinton may urge the president to avoid this action, while others concerned about setting a precedent for strong executive action may dissuade Obama from acting unilaterally.

Wilner believes Obama’s current plan is to release as many detainees as possible, then make the argument that keeping Guantanamo open is simply inefficient and costly. This tactic, however, assumes that the president and fellow Gitmo opponents, such as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), could rally Republican support on Capitol Hill.

Because of these tricky legal and political realities, Wilner said, “I’m not confident that the Obama administration will close Guantanamo before the end of his term.” Wilner also criticized the administration for lacking a clear plan to shut down the facility. “They sort of go on and don’t take charge of it,” he lamented.

Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison, was more optimistic. He believes Obama does not want his legacy to be tainted by failing to close Guantanamo.

He also believes that many in the administration—genuinely concerned about the injustice of the facility and the dangers it poses to national security—are working hard to close Guantanamo.

Worthington did, however, express frustration with the slow pace at which the facility is being emptied. The Periodic Review Board (PRB), an inter-agency task force that reviews the cases of those deemed “too dangerous to release” (even though the government lacks sufficient evidence against them), MARCH/APRIL 2016

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has only reviewed the cases of 18 17 panel discussion on women’s detainees since 2013. More than growing empowerment in the King40 men are waiting for their reviews dom. Dr. Diwan noted that these to be completed, and at the current were the third-ever municipal counpace the process will not be comcil elections in Saudi Arabia, which pleted until 2020. Making matters began in 2004, and the first in worse, detainees were promised in which women were included both 2011 that the PRB would hear their as voters and candidates. cases within a year. “He’s very Women had already been apgood at promising to do things pointed to the Shura Council, a within a year and then really not high-level advisory body, as part of doing them,” Worthington said of gradual changes urged by King AbObama. dullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Years Wilner and Worthington agreed ago the king promised women the that the president must work to exvote, but he died in January 2015, pedite the PRB process. “If they Activists walk in downtown San Francisco calling for the before achieving this important closure of the Guantanamo prison. want to close the place, then you goal. should get the resources in order to do that “torture is a war crime and a crime Decades of political activism by indiPRBs more quickly,” Wilner said. against humanity.” Many people on the viduals and groups helped bring about Ultimately, Wilner stressed that closing crowded streets were unaware or uncon- this historic moment, according to Dr. Guantanamo is about ensuring the U.S. cerned about the torture facility which Hatoon Al-Fassi, a professor at Qatar remains true to its values. “Some day I has been holding prisoners—as many as University, and a founder of the Baladi hope that we realize that adhering to our 779—since 2002.

—Elaine Pasquini [my country] Initiative launched in 2004. principles might be most difficult in times A long-time women’s rights scholar and The Impact of Women in of crisis, but it’s the most important,” he activist, Dr. Al-Fassi said the Baladi IniSaudi Arabia’s Elections said. “I would like somehow for us to get tiative held training workshops to More than 900 women candidates vied for strengthen women’s participation in muthat message across.”

—Dale Sprusansky 2,100 seats on Dec. 12, as women voted nicipal council activities and election for the first time in Saudi Arabia’s munici- campaigns. Women used both social Activists Call for Closure of pal elections. Women were elected to fill and traditional media—writing to commuGuantanamo 21 of those seats, said Dr. Kristin Smith nicate their ideas and opinions, and to Dressed in orange prisoner jumpsuits and Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the build political campaigns. carrying signs and banners, activists from Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, After observing the recent elections, Dr. World Can’t Wait, CODEPINK and School DC (AGSIW), as she introduced a Dec. Al-Fassi said Saudi women are now recogof the Americas Watch walked through the streets of downtown San Francisco on Jan. 11 to call attention to the prisoners still held in the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Seven years after President Barack Obama vowed to close the facility within one year, 91 men remain incarcerated there, 34 of whom have been cleared for release. Many have been held for years without charges. In violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, an unknown number of prisoners on hunger strikes are being force-fed.

The activists handed out flyers informing passersby of the importance of clos- (L-r) Rasha Hefzi [via Skype], Kristin Diwan, Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi, Aziza Youssef and Dr. Nailah ing Guantanamo and reminding them Attar.

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stated. It severely limits independence for educated Ph.D.s and other hardworking women.

When asked what motivated them to get involved in politics, the panelists agreed it was their interest in helping others, volunteering and assisting in disaster relief—including after tragic floods.

“If we can help people outside, why not help ourselves in our own communities?” the women concluded.

—Delinda C. Hanley

Music & Arts

Panel Tackles Satirical Cartooning, Free Speech

The issue of free speech in the context of satirical cartoons was the topic of a Jan. 28 panel discussion organized by Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum. Cartoonist Eben Burgoon moderated the lively presentation featuring CAIR-SV executive director Basim Elkarra, Sacramento Bee editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman, and Cartoon Art Museum curator Andrew Farago.

The murder of cartoonists and staff at the Parisian offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo one year ago was the catalyst for this topic of intense discourse. Following the tragic event, Elkarra related, Muslims throughout the United States held vigils honoring the

victims and condemning the attack.

“Freedom of speech is engrained in Islam,” Elkarra told the capacity audience, despite strict speech restrictions in some Muslim countries. “People in the Muslim world are dying in order to have freedom of speech.” And this includes the right of Charlie Hebdo to publish cartoons offending Jews, Muslims and Christians, he added.

The Muslim community, however, was horrified by the cartoons published in the satirical magazine mocking the tragic drowning of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, whose tiny body was found on a beach near Bodrum, Turkey last September.

His mother and brother also drowned as the family attempted to cross the Mediterranean to escape the war in Syria. The entire panel agreed the publication pushed its provocative brand of humor too far in creating that image.

“Charlie Hebdo was a rather unlikely free speech ally for American cartoonists, since we operate within a set of parameters established by local newspapers, which Charlie Hebdo does not,” Ohman noted. “Editorial cartoonists are a type of journalist, but they are not held to the factual standards that reporters are held to.”

In Burgoon’s opinion, “Speaking truth to power, making people think and laugh at the same time and fighting battles that

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nized as full citizens, equal to men. The recent elections showed that “Saudi women are doing something on the ground,” she said. “They’re not silent. There was an explosion of enthusiasm, of excitement.”

Dr. Nailah Attar, founder and president of Esteshariya Consultancy Office, was in charge of Baladi’s awareness campaign.

Baladi did not want people from outside the Kingdom giving them advice, she said, but wanted instead to express the Saudi point of view, brainstorm, create a team and build their own program. Dr. Attar discussed the program’s work in Jeddah and Riyadh, and the challenges the organization faced being unlicensed and operating in the absence of civil society laws. Dr. Attar also described the group’s efforts to ensure the success of fellow activist Rasha Hefzi, who won the elections as a representative in Jeddah.

Hefzi, the only one of 30 Baladi candidates who won a new municipal council seat, joined the discussion via Skype from Jeddah. She said she and other women have been sitting in on their local municipal meetings for several years— there was no law against it! Low registration of voters and low election awareness in her community (some people were not even aware of which day to vote) were just some of the obstacles she faced. Hefzi’s biggest challenge sounded familiar to her American audience—her opponent was a wealthy businessman, and his conservative backers campaigned hard to defeat her. The municipal council may seem limited in power, Hefzi said, but one member can do a lot to change her neighborhood.

Retired Prof. Aziza Youssef, who taught at King Saud University and is a long-time activist in the women’s driving campaign, explained why she boycotted the elections. After congratulating the Baladi Initiative and the new municipal council member, Professor Youssef urged her government to do more to end restrictions women face in their daily lives. The Kingdom’s male guardianship system for women is illogical, Youssef

(L-r) Basim Elkarra, Andrew Farago and Jack Ohman.

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usually people cannot fight for themselves is the purpose of satire.”

“Cartoonists have this great tool through which we can communicate with people of all walks of life throughout the entire world,” added Farago.

During the Arab Spring, Elkarra said, cartoons were an important voice for calling out the government’s hypocrisy.

But in some Muslim countries, cartoons and reactions to them are exploited for political purposes, he lamented. “Every culture, even in the Islamic world, looks at satire differently.”

—Elaine Pasquini

GMU Commemorates Baghdad’s Destroyed Bookselling Street

On March 5, 2007 a car bomb exploded in Baghdad, destroying much of al-Mutanabbi Street, Baghdad’s historic bookselling district. The beloved street was filled with bookstores and vendors selling many varieties of books, and the explosion left it damaged and unsafe. In commemoration of the attack on Iraq’s literary and cultural center, the Washington, DC area is hosting an arts and cultural festival from January through March to

“stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq,” according to organizers.

As part of this festival, the Fine Arts Gallery at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, VA is hosting an exhibition with two components: “A Printmaking Response to the Bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street” and “Michael Rakowitz: The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist.”

On Jan. 28 the school held a reception to introduce members of the community to the exhibition, which extended into the newly completed addition to GMU’s Fenwick Library.

The printmaking featured powerful works expressing resistance against the attack, such as a work by artist Dan Wood which features the words “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” in English and Arabic on a scroll, with faded newspaper text about the bombing in the background. The quote itself is credited to the Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, meant to express resistance to the burning of books for any reason whatsoever.

Artist Helen Scalway’s contribution, “Some of the Losses: A Rough Guide,” is an open book with the left-hand page in English and facing page in Arabic. The various words and phrases representing

the extent of the loss to Iraq and the world range from “books” and “bookseller” to “different understandings” and “different ways of knowing.”

Some of the works highlight a multitude of cultures’ worth of perspectives on the bombing. Another work, “Keep in Touch” by Bernd W. Plake presents a short poem in English, Arabic and German, his native language. The poem expresses a sense of solidarity with the victims of the bombing, and those who still feel a sense of loss as a result of it.

Michael Rakowitz’s sister exhibit illustrates the pillaging of Baghdad’s cultural artifacts from the Iraq Museum following the 2003 American invasion. Many of the objects remain missing, and some have been destroyed. The exhibit highlights the painful loss of cultural memory that is inevitably a part of the violence of war.

Exhibitions and events related to the Al-Mutanabbi Street Festival will continue through the spring, including the Ninth Annual Commemorative Reading to take place March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 800 G St. NW, in Washington, DC. For more information, visit <www.amssh dc2016.org>.

—Suhaib Khan

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Reaching Across the World: The Hand of Fatima

TOP: “A Printmaking Response to the Bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street” at George Mason University. ABOVE: Helen Scalway’s “Some of the Losses: A Rough Guide.”

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Dagmar Painter, curator of Gallery alQuds at the Jerusalem Fund in Washington, DC, opened the exhibition, “Reaching Across the World: The Hand of Fatima,” with a fascinating talk on Jan. 15 about the human hand symbol she has studied and collected since the 1980s. Painter’s exhibition explores the origins, symbolism and interpretations of this potent design with objects from many cultures.

“Images of the human hand have had powerful appeal throughout the ages,” Painter said. Cave paintings of horses silhouetted with human hands, circa 20,000 BC, were found in Peche-Merle, France, she noted. In Catal Huyuk, Turkey, excavations have revealed frescoed walls with rows of hands from 7,000 BC. Similar pre-

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historic hand imagery has been found in Libya and Zimbabwe, and cave paintings and carvings of hands dating from 3,000 BC have been found in Algeria.

In ancient Egypt, the hand was the symbol of fortitude and power in tomb paintings, and the hieroglyphic alphabet features hand imagery as well, Painter continued. The hand appears on mosaics during the Roman period, she added, sometimes abstracted as a triangle, Roman numeral V, and also written as IIIII to symbolize the five fingers.

The symbolic khamsa (Arabic for five) is associated with the five fingers of the hand, the five tenets of Islam (shahada, salat, hajj, saum and zakat), and the five letters of the name of God. “Later, the hand itself took on the symbolic meaning,” Painter explained, “and became an amulet known as the Hand of Fatima, after the daughter of the Prophet Muhammed by his first wife, Kadijah, esteemed for her virtues.

The hand amulet protects and wards off the evil eye, ain al-hasad (“eye of envy”). The eye-in-hand amulet appears everywhere from the prehistoric versions 54

to those in present day Nepal, Tibet, India, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. It appears in many forms throughout the Arab and Islamic world and is found in jewelry, textiles, architecture and artwork.

Petroglyphs (AD 900-1200) found in New Mexico depict hand-shaped talismans, and Native American cultures also used hand imagery.

The hand as talisman and symbol arose in many cultures, as Painter’s marvelous exhibit illustrates. Ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Roman, Nubian, Berber and Arab, as well as Christian and Jewish cultures all feature hand imagery.

Hindu and Buddhist cultures incorporated multiple meanings into the hand positions used on their respective statues of gods and Buddha.

As trade, travel and war spread iconography from one culture to another, similar imagery took on special meaning particular to each new locale. Painter concluded her fascinating lecture saying, “Hands do indeed cross cultures, reaching across the world and across centuries with a ubiquity and similarity of imagery that speaks a universal language.”

For more information, transcripts and the YouTube talk, please visit <www.the jerusalemfund.org>. —Delinda C. Hanley

“Valentino’s Ghost” a Must-See Film

The Palestine Center in Washington, DC screened on Feb. 5 what this viewer believes is the decade’s most important film: “Valentino’s Ghost: Why We Hate Arabs” (2015), followed by a Skype conversation with director Michael Singh. The extraordinary 95-minute documentary uses historic news clips and scenes from Hollywood films to trace the way mainstream media and Hollywood have falsely stereotyped Arabs, the Nakba and American wars in the Middle East.

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Speakers show how Israel has become “the little country that could,” while Palestine is now somehow “misplaced.”

Singh intersperses film clips with welledited interviews—priceless gems, really— with Gore Vidal, John Mearsheimer, coauthor of The Israel Lobby, British war correspondent Robert Fisk, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony Shadid, Harvard and Oxford historian Niall Ferguson, historian Melani McAlister, TV star Tony Shalhoub, media expert Jack Shaheen and Hollywood writer Alan Sharp. Just when the viewer is saddened beyond words by the ethnic hatred being created by U.S. treatment of Arabs and Muslims, Singh brings in the comics—Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader and Ahmed Ahmed—to make us laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Singh has managed to keep updating the film, adding the Charlie Hebdo controversy, Israel’s deadly invasion of Gaza in 2014, the brutality of ISIS vs U.S. armed forces and Donald Trump’s comments about Muslims.

The film received a standing ovation at the 2012 Venice Film Festival and successful screenings at other international film festivals. However, Singh told the Palestine Center, distributors are afraid of viewer backlash. When the DVD does become available, we suspect that Middle East Books and More will find it hard to keep on our shelves.

—Delinda C. Hanley

PHOTO COURTESY VALENTINOSGHOST.COM

Luha Kamsa (Hand of Fatima) .

PHOTO COURTESY D. PAINTER

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Waging Peace

Going forward, Wechsler stressed the importance of the U.S. continuing to focus on indirect action. This means Washington should work through and with partners, he explained, rather than taking direct action. Such an approach has proved successful in other counterterrorism operations, he noted, citing Colombia, the Philippines and Somalia as examples.

In order for this approach to work, Wechsler said the U.S. needs to boost its knowledge of groups and individuals operating in Syria. He also encouraged Washington to focus on building small elite units of locals who can work with the U.S., instead of attempting to build new armies from scratch.

Above all, Wechsler cautioned, the indirect approach requires patience and long-term thinking. “This is a long slog ahead of us,” he said. “This is going to be years, perhaps decades, worth of work.”

Charles Lister, a resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, agreed with Wechsler’s timeline for the war. Even though ISIS is under pressure and feeling more stretched than it has in quite some time, he said, the group is nowhere near the point of collapse.

ISIS’ demise can be expedited if Washington improves its relationships with groups on the ground in Syria, he argued. Having spent ample time in Syria, Lister believes the U.S. has been too risk-averse in choosing its partners.

While the close U.S. partnership with the Syrian Kurdish PYD (Democratic

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Union Party) has been successful, he warned that this relationship has limits.

This is particularly the case when it The War Against ISIS: comes to geography, as the PYD’s operJust Beginning? ations are limited to non-Arab territories, President Barack Obama began his presihe said. The PYD’s affiliation with the dency promising to end America’s wars in PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), desigthe Middle East. It’s now almost certain nated as a terrorist organization by both that he will be transferring a new war—the Ankara and Washington, further complifight against ISIS in Syria, Iraq and elsecates matters, he noted. where—to his successor.

Lister argued that other Syrian groups At a Jan. 21 Middle East Policy Councould do as well or better than the PYD if cil event on Capitol Hill titled “The ISIS they received the same level of support Threat to U.S. National Security: Policy from Washington. In his experience, LisChoices,” analysts warned that the war ter has found that many of these groups against ISIS is just in its infancy. “We are strongly desire to work with the U.S. still at a very early stage in this effort, unWhile much has been made of U.S. atfortunately,” said William F. Wechsler, a tempts to target ISIS’ oil, Lister said the senior fellow at the Center for American only way to truly defeat ISIS is by taking Progress and the former deputy assisback its territory. Most of the group’s revtant secretary of defense for special openue comes from its taxation of the poperations and combating terrorism. ulations it controls, he noted, not oil.

Wechsler said the U.S.-led effort to To reclaim land, Lister said the coali“degrade and destroy” ISIS has been tion must launch a multi-front attack. Fohampered by a lack of focus. No imporcusing on one front at a time (such as tant player involved in the anti-ISIS coaliRamadi) has played into ISIS’ hands, as tion, including the U.S., has made deit has allowed the group to redeploy its stroying the group their top priority, he arresources. In order for a multi-front effort gued. Wechsler pointed to the fight over to emerge and successfully frazzle ISIS, the future of Syrian President Bashar althe coalition will need to increase its coAssad and the sectarian battle between ordination and cooperation, Lister said.

Iran and Saudi Arabia as two issues that Audrey Kurth Cronin, director of the inare distracting from the fight against ISIS. ternational security program at George Despite the war’s slow progress, Mason University, argued that the classic Wechsler believes there are several posicounterterrorism strategy used against altive signs. The U.S., he said, has wisely Qaeda is not sufficient to defeat ISIS. Unexpanded the size and scope of its air like al-Qaeda, she noted, ISIS has a concampaign to include targets such as ISIS’ ventional army, controls significant caches of cash; inamounts of territory creased the number and has diverse inof special operations come sources. ISIS personnel involved in should thus be treated the war; expanded more like a conventhe anti-ISIS battletional military oppofield to include nent than a terrorist Afghanistan; enorganization, she said. hanced its diplomatic At the same time, outreach; and worked Cronin advised to undermine ISIS’ against launching a propaganda narraconventional war on (L-r) Charles Lister, Mark Katz and William F. Wechsler critique the U.S.war against ISIS. ISIS. After the Iraq tive.

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nations in perspective. Russian air intervention alone will not save Assad, he stated, and Putin has indicated that he is not interested in sending ground troops into Syria. Additionally, Katz cautioned that even if the U.S. and Russia were to reach an agreement on Syria, it would do little to change the conflict. The bigger issue shaping the conflict, he concluded, is the chasm between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

—Dale Sprusansky

The Saudi Arabia-Iran Divide: What Lies Ahead?

Tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated in early January after Riyadh announced that it had executed prominent Shi’i Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the al-Sa’ud regime from the Kingdom’s Eastern Province. News of the execution prompted outrage in Tehran, where protesters stormed the Saudi Embassy and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Kingdom’s leaders would experience “divine revenge.” The two nations have since severed diplomatic ties.

This latest development in the tenuous Saudi-Iran relationship was the focus of a Jan. 12 event at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC. David Ottaway, a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said that the recently implemented Iranian nuclear deal and Tehran’s alleged interference in Yemen have made the Saudis uneasy and caused them to take a more confrontational stance toward Iran. The Kingdom fears that Iran is now in the good graces of the U.S., he said, and,

unconstrained by Washington, is boldly interfering in the affairs of Arab states.

Randa Slim of the Middle East Institute believes that while both Iran and Saudi Arabia continue to up the ante, neither country is interested in a direct military confrontation. She thus expects to see the perpetuation of the status quo. “I don’t see interest on either side to de-escalate. They are interested in keeping the escalation going, to a certain point,” she said.

While neither country has imminent war plans, Ottaway expressed concern that the current escalation could lead to a miscalculation that would inadvertently result in a direct Saudi-Iran war.

Barbara Slavin, acting director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, acknowledged this concern and expressed pessimism that the two sides will be able to resolve their differences.

“The hatreds are very deep, the resentments are very deep, and I’m really quite worried about how anybody can get a handle on it,” she said.

In Slavin’s opinion, Tehran is more receptive to a détente than Riyadh. President Hassan Rouhani has reached out to the Saudis since the day of his inauguration in 2013, she said, but has never received a warm response.

Slavin believes the attack on the Saudi Embassy was both a genuine expression of anger by Iranians and an attempt by conservative forces in the country to undermine Rouhani’s foreign policy. Participating in a Jan. 14 Woodrow Wilson Center teleconference, Ali Vaez of the

(L-r) Barbara Slavin, Hussein Ibish, Randa Slim and David Ottaway reflect on the recent severing of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

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PHOTO COURTESY ARAB GULF STATES INSTITUTE

war, the U.S. should know better than to believe in instant cost-free military solutions, she said. A full-fledged war would also play into ISIS’ apocalyptic end-ofdays narrative, she cautioned.

The simple reality is that there are no good strategic military options when it comes to ISIS, Cronin argued. This being so, she believes Washington’s anti-ISIS strategy must be centered around the principal of “offensive containment.” This would entail limiting ISIS’ access to resources and the use of strategic military strikes. This slow-butsteady approach has been successful thus far, she argued, noting that ISIS has been gradually losing territory, particularly in Iraq.

Mark N. Katz, professor of government and politics at George Mason University, discussed Russia’s increased role in the Syrian conflict.

Critics have posited that Russia’s intervention in the Syrian civil war has more to do with its desire to protect its ally Assad than defeating ISIS, Katz noted. Moscow has responded to these critics, he pointed out, by arguing that the non-ISIS rebel groups it is targeting are indeed terrorist groups.

Whatever its true intentions in Syria may be, Katz believes many in Washington are underestimating Moscow’s pragmatism. President Vladimir Putin, who has been critical of Assad on occasion, is not unflinching in his support of the Syrian regime, Katz believes, arguing that Russia simply sees Assad as the least worst option.

There is also a growing sense in Moscow that many in Washington are quietly in agreement that Assad is the best short-term option in Syria. Whether or not this is the case, Katz said that as long as the U.S. continues to officially call for Assad’s removal, it’s hard to imagine significant Russian-U.S. cooperation on Syria.

While much has been made of the Russia-U.S. dynamic as it pertains to Syria, Katz sought to put the role of both

Iranian Public Opinion Poll on Foreign and Domestic Affairs

On Feb. 26, Iranians will cast ballots for the first time since their leaders agreed to a comprehensive nuclear deal with the West. The election will determine the composition of the Majlis (parliament) and the Assembly of Experts (responsible for electing the supreme leader).

To discuss where Iranians stand as they prepare to vote, the Woodrow Wilson Center on Feb. 3 unveiled a public opinion poll of Iranian attitudes on domestic and foreign affairs. Ebrahim Mohseni, a senior analyst at the University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research, shared the poll’s findings.

President Hassan Rouhani remains an immensely popular figure, receiving an 82 percent favorability rating, the poll found. Respondents indicated they especially approve of his handling of security matters and his ability to improve relations with Europe. Rouhani received mixed results on the economy, however, and poor ratings on his ability to reduce unemployment.

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Iranians cited protecting Shi’i sites, fighting ISIS and decreasing Saudi influence as their country’s top three objectives in Syria. Meanwhile, most respondents (75 percent) believe that Washington’s anti-ISIS motives in Syria are insincere. The top reasons Iranians cited for U.S. militarily engagement in Syria were: expanding U.S. influence in the region, protecting Israel, decreasing Iranian influence, and toppling Bashar al-Assad.

—Dale Sprusansky

Ebrahim Mohseni shares his poll results.

59 percent of respondents hope candidates aligned with Rouhani are victorious. Iranians believe unemployment and the economy are the most important issues for the new parliament to tackle.

Iranians have an overall positive view of the nuclear accord, with 71 percent of respondents indicating their support for the agreement. Mohseni pointed out, however, that many Iranians have inaccurate impressions of the deal. For instance, 40 percent of respondents believe—falsely—that the deal eliminates all U.S. sanctions on Iran. Such inaccurate beliefs have resulted in high expectations for the deal, Mohseni noted, as most Iranians expect the agreement to improve the country’s economy and unemployment rate within a year.

The poll also found that Iranians remain suspicious of Washington. Just 29 percent of Iranians have a favorable view of the U.S. government—but 53 percent have a positive view of the American people. Iranians are particularly concerned that the U.S. will renege on the commitments it made in the nuclear deal, with 62 percent of those polled saying they doubt the U.S. will live up to its end of the bargain.

Regionally, the poll found that Iranians overwhelmingly support their government sending assistance to Shi’i and Kurdish groups fighting ISIS, while 63 percent say Iran should send military personnel to fight in Syria. These opinions, the poll found, are grounded in the fear that ISIS will come to Iran if it is not defeated abroad.

Rashid Khalidi on Iran Accord: “Something Changed”

Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and chair of the history department at Columbia University, editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and author of Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). He spoke at Princeton University Feb. 1 on “The Iran Nuclear Deal and U.S. Foreign Policy.”

The “Mutually Assured Destruction” of the nuclear arms race with the Soviets, Khalidi began, was an actual existential threat to the U.S., even if it was exaggerated. With the end of the Cold War 25 years ago, any challenge to U.S. hegemony evaporated. Yet, politicians continue to deploy scaremongering in response to far less threatening challenges, apparently feeing it necessary to frame any perceived threat in existential terms. There are legitimate grievances

STAFF PHOTO J. ADAS

International Crisis Group differed, saying he doubts the attack was manufactured by elements within the regime. Various individuals across the Iranian political spectrum condemned the attack, he noted, indicating what he believes to be a broad-based desire within the country to contain the incident and prevent a confrontation with Saudi Arabia.

On the teleconference, Robin Wright of the Wilson Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace said Washington is concerned the renewed Saudi-Iran tension will complicate the ongoing Syrian peace talks. The U.S. hopes the current diplomatic rift between Tehran and Riyadh does not become protracted, she added, as was the case when the two countries severed ties from 1988 to 1991.

—Dale Sprusansky

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Dr. Rashid Khalidi.

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The Obama administration is not only silent about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, but also of Saudi’s 10-month aerial campaign in Yemen, involving the bombing of civilians, including three Doctors Without Borders facilities, as well as several important heritage sites with no humans within miles. The administration is silent as well about Turkey’s restarted war against its Kurdish population and allowing Turkey to be the conduit for Da’ish to market oil. Khalidi described U.S. policy as schizophrenic: it opposes Israeli, Saudi and Turkish actions, but continues to arm them all. The best way to build on the success of the Iran deal, he concluded would be to stop the tail— that is, Washington’s troublesome allies—from wagging the American dog.

—Jane Adas

Mohammad Azadpur.

California Panelists Discuss Iran, Syria and Palestine

San Francisco State University’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative (AMED) hosted a wide-ranging panel discussion Dec. 9 on Iran, Syria and Palestine. Moderated by Peabody award-winning journalist Jamal Dajani, panelists included Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, SFSU senior scholar and associate professor of ethnic studies/race and resistance studies/Arab and Muslim ethnicities and diaspora Initiative at SFSU; Dr. Hatem Bazian, co-founder of Zaytuna College and lecturer in Near Eastern and Ethnic Studies at the University of Califor-

Hatem Bazian.

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between Iran and the U.S., but Khalidi views the inflated rhetoric as out of proportion to Iran’s ability to harm the U.S. After 35 years of a frozen relationship, Khalidi noted, something changed. In spite of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s campaign to convince the world that Iran is an evil empire, the P5 + 1 (the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) and Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action this past July. This, Khalidi added, leaves Israel as the sole nuclear power in the Middle East.

The implications of Netanyahu’s failure to prevent the Iran deal are still being worked out. Khalidi sees little reduction in hostility to Iran in Israel and among its American supporters, and sectarian rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has not diminished. Yet a Rubicon has been crossed, Khalidi declared. The U.S. acceptance of Iran’s presence at the Syria talks shows a more pragmatic U.S. position and is a significant recalibration.

Moreover, the U.S. has provided air support for Iranian troops in Syria in their shared opposition to Da’ish (ISIS).

The Iran nuclear deal may also affect U.S. domestic politics. Netanyahu turned the Iran deal into a partisan issue and politicized American support for Israel.

This might not last, Khalidi cautioned, especially if Hillary Clinton leads the Democrats, but it shatters the myth that U.S. politicians cannot cross Israel. He expects the effect on Palestine of the U.S. separating from Israel on the Iran issue to be minimal, saying the best we can hope for is U.S. criticism of Israel’s occupation.

Khalidi questioned why, after reducing any Iranian threat to Israel, the U.S. plans to compensate Israel by adding a $1.8 billion multi-year munitions resupply package to its regular $3.1 billion annual military aid, especially since those munitions are used almost exclusively to kill Palestinian civilians. He does see evidence of the beginning of change in American public opinion, citing polling that shows a downward trend in support for Israel.

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nia at Berkeley; Dr. As’ad AbuKhalil, professor at California State University at Stanislaus and founder of the Angry Arab News Service; and Dr. Mohammad Azadpur, professor of philosophy at SFSU and author of Reason Unbound: On Spiritual Practice in Islamic Peripatetic Philosophy.

Dr. AbuKhalil began by addressing the Syrian conflict. Bringing down the Bashar al-Assad regime “is not about democracy,” he argued. “Democracy is a smokescreen used by the West to justify their wars. It is about wanting to have a full domination of the region.” In Syria, AbuKhalil continued, “the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey thought that this was another round of the Arab uprising and that in a few weeks perhaps the Syrian regime would be overthrown, and who cares whatever comes afterwards.”

In addition to ISIS, the al-Qaedabacked al-Nusra Front is also operating in Syria. According to AbuKhalil, the Syrian conflict left the hands of the Syrian people in 2011. “Now, on the one hand is the Syrian regime that is in the control of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah,” he said, “and on the other hand are the rebels who are under the control of a variety of countries whose least concern is democracy.”

Regarding the Iran nuclear agreement, Azadpur said that the deal was welcomed among the general Iranian population. “For the government, it’s a new chapter,” the scholar noted. “A diplomatic front of resistance to resolve tension is new.” Tehran knew it would be heavily sanctioned without an agreeMARCH/APRIL 2016

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control they exercised from 1967 to 1987, he said. “They needed to reprogram their project inside the Palestinian territories and they engaged in settler colonialism by means of negotiation— the so-called peace process—where the negotiations were an instrument to continue to move the line for what the negotiations were about.”

In every round of negotiations, Bazian continued, “Israel created more settlements and more areas to control—facts on the ground—and that became the subject of negotiation and is why it is a never-ending process.” Noting how ill served Palestinians are by their Palestinian Authority leadership, he commented, “The U.S. State Department has far more to say about Palestinian policies than the Palestinians.”

Lastly, Bazian noted, any type of support from the Arab world is almost nonexistent. “Egypt is basically a sword in the back of the Palestinians,” he stated.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered his military to destroy all of Gaza’s tunnels, which Egyptian troops have been flooding (see Nov./Dec. 2015 Washington Report, p. 20). Egypt’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, built an underground steel wall—funded by the U.S. and facilitated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—to prevent Palestinians from bringing food and supplies into Gaza through tunnels.

—Elaine Pasquini

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ment, he said, adding, “It was a diplomatic victory to end sanctions.”

Discussing immigration and Islamophobia, Abdulhadi reminded the audience, in light of the Nov. 13 bombings in Paris, “to remember the colonial history of France—in Algeria, the Caribbean, parts of Africa and the Arab world, as well as France’s treatment of their citizens from these former colonies.” The Palestinian-American professor also pointed out “the U.S. closed its doors to Jews in World War II, thus contributing to the creation of the state of Israel.”

Bazian, founder of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at UC Berkeley, cited statistics from European organizations which show that during the past five years only 2 percent of all European acts of terrorism were carried out by Muslims. Most were committed by sectarian nationalist groups within Europe and neo-Nazis carrying out attacks against Muslims and immigrants.

AbuKhalil expounded on Israel’s ongoing treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and media bias in covering these events.

“Zionists always use language to camouflage their war crimes,” he pointed out.

“The word ‘clashes’ always implies there is a balance of power between armed Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians.”

The 55-year-old Lebanese American enumerated the many countries Israel has bombed in his lifetime: Tunisia, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq. “Scores of people worldwide have been killed by Israelis, including a Moroccan waiter in 1974 in Norway, only because he happened to resemble a Palestinian leader,” he said.

“All of these crimes have been committed with a variety of justification and rationalizations that are still being employed today.”

Bazian reminded the audience of the need to focus on Israel’s “settler colonial project in Palestine.” As a result of the first uprising, the Israelis were no longer capable of maintaining the same type of

Fragile Tunisia Presses Forward

Five years after Tunisians launched the revolution that ignited the Arab Spring, many of its citizens remain frustrated.

Though Tunisia has made major democratic strides and is stable compared to other Arab Spring nations, the country’s perilous economic situation has many in the country feeling impatient.

This frustration was on display in January, when protesters took to the streets of several Tunisian cities demanding that the government take action on unemployment. Since the 2011 revolution, the unemployment rate in the country has increased to 15 percent. The situation is even worse for the country’s young people, who face a 33 percent jobless rate.

The government responded to the latest protests by implementing a curfew, but it also acknowledged the legitimacy of the people’s frustrations. “There is no dignity without work,” President Beji Caid Essebsi said in a televised address.

“You can't tell someone who has nothing to eat to stay patient.”

Speaking at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, DC on Jan. 14, Scott Mastic of the International Republican Institute said improving the economy must be the Tunisian government’s top priority. According to a poll his organization released in January, 86 percent of Tunisians surveyed describe their country’s economic situation as somewhat bad or very bad, while 83 percent be-

Ambassador Faycal Gouia and Amy Hawthorne reflect on the fifth anniversary of the Tunisian revolution.

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lieve their country is headed in the permanent contact, someone they wrong direction. Noting that “pescan keep on retainer without having simism was at an all-time high in a full-time paid staffer. Zoepf was the survey,” Mastic said the sucfirst based in Damascus, where cess or failure of Essebsi’s governthere was clearly a demand for rement rests on its ability to address porting, but not such a good story the economic issue. that “they’d send in a real reporter, At the same event, Tunisia’s Amor a higher up.” bassador to the U.S. Faycal Gouia According to Zoepf, a major diffiacknowledged his countrymen’s culty in her writing was finding obfrustration. In order to meet the dejective data. “It’s hard to get hard mands of the people, he said, Tunis data in a lot of countries in the Arab Peter Bergen and Katherine Zoepf discuss her book, The must implement wide-ranging reworld,” she said. “These are not Secret Lives of Young Women Who are Transforming forms in such areas as education, places where there are public opinthe Arab World. health care, banking and finances. ion surveys. If there aren’t free elecHe added that the instability in neighbor- used compromise to settle its political tions, forget about opinion surveys of ing Libya and issues with domestic ter- disputes. The task now, they agreed, is any kind. There is not an orientation rorism are hampering the country’s eco- to make sure the social and political about what people's’ opinions are like or nomic outlook. Above all, Gouia said, the gains of the past five years are not set what people really want. So, to talk government must work to manage ex- back by economic woes or sacrificed in about the Arab Spring, which was popupectations, as economic reforms will take the name of security. —Dale Sprusansky lar when I first went to Syria, is immeditime to bear fruit. ately revealed on a second examination Journalist Discusses Difficulties According to Gouia, Tunisia is working as really problematic.”

Covering Middle East to decentralize its government and inSuch an issue eventually led her to be crease the capabilities and responsibilities On Jan. 21, New America in Washington, skeptical of any statement which generalof local governments. The country’s de- DC hosted journalist and writer Katherine ized the beliefs or positions of entire nacentralization initiative will be imple- Zoepf, who discussed her new book on tions. She chose instead to use anecdotal mented by the newly created Ministry of young women in the Arab world, Excellent evidence in her writing.

Local Affairs, the ambassador said, which Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young “I’ve come to trust in the power of anecwill assume responsibilities from the Min- Women Who are Transforming the Arab dote maybe more than I should,” she acWorld (available from Middle East Books knowledged. “But in the absence of suristry of the Interior.

Co-panelist Amy Hawthorne of the and More). Zoepf, who has worked as a veys or other forms of hard data, you Project on Middle East Democracy said stringer for The New York Times while liv- have to find a way to make it, and you that decentralization, if properly imple- ing in Damascus, Beirut and Baghdad, have to ask a lot of people, and you have mented, would give a big boost to spoke in conversation with New Amer- to ask them about their circles and about Tunisia’s democratization process by un- ica’s vice president Peter Bergen on the their cousins and try to get a rough sense locking new economic, political and so- difficulties of writing about societies where of how common these opinions are.” cial opportunities. She cautioned, how- the political situation makes it difficult to Zoepf illustrated the difficulty of writing ever, that decentralization would not be obtain hard data. about society in an authoritarian country Zoepf began by describing her inter- by briefly describing her discovery and a simple task, as it involves figuring out how power will be shared, establishing esting career in the Middle East, which research into a secret Syrian women’s revenue sources, writing a new social spanned many different countries, in- organization. contract and convincing individuals in the cluding those listed above as well as “Early in my time in Syria, I started hearSaudi Arabia and Jordan.

Ministry of the Interior to cede power. ing about this secret Islamic women’s group “I think being a stringer is becoming a called the Qubaysiyat that had the governDespite the daunting challenges ahead, the panelists praised Tunisia for more common way for young people ment terrified, and I thought, wow that’s the impressive strides it has made over starting journalism to be able to start kind of amazing,” she recalled. “Everybody the past five years. They noted that the out,” she said. Fewer newspapers and in Damascus knew how to decode from the country has held legitimate and free par- magazines can afford foreign bureaus, color combination of [someone’s] hijab or liamentary and presidential elections, im- she explained, so by just going abroad manteau or jilbab, and the way it was worn, plemented an inclusive constitution, and you’re in a peculiar position to become a whether someone was in the Qubaysiyat or 60

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Historian and Former Diplomat Speaks on Gaza Wars

Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies hosted Prof.

Jean-Pierre Filiu for a Jan. 15 discussion on Israel’s successive wars on Gaza.

Filiu, a former French diplomat, is currently an historian and professor of Middle East studies at the Paris School of International Affairs. He outlined the nature of Israel’s 12 wars on Gaza, beginning in 1948, in order to understand the nature of the violence today, and how to end it.

“On this very Friday, two Palestinian young adults were shot dead at the socalled border, the de facto border, between the Gaza Strip and Israel,” he began. “According to Israeli military sources, they were provoking Israeli military on the other side of the border and maybe even intending to cross the socalled border. This has become a terrible MARCH/APRIL 2016

routine, the same way it has become now a matter of common belief that the question is not if a new war will erupt around the Gaza Strip, but when.”

The first war, he said, began upon the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, when the Gaza Strip as we know it today was created. The war, or Nakba, displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

“But, Gaza originally was not like today—a dead end—it was an Prof. Jean-Pierre Filiu. oasis,” he said. “It was a place where people met, where they traded for employed in Israel…All the money that millennia.” donors sent to the Gaza Strip didn’t comThe second war included Israel’s “bor- pensate for the loss of revenue that ocder wars,” Filiu said. In these conflicts, curred because of the closure.” de facto “borders” were established, but The eighth war started at the beginthey weren’t really borders so much as ning of the second intifada, and was also cease-fire lines settled by U.N. media- waged by Sharon. According to Filiu, tion. Such arbitrary borders allowed for anything after the election of Sharon was easy infiltration to the other side, leading no longer the peace process. “What is to a cycle of vendettas. To deal with this, important is that in the summer of 2005, Israel adopted a policy of “the harder we Sharon considered he had won this war strike them the less likely they’ll be ready in the same way that in ’71 he had conto accept infiltration or provocation to- sidered that he had won the previous ward Israel.” This policy, according to war he had waged on the Palestinians,” Filiu, has always been proven wrong, yet he said. is still in play today.

In June 2007, a year after Hamas won The third war took place in 1956, and parliamentary elections in both Gaza and was, in proportion, the deadliest war for the the West Bank, Israel declared Gaza as people of Gaza. Of Gaza’s 300,000 inhabi- a hostile entity. “It has been a decade tants, about 1,000 were killed, Filiu said. that no Israeli has entered Gaza except The fourth and fifth wars took place in in attack,” Filiu said. “So that means that the late ’60s, and involved Israel’s reoc- Palestinians in Gaza know only Israelis cupation of Gaza and multiple Palestin- from the bombing and the killing.” ian guerrilla operations against Israel.

Such deteriorating conditions have led The fighting was quelled by Israeli Gen- to a situation where ISIS exists on one eral Ariel Sharon, resulting in the deaths side of Gaza, in the Sinai peninsula, and of many Palestinians in the process. has small but growing numbers within “Even the peace process in Gaza did- Gaza itself. “The stronger Israel strikes n’t mean an improvement in the living Gaza and Hamas, the stronger ISIS becondition of the local population,” Filiu comes on the doorsteps of Israel,” Filiu said. “Because this is when Israel in- warned. The solution, he argued, was for stalled a new collective punishment, Israel to unconditionally lift its blockade which is closure. There was no closure of the Gaza Strip. Visit MiddleEastbefore. Before you could go from Gaza Books.com for Filiu’s books on Gaza and to Tel Aviv in less than an hour, and in ISIS. fact most of the Gaza manpower was —Suhaib Khan PHOTO COURTESY TAREQ RADI

whether she was an acolyte in some way or what level she held within the organization, and I thought this was just fascinating.”

The purpose of the Qubaysiyat was still somewhat unknown, due to the difficulties of obtaining information on such an organization in Syrian society.

“Nobody really knew what they were up to, or if they were really up to anything,” she said. “I think that they were pretty much just a social organization.

Very devout women, helping them learn more about their faith, but they were interesting because they were oddly a sort of engine of social mobility. It’s true that they would target the wives of leaders and seek those women out as members, but they would also target the best students in every class, so if you had very high marks for several years running, you would get an invitation and there would be a Mercedes that would pick you up at your home and take you to an undisclosed location...so the women from poor backgrounds suddenly had access to opportunities through people they knew at the Qubaysiyat, including marriage opportunities.” —Suhaib Khan

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Activists in San Francisco protest outside Airbnb headquarters.

Two days after Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s head of global policy, promoted the alleged financial benefits of the online booking website to attendees of the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC, CODEPINK and Jewish Voice for Peace activists protested outside Airbnb’s San Francisco headquarters on Jan. 22 to demand the company stop offering vacation rentals in illegal Israeli settlements. Properties in the Jewish-only settlements of Efrat, Ma’ale Rehavam, Tekoa and Ma’ale Adumim, illegally built on Palestinian land beyond the Green Line, are erroneously listed by Airbnb as being in Israel.

Chanting, “Airbnb, you can’t hide, you are profiting from apartheid,” many carried signs reading “No Airbnb on Stolen Land” and “Stop Listing Homes in Illegal Israeli Settlements #Stolen Homes.”

In continued defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 446, which states: “The policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continues to rapidly expand the illegal settlements. In the first days of this new year, the Israeli government confiscated 380 acres of Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, and demol62

ished six structures built for Bedouins by European Union funds, in order to build new settlements for Israeli Jews and essentially cutting off Palestinian residents from occupied East Jerusalem. This illegal land seizure by the Israeli government is the largest since August 2014.

By listing for lease properties in illegal settlements, Airbnb is violating its own stated policy that it prohibits listings that promote racism, discrimination or harm to individuals or groups.

—Elaine Pasquini

Prof. Steven Salaita Calls for Countering Campus Suppression

The subject of Dr. Steven Salaita’s Jan. 8 talk at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC was the same as his book: Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Acade-

Prof. Steven Salaita.

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PHOTO COURTESY PALESTINE CENTER

Activists Protest Airbnb’s Listings in Israeli Settlements

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mic Freedom (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More). This 2015-16 academic year, Dr. Salaita is serving as the Edward Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut.

Washington Report readers will recall that after his public tweets criticizing Israel’s assault on Gaza in 2014, the board of trustees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign revoked their offer of a tenured professorship (see Jan./Feb. 2016 Washington Report, pp. 47-48). In November 2015, the university agreed to pay Salaita a cash settlement in exchange for his dropping two lawsuits brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).

Salaita warned that academic freedom in the United States is still in jeopardy and the suppression of speech and activism in defense of Palestinian human rights is escalating. Criticism of Israel in academic settings has been punished for 30 or even 50 years, he noted, but as Israel’s behavior becomes even more indefensible, modes of suppression have been stepped up. The success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has also led to a vicious response, Salaita said, and billionaires like Haim Saban and Sheldon Adelson are pumping millions of dollars to combat BDS and the Palestinian narrative. Universities “in the thrall of these moneyed interests” are citing comfort, safe space and anti-bullying as reasons to shut down pro-Palestine activists. “This isn’t an individual, but an institutional, problem,” Dr. Salaita stated, “and it’s going to require an institutional response.”

Since it’s impossible for anyone to excuse Israeli actions, supporters have to use diversionary tactics, he continued.

For example, he said, to combat the American Studies Association’s academic boycott resolution, which passed in December 2013, Israel supporters argued, “Why don’t you boycott China?

North Korea? Cuba?”

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fense of Israeli actions, Salaita argued.

Instead, supporters “used diversionary narratives: ‘Israel is being forced to kill children by Hamas, they are putting children on rooftops, they are firing rockets; we are being led into doing something that we don’t want to do.’ Or, ‘the Palestinians are even worse.’ Or, ‘the Palestinians don’t recognize Israel’s right to exist.’”

Tel Aviv couldn’t defend what Israel was doing, Salaita said, so it used the “tired, and well-trod, centuries-old colonial discourse of ‘the native made me do it.’ That’s what it amounted to. This is something that colonizers, settler-colonizers and otherwise, have been saying...since the beginning of the time of European colonization. That ‘I came into this situation of clean heart and pure soul, with clear motive, and my encounter with the barbaric other brought out something in me that I did not know existed. It is the Palestinian who ruined my innocence. And it is the Palestinian that compelled me to do things that I never would have thought to do otherwise.’”

A An n insigh insightful tful rreference efference for for 17 years years

Salaita understands the quandary faced by Israel’s supporters: “What do you do when the state you adore, not so much as a geopolitical entity but as an ideal…what do you do when it has become indefensible?” Their response: “You shut down the conversation altogether, and we’re seeing that happen.”

They don’t want to debate 1948, 1967 or who’s to blame for the failures of the peace process, Salaita said, “because having that debate is always for them a losing proposition.”

The best-known victims of academic witch-hunts occurred during the McCarthy era, Salaita noted, although anybody who criticized World War I might have been fired or, like Eugene Debs, imprisoned. Today it is people of color and overwhelmingly women who suffer recrimination in universities, Salaita added. Divya Nair was suspended from Philadelphia College for participating in a Black Lives Matter activism, and a professor at Evangelical Wheaton College was just fired for saying that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. (Advertisement)

Salaita emphasized that it wasn’t his tweets critical of Israel that got him fired—“it was the fact that donors contacted the university and said, ‘Get rid of this guy.’” Universities have been defunded to the point that they’re almost completely reliant on the largess of donors and private entities, Salaita explained, “and one of the things that academic freedom needs to do is address this influence of private donors.”

Millions of dollars are spent sponsoring legislation to strip our rights or marginalize us if we criticize Israel or support BDS, Salaita concluded. “It’s deeply important for those of us with an interest in education, and in the wellbeing of universities, and in free speech rights, and the Constitution, and simply living in some semblance of a free society, to band together and counter the negative effects of this kind of activism that is coming from on high. And one way we do it, the best way to do it, is by banding together in grassroots communities and contesting it.”

—Delinda C. Hanley IInsight nsight Turke Turkey Turkey iiss a q quarterly uarterly jjournal ournal p ublished b ETA F oundation published byy S SETA Foundation E dited b uhittin A taman Edited byy M Muhittin Ataman

RECENT CONTRIBUTORS: NTRIBUTORS: CHRIST CHRISTOPHER OPHER R LA L LAYNE AYNE • RICHARD JA JACKSON CKSON C • NORMAN G G.. FINKELSTEIN • BERDAL ARAL DA AVID ROMANO ROMANO • MOHAMMED AY A YOOB • PA P AUL KUBICEK • BASHEER R NAFI • DMITRI TRENIN DAVID AYOOB PAUL NA A DAL ACOU COURA • MALIK K MUFTI • MARINA AO TTAWAY • SUSAN BETH RO R OTTMANN • MERT MER RT BİLGİN BİLGİN KATERINA DALACOURA OTTAWAY ROTTMANN CK K DÜVELL • ERDEM BAŞÇI • SIL LVIO FERRARI • ALİ ÇARKOĞLU ÇARK KOĞL KOĞLU • JAMES JAMES DEVINE DEVINE • TAHA TAHA ÖZHAN FRANCK SILVIO ICHARD D FALK FALK • CANAN N BALKIR • JAMES DORSE Y • FU UA AT KEYMAN KEYMAN RICHARD DORSEY FUAT

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Preserving an Archaeological Site in Northern Syria Threatened by War

By Pat McDonnell Twair

niversity of California, Los Angeles Prof. Emeritus Giorgio Buccellati told an audience at the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles, CA on Jan. 27 that the protection of ancient archaeological sites can present daunting challenges during times of warfare. Buccellati dedicated his talk, “In the Eye of the Storm: Resilience of the Urkesh Project in the Time of War,” to his colleague Khaled Asaad, director of archaeology in Palmyra, who was killed Aug. 18, 2015 by ISIS (see October 2015 Washington Report, p. 64).

Buccellati’s most vital method of protecting an archaeological site is educating and hiring the people who live there to make them stakeholders in the maintenance and success of the site. Buccellati described his excavation of Tell Mozan (Urkesh) in northern Syria, a third millennium archaeological site consisting mainly of holes with very few monumental structures on the surface.

In order to protect the site, Buccellati continued, the team had to devise protective equipment that was inexpensive and locally available. Even though there has been no dig for the past five years, the Urkesh site has been successfully maintained and protected because the local staff has an intense loyalty to the site and scientists. They keep in touch through a

Pat McDonnell Twair is a free-lance writer based in Los Angeles.

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BOLLETTINO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE ARCHEOLOGICA TICINESE 2015/NUMERO 27

U

The archaeological site at Urkesh, or Tell Mozan, in northern Syria.

website, Dropbox and e-mails.

Such work is costly, of course, and without a continuing excavation program, raising funds is difficult. “Everyone wants preservation, but it's hard to get funds to do so.” said Buccellati. The UCLA Cotsen Institute specifically, along with a number of other institutes, have been helpful.

The local workers have managed to preserve the site by developing a series of metal frames that are then covered with locally available burlap. They initially used tightly fitted canvas, but that deteriorated quickly and was difficult to remove, especially if a documentary team was trying to film the site.

The team eventually developed a system that uses curtains on the sides, and the tops are protected with mud and straw, much like the roofs of the local homes.

The local Kurdish militia has become involved in protecting the site. Fortunately, ISIS-controlled territory is 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Urkesh.

Thanks to the training of six local staff and establishing the means to maintain contact, archaelogists have been able to analyze 50,000 sherds during the past five years. Those six have also maintained a rigorous system of checking for and repairing damage to the site and supplying regular, extremely detailed reports to Dr. Buccellati's team.

Another reason for the success of the site has been Buccellati's team’s creation of a culture of community archaeology.

First, instead of writing a book on the site, the team has facilitated an on-site "book" where specific discoveries are explained in detail in reports that are made available on stands located next to the discovery described. Written in English, Arabic and Kurdish, they even include footnotes. Also, the team has developed a 20-page booklet that includes Kurdish translation.

Dr. Buccellati's dream has been to create an Urkesh Eco-Archaeological Park with the intention of preserving the entire locality as best as possible (such as keeping the land in the hands of farmers rather than turning it over to developers). The park would cover 58 square miles and include 22 villages. Each vilMARCH/APRIL 2016

ABOVE: Dr. Giorgio Buccellati and Dr. Marilyn Buccellati. RIGHT: Local workers created structures to protect the site. lage would have a local center/museum that would focus on a particular aspect of the archaeological site. One center would focus on ceramics, for instance, another on history and so on.

Sadly, there was no funding to bring

Campus News Continued from page 46

University of South Florida

In Tampa, the student government at the University of South Florida passed a resolution on Jan. 19 to divest from Israel. The divestment includes calling on the university board of trustees to divest from corporations complicit in Israel’s occupation, including Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, G4S, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The resolution passed by a vote of 32-12, with 5 abstentions.

“Our university was on the wrong side of history when it failed to divest from corporations affiliated with South African apartheid,” the resolution read. “This time we hope to be on the right side of history. We ask that USF, out of respect for international law, and in consistency MARCH/APRIL 2016

BOLLETTINO DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE ARCHEOLOGICA TICINESE 2015/NUMERO 27

STAFF PHOTO SAMIR TWAIR

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about this dream, but the locals, especially the women, took it upon themselves to create their own centers/museums with posters showing specific parts of the Urkesh site that initially included a workshop for the women to make their own crafts. (They have since created their own stand-alone workshops). Dr. Buccellati admitted it brought tears to his eyes to see their enthusiasm and dedication. with U.S. and local law, stop investing in corporations that are continuously and knowingly complicit in severe human rights violations. Despite our inactivity in past injustices, there is a current opportunity in which we expect our university to act accordingly with an honorable conscience.” ■ (Advertisement)

Coming September 2016 21st Annual New Mexico Muslim Women’s Association Retreat Dar al Islam Abiquiu, New Mexico For more information:

daralislam.org

There was a mini-exhibition of the site in Qamishli, Syria that opened on Dec. 31, 2011, and a half-day exhibition at the American Embassy in Damascus a few weeks before the start of the peaceful protests in Deraa became a civl war. A big week-long exhibition of Urkesh that opened in Italy last year drew 25,000 people.

For more information, visit <http:// ucla.academia.edu/GiorgioBuccellati>. ■

IndextoAdvertisers Alalusi Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 American Friends of Birzeit University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover Casa del Rio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Hijjawi Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Insight Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Israel’s Influence: Good or Bad for America? Conference . . . . . . . . . 35 Kinder USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mashrabiya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Middle East Children’s Alliance. . . . 10 Mondoweiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Muslim Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Palestinian Medical Relief Society . 28 Persian Heritage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 United Palestinian Appeal (UPA) . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover

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B •O •O •K •S

Reviewed by David Herrstrom

book of poems explores these relations with great sensitivity. The poet journeys

by Saliba Sarsar, Ilora Press, 2015, into the past to enable moving into the paperback, 67 pp. List: $16; MEB: $15. future, retrieving hope for a future “New Jerusalem.” Along the way, in a wonderThe necessity of ful variety of “portraits,” his language “Singing out of makes us feel the often unstated tensilence” propels sions between our individual and nathis moving col- tional memories, and between personal lection. In his and communal images. singing, Dr. Sar Divided into three sections, which sar persuades Sarsar calls “stations,” devoted to Family us that “the & Friends (I), Neighbors and Visitors (II) heart/rediscovers and Places and Dreams (III), his book sacred rhythms expands outward and inward as we toward / a deliberate start” (“Deep Si- read. We think of the traditional Stations lence”). Yes, many of these triumphantly of the Cross. Unexpectedly, however, “deliberate” poems start us thinking and the poet marks childhood memories feeling about what it is to “belong,” as when, as he says, “my young heart Sarsar, who was raised in Jerusalem, raced / through the street” (“Captivating has said on another occasion, “to be fully Encounter”) past the souvenir shops with in place” in one’s family, community and their candles and wooden camels on the country. way to the Holy Sepulcher.

Following Sarsar’s Crosswinds and More important, we realize that his Seven Gates of Jerusalem, this third poems are themselves stations—medita-

Portraits: Poems of the Holy Land

tive places where, in the silence of our reading, we discover resources within us, our family and country for the future.

These stations, the anecdotes and songs of the book’s first section probe memory to retrieve emotional sustenance. We share a delightful ritual (“Wedding Rings”). We await the return of a family member from war to a “house looking forward to becoming a home again,” as the poet chants a joyous litany of keenly observed household objects (“Awaiting the Return”).

And we grieve with the poet addressing the deceased, “The shade of evergreens embraces / your soul” (“Total Kiss”), or exult as he addresses his lover, “A turquoise heart envelops / you in its wings” (“Of Love”). The freshness of this metaphor, unexpected and expansive, carries the power that we see throughout this section and the next with its multitude of voices, such as a vivid character sketch (“An Ordinary Summer day in the Life of Abu Mahmoud”), and unflinching witness left only “Love drying with blood on / asphalt, cement, and stones” (“Witness”).

In the last section of his book, Sarsar modulates his voice to a different seriousness. Ideas are at stake. We hear sermons but also see here where “Yellow dogs sleep in red / dirt and stone, consumed by / hunger and heat” (“The Other Side”). The spirit of the poet’s voice, which throughout we cannot but believe is autobiographical, evoking memories of friends and family, neighbors and visitors, even dreams, remains with me after reading. His poems are necessary meditative places for us all.

David Herrstrom, a poet, lecturer, and president of the Jacob Landau Institute, is author of Jonah’s Disappearance, Appearing by Daylight, and The Book of Unknowing.

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MARCH/APRIL 2016

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Middle East Books and More Literature

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Films

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Pottery

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Solidarity Items

W i n t e r

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More

2 0 1 6

The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, Other Press, 2015, paperback, 160 pp. List: $14.95; MEB: $12.

In this brilliant twist on Albert Camus’ famous novel The Stranger, Algerian author Kamel Daoud explores the story of the brother of “the Arab” killed by Meursault in the classic French version. He begins 70 years after that fateful event, giving a name and a story to Camus’ character. The Meursault Investigation is a powerful critique of The Stranger and an even larger statement on the postcolonial Arab world—a testament to the power of literature to address complex political subjects.

The Iran-Iraq War by Pierre Razoux, Belknap Press, 2015, hardcover, 688 pp. List: $39.95; MEB: $30. Razoux’s new book on the Iran-Iraq war is the most comprehensive and authoritative account to date of the conflict that lasted from 1980-1988. There is surprisingly little written about that war, and Razoux aims to rectify that with his exploration of the history of the conflict and the implications it has on the contemporary Middle East, from sectarianism to nuclear proliferation to the current conflict in Iraq. Despite its intimidating length, this book is surprisingly readable and engaging, as a work in itself or as a reference.

Ebola ‘76 by Amir Tag Elsir, Darf Publishers, 2015, paperback, 136 pp. List: $14.99; MEB: $14. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1979, this story by acclaimed Sudanese author Amir Tag Elsir concerns a Sudanese factory worker who unknowingly brings the Ebola virus back home, throwing his whole community into a state of chaos and panic. A captivating story of pain and love and a brilliant dark comedy, Ebola ’76 portrays coping and grief in a moment of true human misery.

Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy by Sean Jacobs and Jon Soske, Haymarket Books, 2015, paperback, 270 pp. List: $16; MEB: $14. In this groundbreaking new volume, 18 African Studies scholars come together to share their insights into the history and politics of apartheid in South Africa and its implications for the current situation in Palestine, comparing and contrasting the two situations and examining the analogy that is now so salient in activism discourse today. This volume includes contributions by Mahmood Mamdani, Achille Mbembe, Shireen Hassim and more.

Digital Militarism: Israel’s Occupation in the Social Media Age by Adi Kuntsman and Rebecca Stein, Stanford University Press, 2015, paperback, 192 pp. List: $21.95; MEB: $20. This excellent new book is a brilliant exposé of the transformations the Israeli occupation of Palestine has undergone as it has adapted to developments in social media. The authors explore how Israeli citizens and soldiers alike are using social media as tools of violence and occupation, while at the same time presenting new conundrums for the continuation of the occupation.

Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate our Shared Humanity by Barbara Abdeni Massaad, Interlink Books, 2015, hardcover, 208 pp.

List: $30; MEB: $27. In this welcome new addition to our selection of Middle Eastern cookbooks, Massaad takes readers through soup recipes from around the world, featuring contributions from Anthony Bourdain, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi and many others. The book aims to highlight food insecurities among Syrian refugees, with profits from the sales going toward various relief organizations.

Islamic State: Rewriting History by Michael Griffin, Pluto Press, 2015, paperback, 176 pp. List: $18; MEB: $15.

In this brilliant new analysis of the rise of the Islamic State, the author traces the origins of the current organization, from its roots in al-Qaeda to the war in Iraq and developments in Syria. Throughout the book, he pays special attention to the dynamics of IS recruitment methods, explaining why it has been so successful at recruitment from within the Middle East as well as from Europe and the United States.

Romeo and Juliet in Palestine: Teaching Under Occupation by Tom Sperlinger, Zero Books, 2015, paperback, 157 pp. List: $16.95; MEB: $14. The author, an English teacher from the UK, spent five months in 2013 teaching at Al-Quds University in the West Bank, working through works from Shakespeare to Malcolm X with his Palestinian students.

In his book Sperlinger explores how these great English works function in relation to his students’ narratives about life under occupation, and eloquently challenges his previous ideas about teaching and pedagogy.

Language of War, Language of Peace: Palestine, Israel and the Search for Justice by Raja Shehadeh, Profile Books, 2015, paperback, 160 pp.

List: $15.95; MEB: $14. In his latest book, prolific Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh delves into the politics of language in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from its integral role in perpetuating occupation to the way it has been manipulated in the failed peace process. Shehadeh is both depressingly realistic yet surprisingly optimistic about the state of the conflict and the ways in which language can still be used to improve the situation of Palestinians.

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 send mail orders to Middle East Books and More, 1902 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009, with checks and money orders made out to “AET.” U.S. Shipping Rates: Please add $5 for the first item and $2.50 for each additional item. Canada & Mexico shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first item and $3.50 for each additional item. International shipping charges: Please add $15 for the first item and $6 for each additional item. We ship by USPS Priority unless otherwise requested.

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Library packages (list value over $240) are available for $29 if donated to a library, or free if requested with a library’s paid subscription or renewal. Call Middle East Books and More at 800-368-5788 ext. 2 to order. Our policy is to identify donors unless anonymity is specifically requested.

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cartoons_68_Special Report 2/11/16 2:02 PM Page 68

THE WORLD LOOKS AT THE MIDDLE EAST

New York Times Syndicate, New York

The Irish Times, Dublin

Ad-Dustour, Amman

Al Balad, Beirut

Landsmeer, Netherlands

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

www.OtherWords.org

MARCH/APRIL 2016

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The Truth About the Occupation

To The Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb. 8, 2016 Regarding a recent news article published in The New Mexican (“Netanyahu: U.N. leader wrong to fault West Bank settlements amid violence,” Jan. 29): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was simply speaking the truth when he said it was “human nature to react to occupation.” While he also hastened to condemn the recent wave of Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians, he added, “Palestinian frustration is growing under the weight of half a century of occupation and the paralysis of the peace process.”

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded by saying, “The words of the U.N. Secretary-General give a tailwind to terrorism,” having earlier in the week rebuked U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro for saying Israel’s settlement policy raised “honest questions about Israel’s long-term intentions.” In order to crush the fading hopes for a just and lasting two-state solution, this Israeli government censures those who refuse to countenance illegal settlement encroachments into Palestinian areas. In this Manichean world of sacrosanct, warring narratives, the truth is out but must be beaten back by this fiercely nationalistic state so devoted to delusional thinking.

Barbara Allen Kenney, Santa Fe, NM

Peace Process Is Untenable

To the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Jan. 12, 2016 In their exchange about the PalestinMARCH/APRIL 2016

ian conflict, neither Vijay Prashad nor Rabbi Justin David mentions the continuing expansion of the Israeli settlements and the Israeli government policy of supporting the expansion. This expansion has reached the point where it makes a viable Palestinian state impossible.

This leaves three choices: • Remove the settlements or place them under the authority of a Palestinian state.

• Create a new state encompassing all of Israel and the West Bank with Arabs as equal citizens.

• Continue the occupation—with its denial of resources to Palestinians and brutalization of both Palestinians and Israelis.

The first of these is politically impossible in Israel. The second would mean abandonment of the dream of a Jewish state, dear to most Israelis, and also politically impossible. The third continues the unpalatable status quo, which appalls the rest of the world.

There is no way that the peace programs that Rabbi David rightly extols can change this reality. Many of us fear future catastrophe.

Bruce Hawkins, Northampton, MA. The writer is an emeritus professor of physics at Smith College.

The Occupation Is the Problem

To the Oakland Tribune, Jan. 7, 2016 The author of the Dec. 31 letter, "Resolutions real cause of Mideast violence," failed to admit that Israel's hegemony and cruelty of its occupation are the causes of violence.

The Palestinians have been struggling for 48 years against Israel's cruel military occupation. Israel demolishes homes, confiscates lands and uproots olive trees. It violates Palestinians’ human rights with blessings from the White House and Congress. The U.S. gives Israel annually more than $3.1 billion of military aid.

The Israelis have tear gas, tanks, jet fighters and sophisticated weapons; the Palestinians do not. The Palestinians' weapons are stones—and recently they have started using knives—because they live in despair.

When I watch on the news our police killing African Americans, I envision the Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian youths and children. In both cases, there is no

justice. Some online sites report that U.S. police travel to Israel to learn methods of brutal repression.

The Israeli army terrorizes the Palestinians at their homes and checkpoints.

Ehud Barak, ex-Israeli prime minister, said in 1998 that if he was a Palestinian of the right age, he'd eventually join one of the terrorist organizations.

Nabil Wahbeh, Oakland, CA

Respect Is Key for Iran

To The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2016 In “Talk to Tehran, but Talk Tough” (OpEd, Jan. 19), Nicholas Burns, a former under secretary of state, calls for President Obama and whoever succeeds him to find a “right balance” on Iran that straddles “between cooperation on nuclear issues and containment of Iranian aggression.” The surefire way to ensure that Iran abandons its obligations under the deal is to return to a policy of coercion.

Mr. Burns is right that Iran’s political system is not monolithic. There are forces that were critical of the nuclear negotiations, arguing that Iran gave up too much and that the United States cannot be trusted to follow through on its commitments. For more than 200 years, Iran’s sovereignty, independence and integrity have come under threat from world powers and regional conflicts. This has made Iranians resistant to occupation or submission.

An American approach centered on engagement, compromise and negotiations carried out with respect is what made the nuclear deal possible—not a policy based on coercion, which over years of use bore nothing but an expanded Iranian nuclear program. Iran responds positively to the language of respect, but becomes aggressive and inflexible when faced with threatening language or pressure.

“If the Americans show, in words and actions, that they are not irrational, then they will see that the Islamic Republic and the people of Iran are well-wishing, reasonable and cooperative,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared.

Engagement with Iran has a username, which is “diplomacy,” and a password, which is “respect.” Adopting this approach is the key to managing regional crises, whether in Syria, Yemen or elsewhere.

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Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Princeton, NJ. The writer, a former Iranian diplomat, is a research scholar at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton.

Gitmo Detainees v. “El Chapo”

To The Seattle Times, Jan. 15, 2016 I find it really amazing that since the capture of “El Chapo” there is a great clamor to extradite him to the U.S. for trial [“Mexico ready this time to send ‘El Chapo’ to U.S. to face trial,” Nation & World, Jan. 11]. And he should be, as the Mexican government can’t seem to keep him in jail.

But it’s amazing how the desire to get El Chapo into an American courtroom is so great, but not so much the prisoners in Guantánamo. That’s amazing.

Are the Guantánamo prisoners more dangerous to America than the leader of a bloodthirsty drug cartel? I don’t think so.

What are we afraid of?

For any of the truly guilty at Guantánamo (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed), we could’ve had them tried and convicted 10 years or so ago and incarcerated at one of our supermax prisons.

The shame that is Guantánamo must remain on the people of America.

Richard B. Ellenberger, Normandy Park, WA

Afghanistan Can’t be Controlled

To The Washington Post, Jan. 29, 2016 The Jan. 27 front-page article “‘Exit strategy’ for Afghanistan fades” said, “Senior

U.S. commanders have also been surprised by al-Qaeda’s resilience and ability to find a haven in the Afghan countryside, as well as the Taliban’s repeated seizure of large tracts of contested territory.” Senior commanders are surprised? Really? Have they learned nothing in all the years in Afghanistan? Have they learned nothing from history and watching the Russians fail abysmally to tame the area in the 1980s?

Afghanistan cannot be controlled. Not really. We will be in Afghanistan forever if we want to maintain even marginal control.

I say, cut our losses (in lives and money) and get out. Let the chips fall where they may. Maybe if the West kept its nose out of that region, the radical fringe element would have nothing left to complain about and would just continue tribal warfare as it has done for centuries.

Elizabeth Steenbeeke, Puyallup, WA

Jordan’s Refugee Assistance

To The New York Times, Feb. 2, 2016 Let us spare a moment for Syria’s neighboring countries like Jordan, a tiny desert kingdom with scant natural resources that is nevertheless at the forefront of international humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts. Jordan currently shelters more than 635,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict. Over the past decades, it has received more than two million Palestinians.

In comparison, the response from the international community has been sluggish. But Britain now has an opportunity to help Jordan in its hour of need. As Queen Rania put it: “Each one of us has to try to do something, because at the end of the day we are human beings. A little empathy would lead to compassion, and compassion will compel us to act.”

Munjed Farid al-Qutob, London, UK

U.S. Must Welcome Refugees

To the Lexington Herald-Leader, Jan. 8, 2016 Thanks for publishing the Washington Post article about the Syrian refugee family in Louisville. I wish them the best in adjusting to their new home.

Our governor has stated that Syrian refugees are unwelcome in Kentucky because they could be potential terrorists.

Since the nearly five-year-old civil war, millions of Syrians have fled their homeland because of bombing of homes and

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businesses, killing of citizens and forced conscription of men into the Syrian army.

Not to mention the brutal regimes of ISIS in some parts of Syria.

Most refugees are residing in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. Despite some support of the host countries and the efforts of the United Nations refugee agency, many camp residents must live with intolerable hardships.

To settle in the United States, refugees must undergo extensive investigation by the FBI, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

This process takes from 18 months to two years. Any terrorists bent on committing crimes here would surely search for easier entry.

I hope other Kentuckians, like the caring people in Louisville, will welcome and provide aid to refugees, who are only seeking safety and a way to resume their lives.

Martha Park, Lexington, KY

Obama’s Mosque Visit

To The Dallas Morning News, Feb. 8, 2016 Re: “‘Part of America’—‘We have to reject a politics that … targets people because of religion,’ Obama calls for end to bigotry against Muslims,” Thursday news story.

As a Muslim American, I strongly commend President Barack Obama’s first visit to a mosque in Baltimore. This kind gesture comes at a time when Islamophobia has resulted in several incidents of violence against Muslim-American communities. It also comes at a time when the GOP presidential candidates have increasingly tried to marginalize Muslims by using hateful rhetoric.

By visiting a mosque, Obama has reiterated the message that this country believes in values of freedom and justice. He has made it clear that Muslim Americans are a vital part of this nation and their contributions should not be forgotten. I urge fellow Muslims to remain loyal to this country and support its fight against insurgencies and extremism. It was Prophet Muhammad who once said that loyalty to one’s country is part of one’s faith. By being loyal to our nation, we are also being loyal to our faith.

Huma Munir, Austin, TX ■ MARCH/APRIL 2016

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O• B • I • T • U • A • R • I • E • S Compiled by Kevin A. Davis Dr. Adel H. Yahya,

56, a Palestinian historian and archaeologist and the founder of the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE), died Dec. 14 in Al Bireh/Ramallah of cancer. A refugee from Jalazone camp, he was a former undergraduate student and faculty member of Birzeit University, having completed his Ph.D. at the Free University of Berlin. His life’s work was devoted to Palestinian rural history, folk art and traditional handicrafts, and, as the director of PACE, he worked to preserve, exhibit and market Palestinian traditional arts and empower village and refugee camp artisan coops.

Dr. Yahya was a major participant in the St. Antony’s College (Oxford University) Palestine Police Force (PPF) Oral History Project, recording oral histories with Palestinian villagers and refugees in the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan. He also taught a popular oral history class at Birzeit University. He researched histories of West Bank towns and villages’ archaeological sites and published them in well-illustrated and -photographed guidebooks. He led international and academic groups around West Bank towns and villages, giving them a grassroots understanding of the region. Finally, Dr. Yahya played a key role in the first intifada, before, during and after, for which his heroic actions will long be remembered.

—Written by Janice Hayden

Doris C. Halaby, 97, the mother of Queen Noor of Jordan, died Dec. 25 of pneumonia in Washington, DC. Born Doris Carlquist in Leavenworth, WA, she studied political science at the University of Washington in Seattle. She married Najeeb E. Halaby in 1945, and their daughter Lisa Halaby married King Hussein of Jordan in 1978. Doris Halaby MARCH/APRIL 2016

served on the boards of American Near East Refugee Aid, Amideast, and the Foreign Policy Association. She lived in Washington, DC multiple times, including when her then-husband served as an FAA administrator.

Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, 96, the

Princess of Iran, died Jan. 7 in Monte Carlo of old age. She was the twin sister of Mohammad Reza Shah, the former shah of Iran. She was heavily involved in the coup of 1953 that brought her brother to power. During his reign, she was known for her advocacy of women’s rights. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, she was forced into exile but continued to be outspoken about Iranian politics.

Abbas Bahri,

61, a Tunisian mathematician, died Jan. 10 in New Jersey after a long illness. Born in Tunis, he became the first Tunisian to attend the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. After completing his Ph.D., he was a visiting scientist at the University of Chicago before accepting a tenured position at Rutgers University in 1988. Bahri was known for his contributions to the calculus of variations and introduced the method of the critical points at infinity, now a fundamental aspect of calculus.

Leila Alaoui, 33, a French-Moroccan

photographer, died Jan. 18 in the terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Born in Paris, she grew up mostly in Marrakesh, Morocco. She studied photography at the City University of New York before returning to Morocco in 2008. Her highly acclaimed photographs were featured in exhibitions throughout Europe and the Middle East. She was known for using photography for activism work, focusing on issues of refugees and

human rights. In Burkina Faso on assignment for Amnesty International, she suffered gunshot wounds in the attack on the Cappuccino Cafe and later died in the hospital of a heart attack.

Fatema Mernissi,

75, a Moroccan feminist scholar, died Nov. 30 in Rabat of cancer. Known for her prolific writing on issues of women and religion in the Middle East, she taught at the Mohammed V University in Rabat. Her books include Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (both available from AET's Middle East Books and More), as well as the classic The Veil and the Male Elite.

She was a firm believer that the subordination of women in the Muslim world was more a product of power and politics than of religion itself, and was known for speaking around the world on such issues.

Mernissi was particularly interested in the idea of the harem and the subjugation of women through physical space. She was born in Fez into a harem, although in 1940 a harem simply meant separate living quarters for women. Mernissi’s detailed examinations of the means by which women are held hostage by the interests of powerful males applied not only to her own region but to the rest of the world as well.

Concepcion Picciotto, 80, a peace

activist, died Jan. 25 in Washington, DC of unknown causes. She was known for holding a peace vigil outside the White House for more than 30 years, the longest political protest in U.S. history. Her protest centered on nuclear non-proliferation and carried a general message of peace. She became something of a cult figure in the nation’s capital, from a stop on tourist circuits to being the subject of news articles and even a documentary. ■

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AET’s 2015 Choir of Angels

Following are individuals, organizations, companies and foundations whose help between Jan. 1, 2015 and Dec. 31, 2015 is making possible activities of the tax-exempt AET Library Endowment (federal ID #52-1460362) and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Some Angels helped us co-sponsor the April 10 conference, “The Israel Lobby: Is It Good for the U.S.? Is It Good for Israel?” We are deeply honored by their confidence and profoundly grateful for their generosity.

HUMMERS ($100 or more)

Anonymous, Pittsburgh, PA Anonymous, San Diego, CA Catherine Abbott, Edina, MN Dr. Charles Abboud, Rochester, MN Mohamad Abdelnabi, Union, KY Fatima Abdulla, Oak Hills, CA Jeff Abood, Silver Lake, OH Patricia Abraham, Charleston, SC Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, Atlanta, GA Rizek & Alice Abusharr, Claremont, CA Shukri Abu Baker, Beaumont, TX James C. Ahlstrom, Stirling, NJ Aglaia & Mumtaz Ahmed, Buda, TX Asadullah Ahmed, Joplin, MO Sohail & Saba Ahmed, Orland Park, IL Christopher Ake, San Diego, CA Dr. & Mrs. Salah Al-Askari, Leonia, NJ Carl Alexander, Silver Spring, MD Mrs. Azmat Ali, Lumberton, NJ Dr. Subhi Ali, Waverly, TN Sakker Al-Joundi, Milton, Canada Dr. Bishr Al-Ujayli, Troy, MI Jafar Almashat, Martinsburg, WV Arthur Alter, Goleta, CA Hamid & Kim Alwan, Milwaukee, WI Nabil & Judy Amarah, Danbury, CT Edwin Amidon, Charlotte, VT Abdulhamid Ammuss, Garland, TX Emile Arraf, Calgary, Canada Dr. Robert Ashmore, Jr., Mequon, WI Mr. & Mrs. Sultan Aslam, Plainsboro, NJ Ahmed Ayish, Arlington, VA Dr. & Mrs. Roger Bagshaw, Big Sur, CA Samiah Bahhur, Chantilly, VA Zaira Baker, Garland, TX Rick Bakry, New York, NY Marwan Balaa, San Jose, CA Alma Ball, Venice, FL Dr. Sami Baraka, Wyandotte, MI Nader Barakat, Moorpark, CA Jamil Barhoum, San Diego, CA Carolyn Barrani, The Tapis-Tree, Salt Lake City, UT Stanton Barrett, Ipswich, MA Allen & Jerrie Bartlett, Philadelphia, PA Joseph Benedict, Mystic, CT Linda Bergh, Syracuse, NY Essa Bishara, Greensboro, NC Dr. Kate Bisharat, Carmichael, CA Ann Brown, San Antonio, TX John V. Brown, Los Altos, CA Gary Brummett, Grand Cane, LA Stephen Buck, Bethesda, MD 72

Frances Buell, Lincoln, NE H.B. Bullard, Guilford, CT Prof. Mireya Camurati, Williamsville, NY John Carley, Pointe-Claire, Canada Lynn & Aletha Carlton, Norwalk, CT Roger W. Carpenter, Denver, CO Ouahib Chalbi, Coon Rapids, MN Patricia Christensen, Poulsbo, WA John Cornwall, Palms Springs, CA Carole Courey, Cataumet, MA Robert & Joyce Covey, La Canada, CA Mrs. Walter Cox, Monroe, GA Decatur Neurological Assoc., Decatur, IL Dr. Tim Devine, Cumming, GA James Dickerson, Eau Claire, WI Lynn Ellen Dixon, Woodward, PA Dr. Robert Dobrzynski, Alexandria, VA Ralph & Laurel Doermann, Columbus, OH Dr. George Doumani, Washington, DC Bernie Eisenberg, Los Angeles, CA Kassem Elkhalil, Arlington, TX Amro Elsabbagh, Ambler, PA Barbara Erickson, Berkeley, CA M.R. Eucalyptus, Kansas City, MO Dr.& Mrs. Hossam Fadel, Augusta, GA Albert E. Fairchild, Bethesda, MD William Fairchild, Nolensville, TN Family Practice and Surgery, Eatonton, GA Renee Farmer, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Majed Faruki, Albuquerque, NM Claire Bradley Feder, Atherton, CA Sylvia Anderson de Freitas, Paradise Valley, AZ John Freitas, Fresno, CA Donald Frisco, Wilmington, DE Joseph & Angela Gauci, Whittier, CA William Gefell, Turnbridge, VT Richard Gentilcore, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Linda George, Louisville, KY David C. Glick, Fairfax, CA Graeme Goodsir, Mechanicsburg, PA Sam Gousen, Arlington, VA Daniel Grunberg, Rijswijk, The Netherlands Bill Guerin, Lansing, MI Dr. Fawwaz Habbal, Cambridge, MA Mr. & Mrs. Samer Habiby, Holmdel, NJ Nabil Haddad, North Wales, PA M. Haffar, Irvine, CA Alice H. Hall, Duxbury, MA Allen Hamood, Dearborn Hts., MI Susan Haragely, Livonia, MI

WAShInGTon REpoRT on MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Delinda C. Hanley, Kensington, MD Prof. Hugh R. Harcourt, Portland, OR Robert & Helen Harold, West Salem, WI Angelica Harter, Cambridge, MA Dr. Colbert & Mildred Held, Woodway, TX Dr. & Mrs. Sam Holland, North Eastham, MA Helen Holman, Litchfield, ME Nicholas S. Hopkins, Washington, DC M.D. Hotchkiss, Portland, OR Dr. Michael Hudson, Chevy Chase, MD Alexander Humulock, Jr., Romulus, NY Anthony Ibrahim, Stockdorf, Germany Mr. & Mrs. Azmi Ideis, Deltona, FL Mary Izett, Walnut Creek, CA Rafeeq Jaber, Oak Lawn, IL Bilquis Jaweed, West Chester, OH Janis Jibrin, Washington, DC Jeanne Johnston, Santa Ynez, CA Anthony Jones, Jasper, Canada Dr. Jamil Jreisat, Temple Terrace, FL Ahmad Juma, Woodside, NY Mohamad Kamal, North York, Canada Mr. & Mrs. Basim Kattan, Washington, DC Nazik Kazimi, Newton, MA Akbar Khan, Princeton, NJ M. Yousuf Khan, Scottsdale, AZ Dr. Mohayya Khilfeh, Chicago, IL Rafik Khoury, Adamstown, MD Ernestine King, Topsham, ME Paul N. Kirk, Baton Rouge, LA Donald Kouri, Westmount, Canada Loretta Krause, Little Egg Harbor Twp., NJ Asiad Kunaish, Washington, DC Ronald Kunde, Skokie, IL Sandra La Framboise, Oakland, CA Lucy Landry, Pittsford, NY John Lankenau, Tivoli, NY William Lawand, Mount Royal, Canada Edward Lesoon, Jr., Pittsburgh, PA Mary Lou Levin, Mill Valley, CA Sherif Lofti, New York, NY J. Robert Lunney, Bronxille, NY Robert Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI††† Allen J. MacDonald, Washington, DC A. Kent MacDougall, Berkeley, CA Ramy & Cynthia Mahmoud, Skillman, NJ Dr. & Mrs. Gabriel Makhlouf, Richmond, VA Dr. Asad Malik, Rochester Hills, MI Tahera Mamdani, Fridley, MN Aida Mansoor, Berlin, CT Ted Marczak, Toms River, NJ Amal Marks, Altadena, CA Martha Martin, Paia, HI Nabil Matar, Minneapolis, MN MARch/ApRIL 2016

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John Matthews, West Newton, MA Carol Mazzia, Santa Rosa, CA Shirl McArthur, Reston, VA Gwendolyn McEwen, Bellingham, WA Bill McGrath, Northfield, MN Janet McMahon, Washington, DC*** Robert Mertz, Bethesda, MD Darrel Meyers, Burbank, CA Tom Mickelson, Neshkoro, WI Lynn & Jean Miller, Amherst, MA Mr. & Mrs. Jan Moreb, Gainesville, FL Magda Moustafa, Temecula, CA Saleh Altayeb Mubarak, Tampa, FL Earl Murphy, Fallbrook, CA Elizabeth Murray, Poulsbo, WA Raymond & Joan Musallam, Wilton, CA John Najemy, Ithaca, NY Jacob Nammar, San Antonio, TX Hadeel Naqib, Baltimore, MD Neal & Donna Newby, Las Cruces, NM John & Judy Nicholson, Waukee, IA Susan Nicholson, Gloucester, MA Fred Nureddine, Ontario, CA Kamal Obeid, Fremont, CA Rawhi Omar, Crestwood, KY Shirley O’Neil, Cleveland Hts., OH Edmund Ord, Oakland, CA Khaled Othman, Riverside, CA Edmond & Lorraine Parker, Chicago, IL Amb. Edward & Ann Peck, Chevy Chase, MD Mary Clare Penney, Falls Church, VA Dr. Bashar Pharoan, Timonium, MD Jim Plourd, Monterey, CA Peter P. Pranis, Jr., McAllen, TX Barry Preisler, Albany, CA Dr. Humayun Quadir, Saint Louis, MO Cheryl Quigley, Toms River, NJ Marjorie Ransom, Washington, DC Doris Rausch, Columbia, MD Paul Richards, Salem, OR Nancy Robinson, Arlington, VA Amb. Christopher Ross, Washington, DC Brynhild Rowberg, Northfield, MN Nuhad Ruggiero, Bethesda, MD Hameed Saba, Diamond Bar, CA Dr. Mohammed Sabbagh, Grand Blanc, MI Antone Sacker, Houston, TX Irmgard Scherer, Fairfax, VA Carl Schieren, New York, NY Lisa Schiltz, Barbar, Bahrain Leyla Schimmel, Andover, MA Mona Serageldin, Cambridge, MA Rifqa Shahin, Apple Valley, CA Dr. Ajazuddin Shaikh, Granger, IN Richard J. Shaker, Annapolis, MD Thomas Shaker, Poughkeepsie, NY Theodore Shannon, Green Valley, AZ Dr. Najah Sharkiah, Atherton, CA Gretchen K. Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA Kathy Sheridan, Mill Valley, CA Dr. Mostafa Hashem Sherif, Tinton Falls, NJ Zac Sidawi, Costa Mesa, CA

MARCH/APRIL 2016

Lucy Skivens-Smith, Dinwiddie, VA Edgar Snell, Jr., Schenectady, NY Jean Snyder, Greenbelt, MD Robert Snyder, Greenbelt, MD John Soderberg, Foley, AL Les Sosnowski, Lake Forest, IL William R. Stanley, Lexington, SC Gregory Stefanatos, Flushing, NY Viola Stephan, Santa Barbara, CA Edward Stick, Phoenix, MD Vincent Stravino, Bethlehem, PA Abdalla Suleiman, Denver, CO Mushtaq Syed, Santa Clara, CA Eddy Tamura, Moraga, CA Doris Taweel, Laurel, MD Dr. & Mrs. M.A. Thamer, Woodbridge, VA William Thiessen, Bemidji, MN### Michael Tomlin, New York, NY Thomas Trueblood, Chapel Hill, NC Charles & Letitia Ufford, Hanover, NH United Muslims of America Interfaith, South San Francisco, CA Zainab Vanhorn-Ali, Indianapolis, IN Don Wagner, Orland Hills, IL Paul Wagner, Bridgeville, PA James Wall, Elmhurst, IL Sally Wallace, Waverly, VA Joseph Walsh, Adamsville, RI Rev. Hermann Weinlick, Minneapolis, MN Thomas C. Welch, Cambridge, MA Carol Wells & Theodore Hajjar, Venice, CA David Williams, Golden, CO Sara Najjar-Wilson, Reston, VA Robert Witty, Cold Spring, NY William A. Wood, Newtown, PA Thomas Wunderlich, Cambridge, MA Nabil Yakub, McLean, VA Darrell & Sue Yeaney, Scotts Valley, CA Mashood Younes, Eagan, MN Raymond Younes, Oxnard, CA John Zacharia, Vienna, VA Mahmoud Zawawi, Amman, Jordan Fred Zuercher, Spring Grove, PA Elia Zughaib, Alexandria, VA

ACCOMPANISTS ($250 or more)

Miriam & Stephen Adams, Albuquerque, NM Jane & Michael Adas, Highland Park, NJ Dr. M.Y. Ahmed, Waterville, OH Robert Akras, N. Bay Village, FL Mazen Alsatie, Fishers, IN Jake Alwan, Chestnut Ridge, NY Louise Anderson, Oakland, CA Dr. Ali Antar, Bristol, CT Anace & Polly Aossey, Cedar Rapids, IA Geoffrey W. Atwell, Akron, PA Mr. & Mrs. Robert Beckmann, Seattle, WA Dr. & Mrs. Issa Boullata, Montreal, Canada Ted Chauviere, Austin, TX Patricia Christensen, Poulsbo, WA Dr. Robert G. Collmer, Waco, TX

Mr. & Mrs. Rajie Cook, Washington Crossing, PA Andrew & Krista Curtiss, Herndon, VA† Joseph Daruty, Newport Beach, CA John Dirlik, Pointe-Claire, Canada Dr. David Dunning, Lake Oswego, OR Nabila El Taji, Amman, Jordan Elisabeth Fitzhugh, Mitchellville, MD Eugene Fitzpatrick, Wheat Ridge, CO Malcolm Fleming, Bloomington, IN Sherna Gluck, Topanga, CA Ray Gordon, Bel Air, MD Erin K. Hankir, Ottawa, Canada Shirley Hannah, Argyle, NY Mr. & Mrs. Sameer Hassan, Quaker Hill, CT Dr. Eyas Hattab, Carmel, IN Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, Fort Wayne, IN Abdeen Jabara, New York, NY Omar & Nancy Kader, Vienna, VA Dr. M. Jamil Khan, Bloomfield Hills, MI Matt Labadie, Portland, OR Michael Ladah, Las Vegas, NV Kendall Landis, Wallingford, PA Laurel Family Eyecare, Laurel, MD Tony Litwinko, Los Angeles, CA Anthony Mabarak, Grosse Pointe Park, MI Nidal Mahayni, Richmond, VA Joseph A. Mark, Carmel, CA Tom & Tess McAndrew, Oro Valley, AZ Stanley McGinley, The Woodlands, TX Susan Kay Metcalfe, Beaverton, OR Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Charles Murphy, Upper Falls, MD Dr. Eid B. Mustafa, Wichita Falls, TX Michel Nasser, Beirut, Lebanon Mr. & Mrs. W. Eugene Notz, Charleston, SC Nancy Orr, Portland, OR Hertha Poje-Ammoumi, New York, NY Phillip L. Portlock, Washington, DC Sam Rahman, Lincoln, CA Mr. & Mrs. Edward Reilly, Rocky Point, NY Neil Richardson, Randolph, VT Fred Rogers, Northfield, MN James & Lisa Sams, Bethesda, MD Lisa Schiltz, Barbar, Bahrain Henry & Irmgard Schubert, Damascus, OR†† Dr. Abid Shah, Sarasota, FL Yasir Shallal, McLean, VA Shahida Siddiqui, Trenton, NJ Yusef & Jennifer Sifri, Wilmington, NC Ruth Ann Skaff, Houston, TX David J. Snider, Bolton, MA Michael Spath, Ft. Wayne, IN Dr. William Strange, Fort Garland, CO Thomas & Carol Swepston, Englewood, FL J. Tayeb, Shelby Township, MI Zuhair Thalji, Willow Springs, IL Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Washington, DC J. Peter van der Veen, Bellingham, WA

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

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Mashood Yunus, Eagan, MN Munir Zacharia, La Mirada, CA

TENORS & CONTRALTOS ($500 or more)

Michael Ameri, Calabasas, CA Kamel & Majda Ayoub, Hillsborough, CA Mr. & Mrs. John P. Crawford, Boulder, CO Richard H. Curtiss, Boynton Beach, FL* Joseph Daruty, Newport Beach, CA Gregory DeSylva, Rhinebeck, NY Robert & Tanis Diedrichs, Cedar Falls, IA Mr. & Mrs. L.F. Boker Doyle, New York, NY Catherine Fararjeh, Santa Clara, CA Eileen Fleming, Clermont, FL Ken Galal, San Francisco, CA Alfred R. Greve, Holmes, NY Dr. Wasif Hafeez, W. Bloomfield, MI Masood Hassan, Calabasas, CA Raymond Hrycko, Chiba-Ken, Japan++ Brigitte Jaensch, Carmichael, CA Fahd Jajeh, Lake Forest, IL Louise Keeley, Washington, DC** Gloria Keller, Santa Rosa, CA Joe & Lilly Lill, Arlington, VA† George & Karen Longstreth, San Diego, CA Bill & Jean Mansour, Corvallis, OR Jean Mayer, Bethesda, MD Joan McConnell, Saltspring Island, Canada William & Flora McCormick, Austin, TX Donald McNertney, Sarasota, FL Gerald & Judith Merrill, Oakland, CA

Maury Keith Moore, Seattle, WA Anees Mughannam, Petaluma, CA Charles Murphy, Upper Falls, MD William & Nancy Nadeau, San Diego, CA Audrey Olson, Saint Paul, MN Gennaro Pasquale, Oyster Bay, NY Gabrielle Saad, Oakland, CA Henry Schubert, Damascus, OR Dr. M.F. Shoukfeh, Lubbock, TX Anthony Sisto, Needham, MA Mae Stephen, Palo Alto, CA Michel & Cathy Sultan, Eau Claire, WI

BARITONES & MEZZO SOPRANOS ($1,000 or more)

Catherine Aborjaily, Westfield, MA Khaled Almaeena, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Asha A. Anand, Bethesda, MD Graf Herman Bender, North Palm Beach, FL Wilhelmine Bennett, Iowa City, IA Branscomb Family Foundation, El Jebel, CO G. Edward & Ruth Brooking, Jr., Wilmington, DE Rev. Rosemarie Carnarius & Aston Bloom, Tucson, AZ Rev. Ronald C. Chochol, St. Louis, MO Forrest Cioppa, Moraga, CA Luella Crow, Eugene, OR Tom D’Albani & Jane Killgore, Bemidji, MN Rodney D. Driver, Charlotte, NC

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.

Edouard C. Emmet, Paris, France Linda Emmet, Paris, France Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Farris, West Linn, OR Gary Richard Feulner, Dubai, UAE Ronald & Mary Forthofer, Longmont, CO Evan & Leman Fotos, Istanbul, Turkey Dr. & Mrs. Hassan Fouda, Berkeley, CA Hind Hamdan, Hagerstown, MD George Hanna, Santa Ana, CA Salman & Kate Hilmy, Silver Spring, MD Judith Howard, Norwood, MA Sufian & Barbara Husseini, Salem, OR William Lightfoot, Vienna, VA Jack Love, San Diego, CA John Mahoney, AMEU, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Hani Marar, Delmar, NY Sahar Masud, Mill Valley, CA Ralph Nader, Public Citizen, Washington, DC Bob Norberg, Lake City, MN Mary Norton, Austin, TX Mary H. Regier, El Cerrito, CA Dr. Wendell E. Rossman, Phoenix, AZ Dr. Imad Tabry, Fort Lauderdale, FL Norman Tanber, Dana Point, CA Jon B. Utley, Freda Utley Foundation, Washington, DC John Van Wagoner, McLean, VA Dr. Robert Younes, Potomac, MD Young Again Foundation, Leland, NC

CHOIRMASTERS ($5,000 or more)

Anonymous*, #, ##, ###, + Estate of Rosemarie Carnarius, Tucson, AZ Donna B. Curtiss, Kensington, MD John & Henrietta Goelet, New York, NY Andrew I. Killgore, Washington, DC Vince & Louise Larsen, Louvin Foundation, Billings, MT Patricia & Herbert Pratt, Cambridge, MA *In Memory of Richard H. Curtiss **In Loving Memory of Bob Keeley ***In Memory of Donald Neff †In Honor of ADC’s Rachel Corrie Award ††Free Palestine †††Helen Thomas Internship Fund #In Memory of Rachel Corrie ##In Memory of Anthony Shadid ### In Memory of the 34 who died on the USS Liberty and the survivors

Bequests of any size are honored with membership in the American Educational Trust’s “Choirmasters,” named for angels whose foresight and dedication ensured the future of the Washington Report and Middle East Books and More.

For more information visit www.wrmea.org/donate/bequests.pdf, contact us at circulation@wrmea.org, write: American Educational Trust, PO Box 91056 • Long Beach, CA 90809-1056, or telephone our new toll-free circulation number 888-8815861 • Fax: 714-226-9733 74

WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

+In Memory of all those who gave their lives for Palestinian freedom, human rights and self-determination ++In Memory of our sister, Julia N. Hrycko

Donations made in 2016 will be listed in the June/July 2016 issue

MARCH/APRIL 2016

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American Educational Trust Washington Report on Middle East Affairs P.O. Box 53062 Washington, DC 20009

March/April 2016 Vol. XXXV, No. 2

A Palestinian man sits near Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apartheid wall dividing the Palestinian neighborhood of Al-Tur in Arab East Jerusalem, Feb. 11, 2016.

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